Phil Kessel
Attack in Black, an indie rock band from Welland, Ontario, may have penned their breakout song, Young Leaves, about Toronto Maple Leaf fans: “There’s a scar that in the dark is an empty hole, Like a...
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The Real Draft Lottery
Leafs General Manager Brian Burke hasn’t always looked like a genius in the NHL draft. But he has made two of the most bold and memorable draft-day moves in the history of the game. In 1993, as GM of...
View ArticlePuck Possession Favours the Wings
Detroit 53, Pittsburgh 46. It is not the half time score of a basketball game but the success rates of the Red Wings and Penguins in the faceoff circle. These numbers might seem close to you, but...
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Crosby vs. Ovechkin
What has quickly become the NHL’s spiciest rivalry continues Sunday afternoon in Washington, assuming that Sidney Crosby’s sore groin is ready to go. Alexander Ovechkin won round one, capturing the...
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The Eras of the NHL
The game of hockey is much like the surface on which it is played. Zambonis scrub the ice every twenty minutes (more frequently during outdoor games) to ostensibly restore it to a baseline state. But...
View ArticleThe Real Standings
For the 1999-2000 season the NHL blessed us with a point for an “overtime loss”. And the standings have been murkier ever since. In fact, I cannot think of a more opaque view of team performance than...
View ArticleThe Value of a Marquee Player
With his dithering over, Mats Sundin is in Vancouver. Canuck fans are eagerly anticipating his first real skate with the team. There is a palpable optimism that Sundin will transform this team into a...
View ArticleThe Real Matt Stajan
Aside from a recent close encounter with a soccer ball and an early season stay in coach Ron Wilson’s doghouse, Matt Stajan has had a charmed season. In between these events the Leafs’ new front line...
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Penalty Killing Statistics Don’t Tell the Story
Conventional statistics do a disservice to our understanding of penalty killing and power plays. Somehow the NHL considers it sufficient to inform us that about 81.7% of penalties are successfully...
View ArticleAlan Ryder’s All Cap Team
Today’s NHL places a premium on performance per dollar of cap space used. Large, underperforming contracts are tough to digest whereas nice-priced talent is a very valuable commodity. With a salary...
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