Clancy Wanted No Part Of Shore

King Clancy was as pugnacious of a competitor that the NHL has ever seen, but in one particular game during the 1930-31 NHL season he found a unique way to avoid a fight with Boston's punishing bruiser Eddie Shore.

Clancy had knocked Shore into the boards, angering Shore who got up without his gloves and stick and ready to attack. But what Clancy did next shocked everyone, especially Shore. He dropped his gloves and stick, but only to immediately shake Shore's hand and inquire about his health.

The stunt apparently was so funny that even Shore could only chuckle.

Catching Up With The Past

The past two weeks that is. Here's all the hockey news involving hockey history that happened while I was away on vacation:

• Former Flyer and Canadian Olympic goaltender Wayne Stephenson died at the age of 65. He is pictured above.
• Speaking of deaths, the hockey mecca website CheapUsedMotorcycles.com (I'm not making this up) has an excellent look back at some of hockey's tragic deaths over the years. It is actually the preface for a new book.
• After losing a battle for a new trial, former NHL defenseman Rob Ramage has begun serving a 4 year prison sentence for impaired driving causing the death of former NHLer Keith Magnuson.
• Georges Laraque is entering the political arena.
• He may have left the NHL five years ago, but he's been a stalwart with the Manitoba Moose ever since. Now Mike Keane is expected to retire.
• Art Berglund, Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Dr. V. George Nagobads and Jeremy Roenick make up the United States Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. 
• Sergei Fedorov's financial woes continue. Forbes says Fedorov's latest law suit has been dropped with prejudice.
• Steve Smith is coming home to Edmonton.
• Former NHLer's signing elsewhere: Brian Swanson with Alaska Aces (ECHL), Kris Vernarsky with Wheeling Nailers (ECHL), Denis Grebeshkov with St. Petersburg (KHL), Robert Nilsson with Salavat Yulaev (KHL). 
• Robert's famous father Kent Nilsson is also leaving the Oilers.
• Eric Nystrom is still living in his famous father's shadow.
• MacLean's magazine had a nice farewell for Bob Probert. 
• Wayne Fleming talks about the death of Alexei Cherepanov. 
• George and Darill Fosty have an excellent history of hockey in Russia from 1898 to 1954.Which leads some to wonder if it is okay to miss the old Cold War days of communist Russia.
• Kelly Chase is blogging about his involvement with the NHL meets figure skating reality show Battle of the Blades.
• Tom Larscheid says good bye to the radio booth in Vancouver. 
• Rick Wamsley is the new goalie coach with the Ottawa Senators.
• Dan Cloutier has been hired by the Barrie Colts as their new goaltending coach.
• Mike Van Ryn has joined the Niagara Ice Dogs coaching staff.
• The Sporting News looks back at the man they called Murder, Don Murdoch.
• Dale Tallon is busy in his first summer as the Florida Panther's GM. But this weekend he's focusing on golf. He's competing at the US Senior Open near Seattle.
• Mike Dunham is also doing quite well on the links.
  
• Former NHLers Craig Duncanson, Ron Duguay, Rod Schutt and Troy Crowder are amongst 192 competitors in Canada's oldest match play golf tournament.
• Did you know former NHL coach/manager Pierre Page is coaching a sponsored team in Austria - Red Bull Salzberg.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning rebuild will include embracing their history. How they failed to do this right after their Stanley Cup victory boggles my mind completely.
• In an unrelated move, the Bolts appear willing to give Phil Esposito an expanded role with the organization. Espo of course was instrumental in the franchise's creation.
• Brian Gionta, Ryan Callahan, Marty Reasoner, Scott Nichol, Lindy Ruff, Jim Craig and Mike Eruzione will play this weekend in a hockey exhibition game in support of Rochester Americans Hall of Fame player Craig Charron. Charron, Craig's nephew, was diagnosed with cancer a year ago.
• You've got to check out Alex McFayden's world record setting hockey scrapbook. It's over 200lbs!
• Some guy called 911 multiple times demanding the Jets be returned to Winnipeg!
• The renovation of Maple Leaf Gardens continues.
• A look at the origins of NHL team nicknames.

Gone Fishing!

The picture above is of Rocket Richard enjoying the only passion he treasured more than hockey - fishing.

