PuckUpdate .: The Hockey Blog
Goalies Get Practice and Get Psyched: Goalie Chris Mason, who was traded to the Blues during the off-season, seems like a pretty cool guy. Mason is back in goaltending school, trying to sharpen his skills. I know guys work with trainers and coaches during the off-season,...... , posted on July 10, 2008 more
You Can't Avoid the Draft: Wow. Kind of an exciting draft weekend. Although I am with Jeff Z. Klein in that I too find it a little annoying that you don't know if a team had a good draft for something like five years. That's...... , posted on June 23, 2008 more
Usually Just a T-Shirt: I'm sorry but I just can't get excited about the NHL's awards. Not when they're missing a Best Performance in Drawing a Whistle award. Not like Sidney Crosby needs more hardware or anything. After the awards ceremony, Tarik El-Bashir from...... , posted on June 13, 2008 more
JR Ewing As a Winger?: Wow. What happened to the Stars? How does a team pick up Brad Richards and get worse? They're 1-7-0 in their last eight and Sergei Zubov still isn't quite ready to rejoin the lineup (login info.). I'm not saying coach...... , posted on March 25, 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
Return of the Mac: I've been heavy with Wings news this week. I'm not sure why. Actually, I think a lot of it is just being excited for Darren McCarthy's seemingly successfully mounting an NHL comeback. The guy just belongs in Detroit. It looks...... , posted on February 20, 2008 more
If Rock Could Beat Paper, the Stars Could Have a Scorer: Mike Heika briefly addresses what I occasionally wonder about: How does the two-headed beast that is the Dallas Star GM-ship go about doing business? Not that there's really an answer. Heika reports that co-GM Brett Hull seems more interested in...... , posted on February 14, 2008 more
Losing Weight: This is a few days old, but shocking to me: Doug Weight wasn't happy being traded from the Blues. After he told the Blues he wouldn't waive his no-trade, they told him if he didn't, they would cut his minutes....... , posted on February 05, 2008 more
Blues Slip On Nothing: Wow. The Blues have lost six games in a row. Obviously, they're sitting outside of the playoff zone right now. What's with the Blues? As Jeff Gordon points out, the crazy thing is, on paper they're doing OK. They're healthy....... , posted on January 24, 2008 more
No Captain Kapanen: So Jason Smith, aka not Sami Kapanen, is the new captain of the Flyers (login info.). Obviously, I wasn't consulted on this. I guess it's better than Buffalo's Captain of the Month Club. The C comes with a nice mustard,...... , posted on October 03, 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
18 Days to Go: And we're off: The city of St. Louis was shocked to see the Blues sign a genuine NHL star. By the way. It's Paul Kariya. Adrian Dater predicts Peter Forsberg will end up playing with the Ducks, who somehow always...... , posted on September 11, 2007 more
Signs of Hockey: First, old business: The Dallas Stars are pretty funny (login info.). A lot of teams wouldn't make fun of the NBA ref-gambling scandal. The Stars have no such qualms. And you know a sign is funny if Mark Cuban doesn't...... , posted on September 05, 2007 more
St. Louis Sells Tickets; Columbus Sells Dreams: Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch says this upcoming season's Blue Jackets will be tougher under coach Ken Hitchcock. And now that they have Michael Peca? That's even tougher. Of course, I seem to recall similar talk when the Blue...... , posted on August 23, 2007 more
KC Blues: When I first read former Panthers coach Doug MacLean was part of the group buying the Tampa Lightning, my first thought was that the Bolts were out of Florida. George Richards says they're staying put, though. I was kind of...... , posted on August 08, 2007 more
Tkachuk Will Sign Somewhere: Wow. This Keith Tkachuk thing is more complicated than I thought. Atlanta, which traded Tkachuk's exclusive negotiating rights back to St. Louis is actually still in the Tkachuk hunt. By trading his rights back to the Blues, the Thrashers won't...... , posted on June 28, 2007 more
