| Last updated at 12:44 AM on 24/02/07 |
|
Lyle Richardson has been operating his website Spectorshockey.net about the NHL for the past nine years.
Guardian photo by Dave Stewart |
|
|
The truth about Rumours 
Website operated by P.E.I. man must read for NHL insiders
DAVE STEWART
The Guardian
Charlottetown’s Lyle Richardson knows hockey fans around the world are counting on him to deliver.
Between now and Tuesday, the retired Canadian Forces soldier doesn’t plan on getting much sleep as he monitors each and every National Hockey League trade rumour.
Rumours pretty much consume his everyday life now. He operates the Spectorshockey.net website, a site that gets hundreds of thousands of hits every day around the world. A large portion of the site is devoted to trade rumours and his analysis of what is reported.
He gets up every morning around 7 o’clock, puts the coffee on and hunkers down in his Kensington Road basement for the better part of the day.
As the trade deadline approaches in the NHL on Feb. 27, Richardson might get three hours sleep each night, waiting patiently each night to see what teams on the West Coast do.
Richardson does more than simply operate the Spector’s site. He also talks hockey on two American radio shows each week.
“I started posting opinions on the AOL message board in the mid-1990s, just talking about hockey. I was in a debate with another hockey fan and he said ‘if you know so much why don’t you start up your own website’. So, I did,’’ said the married 44-year-old father of a 16-year-old son.
When he started Spectorshockey.net in 1998, he was getting 25 hits a day, a hit being one unique visit to his website. Now, he gets just short of 200,000 hits a month.
Each morning he reads every online newspaper in each of the 30 NHL markets, posts trade rumours as reported by those papers and inserts his analysis. His website is now considered a must-read for NHL reporters as well as current and former NHL players.
“I visit the site on a daily basis,’’ says Erik Erlendsson, the reporter who covers the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Tampa Tribune. “What I appreciate about his site is he responds to rumours and doesn’t just spread them.’’
Paul Kukla, who writes for the NHL’s website, said he makes at least two stops every day on Richardson’s site to make sure he hasn’t missed anything.
“He breaks it down the way it should be,’’ Kukla said in a telephone interview from Detroit. “None of this anonymous rumour stuff. He gives us the chance to make our own opinions. He gives us both sides of the story and let’s us decide and that’s what I feel a true hockey fan should do.’’
Former NHL goaltender Gary Simmons said Richardson’s writing is among the best online when it comes to hockey. Simmons played for the California Golden Seals and Los Angeles Kings in the 1970s.
“Lyle is right on the money most times when he analyses trades, player movements and team strategies,’’ Simmons said from his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. “It is easy to tell by his articles that he has studied hockey, especially the NHL at great length.’’
Richardson, a native of Carleton, N.S., began following hockey as a child, mesmerized by Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr. He switched allegiances in 1971 when another legend, goaltender Ken Dryden, debuted with the Montreal Canadiens.
Richardson joined the military in 1980, living in towns and cities from one end of Canada (and Alaska) to the other. He served on two Canadian navy ships. He was stationed on the HMCS Terra Nova and Huron during the first Persian Gulf War.
He also spent some time serving with the famous Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). His military career would take him to 27 different countries. His last posting was with 721 Communications Regiment in Charlottetown in 2001. He retired in 2006.
When his career monitoring NHL trade rumours took off, he decided it was time to take the military uniform off.
Not long after his life as Spector (his username on the AOL message boards) began, Scott Wilson with Fox TV Sports in the U.S. gave him a call, impressed with what he saw.
Richardson was soon writing columns and operating a blog on Fox’s website, a task he maintains today.
“I remember lying in bed with my wife one night. I said to her ‘don’t ask me to explain it but I have a feeling this could lead to something’,’’ he said to his wife, Tina.
Richardson said he doesn’t spend every waking moment in front of his computer. He said a book on writing tips from legendary author Stephen King really hit home with him.
“Here’s a guy who is the greatest writer of our generation. He said ‘don’t let writing consume you to the point where you shut your family out’.’’
As for trade rumours, at least two U.S. newspapers reported recently the Lightning might move Murray Harbour native, Brad Richards to Chicago for goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin who tended nets for the Bolts when they won the Stanley Cup in 2004.
“No, no, no, not going to happen,’’ Richardson said. “(Richards) is carrying too much salary and not a lot of teams have that much room under the cap. And who would be Chicago’s No. 1? Patrick Lalime? Brian Boucher? Not a chance.’’
|
1
