Every night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, “Eye on the Media” writer Steve Lepore will keep you updated on the complicated ordeal that is finding your favorite game on the tube.

From Pierre LeBrun at the CP via Yahoo! Sports,

Malone’s father Greg also played for the Penguins, which is why Ryan grew up in Pittsburgh. Greg Malone, a New Brunswick native, also played for Quebec and Hartford and is now a scout for the Phoenix Coyotes after many years as a Penguins scout.

So not only did Ryan Malone grow up a Penguins fan, he literally grew up hanging around the team. “You definitely feel lucky,” Malone said. “I would have happily played anywhere but it’s an extra bonus to play for the team I grew up with. I’m privileged.”

Just how long he’ll be wearing that uniform remains to be seen. He’s an unrestricted free agent July 1 and his career-best season, 27 goals and 51 points, would fetch him a handsome raise over the US$1.45 million he made this season. Perhaps as much as $4.5 million on the open market. That will likely be too much money for a Penguins team that is looking to get star centre Evgeni Malkin to sign a rich, new extension this summer…

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Seth Rorabaugh of Empty Netters at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hosted a chat with Flyers and Pens fans today.  A sample…

James_Taipei: Seth, if you were a betting man would you bet on the Penguins to close out the series today?(p.s. I don’t want to place a bet.)
Seth Rorabaugh: I’d stick money on it. They don’t want to extend this series any more than it has to.
steve_downie: Am i sitting tonight? I just wanted to know if my cheapshot on Sykora is going to be my final appearance of the series.
Seth Rorabaugh: I think the Flyers would be better off dressing 19 players than having you in the lineup. No offense.

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*Be sure to check out Empty Netters later on, since Seth will probably be doing a liveblog of the game tonight. Fun is usually had by all. 

from Rand Simon at the Hockey News,

As per the collective bargaining agreement, in order to protect its right to match an offer sheet and receive draft pick compensation if choosing not to match, an NHL team must tender a qualifying offer no later than June 25.

In order to be deemed proper, the qualifying offer must be for an amount at least equal to the player’s 2007-08 compensation for those who made $1 million or more this past season in base salary.

For players making less than $1 million but more than $660,000, the qualifying offer must be for 105 percent of the player’s ‘07-08 salary. However, the qualifying offer does not have to exceed $1 million if, for example, the player was making $990,000 in ‘07-08. That player’s qualifying offer would be $1 million.

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Today’s Q&A session with the Dallas Stars features some thoughts from Steve Ott and coach Dave Tippett.

Q. Steve, one step down. Now you got to go back to Detroit where things haven’t been great. How are you going to focus for that?

STEVE OTT: Obviously, things haven’t been great in Detroit. Starting with your goalie, when he hasn’t really won in that building, it kind of sets up for a great night, I think.  What better time than now to, you know, put a little bit of pressure on them, Marty have a big night, get out there with a win.

Geez, time flies, doesn’t it?  I can’t believe this happened nearly 5 years ago, but I think Vancouver fans will remember this story. From Marc Weber at The Province:

Chris Levesque lived every man’s dream when he suited up for the Vancouver Canucks in 2003, but that brush with the bigs also made it tougher to forget his own.

For all the fun and fanfare surrounding that day of real-life fantasy—plucked from studying on the UBC campus and thrust into the NHL spotlight—there was also an element of “what if?”

Levesque wasn’t just an emergency backup, after all. He was an emergency backup who came within a whisker of playing—famously working his gum on the bench while Johan Hedberg lay motionless after a first-period collision.

He’s now a sous chef in Vancouver with fond memories of that surreal experience. Back December of 2003, I wrote about Levesque’s brush with hockey fame, and with some envy…

Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland will be the guest on the NHL Hour today, hosted by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. The show is on from 4-5 p.m. ET today on XM Satellite Radio (Channel 204) and NHL.com. NHL Hour is an interactive talk radio show that is hosted by a rotation of League executives, and co-hosted by XM sports host and former NHL player Bill Clement.

At show time, you can listen live by going to the NHL Network Online, then on the “NHL Livewire” link in the left column, and the show will then be accessible in the right column.

* While on the air, listeners can call into the show at 1-877-645-6696, or send questions/comments via this email address:
**Archived shows available for download via a podcast on NHL.com. 

Getting some answers today from Pittsburgh Penguins’ coach Michel Therrien.

Q.  Can you give us an update on Gary Roberts’ status?
COACH THERRIEN:  He’s still sick.  He’s got pneumonia.  It’s a mild case, so he’s listed day‑to‑day.  He’s not going to play tonight.

