If there’s been a recurring theme to this off-season, it’s been players going home to play where they want to play. First, you have Brad Richards, the jewel of the free agent class, who’s allegedly looking to play at a destination he likes, as opposed to taking whoever offers the most money. Some rumors have [...]

One of the few nice things about a minor penalty, like a hooking call, is the duration is always a given. The hook could be a minor infraction or a bold water-skiing-like take down, and either way, the responsible party is always going to get two minutes. It’s simple, yet effective. There’s no judgement required. [...]

Larry Brooks says word on the street is that unrestricted-free-agent-to-be Brad Richards is looking for a hefty long-term contract. I don’t begrudge Richards taking a payday, but I do have a suggestion. Don’t go for a cap-busting contract. Instead, consider a long-term, cap-friendly deal that will see him make decent money, but will also allow [...]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an interesting look at how the economy played a part in the Thrashers probably leaving Atlanta for Winnipeg. Obviously, a team deciding to relocate is complex and there are going to be multiple variables, but reporter Mike Tierney spoke to some Atlanta fans who can no longer afford to go to [...]

Some days, Tampa Lightning coach Guy Boucher’s psychology background is practically visible. Yesterday was one of those days. Down three games to two and facing elimination, Boucher has named Dwayne Roloson as his starting goalie for game six. Roloson struggled in game four and was replaced by Mike Smith in game five. Smith was very [...]

Jacques Lemaire, the Devils most recent coach, insists he is going to stay retired. This time. You might recall Lemaire came out of retirement to coach the Devils after John MacLean’s disastrous tenure as a rookie NHL head coach. There has been rumbling about Lemaire possibly coming back because of the tremendous job he did [...]

In his Sunday notes column, Kevin Paul Dupont let himself wonder what life would be like for the Bruins had the Joe Thornton who’s currently playing in San Jose been the same Joe Thornton who played in Boston. Dupont acknowledges that Thornton has taken a while to blossom and that the coaching situations in Boston [...]

The timing of the announcement of a proposed new arena for the Islanders is unfortunate, coming right on the heels of the City of Glendale needing to kick in another $25 million to keep the Coyotes. Glendale has little choice, though. While the Coyotes are bleeding money, the city needs the team to occupy Jobing.com [...]

It looks like Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau’s job is safe. At least until next season starts. But Boudreau is going to have a tough job next year. There are basically two theories floating around about how the Capitals were swept by the Lightning: The Capitals were outplayed. The Capitals were outcoached. Tarik El-Bashir says [...]

With the Washington Capitals down two games to none in their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I have a suggestion for the Caps: don’t chase the Lightning in the defensive zone. For all of the talk about how system-oriented and defensive Tampa coach Guy Boucher’s 1-3-1 system is, once the Lightning enters the offensive [...]