 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Brian Kennedy
The beginning, not for the newly born Jets team, but for me, came at literally the last possible second late last week. Here’s the scene:
She: “It’s pretty far to go for a hockey game.”
Me: “Yeah, I know. And it’s not exactly easy to get to Winnipeg. At least not from LA.”
She: “Right, but you know, you said you’d go if they offered a credential. And think about it—what will you remember a decade from now, the hassle getting there, or the fact that you were there to see it with your own eyes?”
That’s the kind of woman you ought to have the good sense to marry, and I did, which is why I found myself buying a ticket Friday that would put me on an airplane Saturday morning. I’m Canadian, but this would be my first trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba being the only province I’ve never visited before.
The reason I’m sure you get: the team had approved a media pass so that I could report on their renaissance, or rescue, from the Atlanta Thrashers to the Winnipeg Jets. I would make my way through Chicago and onto one of those tiny commuter planes that fly into the lesser cities to witness one of the most significant events in Canadian culture in a long time. The Jets versus the Habs.
Why go? Because this was not about a hockey game. It’s about Canada winning back a team that was taken from it by people shortsighted enough to think that they can sell the game where few want it…
Winnipeg Odyssey: Part 1
Winnipeg Odyssey: Part 2
Winnipeg Odyssey: Part 3
Winnipeg Odyssey: Part 4 (coming 10/14)
Winnipeg Odyssey: Part 5 (coming 10/15)
Winnipeg Odyssey: Part 6 (coming 10/16)
|
|
|
|
|
|
One Day FREE Fantasy Contest – $100 in cash prizes
If you haven’t heard, there is a new trend in the world of fantasy sports. Fantasy enthusiasts all over the country are now participating in daily fantasy leagues for cash on DraftStreet.com. We’ve partnered up with DraftStreet to do a FREE one-day fantasy league with $100 in prizes exclusively for Inside Hockey members.
This is a salary cap league where everyone tries to assemble the best team out of the available players. You will have a $100,000 budget to build a team of 2 left wingers, 2 right wingers, 2 centers, 2 defensemen, 1 Goalie, and one FLEX player. Each NHL player has been allocated a price based on their expected fantasy performance. For example, star Washington Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin costs $14,331, whereas Calgary Flames RW Jarome Iginla costs $12,256.
You can adjust your roster up until the contest starts on Thursday 10/13 at 7:00pm ET at which time your rosters will lock and the Live Scoreboard will be available.
CLICK HERE to sign up for free and register for the Inside Hockey $100 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Winter Adams
If you’re a hockey fan, you undoubtedly know about hockey’s holy grail: The Stanley Cup. The most coveted trophy in hockey and arguably all of sports, it’s awarded to the NHL playoff champion at the end of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals. The Cup is surrounded by legends, traditions and more notably, the “Keeper of the Cup.”
It can be said that the “Keeper of the Cup” has the most prestigious job in hockey. It’s a position that doesn’t come from a job recruitment site; but from previous years of hard work and employment with the Hockey Hall of Fame. While the Stanley Cup is often accompanied by Phil Pritchard, it also spends approximately 250 days of the year with Mike Bolt.
Bolt, a Toronto native who spent 4 years working at the Hockey Hall of Fame before being appointed the “Keeper of the Cup,” a position that he’s held for 12 years.
“My dream was to win it, but that obviously didn’t work out,” Mike said. “To be honest, working at the Hall of Fame is an honor and when they asked me to become “Keeper of the Cup” it was again an honor and a thrill. It wasn’t something that I thought about. I knew of the job, but I never thought that one day I’d be one of the guys who got to travel with the Cup. I only hang with winners.”
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Angie Carducci
Four games into the 2011-12 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 3-0-1. They’ve forged that early-season success without stalwart defenseman Brooks Orpik, still recovering from off-season abdominal surgery; captain Sidney Crosby, getting closer to being cleared for contact, the next step in his concussion recovery; and, for the past two games, Evgeni Malkin, whose plans for a rebound season have been temporarily stalled due to a lower-body injury.
In the absence of their two biggest offensive stars, the Penguins know they’ll need to get offense by committee. And one player who has stepped up to the challenge in a big way is the one who was the most in need of some redemption after the end of last season – forward Matt Cooke.
With three goals in four games, Cooke is tied for the NHL goal-scoring lead. And while he’s not likely to remain in the Rocket Richard Trophy hunt for long, it’s been a nice start to a year Cooke began knowing that he was on his last chance with the Penguins – and, perhaps, the league – unless he made significant changes to his game and his mindset.
