Must Read: Best Hockey Articles

[The Black Panther]

In light of David Letterman's stepping away I had to add this one:

Top 10 Hockey Player Pickup Lines

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com...layer.html?m=1

[The Black Panther]

May 26, 2015
Stanley Cup Lost and Stolen
Buffalo Sabres fans gripe to this day that the Stanley Cup was stolen from them because of Brett Hull's toe-in-crease series winning goal.

While I won't get into that debate and just let that sit in Stanley Cup folklore, I think it is interesting that there have been three attempts to actually steal the Stanley Cup.

The first was in the spring of 1962 as the Montreal Canadiens were playing the defending champion Blackhawks in Chicago. The Hawks had the Cup on glass-encased display in old Chicago Stadium, much to the dislike of 25 year old pianist Kenneth Kilander, a seriously devoted Habs fan who made the trip to the Windy City.

During the game Kilander picked the lock and simply headed out the doors, bribing a security guard with $250 and reportedly telling him "I'm taking it back to Montreal where it belongs." Kilander, on a dare from Montreal sportswriters, was taking the Cup back to his hotel and intended to let sportswriters and photographers break the story as part of an elaborate April Fool's Day joke.

Kilander was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. After paying a $10 fine, he was released from jail.

A much more serious theft occurred in January, 1970. The original silver collar of the Cup was stolen from the original Hockey Hall of Fame. The Hall's curator, Lefty Reid, alerted authorities and shortly thereafter was contacted by an anonymous woman who promised the collar's safe return in exchange for no charges being dropped. The RCMP refused such negotiations, and the collar remained missing.

The collar was finally recovered almost 8 years later. On September 18, 1977 the police received an anonymous phone call that the missing silverware was in a brown parcel in the basement of a drycleaner's on Woodbine Avenue.

A few months prior to that, on March 9, 1977, 7 students from the University of Montreal planned an elaborate heist of the Cup right from its display place in the Hockey Hall of Fame on the old CNE grounds. The students were on a scavenger hunt for "the best find possible." The Stanley Cup certainly could have won that contest. After detailed interrogations, the students were released without any charges.

Following the Stanley Cup parade in 1979, Guy Lafleur, of all people, stole the Cup and hid in the trunk of his car. Some 14 years before the practice of each player taking the Cup home became commonplace, Lafleur headed up to Thurso so he could show the Cup to his family and old friends. Not knowing where the Cup was had Cup trustees and caretakers in a frantic search. They were all relieved when they found out Lafleur had it.

The Stanley Cup was also lost, but no one picked it up. In 1924, Montreal Canadiens players were on their way to a victory party at owner Leo Dandurand's house. The players had set the Cup on the sidewalk snowbank while they changed a flat tire. When arrived at Dandurand's house, they realized they had left the Cup on the sidewalk. They hurriedly drove back, and were relieved to see the silver bowl sitting right where they left it, completely untouched.

Two other times the Cup was lost. In 1907, the Montreal Wanderers left the Cup at the home of a photographer they hired to immortalize their victory. The photographer's mother turned it into a flower pot for the next several months. In 1905, drunken members of the Ottawa Silver Seven thought it would a good celebratory idea to punt the Cup into the Rideau Canal. No one rescued out of the chilly waters until the next day.

[The Black Panther]

OK won't put this in OP but thought it was a solid article.

hockey news & insight
50 Years Ago in Hockey: 1964-65 Post-Mortem – Maple Leafs
by Rick Cole | May 30, 2015


The 1964-65 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs marked the first time in three years that the team was unable to defend its Stanley Cup Championship. The Leafs finished a disappointing fourth in the regular season standings, and were summarily dismissed by the Montreal Canadiens in the semi-finals.

Age was a factor

As the season wore on, many observers, even those who predicted prior to the season that the Leafs would finish atop the standings, expressed doubt that the Leafs would be successful in winning a fourth straight Stanley Cup. The main source of concern was that many of the normally dependable Toronto veterans began to show signs of their advanced ages. Only four players managed to suit up for all 70 games this season – Red Kelly, Tim Horton, Bob Baun and Carl Brewer.

