Welp. We all knew it was going to happen, but now it’s actually happening. Texas Stars‘ coach Willie Desjardins, the guy who coached them to a Calder Cup earlier this week, had a phone interview with the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday and is expected to travel there. Interesting, since in this article from Wednesday, he wasn’t even mentioned as one of the finalists for the vacant Pittsburgh position. Instead his name was as a candidate for the Vancouver Canucks.
And here we were thinking all the trade rumors/free agent signings involved players! Now we have another one to keep an eye on. Is it wrong of me to hope he doesn’t get offered any of these positions and stays in Cedar Park? Probably. But I can’t help it. Jim Nill though is much more encouraging.
“I believe you want to allow your people to advance, because it’s good for the entire organization. You want your players to advance to the NHL, and you want your coaches and trainers or managers to advance.” [Sports Day DFW]
Of course. You’re exactly right Jim. But still…
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A moving tribute from Mike Heika, speaking of the life and work of Richard Durrett. [Sports Day DFW]
And Rich Peverley is still working to make an NHL comeback a reality. [Sports Day DFW]
A look back on Jim Nill’s first year with the Stars. His thoughts on all the ups and downs, and what happens next. [Fox Sports]
Last week had a rundown of the Texas Stars forwards. This week we look at defensemen and goaltenders. Prospect talk! [On the Radar]
I’m still a little confused about this whole idea of San Jose needing to ‘rebuild.’ [Yahoo]
The whole trade by the New York Islanders of a 5th-round draft pick to the Sharks for the right to negotiate with Dan Boyle seemed strange at the time. And it still does. [Puck Daddy]
Ooh… Speculation! Seven centers that could be on the move, and where they might end up. All based on rumors and hearsay. Naturally. [The Hockey News]
Ten riskiest signings/trades. And whaddaya know. Some of the biggest rumors are swirling around these same players! [Spectors Hockey]
A cool article on the evolution of goaltending in the last 30 years. [Two Pad Stack]
Historical ‘hits and misses’ in past drafts by Central Division teams. I think the point of this is just to get us excited about potential good, and terrified of potential bad. [NHL.com]
The Tampa Bay Lightning? Next year’s Eastern Conference team to beat? And before you start laughing, you don’t know. The East might be a halfway decent conference next year. [The Score]
What we, the infallible fans of the great sport of hockey, got wrong during the NHL Playoffs. Or at least what some of ya’ll got wrong. I sure didn’t. [Grantland]
And lastly, Puck Daddy’s Power Rankings. And yes, the season is over. But there aren’t any teams on these power rankings anyway. That’s kind of the point. [Puck Daddy]