Accompanied in this image by Butch Bouchard, the photo is part of a Charles Wilkins snapshot of the Rocket in the May 2006 edition of Outdoor Canada magazine. The article gives a great insight into Maurice Richard the man, not the hockey player, and his other passion. His love of fishing many times exceeded his love of hockey. At his funeral the Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte's final good bye was "Maurice Richard enjoyed fishing. So I think he won't be bored very long in heaven because Jesus' disciples were also fishermen. I can imagine Maurice fishing with them, and having lots to talk about. Good fishing, Maurice."

I tried finding an online link to the Outdoor Magazine article, but I had no luck. I was able to find Outdoor Canada archived articles on the fishing adventures of Mike Richards, Kris King, Brendan Morrison, Johnny Bower, and most notably Bill Barilko. The legend of Bill Barilko grew on his final fishing trip. His plane would disappear and mystery would ensue.

I am sure a lot of NHLers nowadays spend a lot of their summer time off fishing. I know quite a few of the NHL general managers head up my way en route to Langara Lodge on Haida Gwaii.

Old time hockey players never had all summer to fish or golf or vacation. No, many of them had to work regular jobs to keep the family household afloat. Here's just a few examples I could think of off of the top of my head:

• Gordie Howe worked at a golf course
• Johnny Bower operated "Bower's Big Boy" restaurant.
• Alf Pike was a licensed mortician.
• Glen Harmon worked in his wife's hat store.
• Butch Bouchard was a bee keeper and honey farmer.
• Phil Esposito - worked on construction site.

What are some of the more interesting summer jobs held by NHL players that you know of?

Speaking of fishing and summer, GreatestHockeyLegends.com and HockeyBookReviews.com will both be pretty quiet for the rest of the month as I go on vacation. I will not be updating the site during this time, but there is no shortage of pieces to read here in the mean time.

For new and regular readers alike this is a great time to explore the more than 1300 players profiles and the deep archive of feature stories I've written over the past few seasons. It is also a great time to look ahead at the coming 2010 class of hockey books.

See you in August everybody!

Ghost of Hockey's Past

 Did you know that the Hockey Hall of Fame is haunted?

The Stanley Cup, the major trophies and Hockey Hall of Fame honoured inductees all reside in the Great Hall. It is a refurbished 125 year old bank at 30 Yonge Street. With it's beautiful stained glass dome and dim lighting, it has a cathedral-like feel. Although, the old bank vaults make it down right haunting.

Maybe it's not the vault. Maybe it is the other the Hall's other resident: Dorothy, the Hall of Fame's ghost.

The legend of Dorothy is shrouded in mystery. Her family will not talk about it, believing people are making fun of her plight. It has only led to many myths, from her being a victim of a botched bank robbery, to her taking her own life due to an affair with the bank manager, to her involvement in an embezzling scheme gone wrong.

The most popular story has the beautiful young teller Dorothy caught in a love affair with the bank manager. Supposedly when he ended the relationship, she was so heartbroken that she shot herself with the bank's pistol.

That is the spooky story, more or less, as told in the Toronto Star on March 14th, 1953, pictured to the right.

So just who was Dorothy? The Toronto Star's Paul McLaughlin found out much more about her damsel last October.

Although Dorothy has been written about in numerous books and articles, she has never been given a last name. Nor was the reason for her death confirmed.

Until now.

The Star has learned that she was Dorothea Mae Elliott, 19 years old. She shot herself early in the morning of Wednesday March 11, 1953 and died 22 hours later at St. Michael's Hospital.

You can read McLaughlin's full story here.  Through digging in various newspaper archives, he believes Dorothy, a tall, beautiful woman who was very popular especially with men, did kill herself out of heart break. Despite the story above mentioning her boyfriend leaving to work on a boat, McLaughlin believes in the theory of the affair with the bank manager.

He talked with former employees who spoke of Dorothy's character. One person, who wished to remain anonymous, backed the whole story of the affair with the bank manager with great assurance.

Hall of Fame employees and visitors as well as employees and visitors of the bank (it was still used as a Bank of Montreal up until 1993) have reported creaking noises and cold spots in the vault area where she is said to have died. There have been sporadic reports of doors and windows mysteriously opened, odd sounds, and even a rare sighting of our ghoul friend.

It is an eerie thought - tonight the Stanley Cup and the Hall's honoured members will all rest assured in the
shadows under the watchful eye of Dorothy - the Hockey Hall of Fame's very own ghost.

The World Cup

Spain is the favorite against Netherlands, at least according to an octopus, in today's final match of FIFA's World Cup.