Red Kelly played every game for the Leafs.
Kelly’s durability in being available for every game is a testament to the man’s character. He successfully balanced his duties as the Member of Parliament for York West with the rigours of the NHL schedule, no mean feat indeed.

No mid-season deals

Another issue was the fact that general manager – coach Punch Imlach was unable to add significant talent to his club during the season. In years gone by, when it became clear that the Leafs had holes to fill, Imlach went out and acquired serviceable veterans, and even superstars like Andy Bathgate, to put the team over the top. This time around, Punch pulled out all the stops to bring in high-end veteran help, but he was rebuffed by potential trade partners at every turn. He thought that he had a deal with Boston just before the deadline for making trades. However, at the last minute,the Bruins backed out of a transaction that would have seen Boston mainstay Johnny Bucyk come to the Leafs.

Great goaltending


The one area that was on no concern for Imlach was in goal. Picking up the great Terry Sawchuk from Detroit during last summer’s draft proved to be a master stroke by the wily Toronto manager. Imlach surprised the Red Wings by selecting Sawchuk when he was dropped from the Wings’ protected list when they drafted young George Gardner from Boston. Gardner ended up spending the entire 1964-65 season with Memphis of the Central Professional Hockey League.

Terry Sawchuk and Johnny Bower gave Toronto the NHL's best goaltending.
Terry Sawchuk and Johnny Bower gave Toronto the NHL’s best goaltending.
Sawchuk, 35, teamed wonderfully with the Leafs’ other veteran netminder, Johnny Bower. Bower, whose age has been subject of speculation for years, is at least 40, but has the reflexes and athletic ability of a much younger athlete. He welcomed the presence of the former Detroit goalie, with the accompanying rest helping both their games.

The pair split the schedule almost evenly, with Sawchuk getting into 36 games to Bower’s 34. They were so effective that the pair’s combined work resulted in the best goals-against average in the league, just a couple of goals better than Detroit’s outstanding rookie, Roger Crozier. As the goalkeeper who played the most games for the team with the best average, the NHL designated Sawchuk as the league’s Vezina Trophy winner.

For his part, Sawchuk said he would not accept the award unless Bower’s name was included on the trophy as well.

In the playoffs, Bower put on a heroic performance. He was almost solely responsible for the two games Toronto managed to take from Montreal during their series.

Defence showed signs of age

Toronto’s vaunted defensive unit began to show signs of their collective advanced age this past season. Durable Tim Horton, Bob Baun and 25-year-old Carl Brewer were available for every game, with both Horton and Brewer putting in all-star-worthy seasons. Brewer especially seems to be developing into a genuine star, displaying sound defensive play with offensive flair. Horton was not only Toronto’s best defender, but he doubled for more than a few games as a right-winger with very good results.

Carl Brewer: at 25, he is developing into a star.
Carl Brewer: at 25, he is developing into a star.
The rest of the blueliners left a bit to be desired. Kent Douglas showed good offensive instincts, but his work in his own end was woefully inconsistent. He saw lots of action on the power play, but was noticeably absent late in close games when the team was protecting a lead.

Baun, 27, had spent the past few years almost exclusively paired with Brewer. He is your quintessential stay-at-home defenceman, a fact emphasized by his scoring totals this season (0 goals, 18 assists). He is known as one of the fiercest bodycheckers in the NHL, and was responsible for many foes’ trips to the injured list. Bobby Hull’s record-setting season was curtailed by a Baun body-check. Baun’s value was diminished by inconsistency, especially later in the season and the playoffs.

Even though he played every game, Baun was slowed by a variety of minor ailments and was also paired from time to time with veteran Allan Stanley. Their unfamiliarity with each other led to some loose defensive zone play.

Stanley, now 38, was the defender who seems to be most affected by his advanced years. He has slowed considerably, and at times seemed incapable of keeping up with the play. He missed only six games with injury, but spent more time on the bench as Imlach lost faith in him. He is expected to call it quits this summer, as he is rumoured to be being considered for a number of minor-league coaching spots.

