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 …
Carcillo suspended for off-ice incident
File this one under WTF…the National Hockey League issued a two-game suspension for Flyers forward Dan Carcillo for actions between periods in Philly’s season-ending Game 4. Here’s the official release from the NHL: “Philadelphia Flyers’ forward Daniel Carcillo has been suspended for the period covering two regular season games, without pay, for his actions off the ice following the first period of Game #4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins on May 6, the National Hockey League announced today. National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy reached the decision following a hearing into …
Report: Flyers-Rangers Winter Classic in Philly to happen on January 2
Courtesy of NHL.com Multiple media reports in Philadelphia, New York and Canada are reporting the Philadelphia Flyers will host the New York Rangers in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic. According to the reports, the game will be played Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. If the reports are accurate, it would be the first time the game has been played on a day other than Jan. 1. However, New Year’s Day next year falls on a Sunday. If the NFL plays this season — that league currently has locked out its players …
NHL, NBC announce new 10-year partnership
Courtesy of NBCUniversal NEW YORK (April 19, 2011) – The National Hockey League and the NBC Sports Group have reached agreement on a landmark 10-year television and media rights deal, taking the partnership through the 2020-21 season. The expanded partnership, under which NBC remains the exclusive network home and VERSUS the exclusive cable home of the NHL® in the U.S., is highlighted by the first-ever national distribution of all Stanley Cup® Playoffs contests, including, for the first time, exclusive coverage starting with the Conference Semifinals. The agreement also calls for the NBC Sports Group to televise 100 regular season games …
The Man Behind the Masks: Fran Drummond
Have you ever drawn or painted something? Have you ever spent countless, tireless hours on a piece of art? Have you ever, after all your hard work, creativity, blood, sweat, and tears had been put down onto a piece of paper felt that feeling of finality or release? Have you ever done that knowing full well that your art was going to be a moving target for pieces of rubber travelling at speeds of over 100 miles an hour? Fran Drummond does this all the time. From his little shop in Langhorne, Pennsylvania he crafts pieces of art that are …
Flight Plan 04.03.2011
Sometime in June, anybody who cares about hockey played in North America will look back on the 2010-2011 season and try to analyze numbers and streaks and teams and players and everything. All of them will search to find turning points and why a struggling team got it together or why a team that had been good all year fell apart or why a team that was good all year turned it up a notch in the playoffs and won it all. Right now, anything anybody says is purely speculation. In June however, everything everybody says will be based on …
Cooke suspended for rest of regular season, first round of playoffs
The National Hockey League on Monday afternoon issued its sternest warning yet to players who seek to make contact with an opponent’s head. It has suspended Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke for the final 10 games of the regular season plus the entire first round of the playoffs. Cooke delivered an elbow to the side of the face of New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh at the 4:36 mark of the third period of Sunday’s 5-2 Penguins loss. He was given a major for elbowing and a game misconduct. The total length of the penalty will end up lasting between …
Quo Vadis?
Now that Nikolay Zherdev has cleared waivers with zero interest from the other 29 clubs in the NHL, it’s basically up to him what happens next. He has several options to keep playing: take a demotion to the minors, flee back to the country formerly known as the U.S.S.R., and (even though it might be dog dumb), sit out risking a suspension and await a deal out of Philly. Adding to the drama was the fact that multiple outlets reported this morning that Zherdev participated in an optional team skate in Voorhees. This, after he fled the same practice facility not 24 …
Blue Valentine: Forsberg retires again
The second NHL comeback of former superstar Peter Forsberg is over after just two games. Forsberg, the 37-year-old Swede who hooked on with the Avalanche last week, made it official on Monday afternoon. The time has finally come, I am retiring from the game of ice hockey,” said Forsberg. “I’ve played hockey all my life but I’ve come to the decision that I’ve played my final game. It is perfect for me to announce my retirement here in Denver, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.” The news comes as a shock, with Colorado in the midst of a seven- …
Bruins get last laugh over Flyers in high-octane contest
What do you get when you combine a record-setting snowstorm and two teams at the top of their respective divisions squaring off in a rare important January game? Apparently, total chaos. On a night which saw the Flyers carry a one-goal lead into the third period, little-known Steven Kampfer notched the game winner late in regulation as the Boston Bruins outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-5, in a wild, playoff-like contest at TD Garden. Mark Recchi, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Gregory Campbell all posted a goal and one assist for the Bruins, who won their third straight game and moved …