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Best of the Best 2019-20
The Hockey News' Best Of The Best Issue is available now. In our cover story, we break down the very best of the hockey world in 25 categories, from best slapshot to best trash talker. Also in the issue: features on Nikita Kucherov and Torey Krug, plus the best-kept secret for each of the 31 NHL teams, a how-to guide on skating like a superstar and an oral history of the film Mystery, Alaska, 20 years after its release.
FIRST NEVADA, THEN THE WORLD
KERRY BUBOLZ, president of the Vegas Golden Knights, spoke with The Hockey News publisher Graeme Roustan as part of our ongoing Peer-To-Peer Q&A series with prominent members of the hockey business world. GRAEME ROUSTAN: Let’s go back to when you walked into Oklahoma State University back in 1985 or ’86. Did you ever think that one day you’d be running one of the most successful franchises in pro sports? KERRY BUBOLZ: No, I can’t say that I did. I didn’t know anything about the business of sports. I really didn’t know it existed. I knew that I loved sports, and I had an interest in it. But when I thought of sports marketing, I thought of companies like Nike. You know, Bo Jackson and “Bo Knows Football” or Michael Jordan and “Do…
Best CROSS-ICE PASS
NIKITA KUCHEROV | TAMPA BAY HE’S A WIZARD with the puck on his stick and, with an NHL-best 87 assists last season, it’s fair to say Kucherov knows how to distribute. He and Patrick Kane were the notable names in this category. “You’re looking at those delay guys who pull up and find their man on the weak side,” said one skills coach.…
SLOW DOWN, YOU MOVE TOO FAST
IT’S TANTAMOUNT TO ASKING which member of the Beatles was the better songwriting genius, Paul McCartney or John Lennon. Rolling Stone magazine posed that question a few years back and bailed by naming the McCartney/Lennon duo second behind Bob Dylan. So for hockey purposes, let’s say Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is Dylan and Detroit’s Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou are Lennon and McCartney. We’re not going to be Rolling Stone, darn it. We’re going to give you a definitive answer. So who is faster between Detroit Red Wings teammates Larkin and Athanasiou? Our expert panel for this query is the two players in question and their coach, Jeff Blashill. Larkin: “I don’t know.” (Not real helpful.) Athanasiou: “(Larkin) might win straight away, but if there were some turns in there, I might be able…
Best IN FRONT OF THE NET (DEFENSE)
ZDENO CHARA | BOSTON “HE’S JUST SO BIG,” said one ex-NHLer. “He’s like an oak tree out there. You can’t move him.” The legend of Chara grows with every passing season, and the blueliner is still a force, even if he has lost a step or two. But at a gargantuan 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, the Bruins captain can basically impose his will on opponents whenever he wants. And given his competitive nature, that is basically every shift. Even at 42, Chara is one of the most intimidating players in the NHL – the guy that once swung 220-pound Bryan McCabe around like a rag doll and still treats his body like the incredible machine it is. The area in front of Boston goalie Tuukka Rask is a no-go zone when…
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