December 16, 2003
NHL Roundup
Pavel Datsyuk got his 18th goal, and Curtis Joseph stopped 18 shots in Detroit's 4-1 win over Florida at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit has won four of its last five games, and is 8-1-1-1 in its last 11.
In Phoenix, the Coyotes said goodbye to America West Arena with a 5-2 loss to Minnesota. Andrew Brunette had a goal and two assists, and Dwayne Roloson stopped 18 shots for the Wild. The Coyotes don't play at home again until December 27th, when they face the Nashville Predators at the brand new Glendale Arena.
In some sad off-ice news, former Blackhawks captain Keith Magnuson was killed in a car accident near Toronto. He was travelling back to Toronto from a funeral with former Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage, who was also injured in the crash. Magnuson played ten seasons in Chicago (1969-79), and was named to the franchise's 75th anniversary team. Steve Ovadia remembers a hockey throwback.
Dany Heatley's planned return to the ice has been postponed. In Pittsburgh, Mario Lemieux's hip isn't getting any better, and the long-term prognosis isn't encouraging. Apparently, Lemieux is having difficulty with everyday tasks like getting in and out of his car. Meanwhile, Mike Comrie remains in limbo.
In Vancouver, the Canucks have recalled Fedor Fedorov, and Tom Benjamin thinks it's a bad sign for the Sedin twins.
The Columbus Stars of the United Hockey League have offered comedian Dennis Leary a one-game contract to play with the team. Part of the proceeds from that home game would be donated to a charity Leary runs for firefighters. Hard to see how Leary, a confirmed Boston Bruins fan, could manage to turn this down.
At ESPN.com, they've posted the latest from John Buccigross.
Over at Vancouver Canucks OpEd, the editorial board is defending deposed Carolina head coach Paul Maurice:
Worth Remembering: The Canes have taken 934 shots at the opposition goalies so far this year; the Vancouver Canucks have fired just 884 pucks, and the Devils have been happy with 815 shots.
It is the Minnesota Wild, with only 712 shots, that most definitely has earned their coach a trip to hockey-oblivion this week. Yet Lemaire still has a job - now that's the real story, in our opinion.
Maybe Paul Maurice's hockey deserved to get him fired... but how can anyone argue that the Hurricane's brand on the game is worse than Lemaire's insidious "risk nothing" defense?
Unfortunately, it's wins and losses that coaches get judged on. And when it comes to Maurice, who at the time he was fired was the head coach in the NHL with the longest current tenure, he got a lot more time than most. If anything, it's Maurice who owes a lot to the Whalers/Hurricanes organization for giving him a shot to coach at such a young age, and for sticking with him through a number of lean years before a cream puff schedule in the Southeast Division helped the team to a pair of division titles.
Don't worry about Paul Maurice, he'll get another job, and probably with a team that puts more talent on the ice, sooner rather than later. Know one thing, though: whatever job he gets, he won't last anywhere near as long as the eight seasons he got in Hartford/Carolina.
UPDATE: Bad news on the Magnuson accident: Ramage has been charged by police in connection with the accident. ESPN's Darren Pang remembers Magnuson.
ANOTHER UPDATE: The Oilers have traded holdout center Mike Comrie to the Flyers.
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As the only known Carolina Hurricanes fan in this sector of blogspace, I'm a bit tardy in commenting on the Canes axing Paul Maurice and hiring former Islanders boss Peter Laviolette. Never fear, though -- Eric McErlain and Vancouver Canucks... [Read More]
Tracked on December 17, 2003 09:59 PM
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