Stop the presses! The Edmonton Oilers have won a game in 2010! I guess it wasn't the New Year they didn't like; just the month of January. On the very first day of February, the Oil calmed the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2.
Can Pat Quinn's troubled team make it two in a row? It won't be easy. The Philadelphia Flyers are next on the Oilers' schedule. The two clubs meet on Wednesday. Philly arrives after blanking a disinterested Calgary Flames club, 3-0, last night. Of course, the Flames didn't know who was coming or going as they prepared for that tilt.
To honor the Oilers, I'm ready to take a quick dive into the mailbag. And, I'm going to start in my own backyard.
E.J., will my Rangers ever be rid of Glen Sather? -- Eric, New York
To read Hradek's response about Sather's future, plus his take on the new-look Maple Leafs and what his sources suggest may be the next big move for the Anaheim Ducks, you must be an ESPN Insider.
E.J. Hradek
Senior Writer, ESPN The MagazineABOUT THIS BLOG
E.J. Hradek
E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.
In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.
Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.
