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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

What might Wayne Gretzky have said to Sidney Crosby in conversation outside the dressing rooms after the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 at Mellon Arena on Monday? Here are ten intriguing possibilities. 1. “Never call the New Jersey Devils a Mickey Mouse organization. What, that thought never crossed your mind?” 2. “Stay away […]

Hockey Canada announces its selection camp roster for the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic today, and Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins does not appear on that list. The Penguins told Hockey Canada officials a couple of days ago that the 19-year-old forward wouldn’t be made available. Presumably, Staal himself would […]

When Joe Pelletier of GreatestHockeyLegends.com challenged me and other bloggers to pay tribute to a favorite retired hockey player to mark the upcoming Hockey Hall of Fame inductions, I thought it was a great idea. I also thought: “Wow, who am I going to pick?” Growing up in British Columbia in the 1980’s and 90’s, […]

Never let a little thing like a broken nose stop you. That’s the philosophy Petr Sykora will take into Pittsburgh’s Friday-night opener at Carolina. After suffering the injury in a collision with teammate Brooks Orpik in exhibition play in Montreal, the 30-year-old Czech winger will wear a full face shield for protection. Although Sykora was […]

Interesting speculation in Friday’s Montreal Gazette from Pat Hickey. Could Scott Niedermayer’s indecision about whether to continue his playing career relate to his concern about past concussions? If so, that would explain the 34-year-old superstar defenseman’s seemingly extraordinary ambivalence about trying to captain the Anaheim Ducks to a second straight Stanley Cup. Perhaps he “got […]

Originally published on HockeyCanada.ca in 2005 By Lucas Aykroyd To build a winning team, you ultimately have to focus on the players you have, not the ones you don’t have. (Just ask Brent Sutter.) But it’s hard to forget about a certain teenage wunderkind who lit it up for Canada at the 2004 and 2005 […]