Report: Bruins & Phil Kessel Done Negotiating

Show Phil the money, right Peter?

Evidently not as Boston.com Bruins blogger K.P Dupont is reporting that Kessel and agent Wade Arnott are done in attempting to reach a deal on a new contract with the Boston Bruins.

To say the two sides have been in disagreement through their negotiations would be putting it lightly as the two sides have almost had no communication according to Kessel's agent. However, reports also indicate that the Bruins have made several offers to Phil all of which varying in length, money, options and perhaps even Garden Gold gift cards and free hats? Regardless of where this saga is bound to turn next, the idea of Phil Kessel and the Bruins coming to an agreement is becoming more of a pipe-dream or pipe-nightmare depending on your stance when it comes to the 21-year old sniper.

Kessel, who achieved career highs in virtually every offensive category in 2008-09 is coming off a 36 goal season and an even more impressive post-season where he had 6goals and 11 points in 11 games. Despite Kessel's success with the club this past season, the winger remains unsigned, but why?

Firstly touching on the 36 goals, keep in mind 22 of them were assisted by 60+ assist man Marc Savard. As something I've vehemently preached, how are we to tell that Phil Kessel could produce without Savard setting him up? Without playing with Savard, Kessel's highest goal total was 19, achieved in 82 games of the 2007-08 season. Especially considering Savard's possibility of leaving Boston when his deal expires, the risk of devoting big money to a player only capable of producing with a number one center is there and could hurt the Bruins greatly.

As a professional athlete, the idea of getting your big payday is understandable after you put together a great season, but it's also something that the Bruins do not have the luxury of doing without having to sacrifice a significant piece of the future. With Kessel's rumored four to five million dollar per year asking price, the Bruins would not only have to move Chuck Kobasew or Marco Sturm on top of Andrew Ference but they'd also have to move someone in the following summer.

This would definitely create issues as Bruins wingers (and more well rounded players) Milan Lucic and Blake Wheeler are up for new contracts at the seasons end. On top of Lucic and Wheeler, the Bruins also have to give new contracts to defensemen and epitomized Bruin Mark Stuart and goaltender of tomorrow Tuukka Rask.

In typical hockey internet fashion, as Kessel remains unsigned the list of teams rumored to have interest is growing. Included in this list of teams and likely to be the favorite are the Toronto Maple Leafs, managed by local boy Brian Burke.

Normally where there's smoke, there's no fire in Toronto but with Burke's recent move of reacquiring the Leafs' 2010 second round pick, the idea of an offer sheet heading Kessel's way from Leaf Nation is seemingly more likely and the odds on favorite as of right now. Next to the Leafs, the list of teams interested are rumored to include the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks.

Despite the rumored interest with Toronto, the problems of Burke giving big money to Kessel would reside in the fact that the Leafs lack a number one center to feed the puck to Kessel. While both Mikhali Grabovski and Matt Stajan are coming off solid seasons, they are simply not in the same caliber or held in the same breath that Bruins center Marc Savard is.

After Toronto, both the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks would have to arguably move key pieces to obtain Kessel. In New York, after the addition of Marian Gaborik, the Rangers have little to no wiggle room left (1.1 million to be exact) to even sign their own restricted free agent Brandon Dubinsky so a trade or offer sheet for Kessel from the Rangers seems very unlikely.

In San Jose, the Sharks have close to four million dollars left in cap space and with Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi on the rise (and up for new deals next summer) they could arguably create a very strong line of the future with the addition of Kessel. If the Sharks are able to either move Marleau or not re-sign him to a new deal when the (former) captain's 6.8 million dollar contract comes off the books the Sharks would be in the clear to add Kessel without any problems.

