Hockey Hearsay compiles stories from around the hockey world and runs weekdays, 12 months a year.
BRUINS’ LUCIC YEARNS FOR OLYMPIC SPOT
CSNNE.com relays that a Canadian Olympic roster spot would mean the world to Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic.
“If my best [NHL efforts] are good enough for Team Canada, then that’s really an added bonus,” said Lucic. “I think any player wants to be an Olympian, and wants to represent their country in the Olympics.”
Can Lucic’s skating keep pace on the bigger ice surface?
“For me personally, I feel like [skating] has never been an issue and I’ve always been able to keep up the pace and the speed,” said Lucic. “I’ve played in two Stanley Cup Finals, and there’s no faster pace than that. If it’s overlooked then I guess it’s an advantage for me.
“Back in 2007 Canada/Russia [Series], I played over in Russia. Also in the BCHL when I was 16, they had a couple of rinks which are college-sized and Olympic-sized. One of the division teams we played in that league 12 different times had an Olympic-sized rink. At every level I’ve played in, I’ve never had any issues. It’s different because it’s wider and as a winger you have all this room. You say ‘Oh!’ and you get a little overwhelmed at the start with all the extra room. For me it’s all about making sure I keep my speed at a high level.”
HARTLEY EMPATHIZES WITH FEASTER, BURKE
The Calgary Sun outlines the long-standing relationship Flames coach and just-fired Flames GM Jay Feaster have, which includes Hartley being the godfather to one of Feaster’s sons.
Hartley also knows the nature of the game though, and here’s what he offered on Brian Burke: “I think I’ve always had a pretty good relationship with Brian over the years, and when he came in, he told me that he likes the way we play. This morning, he told me (that) again, but at the same time, it doesn’t change my job,” Hartley said. “We have a great coaching staff, and we have players that want to win and want to work. It doesn’t really change our day-to-day operation.”
More Hartley: “Every decision that we make, lots of them aren’t fun,” Hartley said. “I’ve told you before, when I scratch a player, whether he’s a good worker and he’s having a hard time, it’s not fun for anyone.
“Brian this morning was very sad. He was devastated.”
TORTORELLA: KASSIAN NOT READY TO PLAY WITH SEDINS
The Vancouver Province outlines how Daniel and Henrik Sedin have struggled for the Canucks without Alex Burrows.
Zack Kassian is apparently not yet an option for that line, according to coach John Tortorella.
“I’m not ready to put him in those situations,” Tortorella said. “We’re still in the process of trying to get Zack to process the game not only with the puck, but away from the puck.
“It’s tough when you have to worry about pucks going in the back of your net. When players just aren’t ready to read those situations.
“When I use Danny and Henk, it’s usually against the top line or at least their top forwards.”
WENDEL CLARK OPTIMISTIC ABOUT LEAFS’ DIRECTION
QMI Agency indicates popular Toronto Maple Leafs great Wendel Clark believes the team is “going in the right direction” under general manager Dave Nonis and coach Randy Carlyle. Finding a way to peak in the spring would be huge.
“If you can make the playoffs, be pretty healthy and be playing well at the right time of the year, you can make some noise. Los Angeles proved that by winning a Stanley Cup (in 2012),” Clark said.
As for the recent struggles after a hot start?
“Right now, the last three weeks, they’ve run into the injury bug,” Clark said of the current Leafs squad. “Nobody wants to blame anything on injuries, but four of our top six forwards have been out, and one of our best (defencemen).”
LEIWEKE SETTLING INTO TORONTO HOCKEY SCENE
Earlier this week, The Los Angeles Times profiled president and chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Tim Leiweke.
Among the lessons he has learned so far: hockey isn’t part of life in Toronto — it is life.
“It’s very different just trying to understand the 100 years of history and tradition,” he said. “I now understand. We had a great run in ’62, ’63, ’64 and ’67 and haven’t won a Cup since then, so there’s a lot of pressure on us because this is what they think about. This is what they do. This is what they dream of and it’s just so amazing because here in Toronto, the hockey team is everything.
“And that’s not saying anything bad about L.A., it’s just acknowledging it was a very competitive sports market for the Kings and they always had the Dodgers and the Lakers and they were probably living in their shadow a little bit at times.”
PENGUINS, NHL TARGETING FEMALE DEMOGRAPHIC
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the Penguins will serve as the NHL’s test franchise for a merchandising event aimed at women.
PensGear for Her will be held at Friday’s game against the New Jersey Devils and will have vendors specializing in products for females.
“It’s less about how much it sells and more about doing something unique and interesting,” Penguins vice president/sales David Peart said.
If PensGear for Her is a success, all clubs will hold a similar event in March, including the Penguins for a second time, Peart said.
ORLOV NOW OPEN TO STAYING WITH CAPITALS
CSNWashington.com writes that Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov says that despite his agent saying he has “no future in Washington,” he would like to remain with the Capitals, as long as he is playing.
“If I play here, yeah,” Orlov said Thursday. “I just want to play. If I play, I not think about being moved or not. My team is here. All the guys are good.”
Orlov, 22, has played in five straight games.
“It was hard for me,” Orlov said, “but I’m happy to be here and be part of the team. I feel I can be a little better, but so far, every game I feel better and more comfortable.
BLUES CONCERNED ABOUT RISING SALARY CAP PROJECTIONS
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has quotes from Blues Chairman Tom Stillman, speaking about the salary cap increase for next year and beyond.
“The first thing (the rising salary cap) indicates is the league is healthy, really on the upswing, the game of hockey and the NHL. It says good things about the game,” Stillman said. “The second thing is, it just kind of reinforces the need for us to expand our revenue base. Because we need to compete with teams that are going to spend to that cap level. We have to be competitive off the ice, in the revenue department, if we’re going to be competitive on the ice.”
More Stillman: “You have a situation where, yeah, league-wide revenues are going up. And some of them are at the central level, like the recent Canadian TV deal. But you have the Canadian teams and big market U.S. teams that are just rolling at a very high percentage on a very big base.
“And all of that pulls up the cap for everybody. So we can be going along and doing pretty well, but if that thing is being pulled up by the super-charged markets, well, we have to compete in that world. Our job is to make sure we’re doing everything we can to expand out basis of support and increase our revenues so we can stay competitive.”
PANTHERS TO GIVE AWAY BEEZER BOBBLEHEADS
The Sun-Sentinel indicates Friday’s Panthers-Capitals game will include John Vanbiesbrouck bobblehead, free to the first 10,000 fans.
“This honor plays on your heartstrings, not only just for the memories and good times, but the fact that people remember … means a lot to me,” Vanbiesbrouck, who was the first Panthers pick in the 1993 Expansion Draft who led them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, said.
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