The Hockey Herold

Our New Home!!!

2007-06-25T13:30:00.001-05:00

Please check out our new home:

http://www.TheHockeyHerald.com

That is where we have been posting updated stores etc. Please visit there instead of here from now on.

Thanks in advance.

The Real Washington Caps Jersey For Next Year

2007-06-20T00:13:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd let you guys know, this si what the caps will be wearing next year.

CCM Vector helmet PICTURES

2007-06-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

You guys asked for it and here it is.

Clark, the Canadian Hockey Goalie

2007-06-07T15:42:00.001-05:00

This video gets me everytime.

Snoop Dogg on CBC

2007-06-04T01:19:00.001-05:00

Anyone else see his kids hair cut?

Snoop Dogg is a Ducks Fan

2007-06-04T01:12:00.000-05:00

Snoop Dogg interview on FSN. Its his first hockey game. AHHAHAAHHAA the finger kills me. By the way doesnt he know they're in the finals now?

Anaheim GM Brian Burke Speaks Out.

2007-06-04T01:10:00.000-05:00

''He thinks he's from Red Deer.'' - Anaheim GM Brian Burke on the determination of checking-line forward Samuel Pahlsson.

The quote kills me.

Flames Used Equipment Sale 2007

2007-05-28T00:46:00.001-05:00

The Calgary Flames FanAttic Annual Used Equipment Sale is scheduled for June 2 starting at 8 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. on the concourse at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Use the northeast entrance to the building and look for some great deals on game-used skates, gloves, pants, goalie equipment and more.

Below is a list of some of the items that will be on sale.

Link here

Mike York’s Wife Kicks Some Ass

2007-05-28T00:33:00.001-05:00

Former Islander Mike York’s wife Aimee was convicted of assaulting her sister-in-law at a family gathering last year, according to the Associated Press.

A Michigan judge declined to give Aimee York jail time but did order her to pay $595 in fines and expenses, according to the story.

Here comes a great quote from Jackson County District Judge R. Darryl Mazur:

“I believe she decked her sister-in-law and a cat fight ensued,” Mazur ruled.

Former NHL player pleads guilty in N.J. gambling ring case

2007-05-25T13:08:00.000-05:00

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. -- Former NHL player Rick Tocchet pleaded guilty Friday to running a sports gambling ring, but might not have to serve any jail time.

Tocchet, who played for Phialdelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington and Phoenix in a career that spanned 22 seasons, is on leave from his job as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes. He pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to promote gambling and promoting gambling. Such offenses usually do not carry a jail sentence for first-time offenders.

''It's a huge operation and I think it exposes to people the allure of gambling, illegal gambling, in New Jersey,'' state Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw said outside the courthouse.

The maximum sentence for the charges Tocchet pleaded guilty to are 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Paw would not say whether prosecutors will ask for jail time for Tocchet.

The 43-year-old Tocchet is the third man to plead guilty in the case, which New Jersey authorities dubbed ''Operation Slapshot.'' The others, including state Trooper James Harney, are expected to get jail time.

Janet Jones, the wife of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, was accused of betting but was not charged in the case.

Prosecutors said in February 2006 that the ring handled $1.7 million in wagers during a 40-day stretch that began at the end of 2005 and included college football bowl games and the Super Bowl. They said there were no bets on hockey games.

Tocchet did not speak during Friday's court hearing except to answer yes or no questions. When asked by his attorney, Kevin Marino, if he ever bet on professional hockey, Tocchet said ''no.''
Marino said Tocchet has not spoken with the NHL about how his guilty pleas will affect his coaching career.

Tocchet played in 1,144 regular-season games, scoring 440 goals and 952 points. He also appeared in 145 playoff games, with 52 goals and 112 points.

Female Ottawa Sens Fan Caught Adjusting Herself

2007-05-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

The thing that kills me is the guy rewinds and plays it back. At least shes hot.

Salming poses nude for artist

2007-05-24T23:43:00.000-05:00

Borje Salming's play on defence was as close to artistry as the Toronto Maple Leafs had in the Harold Ballard era.

Now, the lanky Swede, who began the influx of European players into the National Hockey League, has become an objet d'art himself.

At 56, the remarkably fit Salming took off his clothes to pose for a series of paintings by Swedish artist Johan Wattberg. There are 31 canvases in all, and 10 of them go on display in Stockholm Thursday night.

