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Parity Makes this Year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs the Most Competitive in Decades.

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

In a pretty exciting hockey game on Monday night, the Boston Bruins held on to beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1. Not that this game had anything particularly notable about it, it was simply another indication that this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs are probably the closest we’ve witnessed in a long, long time.

Before the playoffs began, I was on the FAN 960 in Calgary asking Mike Richards, “What constitutes an upset this year?” I suppose you could say a Nashville win over Chicago in the opening round, but don’t forget one thing. At the end of the regular season, the No. 2 Blackhawks had 112 points while the No. 7 Predators had 100. To have two teams separated by only 12 points after 82 games is hardly an uncompetitive situation.

If No. 8 Montreal beats No. 1 Washington in the East, that would definitely be an upset, but if No. 8 Colorado beats No. 1 San Jose in the West, no one would be too surprised. San Jose always chokes early in the post-season.

It’s impossible to deny. The NHL has parity. It’s why the final weeks of the regular season are exciting, it’s why teams that are eight games over .500 miss the playoffs and it’s why this year’s playoffs, for the first time in history, were all tied at 1-1.

On Monday night, Washington made a statement. The Caps went into Montreal and drilled the Habs 5-1. Winkler’s Eric Fehr had a goal and an assist while Alexander Ovechkin was terrific as the Caps let people know that they’ll be around late in the post-season.

Out on the other coast, Roberto Luongo was dreadful in the Vancouver goal as Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead over the Canucks with a 5-3 win.

Nothing is certain this year: Not Ryan Miller’s brilliance, not Detroit’s experience, not Pittsburgh’s defence. Great coaching (see: Barry Trotz), great goaltending (see: Tuukka Rask) and great checking (see: the Philadelphia Flyers) will all play a role as sixth seeds will upset three seeds and seventh seeds will chase down two seeds.

If the first week is any indication, this year’s post-season could very well be the best in decades.

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A Definition of Insanity

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Here is, without fear of argument, a pure, unadulterated definition of insanity:

On Saturday, the National Hockey League asked Phonix bankruptcy judge Redfield T. Baum to throw out a bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes by RIM CEO and multi-billionaire Jim Balsillie because the league says he’s “untrustworthy” and doesn’t have the “integrity” to be an owner.

The motion was accompanied by declarations from Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, which says the owners have all rejected Balsillie and that he “would be untrustworthy” and that the court has no right to overturn their July 29 vote. The owners say their opinion is based on Balsillie’s behaviour in earlier attempts to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

Let us forget, shall we, that the NHL thought he was just fine when he approached the league about buying into the failing (at the time) Penguins and the failing (still) Predators. Let us forget, shall wee, that the NHL is a club for people who refuse to tell the truth, even when they’ve been caught in lies.

But it’s impossible to think for one minute that when the league says Balsillie is “untrustworthy” or doesn’t have the requisite “integrity” to be an owner, the league has fallen into group delusion. Or, at best, forgets the mere existence of these notorious NHL owners:

1) When he took over as commissioner, one of commissioner Gary Bettman’s closest friends and supporters inside the league was Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall. McNall went to jail for fraud.

2) After Steven Gluckstern nearly went broke owning the New York Islanders, Bettman brought in Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar. Kumar is now serving a 12-year sentence for fraud.

3) Bettman also needed help after Buffalo Sabres owner Seymour Knox died in 1996, so he found cable TV magnate John Rigas. In 2002, while he was the Sabres owner, Rigas was convicted of, you guessed it, fraud. He’s still in prison.

4) On Jan. 28, 2000, former New York Islanders owner John Spano, who took over an NHL team with very little money, simply because the NHL forgot to do a background check, was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison for a bank and wire fraud conviction.

5) Later this month, former Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli will be sentenced by a California court for lying to federal investigators for his role in Broadcom’s $2.2 billion stock options award scandal. He could get five years.

6) Then there was “Bootsie.” With the Nashville Predators in bankruptcy protection, Bettman refused to sell the team to Balsillie because Balsillie wanted to move it to Canada. So Bettman went out and found a wealthy venture capitalist named William (Bootsie) Del Biaggio III. It seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess, but it wasn’t long before Bootsie was facing fraud charges brought on by everybody from the SEC to Luc Robitaille to Joe Montana. Bootsie hasn’t gone to jail yet, but there are a lot of people who would like to see him in the crow bar hotel.

