LATEST STORIES FROM DOWN GOES BROWN
The all-star fantasy draft preview (Grantland)
The NHL’s annual All-Star fantasy draft is the undisputed highlight of the NHL’s All-Star weekend, in the same way that reading magazines in the waiting room is the undisputed highlight of a colonoscopy. After last year’s generally well-received debut of the concept, this year’s draft takes place Thursday night in Ottawa. This time around, the captains are Daniel Alfredsson...
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17 days ago
Discuss
An optimist's guide to the non-playoff teams
"C'mon ref, you're taking forever. Step on it!Oh... uh, sorry Taylor, poor choice of words."The all-star break is typically seen as a good time to start look ahead to potential playoff scenarios. And while no team has officially clinched a spot, several are all but locked in and others are slowly but surely starting to cement their post-season invitations.Of course...
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19 days ago
Daniel Alfredsson vs. Zdeno Chara: An in-depth comparison
"My little buddy here says I can have the firstpick. Right Daniel? RIGHT DANIEL?"The NHL has named the two captains in next weekend's all-star game in Ottawa, and they aren't big surprises. Hometown hero Daniel Alfredsson will lead one squad, while Bruins' defenceman Zdeno Chara will head the other.The two players are similar in many ways. Both are well-respected...
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22 days ago
Red Wings vs Maple Leafs in the Winter Classic: The pros and cons
This year's Winter Classic was by all accounts a rousing success, featuring another solid season of HBO's 24/7 series, an entertaining alumni game, and a riveting showdown between the Flyers and Rangers that included a last-minute penalty shot. After so much excitement, it's only natural that fans have already started wondering about next year's game. The NHL hasn...
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26 days ago
A look at the NHL's all-star snubs
The NHL unveiled the full list if participants for the upcoming All-Star game on Thursday. And now that we know the names of all 42 players who've earned a trip to Ottawa in two weeks, we should take a moment to recognize them for their success.We should, but we won't. Because while talking about the players who made the roster is nice, the real fun for hockey fans comes...
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29 days ago
Winners and losers at the NHL's midseason mark
"Jarome, what would you say is the absolute best-case scenario for the Flames' record this year?"The NHL will officially cross the midway mark later this week, with all 30 teams having played their 41st game of the season. And while a lot can change over the next few months, it's fair to say the first half has been kinder to some teams than others. A handful of...
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January 10, 2012
Other Montreal Canadien fan complaints
Montreal Canadiens fans aren’t very happy these days. The team has been a disappointment all season, with a combination of injuries and lacklustre play leaving them well outside of the current playoff picture. But apparently that's not even the biggest problem facing the franchise. That honor would be reserved for interim Canadiens' coach Randy Cunneyworth, who's...
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January 07, 2012
Inside Gary Bettman's New Year's Eve party
The balloon didn't stop floating all night,so they nicknamed it "Ovechkin".Scene: Saturday night, shortly before midnight, in a spacious home in New York. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is welcoming guests for his annual New Year's Eve party. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly arrives.Bill Daly: Hi Gary… thanks for the invite. How's the party going?Gary Bettman...
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January 03, 2012
2011: An NHL year in review
Is it over yet?This is the time of year when anyone who writes about hockey feels obligated to come up with a year in review piece. But 2011 seems different. After all, is it even worth looking back at a year that was largely marked by tragedy, concussions, franchise instability, and over-the-top violence? Well, my mother used to tell me that "If you don't have anything...
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December 31, 2011
Scouting the World Junior Championships
While the NHL enjoys a holiday break over the weekend, hockey fans will be gearing up for the traditional Boxing Day start of the World Junior Championships. Ten of the world's top hockey nations will convene in Calgary and Edmonton for a two-week tournament to determine which country's teenagers will bring home the gold.Let's take a look at the teams competing for medals...
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December 24, 2011
Let's make a deal: A look back at this season's biggest trades
After sending the overpaid underacheiverto Ottawa, the Coyotes understood whatit felt like to be a Canadian voterThe Phoenix Coyotes finally made the long-awaited Kyle Turris trade over the weekend, dealing the disgruntled center to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for young defenceman David Rundblad and a draft pick. The trade was a rare early-season blockbuster in a league where...
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December 20, 2011
A brief history of Teemu Selanne
NHL scoring dropped dramatically afterthe league outlawed the lens flare stick.Teemu Selanne will be wearing an away jersey tonight in Winnipeg, but he won't be hearing many boos. In fact, Jets fans are likely to give him a hero's welcome.It's been over 15 years since Selanne last played an game in Winnipeg, but fans there haven't forgotten the magic moments he created...