The remaining 21 – matching the numeral Salming wore when he played 16 seasons on the Toronto blueline – will be shown in Toronto in the fall, publicist Andreas Grant said.

“We are working right now to find a good gallery, to show them around the time the NHL season starts,” Grant said in a telephone interview from Sweden.

The iconic Salming already had celebrity status in his homeland, both for his Hall of Fame hockey career and for his posthockey ventures. Salming's name is known by a new generation for the line of designer undergarments he manufactures.

“Borje was a bit hesitant at first, but then he saw Johan's earlier work,” Grant said. “There's a rough style to it and he identified with it. Johan's best known as a graffiti artist in the past, but he's evolved onto the mainstream art scene. His work still has a street feel to it.”

Salming said in a statement that he was skeptical at first. “I've never done anything like this before,” he said. “But it's not the everyday artsy-pantsy stuff. It's hard core. I like them and I think others will, too.”

Salming started his NHL career in 1973 and was already playing in his fourth all-star season when Wattberg was born in 1978. He played 1,148 regular season games and 81 playoff games, scoring a total of 150 regular-season goals and 637 assists. He was Sweden's first player enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Leipold selling Predators to Balsillie

2007-05-24T23:12:00.000-05:00

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CP-AP) - The years of mounting losses and indifference from the local corporate community convinced owner Craig Leipold that he could never make his Predators profitable in Nashville.

Maybe Canadian entrepreneur Jim Balsillie - who has entered into a letter of agreement to buy the NHL team for US$220 million, Leipold confirmed Thursday - will have better luck. Or maybe it's the first step in the team's departure from the Music City.

Either way, Leipold is done after losing of $70 million during the team's nine seasons. He made the deal with Balsillie, who outbid the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which is seeking a team for Kansas City.

''I have come to the conclusion that I cannot make it work here,'' said Leipold, who became emotional and had to pause at one point. ''We are one of the elite teams in this league and we are by far the lowest revenue team in the league.''

Under terms of the deal, the sale - including approval from the league's board of governors - must be completed by June 30.

As Balsillie, co-CEO of Waterloo, Ont.-based Research In Motion (TSX:RIM), the company that makes BlackBerry handheld devices, found out last autumn when his deal to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins fell apart, that's no slam dunk.

That's probably why he was playing things close to the vest Thursday, not returning phone calls and issuing a statement saying he is respectful of all the ''due diligence'' required before the deal can close.

''This is still Craig Leipold's franchise until the deal is completed, so for me to comment at this time on any number of topics relative to the franchise would not be appropriate,'' Balsillie said in the release.

Those careful words didn't stop speculation that the Predators will soon be on the move, perhaps to the Waterloo area.

If paid attendance in Nashville does not average at least 14,000 next season - the Preds averaged 13,815, 2,000 below the NHL average in 2006-07 despite low ticket prices and one of the best teams in the league - the team could pay an exit fee of US$18 million to get out of its arena lease and leave.

Balsillie's $175 million deal to buy the Penguins unravelled when commissioner Gary Bettman attached a list of conditions to the sale, including, it is believed, one that he not move the club until every possible avenue was exhausted.

That condition likely wouldn't be needed this time, given Leipold's many failed efforts at wooing the local corporate community. While the NHL doesn't want teams moved, Nashville hasn't shown that it will support the Predators long term.

''(The NHL) knows how hard we've worked in this market and the things we've done, the group that we have and the team that's already here,'' Leipold said.

''There are some major corporations that are just completely missing in action in our business. It's not because we haven't knocked on their door.''

So while the NHL would have been Balsillie's biggest hurdle in moving the Penguins, the biggest obstacles in his way of relocating the Predators would be the lease in Nashville and territorial rights issues with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.

Both those teams would take issue with another team in the region and under NHL by-laws, a team cannot move within 80 kilometres of another city's corporate limits.

The Kitchener-Waterloo area is right on that border.

Leipold has until June 19 to exercise a ''cure'' clause in the team's arena lease that would force the city to buy tickets and ensure attendance averages 14,000 next season. Leipold said he has not yet discussed with Balsillie whether to exercise that clause but will.

The Predators have fewer than 9,000 season ticket subscribers. The team amassed 110 points, third best in the league, but still lost US$15 million this season.

Balsillie said he would visit Nashville, talk with Predators fans and ''become more familiar with the community'' once the deal is final.

Leipold predicted that ''we'll have hockey here for a long time'' if attendance improves. Balsillie will make an effort to keep the team in Nashville, he suggested.