Bowman Not a Big Fan of the TPS Report: Did anyone else know the Leafs were talking to Scotty Bowman? That's kind of random. And what was the position? Higher than GM? I like how the Leafs have an organizational chart by M.C. Escher. Damien Cox wonders why anyone...... , posted on June 27, 2007 more
Guerin Doesn't Know the Way In San Jose: I haven't had much time to watch any Western Conference games but apparently Bill Guerin is pointless in San Jose (login info.). He's been playing with Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski, so it's not like he's stuck on a fourth...... , posted on March 13, 2007 more
You Can't Spell Good without Some D. And Some O. And the Other O. And Obviously, a G: I think I should have seen Keith Tkachuk to Atlanta coming (login info.). I haven't watched a ton of the Thrashers this season, but one interesting thing I noticed is that Bob Hartley likes to put his offensive wingers on...... , posted on February 26, 2007 more
Three Simple Rules: ESPN's Terry Frei wants a 'Doug Weight Rule' for the NHL. The rule would ban traded players who are becoming free agents from re-signing immediately with the team that traded the player. St. Louis traded Weight to Carolina last year...... , posted on February 23, 2007 more
PuckUpdateBuzz: Larry Brooks says the Rangers are going to make a go at New Jersey Devil Scott Gomez once he's a free agent next year. I've often thought about how the play-making Gomez would look on the Rangers' second line, playing...... , posted on January 04, 2007 more
NHL Mini Cup: Mark Everson had an interesting column today, suggesting the NHL create a mini in-season round-robin regional tournament to create interest in the NHL's often cosmetic regular season. The teams would only be playing for pride, but it would be a...... , posted on January 03, 2007 more
Out With the Kitchen (Sink): That was quick. As speculated, Blues coach Mike Kitchen is out and ex-LA Kings coach Andy Murray is in. Murray is an interesting choice. He's an up-tempo kind of coach and the Blues are very much a slow, old-school kind...... , posted on December 13, 2006 more
NHL Chopping Block: So is Blues coach Mike Kitchen the next NHL coach to go? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch seems to think so. I think the only reason Kitchen is still behind the bench is that the Blues didn't pounce on Ken Hitchcock...... , posted on December 11, 2006 more
Guerin Not the Boss: I'm really loving all of the hockey blogs newspapers are starting. They have way more dirt than the print editions. Maybe one day I'll get into that whole can of worms, but for now, enjoy this fantastic tidbit from Mike...... , posted on November 02, 2006 more
Quick Hits: The Fox glow puck comes to life! The Flyers realized they can get the same quality coaching and general managing with no one doing it (login info.). Jay McKee does a mean Carl Pavano impression....... , posted on October 23, 2006 more
If My Mom Coached in the NHL: I love athletes because they fixate on the oddest things. Take the St. Louis Blues. They're coming off an awful season, and if you look before that awful season, you see a team that's been under-achieving and coasting for quite...... , posted on September 18, 2006 more
The Weighting in the Hardest Part: Jarome Iginla dropped some weight over the summer, trying to get a little faster for the new NHL. I've long thought today's NHL players are way too big. But honestly, if I had to pick the one who uses his...... , posted on September 15, 2006 more
Putting the Blues in the Black: I've been a little curious about the Blues this summer. They were pretty active in terms of making moves, but a lot of the moves seemed to be gear more toward recapturing their successful-yet-Cupless past, rather than blowing things up...... , posted on September 01, 2006 more
He Also Used to Host Hollywood Squares: The Blues signed Martin Rucinsky yesterday. By the way, did you know Blues president John Davidson used to be a hockey announcer? I guess it's cool the Blues are getting a lot of attention because of Davidson, but I'm kind...... , posted on August 03, 2006 more
CuSa is Born; Stars Not Shooting: It's so interesting how no one wants Manny Legace. The Blues are being coy about their goalie needs, floating the idea that Curtis Sanford, or CuSa, as I've just named him, has enough to be a number one. That...... , posted on July 13, 2006 more