Personally, I think that with Sturm's return to the line-up along with continuing development of Blake Wheeler, Milan Lucic and David Krejci that Phil Kessel's not a must have on this club if the price is too high, which it appears to be. The Boston Bruins as is are very thin on defense and any trade that will likely send Andrew Ference out of town will hurt the club more than help with Johnny Boychuk and Andy Wozniewksi being next in line to fill in for the big club. Phil Kessel, despite his talent has seemingly been out of place in Boston under Claude Julien and has repeatedly been rumored to be dangled as trading bait at the trade deadline.

Does Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli not believe in Kessel? It's entirely possible, but who could blame him? Kessel, despite being a player with supreme offensive skills, has not shown to be a complete hockey player that'll fit within the Bruins system and in his three seasons with the Bruins has had his stretches of poor play and questionable decision making skills.

As the Bruins head into the upcoming NHL season, the question marks of what magic the club will work with limited cap space following the '09-10 campaign will grow even larger than the year before and the headache of inconsistency that Phil Kessel could be is something the Bruins do not need for years to come.

With the NHL season three weeks away, expect the fate of Phil Kessel and possible future with the Bruins to be decided sooner rather than later before cap space becomes a priority and legitimate issue for many of Kessel's potential suitors.

10 Worst Contracts In The NHL

August, as always has been a quiet month in the National Hockey League. While some are participating in Olympic training camps for their respective countries, others sit at home and unwind with their friends and family. For Boston forward Phil Kessel, the waiting game continues as he's still without a contract as the Bruins are just 39 days away from taking to the ice for their first game of the 2009-10 season. While it's rumored that Kessel's asking price is preventing the 21 year old from being signed, it's a good time to look at the ten worst contracts currently active in the NHL.

10) Michael Nylander (Washington Capitals) - For many B's die-hards, Michael Nylander is known as the other half of the Bruins trade deadline acquisitions from the 2003-04 season (the other being Sergei Gonchar) and was the Bruins best offensive presence in their seven game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens. In what appeared to be typical shrewd-Bruins-front-office, the B's made no effort to keep the center and let him walk.

After the lock-out concluded, Nylander became a Ranger and put together two solid seasons in Manhattan where he scored 162 points in 160 games, only to jet off to Washington on a four-year deal that paid him 19.5 million dollars over the next four seasons. Nylander has been unable to stay healthy and has found himself a healthy scratch and in Caps coach Bruce Boudreau's doghouse.

Nylander's -19 and dissatisfying 70 points in 112 games for the Capitals truly show how far this Swedish superstar has fallen. With a 4.875 million dollar cap hit through 2010-11, it's likely that Nylander could be in a buy-out situation and jet off to the KHL for a tax-free paycheck and playing time, something he can't find in the nation's capital.

9) Ryan Smyth (Los Angeles Kings) - To be fair to the purple-and-black that reside in California, this signing wasn't the doings of Kings GM Dean Lombardi. However, when Ryan Smyth was signed to a five-year, 31+ million dollar contract by the Colorado Avalanche the eyebrows of NHL fans were collectively raised and for good reason. The question marks behind throwing over an annual salary north of six million dollars for a player who'd only cracked 70+ points one time in his 12 year career seemed to give off the notion that the Av's were in trouble. That was undoubtedly the case and Smyth produced just 40 goals in total throughout his two seasons in Denver.

In a cap space clearing move for a rebuilding club, Colorado sent the sensitive winger out of town where Smyth is hoping to regain his scoring touch in scorer's-friendly Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings. He's likely to be playing with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown and is looking to reach the 70 point plateau. If he is to continue to falter, his 6.25 million cap hit through the 2011-12 could cripple the Kings development into a solid contender.

8) Chris Drury (New York Rangers) - When the New York Rangers stole away the Sabres captain and vocal leader, the move seemed to be a good one for the blueshirts in their attempt to add veteran depth to complement players such as Jagr, Shanahan and Lundqvist but simply put, this has not been 35,250,000 dollars well spent. Despite Drury's career highs in both goals and points in his final year with the Buffalo Sabres, that success has not transpired into success with the Rangers.

