PuckUpdate .: The Hockey Blog
The Great Wrong Buffalo: As I mentioned yesterday, it can be tough for certain teams to draw free agents. Add Buffalo to the list of teams that players avoid, as Bucky Gleason pointed out yesterday. Buffalo is close to Canada, which should make it...... , posted on July 08, 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
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
Capitals: 'Can Someone Sign Green for Us? We're Swamped': Yesterday, I mentioned the Caps are low-balling restricted free agent defenseman Mike Green. Today, Tarik El-Bashir reports the Caps will match any offer sheets Green gets. In other words, the Caps are going to let another team negotiate an inflated...... , posted on June 17, 2008 more
Blur (to the tune of "Song 2"): 'Round Two!': Here are some quick notes: Franchise goalie turned bench decoration Olie Kolzig is still pretty pissed at the Caps. Also, coach Bruce Boudreau signed some kind of contract extension. Kolzig would be a great coach. I don't see him joining...... , posted on April 24, 2008 more
Roenick Rises: When aging NHL superstars sign with teams in nice climates, I tend to think they're career is pretty much over. Look at Brett Hull in Phoenix. Look at Jeremy Roenick in Phoenix. Of course, Roenick decided his career wasn't over...... , posted on April 23, 2008 more
Thornton Steps Up: The book on Joe Thornton, to a certain extent, has always been that he's not a leader. That he's not a big game guy. There was never any denying his talent, but there were always rumblings about his impact in...... , posted on April 16, 2008 more
Playoff Shockers!: I don't know who was more shocked by Nashville's comeback win over the Wings -- me or Detroit? Nashville scored twice in nine seconds in the third to beat the Wings 5-3. Do you want an interesting tidbit? Detroit goalie...... , posted on April 15, 2008 more
Everybody Loves Thornton: David Pollak has a great item on his Sharks blog: Before the Bruins donated Joe Thornton to San Jose, they felt out the Panthers to see if they were interested. Then-Florida GM Mike Keenan was interested but ownership wasn't. You...... , posted on April 11, 2008 more
When I Say Freeze, You Just Freeze One Time...: So after last night's games, it looks like the Western Conference playoff picture is all set. I'm most excited about the Calgary-San Jose match-up, which pits two great, uptempo, puckmoving teams against one another. I'm thinking that series is really...... , posted on April 04, 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
CuJo Strikes Again: Curtis Joseph is back in the NHL, backing up Miikka Kiprusoff in Calgary. You have to admit it would be pretty funny if Dominik Hasek announced he was going to join the Flames, too. In my head CuJo is forever...... , posted on January 18, 2008 more
Iginla is 30?: Wow. Jarome Iginla, my favorite NHL player, is 30. I don't really care that much about balanced vs. unbalanced schedules except for it meaning more people will get to see Iginla and the Flames, a great team to watch, at...... , posted on September 19, 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
Watch Your Back, Darryl: I know I'm late on this, but I'm shocked Mike Keenan is going to Calgary. I'm not shocked previous coach Jim Playfair got the quick hook. After Calgary's first round exit, it seemed that fans wanted Playfair to pay the...... , posted on June 15, 2007 more
Thornton Trade Still Looking Awful: The most interesting part of Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau going to Calgary for Andrew Ference and Chuck Kobasew? Stuart and Primeau were both part of what San Jose sent over for Joe Thornton, making that deal look even worse...... , posted on February 12, 2007 more
Iginla: 'I Feel Centered': You really don't have to believe me, but Saturday night, watching LA at Edmonton, I was thinking what a great player Craig Conroy is, and how amazing Calgary would be if he was still there. It wasn't a deliberate thought....... , posted on January 30, 2007 more
No Fury for Fleury, I Hope: Life can be very funny. Yesterday, I was looking for a Marc-Andre Fleury bobblehead on eBay (I'm still in a holding pattern on that, FYI). I caught the word Fleury in the search bar and I was suddenly thinking 'I...... , posted on December 13, 2006 more
Tanguay Represses: OK. I was fairly shocked to learn Alex Tanguay is mad the Avs didn't re-sign him. Why is he just talking about it now? It seems so random. Why didn't he say anything when he was traded? I apologize if...... , posted on November 30, 2006 more
