On Sunday, Buzz Hargrove announced that he is leaving his post as interim Ombudsman for the NHLPA. He had held the role since March 1, 2009 after serving on the Advisory Board for five months prior to that. Eric Lindros was Ombudsman before Hargrove.

“After much reflection I have come to the conclusion that under the current circumstances at the NHLPA that I can not perform the duties of Ombudsman as outlined in the NHLPA constitution,” said Hargrove in a media release. “Therefore I am resigning as interim ombudsman effective immediately.”

read on

Is Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere on his way out of town?

If so, all signs point toward Toronto.

The rumors that were rampant in the offseason and then dissipated in training camp have resumed in earnest....

Giguere (0-2, 3.65, .895) is winless in four games this season and currently is recovering from a strained groin muscle. Giguere, 32, makes $6 million this season and $7 million next season, so the Ducks obviously don’t want to pay that much to a backup.

Jiggy has a no-trade clause in his contract, but the word is that he would waive it to go to Toronto, where he would be reunited with General Manager Brian Burke and longtime goalie coach Francois Allaire. He also would have a chance to play more regularly.

more

Yzerman provided a thoughtful response when asked what it takes to transform a good team into a Stanley Cup winner.

“When you get to the point where nothing else matters but winning the Cup and everything else is irrelevant—goals, assists, everything personal,” he said. “It just became an obsession with our ownership and our fans.”

more on the HHOF inductees…

The surprise was supposed to be a Daniel Sedin sighting. Instead, it was a no-show by Roberto Luongo at practice Sunday that stole the show.

“He’s a little under the weather and stayed back at the hotel,” said Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. “He started not feeling well yesterday (Saturday) and we’ll see how he’s doing tomorrow. If he’s not better, we’ll fly him later into St. Louis.”

Luongo is also recovering from a hairline rib fracture suffered Oct. 24 when he absorbed a Niklas Hagman shot in the third period against Toronto. He had been taking practice shots in hopes of returning to the lineup this week, but Tuesday now seems a stretch and perhaps Thursday in Detroit might be more manageable for the starter. In the interim, Andrew Raycroft will face the Blues if Luongo’s sickness lingers or he doesn’t feel totally healed from the rib injury.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Henrik were reunited on a line with Alex Burrows at practice....

continued

CAR G Cam Ward had surgery late Saturday/early Sunday to repair a lacerated muscle in left thigh. Still in Cols. hospital.

added 4:40pm, The Canes official Twitter…

Ward suffered a laceration of the left upper leg during last night’s game and will be evaluated more upon his return to Raleigh on Monday.

It also mentions Ward will be out at least 3-4 weeks and no mention of any surgery.

Wild players all were talking about the hit this morning and how the league “better suspend” Ott. We will see. Unlike Derek Boogaard’s elbow last year on Brandon Prust, there wasn’t an outcry on this one in Canada…

Well, Ott took a leaping elbow into the head on Sykora in my opinion. The league allegedly wants to rid head shots, well, then throw the book at Ott, too. Or maybe Stephane Robidas for his textbook boarding on Mikko Koivu last night that was somehow missed.

Coach Pat Peake turned to the ring to help his junior hockey team become more confident on the rink.

Peake brought in a former Kronk Golden Gloves champion, Charlie Peters, to teach boxing to his team of 14-year-olds. Although fighting is heavily policed in junior hockey and can lead to suspension, boxing helps teach self-defense and hand-eye coordination.

Peake invited Peters, who trained with and fought alongside Tommy Hearns as an amateur, to Viking Arena in Hazel Park, where the team is located.

continued

(Craig) Anderson, a former Bruins property, is the primary reason why Colorado entered last night as the top-ranked team in the NHL (26 points, 2 more than Pittsburgh and San Jose, who met late last night). The 28-year-old native of Park Ridge, Ill., is 11-3-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

For the first time in his career, Anderson has been tapped to be the go-to goalie for his club (he backed up Tomas Vokoun in Florida the last two seasons), and he has responded by turning the revamped Avalanche into the surprise story of the NHL.

Anderson’s start has propelled him into the Olympic discussion and most likely vaulted him past Los Angeles’s Jonathan Quick, who attended the US orientation camp along with Thomas and Miller over the summer.

But when you place Anderson’s pedigree against those of his competitors, it’s a good bet that the US brain trust, led by Toronto general manager Brian Burke, will consider the Boston and Buffalo netminders, both Michigan natives (Thomas hails from Flint, Miller from East Lansing), for the starting job, even though both got a break last night.

more

When things are going south, positive imagery is often a big help.

When Marian Gaborik would slump, he’d watch Gaborik highlights to get his mojo back.

In an attempt to revive the real Martin Havlat, the Wild winger sat alone in front of a television watching some of his goals from last season’s career year in Chicago.

Even though he didn’t score during Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Dallas, Havlat was a much more confident, motivated player. He skated well, shot the puck and schooled defenders.

“It’s not the start I wanted, or we wanted as a team. We win together and lose together,” said Havlat, who has one goal and six assists in 14 games. “But individually, this is probably the worst start I ever had, so it can only get better. I just have to keep working and sooner or later it’ll start coming.”

continued

Sources say Carolina has been offering D Joe Corvo to teams trying to improve their power play. Making $2.75 million, Corvo is set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1 and it’s doubtful he’ll be kept. The biggest issue for the ’Canes could be C Rod Brind’Amour. The 38-year-old is struggling and has two years left on his contract with a cap hit of $3.6 million per season. The ’Canes need to get quicker. A move that could be imminent in Carolina: Ron Francis taking over from coach Paul Maurice.

more from Bruce’s sources...