In 2006-07, Chris Drury was simply a force for the Presidents Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres. His 37 goals, 17 of which scored on the powerplay, which are both career highs to this day and leadership propelled the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row, only to lose yet again but this time to the Ottawa Senators. Undoubtedly, the Sabres captain was considered among the top free agents available on July 1st, 2007.

However, what he's brought to the Rangers has been simply disappointing compared to what was expected. In two seasons on Pennsylvania Plaza, Drury has posted a total of just 114 points in 163 games for the Rangers with a -11. Drury's lack of anything offensively comes as a surprise when considering he's led the Rangers in shifts per game and has averaged 3:45 minutes of time on ice on the powerplay in two years in Manhattan.

Drury's current cap hit is at 7.050 million dollars a season and will not be coming off New York's checkbook until the conclusion of the 2011-12 NHL season. Was Drury the best captain 32-million dollars could buy for a perennial bubble-team? Glen Sather apparently thinks so.

7) Jeff Finger (Toronto Maple Leafs) - If this wasn't a desperate measure to keep the fans from completely giving up on the 2008-09 Maple Leafs then I'm not sure what would be? Oh yeah, it'd be actually signing Jeff Finger to this contract.

Heading into the free agency frenzy of 2008, Jeff Finger was coming off a solid season for the Colorado Avalanche where he put up 19 points in 72 games and finished with a +12 from the blue-line. Finger, never really the puck-mover made his living getting down and dirty for the Av's, his 121 hits were tops for the 2007-08 club and his 117 blocked shots were good for fourth on the club. Despite these impressive defensive stats, the coffee mugs of Leafs Nation had to without-question shatter on their living room floors when they saw that Jeff Finger was now a member of the blue and white with a four-year contract worth 14 million dollars.

The Finger era in Toronto began in 2008-09, as the 29-year old Michigan native scored 23 points and finished with a -7 on a horrid goaltended team in Ontario. With a contract deeming Finger virtually immovable and the Leafs additions of Exelby, Beauchemin and Komisarek to their blue-line the necessity of Finger simply does not exist. Finger isn't set to come off the Leafs books until 2012, making his contract one of the worst in the National Hockey League.

6) Joffrey Lupul (Anaheim Ducks) - What do Michael Ryder, Brad Boyes, Ales Hemsky and Johan Franzen all have in common? They all make less money than Joffrey Lupul. What do these players also have in common with Joffrey Lupul? They all finished with more points than him in 2008-09. Joffrey Lupul provides great secondary scoring on any club, and that's not really a topic for discussion, but is his production really worthy of 4.25 million dollars a year until 2013?

That question is answered by a simple no considering he's career high in points came in 2005-06 with the Ducks (53). However, in what has seemingly become Flyers-ritual, Lupul was awarded with a monstrous contract well above his market value in order to keep the Alberta native in Philly.

Lupul was sent back to Anaheim in a deal where the Flyers acquired Chris Pronger (only to give him a ridiculous contract as well) and is now officially on the Ducks cap until the conclusion of the 2012-13 NHL season. With guys like Bobby Ryan, Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu up for new contracts at the end of this upcoming season, Lupul's contract could hinder the Ducks from being able to re-sign their expected-to-be key players.

5) Wade Redden (New York Rangers) - If I were to ever meet Wade Redden, I'd probably ask him how it feels to be the sixth highest paid defensemen in the NHL.

After all, I'm quite sure the answer would be simple considering he's doing close to nothing and earning a 6,500,000 dollar salary from here until 2014. Redden's performance in his first year with the Rangers was simply dismal, his 28 points and -5 weren't even as embarrassing as his team-defenseman high 40 giveaways.

And we thought Ottawa screwed up when they opted to re-sign Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara in the 2006 off-season. Leave it to Glen Sather to once again prove why the Rangers will be forever basking in the glory of the 1994 Stanley Cup, because it ain't comin' back to Manhattan anytime soon with these wildly gross and reckless over-payments of players.

