by Adam Proteau - November 16, 2009 11:44 AM EST
The NHL's power brokers are using stats as a justification for not dealing with dangerous hits, but they didn't need that justification to punish Sean Avery.
As predicted, NHL GMs did sweet bugger-all to immediately address their players’ increasingly unsafe workplace at one of the regularly scheduled GM gatherings last week, opting to go the trite-and-toothless “study committee” route instead.
by Adam Proteau - November 9, 2009 1:00 PM EST
As long as the decision making remains in the hands of those imprinted with hockey old-style culture, nothing will happen to improve player safety.
I like Mike Milbury a lot. Not for most of his views, mind you, but for his willingness to stand up and be publicly identified as a to-the-last-breath member of an NHL lobby of militaristic war generals.
by Adam Proteau - November 2, 2009 2:45 PM EST
In a situation similar to that of obstruction, a shift against unnecessary injuries due to shots to the head is beginning.
Here’s the thing about deeply rooted mainstream viewpoints whose era has come and gone: they usually require a ton of chipping away at, from a wide array of people, over a sizeable stretch of time, before the crucial cracks in their core emerge and they become consigned to history’s dustbin.
by Adam Proteau - October 26, 2009 1:08 PM EDT
When will the NHL learn it needs to put an end to hits like the ones dished out by Richards, Ovechkin, Ott, Scuderi, Mitchell and others?
The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess they had it coming.
Will Munny: We all have it coming, kid.
– Unforgiven, 1992
I think of Clint Eastwood’s legendary western film just about every time an NHLer makes headlines over a debatable hit, as the movie’s unmistakable message on moral ambiguity resonates in virtually every instance of borderline physicality.
by Adam Proteau - October 19, 2009 8:43 PM EDT
Musician and director Rob Zombie talks to Adam Proteau about the NHL’s marketing techniques and how the league should promote the ruthless nature of the product.
When most people hear the name Rob Zombie, they likely think of the musician behind mega-hits such as ‘More Human Than Human’, or the film auteur who directed cult classics The Devil’s Rejects and the reinvented Halloween horror franchise.
by Adam Proteau - October 5, 2009 11:55 AM EDT
Just because your favorite team exploded or fell flat out of the gate doesn't mean they will sustain those results throughout.
So we’ve already reached the 23-game mark of the 2009-10 NHL season. Wherever has the time gone?
Hopefully, not to the heads of fans in places like Colorado, where goalie Craig Anderson put the Avs atop the Western Conference, or Atlanta, where a season-opening 6-3 win over Tampa was sparked by a three-point night by Ilya Kovalchuk, for what is likely to be a very brief stopover en route to the opposite end of the win/loss spectrum.
by Adam Proteau - September 28, 2009 1:55 PM EDT
In a wild card of a division, Boston tries to build off last campaign, while every other team aims to bounce back from disappointing seasons.
BOSTON BRUINS
THN Prediction: First in Eastern Conference
Key additions: Derek Morris, D; Steve Begin, LW
Key departures: Manny Fernandez, G; Stephane Yelle, C; Phil Kessel, RW; P-J Axelsson, LW; Patrick Eaves, RW; Aaron Ward, D; Shane Hnidy, D; Steve Montador, D
Some people believe the Bruins’ stunning rise to the top of the Eastern Conference last season was little more than a fluke triggered by a handful of career years from players such as Tim Thomas.
by Adam Proteau - September 21, 2009 12:09 PM EDT
The mystery of Juraj Mikus... Kessel's good, but something else is even better... and some more hockey exposure on network TV.
I thought my eyes were deceiving me when the L.A. Kings announced Sunday they were re-assigning a prospect named Juraj Mikus to their American League affiliate.
by Adam Proteau - September 14, 2009 11:40 AM EDT
If Heatley can't make it work with the Sharks, he's hopeless... and was keeping Balsillie out really worth it for the league?
Some varied observations as the NHL’s regular season draws closer:
• Dany Heatley is finally out of Ottawa – and thank goodness for that, if only because the hockey journalism profession was already well over the limit on the number of times we could use the word “suckhole” in any single off-season.
by Adam Proteau - August 24, 2009 11:59 AM EDT
Dany Heatley's press conference didn't help him any; Gary Bettman's TV deal; and a couple of random thoughts.
For today’s blog, here’s some hockey news mixed in with some not-hockey news:
• If the intent of Dany Heatley’s press conference last week was to reconstruct his battered image and detail the many reasons why he still is demanding a trade out of Ottawa, the mission was not accomplished.
by Adam Proteau - August 17, 2009 11:40 AM EDT
Why wouldn't an NHLer wear a visor? Why wouldn't fans want their teams to cover up? It makes sense for health, wellness, and Cup aspirations.
Hockey has been fairly lucky so far this summer. No tragic, off-ice player deaths to report, no catastrophic, freak injuries – a la St.
by Adam Proteau - August 10, 2009 12:10 PM EDT
According to a study, there is waning interest in hockey amongst Canadians... Ownership duels... and Pat Kane.
A few short-form ponderings on a sticky August morning in Toronto:
• In case you missed it, an upcoming book from a leading Canadian sociologist argues that the presumed death-grip hockey holds on Canada’s teenagers isn’t quite so tight after all.
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Which team has been hit worst by injuries this season?
“I don’t know if I’ll ever feel 100 percent this year.”
- New Jersey's Patrik Elias, who is recovering from hip and groin surgeries and has two points in five games this season.
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