The Hockey Report

Everything You Need To Know About Your Favorite NHL Team

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In 2011, the NHL Stanley Cup Trophy belonged to one team: The Boston Bruins. The team dominated the regular season; finishing the year with 46 wins and 25 losses. Tim Thomas–the Bruin’s goalie–helped the team win their sixth championship in 39 years. Arguably, The Boston Bruins is one of the best teams in the NHL.

Current Team Roster
46 David Krejci
17 Milan Lucic
37 Patrice Bergeron
18 Nathan Horton
28 Mark Recchi
33 Zdeno Chara
73 Michael Ryder
63 Brad Marchand
44 Dennis Seidenberg
11 Gregory Campbell
26 Blake Wheeler
19 Tyler Seguin
22 Shawn Thornton
55 Johnny Boychuk
21 Andrew Ference
54 Adam Mcquaid
20 Daniel Paille
91 Marc Savard
47 Steven Kampfer
12 Tomas Kaberle
49 Rich Peverley
38 Jordan Caron
23 Chris Kelly
45 Mark Stuart
48 Matt Hunwick
52 Zach Hamill
34 Shane Hnidy
72 Jamie Arniel
43 Matt Bartkowski

Stanley Cup Trophies
1928-29, 1938-39, 1940-41, 1969-70, 1971-72, 2010-2011

Presidents’ Trophy
1989-90

Team Awards
Bruins Radio Network Awards
Most three-star picks

John P. Bucyk Award
Community Service

Seventh Player Award
For performing beyond expectations

Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy
Best home game player

Eddie Shore Award
Award for determination and hustle

Roger Crozier Saving Grace Awared
Tim Thomas: 2008-09, 2010-11
Tuukka Rask: 2009-10

Find Out About Your Favorite NHL Player

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Any NHL fan will be interested in looking up information on their favorite player. There are many different sources of information on the players of the NHL you just need to know where to look. One of the first places to visit is the official website for the NHL this will have a biography and team info on every player in the league. This is a great source of general info to see what your favorite player has been doing during the season and some background information on them. After you have checked out NHL.com you may want to check out the official website for the team your favorite player is on. Many times they will have extended bios on all of their players and links to other sources of information.

Google is another great spot to locate information on your favorite NHL player. Enter their name into the search engine and you will bring a selection of articles and information to look into. It is always important to verify the sources before believing everything you read off of any official site. Many players also have their own websites or blogs. This is a great way to get to know more about the personal side of a player.

The Many Issues In The NHL

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There are many different issues in the NHL that need corrected, but probably the number one is safety for the players. It seems more and more players are suffering injuries for needless reasons. Yes, NHL Hockey is a hard hitting sport, but just like the NFL you have to make some rules to protect your star players. If you do not the sport will struggle to expand and grow without top stars able to play.

Another area that The NHL needs to address is growing the sport in the United States. Outside the United States borders hockey is huge, but in the U.The full explanation can be found at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/764203-nhl-5-reasons-hockey-wins-if-the-nba-and-nfl-lockouts-continue S. it is not. There are many reasons for this, but the NHL needs to address that quickly. At one time then NHL was one of the four major sports, but is slowly fading away from that it seems. In parts of America there is no hockey on television at all and that is a shame. Every one loves to see a good fight in hockey, but maybe cutting them down is the answer. Olympic hockey does not have fighting and it’s some of the best hockey to watch.

The NHL has many issues they must address if they want their sport to grow and stay one of the major sports in America. If it does not address these issues soon and head on, hockey will just continue to lose popularity and be a sport that is regional and not national.

Teams to Watch in 2012

mrice — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you’ve been counting down the days until your favorite team’s back on directstartv.com shooting and scoring count yourself among the millions of hockey fans doing the same thing. When the season starts back up in a couple of months you’ll want to keep your eyes on the following teams…
Boston: The Bruins aren’t letting down just because they’ve already won the Stanley Cup and they’re bound to come back fighting this year. After a 30 year draught the team’s got something to prove and they’re determined to make everyone take notice.
Winnipeg: This Canadian city’s got a team for the first time in decades thanks to a trade of the Atlanta Thrashers and it will be interesting to see what a new coaching staff and city will bring to the table. This will likely be a rebuilding year but if not this may be the squad to watch out for.
Hurricanes: Carolina’s team is an unlikely contender and this year may just be the moment the team needs to take things to the next level. If you’ve never paid attention to the Canes the time to start is now.

