Busy Behind The Scenes

The NHL free agency frenzy continues. There's a whole bunch of blogs and websites covering all that action. I'm sure you all have your favorites and by now have formed some pretty strong opinions about all the goings on.

The only thing I will add is this: It sure will be nice to see Darcy Hordichuk and Nolan Baumgartner at the Stanley Cup victory parade next year in Vancouver. Good lord, the Canucks fired Dave Nonis for this? There was all that talk from ownership and new GM Mike Gillis about how the old regime was not willing to make bold moves to get the Canucks to the next level. At least Nonis brought in Roberto Luongo in a ridiculously lopsided trade. So far Gillis has brought in absolutely nothing to improve the Canucks scoring woes.

As I said before this week is about the future of hockey, and Greatest Hockey Legends.com, the hockey history website, is about the past. Therefore it is tough to compete for page views this week. I have been pleasantly surprised that readership has remained steady here in the first week of July. A big thank you to all you loyal readers.

Rest assured, I have been extremely busy this week, even though most of my work has yet to hit the front page. I'm sure Mike Gillis is saying the same thing.

Over at Hockey Book Reviews.com I have exciting news about three more publishers on board. I have complete successful negotiations with Wiley, Heritage House and Lorimer and all their upcoming books will be previewed, reviewed and promoted this fall. Wiley and Lorimer are also supplying me with a few previous titles to review immediately. It looks like I can finally hit the camp site armed with new books to read.

Here at Greatest Hockey Legends.com I have added 19 new profiles in the past three days, almost all of them from the NHL's earliest days and many even pre-dating the NHL. I will be highlighting them over time, but if you're curious be sure to check out the Montreal Canadiens Greatest Players page and Ottawa Senators Greatest Players page, with particular attention to the original Senators. Also, check out the Other Notable Teams section for three Montreal Wanderers.

Here's a few teases for you regarding the newest profiles:

- Queen Elizabeth thought this role player was the best player in all of hockey.

- "Cannonball" was the first French-Canadian hockey star.

- This player studied and practiced medicine while continuing to star in hockey.

Stay tuned. This weekend I take a look at hockey's unlikely connection with Wimbledon.