Mike Chen’s Hockey Blog

Here’s the audio from my interview last night with the Late Crew’s Dan and Phil on Team 1200. Because it was prerecorded, they thankfully cut my brain fart when I was asked what I thought the best rivalry in the league currently is. I couldn’t make a pick, then tried to do my part and […]

[Read more →]

Would you gamble on Ray Emery? A quick pro-con analysis shows a mix of stellar skills, inconsistency, a pretty big salary cap hit, and a tiny, tiny issue dealing with his temper. We know that Bryan Murray and John Paddock are getting fed up with Emery’s tantrums, but a trade seems out of the question. […]

[Read more →]

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I’ll be talking with the Late Crew on Ottawa’s Team 1200 sometime 10 - 12 PM EST (7 - 9 PM PST for you fellow west coasters) about the All-Star Game and Ray Emery being stupid again. The guys are kind enough to pre-tape the segment […]

[Read more →]

Some random thoughts about the All-Star Game that didn’t make it into my last post:
-While the rail cam used in previous games was hit-or-miss, I’m kind of surprised Versus didn’t try it with an HD camera. One of the biggest problems with the rail cam was that it was kinda fuzzy, but if you could […]

[Read more →]

Well, the NHL proved me — and just about everyone else — wrong. Here we were, ready to pounce on what had to be a boring, waste of time media-sponsorship weekend, but before I could put thought to keyboard, I realized that I really enjoyed the All-Star weekend. In fact, it was probably one of […]

[Read more →]

Here’s the line from the latest Tampa Bay goaltending disaster:
Karri Ramo 40:00 minutes, 5 GA, 7 saves = 12 shots
Johan Holmqvist 20:00 minutes, 3 GA,  11 saves = 14 shots
Can’t wait to see what Torts has for the press tomorrow!

[Read more →]

To quote a cinematic classic:
Why don’t you drop that Zero and go out with Hero?
-Vanilla Ice in Cool As Ice

Yes, friends, it’s All-Star time again, and as fans, we’ve decided to drop a number of zeroes to go out with new heroes. But where are all those players that have disappeared from the All-Star rosters? […]

[Read more →]

Scouring the news after getting back from the Hawks/Sharks game, here’s some random thoughts:
-I know a lot of people are pissed off about the fact that the Versus contract was extended three years. However, you have to remember that it was an option on Versus’ side, so it’s not really up to the NHL. It’s […]

[Read more →]

Don’t call it a comeback just quite yet, but Sergei Samsonov’s actually playing decently over in Carolina. Here’s his gamelog:
15:17 1 G 1 A +2 3 SOG
18:32 0 G 0 A […]

[Read more →]

Through some of my super-secret sources way up in the league (hi Gary), I’ve acquired the original shooting scripts for the commercial featuring the new RBK jerseys. A lot of this stuff falls on the cutting-room floor, but I think the NHL should have kept this in as it shows some of the true personalities […]

[Read more →]