Old Time Hockey

Coaching Switch Up

2011-12-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

This week has been a unique week in the NHL. After a fantastic season starter, the Capitals fell into a losing streak that ultimately ended with Head Coach Bruce Boudreau being fired. He was replaced with past Capitals Captain Dale Hunter.

Hunter's arrival to the Capitals is in hope to take a team loaded with star players and give them the spark they need to competitively compete for the Stanely Cup. Hunter's hope is to arrive and make the team a hard team to compete against. He wants the team to focus on hard work in the offensive and defensive zone. By playing a strong Defensive game along with a strong forecheck, his hope is to force the other teams to play back on their heels in their defensive zone.

Hunter's hope to accomplish this starts in Practice. He wants to create a high tempo practice that will build the stamina of the current players so that they will be able to outperform their adversaries. Creating a speed game will leave other teams running for the puck instead of being able to play it.

With the exit of Bruce Boudreau, the Anaheim Ducks found it fitting to fire their coach Randy Carlyle and replace him with Bruce Boudreau. With the failing Ducks team it came down to a switch of either Carlyle or trading away Bobby Ryan. Boudreau hopes that with a new team he will be able to come in and restore the confidence of a struggling Ducks team and help bring them back into competitive form.

Unfortunately there is no current news on what will happen to Randy Carlyle and his future coaching career. Hopefully he will find a team that is searching for the coaching depth that Carlyle can provide.

Sid the Kid

2011-11-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows that Sidney Crosby is an amazing Hockey player. Everyone flinched when they saw the hit on Sid during the 2011 Winter Classic and knew right away that he was in big trouble. Even if you were not a Pens fan you felt bad for Crosby as he was assisted off the ice. And when they said it was a concussion and it would be the waiting game we have seen with so many other players, it changed the view of the whole NHL world.

The one thing that everyone has waited for though has been the return of Sidney Crosby. Fans and Enemies alike have waited for the day that the Kid returns to the ice so they could see if he was still going to be a major threat in the NHL. Last night Crosby made is debut against the NY Islanders and gave everyone what they wanted, they found out that nothing had changed.

After the long period of being unable to play and the extensive recovery process, Crosby hit the ice and inspired amazement among fans and players. In just six minutes he was able to make game changing defensive plays that ultimately lead to his speed prevailing and creating open ice to notch a goal over the right shoulder of DiPeitro. The rest of the night was filled with chance after chance. Crosby was able to score another goal because of hard work along the boards which allowed him to shoot a laser backhand which hit the post, rebounded off of DiPeitro and into the new. He was also able to help with two assists. On his first night back, #87 was able to come back into the NHL and walk out with 4 points.

The biggest issue that worries most fans, coaches and players is how will Crosby be when he receives the dreaded BIG HIT. Like many we have seen in the past, the recovery phase, the return to the ice and the relapse. Just like Marc Savard from the Bruins, there is always the possibility that this will be something that could plague Crosby for the rest of his life. Hopefully that is not the case and this young superstar will have the good fortune and good health to maintain his course and become the Legend he is already becoming.

Edmonton

2011-10-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

It is funny to watch and see how a new season has brought new hope to a recently demoralized Oilers team. With the past two seasons being unproductive for the team, it seemed like they needed a large upswing. I knew last season was going to be a little under the weather and that this season especially with a line of young players with extreme talent would help boost the team. Going from last place to tied for first in the Western Conference is a testament to what hard work and dedication, along with a little talent can do. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins along with Jordan Eberle have combined to raise their team to all new heights this season. Also to watch Khabibulin make a grand comeback season with a legendary start of the season has proved to be the keys to what the Edmonton teams needs in order to be a contender in this years playoffs.

Nabokov

2011-10-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Evgeni Nabokov is known as an extremely flexible goalie who is a fantastic team Work Horse. During his time with the San Jose Sharks he was placed as the team main goalie and played the majority of the Sharks games. With his flexibility he was able to make saves that other goalies could only hope they could accomplish. With a good puck awareness and rebound control Nabokov was a goalie force to be reckoned with.

Last season Nabokov was released from the NHL and joined the KHL where he put up below standard numbers. So much so that the KHL was willing to release his contract and allow him to return to the NHL. Upon Nabokov's return he was signed to a contract with the Detroit Red Wings. This was a hope of his and a possibility for him to help the Wings accomplish the Stanley Cup victory. What Nabokov did not expect was the trade to the New York Islanders. Upon being traded, Nabokov refused to show up to the Islanders team. With his opinion that he would not be able to raise the team to victory.

This season, Nabokov decided to join the Islander and hope to either snag a starting or back up position or be traded to another team where he could provide a team with the in net support they need.

During this preseason the Islanders have been playing Nabokov to show other NHL General Managers that Nabokov is sill a force to be reckoned with and a quality player to be traded for. In tonights game against the Bruins Nabokov came into the game during the second period to replace rookie goalie Al Montoya. A quote from Islander Head Coach Jack Capuano “Al made some good saves. I thought Nabby made some great saves". It will be interesting to see if any team takes the bait of trading for this 36 year old goaltender who still has some gas left in the tank to possibly bring a team up to the Stanley cup level.

What are your thoughts?

