The San Jose Sharks and the Greatest Risk of All
It was 25 years ago. I was on the phone with a business partner who managed a group of 50 people. He was telling me that senior management had come…
NHL Coaching
Bluenotes: Players Send Message to Hitchcock
In a perfect world today’s hockey headlines would have read ‘The Blues Secure 4th Straight Playoff Berth’. That’s not the case in St. Louis as fans and the players are…
Bill Peters Shows No Mercy to Struggling Canes
With the Hurricanes focusing on the long-term success of the franchise, whether the team wins or loses any particular game for the rest of the season is a minor detail…
Is Canes Head Coach Bill Peters Missing the Obvious?
At the moment, head coach Bill Peters is held in high regard among Carolina Hurricanes fans. After years of Paul Maurice and Kirk Muller, it’s been a refreshing sight to…
Are the Edmonton Oilers…Good?
Are the Edmonton Oilers a good hockey team? Now that you’ve finished laughing, I’ll point out that although the Oilers possess a nowhere near winning record, they have become a…
Bill Peters Calm in the Face of Scrutiny
The season hasn’t gone the way anyone in the Carolina organization had planned. Pre-season injuries to Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner contributed to a winless month of October, which all…
Re-Thinking Taking Shots, Bernier, And The Lottery
Last night, Jon Bernier allowed a goal on a shot he’d undoubtedly like to have another go at. I’ve never played goal, but I suspect there are probably one of…
The NHL Management All-Stars
For a second, forget that Peter Laviolette and Darryl Sutter are “coaching” at this weekend’s NHL All-Star Game in Columbus. In fact, you probably didn’t know that to begin with.…
Ken Hitchcock Continues to Surpass Milestones
There was a change in the St. Louis Blues to open the 2011-12 season. A year after the acquisition of starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak, the Blues added veteran free agents…
Do Mid-Season Coaching Changes Make a Difference?
It happens all the time in professional sports. A team is underachieving. They aren’t performing up to expectations. Players don’t seem to be developing as a General Manager would have…
When the Inmates Run the Asylum
The writing was on the wall; if not for sometime now, certainly recently. Promises of culture change were made, and by firing Randy Carlyle today the Maple Leafs brass has…
Canes Constricting Defense a Credit to the Coaches
What words come to mind when one hears “Carolina Hurricanes”? Depending on who is asked, it could be their star players, their long playoff drought, or the Stanley Cup won…