Injuries decimated the offence

Toronto’s most significant problem area was extended time missed by several key forwards. Superstar left-winger Frank Mahovlich was out for over 10 games with a mystery illness which the team refused to identify. He still ended up with 51 points and was the Leafs’ leading scorer. Dave Keon missed only five games, but was slowed for at least that many with a pesky groin injury that lingered for much of the year.

keonD4

[The Black Panther]

Continued

Dave Keon : a groin injury slowed him for much of the season.
Andy Bathgate, with whom Imlach had placed a great deal of trust when he acquired him from New York in February of 1964, missed 15 games with a broken thumb, and was ineffective when he did play. He was critical of Imlach’s spartan training methods and has been traded to Detroit. His 16 goals was the lowest total of his NHL career.

Rookie Ron Ellis was a god-send. He was second in the rookie-of-the-year voting and posted 23 goals. He is gifted offensively, while also playing a strong defensive game. Stardom for Ellis is not far down the road. The only down side for the 20-year-old was that he missed eight games with a concussion.

Don McKenney, the other player acquired with Bathgate from New York, was a huge disappointment. After a strong showing in the 1964 playoffs, he was expected to provide offence from the left side. Instead, he scored only six times in 52 games, and found himself banished to Rochester of the AHL for much of the season. He is not likely to be back next year.

Imlach was pleased with the play of Bob Pulford. A versatile centre who can also play wing, he emerged as possibly the best two-way forward in the league and was the object of every trade pitch Imlach received. He missed the 20-goal mark by only one, and would surely have exceeded it if he had been completely healthy all season.

Bob Pulford
Bob Pulford
Other disappointments up front included Jim Pappin, Eddie Shack, Billy Harris and Ron Stewart. Stewart started out well, but faded in the second half of the season and will likely find a new home before next year. Jim Pappin seemed to clash with Imlach repeatedly, and he also found himself with Rochester after scoring nine times in 44 games with the big club. Harris, who always looked to be on the cusp of forging a regular spot, regressed this season and was sent to Rochester as well after netting only one goal in 48 games. Harris often never made it off the bench in many of those games, and was dealt to the Red Wings last week.

shackE4
Eddie Shack continues to test Imlach’s patience.
Shack continues to be an enigma for Leaf fans. His helter-skelter skating style and take-no-prisoners attitude have endeared him to the Maple Leaf faithful. However, he is erratic and weak defensively, and Punch is uneasy with the idea that he never really knows what is going to happen when he sends Shack out there. There is talk that he will be sent to Rochester to boost the farm club’s crowds when they play for an extended period at Maple Leaf Gardens while the Rochester rink is unavailable next season. Imlach figures that Shack’s meagre production (5 goals in 67 games) isn’t worth the headaches Eddie brings along.

Future is bright

Despite the team’s slide this past season, there are a good number of up-and-coming youngsters who give Leaf fans reason for optimism. On the big club, Ellis is a sure star, and he was joined p[art-way through the season by big Peter Stemkowski. Stemkowski started the year with Rochester after graduating from the Leafs’ OHA junior A Marlboro team. He was used infrequently by Imlach, but showed a bit of a scoring touch and was effective defensively.

ellisRon1st
Ron Ellis is a sure star for the Leafs.
At Rochester, the Leafs’ AHL team was a veteran unit, with the exception of one key youngster. Goalie Gerry Cheevers, 24, was the best goalkeeper in the American League. He led the Amerks to the league championship and looks to be ready for full-time NHL employment. Imlach will have a difficult decision at next week’s NHL meetings, as he can protect only two goalkeepers, and it will be a difficult decision to drop either of the incumbents Bower or Sawchuk.