Gary Bettman does not want Jim Balsillie to own a team, but he’s happy having felons own teams.

Therefore, simply to suggest that Balsillie isn’t trustworthy is to demonstrate a level of delusional insanity that is usually reserved for people who see the baby Jesus in their morning coffee.

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Thompson says, “…there will be some dramatic events this week.”

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

On Wednesday, the National Hockey League’s free agent season will begin and according to Tom Thompson, the assistant general manager of the Minnesota Wild, “I’m sure there will be some dramatic events this week.”

Assuming they aren’t signed between now and Wednesday morning, the Sedin Twins, Marian Gaborik, Mattias Ohlund, Dwayne Roloson, Ales Kotalik, Marian Hossa, Chris Neil, Mike Comrie, Mike Cammalleri, Todd Bertuzzi, Mike Komisarek, Mathieu Schneider, Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, Mark Recchi, Maxim Afinogenov, Ryan Bayda, Erik Cole, Patrice Brisebois, Tom Kostopoulos, Brian Gionta, John Madden, Johnny Oduya, Brendan Shanahan, Derek Morris, Nik Antropov, Martin Biron, Antero Nittymaki, Viktor Kozlov, Miroslav Satan, Petr Sykora, Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill, Todd Marchant, Jay Bouwmeester, Martin Havlat, Sami Pahlsson, Ian Laperriere, Joe Sakic, Jere Lehtinen, Jordan Leopold, Mikael Samuelsson, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Martin Skoula, Vernon Fiddler, Greg de Vries, Stephane Veilleux, Rob Blake, Mike Grier, Claude Lemieux, Travis Moen, Nolan Baumgartner, Jason Jaffray, Jason Krog and Mats Sundin, along with more than a hundred others will be unrestricted free agents..

Even some of our old friends — Shane Hnidy, Teppo Numminen, Tyler Arnason, Nikolai Khabibulin, Colton Orr and Phillipe Boucher — will be free on Wednesday. It’s going to hit the fan this week and you can bet as many teams as possible will be involved.

In fact, during the draft, Brian Burke made it clear he’ll be a buyer: “We’ll be involved on July 1,” Burke told reporters in Montreal. “The door is open for business at noon and that’s when we will start to get involved.”

He’s not alone.

“There will be moves that will get a lot of people talking,” said Thompson. “There is going to be a lot of interest in the hockey world all over North America that’s for sure.”

But why? Why so many UFAs?

“It’s partly because of the cap,” said Thompson, via telephone from his office in St. Paul. “The thing about the salary cap system is that it forces people to make choices. Because you’re restricted by how much you can spend, if you decide to do one thing, you can’t do another. It’s what makes great organizations or not-so-great organizations. You can’t have everything anymore.

“If there is one thing the cap has done, it’s put every team on an equal playing field and the smartest hockey people will be successful.”

The other thing it does, is forces team’s into last-minute decisions. It forces them to meet deadlines. It allows players to know exactly how much they’re worth. And it makes people like the Sedin Twins, who want long term deals worth at least $62 million each, worry about their decisions just as long and hard as Shane Hnidy or Jason Krog, who just might be out there looking for work.

I’d hate to suggest anything specific will happen on Wednesday. Nobody knows. But here are five things that might happen…

1) The Sedins don’t get the money they’re after in Vancouver. Mike Gillis re-signs Mattias Ohlund and signs Marian Gaborik.

2) The Sedins end up in Toronto with Brian Burke, the man who drafted them in the first place, and who will dump a pile of dull, old contracts to make sure he has the dough to sign them.

3) The Flames will sign Bouwmeester, let Cammalleri ($3.6 million) and Bertuzzi ($1.95 million) go and have plenty of money to sign the roll players he needs (he’s already dumped Jim Vandermeer and his $2.3 million deal).

4) Bob Gainey will go on an unprecedented signing frenzy and get Komisarek, Brisebois, Kostopoulos, Schneider and Tanguay signed. Saku Koivu will end up with his brother, Mikko, in Minnesota.

5) At least 50 players will change teams.

Unlike the dull-as-dishwater trade deadline television snooze, TSN, Rogers SportsNet and the Score will have an actual reason to telecast Free Agent Frenzy Shows. This should be nuts.

