Canada’s mood today is reflected by its World Junior Championship team, which fell in stunning fashion to Russia in the gold medal game. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
By Stu Hackel
Let’s take a skate around the hockey world and see what’s interesting today…
In just seven months as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steve Yzerman has shown a knack for making shrewd moves and surrounding himself with solid hockey people. (Cliff Welch/Icon SMI)
By Stu Hackel
When Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik hired Steve Yzerman as GM last May, his first hope was that Yzerman’s lofty stature in the NHL would help restore confidence in the franchise among its fans, something that had been destroyed by the unpredictable and underfunded previous ownership group. But Yzerman’s astute moves have shown that he’s more than a stabilizing figure. He’s among the sharpest managers in the game.
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“I don’t deserve to be in there when you don’t win. That’s the bottom line,” Martin Brodeur said on Monday after the Devils announced they would be going with a goaltending platoon. (AP Photos)
By Stu Hackel
This could be temporary, it could be a sign of things to come, but Martin Brodeur will now be splitting time in goal for the Devils with Johan Hedberg starting tonight (Tuesday) against the Wild, a move that can’t be a surprise if you’ve watched the future Hall of Famer play this season, but it still represents something of a historic moment, and a sad one, too.
By Stu Hackel
Fair or not, Sidney Crosby’s unfortunate reputation as a whiner won’t be fading any time soon after his comments on Monday about this hit to his head by David Steckel of the Capitals during Saturday’s Winter Classic game…
…which went unpenalized by the officials and unpunished by the NHL.
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The weather was bad, but the TV ratings were good for the 2011 Winter Classic, yet next year’s game will also be problematic. (Washington Post via Getty Images)
By Stu Hackel
What’s the takeaway from the Winter Classic (apart from the dizzying, over-produced NBC telecast)?
As a spectacle, the rainswept scene on the banks of the Ohio River fell far short of the idyllic snowglobe fantasy of four years earlier on another football field in a suburban stadium southeast of Buffalo. As a hockey game, the Capitals-Penguins match was more informative than entertaining. As a TV show and business indicator, the NHL is happy, although it could have been happier.
And all these caveats have one source: the weather.
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