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December 17, 2011
A look at this year's top rookies
Nugent-Hopkins has been lighting upNHL goalies and also Roberto Luongo.With a third of the season in the books, there's no question that one of the best stories of the early season has been rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers.With 32 points in 30 games, Nugent-Hopkins isn't just running away with the Calder Trophy but is staying within striking distance of the...
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December 13, 2011
How to be an NHL ironman
One of the NHL's ironman streaks came to an end on Thursday when Lightning forward Martin St. Louis missed the team's game against the Rangers after being hit in the face with a puck during practice.That snapped St. Louis's string at 499 games, which was good for third among active NHL streaks. But St. Louis was still well back of Doug Jarvis's all-time record of...
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December 10, 2011
Take the quiz: Should you fire your coach?
"Hey, why does that guy watching practice with Feaster look like Bob Boughnerwearing a fake mustache and glasses?"The NHL's coaching ranks were shuffled last week, with three head coaches losing their jobs. That's an unpleasant reality of the business, and ideally we'd all just move on afterwards to focus on some better news.But the hockey world being the tough...
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December 06, 2011
Is Alexander Ovechkin a coach killer?
The struggling Washington Capitals fired head coach Bruce Boudreau last week. And while Boudreau landed on his feet almost immediately in Anaheim, there are still plenty of questions about what went wrong in Washington. Most of the fingers are pointing at franchise player Alexander Ovechkin, who's numbers have dropped significantly over the past two seasons.Is Ovechkin hurt?...
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December 05, 2011
A fond farewell to the NHL's fired coaches
"Wait a second," thought Getzlaf, "Why doI have to be the baldest guy on the bench?"It's been a bad week for NHL coaches. After a relatively stable first two months of the season, NHL teams apparently decided it was time to start handing out pink slips.Both Carolina's Paul Maurice and Washington's Bruce Boudreau were fired on Monday, and they were...
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December 03, 2011
New at Grantland: November's NHL's Three Stars of Comedy
November's three stars post pays tribute to one GM's high-concept performance art, one head coach's NHL 95-based strategy, and one player's ability to dodge a mid-air spinning slash attempt.You can read the post here.And if you missed it last month, the October stars can be found here.
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December 02, 2011
Potential issues in the next NHL CBA
After several awkward minutes, Fehr realized that"high five me if you love escrow" was a bad idea.So it turns out that the NBA won't be challenging the NHL's status as the only league to lose a full season to work stoppage after all. Despite dire predictions that the year would be lost, the NBA and its players managed to reach an agreement that will save most of...
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November 29, 2011
Alexander Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby: An in-depth comparison
The NHL's two most marketable stars are back in the news this week. But while Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are both making headlines again, it's for very different reasons.In Crosby's case, the news is good. He's finally returned after missing almost 11 months with a concussion, and his four-point performance in his first game back already has fans wondering...
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November 26, 2011
Ways the Maple Leafs would be different if Wayne Gretzky owned them
The new owner gets his first lookat the Mike Komisarek contract.The slow-moving saga that is the sale of the Toronto Maple Leafs received an unexpected jolt late last week with speculation that Wayne Gretzky could have a role with a new ownership group.Initial reports indicated that Gretzky had been approached by one or more potential buyers. Gretzky briefly seemed to confirm that...
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November 22, 2011
The secret agenda from this week's GM meetings
While Burke's new acquisition was only 10 inchestall and completely immobile, the critics had toagree that he did upgrade the goaltending.The NHL held its annual general managers meeting this week, as 30 of the most powerful men in the league gathered in Toronto for a discussion of various league issues.But what exactly were they talking about? As always, the meeting was closed...
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November 19, 2011
Things overheard at the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony
By the third time he ordered them to punchan invisible midget, the inductees had begunto realize the photographer may be crazy.Last night saw four former NHL stars receive the highest honour the sport has to offer when they were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Doug Gilmour, Eddie Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Mark Howe will each now see their names included among the legends...
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November 15, 2011
Beyond the 1-3-1: Other NHL team defensive systems
What's the difference between a hockeypuck and Mike Richards? The Flyers will honor a no-movement policy for the puck.The latest NHL controversy surfaced during Wednesday night's action. Although in fairness, "action" probably isn't the right word. Early in a game between the Lightning and Flyers, Tampa Bay settled into their patented 1-3-1 defensive system...
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November 12, 2011
Success stories from the NHL's opening month
"And then Ryan Smyth told me he used to have aphone that was connected to the wall! What a joker!"The NHL season is now a month old, and for many hockey fans that can mean only one thing: it's time to start looking for something to complain about.After all, these days it seems like some fans love nothing more than pointing out someone else's flaws. And sure, if...
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November 08, 2011
SITE INFORMATION
Down Goes Brown
A Toronto Maple Leafs blog dedicated to the misery of the 80s, the semi-glory of the 90s, the even worse misery of today, and the faint hope that it's technically possible that things may get better before we all die.
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