Wednesday, February 8, 2012 6:51 PM EST
Henrik Sedin's ironman streak in jeopardy
DAVID EBNER
Henrik Sedin’s extraordinary ironman streak - 552 consecutive regular season games - could be at an end, as the Vancouver Canucks captain deals with a blow to a right ankle stung by a slapshot on Tuesday night in Nashville.
The blast from Nashville defenceman Kevin Klein in the first period felled Sedin and he had to be helped off the ice. He wasn’t gone long. He assisted on two late first-period goals to put the Canucks up 3-1, on the way to a shootout victory, and was named first star.
An x-ray of the ankle revealed no definitive conclusions, so Sedin underwent a CT scan on Wedesday in Minneapolis, where the Canucks play the Wild Thursday night. Sedin did not practise and was seen half-hobbling through the team’s hotel with a walking boot to protect his ankle.
Link to this post
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 9:24 AM EST
Time to recognize Bylsma
SEAN GORDON
With apologies to Bill Maher, let us define a few New Rules this morning.
Rule the first: in any discussion about pro hockey’s cleverest men, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma must be among the first three names mentioned.
Not only because he has managed to keep his team among the conference elite despite a raft of injuries that would make many grown men cry and consign lesser teams to a season of misery and bottom feeding - like these guys, for example.
No, Bylsma’s true genius is in getting the most out of marginal players (Dustin Jeffrey? Joe Vitale?) and creating an environment that has enabled a couple of the best young players in the game to mature and flourish.
Evgeni Malkin, who people tend to forget is only 25 years old, has blossomed into the Crosby-less NHL’s best player this season, and Bylsma deserves some of the credit.
Look no further than Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, a cagily-played affair that saw centre Tomas Plekanec and defensive pair Josh Gorges and P.K. Subban in Malkin’s socks for much of the game.
Byslma had said prior to the game that Malkin and his linemates have gotten used to special treatment from the opposition, and hinted that he’d try and exploit situational mismatches to get them some more room out there.
So it was seven minutes into the third period, when Bylsma called his second line - who had been matched up with Gorges, Subban and the Habs’ top line - back to the bench and threw Malkin’s group out.
The Habs managed to get Plekanec and his linemates on the ice, but by then Subban and Gorges had gone for a breather and the defensive pairing was Hal Gill (who doesn’t do well against speed) and Yannick Weber (who is just flat out brutal in his own end).
Presto, James Neal scored the 2-2 equalizer after Malkin’s feed from behind the net was deflected into his path by Plekanec.
Malkin then scored a swanky spinarama goal in the shootout, which the Pens would eventually lose (Plekanec scored the decisive goal, and appears to be emerging at last from his season-long lethargy).
But without Bylsma’s quick thinking, it’s an open question whether they get that overtime point, which allowed Pittsburgh to keep pace with New Jersey, who have one less regulation win (this could matter in deciding the final seedings).
Good teams get something out of games they have no right to win - and after Lars Eller's no-look goal, it looked like the hockey gods were going to side with the Habs.
Another key factor in the Pens’ recent run of success: the presence of 24-year-old defenceman Kristopher Letang, who gives them another dimension on the back end, and who has also bloomed under Bylsma’s tutelage.
The Pens are 6-2-1 since Letang returned to the lineup, and have put together a 9-2-1 string since Jan. 11.
Speaking of Letang, aren’t the criticisms leveled at him when he was younger (cocky, mouthy, selfish, mistake-prone) pretty much exactly the same ones leveled at another 22-year-old defenceman we know?
A couple of years later, and Letang is in the conversation for the Norris trophy, or he would be had a concussion not interrupted his season.
Disco Dan knows what he's doing, gang, and has single-handedly removed the injury bug as an excuse for under-performing in the NHL. We're big fans of the job he's done.
Second rule: math sucks, especially when it points a bony finger of blame.
Per Deadspin.com, the New England Patriots would have had an exponentially larger chance of winning the Super Bowl had Wes Welker managed to pull down an awkward, but catchable, Tom Brady pass with four minutes left in the game and the Pats leading.
Maybe that’s why a pawn shop owner - who presumably lost a tidy bundle on a friendly Super Bowl wager - decided to drop off a few Butterfinger candy bars in Boston’s Copley Square as an homage to Welker.
