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June 7, 2010
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Edmonton
IT’S NOT where they wanted to be with their goaltending - locked into an aging veteran with a bad back and having to choose between a pair of blue chip prospects. But having made their own bed, the Oilers have no real choice but to sleep in it. Trading Nikolai Khabibulin doesn’t seem likely given his age, contract and poor health, so they’ll have to choose between rookies Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk. Both backups would have to clear waivers before going to AHL Oklahoma City next year and the Oilers don’t want a three-goalie rotation, so moving one of them in the summer is Edmonton’s only option. Both played some excellent games for Edmonton after being pressed into action behind a terrible team when Khabibulin went under the knife for back surgery. Both…
Pittsburgh
WITH STARTER Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Brent Johnson both signed for two years – and Fleury three years beyond that – the Penguins are in an enviable stable spot with their goaltending. However, they lack a clear heir apparent as the long-term backup to Fleury. John Curry wasn’t presumed for that spot, but he had been groomed for it as the AHL starter the past two years. However, he struggled this season and there is a chance he won’t be with the organization next year. Promising Russian prospect Alex Pechurski played well in a spot-appearance during the regular season at San Jose. He was 19 and finished the year with Tri-City of the WHL.…
SCOTTY BOWMAN
There’s no shortage of brain wattage in the game, but some minds dwarf the crowd. They’re the people who think the game in a flash, are on the cutting edge of innovation, have incredible recall, intuit winning strategies. They’re hockey’s geniuses, and we’ve identified 10 of them. A FEW HOURS BEFORE Game 3 of the Western Conference final in 1998, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland was summoned to ice level from his office by then-Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman. Bowman pointed up to the scoreboard at the Joe Louis Arena where ESPN had mounted a camera to follow the play. He pointed out to Holland that when Dallas defensemen Richard Matvichuk and Derian Hatcher cleared the zone, they did so by shooting the puck off the glass, but Wings Nicklas Lidstrom…
CHRIS PRONGER
He knows when to sit back and when to go ahead and try to put somebody in the fourth row– ED OLCZYK ANYBODY WHO HAS spent much time playing against Chris Pronger can tell you a lot of what he does smart. The whack on the back of the leg; the little crosscheck that lands just above the pants, but below the back of the shoulder pads; the whole thing where he uses his 6-foot-6, 215-pound frame to paste people against the boards. But for all the advantage his physical attributes and sour state of mind provide him, what stands out most about Pronger to those who really watch him is not so much what he does, but when he decides to do it. Whether it’s using an infraction as an investment…
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