Photo by Francisco Diez You have to be impressed by the New Jersey Devils’ turnaround under new-old coach Jacques Lemaire. When he left at the end of last season, it seemed more like a mutual decision than Lemaire deciding to retire. As some of you may recall, Lemaire didn’t do a great job in the [...]
Photo by Cindy Andrie Darren Eliot is complaining that more NHL teams are returning to the dreaded neutral zone trap. Eliot’s hypothesis is that after a brief glory period for stretch pass driven hockey, more and more NHL coaches are returning to the safer trap: The eyeball test tells me the game is now backsliding [...]
Photo by Dan 4th James Gordon had a great piece on the Ottawa Senators’ rebuilding options. Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and GM Bryan Murray are finally admitting the Senators are in trouble. Melnyk said he won’t fire Murray or coach Cory Clouston before the end of the season, but beyond that, what can the Senators [...]
Photo by Dan4th The KHL seems to have a two-fold purpose in terms of its relationship to the NHL. It makes players NHL teams didn’t want to sign look suddenly more attractive. It teaches NHL players to be more realistic in their contractual expectations. Look at goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who couldn’t attract any NHL suitors [...]
Photo by davidgsteadman The good news? Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, pulled in two of his last three previous starts, managed to play the full 60 minutes against the Minnesota Wild. The bad news? Kiprusoff gave up six goals, including two on the first four shots. You have to give Flames’ coach Brent Sutter some [...]
Photo by bridgetds One of the most shocking things I’ve heard recently is that Matt Moulson doesn’t want to be traded away from the New York Islanders (reportedly to the Bruins). I’m not sure why he wants to stay, although the Islanders do seem to have turned out of their nosedive. But apparently he sees [...]
Photo by Anna Enriquez For years, pretty much going back to the final season or so of Jaromir Jagr’s tenure with the New York Rangers, the team has suffered with a lack of secondary scoring. Even when Jagr was essentially replaced with Marian Gaborik, Gaborik had no one to help him, goal-wise. But now, the [...]
Photo by shannonyeh.photography One of the hardest parts of being an NHL coach has to be keeping your team psyched. The NHL season is just so long. At a certain point, players are probably more tired than engaged. Halfway into a season, teams just don’t have the emotional energy to get pumped for every game. [...]
Photo by Anna Enriquez Tim Cowlishaw observes something I just recently noticed: Despite being a team that’s relatively similar to last season’s, the Dallas Stars are playing much better this year. Cowlishaw has some interesting theories on why that’s happening. He suggests: Dallas’ goaltending is a bit more consistent this year, which certainly helps things [...]
Photo by bridgetds Yesterday the New York Rangers traded defenseman Michal Rozsival for Phoenix Coyotes forward Wojtek Wolski, straight-up. In addition to clearing cap space, the move brings some experience to the Rangers forward corp. Decimated by injuries, the Rangers were in danger of starting to look like an AHL team. Rozsival was a fan [...]