As a Canadian I feel like a World Cup orphan. I have no rooting interest in any of the teams. I can't name more than 5 soccer players in the world, one of which is Steve Nash's brother Martin with the Vancouver Whitecaps. I appreciate the strategic beauty of the sport of football (or soccer as we call it here). Heck, as a youth I played far more soccer than I did hockey. I admit I am basically a one sport guy and that, unlike many Canadians, I have no curiosity about the match.

No, I think I'll read this book instead. I quite enjoy these authors:

 For more information, visit the World Cup of Hockey book website.

Other Hockey Deaths

Bob Probert's death overshadowed a couple of other deaths last week.

Igor Misko, a 23 year old forward with Evgeny Nabokov's new team SKA St. Petersburg (KHL), had a heart attack while driving a car. The cause of death was ruled to be the heart failure, but the resulting accident injured other motorists.

John Hutchings, a Memorial Cup champion with Oshawa in 1983 and New Jersey Devils draft pick (148th overall, 1982), died in England. He was 46. At one time he was a very promising prospect, but he missed an entire season (1980-81) after badly breaking his leg after getting run over by a tractor. The defenseman shifted to forward and played in Britain where he continued to live. He was buried in Cobourg, Ontario.

Update: Blair Barnes, the Windsor Spitfires second all time leading scorer, died of a heart attack, too. The Windsor native played one game with the Los Angeles Kings in 1982-83 season.

2010 Stanley Cup Champions DVD

Available on July 27th, 2010, the NHL's official DVD celebration of the Chicago Blackhawks and of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs hits store shelves. It is titled NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2009-2010

Order yours today: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

The disc is also available in the popular Blu-ray format:

Blu-ray edition: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Also, for your bookshelf:

• The Year of The Blackhawks
• Hawkeytown
• The Mighty Blackhawks

Eddie Shore on Eddie Shore

In 1975 Boston Bruins great Eddie Shore comment on his career in an interview with John Devaney and Burt Goldblatt for the book entitled The Stanley Cup:

"They always said I was vicious. I wasn't. I just knew how to hit. When did you ever see a hockey player who was a good fighter? Never. And why? Because they carry their weight forward when they skate. When they throw a punch, they don't have their weight behind a punch. I skated with my knees bent and with my weight behind me and when I hit I put all my weight behind me and when I hit I put all my weight behind the swing. I'm 71 years old now and I can still hit a golf ball 280 yards because I know how to swing."

Bob Probert's Funeral

Numerous dignitaries from the National Hockey League were on hand, including NHL Vice President Colin Campbell, Red Wings owners Mike and Marian Ilitch, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, as well as current and former Red Wings Joe Kocur, Kris Draper, Darren McCarty, Dino Ciccarelli, Stu Grimson, Dave Lewis, Mickey Redmond and Paul Ysabaert.

More from WXYZ in Detroit.

Maple Leaf Gardens Fire

A small fire broke out on the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens today. Here's more from the Toronto Sun:

A roof fire at historic Maple Leaf Gardens early Friday caused an estimated $5,000 in damages.

Six fire trucks and 23 firefighters responded to the one-alarm fire at 60 Carlton St. at 12:24 a.m. Friday. The fire was extinguished 33 minutes later.

No More Alphabet Soup

My project this summer is to better organize all of my former player biographies. I have over 1300 players profiled, but I'm trying to make it as friendly as possible to find them all.

All team listings (right hand column) are now up to date. I still have to do the era by era listings in the top link bar. I have added a new feature that perhaps will be the easiest search - an alphabetized listing which can now also be found in the top link bar.

Every former NHL player can be found in the alphabetized listing. That listing does not include female players or international stars.

Q-ing Up The Legends

I have now profiled every retired player in NHL history whose name begins with the letter Q. As you can imagine, there are not a lot, but there are a few interesting stories:

Bill Quackenbush
Joel Quenneville
Leo Quenneville
Johnny Quilty
Dan Quinn
Pat Quinn
Ken Quinney
Deron Quint
Stephane Quintal
J. F. Quintin
This list does not include active players Kyle Quincy and Jonathan and Kevin Quick.

Final Look At The Southeast

For some reason unbeknownst to even myself, I found myself on a Southeastern Division analysis this week, with looks at Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Florida.

