Colin Campbell will step down from his role as the National Hockey League’s disciplinarian, commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Wednesday during a press conference in Vancouver prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Campbell, who has served as the league’s discipline czar since July 1998, will no longer hold that position, but he will not be giving up his role as league vice president and director of hockey operations. The 58-year-old played 12 seasons in the WHA and NHL as a defenseman, making the Stanley Cup Finals with the Canucks in 1982. He later served as head coach of the …
Former Flyer Kevin Dineen named head coach with Florida
The Florida Panthers named former Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Dineen the 11th head coach in franchise history on Wednesday. The 47-year-old Dineen replaces Peter DeBoer, who was fired on April 10 after three seasons at the helm. Last year, the Panthers finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 30-40-12 and missed the playoffs for the 10th straight time. In six seasons behind the bench with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, Dineen compiled a 266-155-59 mark. The Pirates won the Atlantic Division this past season before losing to Binghamton in the second round of the …
NHL coming back to Winnipeg
Courtesy of the Sports Network Winnipeg is again getting an NHL team as the Atlanta Thrashers are on their way to Manitoba for the 2011-12 season. True North Sports and Entertainment held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that the Thrashers, who began play in Atlanta in 1999, are heading to the city that hosted the Jets until their departure to Phoenix in 1996. “I would like to welcome the NHL back to Winnipeg,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who got a round of applause after the announcement. “As is obvious by the fact that we are here today, …
The Lost Season
Nursing the heartbreak of a Stanley-Cup caliber Flyers season that came to a screeching halt with a stupefying early playoff exit is a rare and beautiful thing. Although the Flyers have prided themselves on not shitting the bed in the postseason after being near the top of the NHL standings, it has been known to occur every once in a blue moon. Like in the early 1980′s. Tucked in between the Year of the Streak that ended in a loss to the Islanders in the Finals and the Mike Keenan-led surprise 1985 Cup finalists, was four deeply disappointing years that saw a …
Pronger answers burning questions at Thursday press conference
Q: How did the surgery go and how are you feeling? ”Well, as far as I was told it went very well. It relieved a lot of the weakness I was having in my leg and now it is just a matter of how the nerve regenerates itself and the range of motion and all the rest of that stuff. How it recovers and that stuff are probably another four to five weeks before we see where that is at.” Q: Can you tell us about the decision to have the surgery, was that an option you were given or …
Flyers to play at Labatt Centre once more
The Philadelphia Flyers will play their annual preseason game at their “home away from home” against the Detroit Red Wings at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, on Thursday, September 22 at 7 p.m. It will be the eighth straight season the Orange and Black have headed to one of Ontario’s minor-league bellwether towns to play an exhibition contest. London has long been home to the Knights, who play in the Ontario Hockey League, one of Canada’s major junior leagues. “London truly is our home away from home. The fan support here in London for the Flyers is outstanding,” …
Deja Vu all over again
Here’s Simon Gagne’s goal which put the Lightning ahead by one, from yesterday’s 5-3 Tampa Bay win over Boston in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bolts won the game after trailing by a 3-0 count after the first period. Here’s Simon Gagne’s goal from May 14, 2010′s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a game the Flyers won by a 4-3 score. I swear there’s something familiar… Nah…we didn’t need him this year. We needed another spare defenseman. It was time to let him go and break in some new talent.
MasterGame Theater
Since the off-season is long, and your attention span may be short when faced with the prospect of Mack and Manco’s, endless Boardwalk strolls, Duffer’s, Wonderland and visions of hotties dancing in your heads after a couple beers at the Princeton or Ocean Drive, we’re going to occasionally run videos of important Flyers games from the past. Tonight, for your nostalgic pleasure, an appetizer of brief highlights from Game 1 of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals between the Flyers and Edmonton Oilers. It happened 26 years ago today. Ahhh…Gene Hart narration. Clean, crisp, erudite. Dare I say poetic? In the …
Phantoms retain Paterson as head coach
Glens Falls, NY – Today the Adirondack Phantoms, in collaboration with their NHL Affiliate Philadelphia Flyers, proudly announce that Joe Paterson has been hired as the team’s Head Coach. Paterson returns behind the bench after taking over the coaching duties on an interim basis on December 20th of last season. His record of 25-16-2-6 was near the top in the AHL during that period of time. “It goes without saying; we were pleased with the results of the hockey team as the season progressed. Joe was able to pass on his passion and knowledge of the game to the players …
Winnipeg-O-Meter
For the first time since the Jets left Winnipeg following the 1995-96 season, NHL hockey is closer than ever to returning to the capital of Manitoba. With Phoenix already ruled out for a return to its Great North roots, it appears that the Atlanta Thrashers are the most likely franchise to relocate at the moment. On Monday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Winnipeg Free Press combined to provide a brief glimpse into the wheels currently in motion to get a franchise back into the Canadian Prairies. The AJC reported that Atlanta Spirit, the group which owns the Atlanta Thrashers as well …