Gerry Cheevers: Leaf's can't afford to let him go.
Gerry Cheevers: Leaf’s can’t afford to let him go.
The Leafs’ CPHL farm club, the Tulsa Oilers, boasted a number of high-potential youngsters. Topping the list is centre Mike Walton. The 20-year-old Walton decided to forego his final year of junior hockey to play with the pros, and had a stellar season, scoring 40 goals and 44 assists. Whenever Imlach talked swap with other clubs, Walton’s name was constantly discussed. He may be ready as soon as next season.

Walton’s line mates, Nick Harbaruk and Andre Champagne, are also thought to be sure-fire NHL’ers. Harbaruk, 21, was especially impressive, with one prominent scout saying that he is a better prospect than the high-scoring Walton. He is a hard-nosed winger who is unafraid to mix it up in the corners. He showed a bit of a scoring touch, notching 27 goals as Walton’s right-winger. Champagne doesn’t quite have the high ceiling of his line mates, but he did score 24 times as a 20-year-old. He might need another year of seasoning.

Mike Walton

- - - Updated - - -

Continued.
Mike Walton
At the Junior A level, the Marlboros had another strong season and made the OHA Junior A Series final before being ousted by eventual Memorial Cup-winning Niagara Falls. That club is chock-full of players with NHL potential, and some of them could find their way to the Leafs as soon as next season.

At the top of the Marlie prospect list is winger Brit Selby. He had a cup of coffee with the big team this season and did not look out of place. He is a swift skater with a great scoring touch, having netted 45 goals and 43 assists for the Marlies. Line mates Mike Corrigan and Paul Laurent are highly regarded as well. Laurent was the Marlies’ leading scorer with 43 goals and 57 assists. He could be a solid big-league forward if he can improve his skating.

selbyBritMarlies
Brit Selby – top Marlie prospect.
Big Wayne Carleton is the most-hyped Marlie hopeful. His style is reminiscent of Frank Mahovlich, as he is a tall, rangy winger with a big shot. He missed most the season with knee woes, but it’s thought he will be healthy next season. In only 15 games, he put up 13 goals and added 10 assists. At 18, he has some development time ahead.

On defence, 17-year-old Jim McKenney is being tabbed as a no-doubt prospect. He has even drawn favourable comparisons to Oshawa’s wunderkind Bobby Orr. While he doesn’t have Orr’s offensive flair, he is a heady player with great skating ability.

Off-season activity

The business of off-season changes started early for the Leafs, with Imlach engineering that eight-player deal with Detroit last week. Defenceman Marcel Pronovost was the key player brought in, ostensibly to replace the likely departing Allan Stanley. None of Bathgate, Harris or Gary Jarrett will be missed, and their replacements, especially Larry Jeffrey and Eddie Joyal, are already proven NHL regulars.

Marcel Pronovost
Marcel Pronovost
Imlach’s most crucial decision will be what he chooses to do with his goalkeepers. Despite strong lobbying by Leaf president Stafford Smythe, teams are allowed to protect only two goaltenders in this year’s draft. That means that if Imlach wishes to keep young Gerry Cheevers, he will have to expose one of Terry Sawchuk or Johnny Bower. the betting is that Sawchuk’s run with Toronto will end after one season, as it seems to be a foolhardy plan to hope Cheevers won’t be claimed. Boston GM Hap Emms has already said he will be grabbing the goalie left unprotected by the Leafs. Imlach may be better off trying to deal a goalie, and not lose a player for only the $30,000 draft fee.

Concerning further trades, Imlach’s strong prospect contingent gives him the latitude to choose carefully what deals he considers. Ron Stewart is the one veteran that is an odds-on favourite to be traded, with both Boston and New York interested. Pappin is a young forward who was nearly dealt to Boston in that scuttled deal for John Bucyk, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Emms revisits that barter again.

stewartRon
Ron Stewart : popular veteran will almost certainly be traded.
The Leafs, while aging, have a plethora of youngsters ready to advance. If Imlach can find a way to trust the young players, something he has shown he is uncomfortable with in the past, Toronto’s future looks to be in good hands. The down side is, if he continues his overdependence on veterans long in the tooth, the Leafs’ slide could continue to even greater depths.