I might as well finish off the whole division with a quick look at Carolina and Washington:

The Hurricanes:

• The Hurricanes seem to be in the same mindset as Florida, and that would be full rebuilding mode.
• The Canes have seen long time vets Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour and appear to have no interest in the return of Manny Legace, Brian Pothier, Tim Conboy or Alexander Picard.
• The only addition is a very familiar face. After trading Joe Corvo to Washington at the trading deadline last season, the Canes signed him back to a reasonable 2 year, $4.5M deal.
• Otherwise the Canes juggled draft picks at the draft. They walked away with 11 new players, plus acquired prospects Bobby Sanguinetti, Riley Nash and Johnathon Matsumoto. And how can we forget that back in April they signed non-other than Carolina legend Michal Jordan.
• It could be a long season in Carolina. A healthy Cam Ward would make the biggest difference for them, as would a strong start from Eric Staal. Hopefully Jussi Jokinen can keep his scoring form and Brandon Sutter takes it to another level.

The Capitals

• The Washington Capitals have been very quiet this summer. They've focussed on their own free agents such as Nicklas Backstrom, Eric Fehr and Jeff Schultz.
• Inaction by GM George McPhee? I don't think so. He has the bigger picture in mind. He knows this is a weak UFA class and with the salaries the Caps players will and already are commanding, he can't be overpaying for good or filler players. He will be far more active next year, when Alex Semin, Mike Knuble, Brooks Laich and Matt Bradley are UFAs and all of his goalies are due up. Or the next season when Mike Green will be a UFA. McPhee has a long term game plan that involves either keeping or replacing these players.
• Undoubtedly some Caps fans will distress over this perceived inaction, but the Caps should be able to coast into the playoffs with another division title and a top three seeding. It's spring time that really matters though.

Different Story In Florida

In recent days we've discussed how new general mangers in the NHL's Southwestern Division seem to be on an accelerated pace for rebuilding. Both Rick Dudley's Atlanta Thrashers and Steve Yzerman's Tampa Bay Lightning are making bold moves this summer clearly with the Stanley Cup playoffs in mind. Both markets badly need a taste of success.

By contrast division rival Florida Panthers, another team that could benefit from a break-though season, appear to be doing the opposite. New general manager Dale Tallon has been purging contracts and collecting draft picks and prospects.

Clearly Tallon's game plan focuses on the long term future. Hey, it worked brilliantly for him in Chicago, and in some ways it is great news for Panthers fans. Tallon has convinced ownership to sacrifice short term pain for long term gain. Ownership must be committed to a long term future in Florida, and are willing to suffer losses on the ice and off to do things right.

Of course, this also bodes ominously for Panthers fans who probably are not expecting much in terms of success in 2011. Florida is like so many other sunbelt teams - in a non-traditional market and reportedly in trouble. The only remedy for this is success. People support winners, even sunbelt hockey fans. We've seen it in Tampa and Carolina and Dallas, and yes even in Florida. Remember the rats in the 1996 Stanley Cup finals run?

Puck On The 'Net: Canucks 40th Anniversary Plans

One day after renaming their rink as the, wait for it, Rogers' Arena, the Vancouver Canucks were busy on Wednesday announcing their plans for their 40th anniversary celebrations. Here's a run down:

• On December 11th the team will retire Markus Naslund's #19. There seems to be quite a backlash on Twitter over this initiative. While I don't mind the gesture, I admit that I am luke-warm about it. As I discussed a year ago, North American fans just never quite warmed up to a lot of European players even as late as Naslund's era.
• The Canucks will unveil four (just four?!) members of their new Ring Of Honour this season. Orland Kurtenbach has been announced as the first honouree. One would have to assume Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden and Markus Naslund would the other three (being the three players with retired numbers). I think they need to make sure Richard Brodeur, Kirk McLean, Pavel Bure and Pat Quinn, too. And there's no shortage of local heroes - Harold Snepsts, Gus Adams, Cliff Ronning, Tiger Williams . . . 
• The Canucks also unveiled their 40th anniversary jersey. I still would like to see these jerseys become reality.
• As you've already seen above, they've also unveiled their 40th anniversary logo. I prefer this fan created one.
• In an unrelated note, authors Grant Kerr and Greg Douglas are coming out with the new book Canucks at 40: Our Game, Our Stories, Our Passion, published by Wiley. There is no cover image available yet.

Evgeny Nabokov - HHOF Worthy?

With the likely end of Evgeny Nabokov's 10 year NHL career, we must ask the question: Is Evgeny Nabokov worthy of Hall of Fame induction?