4) Daniel Briere (Philadelphia Flyers) - In your mind, this signing looks to be a phenomenal one for the Flyers, you know why? Because you have the thought of Briere's performance with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres embedded in your mind because, well, it was simply a thrill to witness.

When the Quebec native signed an 8-year deal worth 52 million dollars, the idea that the Flyers were on their way to becoming an elite team in the Eastern Conference grew. In 2007-08, Briere didn't disappoint the Flyer faithful as he put up 72 points in 79 games, 37 of which coming on the powerplay. Briere also carried much of the Flyers offense towards their push towards the Conference Finals where he scored 16 points in 17 games.

Injuries struck the 31-year old in 2008-09, as he was held to just 25 points in 29 games. However, it's not the injuries that make this signing so poor, it's the fact that Briere's no-movement clause and annual cap-hit of 6.5 million dollars from now until 2015 really stifles the Flyers ability to add anyone to their roster without having to move a star of equal or greater value. Especially if the Flyers are to continue to develop strong youth players within their organization (Carter, Richards and Giroux to name a few).

3) Brian Campbell (Chicago Blackhawks) - There's no debating that Chicago needed a top defensemen, but a top defensemen for eight years?

Often longer contracts mean smaller cap hits, making the idea of an eight year contract somewhat, loosely plausible. However, Campbell's 7.1 million dollar cap hit is doing nothing but hurting the 'Hawks for years to come. With Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Jack Skille, Andrew Ladd and Adam Burish being the top names for players up for new contracts following the 2009-10 season, the idea of Campbell's cap-hit for years to come is simply nauseating for any Chicago fan.

The difficulties are created within the idea that Chicago won't move Hossa after signing him to a 12 year deal and Cristobal Huet is unlikely to get dealt considering there's no one within the Blackhawks system ready to take over as the number one goaltender. When factoring this in, the likelihood of the Blackhawks being able to keep Kane and Toews for years to come grows unlikely. Along with that, the idea of unloading Campbell's contract and getting anything of equal value in return is just as unlikely.

For the Blackhawks, it appears that 2009-10 is either Stanley Cup or bust.

2) Scott Gomez (Montreal Canadiens) - Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most overrated players in the National Hockey League, Scott Gomez.

Continuing with the Glen Sather trend, the idea of Scott Gomez making 51,500,000 over the next eight years almost seems laughable. Here's a player who thrived under a defensive-trap system and was coming off a season where he registered his lowest point total since the end of the league's work stoppage. However, this didn't stop the Rangers front office from over-paying for the crafty powerplay specialist.

Gomez didn't fail to not disappoint during his tenure with the Rangers before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Despite Gomez's 40+ assists and 16 goals in both seasons with the Rangers, the stats don't even come close to fitting the price-tag Gomez is marked for until 2014.

Can Gomez be the number one center the Canadiens need or will it be another year of mediocrity in hockey's most demanding city? I'm thinking it'll be the latter of the two.

1) Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) - Just when you thought the Islanders couldn't be more upsetting to their fans. The signing of Rick DiPietro to a fifteen, yes fifteen year contract is enough to make the stomaches of even the most faithful Isles fans turn.

Taken with the number one overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft by New York (over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik) the hope for DiPietro was that he was going to be the savior for the Islanders franchise and return them to a competitive level in the Eastern Conference. To say things haven't gone as planned would be an understatement.

DiPietro may be 67+ million dollars richer and has another 12 years of guaranteed money, but he's simply doing nothing to help the Islanders as of right now and possibly for the foreseeable future. With the signing of Marty Biron and Dwayne Roloson, it appears that Rick DiPietro will once again be out for the season for the Isles will a knee injury.

Congratulations Garth, your god awful signing of DiPietro will more than likely, actually strike that, will undoubtedly outlive your tenure as Islanders general manager, but your impact to the club for years to come will unfortunately haunt Long Island, or perhaps Kansas City.

