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Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Bluelines

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Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Bluelines

There is no greater union in the NHL today than Brian Burke and Toronto Maple Leafs. For all his bluster, and for all his previous on-ice success, Burke’s greatest strength is jousting with the media. And if there’s one thing media saturated Toronto needs is a Maple Leaf general manager with an aptitude for soundbytes. During last week’s “state of the union”-type press scrum with Toronto media, Burke insisted the Leafs defence “stacks up really well against just about any other team in the East.” Does it really? Let’s take a look at Eastern Conference defence rankings headed into the 2011-12 season....

Season Preview: The Impact of Coaching Changes and Ranking the Eastern Conference Coaches

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Season Preview: The Impact of Coaching Changes and Ranking the Eastern Conference Coaches

Another September, another new coach for the New Jersey Devils. Peter DeBoer becomes the seventh coach the Devils have had since the NHL lockout, following Jacques Lemaire, John Maclean, Brent Sutter, Claude Julien, Lou Lamoriello and Larry Robinson. The question is – do these moves have any impact? I took a look at NHL coaching changes since 2005 and grouped them into three categories: Off-season change (one coach replaces another in the off-season) Mid-season change (one coach replaces another and finishes the season) Mid-season change-turned-permanent (mid-season coaching replacement sticks around, leading the team into the next season) Here’s what was...

Out of Town Notebook: Five GMs and Some Hard Decisions

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Out of Town Notebook: Five GMs and Some Hard Decisions

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] Photo credit: Forbes As the NHL All-Star Game approaches (yawn), so too does the trade deadline and the final stretch towards the Stanley Cup playoffs. While there is some significant separation between playoff and non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference is a dogfight. With this in mind, here now are five GMs facing important decisions at this stage of the season. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks The Challenge: Some questionable moves and a weakened backend...

Out of Town Notebook: Surprising Habs, Surging Sabres, Slumping Sens, Waffles and More

Blog / Out of Town Notebook

Out of Town Notebook: Surprising Habs, Surging Sabres, Slumping Sens, Waffles and More

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] It’s hard to imagine Bob Gainey laughing. A Google image search confirms even smiles are hard-fought, often-lost battles in the corners of his mouth. Yet Bob Gainey has a lot to smile and laugh about. This Montreal Canadiens team – a team he essentially re-built in the summer of 2009, then handed off to current GM Pierre Gauthier – is a pretty good one. Making things all-the-more sweet is that Gainey essentially built this team in the face...

Canucks vs. Panthers: Game 2 Wrap-up

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Canucks vs. Panthers: Game 2 Wrap-up

I’m not sure yet what to make of the Vancouver Canucks’ first 2 games of the 2010/2011 season. I thought the defense has played well for the most part, but they’ve also given up an average of 37 shots per game with more than a few shots from in close Luongo’s crease. The defense is more mobile and the Canucks’ transition game seems better, but that hasn’t translated into many quality scoring opportunities. Of the opportunities they did get, they’ve so far found the back of the net just 3 times in the first 2 games combined and all 3...

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