Illegal Curve Hockey

Categories: Afternoon Delight

Afternoon Delight: Two veterans hang up the skates

Jeremy Roenick has decided to call it a career. He will always be remembered as number 27 on the Chicago Blackhawks. During his prime, he was one of the most exciting and charasmatic players in the entire NHL. Give Roenick credit for taking on a lesser role in San Jose and signing with that team to try and win the Stanley Cup he never could capture. He has a job at NBC/TSN/VERSUS/CBC waiting for him…
Teppo Numminen of the Buffalo Sabres has also called it a career. I may be partial, but Numminen was one of my all-time favorites. He was highly underrated during the prime of his career and was always a responsible player at both ends of the ice. The fact that he flew under the radar in terms of the media does not mean he flew under the radar in NHL circles. Players who played against this guy knew how good he was. To me though, Numminen’s class off the ice set him apart from many players. He was the true definition of a professional.
If you’ve missed it, over at Puck Prospectus, my colleague Tom Awad has done a terrific job explaining his new GVT statistic. Part one, part two and part three. Tom has done some terrific work coming up with this statistic and this explanation gives you an inside look at how he comes to figuring out such a complicated idea.
Kevin Cheveldayoff has been hired by the Chicago Blackhawks to assist GM Stan Bowman. He had done a terrific job with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves for a while now, so this hire was long overdue in my opinion. Props to the Hawks for being the team to recognize his managerial talents.
Sean Avery hasn’t been in the news in a while, so here you go. I, for one, didn’t miss him.
Finally, Patrick Eaves has been signed to a one-year deal with Detroit. A useful player along the boards, who isn’t afraid to mix it up. Nothing wrong with this signing by Ken Holland.