10 Bruins Games You Need To Watch Not Played At Fenway Park

As jubilant as Boston is that they'll be the host of the third Winter Classic, there's still 81 more games to be played in the Bruins quest for a Stanley Cup. Despite these games having roofs over their heads and lacking a 37 foot tall monster (although they do present us with a near seven foot tall captain), there's no denying that there's still a lot of buzz generating around these games.

10. New York Islanders at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 10th: 7 PM)
Rarely is it a big deal when the 15th place team battles against the 1st place team from the year before, but the buzz about the newest Islander makes it worth the viewing. This game marks the debut of Jonathan Tavares at the TD Bank Garden. If the hype is correct and this kid is on the same level as Sidney Crosby was in his first year, then this battle between the rebuilding Islanders and Bruins should be a good one.

9. Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins (Saturday Nov. 28th: 7 PM)
Will Dany Heatley still be a member of the Ottawa Senators come November 28th? I suppose that doesn't really matter because the story here is created by Boston's favorite player to hate, Alexei Kovalev. The long despised Canadien traded in his Montreal sweater for a divisional foe Sens jersey, but I'm sure that won't change the way the Garden faithful views him. It'll certainly be interesting to see how loud and long-winded the boo's are for L'artiste, even without the Montreal jersey on.

8. Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins (Saturday Feb. 6th: 1 PM)
Much of the excitement behind this game in my opinion, comes from the fact that this is Vancouver's second trip back to Boston since the lockout ended. Since then, both teams have found a new jersey styles and along with new directions for the better within their franchise. This game will also likely pit two of the best goaltenders in the NHL against one another.

7. Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins (Thursday Nov. 5th: 7 PM)
It's hard to make the case that any Bruins vs. Canadiens game lacks excitement because, well it's just plain not true. This will be the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since the Bruins four game sweep of the Canadiens in their centennial season. With the Habs adding two former Bruins in Paul Mara and Hal Gill while the Bruins add former Canadien tough-guy Steve Begin, expect things to get awfully chippy (per usual) in this Original Six clash.

6. Boston Bruins at New York Rangers (Sunday Nov. 1st: 1 PM)
This game may be competing against the time slots of most NFL teams, but I'm already locked in on this match-up. The Rangers are coming off a frustrating end to their season as they blew a three-game series lead to bow out of the conference quarter-finals and always provide great competition against Boston. A stat worth mention is the fact that seven out of the last eight meetings between these teams were decided by one-goal, including four over-time thrillers. In these eight match-up's the Bruins are 5-1-2.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Saturday Dec. 5th: 7 PM)
Fairly new Leafs GM Brian Burke is already putting his pattened Burke-stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs. As he did in Anaheim, where he put together a Stanley Cup winning team, he's loading the Maple Leafs up with good ole' fashioned North American bruisers. Undoubtedly, his biggest splash came with the robbery of defensemen Mike Komisarek away from, Montreal, a player loathed by Boston fans and players alike. Along with Komisarek, the additions of Colton Orr and Garnet Exelby make the Leafs a lot scrappier and will ultimately provide a great physical contest when they come to the Garden for a Saturday night in Boston. Doesn't this one have Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins Part II written all over it?

4. Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins (Thursday Oct. 1st: 7 PM)
Opening night always has a great feel to it. From the fan fare outside the stadium, to the anticipation of the fans within the building. With Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the Southeast Division winning Capitals in town, additional excitement may not be needed for most fans.

3. Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (Thursday Jan. 7th: 7 PM)
The excitement around this one is stemming from this being my pick for the 2010 Stanley Cup. It may be early, but I fully feel that with the additions these teams have made and the continuing development of their young stars into NHL studs that this game has all the makings to be a fine preview of what could be come June.

2. Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 3rd: 7 PM)
The villian of all villains, Hurricanes forward Scott Walker and the rest of those Cardiac 'Canes will be making their first trip to Boston on October 3rd, the Bruins first Saturday night game and second game of the season. The reception for the boys from Raleigh will certainly be unwelcoming, as a sure to be rowdy Saturday night Garden crowd will let their feelings be known to the team that knocked the Bruins out of the second round. Also, it'll be interesting to see how the Bruins handle their (not announced, but sure to happen) retribution to Scott Walker for his sucker punch to Aaron Ward in Game 5. The series may be over, but as Shawn Thornton said "We (hockey players), have long memories.".

1. Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens (Friday Dec. 4th: 7 PM)
This will be the final send off to the Montreal Canadiens centennial (we can only hope) as the Bruins will square off against their most hated rival at the Bell Centre for the first time in the 2009-10 season. This date also marks the first game the Habs ever had in the league, making it the true centennial. With the crowd of 21,000 plus screaming Canadiens fans sure to give this game a playoff feel, expect the players to have an extra jump in their stride. One query I've pondered is whether or not the Habs will break out their prison-jumpsuit throwbacks for this one? We can only pray not.

Flyers At Fenway On New Year's Day?

Simply put, it's the worst kept secret in the National Hockey League. The Winter Classic on January 1st 2010 will be played at America's Most Beloved Ballpark and home to the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park. We already know the Bruins are set to play (obviously) as the home team but the B's opponent has been rumored and been a topic for discussion for months now. Currently, the newest rumor gaining legs is the idea that the Philadelphia Flyers will be skating against the black and gold on News Year Day.

At first, we thought it would surely be the Montreal Canadiens, the Bruins most bitter rivals since their introduction into the NHL, but we learned soon after that NBC and the NHL would like to keep the Winter Classic showcasing the American clubs. By simply looking at a map we'll realize that Montreal and Toronto are not in the race.

Surely, it'll be an Original Six team, right? It won't be Chicago or Detroit, they just played a game against each other at Wrigley so who's left? Insert the New York Rangers. Oh that's a classic, the iconic Boston versus New York rivalry that takes place on the Fenway Park diamond only this time the Red Sox and Yankees aren't involved. The history of the two clubs, talent level and television markets would surely go for this, right? The NHL's possibly planning to have a game at Yankee Stadium in the coming year (or two) and there's no way the Islanders are selling that out, so cross the New York Rangers off the list.

The options are dwindling by the minute. Then we learned about the Washington Capitals, an option that sort of left B's fans puzzling "Do we have a rivalry with Washington? I know they're good, but we only play them four times a year?". The thought of Ovechkin and the Caps coming to Fenway hit a nerve with some Bruins fans, feeling that this would give the NHL an excuse to spotlight Ovechkin more than the Bruins and the idea of a game at Fenway Park. No offence to Ovie, but he is quite the show stealer.

However, due in large part to the poor ratings on NBC during Ovechkin and the Capitals Eastern Conference Quarterfinals match-up against the New York Rangers the NHL on NBC has decided to go with someone besides the Caps. The next option in line, the Philadelphia Flyers, intrigues Bruins and NHL fans for quite a few reasons.

These teams may not be in the same division, but there's still a large share of bad blood between the two franchises. The base of the hatred stems from that fateful Saturday matinee against the Flyers on October 27th, 2007. In the first period of a scoreless game, Patrice Bergeron was leveled into the boards on a more-than-questionable hit by Flyers blue-liner Randy Jones. The Bruins went on to lose the game and Bergeron for the next 72 games of the regular season and entire playoffs. However, the rivalry didn't end after that contest.

Later in the year, when the teams met in the City of Brotherly Love (irony), Flyers forward and Sideshow-Bob-look-a-like Scott Hartnell decided he wanted to continue the Flyers team motive of board-and-run when he boarded Bruins defensemen Andrew Alberts, giving Alberts a concussion and ending his season prematurely. He followed that up with an attempt at boarding Bruins captain Zdeno Chara when an agitated Aaron Ward took matters into his own hands with some vigilante justice against the Flyers.