[The Black Panther]

Looking fwd to this;

Manon Rheaume on film about her NHL milestone, future of women's hockey (Puck Daddy Interview)
Sean Leahy By Sean Leahy
5 June, 2015 5:16 PM
Puck Daddy

TAMPA — It’s been 23 years since Manon Rheaume made NHL history by suiting up for one period in goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning during an exhibition game. People still remind her of the impact she made in that brief NHL career.

“When I did this experience, I didn’t realize how much I was impacting people, and it’s now later in life and every time people meet me [they ask] ‘You’re the goalie?’ because that name is so familiar to them,” she said.

“My son comes back home with a book from the library and it’s got a picture of me and it’s like ‘Oh, look what I saw!’ I think now I realize more that what I did back then was a big deal.”

Rheaume was inside Amalie Arena on Friday afternoon doing promotion for an upcoming movie about her time with the Lightning entitled, “Between the Pipes.” The film will be written and produced by Angie Bullaro, who will also play the role of Rheaume.

To make the hockey scenes as realistic as possible, Rheaume will be a consultant as well as associate producer, while Bullaro has been working with former NHL goaltender Steve Valiquette.

Bullaro and her husband started their own production company, Lazy Kitty Productions, over a year ago and wanted to make a film that fit their vision of doing stories focusing on strong female leads. After choosing to do go in the direction of sports, Bullaro remembered Rheaume playing for the Lightning and then the wheels were in motion.

The plan is begin shooting this winter with a release by the start of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rheaume will have a small cameo in the movie and the hope is to also involve former Lightning GM Phil Esposito, who came up with the idea of signing her to a tryout contract for the then-expansion franchise.

We sat down with Rheaume and talked about the movie, her time with the Lightning, the future of women’s hockey and her Stanley Cup Final prediction.

Enjoy.

Q. How did the idea for the movie come about?

RHEAUME: “Angi contacted me through my foundation. So I called her and we ended up talking about the project and we hit it off right away because her idea of the project was to make a story to inspire people. And what I was telling her was everything that happened to me, all the cool things I did, the most satisfying thing was I inspired young girls. I said now we can have a chance to inspire the next generation of young people.”

In a lot of movies the person its based on has cameo role of some sort. Will you get any screen time?

“I don’t know about that. I’ll be there with what has to do with hockey; so every hockey scene and things like that. You see a lot of those hockey movies and it doesn’t look real and you’ll watch a movie like ‘Miracle,’ which it looks like you were there in the stands. That’s what you want it to look like. I’m really excited to be part of it to make sure to portray what hockey’s all about.”

The entire experience with the Lightning, where you able to take a breath during it or did you really have no time to take it all in?

“I had no time to think. It was one of those things by the time I said yes to the training camp to the time that it was over, it went so fast. That’s why I didn’t realize until later in life that it was a big deal what I did and it did impact people. I just thought that, OK I’m playing hockey at the highest level, it’s cool, but I didn’t realize how big it was. Even 20 years later when they did a story a couple years ago, they said no other woman did it since then. I thought after me you may have seen other women playing, so that part of it made me realize how big of a deal it was.”

When you first arrived in camp with the Lightning in 1992, did you feel welcomed?

“Actually, after the first game they divided us into four teams [at camp] and we played a mini tournament, so my first time on the ice was a game and I did not allow any goals in 14 shots. We were actually winning 2-1 when I came in because everyone was splitting the game and playing a period. Apparently, in the other locker room, because some of the French guys told me after, they were saying ‘Oh, the girl’s coming in now. It’s going to be easy. We’re going to win’ and we ended up winning 5-1 and I didn’t allow [any] goals. I think that helped me to get the respect of guys the rest of training camp and a lot of the guys were looking at me like their little sister and supporting what I was doing.

"I never felt during camp that some people didn’t want me around. If they didn’t want me around they never let me know, but throughout the years I may have had one or two guys that didn’t like the fact that I was a woman and made my life a little miserable, but I didn’t let that stop me from continuing to play the game.”

