PuckUpdate .: The Hockey Blog
Free Agents: No 404 For Us: Larry Brooks points out no one wants to play in Atlanta, Edmonton, or Long Island. I get the Isle burn, because they still have that crazy management reputation, even if it's much calmer out there, but I'm not sure why...... , posted on July 07, 2008 more
Theodore: "It's Not Personal. It's Just Business": Adrian Dater weighs in on goalie Jose Theodore opting to hit the open market rather than re-signing with the Avs. Dater says the Avs deserve a little bit of a hometown discount for saving Theodore's career. While I understand that,...... , posted on June 27, 2008 more
NHL Keeps on Waiving and Trading: The Flyers continue to revamp their defense, trading for Janne Niskala from Nashville. Unlike previous seasons, Philadelphia doesn't seem to be going after the big free-agent names (although we'll see what happens with that next week). Instead, the Flyers, who...... , posted on June 25, 2008 more
The Four Stages of the Coaching Life: Yesterday we saw the cycle of coaching lives in the NHL. There was birth, in Detroit assistant Todd McLellan getting his first NHL coaching gig, for the Sharks. I have no idea what kind of coach he is, but coming...... , posted on June 12, 2008 more
Keep Your Wings and Fly...: Life under the salary cap puts a lot of NHL team in a similar predicament. You have a franchise player. Maybe even two or three. But who are they going to play with? Who helps them finish? In New York,...... , posted on June 09, 2008 more
Roy Ready to Rumble...At the NHL Level: Larry Brooks really thinks the Rangers need to do what it takes to re-sign Sean Avery. This isn't a huge story, but I find it surprising, just because Avery's not a great player. Brooks points out the Rangers' record with...... , posted on May 12, 2008 more
Don't Forget the Losers: I love the time between playoff rounds because it lets me catch up a little bit. Not so much on the playoff teams, but on the teams that were bounced out of the playoffs. Or in the case of the...... , posted on May 06, 2008 more
Wings-Avs Rivalry: 'We Can't Come to the Phone Right Now. Please Leave a Message': What can you say about last night's 8-2 Detroit round two clincher over the Avs? Obviously, Johan Franzen dominated, with a hat trick and nine goals in the series. Obviously, everyone agrees it's time for Peter Forsberg to hang up...... , posted on May 02, 2008 more
Bob Barker: 'The Halak Is Not Right, Either': I don't quite understand the Canadiens goalie situation. Last night, they started backup Jaroslav Halak over rookie Carey Price, presumably their future franchise goalie. Price has struggled in the playoffs, but he's also had some great moments. In other words,...... , posted on May 01, 2008 more
Manager: 'Puck! Where Are Those TPS Reports?': Mike Babcock was the first coach I ever heard use the term puck management. I heard it when he was coaching the Ducks. The idea behind Babcock's idea of puck management was controlling the puck. That can be puck possession,...... , posted on April 30, 2008 more
Don't Bet on Forsberg: I honestly thought the Penguins would go down in the second round very easily. I figured the cakewalk through Ottawa had set unrealistic expectations for the team and I thought the Rangers matched up better, both in terms of experience...... , posted on April 28, 2008 more
No Goalie Fights? Are You Sure?: I know we're all very busy people here, so I'm going to cut right to the chase. Chris Osgood says there's not going to be a goalie fight between the Avs and the Wings. I'm glad Mitch Albom thought to...... , posted on April 25, 2008 more
Rangers-Devils: 'What Neutral Zone?': Did you hear the playoffs started? I watched Rangers-Devils last night and it was strange. A lot of play in both ends, but not a lot of shots. It was like both teams were trapping, but giving everyone a free...... , posted on April 10, 2008 more
Hot Goalies, Cold Coaches: Here's a fun fact: Peter Forsberg has yet to play three consecutive games this season. The Avs have got to love that. Actually, the Wild probably do find that a fun fact, seeing as how they're meeting in the playoffs....... , posted on April 08, 2008 more
