Growing Pains: The Aftermath of Cody Hodgson
Character. It was supposed to be the centerpiece of Mike Gillis’ tenure in Vancouver. It’s what deterred Gillis from selecting the talented, but unpredictable, Kyle Beach with the 10th pick at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. It’s what led him to an 18-year-old playmaker named Cody Hodgson. If Gillis intended to build an organization [...]
Are the 2012 Kings the Best 8-Seed Ever?
While the conference finals of the NHL post-season cannot get under way until the conclusion of Game 7 between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, the Western Conference Final opponents have been decided for two days as the Los Angeles Kings will enter the desert of Arizona to take on [...]
“Russian Problem” Analysis Surrounding Radulov & Kostitsyn Falls Flat
Regardless of whether they return to the lineup in Game 5 or ever this season, the Russian Left Winger Alexander Radulov and the Belarussian Left Winger Andrei Kostitsyn have cemented the decline of the NHL’s Russian contingent into obscurity. Or at least that’s the thesis being pushed by some of the hockey media’s most serious [...]
TML Captains: Bob Davidson 1943-45
TML Captains is a series that profiles the men who ‘wore the C’ for one of the NHL’s charter franchises. Previously featured were Hap Day, Charlie Conacher, Red Horner and Syl Apps. All profiles can be found here. “Rugged” Robert Earl Davidson #9, 10, 12 Left Wing b: 10 Feb 1912, Toronto, ON d: 26 Sep [...]
Steve Rucchin: The Middle Man
The title “middle man” is rarely, if ever, viewed as a desirable one. Fancier monikers utilized might be “broker” or “intermediary”, but really, that’s simply sugar-coating the fact that the “middle man” is a go-between. Generally, it conjures up images of being slightly talented enough to ascend from the bottom rung, but not capable enough [...]
Top 10 Goal Scorers in Montreal Arena History
Montreal was one of the founders of the National Hockey League in 1917. There were in fact two teams in the city in that first year, the Wanderers and the Canadiens. Both had also played in the National Hockey Association. The Wanderers did not finish the season, leaving the Canadiens as Montreal’s only team until [...]
Roy “Gus” Giesebrecht, don’t forget the Last Detroit Red Wing
The 1942 Stanley Cup Final between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings was the first Cup Final in NHL history to go to a seventh and deciding game. After losing the first three games, the Maple Leafs won the next four to win the series 4–3, a feat that has never been [...]
The Statistical Horror of the Presidents’ Trophy
With the relatively brief 5-game dismissal of the 2011-2012 Vancouver Canucks by the Los Angeles Kings this past Sunday, an interesting trend in the post-lockout NHL has continued. Vancouver became the third regular season champion ousted in the first round of the playoffs in the last four years. Of the seven Presidents’ Trophy winners during [...]
The President’s Trophy of Doom? – feast, famine and the NHL’s best teams
It has often been said by hockey fans and pundits alike that the regular season does not really matter. While not entirely true, the 82 games prior to the Stanley Cup Playoffs determine who qualifies and their seeding. That seems to be it. While winning a division or the President’s Trophy as the league’s best [...]
DVD Review: Lord Stanley’s Cup
Earlier last week, THW’s founder, Bruce Hollingdrake, posted an article that detailed the history of the Stanley Cup. After viewing the article, I was compelled to watch a DVD that I had purchased back in 2004. The DVD was entitled, “Lord Stanley’s Cup”, and I remember that this specific DVD had instant appeal to me, [...]
Florida Panthers and the History of the Rats
With the Florida Panthers finally back in the NHL playoffs, a new generation of fans is finally getting to experience one of the best traditions in hockey. For older Panthers fans, the return of the rats to South Florida is a sight for sore eyes and leads them to fondly remember the Panthers magical run [...]
Top 10 goal scorers in Ottawa
My series on the top ten goal scorers in every NHL arena continues with the Ottawa Senators. Although the current Ottawa team was established only in 1992, Ottawa was one of the founding members of the National Hockey League in 1917. The original Senators played in the National Hockey Association, and in several other leagues [...]
TML Captains: Syl Apps 1940-43, 1945-48
TML Captains is a series that profiles the men who ‘wore the C’ for one of the NHL’s charter franchises. Previously featured were Bert Corbeau, Hap Day, Charlie Conacher and Red Horner. Charles Joseph Sylvanus ‘Slippery Syl’ Apps, CM #10, 16 Centre b: 18 Jan 1915 Paris, ON d: 24 Dec 1998 Kingston, ON Toronto [...]
Is Martin Brodeur the Mariano Rivera of Hockey?
Martin Brodeur is arguably one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) goalies to ever play the game of hockey. On the other hand, Mariano Rivera has been widely considered by many to be the greatest closer that the game of baseball has ever had. While comparing hockey to baseball can be like comparing apples [...]
Letter to Jets Fans Past and Present
Dear Winnipeg Jet fans: I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, just some of you. You know who you are. The Phoenix Coyotes are not the Winnipeg Jets. They never have been. Yes, I know the Jets left our fair city and headed to the desert 16 years ago, but they ceased to be the [...]
May 13, 2012Read More