Heading into the 2010-11 season many NHL pundits had Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price listed as a question mark. A poor 2009-10 regular season in which Price lost his starting job to Jaroslav Halak, posting a 13-20-5 record along the way, followed by a horrific playoff which saw Price post a 0-1 record to go along with a .890 save percentage and bloated 3.56 goals against average, served as plenty of ammunition as to why Price may struggle this season. To the amazement of many (myself included), Price started the season strong, elevating his game to a new level, earning player of the week honors and, in many people’s minds, solidifying himself as the Canadiens number one goaltender. Price earned respect from the Montreal Canadiens’ fans and NHL fans alike for his efforts, garnering plenty of all-star support, which led

In a move that can hardly be called unexpected, the Toronto Maple Leafs have chosen to send Rookie forward Nazem Kadri down to the American Hockey League where he is expected to continue to develop his game with the Toronto Marlies. Through 17 games Kadri registered six assists, but he struggled to grasp the defensive side of the game, something that keeps many young forwards out of the NHL. Originally selected seventh overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Kadri (who struggled at the rookie tournament) made a strong case to make the big club in training camp (especially in the later games), only to find himself sent to the AHL for seasoning. The lingering issue was Kadri’s lack of defensive play and his penchant for turning over the puck in the neutral zone—ok, maybe in

Numerous media sources are reporting that Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter is stepping down with assistant GM Jay Feaster taking over a team that has failed to produce. Many fans were clamoring to see Sutter fired during the off-season—an off-season that saw Sutter make a number of questionable moves, including the signings of Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay to contracts when they had failed to produce in Calgary before. Feaster, who won a Stanley Cup as the Tampa Bay Lightning’s GM, is expected to keep Brent Sutter in the head coaching position, while Duane Sutter’s future as director of player personnel also looks safe, for now. The Flames own a 16-18-3 record, not a disaster, but hardly what many Flames Flames expected from their club. When you look at the overall picture the Flames look to be in trouble,

Heading into the 2010-11 season I posted an article that featured five key questions facing the Toronto Maple Leafs. First, which goaltender would emerge as the number one goalie? Second, could Tyler Bozak rise to the occasion and emerge as a true number one centre? Third, would Dion Phaneuf be “Dion”? Fourth, Could Nazem Kadri deliver at the NHL level and finally, could the Maple Leafs improve their special teams? Admittedly, there were a heck of a lot more than five questions facing the Maple Leafs this season, but if even half of these questions could be address positively, one had to believe the Maple Leafs would have an outside chance of making the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, just days before the calendar flips into 2011, the Maple Leafs are yet to answer any of these questions—a least in a

Heading into tonight’s exciting tilt between the 28th ranked Toronto Maple Leafs and the 30th ranked New Jersey Devils, nobody expected any fireworks. The Devils and Maple Leafs had lost a combined 39 games and own two of the most pathetic offenses in the game. Needless to say, this game had “total bore” written all over it, and it was, that is until Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf and Devils sniper Ilya Kovalchuk dropped the gloves. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a tilt, but in a season that has already seen Sidney Crosby and other super-star calibre players drop the gloves, it was interesting to see Kovalchuk trying to drop bombs. The Maple Leafs were up by a score of 1-0 at the time. In the end the fight did little to change the outcome of the game,

As Team Canada gets set to take on the Russians this afternoon just about every Canadian on the planet will be watching. The World Junior Championship has become a Christmas tradition for many Canadians and for some is bigger than the Stanley Cup. Canada’s record at the WJC is astounding. Since it’s inception in 1977, Canada has brought home a total of 26 medals, including 15 gold, seven silver and four bronze—second all-time to Russia’s/Soviet Union’s 28 medals. Canada is the only team to win five consecutive gold medals, a feat they accomplished twice—1993-1997 and, most recently, 2005-2009. The 2010 WJC ended with Team USA defeating Team Canada 6-5 in overtime. John Carlson’s overtime winner will not be forgotten by those that donned the red and white for Canada last year, nor does it sit lightly with this years Team.