Does Flavor Kill Ratings?: Eric at OffWing made a great point about the dearly departed color guy John Davidson, now president of the St. Louis Blues: While Steve has nothing but praise for Davidson, I found most of his postseason work on NBC/OLN to...... , posted on July 05, 2006 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
Davidson Feeling Blues?: Oh man! Ranger/OLN announcer John Davidson might take over the St. Louis Blues? What's up with that? Is there a better color guy in hockey? Is it fair to do this to Ranger fans? Or hockey fans? I think the...... , posted on April 11, 2006 more
Basket-rink: I don' know. They do his at Madison Square Garden semi-frequently, but here's a cool timeline of turning an NHL rink into an NBA court (login info.) in Dallas. It's something you don't see every day. Also, the Blues are...... , posted on January 31, 2006 more
Franchises Moving?: The NHL is expected to fine LA Kings President Tim Leiweke for predicting the Penguins are going to move to Kansas City. I'm not cynical, but a lot of people were a bit surprised when the Penguins ended up with...... , posted on November 14, 2005 more
Carnival of the NHL #3: Welcome Carnival of the NHL #3. I'm Steve Ovadia. You might remember me from blogs like PuckUpdate and PopUpdate Daily. Today, I'll be your host as I take you around the hockey blogosphere, from its beautiful hair, to its seamy...... , posted on July 29, 2005 more
What Happened at the Zero Hour?: Wow. How about those rumors that Jarome Iginla, Jeremy Roenick, and Chris Pronger were working with the owners to get the players to accept a cap? How crazy is that? Of course, Iginla says it's not true. I wouldn't blame...... , posted on February 18, 2005 more
Hockey Danger: So as some rumors predicted, a couple of St. Louis Blues signed with the UHL's Missouri River Otters. Barret Jackman and Ryan Johnson are the newest Otters. I'm worried about these NHLers in the lower leagues, though. It seems like...... , posted on February 04, 2005 more
Minors Become Major: The Wings are pretty smart guys. In fact, I wonder if they can end the lockout. I'm sure you've heard about Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios from the Red Wings joining the UHL's Motor City Mecahnics. Kris Draper is rumored...... , posted on February 02, 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
Danton Sentenced; Memos Linked; Rhubarb Shines: So there actually was some NHL action this week. Former St. Louis Blue Mike Danton got seven and a half years for trying to kill his agent. Even the judge said he has no idea why Danton did it. And...... , posted on November 10, 2004 more
NHL Feels a Draft: What can you say about the NHL's draft weekend? It's basically legalized gambling. Teams spend all this time and energy going after unproven talent, when logic says you spend time and energy going after proven talent. But maybe I'm crazy....... , posted on June 28, 2004 more
Dinner with Danton: I haven't been following the Mike Danton murder-for-hire investigation, mostly because it's so sad and violent. The Globe and Mail had a really bizarre detail yesterday. Apparently Danton and David Frost, whom Danton is accused of plotting to kill, met...... , posted on June 02, 2004 more
Danton Arrested: Mike Danton has always fascinated me. One of the first things I ever wrote for PuckUpdate was about his changing his name from Mike Jefferson. Now Danton stands accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill an acquaintance. Danton...... , posted on April 19, 2004 more
Kitchen Cooking: This is old but interesting. Bernie Miklasz talks about new St. Louis Blues coach Mike Kitchen and how he basically kept everything the same as previous coach Joel Quenneville. The only difference is intensity. He's playing the same system but...... , posted on April 06, 2004 more
Western Horse Race: I love that the season is ticking down and that eighth seed in the West is still totally up for grabs. Right now, it's owned by Edmonton and Nashville. But the Kings and Blues are within two and one respectively....... , posted on March 23, 2004 more