Q.  Is it something you expect him back later in the playoffs?
COACH THERRIEN:  Yes, yes, hopefully.  He’s on medication right now, and we’ll go from there.

from Alan Ryder of the Globe and Mail,

Measuring coaching is not so simple.

There is an awful lot that a coach is asked to do. He is in charge of conditioning, skill development, motivation, systems design, on-ice deployment and game strategy. But frequently, because of the new economics of hockey, he does not get to pick his players. And sometimes he has no talent with which to work.

Coaches don’t have that full accountability.

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HockeyStars.com is doing a promotion (for Citzens Bank) for Canadian hockey fans:

Whether you’re on the ice, on the bench or in the stands, we know you love the game. And we know that you have a hockey moment that you can’t forget. Was it captured in a photo or on video? If so, that first winning goal, or clip of you cheering for your favourite player may turn out to be a winner!

All you need to do is submit a photo or video describing why it’s your Best Hockey Highlight by June 9, 2008.

Go here to find out more and check out some of the entries already on the site. (Open to Canadians only.)

In association with the HockeyStars promotion, Miss604 is giving away a couple of great hockey books. You can enter her May 20th draw if you leave a comment on her post.  Good luck!

This will be another interesting one.

Pierre McGuire is an analyst for TSN and an inside-the-glass reporter for NBC.  He was an assistant coach in Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Hartford and was the head coach of the Whalers for a little more than 60 games in the early 90’s.

So, what do you all think of what Pierre McGuire is doing?

Some questions this morning for Philadelphia coach John Stevens.

Q. What is the status of Braydon Coburn?

COACH STEVENS: Coby’s out today. We were hopeful yesterday. He got on the ice a little bit, but still not ready to play. I think he’s getting closer, but definitely not playing tonight.

Q. So are you going to keep Ryan Parent?

From Scott Burnside at ESPN,

Busy times in Vancouver as new owner Francesco Aquilini cries to the local papers every time he reads something that rankles him and with new GM Mike Gillis throwing everyone connected to the Dave Nonis regime under the bus. Now, Gillis is starting to rebuild the Canucks in his own image, announcing that he’s hired longtime NHLer Scott Mellanby to be a conduit between the team’s hockey operations and himself. [...]

The Canucks are holding their annual meetings in Las Vegas this week and Gillis is expected to make a final decision on whether to bring back coach Alain Vigneault. Sources have told ESPN.com that Vigneault rubbed some veteran players the wrong way and there is a strong suspicion Gillis will bring in his own coach.

That about sums it up, although I’m not sure how Burnside came up with the idea that Gillis is “throwing everyone connected to the Dave Nonis regime under the bus.” Perhaps he will, but not yet.

As for “sources” suggesting Vigneault rubbed some veteran players the wrong way… well, I don’t think you’d need sources any more complex than a television set and some common sense to have figured that one out.

Update 8:35am PT: A bit more on Mellanby, plus comments from Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison…

From Jef Feeley and Dawn McCarty at Bloomberg.com,

Flyers fans may be plotting their revenge, said Chris Young, 23, a native of the Philadelphia suburbs who now works in Pittsburgh. One possibility is putting an orange-and-black Flyers jersey on the statue of Roberto Clemente, the late Hall of Fame outfielder for Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates, he said.

Fans on Internet sites have picked up the call, and are urging Flyers boosters in western Pennsylvania to mount an all- out jersey assault on the Clemente statue, which stands in front of the Pirates’ PNC Bank Park.

Young said he won’t participate in the high jinks himself because of Penguin fans’ reputation. It’s safer to watch the playoffs at home than in a bar, he said.

“I don’t have the courage to go and watch with all those belligerent Penguins fans,’’ Young said.

and more hockey fan chicanery between Pittsburgh and Philly

Update 12:47pm ET: On the same theme, there’s also a little chicanery from the players…

From Jeremy Rutherford at Morning Skate at STLtoday.com,

On Wednesday, John Davidson acknowledged that the Blues are talking to Dave Nonis about joining the team’s management staff. This seemed a bit odd since Nonis, recently fired as the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, is looking to resurface as a GM and has been linked to the vacancy in Toronto.Is Larry Pleau going somewhere? The answer is “No” and “Yes.”

Pleau, who’s been in the Blues’ GM chair for 10 years, will enter the final month of his contract in June. While it might seem that the Blues are about to relinquish Pleau of his duties or re-assign him within the organization to make room for a guy like Nonis, that is not the case. At least not yet.

Davidson says the Blues need another set of eyes in the sky.

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