More on Tippett's contract extension

From Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News:

Jackson said Tippett has earned that trust. After five seasons with the Stars, he has the best regular season winning percentage (.632) among active NHL coaches and is coming off a playoff where he helped the Stars get to the Western Conference finals.

While Tippett has made the playoffs every season and has won two division titles, it hasn't always been easy for him. He has had regular season losing streaks and playoff failures that have put his job in jeopardy, and that's one reason he takes the contract extension with a grain of salt.

Read the entire article here.

This extension is very well deserved. Tippett has turned the Stars into bona-fide Stanley Cup contenders for this upcoming season.

Dave Tippett signs two-year extension

From the Dallas Morning News:

The Dallas Stars on Monday announced that coach Dave Tippett has been signed to a two-year contract extension through the 2010-11 season.

Tippett was signed to a one-year extension through the 2008-09 season last December.

Read the entire story here.

Word had it that this contract was almost done back in May. So obviously these two sides were just working out minor details. Tippett definitely proved himself to be a playoff capable coach last season and his re-signing is a good move by the Stars franchise.

Dave Tippet yet to sign his extension

From Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News:

"The Dallas Stars confirmed a forthcoming three-year contract extension for coach Dave Tippett on May 23, but the papers have not been signed. The problem is not in the agreement, but in the details, said Stars co-general manager Les Jackson."

Here is the short entry from the Dallas Morning News.

The deal is clearly going to get done, however, this delay does underscore the importance of contract language.

Dave Tippett expected to get contract extension

Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News: "The next major announcement will be an extension for Tippett, who is entering the final year of his contract."

Here is the full article from the Dallas Morning News.

The Stars are showing confidence in their current coach and clearly believe the working relationship between Tippett and their two-GMs is a good one. Continuity in today's sports world is often sacrificed for the "big splash" or "quick fix," however, this move is the right one for the Stars organization in my opinion. Tippett did a terrific job during the regular season as he always does; he then proved his worth even more by leading his team past powerhouses Anaheim and San Jose to reach the Conference Finals. Clearly the Stars expect Tippett to lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals in the next year or two and believe he will continue to be the right man for the job.

NHL Morning Papers: Conference Finals (Friday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the four remaining playoff teams:

Pittsburgh (2) versus Philadelphia (6):

• The Penguins realized how tough it was to play against a desperate Philadelphia squad last night, writes Dave Molinari. A sloppy first period was the Penguins' downfall last night, writes Gene Collier. It is amazing to think that last night's loss was only Pittsburgh's second since the post-season began in early April. On the injury front, Gary Roberts is out of the Penguins line-up for the next little while with a pneumonia.
• Scott Hartnell was the man last night, writes Sam Donnellon. The Flyers finally just shot the puck on net, writes Phil Sheridan. Rich Hofmann believes the Flyers' best chance for a comeback lies in the crease with Martin Biron. The Flyers played last night's game without the injured Braydon Coburn.

Detroit (1) versus Dallas (5):

• Heading into Game 5, the Red Wings want to improve on the power play. Helene St. James believes the Red Wings will finish the job at home in Game 5. Apparently Gary Bettman agrees with the Tomas Holmstrom call in Game 4.
• The Stars think that Game 5 is the perfect time for Marty Turco to break his Mo-town slump, writes Mike Heika. It would probably be a safe bet to assume that Stars coach Dave Tippett will use the same lines in Game 5 as he did at the end of Game 4. Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News warns Marty Turco that there will be just as much Red Wings traffic as ever in Game 5.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

If you have any thoughts, ideas or suggestions email illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Conference Finals (Thursday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the four remaining playoff teams:

Detroit (1) versus Dallas (5):

• The Wings obviously did not want to lose last night, but the loss will serve some good, writes Michael Rosenberg. Mitch Albom clearly did not agree with the referees' decision to disallow a Wings goal because Tomas Holmstrom was allegedly in the crease. It looks like Johan Franzen (concussion) can take a step forward in his rehabilitation process. In other Wings news, the team has signed Swedish goaltender Daniel Larsson to a two-year contract.
• The Stars caught a break with the Holmstrom call last night, writes Brandon George. Stars coach Dave Tippett reunited an old AHL line last night and the decision paid off. It is fair to say that Mike Modano is still the man in Dallas. Meanwhile, Stars owner Tom Hicks has been extremely pleased with the fan reaction to the Stars' recent playoff run.