Forsberg Actually Returns. For Real!: I can't believe Peter Forsberg really came back. And then he played. He didn't put up any points in last night's win over the Canucks, but playing on a line with Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk, it seems to just...... , posted on March 05, 2008 more
No Ty for Pittsburgh Goalies: I know it's kind of mean, but the goalie "controversy" in Pittsburgh really cracks me up: It's Ty Conklin. I always felt his whole NHL career was predicated on the idea that U.S. international teams always need a third-string goalie....... , posted on March 04, 2008 more
Trading Places: Is it me or is trade deadline day exhausting? And I didn't have to pack, unlike a lot of NHLers. Apparently my 2001-Avs-Reunion-Is-Not-Happening theory was a bit off. In addition to Peter Forsberg, Colorado also re-acquired defenseman Adam Foote. I...... , posted on February 27, 2008 more
Foppa Punks the NHL: You know Cliff Fletcher has to be sitting there, watching the surprise return of Peter Forsberg, hoping, probably praying, Mats "Go Down with the Ship" Sundin will have a similar change of heart. The Avs could be getting ready to...... , posted on February 26, 2008 more
No Avalanche of Trades Yet: Things sure are looking up for the Avalanche. Paul Stastny scored in his first game back from an appendectomy, and the team won a crazy long shootout against the Coyotes. For a struggling team like the Avs of late, this...... , posted on February 25, 2008 more
Iron Joe: Joe Sakic is crazy. Every time I look at his stats, I find something new and horribly impressive. Tonight he'll miss his third game in a row. The last time he missed more than one regular season game? 2002-03. And...... , posted on December 05, 2007 more
Brokedown Palace: Ryan Smyth knew last night's return to Edmonton would be emotional. "I'm sure I'll break down," said Smyth, before stopping to compose himself, his eyes glistening just a little. "Lot of great memories." "I'm sure I'll break down, too," said...... , posted on October 24, 2007 more
Fun at Camp: How do you not love the start of training camp? Of course, this offseason, 90% of what you read has to do with "new" uniforms, 85% of which look the same. Seriously. By the way, if you're genuinely curious about...... , posted on September 17, 2007 more
Free Will/Free Agency: I'm really surprised about all of the no-trades being given out. Chris Drury and Scott Gomez supposedly got one from the Rangers. And Ryan Smyth got one from the Avs. Of course, Todd Marchant had one in Columbus and that...... , posted on July 03, 2007 more
Goalie Crazy!: Goalie Rick DiPietro sure looked sharp leading the Islanders over Buffalo in game two this weekend, but Greg Logan, who covers the Isles for Newsday, noticed some small things that could indicate DiPietro isn't at 100%: Two small moments caught...... , posted on April 16, 2007 more
Foppa Fight: Obviously, a lot of teams want Peter Forsberg and his magic foot, but how cool is it that the Avs and the Wings are both interested in him? A rivalry within a rivalry. It's brilliant....... , posted on January 26, 2007 more
License to Thrill: Free agent season. I'm not into hunting, but if I were, I imagine I would be just as excited about the start of hunting season. Or maybe, if I were into fashion, I'd be this excited about fashion week. Although,...... , posted on July 03, 2006 more
Ageless Joe: I know there's bigger stuff going on right now, but did anyone else know Joe Sakic led the Avs in goal-scoring this season? And he played all 82 games? And he's 37? Geez. Anyone else think he might be a...... , posted on May 18, 2006 more
Trade Is Over: Geez. I find the trade deadline so draining. The big shocks: Florida hanging on to Olli Jokinen and Chris Gratton, while not dealing goalie Roberto Luongo. So apparently they really want to keep together this core that has produced 24...... , posted on March 10, 2006 more
Goalie Space: Over in Colorado, rookie goalie Vitaly Kolesnik is looking sharp (although last night was a rough stretch of highway in a 6-2 loss to Ottawa). He's getting the starts while regular goalies David Aebischer, once thought to be the mile-high...... , posted on December 13, 2005 more
