Thursday, January 30, 2003
"Sudies" will get ya every time: Jason Rushton has been banned from U.K. hockey for two years.
Great post by LvsRattlers breaking down the playoff race, especially for those of us who don't like math. Looking at it really drives home the significance of games in hand, while also emphasizing that you gotta win 'em. (PS -- I'd totally forgotten that Tom Gomes was a Rattler, not that the '99-'00 Amarillo team produced a lot of memories).
Strange comments re: Trottier from Bobby Holik. He told the New York Times (registration required) he's been frustrated by the Rangers' failure to commit defensively. Can someone explain to me how one of the best checking centers in the NHL failed to anticipate something every fan in North America knew would be a problem? Did they not tell him who was on the team before he signed the deal? I guess it's understandable he'd be confused, given GM Glen Sather's usual predilection for grind-it-out blue-collar two-way hockey.
Holik also felt a rookie coach was just not the right fit. "I saw back in the summertime that there were other options to consider," he said. "This team needs something more than just a coach. It needs a proven guy that's done it before. That's my opinion." It just wasn't his opinion when he took the $45 mill, three weeks after Trottier was hired.
Sweet dreams, Bobby -- may you see Pat Burns and Ken Hitchcock screaming at you in them. What might have been.