Bad Backs, Bad Schedules: Todd Bertuzzi is having back surgery, meaning he'll be out for at least two months. I'm guessing Jacques Martin is going to check into migraine surgery. Also, Al Strachan hears the NHL is going to reduce the number of divisional...... , posted on November 03, 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
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
Hot Flames! Seriously: So I don't really know the deal exctly, but apparently women in Calgary like to be scantily clad to show their love for the Flames? Back in 2004, women were flashing their breasts to show their support for the Flames....... , posted on April 24, 2006 more
New Year, New News, Good Times: There are a lot of great hockey tidbits floating around out there, this weekend. Larry Brooks reports that the CBA has a provision that allows incentives to come off of the cap, once they can no longer be met (login...... , posted on January 02, 2006 more
Cam Muscles: It's funny how people are using Cam Neely's Hockey Hall of Fame induction to point out how a tough guy like Neely would never make it in the current NHL. I think it's because so much of the NHL braintrust...... , posted on November 08, 2005 more
Slide, Baby, Slide: Larry Brooks, as is his way, weighs in on the state of the NHL (login info.). He talks about the lack of fighting and checking and intimidation in the game. But I'm guessing he filed before Calgary's 1-0 win over...... , posted on November 07, 2005 more
The Battle of Insomnia: How great was Edmonton-Calgary Saturday night? You've got to love the Battle of Alberta. And there are seven to go. Calgary won 3-0, but it was still a great game. Especially Jarome Iginla's beautiful goal, where he was able to...... , posted on October 17, 2005 more
ESPN: 'Wait. The NHL Has Teams Besides the Wings, Avs, Blues, Penguins, and Rangers? Are You Sure?': I missed this last week, but Mike Penner of the LA Times had a column suggesting it's best for the NHL and for ESPN if the two continue to work together (login info.). I think the NHL needs ESPN a...... , posted on August 15, 2005 more
Tip of the Cap: Things are picking up a bit in terms of signings. The Thrashers signed center Bobby Holik to a three year/$12.75 million deal (login info.). According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Devils offered Holik the same money, but he saw Atlanta...... , posted on August 03, 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
Kipper Pissed-a?: I already mentioned that Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff got a huge raise in arbitration. I must have missed that the Flames tried to destroy him in the process. The Calgary Sun reported that the Flames tried to establish Kiprusoff as...... , posted on August 25, 2004 more
World Cup: US Needs a Starter and Canada Gets the Point: I'm finally starting to get psyched for the World Cup. Team USA's coach Ron Wilson isn't naming a starting goalie. His options are Flyer Robert Esche, Oiler Ty Conklin, and Islander Rick DiPietro. All three are young and unproven. Esche...... , posted on August 24, 2004 more
PuckUpdate: 'Careful Iggy!': You know Jarome Iginla is a special guy when you find yourself worrying about his financial future. He decided not to go to arbitration and is defending Calgary's efforts to re-sign him, predicting he'll be playing in Calgary when the...... , posted on August 12, 2004 more
Someone Finally Leaves Calgary: Roman Turek stayed in Calgary. Chris Simon stayed in Calgary. Craig Conroy? Not so much. He's now an LA King. You hear Conroy is out the door and you have to wonder two things: will Jarome Iginla stay if Conroy...... , posted on July 07, 2004 more
Simon Stays a Flame, Too: There must be something about Calgary. First Roman Turek stayed for less money. Now Chris Simon is saying he stayed for less money. The Calgary Sun says Simon had better offers from Ottawa, Chicago, and the Islanders, but he wanted...... , posted on July 06, 2004 more
Turek's Selfless Save: I'm pretty sure I've never written anything nice about Calgary goalie Roman Turek. That's about to change. Turek restructured his contract to save the Flames some salary for this season. The new contract is more bonus-driven. It also includes a...... , posted on July 02, 2004 more
