Author: Eugene Helfrick
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NHL awards: A fun or frivolous event?
Hockey has utilized a unique practice in the sporting universe when it comes to the annual NHL awards show. For most professional sports, the awards are announced in a simple fashion, such as a press release, and accepted on separate occasions in separate venues. The NHL, however, goes all out, hosting a full-on awards presentation to announce their…
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Has the NHL salary cap established real balance?
Competitive balance is something that every sport strives for. Without it, the two or three teams with the most money will dominate each season, riding their roster of all-star players to easy championships. Teams with less money will be stuck sending out inferior rosters made up of either young or cheap players that simply cannot…
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Pierre LeBrun has a point: NHL playoffs must end in May
Prior to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, hockey analyst Pierre LeBrun raised an interesting point about the timing of the annual postseason climax. Two days before Game 1, the TSN network commentator tweeted, “My annual complaint: Really, really, wish the playoffs would be done by May 31. Should be no hockey in June. Start season in…
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No. 1 center gaining on No. 1 defenseman as the franchise position
If you had asked me two years ago, “Which would you prefer, a No. 1 center or a No. 1 defenseman?,” I would have answered, “Defenseman, and it’s not even close.” A true No. 1 defenseman is the mystical player that every team is searching for to stabilize the blue line. The best of them can…
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NHL playoff format not perfect, but the best way to go
It seems like every sport is trying to find that perfect playoff formula to make every series have real meaning to it. Meaning brings interest, starts conversations and creates the ‘Hey, did you see this?’ moments like those last-second touchdowns and overtime goals that cannot help but go viral on social media. In reality, there…
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Fantastic Beast: A chat with Brent Burns, Harry Potter superfan
The benefit that sport and literature offer us is escapism, but the gift that they offer us is engagement. We’ll probably never know how it feels to score an NHL goal, and we’ll DEFINITELY never know how it feels to cast a spell, but that’s beside the point. We see ourselves in our heroes –…
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Lightning forward J.T. Brown would crush you at ‘Call of Duty’
In hockey, it’s a compliment to be considered a gamer. With his energy and gritty style, Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown has earned that label. He’s every bit the gamer off the ice, too, and his passion for the Call of Duty series knows no bounds. We caught up with Brown for a breakdown of various…