Are we too impatient with first-round draft picks? Maybe. Even though he finished last season relatively strong, Steve Stamkos was written off as a bust, or at least as someone with the potential to be a huge bust. Now, 10 games into Tampa’s season, Stamkos has nine goals and five assists and looks like a [...]
A couple of weeks ago, the Wild signing Petr Sykora seemed like a brilliant move. I know I sure loved it. It’s still a little early to say it’s not working out, but Sykora was a healthy scratch against Nashville last night. That came after getting less than 10 minutes against Chicago Monday night. Sykora [...]
Oh wow! The Leafs finally won! The Leafs finally won! Who knew goaltending was such an important position? Jonas Gustavsson earned his first NHL win with his second solid NHL start. But credit Anaheim, too, for playing a very dull game. It’s almost like they wanted to give the Leafs their first win of the [...]
Anaheim has a couple of issues right now, mostly that they’re 3-5-1 and have dropped four of their last five. But their most pressing problem might be goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s groin. Giguere is making $6 million this season and $7 million next season, even as the Ducks have a much stronger, cheaper goaltending option in [...]
Just two things I wanted to plug today: The latest episode of the RinkSideRants podcast is available for your listening pleasure. Tim and I talked struggling teams: Leafs, Bruins, and Isles. I’ve got something up on BleacherReport about the rise of the scoring defenseman — specifically in Phoenix.
After the lockout, everyone talked about the new NHL, and how a premium would be placed on offense. In the new NHL, we were told speed and talent would matter. Players would be free to actually play, and wouldn’t spend entire periods with sticks embedded in their abdomens. It seems that crazy-sounding idea continues to [...]
Good coaching is often about managing personalities as much as it’s about Xs and Os. The Sharks had lost a step (or two) so coach Todd McLellan had an interesting idea: he shifted Dany Heatley off of the first powerplay unit. It seems to have worked, as the Sharks earned a big win over the [...]
What are we? Two weeks into the season? And already the Doug Weight trade rumors are starting. This has to be some kind of trade rumor record. The Islanders are still waiting for their first win of the season and are in a challenging situation. Coach Scott Gordon has some talented, but undeveloped forwards and [...]
How do you know the NHL season has started? People in Dallas start calling for Marty Turco’s head. Mike Heika has an interesting take: The Stars have decent goalie depth within their system and a plan to move everyone along, so they might as well stick to the plan. Plus, Heika points out, Turco is [...]
The Long Island Press is reporting Charles Wang, owner of the Isles, has walked away from the Lighthouse project, apparently feeling it would never get done. The project would have resulted in a new arena for the Isles. One interesting, if completely unconfirmed, wrinkle is Sam Fischler’s assertion during last night’s Rangers game that the [...]
