CBC'S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA WANTS YOU TO WRITE THE NEXT GREAT CANADIAN HOCKEY SONG
Jun 19, 2013

CBC's HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA and CBCMusic.ca are putting the call out to Canadian songwriters with the launch of Song Quest.

CBC's HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA is looking for an arena-sized song that will excite hockey fans from coast to coast and get the nation's heart pounding. Alongside CBCMusic.ca, the call is out to Canadian songwriters to come up with the next great Canadian hockey song for this year's edition of SONG QUEST.

Continue reading "Here we go again: CBC asking fans to write ‘Canada’s Next Great Hockey Song’"

A person familiar with discussions confirms Danny Briere is set to become a free agent after the Philadelphia Flyers informed the veteran forward they intend to buy out the final two years of his contract.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday because the Flyers have not announced their decision. ESPN.com first reported Briere's pending buyout Tuesday evening.

The Flyers still owe Briere $5 million as part of the eight-year, $52 million contract he signed in free agency on July 1, 2007. He's a 15-year NHL veteran, who had six goals and 10 assists in 34 games last season.

A seven-time 25-goal scorer, Briere's production has tailed off as a result of various injuries, including a concussion.

The move will shave $6.5 million off the Flyers' salary cap.

Continue reading "NHLPA’s Schneider: GM’s approved competition committee suggestions, hybrid icing a work in progress"

Well, Fox Sports Arizona's Craig Morgan reported that the City Council won't be voting on the Coyotes' lease on the 25th...

And, via Pro Hockey Talk's Jason Brough, the delay throws a huge wrench in things, because the Arizona Republics Paul Giblin reports that the NHL's Board of Governors are going to both rubber-stamp the rule changes approved by the GM's and conduct pre-summer meetings on June 27th (3 days before the draft).

The fact that the Glendale City Council's debate over the Coyotes' fate has gotten bitter, yielding some serious-ass delays that may or may not push the NHL to simply move the team to Seattle.

Continue reading "Glendale City Council’s delays in determining Coyotes’ fate are worrisome"

Update:

Continue reading "Downtown Development Authority approves Ilitches’ plan for $450M Red Wings rink, $650M development"

Henrik Lundqvist, who on break-up day became the Rangers’ public voice of disaffection that in retrospect foretold the firing of John Tortorella as head coach 48 hours later, told The Post that he “would never put pressure on management on decisions like that.”

“I know there is some speculation regarding Torts being fired, but let’s be clear on one thing,” Lundqvist said via an e-mail on Wednesday that contained his first comments on the matter. “It’s not my call who the coach should be for the New York Rangers.

“I would never put pressure on the management on decisions like that. I’m just a player. My focus is to play the game and do the best I can on the ice. Whatever [happens] off the ice, I leave to our great staff we have working for this club.”

Continued, and, regarding the Rangers' next coach:

With his team trying to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole in the Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville seems prepared to reunite Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on the same line for Game 4 on Wednesday night.

The two have rarely played together at even-strength over the first three games of the series but were back on a line with Bryan Bickell during Chicago's pre-game skate at TD Garden on Wednesday.

With Marian Hossa expected to return he is likely to play alongside Patrick Sharp and Michal Handzus. Jamal Mayers skated on that line in Hossa's spot during the morning skate.

TSN's "Stats Guy" notes that the Bickell-Toews-Kane line laid waste to my Wings:

Put simply, NO developmental league generates oodles of thousand-game-playing, Cup-winning, Hall of Fame-making superstars. At best, and on a team-by-team basis, developmental leagues generate one NHL "regular" and a couple of call-up quality professional hockey "journeymen" per season, occasionally giving rise to a superstar. There are some exceptions in terms of the respective leagues' powerhouses (see: the OHL's Plymouth Whalers, who play in my backyard here in Southeastern Michigan), but the player development meat grinder is not particularly kind to its applicants' NHL dreams.

Continue reading "The CHL’s European goalie ban will neither help Canadian goaltending nor European goalie development"

Continue reading "Grand Rapids Griffins Game 6 tailings: tears, warm fuzzies and a command performance from Tatar"

Discussion with Dupuis' agent, Allan Walsh, started this week. Letang's agent, Kent Hughes, had yet to hear from Shero as of Tuesday.

That is no accident. Shero is fairly confident Letang has become a must-move player.

That is true because Letang is not the consensus best defenseman on the Penguins, at least in the eyes of management and coaches.

Continue reading "Is Kris Letang the Penguins’ latest, “PIT must move player X for Crosby/Malkin’s sake” player?"

Ditto for Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill, regrettably.

The Predators have re-signed defenseman Victor Bartley to a three-year, $2 million contract. It is a one-way deal. He will be paid $600,000 in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, and $800,000 in 2015-16 according to the team.

Last season, Bartley played 24 games for Nashville and notched seven assists. He was a plus-2 and averaged 19:33 of ice-time per-game. It was Bartley’s rookie year in the NHL.

Bartley, 25, was one of the few bright spots for the Predators last season, though the one-way nature of the contract makes it somewhat of a risk for Nashville.

Continued