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The NHL Draft Starts in less than an hour in Montreal: Here’s what we’re looking for…

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Will it be John Tavares of the OHL’s London Knights, Matt Duchene of the OHL’s Brampton Battalion or Victor Hedman of the Swedish Elite League’s Modo? That will be the biggest question on everyone’s mind as this year’s draft gets rolling in Montreal.

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft begins in less than half an hour and here the three things I’m expecting:

1) I just have to think that if the Islanders don’t trade their pick to Toronto, a team that really, really, really would like to draft Tavares, then the Isles will take Hedman simply because they’re an Eastern Conference team that needs to upgrade on defence and is a young guy who has already played against men with Modo in the Swedish Elite League.

However, if the Islanders are more concerned about image than winning next year, they’ll take Tavares and sell him as the next Sid the Kid.

2) Apparently this wild — and very, very stupid –  rumour that the Boston Bruins were going to give up Phil Kessel and a draft pick for Leafs Tomas Kaberle was as dumb as we thought.

Originally “broken” on TSN, we’re now told by the Toronto Sports Network: “It appears the potential trade involving the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs is at the very least on hold and quite possibly dead. It turns out there was apparently major miscommunication between the two teams.”

Really? Perhaps it was a miscommunication by the mainstream media. TSN originally reported it was Kessel for Kaberle and Toronto’s No. 7 pick. Terrible deal for Toronto, but Boston might like it. Then it became Kessel and a draft pick for Kaberle. Only someone smoking something would have thought was a bright move. In the end, it was none of the above. Somebody made this thing up over cognac in the hotel bar.

3) There will be trades. Somebody is going somewhere. After all, last year’s draft produced a frenzy of pretty big deals.

Toronto really wants a top pick (up from No. 7) to get either Tavares or Brandon’s Brayden Schenn and Brian Burke will do what’s necessary to get the people he wants in order to rebuild that mess in T.O.

Ottawa is going to try to move Dany Heatley but Bryan Murray won’t give him away. Murray’s way too smart to take that bait.

Florida will probably move Jay Bouwmeester — or anybody else with a pulse and a contract. After all, Randy Sexton is now the acting GM and if you remember him in Ottawa, you know he’ll try to make some kind of splash — stupid or otherwise.

The San Jose Sharks will move somebody. Expect it to be Jonathan Cheechoo.

Despite not falling for that dumb Toronto offer (or “made-up” Toronto offer), Boston might still try to move the disgruntled Phil Kessel.

And don’t be surprised if Tampa tries to get Tavares and then, if they do, they’ll have Stamkos and Tavares in the fold, so then Lightning GM Brian Lawton will trade Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal.

And finally, don’t be surprised to see Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, J.S. Giguere and a bunch of “older” Calgary Flames change teams tonight.

OK, get out the sodas and chips and let’s go watch some kids get rich.

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Lots of Hockey News At Stanley Cup Time: Steen Back in Hockey, Hnidy Wants to Re-Sign in Boston, Wings Win Game 1.

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Three things that came up during telephone conversations this past week…

1) Our good friend, Thomas Steen got a job in hockey.

That’s just not good news, it’s great news.

Thomas has gone through some tough times in the past few years, but now he’s back in the game.

The one-time Winnipeg Jets captain and all-time Winnipeg Jets legend is going back to Sweden to work in both junior hockey and the Swedish Elite League.

“I’m going to work for Modo,” Thomas told us. “I’m going to be an assistant coach with the pro club and an assistant coach and scout with the junior team.

“I’m leaving the first of July and I’ll be gone nine months. I’ll get back to Winnipeg for my golf tournament in August, at Christmas and during the Olympic break. But that’s it. I’m going back home.”

He’s not quite going home. Farjestad is home. But close enough.

2) Another good friend, Neepawa’s Shane Hnidy, can become a free-agent on July 1 but what Shane would really like to do is re-sign with the Boston Bruins.

“Yeah, I’d really like to come back here,” he said. “I thought we were good enough to win it all this year, but I know we’ll be good enough to win it next year.”

Hnidy, 34, one of the great stories of heart and perseverance in the NHL, has been a pro for 13 seasons. He’s played nine of those years in the NHL with Ottawa, Nashville, Atlanta, Anaheim and Boston after being drafted (173rd overall) by Buffalo in 1994.

“Someday, I’d like to be a hockey commentator on TV or radio,” Hnidy said. “But right now, I still want to play and I hope that next year, I’m playing in Boston.”

