CrashingTheGoalie

There have been a number of Canucks Killers – players who have played well against the nucks and padded their stats at Vancouver’s expense. Some padded their plus/minus stats.
courtesy of robdumoart.com
The player that I remember the most – besides Gretz – was Teppo Numminen who played against Vancouver first as a Jet and later as [...]

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by Ron Spence
Dave Lewis has played with – and coached – some of the best players in NHL history.
Dave played with the Islanders from 1973-74 until 1979-80, when he was traded to the Kings. He played in L.A. from 1979-80 until 1982-83, then to New Jersey for three years, and finally a season and a [...]

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Mike Gillis has his Jordan Schroeders and Michael Grabners in the system, but he also has some future 3rd and 4th liners.
One of them is former Giant Mario Bliznak.

“Bliz is Bliz and that’s a compliment — he gives you the same thing all the time,” said Scott Arniel. “We saw what he could do last [...]

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Cory Schneider played up to his AHL press clippings in Dallas.
Third on Vancouver’s depth chart, he stopped 45 of 47 Stars’ shots.
Hoping to follow in Schneider’s footsteps is Merrimack College’s Joe Cannata, drafted by Mike Gillis last June, in the 6th round – 173rd overall.
courtesy of merrimackathletics.com
Merrimack had been a collegiate doormat, but with their [...]

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“Gophers coach Don Lucia said he is not worried that sophomore center Jordan Schroeder has not scored a goal yet this season,” wrote  Roman Augustoviz on November 2nd.
courtesy of thehockeywriters.com
Schroeder was picked by the WCHA coaches and media to be the conference’s Player of the Year or, in one poll, the co-Player of the Year [...]

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This from John Vogl of The Buffalo News:
“The Sabres have signed veteran left winger Jeff Cowan, who more than likely will earn a ticket to Portland rather than a spot on Buffalo’s already crowded forward lines.
Cowan has played in 413 NHL games since debuting with Calgary in the 1999-2000 season. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder has also played [...]

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The Penguins re-signed Bill Guerin and it wasn’t just because he’s a very good player.
He’s both a leader and a bonding agent in his team’s dressing room.
Todd Reirden – the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – recalls:
“I played my very first NHL game in Phoenix against the Coyotes. It was well documented I was [...]

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“I think it’s a great opportunity for me. I was ecstatic when they called and I felt from the beginning this is the place I wanted to be. It felt right and felt like something I wanted to be part of. Having said that I’m also grateful for the 11 years I played with Vancouver. [...]

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by Ron Spence
Dave Nonis – and most of the NHL’s other GM’s – had wet dreams about a late-blooming Swede named Fabian Brunnstrom.

“This is a player,” said TSN’s Bob McKenzie, “who, right now, is demanding ‘Top 5′ entry draft-level money. If you draft a guy in the Top 5, you have to pay out all those [...]

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by Ron Spence
Mike and Marian Ilitch have a framed one dollar bill hanging on a wall in one of their offices. And, it wasn’t the first dollar that they’d earned when they were establishing their Little Caesars Pizza empire.
On June 30, 1993, the Wings had acquired Kris Draper for future considerations. 
Draper had played in only [...]

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