Goalie Sweepstakes: So the big rumor going around is that Florida is ready to move goalie Roberto Luongo, now that he's good and mad about his team's a) screwing him over in arbitration and b) refusal to win any games. The teams...... , posted on November 28, 2005 more
Addition by Omission: Everyone is still talking about Todd Bertuzzi being allowed back into the NHL. And I certainly don't want to add to the chaos. But there is a really interesting aspect to his return that I didn't notice until SI's Truth...... , posted on August 10, 2005 more
Game On Unless It's Off: I don't know, man. I hear the meeting between NHLPA Union President Trevor Linden and NHL Board of Directors Chairman Harley Hotchkiss (and their lawyers) went well and I'm all like 'Maybe the NHL will start things up again this...... , posted on January 20, 2005 more
NHL Confidential: So basically, the only place to get hockey news is the gossip pages. Like did you know party princess Tara Reid, now seeing Sergei Federov, hooked up with him while waiting for her boyfriend to arrive in Miami? Federov moves...... , posted on December 06, 2004 more
Vote the Hockey Ticket: Big shock. Rob Ray is backing off his comments that he would become a replacement player in a scab-staffed NHL. He told the Buffalo News he has no intention of ever playing again. The players actually have a lot of...... , posted on November 03, 2004 more
Avs Get Damphousse and Get Tough: It's pretty interesting how the Avalanche have slowly evolved their off-season strategy. They used to spend their time going after elite defensemen. Last season they started stockpiling forwards, picking up Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. This year, they picked up...... , posted on August 19, 2004 more
Coach Q's Likes: The Calgary Sun checks in on new Colorado Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville. It's actually not that interesting. He talks about food and music he likes. I'm posting this more because I'm curious about the interviewer, Ian Busby. What's his deal?...... , posted on August 10, 2004 more
Queeneville Coaching Avs: I love the NHL. Coaches are fired because they didn't do their job and then are quickly re-hired because they coached recently. Performance really means nothing. It's all about your last gig. Take Joe Queeneville, for instance. Nice guy, I'm...... , posted on July 07, 2004 more
The Flaming Avalanche: Terry Frei has an interesting column on the links between the Calgary Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. The two teams have traded a lot of players over the years. Some of them have been key and some of them were...... , posted on June 03, 2004 more
Pizza Avalanche!: ESPN.com has an interesting piece on how San Jose GM Doug Wilson is really good to the reporters that cover his team. How good? The two Shark beat writers are invited to a pizza party in Wilson's office before every...... , posted on April 27, 2004 more
Avs and Av-Nots: Woody Paige, a genuinely interesting columnist who's done an amazing job marginalizing himself via ESPN's awful screamfest AROUND THE HORN, writes about how the Avs struggled toward the end of the regular season. Paige highlights two big Avalanche problems: a...... , posted on April 06, 2004 more
Roy: 'I'm Still Retired. Now Ask Me Again': Oh man. I feel about a million years old. I just saw a TV ad for a Guns N' Roses greatest hits collection. Don't they usually only sell old people music on TV? Like Norah Jones? What does this have...... , posted on April 01, 2004 more
Avs Hit Their Stride: How freaking hot is the Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg, Matthew Barnaby line? Seriously. Colorado is playing Detroit on ESPN tonight. Watch the game. Because this line, which came together during Colorado's tie with Chicago, is really something to see. And...... , posted on March 25, 2004 more
Liles and Gratton: A Closer Look: The Rocky Mountain News focuses on rookie defenseman John-Michael Liles, a key part of Colorado's blueline. Interestingly, despite Colorado's veteran-laden line-up, they actually have some rookies. In addition to Liles, there's Steve Moore, famously attacked last week, and Cody McCormick,...... , posted on March 17, 2004 more
