CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence
Many ‘nucks fans are becoming expert capologists. 
They know how much each player is earning, his cap hit, and how much space Vancouver has – or doesn’t have – before they are over the Cap.
Vancouver’s highest cap hit is Roberto at $6,750,000.
The Islanders’ top cap hit is Rick DiPietro at $4,500,000, their second is [...]

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by Ron Spence
He was as fast as the wind – but always blew in the same direction. Brandon Reid was fun to watch – and hope for – but he never elevated his game. He played 13 games for the ‘nucks over three seasons. Now he’s playing in Germany….
courtesy of deg-metro-stars.de
Led Hamburg Freezers (DEL) in [...]

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“Parrish looks in exceptional shape and seems to be skating better than ever,” writes Minnesota Star Tribune’s Mike Russo, “after working this summer with powerskating extraordinaire Barry Karn, who runs the local Karn Skating Dynamics and works with the Calgary Flames.
“I’ve never felt better on the ice,” Parrish said. “It’s amazing. I’ve known him for [...]

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by Ron Spence
1. Before they became the New Jersey Devils, who were they?
2. During their first 13 seasons, how many playoff series did the franchise play in?
3. Since Lou Lamoriello became New Jersey’s president and general manager, how many post-seaons did the Devils reach in 21 seasons?
4. Five New Jersey players have had their names [...]

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“…The talk was about one particular hockey player that had turned heads throughout the Vancouver Canucks’ training camp,”  Jeff Bromley wrote on October 11, 2002. “Fedor Fedorov, Detroit’s superstar Sergei’s younger brother.
In Cranbrook on Wednesday morning the Vancouver Canucks announced that the 6′3″, 220lb forward had made the club and would play alongside Trevor Linden [...]

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“It’s September 12, 1999…[and] The team races out with new faces in Steve Kariya and Jarkko Ruutu. However, Crawford and Burke, who have seen Kariya playing with intensity all week in Kamloops, have been caught saying some good words on the 5-foot-7 speedy gonzalez on ice. By far Kariya has been the most productive player at [...]

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by Ron Spence
Cory Schneider was presented with the “Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award” as the AHL’s best goalie for 2008-09.
Canucks’ fans believe that he will thus become the next Roberto or Martin, but the history of the award doesn’t support this belief:

A few of the Baz winners have become good NHL goalies.
Most teams today would take [...]

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by Ron Spence
The off-season couldn’t have ended any other way.
There was a guy named Mike Danton who used to be Mike Jefferson who was released from prison. At the parole hearing, he claimed that he hadn’t been trying to kill his svengali hockey coach David Frost, but rather his father. 
His father then said that he [...]

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Sometimes I find myself critical of a few NHL players and have to remind myself that they’re just kids. 

“The education of those players is going to be very low,” said Jeremy Roenick, “I would say that most of them have high school educations, not college educations, and not to put athletes down, but they are [...]

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by Ron Spence
Mike Gillis had an impressive summer: he signed the Sedins and Roberto; picked up some veterans who have Stanley Cup rings and traded for more defenseman.
I am also impressed with what he’s done for Vancouver’s depth in goal. He let both Curtis Sanford and Jason LaBarbera go. They were replaced by Andrew Raycroft [...]

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