The Billy Tibbetts era is over in Danbury.

The Mad Hatters, Danbury’s newest professional hockey team, suspended the troubled forward for an unspecified violation of team rules, Danbury general manager Brendan Tedstone and Eastern Professional Hockey League commissioner Jim Riggs confirmed Thursday.

The team officially suspended Tibbetts on Monday and he subsequently left the team on his own accord, Tedstone said.

Tedstone said it is team policy to not discuss the nature of personnel matters....

“I don’t think you’ll see him back in the league,” Tedstone said. “It’s not the standard of living he is used to. I’ve heard he’s already been contacted by IHL and SPHL teams.”

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You would think after 10 years of hockey the city of Nashville would be crazy about the sport, but that’s not necessarily the case.

I think our ownership group has done a good job emphasizing a connection to the local community to get support. Now the team just needs to continue to have success and bring more and more fans out.

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The elite ...
… or the men who get the most out of their rosters, regardless of how good (or otherwise) those rosters are.

Mike Babcock, Detroit
Any quarrel here? Other than the fact that the rich got richer, which isn’t his “fault”? His broad-based background, his Stanley Cup résumé, his adaptability all add up to this: He should be at the top, or near the top, of any list. Stock: Up.

Jacques Lemaire, Minnesota
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You’ve got to give the devil—or ex-Devils coach—his due.

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The NHL’s rookie race looks nothing like what the preseason pundits predicted.

Steven Stamkos, Kyle Turris and Fabian Brunnstrom were far and away the leading September picks to challenge for the Calder Trophy this season.

Someone forgot to tell Derick Brassard, Kris Versteeg, Mikhail Grabovski, Jakub Voracek and Patrik Berglund—the top five scoring rookies through Wednesday night.

Fellow rookie forwards Blake Wheeler, Mikkel Boedker and Oscar Moller also have been impressive as the NHL season reaches its quarter pole, as have first-year blueliners Alex Goligoski, Drew Doughty and Luca Sbisa.

Still, let’s be honest here. For the first time since the lockout, the NHL has a wide-open rookie race without the big-name attraction.

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• The issue is how long Senators owner Eugene Melnyk will tolerate an underachieving team? Will Bryan Murray trade (not easy) Jason Spezza? (Edmonton is said to be a possibility.) Will Murray go the Tampa route and can Craig (Hardly Inspirational) Hartsburg? How safe is Murray? The Sens are home Thursday (Montreal) and Saturday (Rangers). By Sunday Melnyk will have had enough time to pick his route; especially if his club is in a rout!

• Has it dawned on any of the Ottawa genius fans who booed Wade Redden that his absence is one reason why their Senators are plumbing the NHL depths?

more hockey topics from Stan…

San Jose Sharks: A-plus

The current gold standard for Stanley Cup contenders. But, of course, we’ve heard that story before when it comes to San Jose, haven’t we? The Sharks have jelled surprisingly well under rookie coach Todd McLellan and, as of midweek, have yet to lose in regulation at home. Dan Boyle is doing what GM Doug Wilson thought he would on the back end and forward David Setoguchi is another homegrown gem. As always, the question is whether they can bring it come April when the pudding is on the table.

Detroit Red Wings: A

Stanley Cup hangover? What hangover?

read on for a report on every NHL team.

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Continue reading "The NHL Hour with The Maven"

Dirty Sexy Money: Featuring Ryan Hollweg, Carrie Milbank and the Maple Leafs’ profits.

Mad Men: Noted goons Andre Roy, Colton Orr and Ben Eager reveal the secret methods that help them turn frothy-mouthed seething into hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in salaries.

Read on for more shows ideas.

while Leafs coach Ron Wilson said he did not expect Colaiacovo’s ailment to be an issue, watching the defenceman limping around suggested otherwise....

Acknowledging that Colaiacovo was en route to having X-rays taken, Wilson suggested that Colaiacovo’s injury-plagued history is related to less-than-ideal physical conditioning.

“The big thing with Carlo — and I tell him that every day — is that ‘You’re not in very good shape. It leads to all the other issues in the past’,” Wilson said, adding the organization is working with Colaiacovo to improve his preparation.

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The caller said she is “sick and tired” of our negative coverage of the team, and said we’re trying to drive them out of town. She was particularly irked by the large photo we ran of goalie Pascal Leclaire in Wednesday’s paper, who gave up 7 goals in a loss Tuesday. She said we had the worst coverage of an NHL team of any newspaper.

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Worth a read, given that the matter of “negative” coverage is something that fans around the league often have strong feelings about.  And the fact that the ownership company behind The Dispatch also happens to own a 10% stake in the Columbus Blue Jackets and their arena, is another interesting twist.

Boyes enjoyed a fast start, scoring five goals in his first six games, but he has scored just one goal since Oct. 25.