At the end of 2007-08, it was the Bruins who had the last laugh as they went 3-1-0 against the Broad Street Bullies including two over-time thrillers. The hatred between this team's has continued into the 2008-09 season where all four match-ups between the two Eastern Conference contenders was filled with hard hits, penalties and fisticuffs.

As a fan of thriving franchises in the NHL, these two teams match-up perfectly for the contest. Both teams can hit, score and make exceptionally great plays. Both clubs are back to competing at a high-level and are trying to return to the glory they brought to their cities in the 1970's. This may not be Clarke vs. Orr, or the Big Bad Bruins vs. the Broad Street Bullies, but this is as close as we're going to get if Montreal's not coming to Boston.

The What If's Of Round One

For teams like the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils, it's another year of disappointing first round exits. For the Sharks and Flyers, it was a step back in their movement towards a Stanley Cup when considering their playoff success last year. Then you have teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues it was a step in the right direction, as their years of development and trips in last place are seeming to pay off as they found themselves in the playoffs. However, for the losers, they can't help but ask "What if...?"

Eastern Conference

David Putty may be on the New Jersey Devils side, but for the second year in a row, Marty and company were sent packing in the 1st round. What if right winger Jamie Langenbrunner didn't miss 3 crucial games of the series with a lower body injury? The Captain posted 3 points in 4 games, despite the Devils only winning 1 of the 4 games he played in. What if the Devils powerplay played up to their potential and did better than the pathetic 3-25 they ended with?

The Philadelphia Flyers may believe they have the "toughest fans in hockey" (they even make t-shirt's that say it) but it couldn't stop them from losing their series to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice in 6 games. The biggest what if for the Flyers has to be what if leading goal scorer Jeff Carter actually showed up? Carter had just 1 goal with a -1 in the 6 game series, compare that to his 46 goals in the regular season. What if Captain Mike Richards wasn't playing through 2 injured shoulders? Despite his injury, the 24 year old Richards put up 5 points, making us wonder what he could have done if he were at 100%.

John Tortorella was the driving force behind the re-emergence of the New York Rangers, but one bottle throwing incident later the Rangers were sent home on a disgusting Sergei Federov wrist-shot. As Ranger fans pack up their rally towels into their closet along with their Mark Messier jersey, they have a few questions they should ponder. What if Henrik Lundqivst played less than 70 games during the regular season, would he have been better? That argument could be easily shut down as he's played over 70 games in 3 straight Regardless of Henrik, what if John Tortorella didn't throw the bottle at the crowd that was heckling him? The Rangers coach was suspended for Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, a game they could have arguably won had they had their head coach behind the bench. The fact that Sean Avery showed everyone else on the Rangers roster up with his high level of intensity in his play after being benched is a knock to the entire Rangers rosters heart.

What a 100th year celebration for the Montreal Canadiens, in case you didn't know, it was their 100th season. It was rarely talked about (note the sarcasm.). In fact, it was actually their 99th season for those who are curious, but that's a discussion for another day. What if the Montreal Canadiens had a healthy Andrei Markov? In my opinion, that still wouldn't have mattered. The Bruins went 4-0-1 against Montreal with Markov in the line-up. The biggest what if in my opinion was, what if Carey Price was as good as everyone billed him as? The simple answer is, he's just not that good. He's looking a lot more like the next Andrew Raycroft rather than the next Ken Dryden or Patrick Roy with his head-case like attitude and inconsistency.

Western Conference

Yet another year where the San Jose Sharks come into the NHL Playoffs as favorites in the West, and yet another year of disappointment. The team added Anaheim Ducks forward Travis Moen, who went pointless in the 6 game series with a -4 as he got ousted by his former team. What if Joe Thornton decided to show up for more than just Game 5? Excluding Game 5, Jumbo Joe had 0 goals and just 2 assists in the other 5 games, continuing to gain his reputation of being a playoff choke artist. Also, what if the Anaheim Ducks had gone with J.S Giguere as their goaltender? Jonas Hiller absolutely stole the series, the 27 year old Swiss goaltender went 4-1-1 with a 1.65 GAA and 2 shut-outs in the 1st round.

