At the Montreal Canadiens fan practice the players all took part in a Skills Contest and 3rd line grinder Glen Metropolit stole the show with his 4 for 4 slap shot accuracy shooting. Mike Cammalleri goes first, but be sure to watch Metro, its awesome:
Ouch… probably not exactly how Ron Wilson and Brian Burke wanted to start the season after revamping the team with a new “tougher” look. The clip of newcomer Mike Komisarek pretty much sums up how the season has been so far… try not to go 82 games without a win boys!
From FOX:
Former NHL star Theo Fleury says he was sexually abused by a junior hockey coach.
Fleury’s account is detailed in an autobiography called “Playing With Fire.” The book is to be released next week. Excerpts appeared online.
The former Calgary Flames forward accuses Graham James of abuse. James was jailed in 1997 after admitting to sexually abusing two players on his junior hockey team — one being ex-NHL player Sheldon Kennedy. James could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read more. Both Kennedy and Fleury went on to have substance abuse problems. On the ice, Kennedy’s career never took off, but Fleury went on to have a great NHL career including Stanley Cup Championships and of course, this legendary celebration that we see in highlight reels to this day:
Say what you want about Wayne Gretzky’s tenure as coach, turns out he was #1 as a coach as well, sort of:
Not bad at all. Read more.
I still don’t understand why Wayne wanted to jump headfirst into the pressure cooker that is a head coaching job in the NHL. Especially with a team as underachieving as the Coyotes? Why not take some other head office job, even starting as a GM would have been a smarter move? Anyways, it should be interesting to see where he ends up now that he’s done the Team Canada thing and done the head coaching thing. Read more on his exit below from TheSportingNews.com:
Wayne Gretzky has stepped down as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, he announced Thursday.
“This was a difficult decision that I’ve thought long and hard about,” Gretzky said in a statement. “We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected. Since both remaining bidders have made it clear that I don’t fit into their future plans, I approached General Manger Don Maloney and suggested he begin looking for someone to replace me as coach. Don has worked hard and explored many options. I think he has made an excellent choice, and so now it’s time for me to step aside.”
The team’s ownership situation continues to be unresolved.
Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie said Wednesday that he won’t move the team to Canada this season even if he wins the U.S. Bankruptcy Court fight and is given the green light to buy the team.Balsillie’s attorneys said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix on Wednesday that they have ditched plans to move the team to Hamilton, Ont., this season, should Judge Redfield T. Baum rule in Balsillie’s favor.
The rest of Gretzky’s statement reads:
“The Coyotes scouting staff has put together a great group of young and talented players who are going to improve tremendously over the next few years,” continued Gretzky. “I’m proud of the team we’ve assembled, the organization with which I’ve been associated and the thousands of dedicated fans who have never wavered in their support of this young team. I’m confident that the best is yet to come for hockey in Phoenix.
“I want to thank every staff member of the Phoenix Coyotes, past and present. It was a real pleasure to work with each and every one of you. I’ve always said that Phoenix is a great sports city and deserves nothing but the best. I still believe that. As a young boy, I learned to play hockey in Southern Ontario, and I know what great fans they have there. It’s my hope they too will have an NHL franchise in the not too distant future.
“I often said it was the greatest honor and privilege I could imagine to be able to play in the National Hockey League. I feel the same way about being an NHL coach. I’ve loved the four years I spent coaching the Coyotes. Not a day went by when I took it for granted, and I will miss the competition of the NHL dearly. It was an honor to hold the position, and I will always consider myself especially fortunate to have had this opportunity.”
Gretzky, who is due to make $8.5 million this season, coached the Coyotes from 555-5555, finishing with a 143-161-24 record, and the team missed the playoffs in all four seasons.
Gretzky, 48, also owns a small piece of the franchise.
The Coyotes had no immediate word on a replacement. Associate coach Ulf Samuelsson had been serving as interim head coach during the preseason, and the team this week hired former NHL head coach Dave King as an assistant.
It was bound to happen. Mark Messier wasn’t going to stay away from hockey for too long and he even hinted at it in this recent interview conducted by WatchMojo:
More info from the BostonHerald.com:
….In February 2007, Messier said publicly that he was discussing a front-office job with the club, although Sather — who served as either coach or general manager of the Edmonton Oilers when Messier won five Cups — denied that he was ready to step down, saying that Messier would be better served by working his way up the ladder.
