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 [...]
Photo by Anna Enriquez Earlier this season, both the New York Rangers and the Dallas Stars drew accolades for their physical play. Neither team was very deep and neither played with much finesse, but both teams could grind an opponent down. But is that kind of play sustainable over the course of an 82-game season? [...]
Photo by Anna Enriquez Tim Cowlishaw observes something I just recently noticed: Despite being a team that’s relatively similar to last season’s, the Dallas Stars are playing much better this year. Cowlishaw has some interesting theories on why that’s happening. He suggests: Dallas’ goaltending is a bit more consistent this year, which certainly helps things [...]
Photo by verndogs So it seems like Jamie Langenbrunner is getting a pardon from the governor and will soon be traded away from the New Jersey Devils. It looks like the Flyers are the most probable destination, given that Langenbrunner has been asked to waive his no-trade clause and he probably doesn’t want to move [...]
Not to be a jerk, but I’m just not too excited about this year’s Winter Classic. I’m a bit excited in that it’s the NHL’s time to shine in American sports, assuming the game actually gets played. The thing about the Winter Classic, though, is that while it has pomp and circumstance and gravitas and [...]
Mike Heika makes the interesting case that the NHL has pretty much attained parity. Maybe not true parity, but less and less difference in the talent level of teams. To the extent that Heika says coaching and team effort is what wins games for a lot of NHL teams. James Gordon has a similar thought, [...]
I’m curious to watch the Stars next season. Historically, they’ve been a team of names. Mike Modano. Marty Turco. Sergei Zubov. Brett Hull, back in the day. The recent history of the Stars has always been big NHL players. Now, this season, they’re going in a different direction, choosing youth and potential over names and [...]
It’s tough being an older guy in the NHL. Or not in the NHL. Owen Nolan, 38, is still waiting for a team to make him an offer. Bill Guerin, almost 40, is skating with the Flyers, although the Flyers aren’t interested in him. Jonathan Cheechoo, only 30, will report to Stars’ training camp on [...]
One thing that’s a bit frustrating about the NHL is that a lot of weight is attached to well-known names. It seems that a lot of GMs look at names rather than stats before they make a move. How else to explain all of the interest in Mike Modano, he of the 14 goals and [...]
The Mike Modano semi-retirement story keeps getting stranger. As you may recall, first Modano announced this would be his last season. But then, as he reconsidered that, the Stars announced they weren’t re-signing Modano. Yesterday, Modano held a press conference to discuss his disappointment in the Stars’ lack of interest in re-signing him. People in [...]
