Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008
By Lucas Aykroyd
Early in the NHL careers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, the twin Swedish forwards were derisively dubbed the “Sedin sisters.” Despite their obvious finesse skills and chemistry together, they lacked upper body strength and footspeed. And despite the similarity between their surname and that of Mats Sundin, […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008
By Lucas Aykroyd
After the NHL trade deadline on February 26, there was a lot of history to be found in the roster of the Colorado Avalanche.
If you wanted to go back to the franchise’s Quebec Nordiques era, you could look at Paul Stastny, the second-year center who is proudly […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008
By Lucas Aykroyd
Peter Stastny was the NHL’s second-leading scorer in the 1980’s behind Wayne Gretzky, and the Slovak legend amassed 1,239 career points between 1980 and 1995. His oldest son, Yan Stastny, will never match those totals, but is emulating the paternal example by wearing a St. Louis Blues […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008
By Lucas Aykroyd
Wayne Gretzky achieved his most famous international victory as a player with Team Canada by victimizing two Russian goalies, Sergei Mylnikov and Evgeni Belosheikin, in the 1987 Canada Cup final. Ironically, the “Great One” can credit much of his coaching success with Phoenix this season to the […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008
By Lucas Aykroyd
When Dave Nonis was fired as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks on April 14, the timing of his dismissal came as a surprise.
Even though owner Francesco Aquilini expressed bitterness over the club’s narrow failure to make the playoffs, most observers thought Nonis, a 41-year-old Vancouver native, […]

Really, could there be a more fitting time for Don Cherry, the hockey media’s most notorious and self-righteous loudmouth, to make his exit?
After all, June 4, 2008 will always be remembered as the date when the Detroit Red Wings became the first NHL team to win a Stanley Cup under the leadership of a European-born, […]

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Montreal Canadiens defeat Boston Bruins in five games: Expect Montreal’s PP to be the difference
Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Ottawa Senators in five games: Loss of Alfredsson and Fisher too tough for Sens to overcome
Washington Capitals defeat Philadelphia Flyers in six games: Too much Ovie, too much momentum
New Jersey Devils defeat New York Rangers in five […]

Playoffs are coming. We don’t want to be distracted by side issues. We’re 100 percent committed to the task at hand. But we still like the Quotes of the Week.
“People are going to say what they’re going to say, but when someone steps on you with a skate, I don’t think anyone deserves that.” - […]

Maybe the Mexican vibe in Vancouver sent the wrong message to the Nashville Predators during their 6-2 loss to the Canucks on Thursday night. A mariachi band played rinkside to promote Tourism Mexico, and in nearby Yaletown, the Tequila Kitchen restaurant was preparing for its grand opening. But surely come April, defenseman Shea Weber and […]

Michael Peca has two Selke Trophies to his name (1997, 2002) and one trip to the Stanley Cup final (1999). Yet only the most ardent Columbus Blue Jackets fan would believe this 33-year-old center has a chance of getting his name engraved on Lord Stanley’s mug come June. Sure, the Jackets are now just five […]