Mid-Season Hart Trophy Race

www.thehockeyreport.com — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Over 40 games in, nearly 50 depending on your team of choice, a host of favorites have emerged to take home the end of the year hardware revered as the Hart Memorial Trophy, or for more casual fans, the NHL’s equivalent of the MVP award. Here’s a look at how the race is shaking out:1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, Center Clearly the frontrunner at this juncture, Crosby leads the league in goals next to top 5 assists numbers, which for the mathematicians out there gives him a clear inside track on taking home this year’s high point total. Barring injury or a rare slump from the 2007 Hart winner, Crosby is well on his way towards adding another identical honor to his trophy case.2. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins, Goalie The only legitimate threat to Crosby from a statistical standpoint, Thomas is hindered by his position, as only two goalies have taken home the Hart Trophy since Jacques Plante in 1961-62 (the two being Dominik Hasek in ’96-’97/’97-’98 and Jose Theodore in ’01-02). Still, Thomas’ first half of the season is a remarkable story. Expected to be unseated as the primary goalie in Boston, Thomas is the only netminder in the league with a Goals Against Average under 2.00 or a Save Percentage above .940, postponing the Tuukka Rask era by at least another year.3. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks, Center Strange for the defending Hart Trophy winner to be the dark horse in this race, but it speaks more to the stellar seasons underway by Crosby and Thomas than any shortcoming on Sedin’s part. Accumulating an astonishing number of assists, Sedin currently leads the league by double digits. However, goals take more notice by the writers, and Sedin has fallen substantially off the pace he set last year, a very respectable 29 red-lighters.Yes, there is a lot of hockey left to play. But surveying the list of potential candidates, the 2010-2011 Hart Trophy winner will come from this short list, with no players more valuable to their respective team nor performing in the same echelon as these fast-starters.

Top of the Western Conference Preview

www.thehockeyreport.com — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:29:24 +0000

Chicago Blackhawks It’s hard to knock the defending champs from their top spot, especially not having played a single exhibition game at this point in the year, so why try? The Blackhawks proved to be deep enough to win Lord Stanley’s Cup, but that didn’t stop them from making moves this summer. Left wing, Viktor Stalberg, acquired via trade with Toronto, provides additional size and talent in an already potent offense, adding further depth to one of the elite frontlines in the game. It may be tough to repeat as league champions, but with the core of Toews, Kane and Hossa still intact, it may be even tougher to knock of the Hawks.
Vancouver Canucks With Roberto Luongo in net, Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis coming in to shore up the defensive unit and the Sedins attacking the net with no regard for netminders’ well-being, the Canucks are arguably the biggest threat to take down Chicago over the course of the season. Vancouver’s elite goaltending/defense actually provides an advantage over the Blackhawks, though the Canucks may lack the top end firepower to contend with the champs in a shootout. Still, steady defense should put Vancouver in position to challenge for the Cup come playoff time.
San Jose Sharks The loss of Nabakov makes the Sharks outlook more nebulous than we’ve grown accustomed to over the past several years, however, this team simply has too much talent to write off. Assuming Antero Niitymaki and/or Thomas Greiss prove to be capable of handling a fulltime workload between the posts, the Sharks should once again be on the short list of Western Conference crown contenders. After all, if a line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley is good enough for the Canadian National Team, it’s certainly among the best in the NHL.

Dark horse: St. Louis Blues Though the Blues missed the playoffs last season, bringing in Jaroslav Halak suddenly makes an already competitive squad among the the West’s elite. T.J. Oshie and David Backes head up a young group that could take a major leap in 2010-11.

Top of the Eastern Conference Preview

www.thehockeyreport.com — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 07:45:09 +0000

Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, now joined by off-season additions Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek that should help the Pens answer questions about their grittiness on the defensive end, form arguably the most talented all-around team in the NHL. Without the pressure of defending the Stanley Cup, the Penguins are in great position to open their new arena with the 3^rd championship in franchise history. Marc-Andre Fleury was somewhat of a mixed bag a season ago, though by no means a major disappointment. Should the former 1 overall pick max out his potential in his 3^rd year full-time in net, delivering more consistently on a nightly basis, the Penguins could be considered league-wide frontrunners going into the year.
Washington Capitals Two words should keep the Caps towards the top of the conference regardless of other team’s personnel maneuvering: Alexander Ovechkin. While the team arguably lost more than they gained in over the course of the summer’s wheeling and dealing, having the best player in the NHL never hurts the cause. The defending Eastern Conference champs may take a small step backwards, but with the offensive arsenal already in place they should have no problem staying atop the standings, particularly in a the relatively tame Southeast Division.
New Jersey Devils A tough call between the Devils and Sabres, as the Sabres have Ryan Miller, the best goaltender in hockey today, only to have the Devils counter with Martin Brodeur, perhaps the greatest of all time. At this point, Brodeur has question marks as a full time starter, better utilized more sparingly to preserve for a playoff run, but the Devils simply overpower the Sabres on the offensive end. Devils brass obviously has 100 million reasons why a full year of Ilya Kovalchuk is exactly what this team needs to take the next step, so who are we to judge.

Dark horse: Tampa Bay Lightning When in doubt, go with Stevie Y. The Lightning’s GM has been moving and shaking in his first year, bringing in Simon Gagne among a host of other valuable assets, bolstering what was already a dangerous club.

