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Category: NHL-Teams

Weakening Dollar A Sign Of Trouble

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 06:46 PM ET
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from the CP via TSN,

Montreal Canadiens president Pierre Boivin fears that the sagging loonie could send Canadian NHL teams spiralling back into the dark economic days that preceded the lockout.

Boivin says the league’s six Canadian clubs are thriving at the gate and bring in more than a third of the total revenue for the 30-team NHL.

But he identified the tumbling dollar as one of three threats to the continued viability of Canadian clubs.

continued

added 6:01pm, from Frederic Tomesco at Bloomberg,

More declines in the Canadian currency would recreate the situation that existed before the lockout, when most Canadian clubs were unprofitable, Boivin said. The Canadiens paid out $18 million last season to other NHL clubs as part of the revenue- sharing system, he said.

more if you are interested in the business side of the NHL…

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Top 10 Duos in the NHL

by Alanah McGinley on 11/19/08 at 06:01 PM ET
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John Grigg at The Hockey News lists out his top-10 favorite NHL duos he enjoys watching play:

10. Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley
•  These guys aren’t having the best start to the year, but there’s few purer snipers in the league than Heatley and even fewer set-up men as slick as Spezza.

9. Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen
•  This is a relatively new duo, especially with ‘The Mule’ having been hurt most of the year. But Zetterberg is magic with the puck and Franzen is a bull with hands. Together the two are dangerous whenever they’re on the ice.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Name Those Stars

by Alanah McGinley on 11/19/08 at 05:05 PM ET
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Will Smith met up with some Dallas Stars at the premiere of his movie Seven Pounds. 

Can you name all the Dallas Stars in this photo off the top of your head? To be honest, we—and a few other hockey people we asked—actually struggled for a few minutes trying to identify one of the guys in this picture.  (But we’re betting you’re sharper than we are…)

 

 

Filed in: NHL Teams, Dallas Stars, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: dallas+stars, seven+pounds, will+smith

Why Not Lidstrom For SI Sportsman of the Year

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 04:21 PM ET
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from Kostya Kennedy of Sports Illustrated,

In a parity-stricken league, Lidstrom has ensured that the Red Wings remain in a class of one, and in June he crossed into hockey’s final frontier when he became the first European captain in NHL history to hoist the Stanley Cup. “I’m very proud to be the first,” he said, and in the next breath, “I’m very proud of the whole team too.”

What makes Lidstrom so Sportsman-like is, well, his sportsmanship: his humility, his professionalism. He is intuitive on the ice and equally so in the locker room. Earlier this year Babcock told me that he had never coached player this good. “In what way?” I asked. Replied Babcock: “In any way you can think of.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: nick+lidstrom

Senators Lose Fisher & Neil

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 03:21 PM ET
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from Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun,

Senators centre Mike Fisher is expected to miss two weeks with strained right knee ligaments, it was announced after practice this morning.

The news is worse on Chris Neil.

The rugged right winger will have arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. It’s not yet known how long Neil will be out of the lineup.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: chris+neil, mike+fisher

Those Rookie Mistakes

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 01:19 PM ET
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from Viktor Tikhonov of the Phoenix Coyotes at the Hockey News,

The road is also a good place for practical jokes. The other day we were at a team dinner and everyone was sitting at one big table. Players started clinking their glasses as if someone was going to make a toast, but when I saw a couple of them looking at me, I knew something was going on. Sure enough, I looked down at my shoes and they were covered in ketchup. I got shoe-checked.

After that I was given a mission to shoe-check Turris and Mikkel Boedker. I crawled under the table to get Boedker, but he was sitting next to defenseman Keith Yandle and I got Yandle by accident instead.

Rookie mistake, I guess!

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, d, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: viktor+tikhonov

Battling As A Team

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 12:41 PM ET
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from Kathryn Tappen of the Play Ground at NESN,

I liked what I saw from the Bruins on Monday night, however, I’m concerned that they looked tired. After getting out to a 2-0 lead over Toronto, I was just waiting for the Leafs to come storming back against an injury depleted Bruins blueline. We saw it against the Rangers on Saturday night, and I feared a repeat performance north of the border.

The Bruins are in the midst of playing 10 games in 18 days, four games in six days this week alone. They are physically drained, but even more so, they are mentally fatigued. Now is the time when the Bruins must work together as a team, and stay strong through 60 minutes of hockey (perhaps more as we saw in New York over the weekend).

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Blackhawks Goalie Situation

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 12:27 PM ET
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from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

The Chicago Blackhawks, according to multiple NHL sources, have a standing deal ready to go at a moment’s notice to acquire veteran center Michael Nylander from the Washington Capitals.

The only hitch is that in order to make the transaction, the Blackhawks need to free up considerable cap space and conventional wisdom is the only way they can do that is trade netminder Nikolai Khabibulin.

Just one problem, though. Khabibulin is playing much better than Cristobal Huet…

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Just Bad

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 09:48 AM ET
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from Adrian Dater of All Things Avs,

I was talking it over with some reporter brethren after the Avs’ sulfurous effort against the Flames, and the question crossed my head - was this the worst game I’d ever seen the Avs play?

Quite possibly, it was. I know there have been bigger blowout losses over the years, but this might have been the worst wire-to-wire performance this team has ever played since moving to Denver.

The inability to make even the most rudimentary plays was stunning. How many times did an Av have the puck on his stick in his own zone, only to hand it right back to a Flame, usually at the points?

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Colorado Avalanche, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Is Kovalchuk ‘C’ Worthy

by Paul on 11/19/08 at 09:38 AM ET
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from Mike Knobler of Thrashers Blog at the AJC,

This is about more than a “C” on the jersey. It’s about Kovalchuk truly fulfilling his amazing potential. There’s a certain comfort level in being one of the guys, in not wanting to stand out, or, perhaps more accurately, not wanting to risk being perceived as putting yourself above other people around you. But if you want true greatness, you have to get over that. You have to be willing to risk setting yourself apart and above if you want to lead.

Barack Obama had to be willing to run for president, with the real possibility he would fail and the certainty people would accuse him of being presumptuous — “uppity” was Rep. Lynn Westmoreland’s unfortunate word — for seeking that office. Kovalchuk doesn’t have to run for president. But he does have to step forward, rather than waiting to be anointed.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: ilya+kovalchuck

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