You may have noticed some issues connecting to Spector’s Hockey leading up to, and including, the 2015 NHL Draft. Here’s an explanation of what happened.

Put simply, we encountered server issues which our now-former host was slow to address. When they did, they failed to suitably address the issues. That led to ongoing slowdowns in loading the site, to the point at times it was unavailable.

Our site manager addressing our recent server issues.

This, of course, was unacceptable for me and my site manager. Over the past two years, our site had been occasionally knocked offline because of host server issues, which not only affected our site but hundreds of thousands of others. We are patient folks here at Spector’s Hockey, but the recent issues and seemingly indifferent attitude of our former host server company, coming at one of the busiest points in the year for us, was the last straw.

Rather than put up with the ongoing connection issues, we made the decision to change servers and move to another company. We would’ve preferred doing so later this summer when things were quieter, but we couldn’t risk these ongoing issues affecting not just our work and revenue, but also testing the patience of you, our faithful readers.

I will spare you all the details, but suffice to say, it was a weekend from hell. Trying to maintain coverage of the NHL Draft, including several notable trades of established NHL players, whilst migrating our site to a different host company was an exhausting experience spread over two days. Fortunately, our new hosts were very accommodating and did all they could to assist us. As of Sunday, June 28, 2015, the migration is complete and things seem to be running better than ever.

We apologize to our readers for any inconvenience our recent site issues may have caused you. Indeed, I want to thank you for continuing to support us during the past three days. Our traffic was scarcely affected, and when it was, it was because of the issues caused by our former host. Spector’s Hockey exists because of the support of hockey fans like you. You’ve made it possible for me to continue my dream as a freelance NHL columnist. I am forever grateful to you all.

So, let’s hope we have put our recent site issues behind us. Let’s get on with enjoying the upcoming frenzy of NHL free agency and the ongoing intrigue of the trade rumors. Here’s to a great summer for all of us.

Sincerely,

Lyle Richardson and Corey Poulton

Spector’s Hockey.