Pittsburgh (2) versus Philadelphia (6):

• It took a while, but the Marian Hossa trade is sure working out for the Penguins, writes Dave Molinari. Heading into tonight's game, the Penguins want to make sure they do not get ahead of themselves. Let's be honest, who expected the Penguins to be this dominant in the playoffs?
• The Penguins defense has been the story of this series, writes Rich Hofmann. The Flyers can still comeback in this series, writes Ed Barkowitz. Barkowitz's optimism is curbed by the fact that every time the Flyers have been down 3-0 in a series, they have lost. Meantime, it appears some people are selling counterfeit Conference Finals tickets.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers--Conference Finals!

My apologies for the delay in getting these posted, but my sleep was more important. If you wanna crown my ass for that, then go ahead and crown it. I am who I thought I was. And that is lazy.

Eastern Finals

Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia

---Setting a new record for putting the cart before the horse, Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette says it’s not too early for the Pens to be talking sweep.

---According to someone smarter than Ron Cook, Bob Smizik resisted the urge to make bold outlandish predictions, and instead said that the best two players on the ice last night were Gene Malkin and Sid Crosby.

---Yet another columnist smarter than Ron Cook, Shelly Anderson astutely pointed out that the Flyers have much experience in these playoffs responding to 1-0 deficits.

---Tim Panaccio of the Philly Inquirer, says that the Flyers knew how important it was to play a clean, turnover free game, and in not doing so, they ended up losing.

---Ray Parrillo of the Inquirer seems to be calling out for a replay of the Bobby Clarke-Valeri Kharmalov slash from the 1972 Summit Series, in saying that the Flyers were unable to stop Malkin last night.

---Phil Sheridan said that the emotion the Flyers used as momentum to begin the game, only took them far enough to lose last night, and at some point, skill overtakes emotion.

Western Finals

Detroit vs. Dallas

---JJ Taylor of the Dallas Morning News reports that Stars head coach Dave Tippett has scrapped his game 1 defensive pairings and is going back to the drawing board to find the right mix.

---Mike Heika has all the intricate news and notes hockey junkies crave in his game-day notebook.

---In an impressive bit of ironic writing, Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press, says that “Hockeytown is back” because there were higher TV ratings and fewer empty seats at a CONFERENCE FINALS PLAYOFF GAME, then there had been at previous years.

---For all those who have been demanding more information about Wings D-man Niklas Kronwall, Helene St. James has the goods for us all.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Drew Mindell

If you have any thoughts, questions or ideas, please post them in the Comments!

NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Pierre Lebrun of the Canadian Press tells us that scoring is down in the NHL for the second season in a row.
• Here are some news and notes courtesy of the National Post.
• Brett Hull and Les Jackson have been named interim co-general managers of the Stars after Tom Hicks fired Doug Armstrong on Tuesday.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News reviews the tenure of Doug Armstrong in this morning's paper. Meanwhile, it appears that coach Dave Tippett's job is safe, for this season at least. Here is a Q & A with Stars' long-time beat writer Mike Heika.
• The Ducks were resilient last night after blowing a two-goal third period lead to the Kings, and ended up winning the game 4-3 in a shootout.
• The Flames got their first win in the month of November after coming from behind against the Wild for a 3-2 home victory. Miikka Kiprusoff made a number of crucial saves to lead the Flames to the victory last night.
• Patrick Lalime will be the starting netminder tonight for the Hawks versus the Blue Jackets.
• If the Blue Jackets are to make the playoffs, they can't put it on auto-pilot on some nights like most teams can. Jackets' center Mike Peca will miss tonight's game and may be out a bit longer with a lingering groin injury. Here are the Jackets' probable lines for tonight's game.
• Defenseman Jeff Finger has been a pleasant surprise for the Avalance this season.
• Red Wings' netminder Dominik Hasek gave up four second period goals and was subsequently pulled as the Wings were defeated by the Blues 4-3 on Tuesday night.
• It looks like much-maligned Oilers' off-season acquisition Dustin Penner is finally finding his stride in the Albteran capital. Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun wonders why fans of the Oilers aren't sold on Shawn Horcoff.
• The Kings almost pulled off another amazing comeback last night but fell short 4-3 in a shootout in Anaheim. Here is another article on the possible comebacks of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne.
• The Wild uncharacteristically gave up a third period lead to the Flames last night and were on the losing end of a 3-2 final. According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, Marian Gaborik's groin seems to be improving and the Wild winger is shooting to return tomorrow night in Edmonton.
• The Predators offense has turned around, but that is no thanks to their defense which has struggled to put up points on the board all season writes Jessica Hopp of the Tennessean.
• The Coyotes play the Sharks for the third time in a row tomorrow night and coach Wayne Gretzky desperately wants to avoid a three-game losing streak for his young club.
• Sandis Ozolinsh has been a pleasant surprise for the Sharks organizaton so far this season writes Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News.
• The Blues ended their slump last night with a win over a dominating Detroit team and that should give the team some confidence says Keith Tkachuk. Of note, defenseman Jay McKee was a healthy scratch for last night's contest.
• Luc Bourdon has been playing more minutes than the Canucks expected but has been handling it quite well opines Jim Jamieson of the Vancouver Province.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Leafs just can't win a game once it goes to overtime or a shootout writes Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. The Leafs lost more than just a game last night according to Damien Cox of the Toronto Star.
• Johan Holmqvist is sick of hearing all about the Lightning's goaltending troubles writes Carter Gaddis of the Tampa Tribune.
• Sidney Crosby leads by example and the superstar is not about to hit the panic button in Pittsburgh after the team's slow start. The Pens have recalled youngster Kris Letang form Wilkes-Barre.
• "Maybe there is a little improvement, but I am having a little dizziness," said Simon Gagne about his ongoing concussion issues. If it's any consolation, Eric Lindros feels Gagne's pain.
• Jason Spezza is ready to return to the lineup, however, there are no guarantees that he is going to slide right back into his slot on the number one line writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. Dany Heatley became a set-up man with Spezza on the mend, but you can expect the sniper to get back to scoring goals now that the team's number one center is primed to return.
• Here are the details of Islanders' owner Charles Wang's vision for a new arena on Long Island.
• Sean Avery's teammates claim he never said what Howard Berger of the Fan 590 in Toronto claims he did.
• The Rangers make their first appearance at "The Rock" tonight in Newark writes Mark Everson of the NY Post. Martin Brodeur would love nothing better than to win his 500th game at home and have the victory come against the rival Rangers.
• Mike Komisarek scored the overtime winner, however, the star of the game was Carey Price who turned aside 37 of the 40 shots he faced.
• There are losses, then there are disheartening losses, and last night's game for the Panthers definitely falls under the latter category. After blowing a 2-1 lead with 2.5 seconds remaining and then losing right away in overtime, defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said, "It's pretty disheartening. …We had it at the end of the game and couldn't put it away."
• Pending some test results, it appears that Hurricanes' winger Erik Cole has avoided serious injury, although don't expect the winger to be in the lineup for the rest of the week.
• Sabres' management is not going to hit the panic button after a tough start to the season writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• Altanta's season has taken 180 from the beginning of October writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.The Thrashers are expecting Kari Lehtonen to be back practicing with the club sometime next week.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.