Is there a Hockey News cover curse?

Upon learning of Teemu Selanne taking a puck to the face and gruesomely losing teeth, THN managing editor Edward Fraser and I immediately said “cover curse.”

Upon learning of Teemu Selanne taking a puck to the face and losing teeth – 

see it here, torture porn aficionados – THN managing editor Edward Fraser and I immediately said “cover curse.”

The ‘Finnish Flash’ is the subject of an in-depth story by Ken Campbell and happens to grace the current cover of our magazine. Are THN’s covers cursed? We joke about it in the office, but let’s speculate no longer and evaluate the fates of this season’s cover boys:



Volume 67, Issue 1: Jonathan Toews Scored a hat trick last night. Doing just fine. COVER CURSE: 0 MYTH: 1

Issue 2: Daniel Alfredsson, Bobby Ryan, David Clarkson While inconsistent, Alfie has been useful enough to the Wings. Ryan is scoring at a 41-goal pace. Two outta three ain’t bad. COVER CURSE: 0 MYTH: 2



Issue 3: David Clarkson He started the season on a 10-game suspension. This one’s as black and white as it gets. COVER CURSE: 1 MYTH: 2

Issue 4: Detroit Red Wings Detroit lost Jonathan Ericsson to a shoulder injury, Darren Helm can’t get healthy and the Wings have lost as many games as they’ve won this season. COVER CURSE: 2 MYTH: 2



Issue 5: Sidney Crosby The league’s leading scorer. If there’s a cover curse here, it’s Opposite Day, and the last time I checked, it wasn’t

January 25. COVER CURSE: 2 MYTH: 3

Issue 6: Drew Doughty It’s more or less status quo for Doughty and the Kings, who haven’t blown us away but look perfectly solid. COVER CURSE: 2 MYTH: 4



Issue 7: Jason Spezza Spezza is a minus-6 and his team is struggling, but he’s averaging more than a point per game, so calling him individually cursed would be a stretch. COVER CURSE: 2 MYTH: 5

Issue 8: Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer The night before we closed this issue, Reimer was knocked out of a game with a head injury and Bernier allowed a

ridiculous fluke goal in relief. We thought the hex was on, but the tandem has sizzled since, especially Reimer. COVER CURSE: 2 MYTH: 6

Issue 9: Teemu Selanne (top photo) The injury doesn’t appear serious, but we can’t ignore Teemu being shelved as soon as the mag hits newsstands. COVER CURSE: 3 MYTH: 6 The verdict? While the myth isn’t quite debunked, it doesn’t appear a THN cover curse is terrorizing the league. We’ll check back later this season.