Follow @swhynoEnlarge PhotoLondon Knights captain Jarred Tinordi is a huge reason why his team is in the Memorial Cup final. (Craig Glover/Special to The Washington Times)Mike Stancik played for the Washington Little Capitals from 2001-2003 when they were coached by ex-Caps defenseman Mark Tinordi. He remembers practice goalie Jarred Tinordi very well.“He was three years younger than us, but he can definitely still skate with us,” Stancik recalled. “Looking back I probably should’ve known something was going to happen, especially if he got his dad’s height.”Height and then some. Dad is 6-foot-4; son is 6-foot-7 and was a first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2010 draft. On Sunday, Tinordi will captain Dale Hunter’s London Knights in the final of the Memorial Cup, junior ... Continue reading →

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Tomas Vokoun made it clear after the Washington Capitals' season ended that he won't be back next season."I wasn't plan on being back here anyways," he said May 14. "For me, it was never intention to be here more than a year."That makes Vokoun an unrestricted free agent July 1. And while a report surfaced May 14 that he was considering signing with the new Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, that will not happen."Tomas Vokoun has decided not to accept an offer from a KHL team at the present time," his agent, Allan Walsh, wrote on Twitter Friday. "He is solely focused on playing in the NHL next year."Vokoun, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Caps last season, chose ... Continue reading →

Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesJohn Tortorella can be intense and strong-willed but he has been that way since his youth. By the time John Tortorella came to the University of Maine, he had long established a reputation oversized for a 5-7, barely 145-pound athlete, summed up by his coach as, “Don’t fool with him.” The coach, Jack Semler, took the measure of what he had and stuck him right by the goalie’s crease on power plays. There, every game, Tortorella absorbed a bombardment of pucks and the constant cross-checks to the back by more imposing players. He was a disruption to the opposition and a rallying symbol for his own team — the one who might be battered and scarred but would not budge. One night, finally, ... Continue reading →

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Washington Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth leaves the game after being injured when Florida Panthers left wing Marco Sturm crashes into him in the second period in Washington on Thursday, April 5, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)Michal Neuvirth was going to be the man, without question. Braden Holtby knew it in early April.“If I get in, I get in. If I get asked to play, I'm going to play with everything I have and make sure I'm prepared to go,” Holtby said April 4. “If I don't get asked, I'm going to do the best to be the best teammate and give as much support to Neuvy as I can.”Then came the next night, when Marco Sturm fell awkwardly on Neuvirth's hip and knocked him out ... Continue reading →