THW's Sunday Substack - Best of the Archives
A Sunday Archives Edition of The Hockey Writers Substack
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Sunday from the Archives
In today’s edition, three NEW free substacks, a trip to the archives with thoughts on the Gary Bettman era for the NHL, the top goal scorers in Flyers history, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff:.
3 New Free THW Substacks: News & Rumors, Hockey History, Prospects
On top of 23 team substacks, THW now has three more to add to the list. There is much more to come from THW with the Substack platform.
The NHL and Gary Bettman: 25+ Years of Progress and Controversy
September 9, 2023 by Eugene Helfrick
Gary Bettman gets booed when he speaks. A lot. He is the public face behind the decision not to allow NHL players to participate in the 2018 Olympics. When an owner wants public funds used to finance a new arena, Bettman makes the case in the media. He has led the NHL to three lockouts and supported the league to expand into non-traditional hockey markets with mixed results.
He has also been behind new television deals, expanded access to the game, and masterminded new events. As the NHL Commissioner, he represents the owners of NHL teams. Yet, from the moment he took office in 1993 to the present day, NHL fans have been keen to show their distaste.
Flyers’ Top 20 Goal Scorers All-Time
September 8, 2023 by Colin Newby
Founded in 1967, the Philadelphia Flyers have been one of hockey’s most successful franchises over the last half-century. They have the third-highest all-time points percentage among NHL teams, trailing only the Montreal Canadiens and the Vegas Golden Knights, a team that has yet to play three full seasons. This is the Flyers’ 53rd season. The Flyers have also won two Stanley Cups and were the first expansion team to win the Cup. Clearly, such a successful organization has had its fair share of goalscorers. Here are the Flyers’ top 20 all-time.
Top-5 Ukrainians in NHL History
September 9, 2023 by Nathaniel Oliver
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the NHL has found player representation from many countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. 1994 saw the first Russian-born players win the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers, and they have won Cups ever since. Additionally, Latvians, Lithuanians, and Belorussians have found names for themselves in North American rinks over the seasons.
There is one country though that we North Americans have at times wrongfully attributed or grouped its players as being Russian, when they are not. We are talking about the Ukrainians of the NHL.
The Day the Mark Messier Era Ended in New York
September 6, 2023 by THW Archives
A decade of futility for the New York Rangers that started in the late 1990s began with one event in July 1997. It wasn’t a game the Rangers lost, a trade they made, or a free agent they signed (although there would be many to follow). No, the day that led to seven straight non-playoff seasons for the Broadway Blueshirts was the day their captain walked away.
When Mark Messier signed with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent in the summer of 1997, it closed the book on one of the most successful eras in Rangers’ history. Although Messier’s first tour of duty in New York only lasted six seasons (he would return for four more seasons from 2000-04), he became a legendary figure in New York.
We hope you enjoyed today’s THW Substack, a Sunday from the Archives, and we hope you enjoy our experimenting with the THW Substack Sunday edition. Stay tuned for THW Daily as it continues tomorrow and beyond. Cheers!
Thanks for the welcome; I'm absolutely loving the Substack!
Regarding Bettman. I have never been a fan, but hockey, on the whole, has become way too commercialized, I guess after salaries started going into the stratosphere, but with the actual product on the ice, the descent started with the ads on the boards - I absolutely hate them! But a new low was reached when my beloved Habs started sporting RBC logos on the jerseys. It is just too much.
I like the idea of expanding into non-traditional markets, but not at the expense of Canadian teams (Quebec to Denver, Winnipeg to Atlanta). How does a failed market like Atlanta rate, not one, but two failed chances in the NHL, and Quebec City is shut out? I'm waiting for the day when the Pensacola Piranhas relocate as the Brownsville Station Boars, and then the Pensacola Parcheesies reappear and play out of the Black & Decker Hedge Trimmer Arena. Cynically? Yes, but more realistic than not.
I also like the Flyers' stats stories and the Uke players as well and hope you will do more of these. I would love to read some stats on recently gone teams like the Oakland / California Seals and Minnesota (not Dallas) North Stars.
Being of the Polish persuasion, I would love to read more about Polski NHLers, both born there and here with Polish heritage. I always thought Gretzky considered himself of Polish ancestry - and maybe he is? Substack can find out.
Thanks again for the great stuff!!