There’s a lot I don’t get about the Dany Heatley ransom demands.
Like why are the Oilers so hot for a player who so obviously doesn’t want to play for them? Are they only interested because they know he’ll demand a trade in another two seasons? Do they think they can change him?
And as the demand [...]

I love Joe Nieuwendyk taking over as GM in Dallas.
First of all, just the move to a single GM model is pretty huge for the Stars. That alone makes this a great move. But you also have to love Nieuwendyk’s pedigree. He’s a player who knows how to win. Not only did he win the [...]

So this year’s Stanley Cup finals will be a rematch of last year’s. The Blackhawks magical run through the post-season finally ended last night.
It’s interesting how close the Detroit-Chicago series actually was. Chicago had a decent chance to win games two and five. Another season or so of experience and the Blackhawks might have won [...]

What can you say about “Evgeni Malkin’s performance last night? There were stretches where he looked downright Ovechkin-esque, doing everything but playing goal. And shoving Sidney Crosby. He’ll get there, though.
I thought Malkin’s potential seemed to have plateaued, but after last night’s game, I’m curious just how much he’s capable of.
Over in the Western Conference, [...]

Over in Chicago, Dan McNeil is already writing the 2008-09 Blackhawks’ eulogy. I guess he doesn’t want to be seen as jumping on the bandwagon if they lose to Detroit.
Len Ziehm is a bit more optimistic, writing some ways the ‘Hawks might mount a comeback.
Also, speaking of Chicago, former Blackhawk goalie Glenn Hall isn’t a [...]

The Blackhawks are now down two games in the Western Conference finals, but they really look better each game, even though they’ve yet to notch a win.
Last night, Chicago lost on a brutal Brian Campbell turnover, but the Wings haven’t quite looked like themselves in the series. It’s never a great sign when Dan Cleary [...]

Ha! The Penguins are really selling the seven defenseman concept. Philippe Boucher, the Penguins seventh defenseman scored last night’s game-winning goal.
This is par for the course for the Hurricanes, though. They’ve lost game one of every playoff game this season.
Tonight is game two of Detroit-Chicago. The Blackhawks aren’t hitting the panic button yet, which is [...]

Greg Logan has a great post on Michael Farber taking Islanders GM Garth Snow to task for letting fans vote on who the Islanders should draft with the first overall pick.
First of all, I don’t think Snow is actually letting the fans decide. I look at it as more of a straw poll. But also, [...]

I love when people say hockey is a team sport and one person really never has the ability to dominate a game, unlike the NBA. If anyone says that, show them last night’s Caps-Pens game, where Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin each had a hat trick.
It’s funny to watch Washington play Pittsburgh so well considering [...]

How can you not be impressed by the poise and maturity of the Chicago Blackhawks?
Going into Calgary in game seven, you would think a young team like Chicago would collapse under the pressure and expectations. Instead, they went in and won the first round of the playoffs.
The Blackhawks were aided by Calgary playing without defenseman [...]