Third rule: Major League Baseball teams will stoop to strange and sometimes borderline creepy things when left to their own devices, as they are in winter.
Sure, the Texas Rangers have a major financial investment in slugger Josh Hamilton, a recovering addict who suffered a well-publicized relapse in a Dallas bar on Feb. 2.
But bringing in a former University of Alabama team chaplain and onetime Kansas City Royals fitness coach to keep him on the straight and narrow?
Put us down as doubters - if you need to hire someone to follow a player around because of doubts over his ability to keep it on the rails, it’s probably not going to end well (see Jones, Pacman).
Yes, the team used to employ Jerry Narron, a longtime baseball man who has known Hamilton since he was a kid, as his “accountability partner.”
And yes, Hamilton’s relapse happened after Narron took a new job as the Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach.
But it occurs that what Hamilton needs is serious, expert help - a counselor, not a minder.
In the meantime, it has emerged the World Series runners-up have put negotiations toward a contract extension for Hamilton on hold.
Nice.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 10:14 PM EST
Evander Kane fends off his critics
PAUL WALDIE
Evander Kane has been learning some tough lessons about being a young hockey star in a small city.
Kane is a striking figure around Winnipeg. He’s a good-looking, 20-year-old millionaire who leads the Jets in goals. But he has also become the target of some nasty rumours, none proven and all vigorously denied.
First, there were reports early in the season that Kane wanted out of Winnipeg and that he didn’t get along with head coach Claude Noel. Kane shot down the suggestions and said he had no qualms with Noel.
Then, came recent rumours that Kane had left local restaurants without paying, prompting someone to post on Twitter.com: “Dear Evander: Please stop walking out on your bills. Sincerely, Winnipeg servers and restauranteurs.” Kane replied via Twitter: “Ha, Ha. What a complete lie this is but I really like the colours on the poster.”
The Jets looked into the allegations and said they didn’t stand up.
Compounding all of this has been Kane’s lack of production on the ice lately. While he leads the team with 18 goals, he hasn’t scored since Dec. 29, and had missed seven games because of a concussion. He returned to the lineup Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“All that [off-ice] stuff is false,” Kane said Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate that rumours like that happen. I obviously care about my reputation and want to have a strong reputation in the community, and it’s unfortunate that certain people are creating kind of negative mood around that.”
When asked what it felt like living in such a fishbowl, he smiled and replied: “It’s definitely interesting. This kind media attention is to be expected here. You’re in Canada and all eyes are on you, so it’s fun and I’ve enjoyed it so far.”
Kane has certainly been in the limelight before. He was selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009, and immediately became the face of the franchise – in part because he was named after Atlanta boxing legend Evander Holyfield. When the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, Kane insisted on continuing to wear No. 9 even though it would lead to comparisons with Jets legend Bobby Hull. (Kane did talk to Hull about it and got his blessing.)
Kane is going through some harsh lessons in Winnipeg, Noel said.
“It’s tough lessons of life in a market that’s small,” the coach said. “I’m sure it’s had an effect on him. I don’t know personally how it has. We’re trying to work with him.”
Noel added the attacks on Kane have been unfair, “but that’s the world we live in and, you know, sometimes you get humbled and it’s a tough lesson. He’s dealing with it the best he can and we’re trying to help him. It’s tough. Who likes to be criticized every time you turn around?”
But at times, Kane doesn’t help his cause. His reply on Twitter only fed the restaurant rumour and he hasn’t been on the social media website much since.
When a reporter asked if he planned to use Twitter regularly any more, Kane replied: “I don’t know. Do you want to be my personal Twitter account supervisor or what?”
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 6:57 PM EST
Kiprusoff is the quiet milestone man
ERIC DUHATSCHEK
Miikka Kiprusoff’s NHL career began in the San Jose Sharks organization – and it may well have ended there, in non-descript fashion, but for the events of Grey Cup Sunday in 2003.
The Calgary Flames were casting about for goaltending help – again – and kicked the tires on a number of possibilities. But Darryl Sutter did what NHL general managers so often do and went for the familiar, a guy buried in his previous organization’s depth chart.
The Sharks made Kiprusoff the odd man out, instead keeping Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala, and in return received a second-round draft choice in 2005 that was used on Marc-Édouard Vlasic, a serviceable NHL defenceman.