Avs Load Up: I'm not sure how, but I managed to miss all of Colorado's recent wheeling and dealing. They picked up defenseman Bob Boughner from Carolina and traded Martin Skoula for Anaheim's Kurt Sauer. The usually unstoppable Colorado defensemen Rob Blake and...... , posted on February 24, 2004 more
Predators Not Ready for Golf: What's going on with the Predators? They grabbed Steve Sullivan from the Blackhawks. He's a great pick-up for them. And they got him for just two second-round draft picks. The Predators also extended original Predator Scott Walker's contract. How sad...... , posted on February 18, 2004 more
Sakic Fractures Jaw And Keeps on Keeping On: Colorado's spiral of injuries continues with Joe Sakic fracturing his jaw. He hurt it playing against Calgary last week. But trooper that he, he expects to be playing again tonight. Paul Kariya also might return tonight. For all the talk...... , posted on January 06, 2004 more
Pang Remembers Roy: Patrick Roy's number 33 was retired last night. Darren Pang, over at ESPN.com, has some nice memories to share. Basically, it comes down to great goalie, weird guy. But read the story anyway....... , posted on October 29, 2003 more
Kovalchuk's Cap Collection: Geez. The Thrasher's season looked over before it started, what with the death of Dan Snyder and Dany Heatley's involvement. But the personal horror of it all aside, Atlanta is hot. They're undefeated at home. And Ilya Kovalchuk put up...... , posted on October 24, 2003 more
Kariya Hurts Wrist: Well you get what you pay for. Colorado got Paul Kariya for pennies, and now he's injured. He hurt his wrist against the Bruins and now he's out indefinitely. Interestingly, upon hearing the Kariya news, Colorado grabbed Steve Konowalchuk from...... , posted on October 23, 2003 more
Colorado: 'Everyone Must Score': I love the Avalanche. They've got two top lines that seem designed to roll right on into the All-Star Game and coach Tony Granato is still talking about getting scoring from his other lines. What's the point of having a...... , posted on September 25, 2003 more
Roy's Number To Be Retired: The Avs are going to retire Patrick Roy's number 33. I think they should have Roy hold his jersey in front of him like he used to do with pucks. Just freeze it in midair like he's daring it to...... , posted on September 12, 2003 more
Tanguay Signs; Aebischer Set: Did you hear a collective groan? That was the rest of the NHL getting mad that the Avalanche have all their players signed. They just gave Alex Tanguay one year at $1.5 million. Now when the Avs start training camp,...... , posted on September 08, 2003 more
Fedorov Quacks and Signs: Well, well, well. It looks like Sergei Fedorov was able to work it out with the Ducks after all, signing for $50 million over 4 years (login: laexaminer; password: laexaminer). I still don't think he's a great fit, though. He's...... , posted on July 21, 2003 more
Worrell Sad to Leave Florida: So if you buy a nice car, you get a good car alarm, right? You've got to protect your valuables. The same thing applies in hockey. The Colorado Avalanche have a lot of valuables on the ice now (Paul Kariya,...... , posted on July 21, 2003 more
Wild Wing Needs a New Friend: This might be a little lame. I'm working on a column about mascots for New York Sports Express and I discovered this page about Wild Wing, the mascot for the Ducks. It hasn't been updated in a while: "What we...... , posted on July 15, 2003 more
Money for Rings: Over in the Times, William Rhoden writes about basketball players sacrificing cash for a shot at an NBA championship. That's all well and good, but I think some hockey players have done that, too. Most recently, Paul Kariya and Teemu...... , posted on July 14, 2003 more
Chris Drury, Buffalo Soldier: Chris Drury never really clicked in Calgary. Luckily, he's on the move, traded to the Sabres in a three-team, five-player deal. It's fantastic seeing a talented player join the once-proud Sabres franchise rather than being sent away. The Sabres' new...... , posted on July 07, 2003 more
Colorado's Bargain: Hmmmm. So you might have heard Colorado made some interesting signings last week. The Denver Post has a really interesting look at how the whole deal went down (the whole deal being Colorado signing Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne for...... , posted on July 07, 2003 more