Allan Walsh, agent for Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak, knowingly or otherwise smacked a hornet’s nest on Twitter last night immediately following the Habs’ 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay with his tweet: “Interesting stat of the night.... #Habs’ Price is 10W, 32L in last 42 starts. Hmm.”

Whether an agent should so publicly be promoting a client at the expense of someone else – that would be Carey Price – even between the lines is subject to debate. The Internet has changed all the rules (some would say significantly lowered the bar) of credibility, professionalism and even common sense.

continued

Stubbs mentioned Kelly Hrudey was not happy with the the remark from Walsh and you can watch what Kelly had to say at about the 6:15 mark in the video below…

Continue reading "Did Player Agent Go Too Far?"

If Wayne Gretzky, the single greatest attraction in hockey history, chooses to pass on tomorrow night’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony, what an embarrassment that will be for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and his fellow owners.

And what an indictment of the damage remaining from the attempt to salvage the Phoenix Coyotes.

The very fact that the NHL has cut a deal to buy the Coyotes, which has basically excluded Gretzky and the money owed him, may save them a few million dollars in the process but won’t be worth the alienation created with the most important player the game has known. The relationship between Gretzky and the league is the worst it has ever been no matter what rhetoric is spread.

Of all that Bettman has bungled over the years, this may be his largest gaffe from a public relations point of view. Hockey is a hard enough sell in the United States and selling out Gretzky will end up costing them more in the long run than it would have cost them to pay The Great One what he was owed.

Was it the Maple Leafs, suddenly a very competent looking hockey club after two straight victories?

Or was it the Detroit Red Wings, or at least the current injury-riddled, talent-depleted version of the squad that went to the Stanley Cup final the past two springs but was steamrolled 5-1 by the Leafs last night?

Hard to say. But let’s start with this. When the Leafs were being trampled with Joey MacDonald in net and with Phil Kessel’s presence still a distant dream, it was suggested that it would be impossible to evaluate the Toronto team and individual players until top-flight goaltending was supplied by somebody, and that it was a little early to describe the Kessel-for-two-first-rounders deal as a disaster until he at least played a game.

Today, the Leafs, after beating awful Carolina and the Wings on back-to-back nights, look like a club that at least has a chance to vie for a playoff berth.

read on

Most hockey fans would agree that the sport belongs more in Canada than California, but count me out of any discussion that warm-weathered U.S. cities aren’t good for the NHL.

However, the league would be wise to get out of dodge in select sunny sites where puck support is weaker than conservative backing for health-care reform bills.

Don’t say goodbye to Hollywood (or Tampa Bay and Dallas), but bid adieu to Phoenix, Atlanta and South Florida.

Fox Sports Pittsburgh Penguins analyst Bob Errey agreed with me this week when I suggested San Jose, where he served as the Sharks’ first captain, was the model for how the NHL should have viewed placing teams into nontraditional markets.

Too bad the NHL failed to follow its own lead.

continued

• Please don’t quote me, but it appears as if Jacques Lemaire is back where he belongs, behind the bench in New Jersey, able to get more out of what appears to be less.

• Now it’s the Blue Jackets who need the public to chip in their tax dollars in order to ensure that the privately owned franchise that caps its employees’ wages remains in place. The NHL is filled with franchises that simply cannot produce enough revenue to thrive and please, please, let’s not always blame “the lease.”

There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the league would be in substantially better condition had it adopted a meaningful luxury tax plan with those proceeds plus revenue share money flowing to small market teams, instead of the hard cap.

But then the NHL wouldn’t have its cost certainty, under which the only certainty is that small-market, U.S.-based clubs always will be on life-support.

• I’m sorry, but Phil Kessel became Frank Mahovlich, when?

more NHL talk including Brooks taking on the head shots debate…

Make sure to check out the “fight-helmet” Pierre introduces.

added 11:10pm A recap of the Hotstove talk at CBC if you wish to read instead of watch.

update 10:15pm, Ward will spend the night in a Columbus hospital.

Wings TV crew just announced he has a broken right leg.

added 10:02pm, Video of Williams breaking his leg.

On the surface, the fight inside the NHLPA is all about Paul Kelly’s firing. But, it goes deeper than that. Right now, the union finds itself at a crossroads, in the middle of its most important decisions since the overthrow of Alan Eagleson. It’s not only about who will lead - it’s also about where to go with the next CBA, how to motivate a disinterested majority and how to rebuild an organization rife with distrust.

“I don’t know how it got this bad,” one player, active within the union, said this week. “We have a lot of work to do.”

read on (suggested reading)…

“For 15 years I’ve said that it should be mandatory and should never be the players’ decision, because you give us a choice and the chances are we make the wrong one. In saying that, I haven’t worn a visor my whole career and I’ve had no problem with it, either. So I think when it comes down to it we’re all men, we should have the choice, but for myself, if they tell me to wear a visor because I have to, then I have no problem with it.”

-Brad May of the Detroit Wings stating visors should be mandatory for NHL players.  More on this topic from May by Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.