A question that has come up a few times is whether big players tend to have an advantage when taking faceoffs. There is a certain logic to the idea that they do: after all, bigger, stronger players should be able to outmuscle their smaller counterparts in the faceoff circle. The data, however, suggests something…
Meandering around the internets the other day, I came across a compelling article by Steven Reiss, an Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Ohio State University. It was his opening statement that caught my attention:
I’ve noticed a funny thing about teams with problems: pretty much every time, there’s a rather large outcry from a certain segment of the fanbase that the head coach has lost the room, can’t motivate his players, is too critical, is too soft, or something else of that nature. Ron Wilson is not an exception.
Say what you will about the struggles of the parent club, or about its general manager, Brian Burke, but the Leafs’ minor-league goaltending might be the best of any team in the National Hockey League.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs’ recent decision to waive Jeff Finger and assign him to the AHL’s Marlies, and Sheldon Souray’s continuing presence in the minors, it’s been suggested that the Leafs and the Oilers might be able to help each other out by swapping expensive defencemen.