A quick look at the chart below gives us a fairly obvious answer - No.

The chart looks at the retired goalies ahead of Nabokov on the all time wins list. Only NHL numbers have been taken into consideration here. All have been eligible for the HHOF nomination except for Belfour, who will earn his first consideration in 2011. Obviously Olympic and other international competition needs to be factored in, although I don't know that that would help Nabokov any.

Nabokov has some solid stats thanks to a goalie friendly era (unlike some of the older goalies shown above) and because he played on a top regular season team. But his career was relatively short and therefore his stats will be less impressive over the course of time. Nabokov won't be eligible for HHOF nomination for, presumably, 7 years at the earliest (4 year contract in Russia plus 3 year waiting period). In that time he will slide further down the wins and shutout list.

Moreover he has a reputation for faltering in big games (NHL playoffs, 2010 Olympics). That will almost certainly keep him out of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Puck On The 'Net: KHL Nabs Nabby

It would appear that Evgeni Nabokov's NHL career is over.

Various reports have the 35 year old goaltender signed with SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian super-league KHL. The Globe and Mail is reporting it is a four year contract, while the Toronto Sun suggests it is a six year pact worth $24 million. That money is income tax free, by the way, making it far more attractive than a similar offer from any North America team.

Not that the NHL offers were apprently plentiful for Nabokov. Outside of some speculative tire kicking by the Philadelphia Flyers, there was very little in terms of rumored destinations for the former San Jose Sharks goaltenders. Perhaps his contract demands were too high? Perhaps his melt down at the Olympics and repeated failings in the Stanley Cup finals had NHL teams looking elsewhere first?

Given the goalie glut a one year jump to KHL should not be considered a huge surprise for any unsigned NHL goalie right now. Take note Marty Turco. But signing for multiple seasons almost certainly means we have seen the last of Nabokov in the National Hockey League.

Nabokov joins several other familiar names playing St. Petersburg, including Robert Esche, Sergei Zubov, Sergei Brylin, Alexei Yashin, Andrei Zyuzin, Oleg Saprykin, Alexander Koryluk, Darius Kasparitis, Nils Ekman, Joel Kwiatkowski, and Peter Cajanek. Long time Russian scoring sensation Maxim Sushinsky, who never left for the NHL, is also on the team.

All Eyes On Yzerman

One of the most interesting teams to watch this post season is the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have been interesting in the past, but only because they were ridiculously dysfunctional. But now stability appears to have arrived thanks to a new owner, Jeff Vinick, and a new general manager, hockey legend Steve Yzerman.

It is with a great curiosity that we watch Yzerman embark on his new career. He was mentored by some of the best in the business in Detroit - Ken Holland, Jimmy Devellano, Jim Nill and others - and expectations were only heightened with his fantastic showing with Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics.

Yzerman talks a lot about establishing stability and a Red Wing style family-setting for the franchise. That will take a few years to pioneer, and Yzerman knows he will need patience and vision to make this main goal happen.

But on the ice he seems almost in a hurry to turn things around. This is partially because he knows he has some nice pieces in place already. Vincent Lecavalier needs to regain his form, but a year and a half ago he was arguably the best player in the league. Young Steven Stamkos already co-led the entire NHL in goal scoring last season. Martin St. Louis shows no signs of slowing down and remains the heartbeat of the team, but he isn't getting any younger. And they still have high hopes for young Victor Hedman on the blue line.

Yzerman's hurry may also indicate new owner Jeff Vinik's mandate, too. He wants this mess cleaned up and a once promising sun-belt hockey market restored as quickly as possible. 

Yzerman has taken risks many first time general managers would not dare to take. He immediately acquired Guy Boucher as head coach. Boucher has no NHL experience, although his track record has him as the hottest new coaching prospect in years. Will his 3-1-1 forecheck work in the NHL?

Yzerman also took a big risk at the draft, selecting injured Brett Connolly with the 6th overall selection. I've seen Connolly play and I can personally attest that he is a special player. But his future is uncertain with his bad hip. Most other first time managers would have taken a safer pick.

On the free agency front Yzerman's key addition so far has been goaltender Dan Ellis. He probably could have had Chris Mason - a proven starter although more of a tier-2 type goalie - for less money. Ellis has higher potential. He and Mike Smith will undoubtedly push each other.

