It's funny how one mistake on an online publication can put a few thousand people in an uproar.

“Phil Kessel Traded to Blues” was the headline on a story without any subtext included with it on Thursday evening.  The New England Hockey Journal, a well-respected hockey website, posted this error that sent the fans of the Bruins and Blues into a state of panic.  Bruins fans were terrified that they did not get a decent return while Blues fans were anxious over who had to be traded.  Online hockey message boards lit up with questions on how the deal went down and when the teams were going to officially announce the news.  The media bonanza even made it as far as ESPN.com when they posted “Rumors:  P. Kessel maybe headed to Blues.”

Continue reading "Misprint Still has St. Louis Buzzing"

Ottawa hockey writers can finally take a small break from their hectic summer before the season starts.  Dany Heatley has officially been moved.

It was announced Saturday afternoon that after many talks with the San Jose Sharks, Heatley and a fifth round pick have been traded to the Sharks for right-winger Jonathan Cheechoo, left-winger Milan Michalek and a second round draft choice in 2010.

''I'm excited obviously, I'm excited to be a Shark,'' Heatley said. ''I want to thank everyone in Ottawa, the organization the fans, and the city. I had a great four years here (and) I'm happy to move on.''

The Sharks are happy to bring in the gifted goal scorer, after much publicity about how they would react to their first-round upset loss to the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks last season.  The Sharks have just recently addressed their problem, sending defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to Vancouver for a few prospects and now bringing in Heatley to help the scoring from the wings.

Continue reading "The Drama is Over; Heatley Dealt to Sharks"

Could an exhibition game really give bad publicity to a major North-American sports league?

The NHL has constantly been trying to show that their league is the best to the public all over the world.  For the past few seasons, the league has sent four of their teams overseas to play in places such as Germany, Sweden and England.  The teams usually open the NHL regular season a week early, playing two games in the country that they were designated.  This season the league has decided to send the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings to Sweden, and the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers to Finland.  Not only are these teams playing each other, but they will see time against some of the best teams of the chosen nation in pre-season play.

Why is this a possible threat to the league?  The NHL holds themselves as the greatest hockey league in the world with the most powerful teams and the best players.  There is almost no way of disputing that prestigious honor as long as the teams are playing against each other all the time and do not allow any outside teams to jeopardize that point.  Allowing other teams from other leagues could harm the reputation of the NHL. 

Continue reading "Inter-League Game Could Spell Bad News for NHL"

What do you get when you mix a group of wily veterans, rising young stars and surprise goaltending?  No, this is not a joke that you heard while playing cards with your grandpa.  The answer is the St. Louis Blues. 

After a fantastic finish to 2008-09 and a dismal performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Blues are ready for another playoff push this upcoming season.  The Blues finished last season with an NHL-best second half record of 25-9-7, which catapulted them from the cellar to the sixth seed in the playoffs.  But that was then and this is now.

The biggest part of that run was goaltender Chris Mason.  After being acquired last summer to back-up reigning all-star Manny Legace, Mason took over the job in early February and held an outstanding 21-7-5 record through the rest of the season.  Mason has just one more year left on his contract, so he has to prove in 2009-10 that he deserves the starting job in St. Louis in order to be rewarded with a new contract.

Continue reading "The Official 2009-10 NHL Hockey Online St. Louis Blues Preview Part I"

The offensive side of the red line is not the one that aged Blues fans may be used to.

The days of Adam Oates or Pierre Turgeon are over in St. Louis.  It is hard to find which Blue may stand out from the rest, much like the start of last season.  Brad Boyes and David Backes took that spot over with relative ease during the Blues' amazing playoff run.

Boyes, the Blues goal-scoring leader from 2007-08, picked up where he left off last season when he notched 33 goals and 72 points to lead the team.  The 27-year old right-winger has the ability to get open more often than not and can one-time the puck as good as anyone else on the team.  If Boyes is going to be a point-leader yet again, he is going to have to hit the net more often and continue to utilize his hard shot.  Being in the prime of his career, the former Bruin still has to prove he is a number one forward in the NHL

Continue reading "The Official 2009-10 NHL Hockey Online St. Louis Blues Preview Part II"