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Out of Town Notebook: They Paid Grabovski What?

Blog / Out of Town Notebook

Out of Town Notebook: They Paid Grabovski What?

It seems these days not a day goes by that there isn’t something about the mediocre Toronto Maple Leafs that’s making the headlines.  At first blush, the signing of Mikhail Grabovski to a five year, $27.5 million contract seems rather ludicrous. We’re talking about high-end salary for a streaky scorer that’s never put up 30-goals or 60 points.  But is the contract really that far out of whack? Let’s do this arbitration-style, and look at some comparables. Comparable #1: The 2004 NHL Entry Draft – Part 1 Grabovski was drafted 150th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2004 NHL...

Out of Town Notebook: The KHL and Protectionism, Reality Checks, and Vets on the Move

Blog / Out of Town Notebook

Out of Town Notebook: The KHL and Protectionism, Reality Checks, and Vets on the Move

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] The National Hockey League (NHL) is the world’s best hockey league. The question is, how much longer will it be the only destination for the world’s best players? The European invasion of the late 1970s, followed by the fall of Russian Communism in the late 1980s, opened the door for the world’s best to earn a substantial income playing NHL hockey. The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) certainly didn’t look like it would threaten this fact when it launched...

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...

Out of Town Notebook: Salary Cap Woes, Long Shifts and Worried Fanbases

Blog / Out of Town Notebook

Out of Town Notebook: Salary Cap Woes, Long Shifts and Worried Fanbases

[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: nj.com Steve Simmons wrote earlier this week that the salary cap was hurting the league’s best players by forcing them play with AHL-level grinders. Noting how the cap has forced the New Jersey Devils to play with 15, 16 players, Dave Hodge argues in his latest Hodgemail that the salary cap should be abolished. Even before the season started, hockey writers were using the salary cap to suggest dynasties aren’t possible in today’s era. Just so...

Out of Town Notebook: Gretzky vs. Lemieux and Early Rookie Chatter

Blog / Out of Town Notebook

Out of Town Notebook: Gretzky vs. Lemieux and Early Rookie Chatter

[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: Pesonen and the Pens Growing up in the `80s there were two camps: Wayne Gretzky vs. Mario Lemieux. The Great One vs. Mario “Le Magnifique.” To idolize one was to idolize a “great Canadian” – a small-town Ontario boy who grew up playing on a backyard rink. Wayne? He was humble, hardworking and personified brains over brawn. To idolize the other was, at least in my neighbourhood, almost traitorous. Mario? He was arrogant and aloof. He...

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