Plethora of stars blend well together

The Detroit Red Wings’ 19-30-1 start was “way more than we could have hoped for,” said GM Ken Holland. “We’ve played well and I think we’ve had some luck on our side. Obviously, to this point in time, we’re very happy.” The Wings made significant changes in the off-season, adding future Hall of Earners Dominik Hasek, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. Entering training camp, Holland said he worried about chemistry. But chemistry hasn’t been a problem. Players have accepted new roles readily and, in some cases, less ice time. Although they’ve had to adjust to each other, they’ve found ways to win, and winning goes a long way toward team-building. “They’ve seemed to hit it off,” Holland said. “Everybody’s bought into team success and everybody’s getting a chance to contribute. I think the one…

No room for repeat offenders

Colin Campbell, the NHL’s disciplinarian, should start kicking out repeat offenders-for good. Guys such as San Jose’s Bryan Marchment know how to play the game and play it tough, but they don’t seem to know when to stop before doing something dangerous. And then there’s players such as Toronto’s Tie Domi, who market themselves as tough guys. Yet I remember Domi selling autographed pictures of himself sucker-punching Ulf Samuelsson. These players are poor influences on the younger guys in the league. It’s the macho mentality that allows this crap to continue. Players need to respect each other more. If there was a three-strike rule in effect, you’d see fewer injuries and fewer goons. Brian Boake, Victoria, B.C. Cherry picking Is anybody out there watching Hockey Night In Canada? Something is terribly wrong, but no one…

Ankle injury derails Smyth’s great year

Ryan Smyth was playing the best hockey of his career and the Edmonton Oilers were off to their best start in a decade. In a season that was supposed to be an 82-game swan dive without Doug Weight centering the No. 1 line, everything was perfect. For 20 games at least. In Game 21, paradise was lost. Smyth slammed awkwardly into the end boards during his first shift of a Nov. 16 game with Chicago and will be out for at least two months with a broken ankle. The injury puts a serious kink into Smyth’s bid to make the Canadian Olympic team. The Oilers were rolling at the time (they earned at least one point in nine of their previous 10 games) and Smyth was leading the charge, so the injury hit…

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