Rangers and Caps: No Trade!; Forsberg Staying?: It's oppressively hot here at PuckUpdate Central. Let's get to it then. Wednesday afternoon, FoxSports.com reported the Rangers were about to trade Petr Nedved, Jamie Lundmark and Matthew Barnaby for Jaromir Jagr (and didn't FoxSports.com layoff all their writers, including...... , posted on June 26, 2003 more
Dull Joe: The always awesome SportsByBrooks has a link to Sports Illustrated's look at sports' dullest stars. On the list? Our good friend, Joe Sakic of the Avalanche. He is kind of dull. But that's good. I'm always scared Dennis Rodman is...... , posted on June 04, 2003 more
Filling Roy's Pads: So Patrick Roy retired. I'm pretty indifferent. Sure he was an amazing goaltender, probably one of the best ever. But he deserves to rest. No one should have to play through pain like Roy did this season. It's a loss...... , posted on May 30, 2003 more
What's the Hurry?: Welcome to News That Could Have Waited Until After the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm your host, Steven Ovadia. Let's get to it, shall we? *Patrick Roy is retiring. Not much of a shock. But couldn't this have waited until after...... , posted on May 28, 2003 more
Shhhhh. Dad! You're Embarassing Me!: Wow. So apparently Patrick Roy is really into running the Quebec Remparts, which he owns a third of. How into it? The team was fined $1,000 after the excitable Colorado goalie entered the video replay booth. He also views tapes...... , posted on May 21, 2003 more
Thanks a Million, Pat!: At one of my old jobs, I used to have this joke where when they'd ask me to do something messed up I'd say "I don't care. I get paid whether this works or not." So apparently Patrick Roy built...... , posted on May 01, 2003 more
Roy Retiring?: Wow. Jacques Demers, Patrick Roy's former Habs coach, is saying that the Colorado goalie will retire before next season starts. Colorado is probably freaking out. They don't really have a number one goalie ready to go, plus without Roy, Peter...... , posted on April 30, 2003 more
Wild, Wild Win; Flyers Grounded: So I guess Colorado managment is regretting paying the players by the game. Yup. Colorado is facing another game seven. They lost in overtime to the Wild. This will be Colorado's fifth trip in a row to game seven of...... , posted on April 22, 2003 more
Goalie Bigamy: I'm not a big fan of Wild coach Jacques Lemaire. In fact, I think his coaching style will be the death of hockey. But he's not as dull as I thought. With the Wild about to be eliminated, Lemaire did...... , posted on April 21, 2003 more
To Av and Av Not: The West is so crazy. They have sooo many good teams. Like the Avs. And they're not even in first place. And defensively, they're getting pretty intense. Recent-addition Bryan Marchment is dying for the Cup. It must be weird for...... , posted on April 03, 2003 more
Welcome Home. Now Sit Out: Calgary forward Dean McAmmond was feeling pretty happy right after the trade deadline. He had started the season in Calgary. Then he was traded to Colorado (in the Chris Drury/Stephane Yelle trade). But suddenly, post-deadline, he was back in Calgary...... , posted on March 14, 2003 more
Buffalo Sheds; Colorado Thrives: Buffalo continues to shed salary while trying very hard to look like they're not trying to shed salary. They traded winger Vaclav Varada and a fifth round draft pick to Ottawa for 18-year-old center Jakub Klepis. Varada, a lifetime Sabre,...... , posted on February 26, 2003 more
Have You Been Forsberged?: You know you're good when they turn you into a verb. Avalancheite Peter Forsberg is now a verb. Teams all over the NHL are getting Forsberged. Webster's might define it as the process of having a six-foot Swede score all...... , posted on February 14, 2003 more
Roy: 'No Goals for You!': Did people really think Patrick Roy had lost his puck-stopping touch? I don't know. I don't talk to that many people. But Roy just finished a nice run. He allowed just one goal in his last three starts (last night's...... , posted on January 29, 2003 more
