News & Views

No Stanley for Old Men: 2022 Edition

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs started last night, and that got me thinking about which NHL veteran I would like to see win the Stanley Cup this year. Yes, Joe Thornton, who has played for 24 years now in the NHL, is my obvious choice for “greybeard” who I want to see win the Cup.  But there are many other worthy veteran NHLers that have toiled year-in and year-out and also deserve to sip champagne from hockey’s ultimate prize.

Here is a list of the oldest player from each playoff team who has yet to win the Stanley Cup, and why we should be rooting for each of them this spring. 

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Snap Shots: Regular Season Wrap-Up

I was pretty sick over the past seven days, so I didn’t get to publish Snap Shots for last week. Therefore, this week’s edition will take a look at the top 10 stories from past two weeks in the world of hockey. But don’t worry — this will be a quick read, I promise 🙂 

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Snap Shots: Mike Bossy Passes Away

This week was a mix of highs and lows for the world of hockey. Legend Mike Bossy passed away, the NHLPA released its internal investigation into its handling of Kyle Beach, and a longtime play-by-play announcer made his final call. But a first-overall pick also made an impressive debut and women’s hockey might take a giant step forward next year. It’s all recapped in this week’s edition of Snap Shots. 

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Snap Shots: Auston Matthews Sets Maple Leafs’ Goals Record

I was so busy last weekend that I didn’t get to write my Snap Shots column for last week. So, this week’s edition has more “shots,” covering the last two weeks of notable hockey stories. But don’t worry — each “shot” is shorter and this will be a quick read. Promise! 

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Snap Shots: No Trade for You!

Welcome to Snap Shots! This week, we look at a trade that was voided, another third jersey — would that make it a second third jersey or a fourth jersey — for the Maple Leafs, and a team that went from hero to zero in less than a year. 

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Snap Shots: Tons of Trades

Snap Shots is three days late, but better late than never, as they say. I had a busy weekend selling at a sports memorabilia convention, then other things got in the way. Such is life. But I still wanted to chip in my two cents about what went on around the NHL over the past seven — make that 10 — days. Two players skated in their 1,000th games, and set some interesting records in the process. Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record got a little closer to being broken, and, of course, there was the NHL trade deadline. 

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Snap Shots: Nicklas Backstrom Scores 1,000th Point

I didn’t have as much time as usual to focus on this week’s edition of Snap Shots. So, here is a very quick rundown of the top five hockey stories over the past week. 

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Snap Shots: More Stats & Milestones

It was another busy week in the NHL, as the league unveiled a new stat, two players hit the 1,000-game mark and the Blue Jackets retired a number for the first time in the team’s 22-year history. Plus, the IIHF took a stance on Russia’s participation in future ice hockey tournaments. 

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Snap Shots: Hockey World Reacts to Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was on all our minds last week. Naturally, talk about the war found its way into hockey circles. Hockey is a global sport. Many of the game’s best players are from Russia, and there are numerous international hockey tournaments, from the annual World Junior Championships and World Championships, to the quadrennial Winter Olympics which just recently took place. 

In a life-and-death situation like this, that can impact hundreds of thousands of lives, athletes and sportswriters cannot just “stick to sports.” That said, several prominent current and former NHL players spoke out about the war in Ukraine and what it could potentially mean for Russian hockey players. 

Other hockey news this week includes two players reaching career milestones, another player having his jersey number retired, and the passing of one of hockey’s all-time great builders. 

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Snap Shots: Crosby Joins 500-Goal Club

Happy Monday and welcome to Snap Shots. This week, we will look at two NHL milestones that were reached, a recap of hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and the long-awaited return of one of the league’s star players. 

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