Taking a quick look around the NHL....
Kudos to the NHL league office for trying to help regarding the huge problem in Haiti as they donated $100,000 toward the cause. Gary Bettman made an announcement yesterday.
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I received an email from Ray Irwin recently informing me about an article he completed over at "School Your Pool". Irwin looks at the Hurricanes youth movement and gives his opinions about Carolina's prospects. Here is an interesting take:
While many observers drool over Boychuk's upside, I believe it could be the American-born Bowman who ends up having a better career.
Fans just might get a chance to see this first hand as Drayson Bowman was recently called up to join Boychuk, Tlusty, and Dwyer for Saturday's game against Atlanta. You can read the rest of his story here.
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Remember the Whale?
I also received a note recently from Dan Canavan, one of several followers of the blog who used to love the Whalers. Canavan covers the Hurricanes for the Hockey Writers and also contributes to Connecticut Sports Law, which makes sense because he is a lawyer. (Anyone need an agent?)
Canavan recently scored a juicy interview with ex-Whalers owner Howard Baldwin. It was 35 years ago when Baldwin moved the Whalers from Boston to Hartford, but they discussed a variety of things in the interview.
"It was so sad" described Baldwin, about receiving the news that the Whalers would leave Hartford in 1997. "I kept thinking this can’t be, but there it was." But long before Connecticut would sell off its "community asset" to a stranger, Baldwin had established a legacy that would capture the imagination of the Hartford area and spark a new generation of sports fans. The Whalers may have begun as a dream in suburban Boston, but the legacy that continues to endure to the present day was born in Hartford on January 11, 1975.
Read the entire chit-chat at this link.
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After the jump, Is Edmonton losing on purpose?
The Edmonton Oilers are dropping fast in the standings and are pushing the Canes for that cherished last place finish in the league. Are they tanking on purpose?
Now that highly paid free agent acquisition Nikolai Khabibulin is officially out for the rest of the season because of a bad back, a reasonable person might think they would be in the market for a suitable replacement. Not so fast, according to the Edmonton Sun.
Steve Tambellini says hell, no, he won't go out and get a goalie. The crease belongs to Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk the rest of the season.
Look for the losing to continue in "Oil Country".
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More fallout regarding Matt Bradley and his motherly protection of captain Alex Ovechkin, this time from SI.com.
Ovechkin's willingness to initiate contact is a sizable part of what makes him great. But that's not a one-way street, especially considering the way he sometimes makes his presence felt. If you don't think there are a lot of players out there who've tucked away his number for just the right moment, well you haven't been paying close attention to the carnage left in his wake.
Bradley is no hero, according to Adam Muir. Read more here.
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Finally, we also received an email from a traveling Sean Mitton, our good friend from the Canadian Expat Network. Sean recently interviewed Peter Jagla from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Sean also spoke with Steve Keogh, Director of Communications for the Canadian Olympics Committee. Thanks very much Sean and keep up the great work!