Japers' Rink (Free subscription) | yesterday
Earlier in the summer, Nicklas Backstrom declared, "I want to be a better hockey player. I have to work hard this summer. You want to be better every year, so you have to have a good summer." Well, so far it seems his summer has included hooking onto Peter Forsberg's charity hockey tour, hanging out with buddies at the beach and stopping by a hockey camp (as even the biggest stars tend to do).
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | yesterday
This is a great little stat: no coach in Penguin history has started and finished four consecutive seasons. Ron Cook thinks Michel Therrien, who just signed a contract extension , could be the one to break that streak. I don't. Therrien is a dangerous combination of narrow-minded and panicky. You could see it during the finals when he didn't change anything against the Wings until he suddenly moved...
Japers' Rink (Free subscription) | yesterday
We previously gave you reasons to watch every Caps game in October, November and December. Here's why you should watch the games on the slate for January: Jan. 1 vs. Tampa Bay: The Caps are 13-5-3-1 in their traditional New Year's Day game, including a 6-3 comeback win against Ottawa on 1/1/08 and a 5-5 tie (thanks to a pair of Mike Ridley tallies) with the Bolts the only time these teams have
Japers' Rink (Free subscription) | 07/24/2008
Agent Steinz and King Karl for your viewing pleasure: via da Bog
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | 07/24/2008
Wow. Look how decisive Mats Sundin is. He's got his NHL options narrowed down to the Canucks, the Leafs, or retirement . And he's said he'll decide by August. It's not like teams need to decide anything, right? Of course, looking at the Canucks' salaries , they still have the space to give Sundin that rumored $10 million/year for two years, and it's not like there's anyone else they could sign. They...
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | 07/22/2008
Who would have thought the Blackhawks would have a convention for its fans ? And who would have thought the fans would come? Don't forget. This is a team that just recently started broadcasting home games. It's amazing how things are changing so quickly for the franchise. They're signing free agents. They're spending a ton on goalies. They're going to be a part of the Winter Classic. It's almost like...
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | 07/21/2008
I can't believe the Sabres finally locked up a key player. They signed goalie Ryan Miller for five years , a reasonable amount of time for a franchise goalie. I thought for sure the Michigan native would eventually wind up with the Wings. And now, the Sabres are even looking to lock-up Jason Pominville . I guess the Sabres are starting to see the value of players who are actually willing to play in...
Sharkspage (Free subscription) | 07/18/2008
The NHL released the full 2008-09 regular season schedule on Thursday. The San Jose Sharks have posted downloadable and printable versions here . The NHL will kick off 2008-09 with back-to-back games in Prague and Stockholm. Tampa Bay will face the New York Rangers in the Czech Republic Oct. 4th and 5th and Ottawa will meet Pittsburg at the Globe Arena in downtown Stockholm also on Oct. 4th and 5th....
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | 07/17/2008
Considering it's the middle of July, there's a shocking amount of stuff going on around the NHL. Mark Hermann thinks Joe Queeneville should be the next coach of the Islanders . Queeneville isn't a bad idea, but given the Isles history, my money is on backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz, whose playing time indirectly led to coach Ted Nolan getting fired, deciding not to play in Russia, and instead becoming...
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | 07/16/2008
I officially don't understand the Russian leagues. Jason Krog, who just signed with the Canucks, supposedly had a seven figure offer from a Russian team . Krog took considerably less (he signed for $750,000) to play for the Canucks. But had the Russian team seen Krog's NHL stats? He had 21 goals and 37 assists in just under 200 NHL games. Even pre-lockout, I don't think those numbers would have gotten...
Sharkspage (Free subscription) | 07/15/2008
- San Jose Sharks center Jeremy Roenick fired a 2 under par 70 to lead the first round of the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship last weekend in Lake Tahoe. Roenick registered a 6 over par 78 on day 2 , and a 2 over par on day 3 to finish 9th overall (9 birdies, 14 bogies, 0 penalty minutes). The official tournament website is available at tahoecelebritygolf.com . Video of Roenick birdie...
PuckUpdate (Free subscription) | 07/15/2008
On the one hand, there's not much surprising about the Islanders' firing coach Ted Nolan . It was no secret Nolan and GM Garth Snow didn't get along very well . The surprising part is the timing of the firing. First, it was over two weeks into free agency and over a month after the end of the season. Why not fire Nolan when the season ended? Why not grab a new coach when you have the most options?...
Sharkspage (Free subscription) | 07/15/2008
ECHL ALLSTAR MIKE LALONDE WITH JAKE MORELAND IN 2006 The new Stockton Thunder podcast , also available on Stocktonthunder.com , details offseason news from the Edmonton Oilers ECHL affiliate in Northern California. The Thunder announced earlier this summer a renewed affiliation with Edmonton for the third straight season. The Thunder have made back-to-back ECHL Kelly Cup playoff appearances, and have...
Sharkspage (Free subscription) | 07/14/2008
#7 RONNIE O'BRIEN CHALLENGES #9 CONNOR CASEY IN THE 2ND KAMARA, JOHNSON AND HERNANDEZ CELEBRATE AFTER SJ GOAL #16 KEI KAMARA DRIVES PAST COLORADO'S #22 NICK LABROCCA The San Jose Earthquakes came out of the gate firing against the Colorado Rapids Saturday afternoon at Santa Clara University's Buck Shaw Stadium, but inconsistent play lead to a disappointing 1-1 tie and the extension of a 6-game winless...
Sharkspage (Free subscription) | 07/12/2008
2008 SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES STARTING 11 VS LOS ANGELES CLUB AMERICA LOST A FRIENDLY AGAINST CHELSEA 2-1 LAST JULY AT STANFORD The San Jose Earthquakes (3-9-3) will try to crack their 5-game winless streak at 1PM today against Western Conference rival Colorado (6-8-1). Colorado Rapids goaltender Bouna Coundoul is fifth in the MLS with a 1.18GAA, 5 shutouts and 36 saves on 51 shots. In 15 starts, Earthquakes...
