Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Great Debates SIP
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.
WORSE TRADE
CHARA VS. LUONGO Without a doubt, the 2001 draft-day trade engineered by then-New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury that sent Zdeno Chara to the Ottawa Senators was the worst of Milbury’s front-office tenure. Chara was 24 at the time, strictly a defensive defenseman and just growing into his 6-foot-9 frame. Not only did the Islanders trade away a future minutes-eating, ultra-intimidating blueliner who went on to record 546 points in 1,044 games after being shipped out – while making six All-Star Game appearances, winning a Norris Trophy and a Stanley Cup along the way – they also gave up the No. 2 pick in that year’s draft. That pick ended up being Jason Spezza, who now has 812 career points. What’s more, losing Chara and essentially Spezza came at a severe cost: the…
SAY NO TO ANTHEMS
DURING THE 2004 U.S. election campaign, we ran a story on Democratic nominee John Kerry and his hockey ties. Kerry played varsity in high school and pickup regularly as an adult, and we thought it would be relevant to our audience that the potential most powerful man in the world knew how to go five-hole. To our surprise, we received a barrage of angry letters. We were accused of all sorts, but the overriding message was clear: get the puck out of politics. The Hockey News was among our readers’ real-world diversions, an escape, and that’s the way they liked it. Fast forward to 2016. The NFL’s Colin Kaepernick stoked discussion for weeks when he decided he wouldn’t stand for the national anthem. Eventually, inevitably, the issue reached hockey’s borders when Team…
STAMKOS VS. OVECHKIN
STEVEN STAMKOS Steven Stamkos may not fill up a highlight reel like Alex Ovechkin does when it comes to goals, but he sure knows how to fill the net. And he can do it many ways. Watch any compilation of Stamkos showing off his goal-scoring prowess and there will be shot after shot of his shot, like the one where he camps out in the left faceoff circle, stick cocked in the ready position anticipating a pass sliding over from the top of the point right toward his wheelhouse where he steps into the puck and delivers a precision laser to the top near corner. In a flash, the puck enters the net as the goaltender helplessly slides in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable from occurring. That type of goal became…
DRYDEN VS. TRETIAK
KEN DRYDEN There’s no shortage of hockey players who went on to politics following their careers. Heck, some like Red Kelly were politicians while they were still players. Syl Apps, Howie Meeker, Slava Fetisov, Peter Stastny were all elected to office after they retired and Frank Mahovlich was appointed a Senator in Canada. But none of them had more accomplished hockey and political stints than Ken Dryden. And what made him so successful as a politician was the same thing that made him so outstanding as a goaltender – timing. Dryden certainly knew a good thing when he saw it and knew to bail when things began going south. He joined the Canadiens in 1971 and led them to the Stanley Cup, something he would do five more times before retiring at…
Made possible with the support of
