Coronation Crashers? Phoenix’s Last Chance to Stop L.A.
Only one big question mark remains for the Phoenix Coyotes in these playoffs. Do they make good on their last, best shot at redemption at the Staples Center tomorrow night? For Phoenix, Game 2 was Game 7 Overtime. They had a chance to continue their good work, make this a normal, hard fought series, and [...]
The 5 Worst Chicago Blackhawks Trades
It is always easy to determine the winner and loser of a trade long after the fact. The Chicago Blackhawks have made some awful trades that looked like mistakes the very moment they made them. Here are the five worst trades in franchise history.
Bruce Boudreau Extension Stabilizes Anaheim Ducks
The game of hockey, much like life, is in a constant state of flux. It moves along with rapidity rarely rivaled in sports, and as such, a stabilizing force is paramount for success with regards to those who engage in it. For the Anaheim Ducks, Bruce Boudreau has become their stabilizing force. After signing a [...]
Trophy Talk: Revisiting the Conn Smythe Favorites
We have reached the halfway point of the NHL playoffs and there are some very clear Conn Smythe candidates separating themselves from the pack. Many of the opening round contenders have continued on strong through the second round, but not everyone survived the cut. Before identifying the top playoff performers heading into the Conference Finals, [...]
Conference Finals: Four Players To Root For
At this point, the odds are that your team is finished. Your favorite player is out golfing (or going on drunken adventures), and only four teams remain in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Between the Coyotes, Kings, Devils, Rangers, it may be tough to find reason to cheer for one over another. Here are four players [...]
Sharks Lose Big, Raise Ticket Prices
Now I know this is a little behind, but it’s still a pretty hot topic with fans, and the heartbreak suffered from the playoffs this past season is still there. Even after dropping the quarter finals to the St. Louis Blues, the San Jose Sharks are finding yet more ways to disappoint their fans. According [...]
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 [...]
Dispatches from Planet Hockey: Not the Underdog Edition
by Jas Faulkner, contributing editor It’s safe to say that the Eastern Conference Finals are viewed by the mainstream sports media as a redux of a storied Clash of the Titans. This is a pretty stark contrast to the reception the Western Conference Finals have received from many members of the press. This past week, [...]
Brown Out: Dustin Delivers For Kings In Desert
Just because most folks may not be familiar with seeing the Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes in the Western Conference Finals, doesn’t mean the Pacific Division foes aren’t. Which is a good thing, as familiarity tends to breed contempt. Another phrase to describe these two clubs, relentless. That was a major theme of Game [...]
Growing Up a Red Wings Fan
Growing up as a hockey fan in the 1990s, the Detroit Red Wings were an easy team to root for. Their fast, skilled game made them the antithesis of my beloved Buffalo Sabres, who at the time were full of thugs like Rob Ray, Bob Boughner, and Matt Barnaby. That’s not to say I haven’t [...]
The Weeks That Were: April 30th-May 11th
Another two weeks have passed, and another playoff round has come and gone. Eight teams entered the fight and only half have moved on. Each year, the final four offers a different theme present in all of the teams. In 2010, the four teams that remained were the Blackhawks, Flyers, Canadiens, and Sharks. The quartet [...]
All the Kings’ Horses: LA Kings Then & Now
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again. Humpty Dumpty may have been beyond hope, but under the steady leadership of General Manager Dean Lombardi, the Los Angeles Kings appear to have finally been built to last. [...]
What Went Wrong for Nashville?
(Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE) Headed in to the post season, the Nashville Predators were considered a serious threat, but for the second straight year they failed to get past the second round. What went wrong? How did a team that looked so good coming in come apart in the post season? How can the problems be fixed? [...]
Player Agent Scott Norton, in Conversation
For all his finesse, Entourage super-agent Ari Gold wouldn’t last a week in pro hockey. It’s not that he couldn’t do the job. Rather, no one would work with him. Hockey’s culture of humility derives in part from its absolutism as a team sport. The game takes priority over the personality, a maxim forged by [...]
Hot Topic: Evaluating the NHL’s Discipline of the Phoenix Coyotes
Jim Neveau, Managing Editor/Coyotes Correspondent Glendale, Arizona – Hockey isn’t something that one expects to find in the deserts of Arizona this time of year. The Phoenix Coyotes have never been beyond the first round of the playoffs in their organization’s history, but this year, things seem to be different. After dispatching the Chicago Blackhawks [...]
May 16, 2012Read More