Category Hockey

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‘WALKING IN A ROOM, HE TOOK CONTROL OF IT’: EDDIE ‘THE ENTERTAINER’ SHACK, 1937-2020

He’d just been named one of game’s three stars, so he decided to show the fans some flair. He swiped the hat off an usher’s head, placed it on his own and hopped on the ice. He delivered a pretty pirouette. He hopped back off the ice, placed the hat back on the usher’s head and was gone. The crowd roared. That was Eddie Shack, a player so charismatic and beloved that a song written about him once topped the Canadian pop music charts. He was known more for his trademark cowboy hat, bushy mustache and TV commercials than for his play. They called him ‘The Entertainer’ for a reason. The NHL had never seen a personality quite like his. It was a painful loss for the game when Shack, 83, passed away Sunday after a battle with cancer. Shack’s early life trajectory wasn’t what most people call normal, and that was fitting for him. Growing up in Sudbury, Ont., he dropped out of school at a young age and spent much of his life functionally illiterate. He worked in a butcher shop until he tried out for the Ontario Hockey Association’s Guelph Biltmores. He…

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JOE PAVELSKI FOUND EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR IN DALLAS

Joe Pavelski was synonymous with the San Jose Sharks for years – heck, the center/right-winger was the captain of the team for four seasons – but last summer introduced a change to the gifted two-way veteran. With the Sharks unable to sign all their free agents under the salary cap, Pavelski’s departure was pretty much telegraphed ahead of time, but it was nonetheless strange to hear him joining another Western Conference franchise. That team turned out to be the Dallas Stars, which inked Pavelski to a three-year contract worth a total of $21 million. Pavelski, who won a USHL title with Waterloo and an NCAA championship with the University of Wisconsin, has gotten close to the Stanley Cup but has yet to hoist it. His Sharks fell to Pittsburgh in 2016 final and that’s been his NHL apex to date. But with Dallas putting together a tough, veteran crew for 2019-20, Pavelski was a key pick-up in the off-season. “You can never have enough guys who have learned how to win,” said Dallas GM Jim Nill. “Winning doesn’t just happen, you have to go through the trials and tribulations and Joe Pavelski has done that.…

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Women’s Hockey: India hold Great Britain to 1-1 draw

Indian women held hosts Great Britain to a 1-1 draw in the second match of their Tour of the United Kingdom held here on Sunday. India’s Lalremsiami scored the equalizing goal in the 32nd minute after Great Britain had taken an early lead in the match. India was out of the blocks quicker and earned a couple of penalty corners within the first two minutes. Britain’s custodian Maddie Hinch was at hand to ensure India didn’t get an early lead though. Soon it was Great Britain, who reciprocated, winning a penalty corner from a swift counter. Despite a smart save by the Indian defense, an infringement meant the hosts were awarded a penalty stroke, which was duly converted in the 8th minute, giving them a 1-0 lead. It was that slender lead they took into the first break. Much like the first quarter, it was India again, who took the initiative early in the second period, winning another short corner and Hinch pulled off another save. Read More

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BRUCE CASSIDY HAS ECLIPSED ALL EXPECTATIONS EN ROUTE TO HIS EXTENSION WITH BRUINS

When the Boston Bruins fired Claude Julien in February 2017, right in the midst of a hotly contested playoff race, it couldn’t have seemed more misguided. By all measures, underlying or otherwise, the Bruins appeared prepared to punch their ticket to the dance and contend for the Stanley Cup. Boston boasted a talented core, strength at all positions and possession numbers that suggested it was nothing more than a bout of bad luck – six losses in nine games at a crucial point in the campaign – along with the threat of a third consecutive season on the outside of the post-season looking in that made the Bruins panic just enough to give Julien the axe. And replacing Julien with assistant Bruce Cassidy, well, that seemed to be cause for even greater concern. Had Cassidy done great work down on the farm? Undeniably. He was fresh off of a run of four consecutive playoff appearances in five seasons behind the Providence Bruins’ bench. But his NHL track record was next to non-existent. He had spent parts of two seasons, a total of 107 regular seasons and six playoff games, behind the Washington Capitals’ bench and…

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WITH RFAS, THE WORLD HAS CHANGED AND THE NHL IS GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE WITH IT

With the opening of all 31 training camps and the first on-ice sessions set for the next day or two, the clock has officially begun ticking on the most lengthy and unique group of restricted free agents the NHL has ever seen. Every day missed by these young and talented players is one more day they’ll fall behind their teammates in preparing for the season. And if you don’t think it’s important for these guys to be on the ice on time, you haven’t been following the history of players who have gone down this road before. There are no easy answers here, otherwise, there would not be 11 teams in this position right now. All told, more than a third of the NHL – representing a total of 16 players – faces the prospect of going into camp with at least one roster player coming off an entry-level deal who does not yet have a contract. Three of them (Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, and Mikko Rantanen) finished among the top 20 scorers in the NHL last season and a number of the others are significant players on their rosters. And one thing is very…

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