The Thrashers signed Maxim Afinogenov to a one-year, $800,000 deal. It’s certainly a cheap price for a forward with a lot of potential upside, until you consider that Afinogenov has spent the past two seasons being more about his potential than about the realization of his potential. I was a little surprised the Thrashers held [...]
Just some quick weekend notes: Larry Brooks and Tim Panaccio aren’t happy about the Gretzky backlash. Both feel his time as a player buys him some goodwill with the public. I’ve been curious about the backlash and think a lot of it has to do with economics. Gretzky never seemed to put much work into [...]
So Wayne Gretzky finally quit as head coach of the Coyotes. In his resignation statement, Gretzky admitted neither team bidder wanted him to stick around as coach. The Coyotes promptly hired former Stars coach Dave Tippett to coach the team. Gretzky was obviously upset. If he cared about what either potential owner wanted, he would [...]
Defenseman Mark Popovic is in Thrasher training camp, trying to earn a contract. He spent last season playing in the KHL and he wasn’t very impressed by the quality of play there. Popovic played for Atlanta before deciding to go to Russia, so he has a connection to the team, but part of me wonders [...]
The Flyers continue to take penalties like they’re water breaks. It’s something that made them the league’s most penalized team last season. It’s something that makes a long, grinding season even more difficult. And it’s something that will haunt the Flyers as long as they gravitate toward mean, thuggish players. Dan Carcillo has been taking [...]
Last night’s Calgary-Islanders might have been the game of late 2008. It was like some kind of movie. You had Dion Phaneuf’s massive open-ice hit on Islander Kyle Okposo (Okposo has a mild concussion). The one bright spot for the Islanders was that Okposo’s teammates immediately came to his defense, attempting to fight Phaneuf the [...]
Patrik Elias is out 3-6 weeks with groin surgery and the Devils are being coy about finding help via a trade or free agency. The Devils are already pretty thin. There’s no second line center. Brandon Shanahan has been spending time on the top line. It’s starting to feel like if one more top player [...]
So apparently Dallas Star Brad Richards had shoulder problems much of last year. Richards had mono the season before, meaning he’s never been 100% healthy for Dallas. That’s expected to change this season and Mike Heika says it could represent a return to the Richards of 2005-06. Or at least a little closer to that [...]
This weekend saw Rangers coach John Tortorella formally announce the painfully obvious: The Rangers needs to be a mentally and physically stronger, more aggressive team this season. Tortorella probably doesn’t care how the Rangers ended up this way, but it’s interesting to track, especially because in some ways, he’s responsible for their softness. Tortorella was [...]
It’s corn Friday. Sorry! Buccigross’ ‘Heatley will be a Shark’ call is just a big misunderstanding: he’s talking about an upcoming Ottawa production of WESTSIDE STORY. Also, don’t miss Jason Spezza as Maria. The Sabres released photos of the commemorative bricks from the Aud, which they’ll be selling. So the Sabres will hold onto bricks [...]