''I think he's going to give it a chance,'' said Leipold. ''If (attendance) is over 14,000 paid, it's not going anywhere.''

Leipold said last January he was looking for one or more local investors to buy up to 40 per cent of the team in the hope that local owners could boost attendance. No local buyer or buyers stepped forward.

If the Predators had advanced to the NHL's conference final or even the championship series, it ''could potentially change the whole aspect of this team'' and investors might have stepped forward, said Leipold.

''It didn't work out,'' he said. ''That's just the way it is.

''We had injuries and, unfortunately, we got knocked out in the first round.''
Leipold signed a multi-year naming-rights deal for the city's hockey arena with Franklin, Tenn.-based Sommet Group last week. The revenue from that agreement goes to the team.
It is Leipold's team until at least June 30.

''This is truly one of the toughest days of my life,'' said Leipold. ''I poured my heart and soul into this franchise for 10 years.''

He lives in Wisconsin.

''We have had the most incredibly wonderful time owning this team,'' he said. ''My family, my kids, we just love doing this.''

But he's tired of losing millions.

Coach Barry Trotz, whose option for the next season was picked up recently, said he spent Wednesday night calling players. He hasn't met the prospective owner but likes what he has read of the amateur hockey player.

''He says, 'I want my name on the Cup,''' said Trotz. ''There's only one way to do it, and you have to win it. So I'm really excited about that.''

New NHL Rule?

2007-05-17T20:59:00.000-05:00

whats the story with the double goal line that they were testing out at the ducks practise? what do you guys out there think they will do? the idea came from a tv producer in LA.

Alex Ovechkin and His Equiptment.

2007-05-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

Those Skates look sick.

Note the pictures on his stick.

Hot selling NHL jerseys and teams

2007-05-09T19:34:00.000-05:00

The National Hockey League (NHL) announced Tuesday sales of NHL-licensed product increased on Shop.NHL.com for the eighth consecutive month and online sales for the month of April increased56.32% compared to the same period last year.

Nineteen NHL teams experienced growth in sales for the month of April on Shop.NHL.com. Leading the group were the Buffalo Sabres, with a sales increase of more than 895% compared to last April. Other teams that increased sales of merchandise by more than 200% include: Pittsburgh Penguins (292%), New York Islanders (245%), Vancouver Canucks (234%) and Minnesota Wild (201%).

The Sabres have been consistently a top-selling team and continue to dominate player jersey sales, accounting for six spots on the top 10 sellers on Shop.NHL.com. Jerseys bearing the names of Sabres forwards Daniel Briere, Maxim Afinogenov, Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and goaltender Ryan Miller were among the top sellers on Shop.NHL.com.

TOP 10 SELLING PLAYER JERSEYS ON SHOP.NHL.COM (April 1-30, 2007)
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres
Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo Sabres
Chris Drury, Buffalo Sabres
Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
Sean Avery, New York Rangers
Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks
Jaromir Jagr, New York Rangers

Boston College women's hockey coach resigns after probe into allegations

2007-04-26T00:24:00.000-05:00

BOSTON (AP) - Boston College women's hockey coach Tom Mutch resigned Tuesday after a university investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct.

The school gave no details of the probe.

"An allegation of inappropriate conduct has been raised involving" the coach, Boston College athletics director Gene DeFilippo said in a statement. "The University takes any such matters very seriously. As a result, the Athletics Department began an investigation of the alleged incident as soon as it was brought to our attention. Coach Mutch subsequently submitted his resignation, and his resignation was accepted."

Boston College spokesman Chris Cameron said he had no further comment.
A telephone message left at Mutch's campus office was not immediately returned.

Earlier Tuesday, the school had issued a statement that made no reference to any allegations, saying Mutch resigned "to pursue other career interests."

That statement also praised Mutch, who led the Eagles to their first appearance in the women's Frozen Four this year and was Hockey East coach of the year.

"Tom Mutch brought our women's ice hockey program to a new level and built a strong foundation for the future," DeFilippo said in the first statement. "We wish him the best in his future endeavours."

Mutch spent four seasons at Boston College with the team improving each year. The Eagles went 24-10-2 in 2006-07 and reached the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, losing to Minnesota Duluth 4-3 in double overtime.

The picture on the top right is the player that the coach has apparently slept with (Kelli Stack, 18 years old).