Rules of Engagement: Here is an interesting article on fighting etiquette. Buffalo Sabre Alexei Zhitnik was boarded by St. Louis Bluesman Dallas Drake a few days ago (Zhitnik will miss the rest of the regular season). Drake then had to fight Sabre Adam...... , posted on March 17, 2004 more
Blues Not Ready for Golf: Is there a team more exciting than the St. Louis Blues? They will not miss the playoffs quietly. They are determined to keep their playoff streak alive. Last night, they beat the Islanders in overtime, picking up two critical points....... , posted on March 10, 2004 more
Pronger Piling On; Carter a King: Do you believe this? Chris Pronger wants to be dealt to the Senators. Does he feel they don't have enough good players in Ottawa? That's just piling on the other teams now. And seriously. St. Louis is still holding on...... , posted on March 09, 2004 more
Satan Splitting?: After all of last season's rumors that Miroslav Satan was out Buffalo's door and after Satan's struggles at the beginning of this season and after Satan's regaining his strong form, the trade rumors are back. Satan, long rumored to be...... , posted on March 05, 2004 more
Blue-Boos: The Blues can't catch a break. They're on the outside of the playoffs and they went down to Calgary 4-2. The Blues could be missing the playoffs for the first time in 24 years. I'd be pretty scared to lose...... , posted on March 03, 2004 more
Francis and Quenneville Fired: Wow. Everyone out west is getting fired. The Phoenix Coyotes fired Bob Francis. His assistant, Rick Bowness, will take over. I was kind of suprised. I thought Francis was pretty entrenched in Phoenix. I suspect he may have been a...... , posted on February 25, 2004 more
Losing Around the League: One thing about sports: some teams win, but the rest lose. I don't make the rules. I just write about the games. Here's what's going on with some struggling teams: * Over in Atlanta, they haven't won in ten games....... , posted on February 13, 2004 more
Whose Puck Is This Anyway?: Mike Danton is crazy. The Blues grinder was once a New Jersey Devil named Mike Jefferson. He never got along with Devils management and eventually he ended up in St. Louis. The Blues played the Devils Saturday (the Devils won...... , posted on February 02, 2004 more
Johnson Employable?: OK. Here's even more on goalie Brent Johnson, who I'm beginning to think I'm obsessed with. It seems three teams are interested in Johnson: the Blackhawks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the LA Kings. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the...... , posted on January 14, 2004 more
More on Johnson on Waivers: OK. I know I already mentioned goalie Brent Johnson getting placed on waivers, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has some sad details: "Hopefully, another team claims me off waivers and it's a fresh start for me. A different team, different...... , posted on January 13, 2004 more
Neil Finn: 'Oh Crap! Boucher's Streak is Over?': All great things must come to an end. Phoenix goalie Brian Boucher had a shut-out streak going for 332 minutes, 1 second. During that time, he made 146 saves. That averages out to around a save every two and a...... , posted on January 12, 2004 more
Any Given Sunday. Or Saturday. Or Friday: This is a cool article. St. Louis Blue Scott Mellanby talks about the parity of the NHL. He's right. There are very few teams that are easy wins. The bulk of the games are almost like crap shoots. As if...... , posted on December 03, 2003 more
Pleau Staying in St. Louis: Interesting. The Blues gave GM Larry Pleau a two-year contract extension. While Pleau is a strong GM, his team has never really come close to the Cup, so it's a weird move. He could be doing better, but he could...... , posted on November 05, 2003 more
MacInnis Fights for Sight: Geez. For someone who writes about hockey every day, I sure can miss big stories. I had no idea Blues defenseman Al MacInnis is fighting blindness. He had to have surgery on both eyes due to a recent stick injury...... , posted on October 29, 2003 more
Berard: 'Hire Me!': Defenseman Bryan Berard's agent is still trying to find him a team. Right now his agent is chasing ambulances. If your team loses a defensemen, you're probably going to get a call from Tom Laidlaw, Berard's agent. In fact, he...... , posted on October 21, 2003 more
