Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008 By Lucas Aykroyd Yes, the NHL has a “war room.” And no, it’s not to be confused with the one in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove, where crazy generals nearly start a nuclear war. The “war room” is actually the popular name for the Roger Neilson […]

If there’s one lesson we can take out of the just-completed NHL All-Star Weekend, it’s this: Alexander Ovechkin is Russian hockey’s answer to David Lee Roth, the ultra-outgoing lead singer of Van Halen. And we even have video evidence to support the following claims about the reigning Hart Trophy winner from the Washington Capitals and […]

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, […]

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 […]

My fellow IIHF.com columnist Risto Pakarinen has been busy on the podcasting circuit lately, promoting his new book, Off the Post. Listen to his chats with Andrew Findlater and Paul Kukla. Meanwhile, Joe Pelletier of GreatestHockeyLegends.com ventures a little further off the beaten path with articles on Muhammad Ali’s 1983 fight with Dave Semenko and […]

As we kick off the New Year, would it shock you to learn that hockey has overtaken the other three major North American pro sports? And is just this wishful thinking from a lifelong hockey fan (that would be me) who really doesn’t care much about what happens in football, basketball, or baseball? Far from […]

For many NHL fans, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings put Slovenia on the hockey map with his dazzling 61-point rookie season last year. But this former Yugoslav republic of 2 million had already made its mark in the elite division of the IIHF World Championships as early as the 2002 tournament in Sweden. […]

If you’re reading this in mid-November, you might be thinking: “Who applies for a hockey job a month before Christmas? The season’s in full swing. Most of the jobs are taken now.” You wouldn’t be far from the truth. But the fact is, there are hockey jobs available right now. And if you want to […]

Gretzky to Lemieux: The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup By Ed Willes Published by McLelland & Stewart Hardcover, 256 pages Release Date: October 6, 2007 Considering how many books have commemorated the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, it’s almost unbelievable that until this year, no one had given the same […]