3) We had Darren Helm’s mom, Karine, on 92-CITI-FM’s morning show this past week, the morning after he scored the OT winner against the Blackhawks. She was very proud, and one sensed, still crying after her son’s heroics on Wednesday.

That night, Helm set an NHL record with his fifth career playoff goal. He now has five playoff goals and has yet to score a single regular-season goal. No other NHL player has ever done that.

However, besides scoring goals, the young man from St. Andrews, Man., has one other talent: He can win faceoffs.

In the opener of the Stanley Cup final, a game won 3-1 by Detroit, Helm had won 10-of-12 faceoffs in the first two periods. He finsihed with 11 wins in 15 faceoffs.

One suspects Helm will be a full-time member of the Red Wings next season. It’s unlikely he’ll ever see Grand Rapids, Mich., again.

By the way, how good was Chris Osgood on Saturday night? First star? 29 saves? The best goalie in the playoffs, two years in a row.

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On to the Conference finals: We like Wings and Pens — Again — in the Stanley Cup final

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

For those of us trying to make money in the wonderful world of Sport Select, the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs have been a pretty decent source of revenue. 

Granted, after two rounds, the two top seeds — the Boston Bruins in the East and the San Jose harks in the West — are gone, but for the most part, the teams we have selected to reach the Conference Finals, have indeed reached the Conference finals.

Pittsburgh, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will face Carolina with Eric Staal (our darkhorse pick as a Stanley Cup finalist) in the Eastern final, while the “Winnipeg” teams, Chicago with captain Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Cam Barker against Detroit, with Darren Helm and Derek Meech, are in the Western final.

That’s obviously the way it should be.

For the record, here at rcsportsblog.com (you can follow us on twitter), we went 7-1 in the first round and 3-1 in Round 2. The only outcome we did not select correctly in Round 1 was, of course, Anaheim’s upset of Jonathan Cheechoo’s San Jose Sharks and our only incorrect choice in Round 2 was Carolina’s Game 7 upset of the No. 1-ranked Boston Bruins.

Interestingly, we also said that the two most interesting — and exciting — series would be Chicago-Vancouver and Pittsburgh-Washington. They were.

So on with the Show. Here’s our look at the third round, the conference finals, of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

ROUND THREE

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes

The Pens won the season series 2-1-1 and were not only in last year’s Stanley Cup final, but have five players with Stanley Cup rings. They obviously have enough experience to handle this series against a team that won the Cup in 2006 and still have 10 players from that team. The Pens have the stars in Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar and Jordan Staal, but Carolina has so much grit and character, that it’s impossible to count them out. It also doesn’t hurt that when it looked like this team was out of it back in February, goalie Cam Ward went 14-4-2 over the final 20 games. Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2006 and will have to be that good again against all the Pittsburgh firepower. We like the Penguins in five.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 2 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 4 Chicago Blackhawks

The Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup champions and they’re certainly good enough to win it again. In fact, the Red Wings have the best team in the National Hockey League. They roll four strong lines, have a Norris Trophy defenceman in Nick Lidstrom and an MVP-calibre forward in Pavel Datsyuk, they are well-coached and have better goaltending (Chris Osgood) than the Eastern media will ever give credit. The Wings won the season series against the upstart Hawks, but when asked about this matchup, I always see that January 1, outdoor game at Wrigley Field, the one in which the Hawks rode the home crowd to an early lead and then collapsed under the weight of the Wings speed and talent. The most important thing the Hawks have going for them is youth and enthusiasm and, hey, that might carry them, but we like Detroit in six.

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Nobody playing better than Red Wings, and for all the right reasons

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I have a dear friend, Scott O’Neil, who is the production manager at 92-CITI-FM. He’s the guy who makes all my NHL, NASCAR and NFL Reports sound so good.

 

O’Neil is like most sports fans. When it comes to anything other than his two favourite teams, he’s a smart, sophisticated fan who can look at objectively at any issue — either on-field or off.

 

However, when it comes to his two passions — the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Red Wings — he can get downright apoplectic. Nervous, cranky, bitter. When his teams don’t win, he’ll be happy to whine about it for hours on end.

 

In fact, before the playoffs started last week, he was giving it the old “woe-is-me” routine about his beloved Wings and how they were going to get ambushed and upset by the Columbus Blue Jackets, a decent club, but a club that shouldn’t be in the same league as the Red Wings, let alone the same opening-round series.

