SB Nation - Brian Elliott

Todd McLellan: Master Of The Unwitting Backhanded Compliment

Bill Hanstock — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:30:11 -0000

The San Jose Sharks will take on the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. Sharks head coach Todd McLellan proved on Tuesday that he is an unparalleled master of trash-talk ... even if he may not know it.

Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area spoke with McLellan on Tuesday. One of the topics of conversation that came up was the uncertainty about who would be in the net for the Blues in Game 1. Both Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have a chance to start at goalie against the Sharks. McLellan offered up this interesting -- and telling -- take on the situation - make the jump for it.

"[It’s] a little bit like the [Mark] Sanchez - [Tim] Tebow situation in New York, two very good quarterbacks that both want to play," McLellan said, referring to football's Jets. "I guess the trick there is figuring out who the team is comfortable playing in front of, and playing that guy. Sometimes, it’s a hard thing for a coach to do."

I can only assume that McLellan, being Canadian, has never watched an "American-rules football" game in his life and has only heard that there's some sort of ruckus involving two dynamite, boffo, superstar quarterbacks in that crazy old Big Apple that people won't stop talking about.

But oh man, calling Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow "very good quarterbacks" and comparing the Blues goalies to them? Double-burn. Double ice-burn. That's low, McLellan. There's putting the foil on and then there's this. If either Elliott or Halak were American -- and thus had any context whatsoever of this "football's Jets" business -- you can bet they would be so steamed.

For all news and information regarding the San Jose Sharks, please visit Fear the Fin.

NHL All-Star Breakaway Challenge Video: Corey Perry Scores With Miniature Stick

Eric Stephen — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:08:32 -0000

Reigning NHL MVP Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks had a fun moment on All-Star Saturday night during the skills challenge in Ottawa. As part of Team Chara in the Breakaway Challenge, Perry brought the crowd to its feet with a bit of showmanship against St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott.

Perry stopped on the ice, ditched his gloves and stick, and pulled out a miniature stick from his pants and proceeded his march toward the goal as the crowd roared, then scored past Elliott using his tiny weapon.

Perry, who led the NHL with 50 goals last season en route to winning the Hart Memorial Trophy, has 22 goals and 17 assists in 48 games for Anaheim this season. The Ducks got off to a horrible start, but are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

For all news and information regarding Ducks hockey, please visit Anaheim Calling. For complete coverage of the NHL All-Star weekend, check out SB Nation's dedicated NHL hub.

Sidney Crosby Named NHL's First Star In Week Of Return

Charlie Wilmoth — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:55:24 -0000

Sidney Crosby has won the honor of being the NHL's first star of the week, Chris Johnson reports. Crosby made a stunning comeback after returning from a nearly-year-long absence spent recovering from concussion symptoms.

He returned last Monday against the New York Islanders and scored two goals and two assists, demonstrating all the flash and grace Penguins fans have grown to expect from him. He went scoreless in the Pens' overtime loss to the Blues on Wednesday, but he tallied three assists as the Pens beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Friday, and he had another assist in the Pens' overtime win over the Montreal Candiens on Saturday. So that's four games, two goals, six assists, and a +7. And a massively-exciting 3-0-1 week for the Penguins.

Canucks goalie Cory Schneider and Blues goalie Brian Elliott were the second and third stars, respectively.

Via Emptynetters.

For more on the Penguins, check out PensBurgh.

Craig Anderson Signs Four-Year Deal With Ottawa Senators

Muzia — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:49:15 -0000

Former Colorado Avalanche goalie (and former future savior) Craig Anderson has officially signed a four year contract with the Ottawa Senators worth $12.75 million. Anderson was traded at the deadline from Colorado after a disappointing season for goalie Brian Elliott. The Senators picked Anderson up -- even though they were far from contention -- as an audition for the future. After an exclamation mark debut with Ottawa (a 47-save shutout against Toronto), it appears they have decided he's their goalie of the future.

Why is this news? Well, rumors abound that Anderson refused a two year, $7.5 million contract extension from Colorado last offseason because he was looking for a bigger paycheck. His play in Denver this season was uninspired (to put it lightly), and now it seems he has finally found a home. TSN's Bob McKenzie remarks that the cap hit for this contract is $3.187 million per year, not a small price for an Ottawa team mired in a rebuild but with substantial cap commitments for their future. Even worse, Anderson's play of late has pulled Ottawa out of the running for one of the top draft selections in the upcoming draft -- further stagnating their rebuild.

Have they found the goalie that will take them to the promised land? Anderson's career numbers have been fairly inconsistent and he is certainly playing over his head at the moment. It's a very risky investment for Ottawa, but Anderson's gamble seems to have paid off.

Just be glad that Colorado didn't offer a similar contract last year.