Where Goon meets Glitz, from the Ice to the Armchair, balanced and objective hockey analysis and reporting.
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Chicago Blackhawks: Losing the Plot
The Chicago Blackhawks, despite the addition of a generational talent in Connor Bedard during the offseason, managed to have a teamwide regression following their disastrous 2022-23 campaign, with a franchise-worst points percentage of 31.7% or 52 standings points on the season. More notable in Chicago’s teamwide regression was their inability to score goals, seen… Read more
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Hlinka Gretzky Cup, day two: Fates being determined
Day two marked the beginning of the results truly starting to matter. Getting off on a bad foot on day one in these “four teams per group” tournaments means your fate can be sealed the next day. We started to see these narratives take shape in the action that went on today. Let’s make some… Read more
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Buffalo Sabres: Making key future choices while going back to the poisoned well
Despite their best efforts, the Buffalo Sabres ended up missing out on the postseason yet again in their 2023-24 campaign, as their league-leading playoff drought continued. General manager Kevyn Adams and the front office opted to relieve head coach Don Granato of duty after yet another failing. The future definitely hangs in the balance for… Read more
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Hlinka Gretzky Cup, day one: A story of overtime and overwhelming performances
I never want my “scouting” work/prospect coverage to let up, especially for guys who are coming up on their draft eligibility, so I’m going to be doing a wrap-up of each day’s worth of action in one of the most important junior tournaments there is (even despite its lack of official sanctioning by the IIHF).… Read more
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Boston Bruins: Sweeney, Neely, and the brain trust attempt to move the needle
As expected, despite the excitement provoked by the centennial celebrations, the 2023–24 Boston Bruins effectively had a bridge year. It was about as productive of a bridge season as you can get, with them landing in second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, and, as has become tradition, defeating Toronto… Read more
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Calgary Flames: How To Build A New Foundation
The 2023-24 season was the second consecutive disappointing season for the Calgary Flames. In my analysis of their 2023 offseason, I highlighted the transition from Brad Treliving and Darryl Sutter to Craig Conroy and Ryan Huska as a sign of optimism for the Flames to move forward from an underwhelming 2022-23 campaign that saw… Read more