But Kiprusoff went on to become a star, and the Sharks ultimately rued the day they traded him to a rival, as it was Kiprusoff who backstopped the Flames to an upset victory over San Jose in the 2004 Western Conference final. The Sharks have not come closer to winning the Stanley Cup. For that matter, Calgary hasn’t gone any deeper in the playoffs since that memorable run, but it’s not because of Kiprusoff, who relentlessly, year after year, props up an average team.
Now, some 8 1/2 years later, Kiprusoff returns to San Jose on Wednesday, seeking to become just the 27th goaltender in NHL history to record 300 wins.
Kiprusoff, 35, is quiet, almost painfully shy, so getting anything beyond the rudimentary observations out of him is difficult. But such a milestone clearly doesn’t mean as much as career victory No. 277, which came in the opening week of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. It pushed Kiprusoff past Mike Vernon to become the Flames’ all-time wins leader, now 285 and counting. (He had previously recorded 14 victories with the Sharks.)
That night, Kiprusoff talked about his gratitude towards the Flames for rescuing him from the goalie glut in San Jose that had him thinking about returning to Finland. Calgary turned out to be the perfect fit, a chance to be the defined starter, but he made the most of his opportunity, too.
Kiprusoff, according to winger Alex Tanguay, “gives you a chance to win on a nightly basis. This is my fourth season with the Flames and I don’t think I’ve seen him play better. He’s been outstanding all year. He’s kept us in games. He’s made the big save and he’s made the timely save. He’s been fun to watch and, hopefully, he keeps it going.”
Kiprusoff rarely gives up a bad goal and has an unflappable presence. Post-to-post, there are few who move quicker or anticipate better. In terms of flexibility, Kiprusoff is right there with Gumby.
Whenever the Flames go on the road in February, star winger Jarome Iginla is generally the focal point, always obliged to address questions about his future in Calgary. But Kiprusoff poses an interesting case, too, given his age and the six-year, $35-million (U.S.) contract he signed after the 2007-08 season. It was one of the first of the heavily back-loaded, postlockout contracts designed to circumvent the NHL salary cap – and it may also be the first one that comes home to roost.
This is Year 4 in the deal; and Kiprusoff earns $6-million. Next year, his salary drops to $5-million and the final year is a bargain-basement $1.5-million.
When he signed, it was assumed Kiprusoff, who’ll turn 37 at the start of that 2013-14 season, would walk away from the final year and quietly retire. Now? Maybe not.
In the meantime, GM Jay Feaster quietly put a succession plan in place – just in case.
Last month, the Flames acquired a possible heir apparent, 25-year-old Karri Ramo, from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ramo is signed to play in Russia through the end of next year – perfect timing for the Flames. They can park him in an excellent development environment, with zero development costs, and Ramo becomes available just as Kiprusoff’s future hits a critical point.
The challenge therefore is not to waste another fabulous, under-the-radar season from Kiprusoff, whose play has once again kept the Flames on the edge of the playoff race.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 10:09 PM EST
What is Mikhail Grabovski worth?
JAMES MIRTLE
If there’s a Toronto Maple Leafs player who’s a little underappreciated around the league, it’s probably Mikhail Grabovski.
Although you can make an argument for Carl Gunnarsson, too.
But when some of those trade rumours began to start up last month with Grabovski’s name included, it appeared perhaps he was underappreciated by Leafs management as well.
Brian Burke, however, was quick to dispel that talk, saying that even though Grabovski was a pending unrestricted free agent, that didn’t necessarily mean he was going anywhere.
And looking at what he’s done of late, you have to wonder how the Leafs can do anything but re-sign him on a long-term deal.
Last season, when a lot went wrong for Toronto early on, Grabovski was the team’s best player, rising to the occasion with a career year both offensively (29 goals and 29 assists) and defensively (a team leading plus-14).
After a slow start this year, the 28-year-old Belarussian has again been the best Leaf on the ice over the last 15 games, with 12 points in his last six and 20 during Toronto’s 10-4-1 run since the start of 2012.
His scoring pace is now better than it was a year ago – 31 goals, 68 points over 82 games – despite the fact he’s spent most of the season with a bit of an anchor on his line in Nikolai Kulemin.
