OTF Classic

Before you settle in for the first Saturday of college football (gotta get my Michigan flag out), here are a few quickies for you: I'm interested in loading up my MP3 player with hockey podcasts... so do you have any good recommendations to share? Feel free to drop a comment and let me know which ones I should subscribe to... Head over to the Legends of Hockey Network , where Joe Pelletier is posting a series of the greatest photographs in hockey history. Yesterday's installment detailed a gruesome injury that nearly ended the career of Gordie Howe before it even got rolling. In my book , Mr. Hockey is the greatest of all-time because not only was he a consistently great scorer, but he was also a dominating physical presence night-in, night-out. He epitomized the game. Anyone in the adult C-leagues (upper or lower) down at Centennial Sportsplex need a player? I'd like to head back downtown after spending last year at Southern Ice, but I've been told the teams ...

This series of Forechecker's Forecasts heads into truly uncharted waters today as we consider the prospects for Patric Hornqvist, the Swedish winger who appears to be the organization's next-best option for goal-scoring depth after the departure of Alexander Radulov. Since he's labored over in the Swedish Elite League for the last few years, North American fans have precious little evidence to evaluate; the single most-noteworthy fact known about him is that he tied Peter Forsberg's record for goal-scoring by a junior player (with 23) for Djurgarden in 2006-7. He has also represented Sweden well during the World Championships both in 2007 and 2008, and his 6 goals this year led the team. Nashville fans are hoping for plenty of this... The big unknown, here, however, is how does Hornqvist's production in the SEL translate into what we can expect of him in the NHL? Besides the obvious difference in talent level and the international-size ice surface, there's al...

Adam Proteau over at the Hockey News has excerpts from an interesting interview with NHLPA head Paul Kelly posted today, and it's well worth harkening to the man who's lent credibility to an organization that was faltering in the wake of the Great Lockout. While Kelly's professionalism is welcome, his ideas still need to be vetted: "...under the collective bargaining agreement, the players have no voice and no role, in a technical manner, as it pertains to relocation or expansion. And we don’t derive any financial benefit from that, which I think is a mistake." That's a pretty odd misstatement on Kelly's part. If the NHL expands, the NHLPA instantly grows by ~25 members for each team. No, they don't get a cut of the expansion fee, but the NHLPA definitely benefits. In the event of relocation, there's no windfall either, but if a team moves to a more attractive market, hockey-related revenues will increase, of which the majority goes to the pl...

When the Buffalo Sabres walked away from an arbitration award in the summer of 2006, making J.P. Dumont an unrestricted free agent, many approved of David Poile's subsequent signing of him as a savvy addition that would bring secondary scoring behind the likes of Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan, who then led a deep Nashville attack. Two years on, Dumont is now wearing the "A", leading the charge up front along with Jason Arnott, and entering the first year of a new four-season contract paying him $4 million annually. Each of his two seasons with the Predators have seen progress in offensive production, so the main question with #71 is, has he reached his peak? J.P. Dumont, 5 Year Overview Season Age Team GP G A Pts Pts/Gm +/- Shots TOI/Gm 2003 24 BUF 76 14 21 35 0.46 -14 135 15:04 2004 25 BUF 77 22 31 53 0.69 -9 156 17:00 2006 27 BUF 54 20 20 40 0.74 -1 116 16:00 2007 28 NSH 82 21 45 66 0.80 14 143 16:12 2008 29 NSH 80 29 43 72 0.90 5 192 18:30 data from Hockey-Reference...

One of the age-old debates around any hockey team is whether your favorite squad is big enough and tough enough not just to cope with the long struggle of the NHL season, but whether they can intimidate an opponent into defeat. Back in the 1990's, Philadelphia fans drooled over the gargantuan Legion of Doom, while the Ottawa Senators, to cite one example, were accused of being too small and soft as they flopped in the playoffs a few years ago. When we get right down to it, though, which are the biggest and smallest teams in the league today? To answer that question, I took the current player listing from NHL.com and linked it up to the player bio information , in order to get height and weight by team. For clarification, no goalies are included here, nor are players who didn't dress for at least one game in the 2007-8 NHL Regular Season. That said, we're left with a clear enough picture to follow the trends, so here are our contestants, sorted by average player weight: ...

For a fascinating glimpse into hockey history, Eyes on the Prize reprints an old Sports Illustrated interview with Rocket Richard, during the final days of his legendary career. Here's a sample: "It's changed. I'm the oldest; the rest are kids," Richard said one night in a Detroit bar which advertised a stereophonic juke box. ("I'd go where the boys go," he had said, "but it's not a nice place. This is a quiet little bar on the corner.") "I know I'm not playing good hockey now. I'm weak now. My legs are tired. After a minute and a half, I'm tired. I'm so tired. I will try to diet. I weigh 194 pounds. I've been playing at that weight for the last five years, but I'm so heavy I'm floating on air. I got to take off five or six pounds before the playoffs. Only one beer. That's all I'll drink. I'll drink gin. That isn't fattening." Hmm... I wonder if Blues fans are going to start stockin...

Have we ever seen a more fortuitously named athlete for his adopted city than Vern Fiddler of the Nashville Predators? Perhaps Terry Crisp when he coached in Calgary (Flames, Crispy, you get it), but not too many others come to mind. Sorry, I just couldn't resist... In 2007-8, Fiddler enjoyed another season of unheralded contributions as Barry Trotz's utility man; he played everywhere from the top line alongside Jason Arnott down to 4th-line checking duty, with his characteristic hustle bringing him a career-high 79 games played. Especially in a salary-cap era, Fiddler is the type of guy who provides quality depth and reliability. One metric that Lowetide likes to cite often is Even Strength Points per 60 minutes. Check out Fiddler's 2007-8 performance compared to his teammates: Even Strength TOI and Pts per 60 Minutes, 2007-8 NAME POS GP TOI/60 PTS/60 JEAN-PIERRE DUMONT RW 80 13.81 2.88 ALEXANDER RADULOV RW 81 12.94 2.86 JASON ARNOTT C 79 13.78 2.65 MARTIN ERAT RW 76 13...