The Hockey News Meet The New Guy Issue 2019

AS IT BECAME OBVIOUS in the final minutes of Game 7 that the St. Louis Blues were going to win the Stanley Cup, a spirited debate developed between members of our staff. Who was the playoff MVP? Two camps took their positions: Ryan O’Reilly vs. Jordan Binnington. The outcome is old news, but the relevance of the selection is not, for a couple reasons. First, individual honors shape history. They’re benchmarks used by Hall of Fame selectors and honors historians utilize to help define the game’s past. Secondly, award voting can be important in contract talks. Binnington, for example, is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. His second-place showings in Conn Smythe and Calder Trophy balloting give him decent leverage but not as much as he would have had if…

Dear readers, Ken Campbell has never pulled a punch, so beware when you ask him for his opinion. You may or may not agree with him, but you never walk away from a discussion unclear on where he stands. I was in Las Vegas for the NHL Awards with Ken and Matt Larkin, and it was my first opportunity since owning The Hockey News to attend the event. I had been to other shows over the years, beginning in 2009 when I was chairman of Bauer, but this year’s experience was far different from the moment I embarked. On the first leg of the trip, from Toronto to Denver, as I was passing through first class on my way to coach, player agent Don Meehan reached out, grabbed my arm and said hello.…

THE NHL’S COMPETITION committee meets every June to toy with rule changes, but this year’s gathering felt particularly urgent. Terms like “black eye for the league” were commonplace describing the officiating this past post-season, in which controversial calls legitimately affected the outcome of several games. Concrete rule alterations thus felt vital. “Our officials are the best in the world in any sport,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at the draft in Vancouver. “They have the most difficult job possible and, overwhelmingly, they do a great job, but there is a human element. Based on the speed of the game, things can get missed or gotten wrong. It happens infrequently, but, as I acknowledged before Game 1 of the final, we had some controversial plays at most inopportune times.” Here’s a rundown of…

THE SELF-DESCRIBED SASSIEST LION in the world, Bailey lives up to that billing at and away from Staples Center. Since his debut with the Los Angeles Kings in 2007, Bailey has become infamous for his over-the-top antics with opposing fans, mascots and even hockey writers. Bailey, who was named the NHL’s best mascot by The Hockey News in 2018, is known for dumping buckets of popcorn on fans wearing opposing teams’ jerseys and attacking anything that has to do with sharks, even if it’s an innocent TV showing the video for Baby Shark that he destroyed in a video he posted to Twitter earlier this year. Away from the ice, Bailey is not shy about sharing his opinions online. He has a longstanding Twitter feud with former WWE champ and Chicago…

THE CANUCKS ARE ENTERING their 50th year of existence in 2019-20, and that’s cause for celebration (promise no car-burning this time, Vancouver fans). For a franchise with a reputation for bouncing around the color spectrum, the Canucks have stuck to their current blue-and-green scheme for three of the four jerseys in the anniversary collection. This one strips “Vancouver” off the front of their regular jersey, while adding a new version of the old-school stick logo on the shoulders. With the killer orca logo anchoring the design, this is a finely honed version of their usual sweater, and that’s a positive.…

THE SAYING “LIKE FATHER, like son” easily applies to Bobby Hull and son Brett when describing their looks and on-ice accomplishments. Both had blonde hair and scored more than 1,100 points during their NHL careers. Strangely enough, the saying even applies to their rookie cards. Bobby’s, from the 1958-59 Topps set, and Brett’s, issued 30 years later, both use head-and-shoulder shots, with each of them gazing off into the distance. If that’s not enough of a coincidence, both are card No. 66 – as well as the most valuable card – in their respective sets.…