Archive for November, 2006

The following information was sent to me in an email from the Calgary Flames:

Calgary, AB - The Calgary Flames will honour one of the greatest players in team history by retiring goaltender Mike Vernon’s number 30.

Vernon spent 13 seasons of his 20 year NHL career in Calgary, highlighted by winning the Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989.

The Flames will pay tribute to Mike Vernon by raising his number 30 jersey to the rafters of the Pengrowth Saddledome in a pre-game ceremony when the Flames host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, February 6, 2007.

“Mike Vernon’s name is synonymous with the success of the Calgary Flames franchise in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and we are pleased to recognize Mike’s outstanding NHL career and his contribution to the Flames organization by retiring his number 30 Flames jersey,” stated Calgary Flames President, Ken King.

Through the 26 year history of the franchise, the Flames have only bestowed this tremendous honor on one other player, Lanny McDonald. McDonald’s number nine was hoisted to the rafters on March 17, 1990.

Lanny McDonald was a co-captain during of the 1989 Stanley Cup Championship team, and has fond memories of winning the cup with teammate Mike Vernon, “Vernie is the biggest reason we are all wearing Stanley Cup rings,” said McDonald. “A good friend, a great teammate and a fierce competitor; Calgary can be proud of their hometown boy.”  

Image courtesy: NHL

Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette and Co-Author of Habs Inside/Out has featured NHL Digest in a recent article. The article discusses the intricacies of officiating an NHL Hockey Game and links to one of our previous posts on NHL Officials.

We would like to sincerely thank Dave, Habs Inside/Out and the Montreal Gazette for their recognition of our work here at NHL Digest.

If you are a Montreal Canadiens fan, Habs Inside/Out is an absolute must read!

Thanks again Dave!

We thought it was about time for us at NHL Digest to share with you a couple of the best Beer Commercials ever produced.
A few years ago, Molson ran several Beer commercials for its Molson Canadian brand that featured humorous jabs at Canadian culture.  This featured commercial is the best of the bunch.
A stylish American businessman pokes fun at a Canadian Co-worker.  The Canadian then proceeds to pull the American’s jacket over his head and fight him hockey style!

and here is the aftermath of the office fight…Enjoy!

Image: Wikipedia 

Every year I enter a couple of fantasy hockey drafts and this season was no exception.  I always enter on draft where I can make trades and add or drop players on a weekly basis.  Each year, like clockwork, I will drop a player - add another and continue to watch the player I dropped have an outstanding performance, while the player I added gets injured.

Well, it happened again.  A couple of days ago I dropped Wojtek Wolski of the Colorado Avalanche and added Alexei Yashin.  Of course, Wolski proceeded to get 4 points the following night and now Yashin is out at least 2-4 weeks with a knee injury.

I chose Wolski as my dark horse rookie this season and I thought it was working out until Yashin became availble.  It seemed a logical choice to go with a proven veteran having a good season versus sticking with an unknown.

Fantasy Hockey Tip #1  Risk = Reward

Here is a list of the Top Rookies so far in 2006-2007

NAME                             POS     GP         G          A         PTS
Evgeni Malkin, PIT             LW       18         12        10         22
Anze Kopitar, LA              C          25         6          16         22
Paul Stastny, COL            C          23         5          12         17
Wojtek Wolski, COL         LW       22          6           9         15
Dustin Penner, ANH         LW       25          9           5         14

Ken Hitchcock, the new coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, surely has a few things on his Christmas wish list this year.

His new team currently sits in last place in the National Hockey League with a dismal 12 points.  They have suffered seven consecutive losses and there is currently no hope in sight! 

Hitchcock did not announce any lineup changes and mentioned that he needs more time to evaluate his players.

His first test will come tonight as the Blue Jackets face off against Hitchcock’s former team, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Here are the Top 5 things on Hitchcock’s Christmas List this year:

1.) More scoring from Rick Nash
2.) A goaltender. Goaltending coach, Clint Malarchuk may have to suit up.
3.) Sergei Fedorov - 10 years ago
4.) A goal from Jody Shelley, currently tied for 604th in league scoring
5.) Some magic from Dean Blais and the player development team!

Enjoy the weekend!

In a previous look-a-like post, we noticed that Paul MacLean bears a striking resemblance to Wilford Brimley. Although a great comparison, it is not as intriguing as today’s find!

Our favorite NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman struck this pose and it set off the NHL Digest look-a-like alarm. As you can see, Mr. Bettman is looking quite similar to Pee Wee Herman (AKA Paul Reubens).

Here are some great Gary Bettman Links from around the web.

A transcript from a live chat with Bettman from 2004 can be seen here. He says some very interesting things…some may have been little white lies.

An interesting site entitled garybettmansucks.com

Hockey Rants offered a great scenario back in 2005 that explains Bettman’s logical reasoning skills.

Enjoy!