Yzerman has also added defenseman Pavel Kubina, bring back the big Czech after a four year hiatus. Yzerman clearly wants to bolster the Bolts' weak back end. Kubina and Brett Clark will help, but more work needs to be done. He has cap room, and although the Bolts are operating under a "loose budget."

Five weeks into the job Steve Yzerman has shown that he is not afraid of taking risks and that he is in a hurry to turn things around in Tampa Bay. This should only reinvigorate Vinny Lecavalier and the rest of the Lightning players and undoubtedly bring back the fans.

Bob Probert Dead At 45

Very sad news today from Twitter @georgemalik:

CKLW says former Red Wing Bob Probert has died at 45 years of age.

He was rushed to hospital after collapsing while on a boat on Lake St. Clair. Emergency crews were seen administering CPR upon the boat's arrival on shore. I am sure more details will come out in the next few hours and days.

I was a huge fan of Bob Probert back in his "Bruise Brothers" days with Joey Kocur in Detroit in the 1980s. For me he was the most intimidating player I ever saw. I have never been a huge fan of fighting, but I was fascinated by the fearsome presence Probert commanded. He was a villain, but one I really enjoyed.

As a fighter he has to be one of the top 5 of all time. He was honest about it though. He wouldn't jump you from behind, he would square up with you first then beat the crap out of you. And the thing I always admired about him most - as an older player he probably should not have had to drop the gloves as much as he did. But he always obliged the younger fighters, and gave them a chance to make a name for themselves. It may sound odd, but it was a great show of respect by Probert. Not every fighter does that.

Of course YouTube fight clips will be overloaded now. There were many great Probert bouts (click on opposing name for YouTube link) - Tie Domi, Marty McSorley, Dave Semenko, Wendel Clark, Dave Brown. My personal favorite would have to have been the showdown with Craig Coxe, and the rematch fight with Troy Crowder.

Probert was more than a goon. He could play. Mind you playing along Steve Yzerman in the late 1980s would inflate anyone's offensive numbers, but don't think for a minute that Probert's presence did not help out a young Stevie Y a whole lot.

Any mention of Probert's life would be incomplete without mentioning his demons - the drugs and the alcohol and the spinoffs from that. But full credit to Probert. He seemed to have really cleaned up his life in recent years. He should be admired for doing so.

Bob Probert gone at 45. Wow. That one word really about sums it up, doesn't it.

UPDATE: Here is a link to a Steve Simmons article that I consider the best piece on Probert's life that I read all day. Here's just a taste:

He was a curiosity, a specimen, a spectacle in good times and bad.

Just a great line. The article has also great quotes from Steve Yzerman, Jim Devellano Colin Campbell and Marty McSorley.

UPDATES 2: George Malik has done an awesome job compiling all the major media stories concerning Bob Probert.

Sabre-Rattling In Atlanta

When I was a kid I always wanted to be the general manager more so than the star hockey player (mostly because I couldn't skate very well.) Perhaps that's why I find this time of hockey season so fascinating. We get to watch the different managers go about their business of building teams. To watch their visions come to life and then we can compare their blueprints with other teams. Most fun of all, of course, is comparing their plans to our own.

Of course we can not truly grade these game plans until the puck actually drops. But one team that appears to have done very well are the Atlanta Thrashers. Here's how Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News assessed their off-season thus far:

The Thrashers are in better shape because they have proven veterans with playoff experience who can contribute right away. They've done more to help themselves than any other team because they were best prepared to strike... So far, the Thrashers are big winners in the offseason.

Gleason is a veteran hockey journalist and his interest in the Thrashers is undoubtedly tied to two former Buffalo Sabres legends taking the helm of the Thrashers: new general manager Rick Dudley and new coach Craig Ramsay.

Atlanta fans should be very excited the new players Dudley has acquired. They are all like him in when he starred for the Sabres back in the 1970s - energetic, aggressive, belligerent but most of all a good, impactful hockey player. By bringing in so many of these types of players Dudley is resetting the culture of hockey in Georgia and it promises to be hard nosed. More likely than not it will mark a badly needed improved era of hockey down south.

Not only is Dudley bringing in players with size and heart, but players with a winning tradition. Look at all the players he's pillaged from Stanley Cup champion Chicago - Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd (who won a Cup earlier in Carolina), Ben Eager and Brent Sopel. Maybe short term they'll sign Dominique Wilkens next and change their name to the Atlanta Hawks in an effort to sell tickets. But long term this culture change is the best thing needed for hockey in Georgia.