 

So while Scotty was going off about how “Ozzie had to be at his best,” and how “Kronwall can’t take any stupid penalties,” and about how “this team will get frustrated by (Columbus goalie) Steve Mason and start taking too many offensive chances,” I couldn’t help but wonder what it’s like to love a team so much that you actually become irrational when talking about them.

 

Anyway, after the Wings disposed of Columbus 4-1 and 4-0 in the first two games on the Western quarterfinal, I tried to figure out exactly why the Red Wings are so successful.

 

Here’s a five-point conclusion:

 

1) Chris Osgood is a much better goaltender than the so-called experts think. Nobody wants to give Ozzie any credit, but he’s been superb for a number of post-seasons and looked unbeatable in Game 2 this past weekend.

 

2) The Wings play just as well in their own end as they do in the opposing end and they’re frightening in the offensive zone.

 

3) The Red Wings special teams are better than any other special teams in the game today — when they want to be. The Wings scored three power-play goals in Game 2 and allowed none. In Game 1, they scored one power play goal and allowed none. This Wings team, right now, is just about perfect. 

 

4) They aren’t bored anymore. The 82-game regular season appears to bore the Wings to tears. They have not shown either cockiness nor boredom in the first two games of the post-season. 

 

5) The Wings move the puck better than any team in hockey. Some teams can’t complete one pass in a row. Watching the Wings breakout, you’ll often see them complete five, six, seven passes in a row. No team handles the puck better and no team breaks out of its own end quicker (OK, maybe Boston’s break out is just as good, but they don’t handle the puck as well).

 

The Wings are a great team that should win their second straight Stanley Cup title. However, saying that that suggests that another team’s goalie won’t steal a series from the Wings and we’re already watching Nikolai Khabibulin, Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo steal series right now.

 

What is it that one very smart general manager once said? “We call it the Stanley Cup playoffs because we can’t call it goalie.”

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are Here: It’s prediction time.

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Minnesota Wild assistant general manager Tom Thompson has a theory about the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It comes true most years, but somehow, this looks like a year in which it might come to pass in spades (although I don’t believe it). 

 

“The first round of the playoffs is always the most compelling round because you generally have two types of teams,” explained Thompson. 

 

“You have the teams that were successful all year and feel that if they don’t get to the final or win the Cup, their season was a failure. Then you have the teams that snuck into the playoffs and have nothing to lose. The top teams are often tight while the lesser teams have already done what they set out to do and by the opening round of the playoffs are as loose as can be. 

 

“That’s why there are so many great series and so many big upsets in the first round.”

 

He’s right, of course. The first round of the playoffs is always the most exciting. So without further adieu, let’s look at the 16 teams and eight matchups for the 2009 series which have already begun.

 

THE EASTERN CONFERENCE

 

No. 1 Boston Bruins (53-19-10) vs. No. 8 Montreal Canadiens (41-30-11).

The Habs and Bruins go at it again, a repeat of last year’s first round, in which the Canadiens outlasted Boston four games to three. But this year, things are different. Boston was the best team in the East and the second best team in the NHL and they are on a roll. It’s a team that allowed the fewest number of goals in the league (196) and has a wide-open offence to go with a stingy defence. The Habs were very fortunate to make the playoffs (they finished with the same number of points as Florida) and in six meetings this season, Boston won five of them, two in shootouts. Bruins in five.

 

No. 2 Washington Capitals (50-24-8) vs. No. 7 New York Rangers (43-30-9).

Second-place Washington with all that firepower – Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green are a good start — will face the seventh-place Rangers. The Caps have been very good this season and won the Southeast Division by 11 points over Carolina. They also won three of their four meetings with the Rangers. Capitals in five.

 

No. 3 New Jersey Devils (51-27-4) vs. No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes (45-30-7).

New Jersey, which won the Atlantic Division, will play sixth-place Carolina after beating the Hurricanes in the season finale last week. However, Carolina won its first three meetings with the Devils this season and played much better hockey down the stretch than New Jersey. Hurricanes in seven.

 

No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins (45-28-9) vs. No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers (44-27-11).

Pittsburgh won four of the six meetings between the two teams this season, one in overtime and another in a shootout. However, all Philadelp[hia had to do to earn home ice advantage throughout this series was to win the final game of the season at home against the Rangers and they couldn’t pull it off. Pittsburgh has too much offence and is just playing better hockey at this time. Penguins in six.