While Grabovski doesn’t play with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, there’s not really any argument that he isn’t Toronto’s best centre right now – and that’s a position where this team needs to add rather than subtract.
And he’s definitely not underappreciated by his teammates, who look at him as one of the team’s on-ice leaders.
Consider what Tyler Bozak, one of the team’s young centres, has to say about Grabovski’s value to this team and how he looks up to him.
“He does everything pretty much,” Bozak said. “He plays good defensively, he’s fast, he’s strong, he’s got a good shot. He makes great passes. He’s a complete player who’s great at everything.
“He’s 100 per cent a top two [line] centre in the league. He does everything right. He’s not the tallest guy, but in the league these days, you don’t have to be tall. You’ve just got to be strong and have good balance and he’s got all of that.
“I don’t think I can do half the stuff he does. Those Russian guys have some pretty nice tricks up their sleeves. He’s got some moves, and he’s got a lot of patience. It’s just fun to watch guys like that.”
That ties into what’s interesting about Grabovski and that’s just how deceptive his value is. He’s not big, he doesn’t win many faceoffs and, being from the Russian development system, he’s not a member of a group of players traditionally known for being more than one-way scorers.
(Aside from Pavel Datsyuk...)
But Grabovski’s puck control skills and ability to get through the neutral zone have put him first on the Leafs in terms of possession statistics (like Corsi) two years in a row now, and he’s accomplishing that while getting the tough checking assignments like his recent back-to-back nights against John Tavares and Evgeni Malkin.
He fares well on the production side, too. Grabovski is tied for eighth in goals by a centre (47 in 128 games) in the last two seasons, putting him ahead of Eric Staal, Brad Richards, Anze Kopitar and other very well paid pivots.
The issue is going to be defining what some of those intangible qualities are worth and putting a dollar figure on Grabovski’s value, even as it appears to rise with every strong game he has.
The No. 1 comparable I’ve seen referenced these days is Tomas Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens, who is making $5-million a season on a six-year deal that started last season.
(A few other names are those of David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron, both with the Bruins and both making relatively similar money to Plekanec.)
That puts Grabovski in the $4.5-million to $5.5-million range and likely means Burke will have to move out another body to free up that kind of raise.
Grabovski’s agent, Gary Greenstin, has been in Toronto of late, but he has kept negotiations relatively quiet. What’s clear is that Grabovski would like to stay, as his partner is from the GTA and they have two infants at home.
So my sense is they’re going to get a deal done before he becomes a free agent in July, but then again, there’s always the chance he asks for more than management considers reasonable.
The pull of those UFA dollars can be tough for some players to avoid, especially given Grabovski could be the top centre available.
So how high do you go on a contract for a player like that? And if they lose Grabovski, how then do the Leafs replace those minutes at centre?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 10:39 AM EST
Sheldon Kennedy to be honoured in Swift Current
ALLAN MAKI
Sheldon Kennedy has been back to Swift Current before, the site of some of his most memorable moments (helping the WHL Broncos win the 1989 Memorial Cup) and his worst. His next trip to the Saskatchewan town will add to the good memories.
On Feb. 17, Kennedy will be one of the honourees for a Scotiabank Humanitarian Award for lifetime achievement. A dinner and ceremony will be held to celebrate Kennedy’s efforts to create awareness for abuse victims, especially among kids and young adults.
Kennedy shook the hockey establishment by revealing he’d been abused by his former Swift Current coach Graham James, who was later sentenced to three years in jail.
Monday, February 6, 2012 10:00 PM EST
Oilers centre Gagner carries on family tradition
DAVID SHOALTS
Like father, like son is an aphorism Sam Gagner takes to heart.
After all, until the Edmonton Oilers centre pushed his way into the team’s record book beside Wayne Gretzky last week, his NHL career was remarkably like his father’s.
Both left home at an early age to play hockey. Dave Gagner at 15, heading for Tier 2 junior hockey in Newmarket, Ont.; Sam leaving the family home in Oakville, Ont., at 16 to play junior in the United States for an unhappy year.
Both were first-round draft picks in the NHL. Dave going 12th overall to the New York Rangers in 1983; Sam sixth overall to the Oilers in 2007.
Now, here’s where it gets important.
