Here are the links from around the hockey world, and what I’m reading while being satisfied with the way “Fear the Walking Dead” ended on Sunday night. It improved as the season went along, and finished pretty strong. Strand is a potentially great character.
*Interesting interview with Mike Babcock from MacLean’s in which he talks about the different ways to motivate players on a team.
*Good piece from CSN colleague Kevin Kurz about a guy in Raffi Torres who doesn’t seem to get it just as he was getting people on his side.
*Stephen Brunt asks if we’ll understand what makes Connor McDavid tick. I’ll ask another question: can we actually see him play in the NHL before we start mythologizing him? He’s an 18-year-old kid. What makes him tick at this point probably isn’t exactly a complex formula that will require Good Will Hunting to solve.
*Good piece about Boston TV legend Bob Lobel and how the use of medicinal marijuana has been a godsend in his life.
*According to this PHT report, the NHL will be going into the season without testing the coach’s challenge system. I’d heard that the league was rushing to get everything in place for opening night, so there could be some flies in the ointment early in the season.
*A bunch of NHL predictions from FOH (Friend of Haggs) Frank Seravalli including that Claude Julien will be the first coach fired in the NHL this season.
Boston Bruins
*Solid bling for the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks as the Cup rings get more and more ostentatious.
*For something completely different: This has got to be a sign that the End of Days is coming. Baby-faced men are opting for beard transplants so they can look like every other bearded hipster wannabe on the street corner. This might be the lamest thing I’ve read in years. Here's some advice: If you wait long enough you'll be able to grow a beard. Trust me. Just because you don't look like Tom Hanks from Castaway in your 20s doesn't mean you need facial hair implantation.