 

THE WESTERN CONFERENCE

 

No. 1 San Jose Sharks (53-18-11) vs. No. 8 Anaheim Ducks (42-33-7).

Although it’s No. 1 vs. No. 8, this is a matchup that features two of the most successful teams in the NHL since the lockout. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the Ducks have gone 180-107-41 with four playoff appearances while the Sharks have posted a 197-94-37 mark with three consecutive 100+ point seasons, four playoff appearances and two Pacific Division titles (2008 & 2009). However, the Sharks were the President’s Trophy winners as the best team in the NHL during the regular season while Randy Carlyle’s Ducks were fortunate to make the playoffs. The Sharks also won the season series, 4-2. Sharks in five.

No. 2 Detroit Red Wings (51-21-10) vs. No. 7 Columbus Blue Jackets (41-31-10).

A tale of two cities: The Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup champions while the Blue Jackets are in the playoffs for the first time in their eight seasons of existence. During the regular season, the teams split. Detroit won the first two meetings, Columbus won the next three (including an 8-2 win at Detroit on March 7) and Detroit geat the Jackets 4-0 in a statement game on March 17. I like Ken Hitchcock as a head coach, but Detroit has way too much of everything. Red Wings in five.

 

No. 3 Vancouver Canucks (45-27-10) vs. No. 6 St. Louis Blues (41-31-10).

The remarkable, red-hot Blues clinched the No. 6 seed in the final game of the year and put a cap on an amazing finish. From Feb. 15 to the end of the season, head coach Andy Murray’s Blues went 18-6-3. It was significant because on Feb. 15, the Blues were dead last in the West. This team finished the regular season by going 9-1-1 over its last 11 games and 5-1-1 on the road. Had the Blues lost their final game, they would have finished eighth — which would have meant a series with the top-seeded San Jose Sharks. Instead, they finished with the best second-half record in the League at 25-9-7. However, they have only four players who have ever won a playoff game. Vancouver, meanwhile, came back to claim the Northwest Division title by winning their last three games and going 6-3-1 down the stretch behind the tremendous goaltending of Roberto Luongo. This will be a match-up of two of the hottest teams in the game and two red-hot goalies – Luongo and Chris Mason.. Canucks in seven.

 

No. 4 Chicago Blackhawks (46-24-12) vs. No. 5 Calgary Flames (46-30-6). 

This series screams “Blackhawks!” Chicago swept the four-game season series with the Flames, winning 6-1 and 5-2 at the United Center and 3-2 in overtime and 5-2 at the Saddledome. Add it up. Chicago has more firepower and probably equal goaltending (Huet/Khabibulin vs. Kiprusoff). Chicago oputscored Calgary 19-7 during its four wins and really, the Hawks dominated the season. In fairness to Calgary, the two teams haven’t faced each other since the Hawks’ second win at Calgary on Feb. 5, but still, Hawks in six. 

 

* * *

 

THE 2008-09 NHL TROPHY WINNERS

 

Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin captured his first career Art Ross Trophy as the League’s leading scorer with 113 points while Washington Capitals leftwinger Alexander Ovechkin won his second consecutive Maurice Richard Trophy for being the League’s top goal scorer with 56. 

 

Meanwhile, Boston Bruins goaltenders Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez earned the William Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the club that allowed the fewest number of goals — 196.

 

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Here’s the NHL Trade Deadline Skinny

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday, so let’s take a look at the big day on a team-by-team basis. 

Oh yeah, and please remember, our theory on trade deadline day – for the past two decades – has always been the same: Believe whatever rumour you want to believe.

 

ANAHEIM DUCKS: It would appear the Ducks are ready to move veterans Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Brendan Morrison and Todd Marchant. Don’t be surprised if the Canadiens sniff around at Pronger and Niedermayer.

 

ATLANTA THRASHERS: It’s next year time for the Thrashers. They’re 17 points out of the playoff hunt. And will deal anybody in a uniform for draft picks or young players who will contribute next year. Evidently, Hockey Night in Canada claimed the Flyers have some interest in Kari Lehtonen and we’re told the Thrashers are prepared to give up top prospect James van Riemsdyk. If that’s true (although I’m not sure it is), I’m surprised GM Don Waddell hasn’t already made the deal.

 

BOSTON BRUINS: If the Boston Bruins go after a rental player for the stretch run, don’t be surprised if that rental player is former Winnipeg Jets captain Keith Tkachuk, a native Bostonian now living and playing in St. Louis. The Bruins also have some interest in Chris Pronger, but probably not enough cap room.