Now, at 48, the timing is right for Messier and don’t dismiss the possibility that he emerges as the next GM if Sather, 65, eventually steps aside and remains president of the franchise.
“I kind of felt that five years would give me enough of a chance to see the kids grow,” Messier said in a phone interview last night, referring to his last NHL season in 2004. “So now that Glen has invited me, I’m going in with an open mind . .. I’ll be pulling the oars. There’s really nothing solid, but I’m all in. I’ll be at Traverse City (a Michigan prospects tournament in early September) and then training camp.”
Messier — whose No. 11 was retired and raised to the Madison Square Garden rafters Jan. 12, 2006 — will initially familiarize himself with the organization, starting with Rangers prospects and minor-leaguers.
“I am looking forward to … having the opportunity to learn a new part of the business, working closely with Glen,” Messier said in a statement. “I have felt a strong connection to the Rangers, Madison Square Garden and the city of New York from the moment I arrived in 1991. I am honored to begin this new chapter of my career here.”
This is insane. Patrick Kane get a hold of yourself?! 20 cents? You are a moron. Read more about this from TSN.ca:
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane was charged with attacking a cab driver in his home town Sunday, a beating police said was triggered when the driver did not have 20 cents in change to give the player and his cousin.
Buffalo police said the 20-year-old Kane and his 21-year-old cousin, James Kane, had apparently caught a cab from the city’s downtown nightclub district at about 4 a.m. ET. The cab driver suffered cuts to his face and his glasses were damaged, police spokesman Michael DeGeorge said.
Both men were charged with felony robbery and misdemeanour counts of theft of services and criminal mischief. Patrick Kane, who earned US$875,000 last season, pleaded not guilty in local court Sunday, WIVB-TV reported. It was not immediately clear when James Kane will appear in court.
The driver said he was punched and hit by both men because he did not have 20 cents in change to give them, according to the police report.
A message left at the home of Patrick Kane’s parents was not immediately returned Sunday afternoon. Relatives who answered his grandfather’s phone and his mother’s cell phone declined to comment and could not say whether either Kane had a lawyer.
A Blackhawks spokesman said the team is aware of the allegations against Kane.
“He is a big part of our organization and a team leader and we stand behind him,” spokesman Brandon Faber said. “As we are still collecting all the facts, it would be premature to comment further at this time.”
On Thursday, Patrick Kane was at a Buffalo ice rink where he played hockey as a child to help Mayor Byron Brown announce funding for improvements.
He said at the time he was happy to have time “to hang out back home in Buffalo.”
“The best thing about it is my friends treat me like I’m a regular kid,” said Kane, the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft. “They don’t treat me like a celebrity or whatever they might treat me like in Chicago.”
Kane played his first two NHL seasons with the Blackhawks and had 46 goals and 96 assists. He won the Calder Trophy, given to the league’s best rookie, in 2008.
There you go Heatley… you act like a jackass and you get embarrassed in the always classic “Angry Hitler” routine. Enjoy:
Drafted by the Montréal Canadiens in the 2nd round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Maxim Lapierre has since been making a name for himself on one of the NHL’s most storied teams. His breakthrough 2008-2009 season saw him win the Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy, an award given by the Sports Writers Association of Montreal to the team’s unsung hero. After recently undergoing surgery to correct an ankle injury that had nagged him the majority of the 08/09 season, Lapierre says he is eager to get back to training. In this video, WatchMojo.com asks Mad Max about the pressures of playing in Montreal, and what he’s doing in the off-season.
The only reason I can imagine why the Montreal Canadiens unloaded Chris Higgins to the NY Rangers would be his partying ways. That’s of course an allegation, but let me highlight how bad this deal is for the Habs:
TO HABS
- Scott Gomez (an $8M salary cap hit for an 16-goal scorer!)
- Tom Pyatt (”he will be lucky if he plays in NHL and is a mini Guy Carbonneau”, according to Pierre McGuire)
- Michael Busto (East coast player)
TO RANGERS
- Pavel Valetenko
- Doug Janek
- Chris Higgings
- Ryan McDonagh (former top round pick)
Bear in mind the Habs will lose defenseman Mike Komisarek, especially now that his pal Higgins is gone.
Way to go Bob Gainey.
PLAY
