Dave Feschuk

1 month ago | thespec.com | Dave Feschuk

The Raptors did it again Saturday. Engaged in a tight home game with the Washington Wizards, they stared blankly into the eyes of competitive integrity and brazenly spat in its face. The Raptors have done this more than once lately, turning crunch time into a developmental exercise. And if head coach Darko Rajakovic has passed it off as a crucial learning opportunity, which sounds plausible, here’s what’s for sure: It’s also blatant tanking — albeit not particularly successful tanking.

1 month ago | thespec.com | Kerry Gillespie |Dave Feschuk

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has drawn rave reviews for finally providing decent salaries and benefits for players, a quality television broadcast for fans and a fast, physical game that’s thrilling players and fans alike. It has also brought in the most visible rule change in decades: bodychecking in the women’s game, which now exists at the highest level of the sport but nowhere else in Canada.

1 month ago | thespec.com | Dave Feschuk

Acquiring Brandon Carlo, the six-foot-five right-shot defenceman, was the latest in what has become an annual deadline attempt to find a suitable partner for Morgan Rielly. And though Carlo arrives in the tradition of Luke Schenn and Ilya Lyubushkin, who have been brought in to play alongside Toronto’s top-paid defenceman, the 28-year-old Carlo, a career member of Toronto’s archnemeses in Boston who has played in a Stanley Cup final, has a chance to be Rielly’s best running mate in years.

1 month ago | thespec.com | Kerry Gillespie |Dave Feschuk

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has drawn rave reviews for finally providing decent salaries and benefits for players, a quality television broadcast for fans and a fast, physical game that’s thrilling players and fans alike. It has also brought in the most visible rule change in decades: bodychecking in the women’s game, which now exists at the highest level of the sport but nowhere else in Canada.

1 month ago | hamiltonnews.com | Dave Feschuk

For all the talk of Craig Berube’s great work transforming the Maple Leafs into a more playoff-worthy club, here’s the truth about his team in the lead-up to Friday’s trade deadline: They’re not very impressive defensively. To which a nitpicker might say: What the heck are you talking about? The Leafs were 11th in the NHL in goals against per game Tuesday morning, when the stats in this column were compiled. That put them top third of the league, more or less.