NHL’s Atlantic Rich with Talent and Troubles

 It’s a relatively quiet time in the National Hockey League. Late August. Camps still a few weeks away. Outside of a Laine trade here, a Blues-Oilers offer sheet tussle there, not a whole heck of a lot rocking on. Hence, the dawning of the month-of-the-lists. TSN’s been at it. So
Matthew Tkachuk, Courtesy ESPN.com

Panthers’ identity has outcasts dying to grow and bare teeth

 “There is a creature alive today who has survived millions of years of evolution, without change, without logic, it lives to kill. A mindless eating machine, it will attack, it will devour. Anything. It is as if God created the Devil and gave him . . . jaws.”   This
Maggie the coonhound enjoying her family retreat at Barkwells in NC.

Dogs, endless driving, hockey, connections and Carolina

 I’ve never been a fan of Carolina – but in this instance we’re talking about the hockey team, not the state (or states) in the good, old USA. This past week and a half though, I tasted a touch of both state and hockey as we packed up our newish

NHL Quiz Show

 What’s up this week? Well, I’ll tell you what’s up this week: questions and answers that potentially could carry great relevance to a 2023-34 National Hockey League season, which opens in less than one month. That’s what’s up. The one caveat here – as it tends to be since we

Fresh Fish in The NHL’s Atlantic

 Last season the gun was jumped by this corner in regard to the ever-evolving Atlantic Division. Sure, the thing was evolving but not evolving as rapidly as we’d thought and forecasted. The young ones on the block – the Ottawa’s, Buffalo’s, and Detroit’s were on the move, but only incrementally.

Newsflash: Penguins are old! (Stop the presses!)

 Terry Marcotte, a cherished Ottawa personality while with CTV News, produced a weekly segment for the local channel a few years back highlighting the accomplishments of senior citizens in the sporting community. Too bad Terry didn’t stick around for another few years cause he could have filled a month of

NHL sagas we’re waiting to see unfold

 ABOVE: Early indications are that Juraj Slafkovsky was a good pick. Canadians love a good story almost as much as they love their hockey. So, pairing the two together makes sense, no? In each of our seven centres – Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg (just in case you forgot

Canada, who ya’ got?

 Want 6/7th of the country after your scalp? Put together a ranking – top to bottom – of Canadian NHL clubs. So, with that in mind . . . here we go. And for the first time in many a year, the disgruntlement won’t be zinging out of Eastern Ontario.

Battle of Alberta won’t help Canada’s odds

 PHOTO: NHL.COM At first there were three, then there were two. Soon there will be one. The percentages for a Canadian-style NHL championship have been sliced-and-diced down to a mere 25 per cent, regardless of what happens in the upcoming Round 2 of the playoffs. Canada’s last remaining hopes –

NHL not in Jeopardy of lacking playoff questions

 It’s another edition of questions in need of answers. Or answers in need of questions. While this corner is certainly no Mattea Roach, we’ll do our best to seek truth as the playoffs rev up next week. Yowzah! WILL THE OTTAWA SENATORS BE GOLFING OR WATCHING WHEN THE NHL KICKS

Senators’ neighbours going through angst of their own

 As Ottawa’s Senators continue a season swimming (and sinking at times) in unpredictability, the guys next door and across the street are drafting their own stories. Ottawa’s greatest rivals, for the uninitiated, are of course the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. As the two most recognized teams in

Senator fans continue to squirm

 Marge Simpson: You know, Homer, it's very easy to criticize. Homer Simpson: Fun, too. And so it is, Ottawa Fan. You have come to this, eh? Really can’t blame you . . . when you think about it. This stuff has been going on for years. By ‘stuff,’ I mean

Senators make ‘slight’ moves at deadline

 Really, when you think about it, it’s the small things that matter in life. So-hope the Ottawa Senators who did a few of the little deals at the trade deadline but picked up a small piece that - hopefully (for them) - eventually makes a difference. Ottawa tapped on its

Naughty or nice: the ABC’s of Xmas

 It’s been one helluva year, said everyone everywhere. Even in the usual sanctified domain of the sports world, the Year of COVID-19 hit hard and fast and repeatedly. But we’re moving on here, good people. ‘Tis the season for some much-required joy and boy do we need that lift, especially

Leafs top Canadian club list

 Brian Burke has always remained an interesting hockey icon. Pull-no-punches, tell it like it is. That’s Burkie. He’s a quote machine too. When he was dismissed by the Maple Leafs a few years back, here’s what he quipped: “There's sometimes when you get fired and you see the vultures circling and

NHL gets it right in bright return

 It’s rare that National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman lands any kind of praise from this corner. As rare as the steak my step-mother orders (Hi Marion!). Poor, far-reaching similes aside – kudos for the long-time head of hockey don’t come easy. This is a guy who thought a glowing

Canadian clubs: the good and the bad and the in-between

 We’re right around the halfway point in this NHL season and as we are prone to do a couple of times per season, let’s have a glance at how our seven Canadian teams are faring, and what might lie ahead in the upcoming months. Across Canada? It’s truly a mixed

Early returns favouring most Canadian NHL teams

 You couldn’t request and receive a better out-of-the-gate scenario for the majority of National Hockey League teams based here in Canada. As the league approaches the 20-game mark, let’s have a look at what’s been going right and what’s been going wrong for Canada’s seven clubs. CALGARY FLAMES (B) The