Cup Sleepy: The Stanley Cup finals were dull. There. I said it. Except for the last 10 minutes of game seven, when Calgary was trying to tie it, and the Vinny Lecavalier-Jarome Iginla fight, it wasn't one of my favorite finals. Both...... , posted on June 11, 2004 more
Andreychuck Cautiously Happy: Do I even need to say that Tampa won the Stanley Cup? Well just in case, I will. Tampa won the Stanley Cup. Or, conversely, if your Cup is half empty, Calgary lost the Cup. It was a pretty dull...... , posted on June 08, 2004 more
Fraser's Back: Referee Kerry Fraser, bounced from calling game six of the Stanley Cup finals by the NHL, will work game seven. Fraser caused some controversy in game four when he gave Tampa a two-man powerplay early in the first. While conventional...... , posted on June 07, 2004 more
Flame Pressure: How much of this year's Stanley Cup finals has been played off the ice? Calgary coach Darryl Sutter talking about anti-Canadian conspiracies. And Tampa coach John Tortorella talking about how tough it would be for Calgary to win on home...... , posted on June 07, 2004 more
Fraser Layoff?: Wow. The NHL is actually thinking about not letting Kerry Fraser work Saturday's game six. Fraser was last seen reffing game four, where he enforced the rules rather aggressively. In fact, the whole series has been called kind of intensely....... , posted on June 03, 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
Got Tongue?: So you're going to a Stanley Cup finals game. You're excited. You're pumped. You're psyched. What are you going to bring with you? Snacks. Of course. Who can afford to eat in any kind of arena. A flask. Sure. You...... , posted on June 02, 2004 more
Flames Need to Keep Tampa Cool: Wow. If we could somehow get the Calgary Flames from Tuesday night playing the Tampa Lightning from last night, we'd have quite a game. The Lightning beat the Flames 4-1 in game two. The game was a lot closer than...... , posted on May 28, 2004 more
Flames Have Fun: There are a few reasons you can say Calgary toppled Tampa Bay 4-1 in game one of the Finals, last night. Calgary had a slightly hotter goalie. Tampa didn't get the bounces. Tampa's defense was sloppy, as it's been so...... , posted on May 26, 2004 more
Iginla Doll Not Entirely Life-like: Here's an interesting item from Dave Molinari at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: McFarlane Toys, who make a ton of those sports figurines (or dolls, if you want to be brutally honest, really), made the Jarome Iginla doll white (Iginla is biracial)....... , posted on May 24, 2004 more
Flames Rest and Rock: It's the eternal playoff question across most sports: is rest helpful or harmful? The Calgary Flames, off since last Thursday, are hoping it's helpful while realizing they've gotten a little a rusty in the past few days. I would think...... , posted on May 24, 2004 more
Flames Clinch with Class: The best part of Calgary's 3-1 win over the Flames last night? Calgary coach Darryl Sutter, the former Shark coach, waiting to shake hands with every San Jose player before they left the ice (l:pain@registeringsucks.com; p:painful). This wasn't a great...... , posted on May 20, 2004 more
Flames Fine Far From Home: Sharks coach Ron Wilson says he saw last night's 3-0 loss to Calgary coming. I'm not sure what that says about him as a coach. It might have helped his team if he had warned them they were going to...... , posted on May 18, 2004 more
Turek is Never a Good Sign: You know it's pretty bad when you're a goalie and you're pulled for Roman Turek. That's what happened to Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff Sunday in the Flames' 4-2 loss to the Sharks. Kiprusoff looked positively sick in goal. But in a...... , posted on May 17, 2004 more
Red Beard Rides Again: Am I imagining things, or does everyone on a successful Calgary team look the same? Behold. Exhibit A is Lanny McDonald, the captain of the 1989 Cup-winning Calgary team. He looks something like this. Now let's fast-forward to now. This...... , posted on May 14, 2004 more
Rock and Roll Rests For Nothing...Not Even the Playoffs: So the Flames go up 2 games to none on the Sharks, right? All of Calgary must be stopped dead in its tracks, right? Fullblown Flame Fever? Yeah. Except at the Saddledome, where the Flames won't be playing Saturday. The...... , posted on May 12, 2004 more
Hockey in the Sky and in Harlem: Oh man! Honeymoons are nice, but sometimes they don't have TV where you're staying. Trust me on this one. Actually, there was a TV and a Flyer fan on the island we stayed so I was able to keep tabs...... , posted on May 11, 2004 more