Shark Attack

2011-09-30T19:52:00.001-07:00

It has been an interesting preseason, very competitive and filled with players trying to prove they deserve a spot on the roster or that they most show they were worth trading for. I have enjoyed watching the sharks start this preseason with all wins. There was such a change in the roster I thought it would either cause them to prosper or fail. If the season continues anything like the preseason has the sharks mat pose quite the threat to the western conference and even possibly to the cup.

Unfortunate Bounce

2011-09-29T14:58:00.001-07:00

Sharks New Style

2011-09-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

This season the sharks stirred up the waters by trading away two offensive powerhouses. Both Dany Heatly and Devin Setoguchi were main forces of the San Jose family. Heatly, coming from the Ottawa Senators was a strong contributer to goals and powerplay effectiveness. Playing on the first line with Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton was very beneficial during the 09-10 season. During the 10-11 season Dany Heatly began to slow down in offensive power and was unable to help lift the Sharks though the Western Conference Finals against the Vancouver Canucks.

Devin Setoguchi was an offensive contributor who began with a strong goal total while playing with the top line of Thornton and Marleau. During the next to seasons Setoguchi provided a steady goal amount of 20 and 22.

Both Heatly and Setoguchi were traded to the Minnesota Wild for two strong offensive players. Brent Burns an Offensive Defenseman was brought it to assist with the work load of Top Defensive player Dan Boyle. Since playing for the Wild Brent Burns has helped carry the offensive weight of his Minnesota team who has lacked in the offensive capability. In his previous season with the Wild Burns was able to put up a strong record of 17 goals and 29 assists. Playing for a team that has substantially higher offensive players will hopefully increase the offensive statistics of Burn's game. With Burns now playing on the San Jose Powerplay unit he will hopefully be able to provide the blueline support along with Dan Boyle to keep the puck in the opponents ice and provide support with the monstrous slapshot he has. Combined with Burns size and skating ability he will hopefully be able to provide that extra defensive support along with offensive support that could help provide the depth required to get over the playoff hump that San Jose has been stuck at.

The other offensive player that has joined the Sharks has been playmaker Martin Havlat. Havlat has been a fantastic playermaker for the Wild and previous teams, always putting up around 40 assists with between 15-24 goals throughout the years. It seems that his acquisition by the sharks is that with his tremendous speed and playmaking ability he can help raise his own level and the level of the snipers that are on the sharks lines. Because of the lack in offensive power on the Wild, Havlat has been limited in his offensive ability. Hopefully with a strong offensive team he will be capable of an increased point total.

The biggest concern of both Burns and Havlat are their ability to stay healthy. Both players have had their bouts with injury and can cause major problems later in the season especially when we get into playoff territory.

Other players that have joined the Sharks team has been Center Michal Handzus who can hopefully provide some veteran experience to the lines with less experienced players.

What thoughts do you all have on the success or problems with these new additions to the Sharks roster?

Suspensions

2011-09-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

The start of this new season has brought around some changes to the NHL. One of these changes being the tolerance the NHL has for illegal hits. In the past players have been able to get away with quite the extreme hits and have no further repercussions. This preseason alone has already placed suspensions on 7 players. So far the most severe suspension has been given to Defenseman James Wisniewski of the Columbus Blue Jackets for 12 games. The suspension equates to 4 preseason games and 8 regular season games.

It is good to see the NHL taking into account player safety and attempting to limit concussions. I do hope though that the NHL does not begin taking this rule to an extreme where the players begin to second guess themselves on basic and fundamental checks.

What are your thoughts?

Todd McLellan

2011-09-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Oilers Highlights

2011-09-28T17:45:00.001-07:00

Hopkins and Hall

2011-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

This year can prove to be an interesting year for the Oilers. With two consecutive 1st round draft picks, the oilers were able to accumulate what seems to me the making of a very skilled top line. Last years draft pick of Taylor Hall brings a very offensive minded and quality forward to the Edmonton line. Last year Hall was only able to notch 22 goals and 20 assist before becoming injured. In junior hockey Hall was able to put up numbers in the 40's.

This year the Oilers were able to acquire another offensive force in Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Hopkins is a very versatile offensive player who not only is capable of scoring goals, but providing support with assists. Last season Hopkins was able to post a record of 31G, 75A for a total of 109 points.

This preseason has allowed the Oilers staff to see both Hall and Hopkins skating together on the same line which is proving to be quite the beneficial combo. Though in Jordan Eberle and we now have a line that will be able to grow as a unit and become one of the more offensive lines in the NHL.

During the Oilers most recent preseason game, Hall and Hopkins were able to combine together to get 3 goals for the Oilers victory.

The Oilers have a long way to go until they are able to contend for the Stanley Cup, but with the creation of this line combo it will only be a matter of time before they begin pulling the team up through the ranks. It will be interesting to see how this season will go and how much they will prosper as NHL players.

Fantasy Season

2011-09-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

With Fantasy Hockey season getting ready to start it is interesting to think who will become the next great fantasy hero. Will it be a player with some experience such as Ovechin or Stamkos? Or will it be a player who has been under the radar for a while. The best part of hockey is that we never know what the season will bring or how it will change. This is what makes the world of sports and fantasy sports such an exciting adventure.

Welcome

2011-09-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first post of the Old Time Hockey blog. This blog is here to have fun and talk about everything and anything that is Hockey!