* There was nobody more generous with his time during All-Star Weekend than Atlanta Thrashers coach/GM Don Waddell. He had time for every question and answered each thoughtfully. He proved to be the perfect host.
* Some athletes take themselves a little too seriously. St. Louis goalie Manny Legace is not one of them, thankfully. His laid-back, self-deprecating attitude and quick wit were among CTN’s highlights of All-Star Weekend.
* Speaking of goalie highlights in Atlanta, CTN’s absolute favorite was Tim Thomas’ spinning turtle break dance move during Saturday’s SuperSkills competition.
* CTN wonders if Evgeni Nabokov has been arrested for grand larceny yet after the Shark goalie made two highlight-reel saves on Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk Sunday.
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* If Alexander Ovechkin had made his second trick-shot attempt in the finals of the Breakaway Challenge – the spinning 360, baseball-swing attempt – it would have been one of the 10 best hockey highlights of all time.
* Not for nothing, but the NHL needs more of that creativity and excitement from its players to make that event reach its full potential. Trust CTN, though, the Breakaway Challenge will get better every year.
* Rick Nash has five goals in the last two All-Star Games, topped by his hat trick Sunday. Nash is the first player to score two-or-more goals in each of two consecutive All-Star Games.
* Pierre Turgeon had multiple-goal showings in each of his first two All-Star appearances, but they were three years apart.
* Cabbie Richards, an on-air personality for the SCORE network in Canada, had some side-splittingly funny interviews with the players during media day.
* CTN ran into most of the NHL team mascots, out of costume, in the hotel lobby Sunday. It was like hearing the rumors for the first time – rumors still unproven – that Santa Claus is not real. A sobering experience, to say the least.
* One gets the sense that goalie Ray Emery’s time – pun intended – in Ottawa may be coming to an end. His tardiness for practice sessions is not playing well with coach John Paddock and he certainly would be a valuable asset to dangle at the trade deadline.
* Speaking of Ottawa, Daniel Alfredsson is the seventh different player in the last seven seasons to lead the League in points at the All-Star/Olympic break. In order, it has been Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Mario Lemieux, Markus Naslund, Jaromir Jagr and Sidney Crosby.
* By the way, only Iginla and Crosby were able to hold onto their leads once play resumed. So, fasten your seatbelts for a race to the Art Ross finish line.
* The bad news keeps piling up for Sheldon Souray and Edmonton. The big, power-play defenseman is out again with his troublesome shoulder. They are saying a week now, but it could be longer.
Mitchell |
* Bad news also visited the Canucks this week. Willie Mitchell, their shutdown defenseman, is out with a fractured vertebrae. He played nine games – that’s right nine games – before finally saying the pain was too great to continue.
* If anybody is looking to get CTN a present, the book of all of Danzig’s lyrics with each song illustrated by Simon Bisley, due out this spring, is a fine place to start.
* CTN always loves hearing new music and finally was pointed in the direction of Dillinger Escape Plan. Consider CTN on the bandwagon. Better late than never, CTN says. These Jersey metal mavens rock!
* Is Buffalo’s Tim Connolly ever going to catch a break and stay healthy? First it was concussion problems and now it is a hip problem involving bone spurs. Get well soon, Tim!
* Congrats to Canadian forward Mark Mancari the Rochester Americans, who shattered the American Hockey League record in the "Hardest Shot" event Sunday at the AHL All-Star Skills Competition. His shot was 102.8 mph, just three-tenths of a mile slower than Zdeno Chara’s shot that won the NHL competition a day earlier.
Jody Shelley will help make the San Jose Sharks a more formidable opponent. Watch Jody Shelley highlights |
* Jody Shelley makes the Sharks an infinitely tougher team to play against. It’s sad to see him leave Columbus, where he carved out a nice career as a fan favorite. CTN trusts he will win over Sharks fans pretty quick.
* There was some serious bad blood in Tuesday’s game between the Rangers and Hurricanes. Colton Orr, who left Matt Cullen bloodied with an open-ice hit in the last meeting between the two teams, had to fight twice. Sean Avery and Scott Walker received roughing penalties before the game even started.
* How exactly can Brad Richards be a minus-27? He has some serious defensive skills after all.
* Chicago’s Jonathan Toews is ready to start skating and word is he should be ready to return to the lineup by Feb. 10.
* Darren McCarty has been offered a 25-game tryout by the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins as he continues his comeback attempt. Here’s hoping for the best for Darren.
* CTN wouldn’t bet on defenseman Marek Malik staying with the Rangers past the Trade Deadline. He appears to be firmly in coach Tom Renney’s doghouse and a change of scenery might be best for all involved parties.