Captain Al and the Danton: Wow. Chris Pronger said he doesn't want to be captain of the Blues. He's turning the "C" over to Al MacInnis. Pronger said he gave up being captain to concentrate on playing. I never understand when players talk about how...... , posted on September 17, 2003 more
Karma GM...Arrest This Man: Here's a very nice National Post column on Pavol Demitra's arbitration settlement as karma. Mark Spector talks about how the Blues made their own bed by paying so much to so many players. By exceeding those players' numbers, Demitra was...... , posted on August 07, 2003 more
Demitra's Good Meeting: Wow! St. Louis Blue Pavol Demitra got a $6.5 million arbitration payout. The Blues can walk away from that number, though, making Demitra an unrestricted free agent. This is so, so, so, hypothetical, and I'm sure the numbers don't work,...... , posted on August 05, 2003 more
The Food Court is Center Ice: Weird. The St. Louis Blues' new practice facility is going to be in a mall. Geez. I remember when it was a big deal if your mall had a Gap in it....... , posted on July 21, 2003 more
Identity Blues: Oh man. I can't believe I missed this story. Some guy is running around pretending to be Blues forward Keith Tkachuk (allegedly — innocent until proven guilty, so help me God). The guy also had ID saying he was Brian...... , posted on July 16, 2003 more
Danton Leaves New Jersey: I admit I've been more than a little fascinated by the Mike Danton saga in New Jersey. Danton is the forward that mouthed off to Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and ended up in hockey limbo. Danton wouldn't report to the...... , posted on June 23, 2003 more
The Price of Osgood: Did the Blues overpay for goalie Chris Osgood? Some people in St. Louis are saying the Blues did. Perhaps these people have forgotten how many goalies the Blues went through this season. As long as Osgood stays relatively healthy and...... , posted on June 18, 2003 more
St. Louis Signs Osgood: St. Louis signed goalie Chris Osgood to a one-year deal worth $3 million. Former number one goalie Brent Johnson will now be Osgood's back-up. Chris Osgood. Always just good enough for a team. No one is ever thrilled to sign...... , posted on June 12, 2003 more
Columbus Discovers Brathwaite: The Blue Jackets signed goalie Freddy Brathwaite to a one-year deal to be Marc Denis' back-up. This season, while the Blues, Brathwaite's old team, were hemorrhaging goalies, the only real constant in net was Brathwaite. The Blues paid back Brathwaite's...... , posted on June 02, 2003 more
Osgood Cures the Blues: Hindsight is 20/20 but it's looking like the Islanders should have held on to goalie Chris Osgood. Even at the risk of losing him with nothing in return when he became a free agent next season. While in the nets...... , posted on April 17, 2003 more
Canuck Blues: The Blues are playing the Canucks in the first round. Jeff Gordon (not the racecar driver — at least I don't think so) says that's a good thing. Why? Mostly because it means they're not playing the Avalanche first. Honestly,...... , posted on April 08, 2003 more
Pronger Returns; Fists Fly: Chris Pronger came back to the Blues. He even scored a goal. Of course, it didn't help much. St. Louis lost to Detroit 6-2. But if punches were goals, the score would have been 109-108, Detroit. I gave the decision...... , posted on March 31, 2003 more
Life in Hull: Brett Hull never stops, does he? What's the latest with Brett? Now he's saying he wouldn't mind going back to play with the Blues again. Hull previously spent 10 years with them. Now you have to ask yourself a couple...... , posted on March 25, 2003 more
Brathwaite Blues: Geez. This sucks. The St. Louis Blues gave goalie Freddy Brathwaite his walking papers yesterday. He was their backup goalie , but really stepped up as St. Louis cruised through 28 different goaltenders over the course of this season. But...... , posted on March 19, 2003 more
Tonight's Episode: Revenge Is a Dish Best Served On Ice: Geez. Canuck captain Markus Naslund better watch out. St. Louis is gunning for him. They're still pissed about the season-ending hit on their captain Keith Tkachuk, and they might be looking to go eye-for-eye, captain-for-captain. Especially since Brad May (didn't...... , posted on March 18, 2003 more
