Teemu Selanne isn’t an All-Star. Nicklas Lidstrom ain’t going either. Ditto for Jaromir Jagr. The HORROR! But what do the above three players all have in common? Yep, they’re all wily veterans and are all over the age of 35. So why should we be upset at their anti-selection to the league’s midway fete in Ottawa? Why are we so worried that their lights won’t get to shine amongst the younger and brighter stars? Because nobody’s thought of the only true solution to this mess. You want to spice up All-Star Weekend and try to rescue it from encroaching irrelevance? …
NHLPA response to NHL’s realignment plan invites speculation
We apologize for missing this over the weekend, being so caught up in the moment during the final outdoor contest that capped the week of events at Citizens Bank Park, but here’s NHLPA executive director Don Fehr’s statement regarding the rejection of the realignment proposal: “On the evening of December 5, 2011, the NHL informed the NHLPA that they proposed to put in place a four-conference format beginning with the 2012-13 season. As realignment affects Players’ terms and conditions of employment, the CBA requires the League to obtain the NHLPA’s consent before implementation. “Over the last month, we have had …
McCrimmon tribute at Alumni Game
Gretz does the dirt to the Flyers, 30 years on
After all these years, it’s still hard to believe that the Philadelphia Flyers were the team Wayne Gretzky victimized en route to yet another potentially-unbreakable NHL single-season record. I could see it against Calgary with the Battle of Alberta, and even against the lowly Canucks or Devils. But no, it had to be against the Orange and Black in a down year. But it happened, December 30, 1981. Needing five goals to reach 50 in just his 39th game, Number 99 decided to get them all in one night — and do it against one of the tougher teams in …
Winter Classic: Five Things That Are Wrong
There’s only six days left until the Winter Classic pits the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers in an outdoor battle at our own Citizens Bank Park. With the time quickly ticking away towards the Quaker City’s shot at national recognition, we thought it would be smart to examine the game itself and everything surrounding it. Today, in the first of three parts, we’ll talk about what is wrong with the NHL’s New Year’s Day party continuing in the vein of our “Five Things” series. 5. Baseball Stadiums — Why, why WHY after getting 80,000 people crammed into Ralph …
G Whiz, Mister, this is an easy one…
Usually when the big news du jour is splayed out over media both old and new, the rush to judgment and the rush to publish creates headlines like “Why X is X” or the opposite “Why X is Y,” as if the authors subtly question your intelligence and need to suck you in with the promise of an argument or debate, or a simple explanation of the issue at hand. But when it comes to the status of Claude Giroux, his concussion and his potential return as soon as tonight in Dallas, I owe it to the readers of this site not to …
The 731 days and nights of Peter Laviolette
It began with a whimper, but how will it end? That’s the question I find myself asking, as the second anniversary of Peter Laviolette’s hiring passes. We’re at the halfway point for the tenure of most NHL head coaches, so while there’s no question Lavy’s got some good things on his ledger, it’s a given that going forward, we’re simply going to experience the back end of his time in Philadelphia. It was a big step for the organization to bring in the Massachusetts native, then just two days from his 45th birthday. He was an American — only the second …
NHL to unveil realignment plan
Courtesy of NHL.com PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The NHL’s Board of Governors on Monday approved a radical realignment plan, according to multiple reports. The plan reportedly eliminates the current two-conference, six-division setup in favor of a configuration that features four conferences based on geography. Two conferences will have eight teams and the other two conferences will have seven teams, according to the report. The vote, which required a two-thirds majority of the League’s 30 governors, passed on the first of two days of meetings here at The Inn at Spanish Bay. The League’s new structure will go into effect starting …
Flight Plan Week of 10.23.2011
The Philadelphia Flyers started out of the gate as one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, winning four of their first five games and getting points in all five of them. Since then, they have suffered two embarrassing (though in different ways) back-to-back losses on home ice at the hands of the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues. To lose to the Capitals by a score of 5-2 when they’re one of the hotter teams in the NHL at the beginning of the season, and just about every bounce goes the way of the opposition, well …
Ask the Ref, 2011 edition
You may recall, late last season, we picked up on an occasional series that Canada’s TSN ran featuring recently-retired ref Kerry Fraser fielding questions from the public and offering his take on various issues. It’s our pleasure to bring it back for another season. ********************************************************************** Hi Kerry, On two occasions this past weekend, I saw two different players drop the gloves, throw some punches and on one occasion (Malkin) lose his jersey in the process. In both of these cases, the players were assessed roughing penalties. What weighs in the ref’s decision to not call a fighting major or to …