Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.
There's something to be said for Canadians and their level-headedness at least as it compares to us Americans. They always seem so much calmer. But during the past week our neighbors to the North have been in an uproar about Calgary Flames Flu Vaccination Crisis 2009. Sure, they're rightfully up in arms in Alberta that the Flames and their peeps received shots before some of the neediest people in the province but that almost seems like a trivial matter compared to what's going on down here.
Making the playoffs for the first time was a big step for the Columbus Blue Jackets, a kick in the pants for the fans and the franchise.
Now, however, Columbus will have to repeat the feat -- and make it past the first round -- to meet the increased expectations that that first blush of success has created. And it's Scott Howson's job this summer to put the Blue Jackets in a position to be a postseason regular.
The Los Angeles Kings entered the offseason with a fair amount of cap space and plethora of young assets that could have been used to bring in a big-name player to help boost a young team from Western Conference bottom-feeder to legitimate playoff contender. Personally, I was pushing for disgruntled Senators forward Dany Heatley, who seemed like he would have been a nice fit. The Kings, however, may have found an even better fit, when you consider Heatley is, apparently, out of his mind and doesn't quite know what he wants or where he wants to go.
Late Friday night, the Kings acquired veteran forwardRyan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing, and a fifth-round draft pick. For the Kings? They get a gritty, veteran leader still capable of scoring 25-30 goals. For the Avs? It's a salary dump, and a head start in the season-long quest for Taylor Hall.
Dany Heatley put the Senators in a rather difficult position earlier this offseason when he surprisingly requested a trade out of Ottawa. General manager Bryan Murray, naturally, worked to make that request a reality, and after several weeks of rumors and speculation, it appeared as if the two-time 50-goal scorer was finally traded to the Edmonton Oilers late Tuesday night for the somewhat underwhelming return of Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Pacific Division.
San Jose saw its Presidents' Trophy campaign come to a surprising end in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Los Angeles is still the perfect spot for Dany Heatley, and is there any hope for success on the ice in Phoenix?
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division.
Brian Burke begins his rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa and just what is Boston going to do with Phil Kessel and a limited amount of salary cap space?
Word surfaced earlier this week that Ottawa Senators forward, and two-time 50-goal scorer, Dany Heatley requested a trade after four seasons in Canada's capital city.
The news has resulted in a firestorm of debate and commentary across the Canadian media, including a rather scathing article by Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun that goes as far as to compare Heatley to another former Senators forward, Alexei Yashin. Harsh. And it's unfortunate, for Ottawa's sake anyway, that Mike Milbury is no longer in charge of running an NHL team into the ground. Think of the possibilities!
A lot of the talk following last night's Game 2 in Detroit centered around Chicago's Brian Campbell and his turnover, which led to Mikael Samuelsson's game-winning goal, giving the Wings a 3-2 win in overtime and a 2-0 series lead. But it wasn't nearly the first time that Campbell has made a mistake that has cost his team a victory in a playoff overtime. This is actually the third time in this past three years that a misplay by Campbell has led to an overtime defeat for his team.
As the Frozen Four begins late Thursday afternoon, there will be 22 players showcasing their skills that have been drafted by NHL teams. While many of the others will be, as the NCAA says, "going pro in something other than sports", a good number of them will showcase their talents in an effort to join a growing population. Every year, more and more college players end up getting a shot at the NHL. Not only that, but a greater number of them are making a real name for themselves when they get there.
Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail. 
Making the playoffs for the first time was a big step for the Columbus 
The Los Angeles Kings entered the offseason with a fair amount of cap space and plethora of young assets that could have been used to bring in a big-name player to help boost a young team from Western Conference bottom-feeder to legitimate playoff contender. Personally, I was pushing for disgruntled Senators forward 
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Pacific Division.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division. 
Word surfaced earlier this week that Ottawa Senators forward, and two-time 50-goal scorer, 
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
