Archives › James O’Brien
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With the Philadelphia Flyers back in the Stanley Cup finals and HBO airing its documentary on “The Broadstreet Bullies,” it’s fun to think back to that era in the team’s history. After all, a lot has happened since that dominant 1974-75 Cup run. In fact, let’s look at the different eras in the team’s history…
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Crosby, Ovechkin to meet in next year's Winter Classic, Canada gets second outdoor game
May 27, 2010, 9:30 PM EDT
Rumors were swirling about next year’s outdoor games for quite some time, but now it’s just about official. There will be two during the 2009-10 season. The first will take the traditional Winter Classic spot on New Year’s Day 2011 and will feature a bout between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals at Heinz Field.…
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There are three things that got me into hockey in the mid-90s. The first was the on-ice brilliance of Mario Lemieux (and also, to a great extent, Jaromir Jagr). Like a bunch of other snot-nosed kids, the artistically devoid but nostalgically rich “Mighty Ducks” movies also drew me into the sport. The last piece of the puzzle,…
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When it comes to Russian hockey players – from superstars to middling talent – the KHL will be a great negotiating tool for the foreseeable future. Sure, there are players from other countries who might elect to go there, too (as you could see with goalies Ray Emery – briefly – and Robert Esche). But for the…
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It’s no secret that hockey players will fight through some gruesome injuries and often take crazy health risks to play in the playoffs. Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Ladd needs only to look back at his Stanley Cup winning run with the Carolina Hurricanes – and his former teammate Erik Cole’s courageous Game 7 return despite…
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There aren’t many head coaches who are wallflowers. After all, it’s their jobs to wear suits and make split second decisions and yell at people who either could be close to their own age or young enough to be their sons. This is not a career path for the meek, weak-willed or shy. Still, even…
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The City of Glendale made good on the $25 million promise it made to the NHL for loses the league dealt with regarding the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes. The Arizona Republic has details on the situation, including where exactly the money is coming from. The money in the enterprise funds comes from fees paid by…
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Rob Blake was still an asset for the San Jose Sharks at the far-from-tender age of 40, logging the second most time-on-ice for the team during the playoffs. Still, the rugged defenseman looks like is leaning toward retirement, reports David Pollak of the Mercury News. Sharks captain Rob Blake is leaning toward retirement at age 40,…
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There are some big name goalies whose contracts are expiring this season. Some are unrestricted free agents, such as Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov. Others are considered restricted, including Jaroslav Halak and Antti Niemi. Yet Behind the Net reasons that the offseason free agent market is “pretty ugly” and states that teams might be better off going…
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Beyond the Chicago Blackhawks offense, Michael Leighton has another thing to worry about: the potential return of Brian Boucher. Philly.com reports that Boucher might be ready to backup Leighton as early as Game 1 on Saturday. “I think there is a chance, yeah,” Boucher said. “I think today was a day to get through, and it went…
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For three straight seasons, Marian Hossa will play in the Stanley Cup finals, and he’ll be doing so with his third different team in a row. It’s an odd mercenary accomplishment for the Czech winger, who chose to leave Pittsburgh for Detroit (the team that beat the Penguins) and then the Red Wings for the…
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We don’t take ourselves too seriously here at Pro Hockey Talk. Ultimately, we want to bing you a nice mixture of puck-based news and entertainment. One of the more torturous practices involves making fearful predictions for a sport that is about as predictable as a David Lynch film. To the chagrin of us three, we…
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In the last post, I discussed how the current Chicago Blackhawks compare to the last Chicago team that won the Cup. It’s been ages since the Flyers last won a Cup, too. After winning two straight Cups in the Broadstreet Bullies era (last in ’75), the team has been on a serious championship drought. The league…
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It’s been a long, long time since the Chicago Blackhawks won a Stanley Cup. Almost 50 years, actually, as the last time they raised it was the 1960-61 campaign. With the team four wins away from a championship, it seems reasonable to compare the 2009-10 Blackhawks to their predecessors, something that Vintage Leaf Memories did today.…
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The Ottawa Senators signed the “other” Brodeur, Mike Brodeur, to a new deal according to TSN. The contract is a one-year, two-way contract, meaning the team is free to send him to the minors and call him up to the professional club whenever it needs to. The 27-year old spent the majority of the 2009-10 season with…
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A lot of times, I feel a little strange writing “Chicago Blackhawks.” Something doesn’t seem quite right about it. It’s sort of like spelling an old junior high favorite band, Soundgarden. Is it Soundgarden or “Sound Garden”? It boggles the mind, really. (It’s Soundgarden, though.) Joe Pelletier of Greatest Hockey Legends shares a history lesson on…
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2010 Stanley Cup finals: Don't expect the same 'Hawks next year
May 26, 2010, 12:25 PM EDT
Back in March, I took an in-depth look at the looming Chicago Blackhawks cap crisis. The actual cap commitments are the same, as you can see in this breakdown of the 2010-11 scenario. (Numbers from CapGeek.com) Chicago’s 2010-11 cap commitments (some cap hits rounded up for simplicity): Forwards (9 of 12 spots covered): Toews (6.3); Kane…
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Philadelphia won the Pronger trade now … but what about later?
May 26, 2010, 11:25 AM EDT
During last year’s draft, the Anaheim Ducks traded Chris Pronger to the Philadelphia Flyers for what seemed like a bounty of picks and players. In all, the Ducks received two first round draft picks, a conditional third round pick, a Flyers first-rounder in Luca Sbisa and streaky sniper Joffrey Lupul. When the trade went down,…
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I’m just about certain that Brandon or Joe already posted this video (or a similar video of this moment) already, but it’s already been – gah! – two days without hockey and counting today, there will be three more. (How … how are we going to cope with the fact that there are only 4-7…
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In a given day, we put up a lot of content here at Pro Hockey Talk. To give you a chance to keep up with all of it, we’ll put all the posts together in what we like to call The PHT Nightcap. Enjoy. Reports: Steve Yzerman to be named Lightning GM: Could the Lightning…
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After reading a ton of takes regarding the Tampa Bay Lightning hiring Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman as their new GM, Hoosier Hockey’s stance is the closest to my own. While Yzerman was probably the best available candidate left on the market, I am slightly nervous about the prospect of someone without prior GM experience running the…
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During the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, all eyes were on the super-duper hyped Sidney Crosby. For some time, one had to wonder if No. 2 pick Bobby Ryan would be a mere footnote in the league’s draft history. Or, worse yet, maybe Ryan would go down as the NHL’s version of Darko Milicic, the infamous…
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2010 Stanley Cup finals: Which players have the most to gain (and lose)
May 25, 2010, 8:30 PM EDT
In my last post, I discussed how long it’s been since either the Flyers or Blackhawks won a Cup and that both teams shouldn’t assume they’ll be back again any time soon. To wrap up a general two-part series regarding “what’s at stake” for both teams, I thought I’d also look at individual players in…
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2010 Stanley Cup finals: What this series means for both teams
May 25, 2010, 7:45 PM EDT
Comments OffOnce the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins were ousted from the second round of the playoffs, it became clear that this year’s Stanley Cup finals would not have a “been there, done that” feeling. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers ensure that whoever wins the Cup will end a long drought for a historic…
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Red Wings hoping Nicklas Lidstrom makes retirement decision soon
May 25, 2010, 6:45 PM EDT
Comments OffThe Detroit Red Wings are hoping that legendary defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom decides whether or not to retire before the June 25-26 NHL Entry Draft, reports Ansar Khan of MLive.com. The story indicates that the genius Swede will at least make his choice before the first day of unrestricted free agency, which is July 1. Most in…