Mutch played hockey at Northeastern from 1986-88. He became assistant coach of the U.S. women's national team in 1996 and held that position on the team that won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. In 2002, he was an assistant coach on the Northeastern men's team.

Crosby all-star jersey nets $47,520 at auction

2007-04-23T21:39:00.000-05:00

Sidney Crosby's first NHL all-star jersey fetched $47,520 US during a recent auction in support of Hockey Fights Cancer.

In all, the online event — a joint venture between the league and the NHL Players' Association — raised $140,397.

Hockey Fights Cancer was founded in 1998 by the NHL and the NHLPA to raise money and awareness in the fight against cancer. More than $9 million has been raised to date.
Other notable final bids were $5,681 for Brendan Shanahan's jersey and $5,020 for Martin Brodeur's jersey.

The jerseys were worn during the first period of the Jan. 24 game in Dallas.
Other final bids on jerseys were: Ryan Miller, $4,880; Rick Nash, $4,860; Joe Sakic, $4,679; Eric Staal, $4,520; Daniel Briere, $4,464; Roberto Luongo, $3,640; and Vincent Lecavalier, $3,179.

John Tortorella interview on CBC

2007-04-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

Classic..

Penguins sign six-foot-three forward Aaron Boogaard to three-year deal

2007-04-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

Look out:

PITTSBURGH (CP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Aaron Boogaard to a three-year entry-level deal, the team announced Monday.

The six-foot-three, 245-pound Boogaard spent the past five seasons in the Western Hockey League, where he collected 54 points (26-28) and 589 penalty minutes in 273 games. He racked up 173 penalty minutes with career highs in goals (10), assists (11), and points (21) in 69 games with the Tri-City Americans this season.

The Regina native was originally drafted in the sixth round (175th overall) by the Minnesota Wild in 2004. His older brother, Derek, is a forward with the Wild. --

Flames backup goaltender Jamie McLennan suspended five games

2007-04-23T00:23:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK (CP) - The NHL came down hard on Calgary Flames backup goaltender Jamie McLennan on Sunday, suspending him for five games for his slash on Detroit's Johan Franzen in Game 5.

In addition, Calgary coach Jim Playfair was fined US$25,000 and the Flames' organization was fined $100,000. McLennan was given a match penalty for his slash, which occurred at 17:01 of the third period. There were several other scraps and penalties in the closing minutes of the game, which the Red Wings won 5-1.

"In our pre-playoff conference calls with the coaches and general managers of the respective organizations, we addressed a number of topics - and one of them was actions late in the game when the score was out of hand," Colin Campbell, NHL's senior executive vice-president and director of hockey operations, said in a statement.

"The coach and the organization must be held accountable for the players' actions."
Calgary needs a win in Game 6 on Sunday to force a deciding game in the best-of-seven first-round series.

The Flames recalled goalie Brent Krahn from their AHL affiliate in Omaha.

Blues sign Johnson, top overall pick of 2006

2007-04-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Defenseman Erik Johnson, the first overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, signed with the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Johnson decided to go pro after his freshman season at Minnesota, where he totaled four goals and 20 assists in 41 games. He turned down a chance to join the Blues for the final few regular-season games after Minnesota fell one game short of the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis, but changed his mind a few weeks later.

The Blues envision Johnson as one of their top six defensemen next season.

"We are very excited about Erik's decision to join our club next season," team president John Davidson said. "We wanted to give Erik the proper time to make the best decision for himself and his family."

Johnson will play for Team USA at the World Championships from April 27-May 13 in Moscow. He played for the United State in the 2007 World Junior Championships, had four goals and six assists in 10 games and was selected the top defenseman of the tournament.

GEORGE PARROS - DUCKS HAS THE BEST MULLET AND MUSTACHE!!

2007-04-16T18:35:00.000-05:00

I love this guy. Love it! He's got the hair, and the soft-porn mustache to go with it. George got into Princeton. So, to have a hockey player that looks like this and to have him come from the Ivy League and have him be a fighter, too? That's just perfect.

Talk About Kneeing!

2007-04-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Shea Weber takes a knee from Scott Hannan right in the cahones! Ouch!
Have a look at the fans in the background. The facial expressions are priceless.

Brent Sopel Scratched

2007-04-11T19:06:00.000-05:00

So my sources in the NHL tell me that Brent Sopel of the Vancouver Canucks has been scratched from tonights game due to having back spasms from bending trying to reach a crack that was on the ground.

this has to be the funnest thing I've heard in awhile.