I’m sorry but I think Mats Sundin is a little crazy. This week he was in New York, huddling with the Rangers, making it seem like his signing was inevitable.
And then, of course, he signed with the Canucks.
In New York, the beat writers seem to believe the X factor was a dollar sign. Larry Brooks [...]

While I applaud Columbus’ ingenuity in allowing fans to pay for tickets in installments, what does it say that you need an installment plan to have a few days or nights out at a hockey game? The Blue Jackets play in Ohio, a severely depressed state. The fans are there, but they’re not going to [...]

I feel like we’ll be doing the post-mortem on Barry Melrose’s coaching tenure in Tampa for years to come. Eventually, I suspect a dissertation or thesis will be written on the topic. Or at least a song. Erik Erlendsson seems pretty sure Melrose wasn’t “fired” by superstar Lecavalier, saying it was more Melrose who got [...]

Larry Brooks had a column recommending the Devils figure out a way to unload Patrik Elias and his relatively ginormous contract.
I’m shocked that Elias, once an offensive powerhouse, now has a regular shift on the Devils checking line.
But what do the Devils do? Brooks operates on the assumption the Devils can trade Elias for goaltending, [...]

Steven Stamkos has posted another rookie diary. These things are so boring, I’ve become convinced they contain secret messages. For instance, I think “It was her first time down to Tampa and it was a good experience for her” really means “I’m so sick of this bench. It hurts. People weren’t meant to sit on [...]

Wow. What’s with the Flyers?
They blew a lead to the Sharks Saturday night, leaving them winless in their first five games.
I haven’t watched a ton of the Flyers yet this season, but it’s hard not to notice how thin their defense is. Coach John Stevens has messed with his defensive pairings, but it really hasn’t [...]

I kind of wish I was an NHL defenseman this season. They sure seem to be in short supply.
The Lightning are expected to sign Marek Malik this week. Malik was unsigned at the start of this season but I guess teams are getting more desperate. Malik was pretty immobile last season. I can’t imagine what [...]

We’re just two games into the season and lineups are still in flux.
In Tampa, the Lightning made a post-Prague trade with Vancouver, swapping Shane O’Brien and Michel Ouellet for defenseman Lukas Krajicek and forward Juraj Simek.
Tampa might not be done tweaking, though, and could be interested in Calgary’s Rhett Warrener, recently placed on waivers.
If I’m [...]

Saturday I went to the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria Saturday to see the Rangers play Tampa. It was a good game, although I missed most of the third period looking for parking and then waiting for hot dogs. But the event itself was just amazing. It was like Madison Square Garden was outside. The [...]

In case you were wondering, it’s a big pain in the rear preparing an NHL team to play in Europe. The Rangers and Lightning are making their way across Europe, getting ready to play each other. It’s hard not to picture Chevy Chase driving everyone around. Vinny Prospal is even keeping a diary on Erik [...]