Hockey

Are elite Canadian goaltenders a dying breed?

It wasn’t long ago when Canada had a plethora of riches between the pipes. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph were all among the elite goaltenders in the world, making the act of selecting a Team Canada roster extremely difficult. This abundance of talent at the position descended from a long line […]

Hockey

The NHL’s top RFA/UFAs heading into free agency

The regular season is over, but hockey still persists. The NHL Entry Draft is right around the corner and the start of free agency is beginning to make headlines. With that being said, let’s take a look at this summer’s top free agents, both unrestricted and restricted, as well as their cap hit from last […]

Hockey

Champions’ plight: Repeating in the Stanley Cup Final

Repeating as Stanley Cup champions is remarkably difficult in the salary cap era. The dynasties that dominated the 70s and 80s are but a distant memory. In their place are one-year champions who not only struggle to repeat, but sometimes fail to qualify for the playoffs entirely. Since the lockout, three champions have failed to […]

Hockey

The Stanley Cup’s alternate ending

Alternate history is fun, it allows those wacky “what if” questions that make great bar room fodder. Hollywood has embraced the “what if” factor with alternate endings. If a Hollywood director decided to dabble into the NHL, he’d have some great historical material to build off of. Leaf fans have done this for the last […]

Hockey

Vancouver Canucks: Canadian team, not Canada’s team

No Canadian team has lifted Lord Stanley’s mug since the Montreal Canadiens accomplished the feat in 1993, defeating Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. A few teams have made the Final since then — the Canucks in 1994; the Flames in 2004; the Oilers in 2006; and the Senators in 2007 — but none […]

Hockey

The non-playoff team agenda

Only a small percentage of NHL executives are still involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their peers are either helping players unpack their lockers after a hard-fought playoff run, or have already had a couple weeks of free time before they begin preparation for the 2011-12 season. One of the only advantages of bowing out […]

Hockey

Canada’s demise at the World Hockey Championships

For the second straight year Team Canada arrived home from the IIHF World Hockey Championships with the bitter taste of a quarter-finals exit in their mouth. Historically, Canada has not dominated the spring championship, as they have captured just five gold medals since professionals began playing in 1976. Conversely, it is rare for Canada to be shut-out of the […]

Hall of Fame

Habs fans: passionate or rambunctious?

In stark contrast to last spring, the streets of Montreal are quiet. There is no boisterous crowd; no chanting, no cheering. There isn’t a mob of ebullient people marching down Sainte-Catharine Street chanting “ole, ole, ole.” Most importantly, especially for Montreal Police, there are no cars on fire, no smashed windows, no looting and no […]