Biggest moves of the off-season: Part 2

www.thehockeyreport.com — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:15:30 +0000

Paul Martin, Defenseman, New Jersey to Pittsburgh Teams hoping to woo Martin didn’t have much time to prepare as the Penguins inked their new defensemen within 24 hours. Martin will fill Gonchars void in the Pittsburgh D, giving the team some fresh legs down the stretch.Keith Ballard, Defenseman, Florida to Vancouver With arguably the league’s best goalie Roberto Luongo in net, the Canucks could probably hold fan try outs for their defensemen slots and still remain competitive at least through a period or two. Fortunately for Canucks fans, Luongo’s job just got a little easier when Vancouver acquired Keith Ballard in a draft day trade from the Panthers. Ballard has led his team in hits every year in his NHL career and should be a three pronged contributor for his new team, offense, defense and intimidation.Nathan Horton, Right Wing, Florida to Boston The former 3^rd overall pick in the 2003 draft has developed into a more than serviceable NHL winger, however, he has yet to fully tap out his hockey potential. Horton may finally have landed in a situation where he can take that next step and move into the upper echelon of skaters in the league. There will be less pressure in Boston, not to mention a winning attitude, with plenty of players to carry the load and less team success depending directly on Horton’s play.Jiri Hudler, Right Wing, KHL to Red Wings What the league lost in Nabakov, it reclaimed in Hudler, though that will be of little consolation to Sharks fans. This may be the most underrated acquisition of the off-season, as many NHL fans may have forgotten about Hudler in his brief stint overseas. Still only 26, the last time we saw Hudler don a Red Wings uniform he tallied 23 goals and 34 assists. One year matured, those totals should only trend upwards when he makes his prodigal return.

Biggest moves of the off-season: Part 1

www.thehockeyreport.com — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:00:33 +0000

Though it the NHL off-season hasn’t garnered nearly the hype of Miami’s NBA coup d’etat, a lot of high impact players switched sweaters this summer and will be skating in new cities when the regular season kicks off in October. Here’s a look at the biggest additions and losses that will alter the league’s landscape.Evgeni Nabakov, Goaltender, San Jose to KHL There was no question as to whether Nabakov would cash in this summer, however he was expected to receive a big bag of American dollars, not Russian rubles. After 12 years of NHL service in San Jose, Nabakov has decided to pull an anti-Lebron and take his talents back to his home country. The goalie has been an integral part of the Sharks success over the past decade and will be sorely missed by fans in teal.Jaroslav Halak, Goaltender, Montreal to St. Louis It was surprising to see the Canadiens part with Halak for so little, sending Halak to St. Louis in a trade that netted the Habs only two prospects. The Blues already have one of the best young cores in the league, easily affording to spare a couple of youngsters. With Halak in the crease, the Blues should improve on what was nearly a playoff season last year and look to finish much closer towards the top of their conference.Sergei Gonchar, Defenseman, Pittsburgh to Ottawa Sergei Gonchar isn’t the spry young skater he once was, but an aging Gonchar brings much more pressing need to the Sens than youthful exuberance. The Senators have been to the playoffs in 12 of the last 13 seasons, however, they have yet to hoist the Cup. Gonchar is still a valuable contributor on the ice, but his Stanley Cup experience and guidance off the ice may be even more important.

New “Espoir” Found in Hockey Bailout

www.thehockeyreport.com — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 01:30:09 +0000

Apparently Americans aren’t the only ones asking for a little government assistance via federal funding. However, Canada’s plan to dish out finances is likely something almost all Canadians will support. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers may soon be playing in The House That Stephen Harper Built, when the prime minister let on that federal funding made available to help construct a new hockey arena in Quebec might also be available in other instances, implying all of Canada’s major cities will be treated equally.Hockey fanaticism in Canada is well-documented, with Quebec serving as the country’s largest hockeyless metro area. Once upon a time, Quebec was a hockey fan’s paradise, as the Nordiques roaming the ice at Colisee de Quebec (Quebec Coliseum in an amateur translation). The Nordiques entered the NHL to start the 1979-80 season, following the league’s merger with the World Hockey Association. The Nordiques were among the WHA’s inaugural teams, as the upstart league posed the most serious direct competition to the NHL since the Western Hockey League folded in 1926. WHA owners paid a premium for top hockey talent, often luring free agents away from their NHL clubs. As a result, hockey fans in Quebec truly enjoyed the top talent on the ice since the Nordiques first skated in 1972, hoisting the WHA’s Avco World Trophy in 1977, the only championship the Quebec City faithful would enjoy in the history of the Nordiques existence. While the Nordiques enjoyed a loyal fan base, concerns over Quebec City’s small market, native French tongue and ownership’s financial instability painted a bleak long term picture for the Nordiques future viability in the area. At the time, the organization sought a bailout from the provincial government, unsuccessfully, though no federal funds were ever considered. In 1995, the Nordiques relocated to Denver, Colorado, where they have since played under the Avalanche banner, leaving thousands of heartbroken fans in their wake.Apparently, qualms over big league hockey in a small, French speaking city are no longer of importance to the Canadian government, whether or not the NHL takes kindly to restoring hockey to Quebec (new arena or not), with plenty of American suitors laying in waiting as well, remains to be seen.