Flames Fire Detroit in Game One: What can you say about the Flames? Game one against the Wings wasn't pretty but it sure was admirable. Outshot and outmanned, all Calgary did was hang on for 60 minutes, holding Detroit at bay. And of course, once you're...... , posted on April 23, 2004 more
Simon Says: 'I'm Suspended!': Oh man. Chris Simon, the human penalty magnet, picked up a two-day suspension for kneeing Sergei Zubov. I didn't see the hit, and obviously Simon says it was clean, but Simon is just perceived as a mean player. It really...... , posted on March 24, 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
Flames Flame On and On: Honestly, I haven't been following the Flames horribly closely this season. But am I the only one who doesn't think it's a coincidence that they're playing their best hockey in years while goalie Roman Turek is off healing? The Flames...... , posted on December 30, 2003 more
Sutter: 'We're Just Like San Jose...Without the Money': The San Jose Mercury News has kind of a funny story about how Calgary coach/GM Darryl Sutter is trying to build the Flames the same way former Shark GM Dean Lombardi built San Jose. Basically, that involved cultivating a lot...... , posted on December 04, 2003 more
Flames Look Outside: So is it any surprise that other NHL teams are looking into outdoor games? Edmonton drew a crowd of over 56,000. It's like almost four games in one day. The outdoor games, while pure torture for the players, I'm sure,...... , posted on November 24, 2003 more
From Flame to Leaf: When the Leafs took on the Flames, it was more than just two Canadian teams facing off. It was Calgary's past meeting its present as both Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts skated against their former team. Not much else to...... , posted on November 20, 2003 more
Backups Rise Up: Are there a lot of injured goalies this season or is it me? And the backups are doing amazingly. Over in Calgary, Jamie McLennan is way better than the injured Roman Turek. Plus, now the Flames have goalie Miikka Kiprusoff....... , posted on November 19, 2003 more
Turek Out For a Bit: It looks like goalie Roman Turek will be out six to eight weeks with his sprained knee. Backup Jamie McLennan has been pretty sharp, though. Especially considering the defense (and offense) he has playing in front of him. I don't...... , posted on November 06, 2003 more
McLennan Shines: Geez. What do they pay backup goalies anyway? Calgary backup Jamie McLennan owns part of an ECHL team. McLennan's been filling in for injured starter Roman Turek, though, and he's been looking pretty sharp. Maybe even sharp enough to replace...... , posted on November 04, 2003 more
Captain Iggy: It's very cool that Jarome Iginla is now captain of the Flames. And it's even cooler he's the first black NHL captain. But am I the only worried that it's too much responsibility for the fragile Iginla? He puts everything...... , posted on October 10, 2003 more
Flames Focus on Little Problems First: This cracks me up. The Flames are using the pre-season to audition back-up goalies for starter Roman Turek. Coach/GM Darryl Sutter told the Calgary Sun, "I have an issue with who our backup goaltender is going to be." Nice! No...... , posted on September 24, 2003 more
Flame On!: Jarome Iginla is talking trash, baby! Not really, but kind of. He's saying the Flames will make the playoffs this season. They probably won't — they don't really have any goaltending or a second line — but it's cool that...... , posted on July 11, 2003 more
Reinprech't Big Adventure: Wow. Poor Steve Reinprecht. The Colorado forward was a part of the Chris Dury deal, going from Colorado to Buffalo to Calgary. I always feel awful for players who are traded like that. At least it wasn't the regular season,...... , posted on July 09, 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
It Takes a Village to Lose a Series: Roman Cechmanek finally imploded for good and I'm a little bit surprised. I mean, I knew this would happen eventually, but I always pictured it in game seven. Ottawa beat Philadelphia 5-2 Monday night. Now they get to play New...... , posted on May 06, 2003 more
Button Fired: Craig Button was fired as Calgary GM. The obvious question is 'What took so long?' Of course, this is the same team that took almost half a season to hire a coach, so it's obvious speed isn't an issue in...... , posted on April 14, 2003 more