 

BUFFALO SABRES: The Sabres are in the hunt for that final playoff spot in the East and they have a player to trade. If they could get a roll of tape for Maxim Afinogenov, they’d move him yesterday. 

 

CALGARY FLAMES: After losing 8-6 to Tampa on Sunday you can bet Mike Keenan is looking for a little inexpensive veteran help — and there is a lot out there. Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi or Jeff Halpern could wind up in Calgary without a lot going the other way.  

 

CAROLINA HURRICANES: Tied with Buffalo for the final playoff spot in the East, the Hurricanes need more scoring. The power-play is weak and the team has only 169 goals on the season, second lowest of all playoff teams. Paul Maurice has this team back in the race, but if they want to take the next step, they need to get younger, better, quicker.

 

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: This is a great young team and GM Dale Tallon has no desire to move anybody. Some say Tallon is looking for a veteran centre, but isn’t everyone?

 

COLORADO AVALANCHE: The Colorado Avalanche will make some moves in an effort to get rid of a collection of veterans who just aren’t worth the aggravation anymore. Jordan Leopold and Ian Laperriere both become free agents on July 1, so they’re on the block. So too are veterans Ryan Smyth, Milan Hejduk, Marek Svatos, Brett Clark, Ruslan Salei and John-Michael Liles. Of course, Smyth (the Habs are interested), Hejduk and Liles all have no-trade clauses so they aren’t likely going anywhere.

 

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Jackets GM Scott Howson would like to do something but Howson believes his goaltending can carry the team to a playoff berth and he won’t do anything drastic. 

 

DALLAS STARS: With Brad Richards injured, it’s likely the Stars will go looking for a Top 6 forward. However, Stars co-GM Les Jackson told the Dallas Morning News the team has a tight internal payroll budget and will only make a move if it helps the team right now.

 

DETROIT RED WINGS: GM Kenny Holland has been known to make big moves at the deadline and if something special comes up, he’ll jump at the chance to cut a deal. But he’s not actively trying to do anything significant.  

 

EDMONTON OILERS: The Oil want a Top 6 forward and were seriously involved in the Chris Kunitz talks with Anaheim, but wouldn’t part with defenceman Tom Gilbert. Robert Nilsson and Dustin Penner are said to be available, but if the Oilers don’t get something special in return, GM Kevin Lowe will likely stand pat.

 

FLORIDA PANTHERS: The one guy who looks like the top rental player this spring is Panthers defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. Now, Bouwmeester is only 25, but he becomes a free-agent on July 1 and while Florida GM Jacques Martin says he’s prepared to trade his young defensive star, Martin wants a number of players in a package who will help get him into the playoffs right now.

 

LOS ANGELES KINGS: Although they’re 13th in the West, the young Kings are only six points out of the final playoff spot. L.A. would deal a veteran or two, but don’t expect much to happen here. 

 

MINNESOTA WILD: Rumours, rumours, rumours. Marian Gaborik, Stephen Veilleux, Owen Nolan, Marek Zidlicky… yeah, whatever. The 30-26-5 Wild will do something if it helps the team make a playoff run  right now.

 

MONTREAL CANADIENS: Montreal is still looking around for a Top 4 defenceman so here was the first rumour this year that actually sounded legit: “The Canadiens and the slumping Phoenix Coyotes are talking about a deal that would send 30-year-old defenceman Derek Morris from Phoenix to Montreal in exchange for a couple of young forwards.”

 

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: The Predators are just one point out of the final playoff spot in the West so don’t expect David Poile to do anything significant. 

 

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Marty Brodeur is back so all is well in Newark. Although the Devils are 41-19-3, Lou Lamoriello could always fire a coach just for fun, but it’s unlikely he’ll make a significant trade – unless, of course, something unexpected and downright miraculous pops up.

 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: These guys are sellers and it looks like veteran forward Bill Guerin will be the first to go. Clearly, after Guerin sat out Saturday night’s game with Buffalo, it would appear the Islanders have a deal in place to send Guerin to a playoff contender.

 

NEW YORK RANGERS: The Rangers have about a million dollars in cap space available so they’ll be looking to upgrade. Coyotes 30-year-old defenceman Derek Morris is of some interest to Glen Sather and John Tortorella. Although with only 159 goals scored (the lowest among playoff teams in the East), this is a team that desperately needs a sniper or two.

