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September 30, 2013
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.
CALGARY FLAMES
BOOM Despite clearly making the move to go all-in for a rebuild, Calgary still has a decent collection of veteran wingers up front. Curtis Glencross, Lee Stempniak, Jiri Hudler and Mike Cammalleri were large reasons why Calgary’s power play ranked ninth in the league last season, despite the fact the team was one of the worst in the league. Dennis Wideman is a decent power play quarterback at the point, too. Most of the spotlight will be focused on how the young players develop, as they are the real key cogs of the new era. Sven Baertschi will take most of the attention, but Mikael Backlund has much proving and improving to do. Sean Monahan, who was picked sixth overall by the Flames in June, will be given an opportunity to…
LOS ANGELES KINGS
BOOM It’s a laundry list of positives in L.A. right now, starting with the fact this team won the Stanley Cup two years ago with the exact same core of Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards and Dustin Brown. Darryl Sutter is still the mastermind behind the bench and the system has been adept at adding youngsters into the fold when needed, with Tyler Toffoli being the latest to earn spot duty. Even though veteran defenseman Rob Scuderi is gone, the Kings still have trade deadline pickup Robyn Regehr to fill that shutdown role and Slava Voynov has emerged as a huge threat in the offensive end, giving the Kings duelling weapons from the blueline alongside Doughty. Up front, Matt Frattin, who arrives from Toronto via trade, brings a younger,…
BUFFALO SABRES
BOOM For however much time Ryan Miller has left on this team, he’ll be a plus. Though his numbers haven’t been quite as good the past three seasons and his Vezina contention days appear to be behind him, he remains a reliable No. 1 netminder. And hey, if the time comes for Miller to be traded this season, Jhonas Enroth has proven himself enough that he can be a capable and worthy replacement between the pipes for the Sabres. The other ace in Buffalo’s pocket is Thomas Vanek, who is a fair bet to score 30 goals and be a key component on the man advantage (he was third in the NHL in power play goals last season, even though Buffalo’s PP ranked 29th). Finally, though Buffalo is in the process of…
IT’LL BE BOOM OR SO-SO IN T.O.
FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 25, THE late 1990s and early 21st century represent the only Toronto Maple Leaf glory years they’ve ever known. That’s because they either weren’t born or were too young to remember Wayne Gretzky and Kerry Fraser hatching their evil plan to prevent the Maple Leafs from almost coming close to winning something in 1993. That leaves 1999 and 2002, the two years Toronto advanced as far as the Eastern Conference final before once again entering the abyss. But buoyed by their team’s first playoff appearance since 2004, Leaf fans are cranking things up in the eternal hope department. And they should. Since replacing Brian Burke before last season, GM David Nonis has methodically made moves to get the club on track. The Leafs learned a…
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