by Adam Proteau - June 29, 2009 3:50 PM EDT
Featuring some of the league's best and worst, the Pacific's off-season will be defined more by the trade market than any big UFA signings.
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Cap space - $18 million
UFAs – Francois Beauchemin, D; Bret Hedican, D; Todd Marchant, C; Rob Niedermayer, C; Scott Niedermayer, D.
by Adam Proteau - June 22, 2009 1:08 PM EDT
When the Winter Olympics roll around it'll be all about the great hockey being played and not which country owns the game.
It’s almost time for professional hockey’s unseemly of seasons to begin.
I’m not referring to the increasing hype surrounding this Friday’s NHL draft, nor of the rumor-rama that precedes the July 1 opening of the league’s unrestricted free agent period.
by Adam Proteau - June 15, 2009 12:50 PM EDT
What's with the Crosby hate? Just let it go... Fleury's slip of the tongue... Bettman does it again... and a hockey wake-up call.
Have to agree with writers questioning those who questioned Sidney Crosby’s championship etiquette Friday night after his Penguins won the Stanley Cup in Detroit.
by Adam Proteau - June 8, 2009 12:54 PM EDT
The return of the Red Wings Hart Trophy candidate makes it very unlikely the Penguins can win two straight... and the laughs keep coming out of Phoenix.
Even after the world-class walloping Detroit laid on Pittsburgh in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final Saturday, I’m not prepared to suggest the series is over.
by Adam Proteau - June 1, 2009 1:09 PM EDT
After Evgeni Malkin was the latest to escape from an automatic one-game suspension, one has to wonder why the refs are there at all.
• Seeing as the NHL is in for a penny as well as a pound(ing) when it comes to selectively applied supplementary discipline – as it was in record time following Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final between Detroit and Pittsburgh Sunday night – it ought to follow through on its collective convictions and entirely rescind its rulebook.
by Adam Proteau - May 23, 2009 10:24 PM EDT
In front of another loud crowd, the Canes came out strong, but the Pens outclassed them to earn a 3-0 series lead.
The Cardiac Kids of Carolina are due for an imminent date with a defibrillator – as well as a possible brush from a broom – after falling 6-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Saturday and dropping to 0-3 in the best-of-seven series.
by Adam Proteau - May 18, 2009 11:58 AM EDT
The Hawks are on the comeback trail and the Caps have exploded, but each has time and the salary cap playing against them.
A couple notes on this Canadian holiday Monday:
• As I mentioned on The Hockey News Radio Show (heard, of course, on XM Satellite Home Ice 204) Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks’ ongoing renaissance is a feel-good story for multiple reasons, but the one I haven’t seen mentioned is the happiness it has to bring battle-scarred beat reporters – such as Chicago Daily Herald sportswriter (and longtime THN correspondent) Tim Sassone – who’ve suffered through the misery of the previous decade as much as anybody.
by Adam Proteau - May 14, 2009 11:12 PM EDT
While much credit must be given to the Ducks for their gritty performance, it was Detroit's abundance of talent that has them moving on.
The recently concluded Penguins-Capitals showdown earned a lot of the hype heaped on it before a single second of the second round playoff series had elapsed.
by Adam Proteau - May 10, 2009 10:49 PM EDT
A top-to-bottom destruction of Anaheim in Game 5 shows why Detroit continues to be the class of the league and the favorite to claim yet another Cup.
In the last 11 seasons, the Detroit Red Wings have proven they are the gold standard for any professional hockey team. In Game 5 of their 2009 Stanley Cup semifinal series against the Anaheim Ducks, the Wings gave no indication they intend on relinquishing that label.
by Adam Proteau - May 4, 2009 2:14 PM EDT
Unlike what the Ducks, Canes and Hawks accomplished on the weekend, Pittsburgh will be lucky to head home with the series tied.
On Sunday, in their second game of the second round of the NHL playoffs, the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes stole home-ice advantage away from the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.
by Adam Proteau - May 2, 2009 3:50 PM EDT
Whether it's not giving Washington's deadly offense opportunities or the need for Malkin to step up his game, Pittsburgh needs to learn from an opening loss.
There are certain things you just don’t do in life.
You don’t ask a pregnant-looking woman when she’s due (trust me on this one).
by Adam Proteau - May 1, 2009 10:48 PM EDT
As we saw again in Friday's games, the league has to do something to protect the keepers before one is lost to a serious injury.
The NHL’s 2009 post-season has a theme rapidly developing.
If you happen to be a netminder in the greatest hockey league there is, it’s probably not a theme you’re fond of.
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What do you think of the four-year, $13.6-million deal the Kings gave to Rob Scuderi?
"We had to wait until today before we talked to Gaborik, but I had a pretty good idea that he was interested in coming to New York. It took us a long time to get the deal done, but we're very happy and excited that we got him signed. There was more balls than that in the air, but Gaborik was the guy that we targeted from the beginning."
- New York Rangers GM Glen Sather on the signing of superstar Marian Gaborik to a five-year, $37.5 million deal.
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