I-Roy-n Man: This hasn't been Colorado goalie Patrick Roy's best season, but his off-day is most goalie's best day. That's how you last 1,000 games as an NHL goaltender. Roy really is amazing. This record will never be broken. And if it...... , posted on January 21, 2003 more
Sakic Skates: Joe Sakic is close to returning to action from his sprained ankle. I don't really have anything clever to add to that. Colorado has got to be glad to see him, though. He was doing pretty well before his December...... , posted on January 02, 2003 more
Granato: 'Where Do I Sit?': Tony Granato is the new coach of the Avalanche. He's permanent. He's never coached before. Not even in the minors. I'm not judging yet. I'm just getting ready to. Here's what the Denver Post has to say about Granato. And...... , posted on December 20, 2002 more
Hartley Fired: Pretty obvious what today's big story is: The Avs fired coach Bob Hartley Wednesday. This really came as no surprise to anyone (except The Sporting News' Kara Yorio, who reported just last week, "Rumors about the Avalanche's Bob Hartley getting...... , posted on December 19, 2002 more
Playing for Colorado is Like Kissing Your Grandma: Maybe the members of the Colorado Avalanche need to re-evaluate their contracts. With the amount of overtime they're playing this season, they can't be paid enough. Colorado has 24 ties in 76 games this season. They're on track to have...... , posted on December 18, 2002 more
More Like a Snowball Than an Avalanche: Joe Sakic scored his 500th goal against the Canucks. Too bad his Avs continue to struggle this season. Horrible on the penalty kill. Awful on the power play. And not even so hot at even strength. With all that talent,...... , posted on December 13, 2002 more
Av Moves: According to the Edmonton Journal the Avs are trying to move Alex Tanguay and Martin Skoula to Boston for Kyle McLaren and Marty Lapointe. The Sun reports Colorado is trying to go "grittier" (The Rangers are supposedly interested in McLaren,...... , posted on November 25, 2002 more
Irony: Here's the thing about Patrick Roy — the madder he gets, the worse he plays. He's just an emotional guy. So now he's really mad at the way Colorado has been playing, which is just going to make him reckless,...... , posted on November 21, 2002 more
Trouble at Home: Speaking of trouble on home ice (see below), Colorado can't buy a win. They haven't won their last six at the Pepsi Arena. Just to put things in perspective, they've only played six games at the Pepsi Arena this season....... , posted on November 07, 2002 more
Re-Fund!: Colorado must be kicking themselves for letting Chris Drury go. He's scored the game-winning goal two nights in a row. The most recent one was against the Devils as the Flames beat Jersey 3-2. Not to take anything from Drury,...... , posted on November 06, 2002 more
No Big Surprise: Vancouver is undefeated on the road. Colorado is winless at home. Both streaks are still safe. Vancouver beat Colorado 4-2 last night. Vancouver had some help, though. Patrick Roy is out with a bum hip. It doesn't need to be...... , posted on November 05, 2002 more
Not a Misprint: Whoa. The Minnesota Wild managed to tie the Avalanche. Colorado's power play is 5-for-50. Like a lot of people, I really thought the obstruction rules would be a huge boost to Colorado, possibly negating the fact that they're pretty old...... , posted on October 29, 2002 more
Winning is Fun!: New Avalanchite Derek Morris admits it: it's fun to win. Morris came to Colorado for Chris Drury at the start of the season. He's logging time on the power play and having a great time. Can you blame him? Even...... , posted on October 24, 2002 more
971: Records are so weird. They often seem like they'll never be beaten, and then you have three guys beat one in a season. Or maybe that's just baseball. But Terry Sawchuk's 971 games in goal, the NHL record? That's tough....... , posted on October 23, 2002 more
Going Home: I totally missed this. The Avalanche returned to Quebec last week. Colorado was there to play the Canadiens in pre-season. Before they were the Colorado Avalanche, they were the Quebec Nordiques. The Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995. Colorado's Adam...... , posted on October 01, 2002 more
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