 

OTTAWA SENATORS: After firing Craig Hartsburg and then making the deal for Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli, Senators GM Bryan Murray has made a commitment to getting his team into the playoffs – next year. No player on this team – not even Heatley or Spezza – are untouchable.

 

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Philly would like to add a big defenceman at the deadline and they have their sights on Jay Bouwmeester. Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen is also, apparently, on Philly’s radar.

 

PHOENIX COYOTES: These guys will be sellers. Hell, if anyone offers, Jerry Moyes will sell the entire franchise. Hell, if a team made an offer for the Zamboni driver, the Coyotes would deal. 

 

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: The Penguins are in the playoff hunt, just one point out of eighth in the East. They dealt Ryan Whitney to Anaheim for Chris Kunitz last week and they’ll no doubt make more moves this week.

 

SAN JOSE SHARKS: The Sharks are 42-10-9, first in the West and three points ahead of defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit with two games in hand. They have the best team in the NHL. GM Doug Wilson won’t do anything that might mess with his team’s chemistry. 

 

ST. LOUIS BLUES: The Blues now have a legitimate shot at a playoff berth and one senses head coach Andy Murray and big boss John Davidson don’t want to do anything that might disturb a team that is now only three points out of eighth place in the West. Pundits say Keith Tkachuk and Jay McKee are on the block, but they’ll only go if Davidson thinks he’s making this year’s team better.

 

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Vinny Lecavalier is going nowhere but GM Brian Lawton would love to move some veterans. If your name is Recchi, Roberts, Malik, Halpern, Prospal and Krajicek, you’re on the block.

 

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Seems everyone around the NHL believes the Toronto Maple Leafs will be sellers. In fact, insiders say every player on the team with the exception of young defenceman Luke Schenn is on the block. But has anyone noticed that the Leafs have won four straight games and are now only seven points out of the final playoff spot in the East?

 

VANCOUVER CANUCKS: GM Mike Gillis is always ready to wheel and deal but right now, he’s more concerned about getting the twins, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, under contract long term than he is in pulling off a blockbuster trade. 

 

WASHINGTON CAPITALS: The Caps want a veteran defenceman. Doesn’t everyone? However, unlike a lot of other teams, the Caps have plenty of cap room and have expressed interest in Phoenix’s Derek Morris, Anaheim’s Chris Pronger and Colorado’s Jordan Leopold.

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Random thoughts: Three things on my mind after a day of football and a week of hockey.

Posted on December 14, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Just some random activity in my grey matter…

No. 1…

 

As the Boston Bruins remain among the Top 3 teams in the National Hockey League, it’s been fun to watch the brilliant play of 33-year-old Shane Hnidy of Neepawa, Mb.

 

Here’s a guy who has bounced around the NHL for about eight seasons. He made it to the big time after toiling in the East Coast League and the American League. He’s been in Detroit (although he never actually played in Detroit), Ottawa, Nashville, Atlanta, Anaheim and Boston and now, he’s finally found a home — on the Bruins defence. 

 

And now that he’s averaging 20 minutes a game on a terrific team, it’s a good home, too.

 

No. 2…

 

Sean Avery is no longer a member of the Dallas Stars. The tough guy with the crazy mouth who made disparaging public comments about two ex-girlfriends has been dumped by Dallas.

 

Most hockey fans figured it was coming, but there is something just a tad disturbing about it. 

 

Frankly, it makes Dallas GM Brett Hull look really bad. In fact, it makes you wonder if Hull and the people around him have paid any attention to anything at all. Did they not know what they were getting when they signed Avery?

 

And No. 3…

 

I wonder how these big time mainstream media folks in Winnipeg, the one or two who clearly suggested the Minnesota Vikings were on the right track — and a better team — when Gus Frerotte took over as the team’s quarterback, feel about their ridiculous statements today?

 

Yesterday in Glendale, Arizona, Tarvaris Jackson pitched an almost perfect game for the Vikes – 11-for-17 for 163 yards four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 135.5 passer’s rating. He also turned and handed the ball to Adrian Peterson enough times so that Peterson could run for 165 yards on 28 carries.

 

That’s how the Vikings win (they won 35-14 in Arizona yesterday)  and that’s why T-Jack is the Vikings one and only quarterback. At least he’s the one and only quarterback if the Vikings expect to win in the post-season.

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