Archives › James O’Brien
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Get your “Fire Glen Sather” jokes ready, because the NHL might introduce an annual award for the league’s best general manager, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun. The first annual General Manager Award will indeed see the light of day this year. You may remember this was Brian Burke’s idea a few years back and, finally, after…
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The Vancouver Canucks dismantled Chicago tonight and that much is not lost on the Blackhawks. Still, it is just one game and coach Joel Quenneville thinks that their experience in last year’s playoffs will help them fight the urge to panic. “We had a lot of uncertainly last year,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Going into…
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The Boston Bruins are just asking themselves for “bruise” related pun headlines. This afternoon, they saw Marc Savard – a guy who missed two months with concussion issues – score a game-winning overtime goal. With the way their season is going, it almost makes sense that they are dealing with another injury problem. The team…
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Things were not easy for the Chicago Blackhawks against Nashville, a seventh seed known mainly for grinding their way into the playoffs. So I had a feeling that things would be even rockier against the Vancouver Canucks and that clearly seems to be the case. Vancouver Canucks 5, Chicago Blackhawks 1 Canucks lead series 1-0…
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For hockey nerds like myself, it doesn’t get much better than Canucks versus Blackhawks. These teams are loaded with talent (Vancouver has those supremely bizarre Sedin twins! Chicago has Kane, Toews, Keith and Hossa!), but what really makes this series fascinating is the fact that the they truly hate each other. To get you revved…
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Boston’s dramatic overtime win over Philadelphia was exciting, for sure. After Marc Savard’s fairytale OT GWG, Pierre McGuire spoke with another resurgent Bruins forward who suffered from plenty of concussion problems: Patrice Bergeron. What follows is an interesting interview from a player with a unique perspective on what his teammate must be going through. …
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The hockey world is ages behind “Moneyball” philosophy and Sabermetrics, just to name a few buzzwords associated with the innovative stats championed by baseball writers and stats gurus for years. That isn’t to say that hockey bloggers/writers/fans/front office people are completely turning a blind eye to analysis that goes deeper than goals, assists and plus/minuses, though.…
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Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau’s results keeps improving in the regular season, but many questioned his job security after the Caps lost in the first round to the Canadiens. Washington Post reporter Tarik El-Bashir tracked down the team’s general manager George McPhee (affectionately called GMGM by many Washington fans), who claims that Boudreau will be around…
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In our instant analysis-crazed society, it seems like people just cannot help but make a hasty, sweeping judgment about almost anything. At one point, Alex Ovechkin was the superhuman, unquestioned best player in hockey according to many experts. Yet after a medal-free Olympics run and a first round defeat few saw coming, there are probably…
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It seems more and more likely that Marc Savard is going to return to the Boston Bruins during the second round, which bothers the inner-worried-mother in me. Still, he’s a hockey player and needs to help his team. The Bruins are being cautious about integrating Savard into their lineup as he starts to get his legs…
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A couple weeks ago, I broke down the pending free agents (unrestricted and restricted alike) for each conference. (East here, West here) Let’s take a gander at how some of the most noteworthy free-agents-to-be fared so far. Obviously, for players on half the teams, they won’t get another chance to show off their skills. Now let’s…
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A couple weeks ago, I broke down the pending free agents (unrestricted and restricted alike) for each conference. (East here, West here) So let’s take a gander at how some of the most noteworthy free-agents-to-be fared up to this point. Obviously, for players on half the teams, they won’t get another chance to show off their…
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Hockey fans pining for the NHL return of that flowing mullet (or at least the great playmaking skill) of Jaromir Jagr might be out of luck. The Edmonton Journal reports that Jagr is likely to re-sign with Omsk in the KHL, killing the hopes of him returning to the Oilers or any other team in the…
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Statistically speaking, it wasn’t exactly a banner night for either Jimmy Howard or Evgeni Nabokov. That doesn’t mean that the two goalie lacked any kind of highlights at all, though. While it wasn’t enough to help the Red Wings come back, Howard made a couple reflexive saves here that gave his team a chance to…
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This might not be the most amazing goal, but it could end up being enormous for Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. It’s possible that folks could bristle at the fact that Jumbo Joe set up one of his “typical” assists (it was pure pretty passing; Thornton simply got a little room and did what he…
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With the first round of the 2010 NHL Playoffs in the bag, I thought it might be wise to look at the league’s leaders in certain categories. Eliminated players in italics. Points leaders through Round 1 1. Sidney Crosby – 142 (tied). Mikael Samuelsson – 11 2 (tied). Henrik Zetterberg – 113 (tied). Michael Cammalleri…
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Team Canada added four players to its 2010 IIHF World Championships roster today: Ryan Smyth, Brooks Laich, Tyler Myers and Mike Del Zotto. TSN has the story on Mark Messier’s team assembling process. Messier has been busy working the phones, trying to fill out his roster. He currently has 20 confirmed players — seven defencemen, 12…
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Upon the conclusion of the first round, the rosters for one of sport’s great consolation tournaments – the IIHF World Championships – are starting to hit their stride. Team USA, for instance, added 11 players to their roster (according to TSN). The latest additions include Los Angeles Kings’ defencemen Jack Johnson and Matt Greene, Devils’…
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Sure, I have moments when I scream at the TV as if it will react to my venom just like any other fan. That being said, in the grand scheme of things, it pains me when fans use the zebras as an excuse for a defeat. Still, it’s perhaps the nature of a fan to…
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TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Steve Yzerman is on the “short list” of candidates for the Tampa Bay Lightning GM job along with former Canucks GM Dave Nonis and veteran executive Doug Risebrough. Sources say the Red Wings have granted permission for Tampa Bay to speak with Yzerman, currently a vice president in Detroit. Yzerman won’t…
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Strange story out of San Jose: it seems that the Detroit Red Wings came into town too late and might face a fine for breaking curfew. Anytime you can refer to a team that features Nicklas Lidstrom (a 40-year-old man) as “breaking curfew,” you just have to do it. TSN has the story. The Mercury news…
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Whether you’re a Capitals fan or not, if you’re even remotely interested in hockey blogging you probably admire Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. He’s one of sport’s most media-savvy owners, so it’s not surprising that after the Capitals lost Game 7 to the Montreal Canadiens, Leonsis put up some classy posts about the series. Here’s…
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Another round, another set of darts. This time, we’re taking a look at Round 2 of the 2010 NHL Playoffs (also known as the Conference Semifinals, if you’re a stickler for details). I think the question is: which team will torment us with their upset special this round? Next up, the Eastern Conference. Click here…
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Video: Highlights: Penguins crush Senators to move on
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Video: Neil hits Murray below the belt
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Video: Morrow's goal up for review in Game 5
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Video: Phantom penalty called on Crosby
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Video: I was there: Bruins stun Maple Leafs in Game 7
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Video: Top-seeded Blackhawks on brink of elimination