Score Four: Everyone is scoring four goals lately. New York Islander Alexei Yashin did it last week against Chicago. Blue Jacketeer Geoff Sanderson did it Saturday night against Calgary (yet another notch in Calgary goalie Roman Turek's belt). And Patrik Elias did...... , posted on March 31, 2003 more
Homecoming Curse: OK. I'm calling it "The Curse of the Homecoming." Dean McAmmond gets traded back to Calgary and the league tells him he can't play due to some Collective Bargaining Agreement violations. Brad May comes back to Vancouver from Phoenix, and...... , posted on March 17, 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
Keep Iginla: Calgary shouldn't trade Jarome Iginla. Sure he's expensive, but it's because he's worth it. He's one of the NHL's current greats. Just because it looks like last season's 52 goals were a fluke, doesn't mean he's a bad player. There's...... , posted on March 07, 2003 more
Iginla Rumors Still Floating: I have no idea how serious either side is, but people keep writing about Jarome Iginla to the Rangers. Bob Francis from the Calgary Sun is the latest to weigh in. He doesn't really have anything new. Calgary would be...... , posted on February 20, 2003 more
Drury Rescued?: I hope Chris Drury remembers what it feels like to win. Oh well. Even if the Calgary-by-way-of-Colorado forward has forgotten, maybe he'll get to remember. The New Jersey Devils are supposedly interested in him. Calgary might want Scott Gomez, which...... , posted on February 18, 2003 more
Who's Next? Gordie Howe?: Can this even be true? The New York Times is reporting that the Rangers are now gunning for Calgary's Jarome Iginla. The Rangers would probably put up Jamie Lundmark or Radek Dvorak. Lundmark is a great young player the Rangers...... , posted on February 14, 2003 more
Calgary Heart Dad: Like a lot of people, I wondered how Calgary managed to beat Detroit 4-1 last week. Now I know. They were dad-powered. The Calgary Flames (really, assistant captain Bob Boughner) organized a road trip for their dads. The dads tagged...... , posted on January 30, 2003 more
Calgary Smiles: I know everyone knows Calgary won their first game under Darryl Sutter. I just love how happy all of Calgary is. Like in this headline from the Calgary Sun: "Darryl For Mayor!" And this front page: "That's More Like It!"...... , posted on December 31, 2002 more
Calgary: 'Did We Save the Sutter Stationery?': Calgary finally picked a coach. And it only took 25 days. Darryl Sutter, fired just this season by the San Jose Sharks, will take over for the Flames. Interestingly his brother Brian coached the Flames from 1997 to 2000. Darryl...... , posted on December 30, 2002 more
Begin to Play Begin, Calgary: Whoever ends up coaching Calgary (will it be Ted Nolan? It won't be Red Wing assistant coach Barry Smith) will have to figure out what to do with Steve Begin. He's all nervous energy on the ice, but it seems...... , posted on December 18, 2002 more
I Heart Calgary: It's so interesting to see the difference between the New York media and the rest of the world. In New York, when a player (usually a Ranger) doesn't perform, the press just crucifies him. This upsets the player and makes...... , posted on December 11, 2002 more
Just Wondering...: Do you think it was hard for Scotty Bowman not to laugh when Calgary asked him to coach for them? Why didn't Calgary just ask him to play for them? Who would go from winning the Stanley Cup with the...... , posted on December 11, 2002 more
Flame On: I hesitate to write about Calgary. It's just a mess over there. Jarome Iginla is slumping and Greg Gilbert is out as coach. And through it all, Calgary still beat Colorado last night. I feel bad for Iginla. It's very...... , posted on December 04, 2002 more
Pay For Our Failure Please: Over in Calgary, the Flames, who haven't made the playoffs in six years, are blaming the fans for not wanting to pay to watch a subpar team regularly. Season ticket sales are down. The Flames need to sell 600 more...... , posted on November 01, 2002 more
Chris Drury for Derek Morris: The Colorado Avalanche traded Chris Drury (and Stephen Yelle) to the Calgary Flames for star defenseman Derek Morris (and Dean McAmmond and Jeff Shantz). Colorado usually trades for an elite defensemen right at the trade deadline, but I guess they...... , posted on October 02, 2002 more
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