Here’s a quick look at the transactions that caught my eye on deadline day: DEAL: Atlanta trades RW Marian Hossa and RW Pascal Dupuis to Pittsburgh for RW Colby Armstrong, C Erik Christensen, C Angelo Esposito and Pittsburgh’s 1st-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft. VERDICT: Pittsburgh overpaid for the Slovak superstar, who has rarely […]

For the inaugural Breakaway Challenge at this year’s NHL All-Star Game skills competition, the league had high hopes for its dipsy-doodling superstars. A best-case scenario last night in Atlanta would have seen Alexander Ovechkin, Ryan Getzlaf, or Pavel Datsyuk deliver a moment of individual brilliance that would have topped Vince Carter leaping over that French […]

I have to disagree with TSN analyst Bob McKenzie’s assertion that hiring Cliff Fletcher as interim GM is a smart move for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s not that the 72-year-old veteran NHL executive is underqualified to take over this much-ballyhooed National Hockey League franchise after John Ferguson Jr. was fired on Tuesday. Winning the […]

January 8, 2008. GM Place. Final score: Vancouver Canucks 3, New York Islanders 2 by shootout. Vancouver outshoots the Islanders 45-28. This might have been the sloppiest game I’ve seen all year at GM Place. The Islanders’ game notes trumpeted: “CHRISTIE BRINKLEY SUPPORTS HER HOME TEAM.” That’s great for the 53-year-old supermodel, but can you […]

The Good: Canada Golden Again at World Juniors Congratulations to Team Canada for winning its fourth consecutive gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. A couple of days ago, I questioned whether Canada’s mental focus was where it needed to be heading into a potential final with the Russians. Of […]

When Michal Rozsival broke into the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999-00, he wasn’t anyone’s idea of a bona fide number one blueliner. But at age 29, the 6-2, 210-pound Czech has come into his own. Logging a team-high average of more than 24 minutes nightly with the New York Rangers, Roszival is performing […]

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 […]

In case you’re wondering why updates have been infrequent recently, I spent a week vacationing in Huatulco, Mexico, where CNN occasionally shows 30 seconds of NHL highlights every four hours. When I got back, it was nice to see that the NHL had been as calm, peaceful, and serene as a Mexican beach, and the […]

Smart hockey and hard-hitting journalism. Could you ask for more of a winning combination? Why, it’s the essence of the latest NHL Quotes of the Week. “Not long ago, taking an aspirin was the medical solution for a concussion.” — Columbus Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock on today’s increased awareness about this serious hockey health […]

If Mark Recchi’s NHL career ends in the same city where it began, it won’t be by the former Pittsburgh winger’s choice. The NHL’s 23rd all-time leading scorer, who cleared waivers Wednesday, is likely to get bought out and signed by another club seeking the kind of veteran leadership that he delivered in Carolina’s 2006 […]