CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence
On tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee will be putting forward four names for induction.
This year four new superstars will be coming eligable: Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille.
Matt McCallum has created an interesting process for evaluating the best nominees. 
His results show: Hull, Yzerman, Leetch, and Luc in [...]

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by Ron Spence
A couple of days ago, Scott Cullen  wrote a piece: NUMBERS GAME: FIRST ROUND VALUE.
He was listing the best and worst 3 players at every draft number over the past 30 years.
Some Canucks were named at the top of their pick: Mattias Ohlund at number 13, Ryan Kessler at 23, and Cam Neely [...]

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by Ron Spence
 
I have this irritating habit of gestalting players.
I see them as part of a whole, rather than a linear progression.
I hear a name and think of: where they played their amateur hockey – if I know the player; who was their coach and on their team; who drafted them and who else was [...]

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by Ron Spence
I enjoyed the Stanley Cup finals very much – even though I had to listen to all of the games on the radio via my computer.
The games were great, as were the numerous subplots – old vs. new, Hossa, Crosby, etc.
But, what happened afterwards has prompted me to comment.
I like Ken Holland a [...]

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by Ron Spence
Today’s Stanley Cup rings are garish (Read THE BLINGING OF LORD STANLEY’S RINGS.). 
On some of the chat sites, they’re saying that they resemble basketball rings. 
I personally think that the Bball rings show better taste.
I decided to compare the rings – from all the North American major league sports – and stretched it by [...]

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Radio Station 105.9 FM “The X” (WXDX-FM), in Pittsburgh, has a question and answer segment between the 2nd and 3rd periods.
They received a call from Denmark, telling Mike Lange and Phil Bourque that a father and son were staying up late, drinking coffees, and pulling for Pittsburgh to win the Stanley Cup.
One reason for their support? [...]

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by Ron Spence
There were five seconds left in the game, and I was waiting for him to say: “Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy!”
That’s what Mike Lange had quipped – in 1992 – when Pittsburgh won their second Stanley Cup.
Today, Lange said: “Lord Stanley, scratch their names on your fabled Cup.”

I had never [...]

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by Ron Spence
The Stars have fired Dave Tippett after seven seasons behind the Dallas bench.  It was Joe Nieuwendyk’s first act as Dallas’ GM.
TSN reports that the Stars have asked for permission to talk to former Kings coach Marc Crawford.
Don’t be surprised if 45-year-old Scott Arniel doesn’t win the position.
Arniel was named the winner of [...]

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by Ron Spence
In a perfect world, Wayne Gretzky would be coaching the Portland Coyotes.
The team would be somewhat – but not totally popular – and Vancouver fans could make roadtrips down the I5 to Yotes games – that they could buy cheap tickets for.
There would be a couple of bars where everyone could  meet, wearing [...]

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by Ron Spence
A century ago teams had to travel a long way to  compete for the Stanley Cup.
They traveled from Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto to Vancouver or Seattle – by train.
This week two teams had to travel a record distance to play for the Kelly Cup – the ECHL finals.
The Carolina Stingrays and the Anchorage [...]

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