NHL

Thursday's Best NHL Picks

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: November 28, 2013

Puck Luck Vancouver Canucks at Ottawa Senators (+120, 5) The Canucks have dropped seven of their last eight but coach John Tortorella is trying to stay positive. The club is struggling offensively with just a single goal in five games during this slide. That said, the Canucks are generating a ton of scoring chances over...

NHL

Thursday Night's Best NHL Betting Picks

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: November 21, 2013

St. Louis Blues at Boston Bruins (-120, 5) The Boston Bruins were completely outplayed in their 2-1 win over the New York Rangers. They were beaten to pucks all over the rink and ended up being outshot 44-22. If not for a couple of fortunate breaks and Tuukka Rask saving their bacon in the Boston...

NHL

NHL Puck Luck: Wednesday's best hockey odds and picks

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: November 13, 2013

Toronto Maple Leafs at Minnesota Wild (-160, 5) Until Toronto does something to fill their hole at center, their offence could be in real trouble. The Maple Leafs don’t generate many good scoring chances at the best of times, so playing without Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland is a recipe for disaster. Toronto has scored...

NHL

NHL Saturday odds & picks: Oilers to send Eberle packing?

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: November 8, 2013

When the Edmonton Oilers tangle with the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon, the word is more than a handful of guys will be playing for their jobs. Understandably enough, too. The two teams have just eight wins between them and both sit in the basement of their respective divisions. Supporters of both teams are calling for...

NHL

NHL odds & ends: Hockey Night in Canada Saturday betting picks

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: October 11, 2013

When the Toronto Maple Leafs started James Reimer in Montreal for the first game of the season, most agreed he had earned the first crack at the No. 1 job. He was the goaltender who led the Leafs into the playoffs last season and looked sharper than the new kid in town, Jonathan Bernier, during...

NHL

Great One opens Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: September 30, 2013

Brantford, Ontario’s favorite son came home Sunday and it was just as you would have expected – classy. The city was celebrating the grand opening of the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, which was just renovated, while unveiling the Gretzky Project monument. The renovations of the centre checked in at $64 million and were highlighted one...

NHL

Scotiabank Saddledome Set for Calgary Flames After Flood

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: September 6, 2013

Back in June, with water creeping up into the first bowl in the stands, you never would have thought the Scotiabank Saddledome would be ready in time for the Calgary Flames’ preseason. That’s where you’d be wrong. The June 21 flood which caused more than 100,000 evacuations in Alberta, threatened to force the Flames into...

NHL

Edmonton Oilers win early free agency inking Andrew Ference

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: July 5, 2013

There were bigger names on the block when NHL free agency opened at noon Friday, sure, but if you’re looking for the best fit, there was none better than Andrew Ference signing with the Edmonton Oilers. The 33-year-old rugged veteran brings experience to a young dressing room and a nastiness on the blue line that...

NHL

Auction nets Alberta Gretzky memorabilia collector $550K

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: June 20, 2013

The most prolific Wayne Gretzky memorabilia collector has struck it rich in an online auction. The first part of Shawn Chaulk’s collection netted just under $550,000 when the auction finished Wednesday morning. “I’ve had an absolute blast putting this together,” Chaulk told CTV’s Canada AM Wednesday. “I have those memories, I experienced all those things...

NHL

Oilers Fire GM Steve Tambellini, Promote Craig MacTavish

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: April 15, 2013

With the Edmonton Oilers sputtering down the stretch of the NHL regular season, somebody had to pay the price. Former general manager Steve Tambellini will be that man. The team has a news conference scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern Monday to announce Tambellini’s dismissal. Former Edmonton senior VP Craig MacTavish will be promoted to general...

NHL

NHL Give and Go: Revenge for Rangers in Montreal?

• Frank Doyle

• Last Updated: March 30, 2013

HNIC Saturday Preview and Odds When this abbreviated season began, the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins were two of the favourites. Just one of those teams has held up to its lofty billing so far – the retooled Penguins. Pittsburgh not only leads the Eastern Conference, but looks like a playoff-ready squad after acquiring...

NHL

Northwest Division Preview: Canucks See Rivals on Horizon

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: January 15, 2013

First place in the Northwest has been the exclusive possession of the Vancouver Canucks for the past few seasons, but now some contenders are emerging to challenge their dominance of the division. NHL props NHL futures Calgary Flames The season hasn’t even started yet, but already things are going less than smoothly for some of...

NHL

Implied Move to Seattle is New Ploy in Oilers Arena Issue

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: September 25, 2012

The latest story in the extended debate over a new rink for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers involves team owner Daryl Katz appearing in Seattle for “meetings” with unidentified parties. This included being a witness to the debacle between the Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers of the NFL — another professional league where greedy, short-sighted...

NHL

NHL: Edmonton Oilers Sign New Deal With GM Tambellini

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: June 6, 2012

Steve Tambellini is staying with the Edmonton Oilers for the foreseeable future. The affable native of Trail, B.C. and star of the “Oil Change” TV miniseries has signed a new contract with the club (length and salary were not disclosed at the time this story was written). OK, so that’s done. Now what? First, let’s...

NHL

NHL: The Search Is On For the Next Oilers' Head Coach

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: May 23, 2012

Whom should the Oilers hire as their next head coach? Some names have already been bandied around, Brent Sutter being the most prominent. But you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, so let’s take a look back at the recent past. General manager Steve Tambellini — whose own position...

NHL

NHL: Nail Yakupov has the Hunger of a Number One Pick

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: April 16, 2012

With Columbus missing out on the top pick despite a valiant Fail for Nail campaign, Nail Yakupov’s status as the first player picked in the NHL Entry Draft went from ‘sure thing’ to ‘highly probable’. Hardly a staggering collapse but Al Dannity says Yakupov is doing all the right things to ensure his name is...

NHL

NHL: Draft Lottery has Teams Planning for Next Season

• Al Dannity

• Last Updated: April 10, 2012

We don’t know who is going to win the Stanley Cup but one winner will be crowned tonight. The NHL Draft Lottery will see one of five teams emerge with the brightest hope for tomorrow. Al Dannity explains what we can expect at tonight’s event. A quick primer Unlike its NBA equivalent, the NHL Draft...

NHL

NHL: Oilers, Canucks Conclude Regular Season

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: April 7, 2012

The final day of the 2011-12 NHL regular season has arrived, and the 16 teams which will be in the playoffs are now known. What had yet to be decided at the time this article was posted is the seeding of the teams. This story is about two clubs going in different directions: one will...

NHL

NHL: Playoff-Seeking Kings Welcome Spoiling Oilers

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: April 2, 2012

After having been shut out of the playoffs for most of the past decade, the Los Angeles Kings have qualified for the past two post-seasons. They’re currently tied for first place with the Phoenix Coyotes in the Pacific Division, and they’d like to be the third seed in the Western Conference this time. Keeping that...

NHL

NHL: Oilers Should Expect Rude Welcome From Jets Fans

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: February 27, 2012

The Edmonton Oilers make their return to Winnipeg to play the Jets and renew one of the lesser-known but combative conflicts in the NHL, which began in the old World Hockey Association. As Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press notes, the Jets’ very first home game in major professional hockey was in 1972 against...