How High The Moon — An all-time hit song. How high the Islanders? That’s the talk around the National Hockey League now that coach Barry Trotz‘s astonishing outfit did what — last Fall — nobody in the ice world thought they could accomplish. They have done what the Las Vegas Golden Knights did in the […]
In the Iffy League, you never win or lose. Like it or not, that’s the prognosis in Buffalo for the Sabres. Or, to put it another way, in terms of hockey in 2018-19 the “Ifs” outweigh the “Plus” and “Minuses” because — well — because there’s so much uncertainty about Western New York’s favorite hockey […]
Were it not for the metaphysical Vegas performance last season, everyone still would be raving about the New Jersey Devils‘ ascent to the 2018 playoffs. Okay, so we’re still doing cartwheels over Taylor Hall‘s Hart Trophy season and Nico Hischier‘s meteoric rise to center Hall’s first line. Keith Kinkaid demonstrated that, yes, he has the goods […]
Beyond The Blue Horizon Waits A Beautiful Day – Hit song written during the Great Depression) Led by legendary Lou Lamoriello and Cup champion Barry Trotz, the Islanders view the new season glowing like a rising sun. A housecleaning that removed an entire general staff with established winners and a group of young, skilled virtuosos […]
Nothing about me is gonna be the same, there’ll be some changes made. (Excerpt from hit tune). No musical lyrics could better fit the “new” New York Rangers than the above jazz tune’s theme. Ever since last February, and right up to the recent deal that brought Adam McQuaid to Seventh Avenue, the Blueshirts have […]
What can be said about Adam Graves that hasn’t been said before? Plenty, unless you happened to have seen him a few minutes ago. Fact is, the ex-Ranger-turned-Mister-Hockey-Everything is all over the place. When not helping develop the next generation of Rangers, he’s working with neighborhood hockey groups or involved in any number of many […]
Chatting with rookie Rangers coach David Quinn is as refreshing and stimulating as sipping a Mint Julep on a hot New York day. Naturally, it’s so good, you want some more, so in sunny Manhattan, I savored my one-on-one chat with the Blueshirts’ new bench boss. He’s fun, candid, excited and everything else that goes […]
Patience. Fortitude. Perseverance. Grim Determination. Take your pick. Put ’em all together and you have Josh Bailey‘s story, a slow climb to stardom. But eventually, he made it. And if you don’t believe me, check Josh’s arithmetic book. During the 2017-18 season, the 28-year-old delivered a career-high in goals (18), a career-high in assists (53) […]
What can be said about Barry Trotz that already hasn’t been said? Plenty. For one thing, he’ll revive the Islanders. For another, the Stanley Cup-winning coach won’t be shadow-boxing in the dark. He knows his onions, knows his hockey and relishes the idea of a good challenge. It happened in Nashville, where he turned the […]
John Hynes hasn’t forgotten. Just a year ago, The Hockey News‘ editors verbally interred his New Jersey Devils so far down the National Hockey League standings in a pre-season X-Ray that you’d have needed an electron microscope to find them. “The Devils’ rebuild has a long way to go,” The Game’s Bible concluded, which was […]