Wendell Young was a big supporter of yours back then, wasn’t he?

“He was amazing. First of all, to be paired up with me, he had to deal with this different pressure because he was going out there and I was going next, and no way he wanted a girl to do better than him, and I knew that. And instead of being resentful of having me on the team, he was actually really helpful. He’s such a great guy. He’s someone I’ll always have so much respect for and the way that he handled himself the whole training camp, I just couldn’t ask for a better goalie partner than him.”

The last few years we’ve seen Shannon Szabados, Noora Raty and Florence Schelling join men’s teams. Could that have been something you envisioned way back then?

“I never thought that when I started but after going to Tampa I really thought 'OK, maybe that’s going to help other women to get there or inspire women to do say I can do this' … Now to know that you can make it to the Olympics, you can have a college scholarship. It grew and it’s really cool to see where it’s at.”

Women’s hockey has continue to grow over the years and now there will be two leagues available for players. What do you think is the next step for growth for the women’s game internationally?

“I think it’s to find the right place for the girls. After they’re done with college, where can you continue to play at a high level to be able to improve for the next Olympics? College hockey is great because you practice every day, you play good competition, but when you’re done with college where do you go? Obviously they have those leagues, but it’s not everybody. People have to get a job. It’s not like guys where you make the NHL and you make a million dollars. They have to have a job. It’s not like they can just pick up and leave and go play on those teams and not have another job to help out. I don’t know yet how much it pays, but I don’t know if [you] can just make a living out of doing this. It would be really good to find a way to, especially for the national team program at every country, a place for those girls to train when they’re done with college.”

Have you worked with any of the women that played in the CWHL?

“I played a couple years ago with the Minnesota Whitecaps, so I got to see some of them. I also coach a lot of young girls and now about four or five made it to the U.S. national team. It was kind of cool to see that they were younger and working with them and now they made it to that level.”

Do you feel for these women’s league now in order to survive long-term they need some kind of financial partnership with the NHL?

“Absolutely. I think you get involved with the NHL would be the best thing for them because you’ve be able to survive eventually … You look at the NBA and what they did with the WNBA, it’s been a partnership to be able to make it happen.”

Finally, your series prediction: Lightning or Blackhawks?

“I have to go Lightning always. They’ve always been in my heart. Probably in seven. They’re two amazing teams and offensively they’re both very, very strong. I think [the playoffs[ have been really cool because you have one team one game show up and you think the other team is done and all of a sudden the other team comes back even harder.”

[The Comish]

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/rich-clune-hockey-nhl/

From the Players Tribune: The Battle written by Rich Clune

A brutally honest story from Clune. It reminded me a little of Theo Fleury in that he could play well while drunk/high.

[The Black Panther]

Wow thanks for sharing 'mish'.

[Shake]

The Wannabe. Great read from Sheldon Souray

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/she...rement-letter/

[JimmyCanuck]

The Wannabe. Great read from Sheldon Souray

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/she...rement-letter/

Fun read. Thanks for sharing.

[gooding74]

Yes, thanks for sharing.

I remember that league he started in - the Rocky Mountain Hockey League (previously known as the Peace Cariboo Junior Hockey League). In all of the leagues I've watched, I've never ever seen a league with more fighting than that one. A typical game in that league was no different than a typical scene out of Slapshot. Pretty cool that Souray got his start there and literally worked his way up from the bottom.

[Pengwin7]

New Players Tribune article up, by Jon Quick.
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jon...kings-snipers/

[Laendarian]

New Players Tribune article up, by Jon Quick.
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jon...kings-snipers/

This is probably my favourite site these days

[The Comish]

Marty St. Louis - Show Them

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/mar...ining-rangers/

[Nights]

Because it's the Players Tribune and it's just amazing as always...

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jam...dators-sniper/

[HockeyHobo]

I had never read any articles on the the Players tribune before, probably never even realised I had heard of it, but because of this thread i just got to read some great stories, thank you all.