Dudley also landed a solid if not spectacular goaltender in Chris Mason, and at an amazing bargain at that. Don't forget Canada had pencilled in Mason as the 4th goalie for their 2010 Olympic team in case of an injury. But I still think he is a second-tier starter at this stage of his career. Or, as Bird Watchers Anonymous said, "an accidental journeyman."

I openly wondered on Twitter about the Thrashers blue line, but Ben from the Blueland Blog assures me they are better than think.

That's where coach Ramsay will make his most immediate impact. Rammer was one of the best defensive forwards in his day, and is one of the best teachers nowadays. I suspect both Mason (and the underrated Ondrej Pavelec) and the blue line corps will appear to be much stronger next year. Much of that improvement will be systematic.

If I were a Thrashers fan I'd still be hoping for an addition on the blue line. One fan on Twitter suggest Kevin Bieksa, and he'd be a good fit in Dudley's vision. UFA Andy Sutton would be another good addition.

Hockey fans in Atlanta have been waiting a long time for their hockey team to succeed. They are on the right path thanks to two former Buffalo Sabres greats: Rick Dudley and Craig Ramsay.

Talking Pucks And Books With Michael McKinley

Over at Hockey Book Reviews.com I recently had the great pleasure of talking hockey and books with the very talented and very interesting Michael McKinley. He is an Oxford educated journalist and film maker, producing documentaries for CNN while at the same time producing South Park. He also created the the TV/DVD documentary Hockey: A People's History and it's accompanying book, as well as one of my all favorites Putting A Roof On Winter.

I also had the chance to talk about his newest project: he's pushing the hockey literary boundaries with his first novel, The Penalty Killing: A Martin Carter Mystery.

Puck On The 'Net: Free Agent Frenzy

Phew....July 1st is always an exhaustive day for fans. I can't fathom how the managers, agents and media do it. I consider myself lucky in some ways - I had to work on Canada Day. I kept on top of the headlines, but missed out on all of the television overanalysis and internet rumors. Still, it's hard to sit down at the end of the day and comprehend a whole new hockey landscape literally unfolding in just hours.

Here's some shots on the 'Net:

• Tampering -  I go through this every year. But how do the Ottawa Senators and Sergei Gonchar successfully negotiate a contract in less than 20 minutes? Are we really supposed to believe the Sens just called Gonchar at 12:01, offer 3yrs at $5.5M and he just says yes, and the paper work starts faxing back and forth? That's about all that can happen in 20 minutes. Gonchar would barely have enough time to ask his wife if she wants to move to Ottawa this winter. Tampering is so obvious in these cases. I'm surprised no one ever cries foul.
• Canucks Get Hamhuis - I'm pleasantly surprised that the Canucks landed Dan Hamhuis, who was the top UFA available in my mind, including Ilya Kovalchuk. I also like tha signing of faceoff specialist/penalty killer Manny Malhotra, although the numbers are steep for him. That goes to show just how in demand Malhotra was today.
• Back To The Future - It's not often the talking heads on TV are left speechless, but that's about what happened when news broke that Calgary signed one-time Flames Olli Jokinen and, to a bit of a lesser degree, Alex Tanguay. I can tell you that as a Vancouver fan, I really like this.
• Atlanta To Change Team Name - A few days ago Atlanta poached Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel from Chicago. Now they land Andrew Ladd. Rumor has it that in a ticket selling ploy the Thrashers' marketing department will sign Dominique Wilkens and rename the team the Atlanta Hawks.
• Shrewdest Move - Great move by San Jose to take a chance on Anterro Niitymaki. I think he could be this season's Craig Anderson. Also good day today for New Jersey and Pittsburgh with nice upgrades of their blue lines
• What About Kovy? Big names remaining unsigned at the time of this posting include Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Nabokov, Marty Turco, Alexander Frolov and Matt Cullen. Remember, it is day one. These guys will find homes. We almost certainly will see a few trades in the days ahead as teams free up more cap space.

Lastly, I just wanted to say I would love to be able to witness a busy team's war room. To see how an organization has everything coordinated, their game plan set and then the frenzy - there is no better word for it - that is unleashed upon them. How these teams keep on top of everything that is going on, and how they maintain their focus on their goals is what separates the good teams from the bad.

Who is Canada's Greatest Athlete?

