I enjoy checking in on players immediately after they were traded. It’s like watching someone at their first day of work:

Mark Recchi hit the ground running in Boston. It helps that after he was traded to Carolina, they won the Cup. Shockingly, he spent some time in last night’s loss to Phoenix bouncing around the [...]

I think this is the saddest thing I’ve read in a while (actually, this is, but stay with me).
Steve Stamkos’s weekly diary is about how he’s started collecting sticks and pucks. It concludes with this sad note:
I asked for [Alex] Ovechkin’s at the All-Star event but I didn’t get a chance to get it. Hopefully [...]

The thing I love most about NHL coaching is that in a lot of ways, it’s really more about persona and performance than Xs and Os. You can have no understanding of hockey and still motivate your players, probably relying on your assistant coaches to handle the tactical issues, and you can probably have a [...]

This weekend the Times had an interesting look at how many older players are thriving in the NHL.
The article says that conventional wisdom holds teams will build around young talent under a salary cap, but I think it’s quite the opposite. Teams can’t afford young talent, unless it’s home-grown, so a cheap way to build [...]

I haven’t written much about Brendan Shanahan joining the Devils but seeing as how he’s expected to suit-up in Nashville tonight, it seems like a good time.
Devils coach Brent Sutter hasn’t announced who Shanahan will replace in the line-up, but it seems to be down to fourth-liners Jay Pandolfo and Mike Rupp.
Pandolfo used to be [...]

The youth movement is going well in Columbus, with lots of rookies stepping up to help the team.
Columbus isn’t a powerhouse, but they’re right on the playoff bubble. And people are noticing the team has something going on; attendance and TV ratings are up for the team.
The Blue Jackets have always relied on young players, [...]

Are Senators coach Craig Hartsburg and GM Bryan Murray both out in Ottawa?
Maybe.
Le Journal de Montreal reported they’ll be replaced by Hockey Canada’s Bob Nicholson (as new GM) and Pat Quinn (as coach).
Eugene Melnyk, the owner of the Senators, says no decision has been made.
Quinn has got to be close to an NHL return. Any [...]

I’m sorry but I think Mats Sundin is a little crazy. This week he was in New York, huddling with the Rangers, making it seem like his signing was inevitable.
And then, of course, he signed with the Canucks.
In New York, the beat writers seem to believe the X factor was a dollar sign. Larry Brooks [...]

While I applaud Columbus’ ingenuity in allowing fans to pay for tickets in installments, what does it say that you need an installment plan to have a few days or nights out at a hockey game? The Blue Jackets play in Ohio, a severely depressed state. The fans are there, but they’re not going to [...]

I feel like we’ll be doing the post-mortem on Barry Melrose’s coaching tenure in Tampa for years to come. Eventually, I suspect a dissertation or thesis will be written on the topic. Or at least a song. Erik Erlendsson seems pretty sure Melrose wasn’t “fired” by superstar Lecavalier, saying it was more Melrose who got [...]