Never mind whether Detroit can repeat as Stanley Cup champions or whether Sidney Crosby can rebound to wrest the scoring title away from Alexander Ovechkin. Here’s the big question: who’s going to win Canada’s Hockey Anthem Challenge? Back in June, CBC Sports launched the contest to find a replacement for the old Hockey Night in […]

I’d be remiss if I didn’t link to one of Joe Pelletier’s best posts this summer: The Gretzky Trade: 20 Years Later. Joe’s rounded up just about every bit of retrospective analysis on the Internet about the landmark deal that sent the Great One to L.A., and offers his own reminiscences. I remember August 9, […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Let’s face it: you won’t find the “Flying Frenchmen” with the Montreal Canadiens anymore. Last year’s dynamic duo of Quebec-born snipers was Vincent Lecavalier (108 points) and Martin St. Louis (102 points) of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This year, Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne have […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd When the San Jose Sharks traded Vesa Toskala to Toronto at June’s NHL Draft, it meant a chance for a new goalie to back up starter Evgeni Nabokov. Dimitri Patzöld won the job at this year’s training camp, beating out Thomas Greiss, a fellow former […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd After losing Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes in June 2006, Shawn Horcoff and his Edmonton teammates couldn’t have known that times would soon get even tougher. Superstar defenseman Chris Pronger surprisingly requested a trade a few days later, and other […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd Life would be so much simpler for NHL coaches if every team won all its home games in overtime. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any other scenario where all coaches could succeed in keeping their jobs. However, the fans would probably start to get […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd It’s no wonder Ryan Smyth feels so comfortable with the Colorado Avalanche. After all, during his 11 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, the gritty left winger scored more points against Colorado than any other NHL club (41). Make no mistake, Smyth still has strong ties […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd It’s fortunate for the Anaheim Ducks that they won’t be competing in the Stanley Cup finals at the start of December. If that was the case, their chances of repeating as champions would be much slimmer. This hasn’t been a disastrous season so far. The […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd After the Pittsburgh Penguins won three straight games in Western Canada, there was little doubt about two things. First, the club has rediscovered the winning chemistry that earned it 105 points last year. Second, Sidney Crosby is a god in this part of the world. […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008 By Lucas Aykroyd If Jarome Iginla maintains his current pace, he’ll crack the 100-point barrier for the first time in his career this season. Better still, the Calgary captain is in contention for his second Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer, battling the likes of Tampa […]