Happy Canada Day everybody! For hockey fans, Canada Day means watching TSN's coverage of NHL free agency day. But here at Greatest Hockey Legends, we're going to spend Canada Day deciding Canada's Greatest Athlete of All Time.

That is the focus of the recently released book Canada's Top 100 - The Greatest Athletes Of All Time. Author Maggie Mooney assembled an expert (though west coast biased) panel to determine Canada's greatest athlete. I've got a full book review at Hockey Book Reviews.com, or you can just go ahead and buy the book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

I'll let you read the review to learn who was chosen as number one. I was really impressed with the book's struggle to define greatness. To me, that is the biggest obstacle to these debates. In order to adequately compare candidates, you need a set definition to hold everyone to.

The definition of greatness varies widely from person to person. For me, the key ingredient is legacy. Great athletes can win championships and gold medals, but the absolute greatest leave a profound influence on their sport. In rare cases, their legacies transcend their sport.

But is the Canadian athlete with the greatest legacy the country's greatest athlete? Is it possible that Canada's greatest athlete is not a hockey player?

The book I mentioned above did not quite know how to handle Terry Fox. There can be no denying he has the greatest legacy, which was how they defined greatness, too. But is he a true athlete? Did he accomplish enough as an athlete to really compete against Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Steve Nash, Lionel Conacher or Cindy Klassen?

They named Wayne Gretzky as Canada's greatest athlete, but gave Fox "special honour" status, almost naming him #1a. All at once that seems entirely fair and a complete cop out all at once.

Who's your greatest Canadian athlete of all time? I want to hear either here in the comments or on Twitter @HockeyLegends. (and no, wrestlers Gene Kinisky and Iron Mike Sharpe don't count, despite what they may have claimed themselves)

My greatest Canadian athlete? I've got to go with The Great One. Here's my top five: 1) Wayne Gretzky, 2) Terry Fox, 3) Lionel Conacher, 4) Bobby Orr and 5) Steve Nash.

Happy Canada Day everybody!

Puck On The 'Net: Free Agent Frenzy

Here's a few slap shots on the 'Net:

• Happy Canada Day! Free agency Day to hockey fans. Twitter will be the place to be to follow the action as far as I'm concerned. Here's who I'm following specifically tomorrow:  @walsha (player agent Allan Walsh promises to keep us all in the loop on all his negotiations), @SpectorsHockey (Lyle Richardson is the best) @RealESPNLeBrun (Pierre Lebrun), @mirtle (James Mirtle), @RealKyper (Nick Kypreos), the CBC boys @FriedmanHNIC (Elliotte Friedman) and @JeffMarek and - if they're not too busy on TV - the TSN Crew: @tsnjamesduthie, @DarrenDreger, and @TSNBobMcKenzie. I'll be at work so I won't tweeting too much, but you can always follow me @HockeyLegends.  
• Late Wednesday there was a significant trade that I really like from both teams vantage points. Chicago traded Kris Versteeg and prospect Bill Sweatt (who they were going to let become UFA) in exchange for Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis. Toronto gets a badly needed top six forward, and a very versatile one at that. Chicago moves another contract for more cap space, but in doing so acquire a real good prospect in Stalberg, who I think down the road will be a nice NHLer. Whether DiDomenico or Paradis ever make it remains to be seen, but Chicago is restocking the prospect pool - that's how they became Stanley Cup champions in the first place.
• The move also allows the Hawks to sign goalie Antti Niemi and defenseman Niklas Hjarmalsson. Rumors have it they may still be trying to trade Andrew Ladd as they fear his arbitration rights will make him too pricey for the cap-crunched Hawks. SportsNet's Nick Kypreos is saying as many as 14 teams are trying to trade for Ladd.
• Rod Brind'Amour has announced his retirement. Aside from the last couple of seasons, I always admired Rod Brind'Amour. I've seen some reporters refer to him as a future Hall of Famer. Really? As much as I liked him, he's just another very, very good player but not a great one. Here's my previously written post - Rod Brind'Amour HHOF Worthy?
• It's not a retirement, but Mike Van Ryn also announced he will not play the upcoming season due to that terrible knee injury he had. That means by the time the 2011-12 season comes around, the once promising defenseman will have played a grand total of 47 games over 4 seasons. 
• Here's my must-read link of the day for hockey history buffs: A memorable taxi cab encounter with a thoughtful former Leaf by Vintage Leaf Memories. Michael Langlois' site is simply fantastic.