“I’m one of the guys who has to pick up my game offensively,” Boyes said. “I’ve got to put the puck in the net. I’ve got to get going again.”

Murray has been shuffling his lines for much of the season, due to injuries and the ineffectiveness of some combinations. The forwards have gotten used to working in different combinations.

Now he seems ready to reunite Boyes with Tkachuk (just one goal since Oct. 25) and Kariya (just back from the injured list) starting Friday night. In that scenario, Berglund would center Stempniak and David Perron on the No. 2 line.

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Melrose got fired because he didn’t know what he was doing.

He might think it was because his players didn’t like that he publically chastised them after the first two games of the season (in Europe no less) or that he resorted to his celebrated cold-shoulder approach when he walked out of the locker room and left them to practice on their own the day before a game just prior to his being dismissed, but that’s hardly the case.

He got fired because he didn’t do game-prep well, manage his players and bench effectively, and was regularly outcoached by opponents, many of whom knew what they were doing behind the bench and took advantage of the fact that Melrose did not have a clue.

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If Burke does sign on this weekend, it appears increasingly likely he won’t be coming alone. His visit to Vancouver this week will include a meeting with Dave Nonis, who worked with Burke in B.C. and was hired by Burke to work in Anaheim during the summer. Nonis had meetings with the Leafs last summer over their vacant executive position, but couldn’t come to an agreement, so clearly he’s already seriously considered re-locating east.

How that would affect the Leaf front office isn’t clear. Fletcher would likely stay on a consultant capacity at least until the end of the 19-month contract he signed last January, and Joe Nieuwendyk appears likely to be part of a Burke team. Burke didn’t immediately clean house when he took over in Vancouver or Anaheim, so he may be content with bringing Nonis in without dumping those already working in Toronto.

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The Star has learned the NHLPA has filed a grievance over the Washington Capitals’ refusal to allow representatives of the union into the Capitals room.

The union believes this to be a violation of the agreement, which states: “No one other than NHL, NHLPA or team representatives or properly accredited members of the Media shall be allowed in dressing rooms during Media access periods.”

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the issue is isolated to one club. “From our perspective, it’s not something either the collective bargaining agreement or applicable law provides for or guarantees, and our position is that each club has the latitude to establish its own policy,” Daly said.

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I asked the Capitals about this situation this morning and they are deferring to the quote from Bill Daly.

Share the morning skate with Chris Pronger…

Erik Christensen knows Pittsburgh. Here’s his analysis of tonight’s game between the Thrashers and his former team, the Penguins.

“Army [Colby Armstrong] and me, we just know their breakouts and everything that Michel Therrien did. We both played for him for three-plus, four-plus years, everything forwards and backwards that he likes to do. Anytime during a game, when we see something they’re doing, we can make an adjustment. We know where they’re going to be on the ice. We just have to figure out how to get around them....”

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For a preview of the game tonight, check out Empty Netters which includes a Ty Conklin fight video…

If you think the Canadiens are in a funk, thank your lucky stars you’re not an Ottawa Senators fan.

The Senators awoke yesterday to discover they have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst in the National Hockey League.

It’s not a pleasant place to be for a group accustomed to being regarded as a Stanley Cup contender.

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In order to cast their net to a wider audience, an increasing number of fantasy sports companies have started offering simpler games that can appeal to a more mainstream audience - one that doesn’t have the statistics of every player and team in a league memorized.

The changes have helped attract a growing female fan base, who now represent up to 25 per cent of the North American fantasy sports industry, according to some estimates.

“It’s all in fun,” said Jeffrey Thomas, president of the U.S.-based Fantasy Sports Trade Association. “Some [women] will do it to say ‘Hey, I can beat you,’ and it’s fun, and it’s fun competition and it’s fun interaction.”

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They’ve got arguably the best goalie in the league in Tim Thomas. The Bruins. With the best goalie in the league. If this keeps up, Harry Sinden’s “101 Ways to Rip Your Goalie” will finally go out of print.

They won back-to-back nights, 1-0, in Western Canada (kudos again to Thomas). Two goals. Four points in the standings. The Bruins. With regulation-size nets. No one needs bigger nets when one goal is enough to win. True today. True, too, for Eddie Shore’s Bruins.

In their last dozen games, they’ve lost once in regulation (3-2 at Calgary), playing their best hockey since before the lockout.

Now that’s entertainment.

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It’s the touch penalties - hooking when a player’s stick taps an opposing player’s glove or hip, or holding when a player’s free hand touches his competitor - that drive coaches, managers and players crazy.

NHL traditionalists believe a hook or hold means a player has been restrained. Yet, the standard established three seasons ago is clearly less than that, and it has GMs talking.

As one general manager summarized, “There has been more complaining about officiating among GMs this year than in recent years.”

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