Tagged: Columbus Blue Jackets
Ken Hitchcock has more than 500 wins, a .590 career winning percentange and a Stanley Cup to his credit. But he’s never won the Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year. With all due respect to the great work John Tortorella, Dan Bylsma, Kevin Dineen and Mike Babcock are doing with their respective teams, Hitchcock should win his first Jack Adams Award this year. The impact he’s had on the St. Louis Blues has been incredible. To illustrate this, let’s take a look at how each of this season’s coaching changes have played out. Ken Hitchcock Pre-hiring: St. Louis...
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With the NHL Trade deadline a little less than a month from now, speculation is heating up. Actually, that is a bit of an understatement. Speculation isn’t just heating up, it’s already reached a good rolling boil. We’ve entered the silly season of trade rumours people, where Ryan Getzlaf could be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, you know, just ‘cuz. It’s not just fans or the media that can get swept up in the euphoria that is the trade talk. General Managers can too. With that in mind, here are the four worst trade decisions that could be made...
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At the end of the 20-game mark, I took a look at the “real” NHL standings in the East and West. Now that every team has played their 40th game, it’s time to even the playing field once again and see what’s really been going on in the NHL. Last time, I made special mention of a team’s special teams, goals for and goals against performance for the season. This time, to learn a bit more about an individual team’s strengths and weaknesses, each squad was ranked in six categories*: Goals for (GF) and shots-for (SHF) were chosen to evaluate...
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If someone you know is in a car crash, the first thing you want to know is how badly hurt they are. The 2011-12 season of the Columbus Blue Jackets has been an epic car crash. But in the grand scheme of things, they’re not too badly hurt. Why? Just like someone struggling with addiction, sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to start your way back to the top. For the Blue Jackets, this year has been rock bottom – and the path to the top is pretty clear. Here’s why the future isn’t all that dark in Columbus:...
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View the story “Game 30: Canucks 1 vs Blue Jackets 2 (SO)” on Storify]
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Things that make one wonder on a Tuesday: The Kings are in Trouble Has Dean Lombardi lost his mind? According to reports, the Los Angeles Kings are looking at Darryl Sutter as their next coach. Because the Lombardi-Sutter connection won championships in San Jose, right? Look, it’s not like the problem with the Kings isn’t well-known. They aren’t scoring enough goals (last in the league). Their point-producers, outside of Anze Kopitar, are all under-performing. How Sutter – a notorious “defense-first, -second and –third” coach – could be seen as the right person to create scoring is a mystery. Not...
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[Every week, Caylie King looks at the Canucks week that was and the Canucks week ahead. You can follow Caylie on Twitter (@CayKing).] I think it’s safe to say that the Stanley Cup hangover has passed. The Canucks are playing the game that they’ve wanted to play and the hockey Canucks Nation has come to expect out of this team. Bobby Luo and company are currently on a 4-game win streak and have won 10 of their last 12 games. Canucks Record 29 GP, 18-10-1, 37 points (2nd in Northwest Division, 6th in Western Conference) Who’s Hot Jannik Hansen has...
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Five possible ways the sale of the Toronto Maple Leafs to Rogers Communcations and Bell Canada Enterprises will affect hockey fans in Canada. 5. Get ready to see a lot of Larry Tanenbaum. With rivals Rogers and Bell owning the same amount of the ownership pie (37.5% each) they’re effectively neutered in terms of power around the board table. They also have to try and sustain their relationship by playing nice with each other, which probably translates to focusing on turning their new content (Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, Toronto Marlies) into greater technology sales. All of this is to say the...
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Some quick thoughts on two issues dominating NHL talk right now: Derek Boogaard and Fighting in the NHL For anyone who’s been living under a rock, here’s the original New York Times story about the study of Derek Boogaard’s brain. The results of the study shouldn’t surprise anyone. If you’re a fighter, and you get punched in the head a lot, it’s logical the impact of these blows will have an effect on your brain and brain function. The larger issue here is that, as scientists continue to show conclusive evidence that hockey fights endanger the health of those involved,...
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When the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Victor Hedman to a 5-year, $20 million deal earlier in the week, there weren’t too many people complaining. The online community, particularly Tampa Bay fans, applauded Steve Yzerman for keeping Hedman’s cost relatively low. According to the consensus, $4 million a year for 5 years is a great price for an improving, future franchise defenseman. There’s no question Hedman is an improving player, particularly on the defensive side of the game. But franchise cornerstone? Someone who dominates at both ends of the ice? I’m not so sure Hedman has that in him. I decided...
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