"I'm as ready as I can be," said Hill, a Duluth native who denies he used steroids last season while playing for the Islanders. "Obviously there are times when I'm a bit rusty, and maybe my timing won't be where it should be, but I think we've done everything we can as far as preparing, and the rest of the stuff's going to come the more I play."
Buffalo News: Bucky Gleason credits Garth Snow as having done a very good job when talking about Brett Hull coming in as a novice to the interim gm role who will not do the job in tandem with Les Jackson.
Hull could wind up being precisely what the Stars need. People snickered — guilty! — when backup goalie Garth Snow suddenly became the New York Islanders’ general manager, but he’s done a very good job.
TSN's Mike Milbury called Hull's appointment an insult to all NHL gm's in Globe and Mail
NYI Fan Central Comments:
Milbury's comments make no sense here to me. Snow has a business background but in terms of knowing the league and the players it's hard to see any difference between Snow and Hull who both have long experience unless this is about how hard Hull lobbied for his contracts which is his right. Snow and Hull were both very outspoken as players as was Mike Milbury.
Toronto Sun: Lance Hornsby points to the Islanders hiring Garth Snow as an example of a direction Toronto could go in if they make a change and bring in a former player with no experience.
If MLSEL looks close to home, it has old-school assistant GM Mike Penny and newcomers Jeff Jackson and Doug Gilmour. Hey, experience meant nothing when the New York Islanders fast-tracked Garth Snow, who brushed off the mockingbirds, made the playoffs and remains neck and neck with Ferguson's Leafs.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
When you lose a playoff spot to a team the final week and only lead them by one point with five more games played, it's advantage Islanders. Especially with the no movement clauses Toronto has locked in with a Bryan McCabe and far less cap space.
Halifax Daily News: Pat Connolly in a sports column that mentions hockey give the nod to Ted Nolan for the best NHL coaching job over the first two months of the season with Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins.