Incoming chairman Pat Quinn (right, with Mats Sundin) will replace Bill Hay (left) on August 1. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Hey, Pat.

Congrats on the new gig! Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Not bad for a kid from The Hammer.

I’m sure you’ll be telling people that you’ve got some big shoes to fill. Your predecessor, Bill Hay, had a decent run of it since taking the reins in 1999. He oversaw $50 million worth of expansion and renovation to the current Hall location, which is awesome, by the way. I took my kids for their first visit last summer. Not a week goes by without them asking if we can go again this year, so good job, everyone!

Hay also made it easier for women to gain entry to the Hall by setting up a unique category so they wouldn’t have to compete with men for votes. Of course, it took him until 2010 to make that happen, but hey, progress is progress, right?

And that’s really what I want to talk to you about. Progress. Change has occurred at a fairly glacial pace around the Hall. I think you have a chance to address that.

Now as I understand it, most of your time will be spent shaking hands and shaking people down for funds soliciting donations. Not the most glamorous aspect of the job, but a necessary evil when you’re running a massive not-for-profit like the HOF.

I’m guessing it’ll be your abilities in that area that will determine how highly you’re regarded by the board of directors, so good luck there. But what hockey fans care about is the integrity of the Hall itself.

The thing about you is, you’re a leader. A great leader. Change requires great leadership. See where I’m going here? It’s time for some serious reform around those parts.

Read More…

It’s sad that a time when media attention should be focused solely on the deserving  2012 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, the NHL lockout and CBA negotiations will dominate the headlines. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

Things are once again at a standstill after the lost weekend of NHL-NHLPA CBA talks. We followed Friday’s events and their fallout on Saturday, and, to the credit of cooler heads, the talks did resume on Sunday, but went nowhere. They focused on an area of the deal that has proved to be as problematic — and will likely continue to be — as the split of Hockey Related Revenue: player contracting rights.

Read More…

In new Hall of Famer Adam Oates (right), the Caps hired a superb teacher. (Shelly Castellano/Icon SMI)

By Stu Hackel

You won’t see a guy have a better day than Adam Oates had on Tuesday, being officially announced as the head coach of the Washington Capitals and an honored member of the Hockey Hall of Fame (video) within the space of a few hours. “Obviously an absolutely fantastic day,” Oates said. “I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. I have to go out and play Lotto, I think.  Two huge honors.”

Read More…

Key question: Who is the most effective at policing the modern game on the ice – the NHL or the players? (Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE)

By Stu Hackel

In the aftermath of the Milan Lucic-Ryan Miller incident last Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres have come under heavy criticism for not pushing back against the Boston Bruins, either by challenging Lucic or by running goaltender Tim Thomas in retaliation. We showed video earlier this week of a 1987 game between Buffalo and Detroit that featured goalie-running and line brawls, but those sights are rare these days.

Should the players take matters into their own hands more than they do now?
Read More…

By Stu Hackel

Pat Burns passed away on Friday, a gruff but funny and beloved figure in the game and the only coach to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year with three different teams — Montreal in 1989, Toronto in 1993 and Boston in 1998. He coached the Devils to the 2003 Stanley Cup and deserves a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, which he sadly did not live to see.

But he did live to see construction begin on a rink named in his honor in the Eastern Townships of Quebec…

…and learn how much he was loved when his death was reported erroneously earlier this year. At that time, Bob McKenzie of TSN, who was a close friend of Burns, wrote just about the best thing you could want to read about Pat, and you should read it sometime this weekend.

Jim Kelley of SI.com, who also writes for Sportsnet.ca, has written a very personal and insightful remembrance of Burns on that website and you should read that one too.

Read More…