Quick Takes: Osgood Soars; Yashin's Friend: * St. Louis must be pretty happy with new goalie Chris Osgood. He got a shutout in his first game for them. Of course, the thing about Osgood is he'll be a rock for X amount of games and then...... , posted on March 17, 2003 more
St. Louis Seems Blue About Osgood: All everyone talks about is what an average goalie Chris Osgood is. About how he's not ready for primetime and never really has been. And yet he's won a Stanley Cup and continues to find work as a number one...... , posted on March 14, 2003 more
Somehow They Manage to Become Even Bluer Every Day: So obviously the Blues' goalie woes continue. But maybe you didn't know the Blues have always had goalie trouble. Jeff Gordon from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is nice enough to remind us all of St. Louis' goalie issues of the...... , posted on February 26, 2003 more
Blues: 'No Burke for Us!': So we all agree that St. Louis needs a goaltending upgrade, right? Well St. Louis doesn't agree. Not exactly, anyway. GM Larry Pleau says not to expect the goalie calvary — he's not bringing Phoenix's Sean Burke to the Blues....... , posted on February 24, 2003 more
Slave to the Grind: OK. So Phoenix's Zac Bierk has been kicking around the NHL (and IHL and ECHL) for a while. So it isn't anything new, but I still love the fact that his brother is Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. And I...... , posted on February 21, 2003 more
What Wood Al Use?: The Free Press says wooden sticks are out. Now all the kids love graphite. It turns just about everyone into a superstar. But not everyone loves composite sticks. Al MacInnis won the All-Star Game's hardest shot competition with a wooden...... , posted on February 21, 2003 more
Weight of the World: What's with St. Louis' Doug Weight? Does he have any good luck? Do the Blues have any kind of good luck? Just a couple of weeks after Weight hurt himself in the All-Star Game (that's right. In the All-Star Game),...... , posted on February 14, 2003 more
Too Many Meetings: Sorry! I've been really busy the past two days. Nothing too interesting. Just work, school, and some product training. Here's the abbreviated PuckUpdate for today: * Players like to bother Boston Bruin Joe Thornton. Wow. Huge news. I'm waiting for...... , posted on February 07, 2003 more
Weight Off St. Louis' Shoulders: Who gets hurt during the All-Star Game? Oh that's right. Doug Weight does. On the one hand, you have to admire his competitive fire. On the other hand, you have to wonder if he knew the All-Star Game doesn't really...... , posted on February 04, 2003 more
Singled Out: Everyone loves Czech players today. In St. Louis, they're crazy about Petr Cajanek and Martin Rucinsky. In Pittsburgh, they love Milan Kraft, Martin Straka and Michael Sivek, playing together on one line for everyone's convenience. It really creeps me out...... , posted on January 08, 2003 more
St. Louis: 'Does Everyone Have To Be So Healthy?': It seems like St. Louis goalie Brent Johnson just returned to the lineup (which he did, a week or so ago) and already he's shakey. He was pulled for the second time in two games. St. Louis really seemed to...... , posted on January 03, 2003 more
As Full Strength As St. Louis Gets: The Blues have been doing OK without a bunch of key players, but just for fun, a bunch are coming back. Keith Tkachuck is coming back from his family emergency and goalie Brent Johnson is getting called up from his...... , posted on December 10, 2002 more
Same Old St. Louis: This article is all about how the Blues will be an amazing team once Keith Tkachuk returns to the line-up and gets warmed up. I don't know. Isn't this the same St. Louis as last year? Only with more injuries?...... , posted on November 29, 2002 more
Tom Barrasso Grows Up: They say the problem with child prodigies is that they're not children forever. No one understands that better than new St. Louis goaltender Tom Barrasso. In the NHL as a teen, he's now just a 37-year-old man looking for a...... , posted on October 31, 2002 more
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