Both Gagners had trouble establishing themselves in the NHL. The Rangers became so disenchanted with Dave after three seasons that they traded him to the old Minnesota North Stars, where he later blossomed, scoring 31 or more goals for six consecutive seasons. After a promising rookie season in 2007-08 with 49 points, Sam’s production tailed off.
This season proved to be especially troubling. Oilers head coach Tom Renney had Gagner on the third line. Newer, brighter draft picks like Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were now the talk of the young team’s future. He was figuratively shoved aside and he wasn’t happy about it. Making matters worse, his name became a regular feature in the trade chatter leading up to the Feb. 27 NHL trade deadline.
But Sam Gagner is luckier than almost every other budding NHL star. His father has been there since Sam took his first strides on the ice, passing along the tough lessons he learned, both as a coach in minor and junior hockey and as a father. At the NHL all-star break a week ago, the son once again turned to the father.
“He cares a lot, so sometimes it wears on him,” Dave Gagner said Monday, shortly before he and some 30 other family members and friends watched the Oilers play the Toronto Maple Leafs. “His expectations were pretty high. It bothers him when others don’t agree with his assessment of himself.”
The talk – even though Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini has no intention of trading Sam – was especially hard.
“Everybody says [rumours are] part of the business and it is,” said Dave, who is the director of player development for the Vancouver Canucks. “But it’s difficult to keep these things off your mind and keep feeling good about yourself when you’re hearing it all the time.
“That was something we talked about a lot, how to handle that.”
The father’s message was the same as it always is, save perhaps for a more blunt delivery: Stay positive about yourself, stop moping and tell yourself you want to be the guy your teammates depend on.
The result was one a remarkable transformation.
Sam Gagner came back from the all-star break with a new attitude. Next thing you know, Renney put him on the top line with Eberle and Hall. Then, there was the eight-point night against the Chicago Blackhawks last Thursday, that tied him with Gretzky and Paul Coffey for the most points in one game in Oilers history. Then, there were three points in his next game against the Detroit Red Wings.
With Dave, mother Jo-Anne and all of the home folks watching at the Air Canada Centre, it took Sam all of 21 seconds to keep his point streak going. He assisted on Eberle’s goal and now has 34 points in 46 games.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Sam said before the game when the similarity with his father’s career was mentioned. “He’s a guy I owe everything to. We talk so much about the game and the ups and downs it brings.
“It took him a few years to become a regular NHLer who put up really good numbers. I try to listen to him as much as I can about what it takes to get through those slumps. I think the advice he’s given me, if I didn’t have it, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Monday, February 6, 2012 8:01 PM EST
NHL conspiracy theories abound
ROY MacGREGOR
Welcome to The End of the World, NHL version.
We are not speaking of Dec. 21, 2012 – the day, some say, the Mayan Long Count calendar points to as the apocalypse (heck, the NHL hasn’t even released the schedule of which teams will be playing that night).
We speak, instead, of the playoff stretch drive that officially got under way with the cessation of all-star festivities and will last through April 7, 2012, when regular-season game No. 1,230 will be played in San Jose (Sharks versus Los Angeles Kings). All 30 teams are scheduled to play that Saturday, with 14 of them destined to play golf on Sunday.
The world collection of conspiracy theories is long – Napoleon’s poisoning, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, George W. Bush’s hand in 9/11, the alien cover-up in Roswell, the Royal Family’s role in the drug trade, Y2K, Hitler’s old age in South America, Barack Obama’s birth certificate, the moon landing taking place in Sudbury, Princess Diana’s car crash, the fake Paul McCartney, car engines that run on water, Elvis sightings – and the hockey world is hardly immune to wild plots and thoughts.
More than a century ago, the Toronto Marlies were claiming that Ottawa’s Silver Seven had salted the ice between periods in order to slow down the swift Toronto players and allow the Seven to retain the Stanley Cup.
Then, of course, there was Brett Hull’s famous “no goal” in triple overtime that won the 1999 Cup for the Dallas Stars over the Buffalo Sabres.
We are still months away from deciding the 2012 Stanley Cup, but already there are as many plots in play as pucks.
The Ottawa Senators, currently on a six-game slide that has fans biting their nails to the quick, are wondering if the league had it in for them by assigning the same referee, Dan O’Rourke, to three of four games during the skid.
