May 25, 2023 – Toronto, thy name is drama. Actually Brendan Shanahan really impressed me. Kyle Dubas frankly seems as manly as Kyle Beach at this point. There’s certain really bad drama going down in Leaf Nation. Here’s the bottom line. If you have a number of years to proveContinue Reading
May 16, 2023 – Breathe. It wasn’t the worst of years for Leafnation. You guys made it to the second round of the playoffs with a flawed team design. The old adage say if you do things the same way why expect a different result? Going into the season yoursContinue Reading
March 4, 2023 – The NHL is in a strange place. While the salary cap has been a success, the structure of seasons now seem to be 60 game seasons with a long 22 game wind down until the playoffs start. While mathematically there are still chances for some teamsContinue Reading
DECEMBER 31, 2022 – This is the last Hockey Crunch for the year. As some of our viewers know yours truly was the first NHL Analytics hire, all the way back in 1995 for the Habs. While things have come a long way since I used an old Sony VHSContinue Reading
December 9, 2022 – It’s bewildering at how so many GM and management teams bemoan the cap age in the NHL. It’s really not rocket science. It’s always been a gamble to make a trade, but it’s still the best way to resolve an issue. First off I like JoshContinue Reading
October 16, 2022 – Early days, but a few interesting trends are appearing for both teams. Toronto is 2-1 with its loss coming vs Montreal. The Habs are 1-2. Toronto has 9 goals for and 8 against. That’s not good for the Leafs. Montreal has 5 goals for and 9Continue Reading
October 13, 2022 – It wasn’t a great game, but it was entertaining. The kids were alright except for Slafkovsky who really needs to get to the AHL and play lots of minutes. Mostly he needs to keep his feet moving. Compared to Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Arber Xhekaj,Continue Reading
October 12, 2022 – It’s that time! First game of the season when all looks optimistic and the dew is fresh. The big question is can the Leafs shake this first round and out that they’ve been enduring? Did they do enough in the off season? This writer thinks not.Continue Reading
October 10, 2022 – There’s a lot of excitement in la belle province as the season kicks off against The Leafs. The Habs didn’t win a pre season game this year, but this scribbler predicts a pounding of Toronto tonight. It’s not that the team is that much better. It’sContinue Reading
OCTOBER 5, 2022 – The problem with lawyers is that while the great ones can prove in court that elephants just might be able to fly; in the real world, when the issue is heinous enough, it doesn’t really matter if elephants can indeed fly or not. In this situationContinue Reading
August 16, 2022 – Yes it’s August. Camps open soon and rosters will still be tinkered with, but we’ve gone through the draft, and the opening of Free Agency. The trade frenzy between and the bottom line is a Toronto team that surely cannot afford another first round drubbing, butContinue Reading
July 13, 2022 – As I sit here pondering whether the Habs under new GM Kent Hughes are doing well or not I’m mulling over their core. Clearly the Habs are not addressing the very real factor that the team needs a few francophone players in their core. Right nowContinue Reading
May 15, 2022 – For Leaf nation it’s essentially like living in the movie Ground Hog Day. A really good team racking up the points during the regular season and failing for the sixth year in a row to move forward. Frankly Leaf fans deserve better. Connor McDavid put onContinue Reading
January 23, 2022 – Kudos to Geoff Molson. The Jeff Gorton & Kent Hughes hires feel good. As someone that was the Habs first Analytics guy and video statographer back in the 90’s it’s great to see the team finally take some strong steps forward with a clear focus toContinue Reading
JANUARY 7, 2022 – GM Ken Holland has to be feeling the pressure. He gambled with the Duncan Keith trade and the signing of Zach Hyman & Cody Ceci while not truly addressing the team’s goaltending issues. The team jumped out to a great start, but now are 2-6-2 inContinue Reading
November 30, 2021 – Many people don’t realize that I actually used to work for the Habs. Way back in the 90’s I was their first real analytics guy during the Rejean Houle/Mario Tremblay days. I actually used a VCR with a shuttle that caught fire to crunch video. SometimesContinue Reading
NOVEMBER 28, 2021 – Omicron and an Anglo hire in Montreal management in the same week. It’s going to be an interesting week and the “le Journal de Montreal” crew will have fun with this, but it’s expected that there will be another hire. Anglo Scott Mellanby resigned from theContinue Reading
NOVEMBER 16, 2021 – What an odd situation the Habs are in. The team is as bad as last year; but for different reasons. Like many pundits I enjoyed the Habs miracle run to the finals, but I’m no wearer of rose coloured glasses. There were no real positives orContinue Reading