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July 5, 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.
ATTACK OR DEFEND?
WITH AN IVY LEAGUE degree in psychology from Dartmouth, Nick Johnson certainly understands how the mind works. Yet as he spends the summer preparing for what will be a critical third pro season, the 24-year-old right winger admits he may endure an occasional mental tug-of-war. What exactly will his NHL role be? “That’s a good question,” Johnson said. “Part of me wants to be offensive and part of me wants to be defensive. It’s hard to do both at an extremely high level.” He has actually been fairly successful at both for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which is why the parent Pittsburgh Penguins signed him to a one-year contract in June. This season, Johnson scored 16 goals and 43 points in 61 games. His plus-minus rating of plus-19 was second-best among Wilkes-Barre forwards (Mark Letestu was…
Dallas
JOE NIEUWENDYK has his hands full. The Dallas Stars GM has a team that’s being sold and a budget that remains at $45 million; he doesn’t know if a new owner will up the budget. With 17 players under contract for $41 million, Nieuwendyk doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room and must re-sign young RFAs and (maybe) older UFAs Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen. But that’s this year. Next summer, No. 1 center Brad Richards becomes a UFA. His $7.8 million contract comes off the books, but will his name come off the roster? Nieuwendyk has already made one bold move in signing Kari Lehtonen to a three-year extension and waving goodbye to Marty Turco.…
★★ALL-STARS★★ FROM THE EAST
EAST ALL-STARS C – Keith Aucoin, Her Great hands and great vision. Averaged over an assist per game the past four seasons. RW – Jerome Samson, Alb Undrafted winger showed he’s a prospect by combining scoring touch with puck tenacity. LW – Alexandre Giroux, Her Proved himself as the AHL’s premier goal-scorer, with 50 this year after 60 a year ago. D – Danny Groulx, Wor Created offense from the back – second in the league with 264 shots – but also plus-17. D – Karl Alzner, Her Package of mobility, exceptional puckmoving and size. G – Jonathan Bernier, Man His drive to be the best every night allowed him to succeed. EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM F – Tyler Ennis, Por Creative and shifty. He turned nothing plays into scoring chances on a regular basis. F – Logan Couture, Wor Twenty goals and 53 points in 42 games,…
BOOB TUBE BOOM TIME
DESPITE RISING NUMBERS as the season wore on, it’s pretty tough to call the 2009-10 NHL campaign a television success. Millions of fans in the U.S. missed much of the year while waiting for Versus and DIRECTV to come to terms. NBC paid nothing for the privilege of weekend afternoon games featuring many of the NHL’s top teams and the league still barely gets a sniff on ESPN. But the playoffs just may have saved the day, as the NHL’s second season drew record TV numbers in the U.S. and Canada. Why? Great hockey, for one. Team USA’s Olympic success for another. Bruce Dowbiggin is the sports TV columnist for The Globe and Mail. He agreed the Olympics were a boon, but lists the recession as the No. 2 reason for the NHL’s post-season…
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