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Charlie Passero
Hockey season has finally ramped up. With the Caps’ first two games in the books and a break before the next matchup, let’s analyze what’s happened so far.
First and foremost, Washington won both divisional games. They also gave one point to both divisional opponents.
The Good News
Making more than a couple roster changes in the offseason at key positions can have it’s up and downs. This Capitals team is showing enough poise and skill to win games during the lows. Their early clutch factor should lead to a nice roll at some point.
They also look really solid in net. Don’t expect too many more of what Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher called “weird” goals on Tomas Vokoun.
The Bad News
Nicklas Backstrom isn’t looking like the second highest paid player on the team. While his offensive playmaking is rounding into form, his play needs to show more awareness and grit. The Face-off losses on the Power Play are hurting the team. Also, the Caps have given up eight regulation goals. That part isn’t Backstrom’s fault, just needed to be noted. For the record, this writer believes Backstrom will be an improved player by the end of the season.
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Mike Wyman
For most hockey fans, the name Conn Smythe conjures up images of the undersized but larger than life man responsible for the Toronto Leafs in the years they were a major force in the sport. A Canadian patriot with pronounced Empire leanings, Smythe fought in both World Wars, suffering injuries that would plague him for the rest of his life and took a stand on conscription that came close to bringing down the Canadian government of the day.
Kelly McParland’s The Lives of Conn Smythe – From the Battlefield to Maple Leaf Gardens; A Hockey Icon’s Story, slated for release on October 22nd, the first long-form biography of the legendary Leafs leader is a heavily footnoted volume that draws extensively on Smythe’s autobiography, news reports of his era and interviews with the few left alive with first-hand memories of his hockey years. The author also was given access to both the Smythe family archives as well as to the files used by Scott Young when he assembled Smythe’s 1981 in-his-own-words memoir, If You Can’t Beat ‘Em in the Alley.
A career journalist presently employed at the National Post and familiar with the machinations of the political world, McParland is in his element when putting Major Smythe’s military and business careers in the spotlight, determining and identifying a number of minor inaccuracies in his autobiography.
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Eric Burton
This past weekend, the Fighting Sioux lost the championship game of the Ice Breaker Championship to the Boston College Eagles 6-2, and some of the Fighting Sioux faithful are panicking a bit. Some have suggested with the Maine Black Bears coming to town this weekend, that it could be another long weekend for the Fighting Sioux. But looking at the numbers, things aren’t really as bad as they seem.
Since Fighting Sioux head coach David Hakstol took over the coaching duties at the beginning of the 2004-05 season, the Fighting Sioux have a record of 11-12-4 against the Hockey East teams. I think one could classify that as a respectable record against Hockey East teams, since three of the last four NCAA titles have come out of Hockey East; Boston College 2008 and 2010 and Boston University 2009.
During that time period (2004-11), there are two teams that have the Fighting Sioux’s number, coach Hakstol’s teams have compiled a 1-4-1 record against the Boston College Eagles and a 2-4-0 record against the Maine Black Bears for a cumulative record 3-8-1. Putting that record aside, Coach Hakstol teams have a 8-4-3 record against Merrimack College, North Eastern University, University of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. For some reason those two Hockey East teams have coach Hakstol’s number. Fighting Sioux fans hope that their team’s fortunes change this weekend against the Black Bears.
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Jake Seiner
Competition around TD Garden was scarce this preseason. The seventh-defenseman battle between Steve Kampfer and Matt Bartkowski came to an anticlimactic finish when Kampfer went down with an injury. The competition for the 12th forward spot between Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron still hasn’t really been resolved, with Pouliot and Caron each earning starts and scratches in the first three games.
After that, perhaps the next most intriguing battle was between locker-room neighbors Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley. The pair were both guaranteed plenty of ice time –– the battle was a matter of who their linemates would be for those shifts. One figured to step into Mark Recchi’s retired skates on Patrice Bergeron’s right wing. The other was likely play on the third line with Chris Kelly and the winner of the Pouliot-Caron battle.
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Mike Wilson
The Oilers are regarded around the league as having one of the most exciting young rosters. At forward, there is endless skill and exuberance, but on the back end… well that’s a different story. The Oilers defense can be summed up like this:
“Ryan Whitney and… um… I got nothing.”
Whitney is a great talent who had 27 points in 35 games as a d-man, but that was the problem — he only played 35 games. The ankle injury that took him out last year is still ailing him and has him starting the season on the injury report listed as “Day to day”. On the positive side, Ladislav Smid will be ready to go Sunday for the Oilers opener. Smid was slated to miss up to a month with a dislocated shoulder, and his presence is much needed considering the defensive makeup of this team.
Click here to GET INSIDE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|