The O’Rourke Conspiracy got its start in a 2-1 Ottawa loss to the Anaheim Ducks, when the official refused to call a tripping penalty in the final minute because the dumped Ottawa player in question, Erik Karlsson, was a known “diver.” It was the first anyone in Ottawa had heard this.
In subsequent games, Ottawa gets too many penalties, the other team gets too few, the other team gets an unfair penalty shot and the Senators lose a third-period goal that would have tied another game when goalie interference is called.
Obviously, there is a plot line here – or so the postgame radio show callers, even those not slurring their words, claim.
The Senators, of course, are hardly the sole victims.
The Canadiens lose to the New Jersey Devils when Montreal forward Eric Cole is hooked off the puck and the game-winning goal is scored on the turnover. The league, of course, is anxious to see the Devils make the postseason so the revenues will offset the millions the league has been advancing the financially troubled franchise.
The Kings score a final-second goal to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets and replays distinctly show that some hand has hit the pause button on the clock. The Kings, you see, are in a tight playoff race and need every possible point to ensure this vital broadcast market joins the Devils in the postseason.
As for Canadian teams, everyone knows the league cannot bear the thought of insignificant small markets like Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, advancing deep into the playoffs.
Hard to believe that, back in 1993, New York Islanders head coach Al Arbour was the one accusing the league of a conspiracy to ensure an all-Canadian final between Montreal and the Toronto Maple Leafs. “They’ve got their own rules,” Arbour claimed. “They seem to look the other way.”
The Vancouver Canucks can certainly relate to that. As the last Canadian team to reach the final, the Canucks lost the 2011 Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins when the officials went back to calling games – or not calling them, if you prefer – as they had in the prelockout days of whistle-in-the-pocket hockey rodeo.
Besides, everyone knows NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs are close friends. … And NHL senior vice-president Colin Campbell’s son, Gregory, plays for the Bruins. … And NBC needed an American-based team to stage a comeback if it was going to hold a hockey audience in June. …
See how it works?
No matter what happens to your team in the coming weeks, it will be because the league is engineering it all from the top.
And if they deny it, that only proves it.
Monday, February 6, 2012 1:12 PM EST
Flames upbeat as they head into 'Death Valley'
Eric Duhatschek
Officially, the Honda Centre is on Katella Avenue, just off the 57 Freeway and down the street from Disneyland, aka The Happiest Place On Earth. But for the Calgary Flames, it may as well be Death Valley.
Monday, February 6, 2012 10:54 AM EST
Ales Hemsky getting hot at the right time
ALLAN MAKI
Sam Gagner has garnered all the attention these days for the Edmonton Oilers.
But Ales Hemsky has been on a quiet run of his own, scoring five points in his last four games, and just in time for the NHL trade deadline.
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Globe On Hockey Contributors
Eric Duhatschek
Eric was the winner of the Hockey Hall Of Fame's Elmer Ferguson award for "distinguished contributions to hockey writing" in 2001. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario's grad school of journalism, he began covering hockey in 1978 and after spending 20 years covering the NHL and the Calgary Flames, joined The Globe in 2000. Eric has covered four Winter Olympics, 19 Stanley Cup finals, every Canada Cup and World Cup since 1981, plus two world championships.
James Mirtle
James joined The Globe as an editor and reporter in the sports department in 2005 and now covers the Toronto Maple Leafs. A graduate of Ryerson University and Thompson Rivers University, he has written about hockey from junior on up the past decade and has a background in new media, statistical analysis and blogging. Follow him on Twitter here and Facebook here.
David Shoalts
A native of Wainfleet, Ont., David joined The Globe in 1984 as a layout and copy editor in the sports section. He attended the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College. After graduating in 1978, he worked at the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and later the Toronto Sun. He has covered the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL since 1990 and became a hockey columnist in 2003.
Allan Maki
Allan joined The Globe in 1997 after spending 19 years as a reporter and columnist at the Calgary Herald. Born in Thunder Bay, he graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 1977. A past president of the Football Writers of Canada, Allan has covered every Grey Cup since 1980. He's been to seven Olympic Games and covered everything from rodeos to the World Series to the Super Bowl.
Darren Yourk
Darren is the editor of globesports.com and host of the Hockey Roundtable podcast.
