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Out of Town Notebook: Random Thoughts from the NHL’s First Week

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Out of Town Notebook: Random Thoughts from the NHL’s First Week

A collection of hockey thoughts and observations as one settles into a new NHL hockey season: It should be clear to anyone who has watched the Senators play that Paul Maclean hasn’t had any more luck than Cory Clouston at motivating Sergei Gonchar. No one gives up on puck battles quicker than he does. One week doesn’t make an NHL season, but as of today the Senators look an awful lot like the worst team in the NHL. Speaking of NHL defensemen, Sheldon Souray’s big shot has already helped the Dallas Stars. However, Souray also looks a step slower than he...

Out-of-Town Notebook: 2011/2012 Season Predictions and Prognostications

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Out-of-Town Notebook: 2011/2012 Season Predictions and Prognostications

After more than a month of review, analysis, and rankings, it’s time to predict what will actually happen in the upcoming NHL season. If you take all things into consideration, one thing becomes abundantly clear – parity. No team is very strong at each position (coach, goalie, defence, forward), and most teams are only a shade better or worse than another. It looks like all the same teams that made the playoffs last year have a good chance of making it again this year. As we’ve discussed though, it’s rare that there’s so little change in the standings from year-to-year. Injuries...

Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Goalies

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Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Goalies

Any discussion of the New Jersey Devils chances this year is riddled with questions: Is Peter DeBoer a good coach?  Is the team going bankrupt or not? Do Adam Lambert and Adam Larsson look anything alike? Is this Zach Parise’s last year with the team? When will Travis Zajac be back? Yet the biggest question of them all is “what can Devils fans expect from Martin Brodeur.” Brodeur, arguably the best goalie of his generation, enters the season as a 39-year old. Like the rest of his team, Brodeur’s pre- (2.84 GAA, .895 SVPT) and post- (1.84, .919) all-star game...

Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Forwards

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Season Preview: Ranking the Eastern Conference Forwards

Yesterday I talked about the Western Conference (and Two and a Half Men..which I will never talk about again willingly).  Let’s take a look at the Eastern Conference rankings today. A quick note on all of these rankings. Each likely starting player and coach was given a letter grade (in a player’s case based on their likely contribution, previous performance and ability). Each letter grade had a numerical value, and a team’s ranking is a result of a team’s total score in that particular area (coaching, defence, forwards, and goaltenders).  A+ Grade Pittsburgh Last Year (A) If Sidney Crosby’s healthy,...

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: Stanley Cup Favorites, Strengths and Weaknesses

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Out of Town Notebook: Stanley Cup Favorites, Strengths and Weaknesses

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] With two weeks left until the end of the NHL regular season, it’s pretty easy for fans to get caught up in the race for the final playoff spots. But those teams who scramble to the finish line rarely make it all the way to the Stanley Cup final. Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose in the West, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington in the East – these are your Stanley Cup favourites heading into the Spring. Each of these...

Out of Town Notebook: Rebuilds and Playoff Races

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Out of Town Notebook: Rebuilds and Playoff Races

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] THOUGHTS ON THE FLY Gotta give it to Bryan Murray – he’s an entertaining, horse-trading general manager in a league where many front offices are afraid to make deals. However, his off-season plans for the team, as expressed to local media this week, have to concern Sens fans. Quick fixes won’t get the job done, and players selected in the first round aren’t always ready to play in the NHL right away. As a courtesy for Sens fans,...

Out of Town Notebook: Ryan vs. Seguin, Carrie Underwood’s Husband’s Fresh Start, Some Concussion and Vezina Trophy Talk

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Out of Town Notebook: Ryan vs. Seguin, Carrie Underwood’s Husband’s Fresh Start, Some Concussion and Vezina Trophy Talk

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] Call it the tale of two second overall draft picks. When Bobby Ryan was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in 2005, he was already a dominant junior scorer. With a terrific combination of size and skill, Ryan scored 89 points in 62 games for the Owen Sound Attack in his draft year, and may have won the OHL scoring title if not for an injury. Touted as an elite offensive prospect, then-general manager Brian Burke took Ryan after...

I Watched This Game: Canucks 4 – 2 Senators

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I Watched This Game: Canucks 4 – 2 Senators

[I Watched This Game is a recurring feature at Pass it to Bulis — the hockey blog that knows who needs the puck. It chronicles the insights and observations of two guys who watched a hockey game.] You’d have thought, from the tone of the media coverage leading up to this game, that Ottawa was coming in with a bag over their collective heads, while the Canucks had been spotted a guillotine, a French audience, and a death warrant personally signed by Maximilien Robespierre. From the outset, this one looked like a routine execution, the league’s best team up against,...

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