DIVE RIGHT INI am serious about this, college and professional hockey have a problem with players that embellish calls to draw a penalty. It's time to expose the fraudsthat flail all over the ice and act like soccer players. Diving cheapens the game and is a form of cheating.
Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, told the Daily News via email on Friday that the NHL’s new fines for players and coaches for excessive diving will be determined after each game by video review, regardless of the call on the ice. In other words, just because a player isn’t called for embellishment in a game doesn’t mean the league can’t charge him for it later. The NHL hasn’t determined whether it will publicize its decisions, Daly said.
Paul Stewart, Hockey Buzz -- Rule 24 – Penalty Shot The 'Spin-O-Rama' move, as described in Section 24.2 of the 2013-14 NHL Rule Book, will no longer be permitted either in Penalty Shot situations or in the Shootout.From Sportsnet.CA
There is a longstanding rule about not a shooter being allowed to move the puck backwards in such situations. As such, there is a justification for declaring the spin-o-rama illegal in penalty shots and shootouts.
From a broader perspective, however, isn't the supposed purpose of the shootout for added entertainment value to decide regular season games in lieu of ties? There's a slippery slope here in banning a certain move.
My question is this: How many people were actually clamoring for this new rule in the first place, apart from some goaltenders and coaches of teams that scored upon on a penalty shot or shootout? I know plenty of traditionalists who argue to this day that the shootout itself should be scrapped. By comparison, what's the population of shootout enthusiasts who were pushing for a spin-o-rama ban?
In shootouts, coaches no longer have to submit a list of their first three shooters. Players are also no longer able to do a "spin-o-rama" on penalty shots or in a shootout.
NHL Insider -- The Minnesota Wild will enter training camp next month with three goaltenders, Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper, competing for the starting job. Wild coach Mike Yeo said each will have a chance to win the No. 1 job.Obviously, they Wild are going to need to sign Darcy Kuemper who remains an unsigned restricted free agent. There's also many questions about Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding's health. Neither has been able to play a full season the last two years.
"I have to say we're kind of open right now, to be honest with you," Yeo told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune on Wednesday during an appearance at the Minnesota State Fair. "We're going to have some scrimmages … but we're going to have to pretty quickly determine who we want to give a greater workload to after that. That's going to be a good challenge."
Chris Peters, CBS Sports -- Here's why it's not completely outlandish to envision Vegas as a future NHL city. For one, they have two open spots in the Western Conference to even things out and bring some competitive balance. The Eastern Conference currently has 16 teams, while the West has 14. If the NHL expanded to the most long-rumored top candidate of Seattle, that would help even things out. It's definitely not as simple as that, though.The markets listed seem like good choices. I do like adding more teams in Canada. One city that stands out is Toronto.
Another barrier for Las Vegas would have been an arena, but that may no longer be an issue. The city has been home to minor-league hockey for years, but now Vegas is in the process of building a new arena however with the aim of bringing either an NHL or NBA team to Vegas.
MGM and AEG, owner of the Los Angeles Kings, are teaming up on the project that broke ground in Las Vegas in May. The new arena is due to open in 2016 and will have 20,000 seats, but a projected capacity of 17,500 for hockey. The company building the arena, ICON, is also building the Edmonton Oilers' new arena. Kings great Luc Robitaille was on hand at the ground-breaking.
NHL expansion – four teams added by 2017, Quebec City, Toronto, Seattle, and Las Vegas $1.4b in expansion fees — Howard Bloom (@SportsBizNews) August 27, 2014
NHL.com -- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said Friday he is pleased with the way his injured right wrist has responded to treatment.
"It's good," Crosby told The Associated Press in Estero, Fla., where he has been working out. "You want to see how things progress throughout the summer once you start skating and get back to that regular routine. You want to see how it reacts, so I'm happy with the way it's gone."
The Penguins in early July said Crosby had been receiving treatment for a wrist injury he sustained last season. Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Crosby opted for an injection rather than surgery, which was not ruled out. Brisson said Crosby was injured in March.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said in July that Crosby would be ready for training camp.
After leading the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 104 points, Crosby had one goal and eight points in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He did not have a point in the Penguins' final three games, all losses, after they took a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
According to King 5, Coleman has met with several important people involved with the NHL and the City of Seattle.
“It’s clear Coleman has the support of the NHL. One league executive describes him as “the real deal,” and he was flanked by the NHL’s top leaders during a clandestine meeting in Seattle back in May,” King 5’s Chris Daniels writes.
Getting a new arena built in Seattle appears, at least at the moment, dependent on the existence of an NBA tenant, and there’s no indication that pro basketball will be returning to Seattle anytime soon.
Daniels also reports that Coleman and Chris Hansen, who wants to bring an NBA team to Seattle with a new arena, have spoken. (NESN.com)
“I’ll answer one question about the negotiation,” Subban told a media scrum at Royal Montreal Golf Club.“It’s been kept pretty quiet the whole time and it’s going to remain that way until a deal is done.” (Brenda, Branswell, Habs Inside/Out)“As of right now today I’m sitting here and trying to just enjoy the day. Just not thinking about anything,” he said. Apparently, Subban wants to remain a Hab for life.
"Obviously I remain adamant on remaining in Montreal and being a Montreal Canadien, and not just for a long time but hopefully for the rest of my career, and be a lifer there," Subban told Breakfast Television in Toronto earlier this week. "I really enjoy playing there." (NHL.COM)It looks like Subban could get one of the most lucrative contracts in the Montreal Canadiens history.
We're talking, of course, about P.K. Subban and what's sure to be the most lucrative deal in franchise history. One that will likely bring the defenseman $10 million a season—or more—at some point during the agreement. (Allan Muir, Sports Illustrated)
Brent Smiley, Fox Sports -- A coalition of San Jose Sharks fans have formed the group "Say No to Sharks Ice Girls" in response to the team's proposed uniform change for its co-ed ice team.
Previously, members of the Sharks ice team wore full outfits that did not expose any skin, while this year's uniforms for the ladies "May be form fitting with some skin exposure." Males would not expose their possibly hairy midriffs.
At least 1,108 persons and counting think the proposed change for women and not men is offensive, sexist and "reinforces a negative double-standard where men are taken seriously but women are sexualized and objectified."
Danielle Bell,Ottawa Sun -- Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux has been released from jail after being arrested for allegedly grabbing the buttocks of a police officer.
Sources say Giroux was arrested for repeatedly grabbing the male police officer's butt during an incident at a downtown Ottawa bar. Alcohol is believed to have been involved.
A witness and sources say the incident occurred at The Great Canadian Cabin in the Byward Market club district.
Amalie Benjamin, Boston Globe – The real question, perhaps, is whether the concept of the fourth line is shifting toward more skill, as the Bruins saw in the second round of the postseason, when the Canadiens got production from their fourth line (Brandon Prust, Daniel Briere, Dale Weise) and the Bruins did not.
That was the role the Bruins’ Merlot line played in the past, notably in the Stanley Cup Final against Vancouver, when they helped turn around Game 7. It was a line emulated throughout hockey, as teams realized they needed to roll four lines, as the Bruins did, to be successful.
With that in mind, it will be telling to see what happens to the large number of free agent enforcers this summer, with quite a few set to be unrestricted, a quirk of enforcers mostly getting short-term contracts. In addition to Thornton, George Parros, Paul Bissonnette, Kevin Westgarth and John Scott, among others, are without deals.
“I think if you look across the league, you look at more and more teams rolling four lines and getting some production out of the fourth line, like we’ve had for a number of years,” Neely said.