How is Mike Keenan still the coach of the Calgary Flames? The team sputtered in Game 6 against Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks and found themselves out in the 1st round for the 4th year in a row. Rumor has it that Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff has a bit of a "problem", whether that's drugs or alcohol isn't really talked about, but at the same time, you can't blame his struggles on a drug rumor. However, what if Kipper didn't play in 76 of the Flames games this season? I don't care if you're Patrick freakin' Roy, that's an absurd amount of games to play and still be effective in the playoffs. It was clear that Miikka was spent, his play spoke for itself as he finished the series with a 3.52 GAA. Also, what if the Flames didn't trade for Olli Jokinen? Jokinen played well in the series, but it's a very possible theory that the Flames lost more depth than they gained when they traded for Olli.

Despite losing half of their salary cap to injuries, the St. Louis Blues salvaged their way into the 6th seed in the Western Conference led by head-coach Andy Murray. The biggest what if of course is, what if the St. Louis Blues were a healthy team? They were without top defensemen Erik Johnson before the season even began and lost LW Paul Kariya in the 1st month of the regular season. Another question Blues fan could ask was, what if the Blues stayed in the 8th seed and faced San Jose? Roberto Luongo proved to be impossible to beat for the Canucks, but if the Blues had drawn San Jose in the 1st round, one could make the argument that the Blues could have pushed the Sharks to 6 or 7 games, and win.

Perhaps there was no team happier to be in the playoffs than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite their spectacular season anchored by rookie goaltender Steve Mason, the Jackets fell in 4 games to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Nobody really expected them to take the series, but their lack of a hard-fought 6-7 game series was somewhat of a letdown. However, what if Rick Nash scored more than 1 goal in the 4 game sweep? Nash's only goal came in Game 4's 6-5 loss, certainly a disappointing series for the Columbus Captain. Despite their loss, all is not lost for the Blue Jackets. Steve Mason is a Vezina finalist at just 20 years old and the future is definitely bright for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Brashear Suspended For Six Games

The cliche goes, you can't teach an old dogs new tricks. Although over-used and beaten to death, the expression still rings true. In sports, this is especially the case and undoubtedly applies to every player's tendencies, reputation and skills. This can especially be said about Washington Capitals forward and enforcer Donald Brashear.

Yesterday, Brashear was at it again. During the pre-game skate before Game 6 between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, Brashear attempted to make his presence be known to the Rangers roster. While Brash's teammates skated around, the Caps tough-guy attempted to get into the head of Rangers enforcer Colton Orr. Brashear and Orr, who were involved in matching roughings during a scrum in Game 3 appeared to be mouthing off to one another back and forth when Brashear gave an apparent push to Colton Orr.

However, that wasn't the end of Brashear's normal goon-like-actions. Midway through the first period, Ryan Callahan delivered a check to the back of Brashear. Brashear, turned around looking for retaliation on Callahan, but as Callahan skated over the boards and onto the Rangers bench, Brash had to find a new target. Insert Blair Betts. As Blair Betts turned to dump the puck into the Capitals zone, Brashear leveled him with a devastating shoulder to head hit. As Betts crumbled to the ice, the Madison Square Garden crowd erupted in a disgusted uproar.

Betts, as you can see from the video, was clearly not expecting the hit from Brashear as he dropped to the ice holding his head. The 29 year old Betts, was unable to get to his feet under his own power and was helped to the dressing room. During the hit, Betts sustained a broken orbital bone in his face. The orbital bone as Bruins fans know, is a sensitive part of the face and does not heal easily, as Michael Ryder missed two weeks of the regular season due to the injury. The loss of Betts hits at a bad time for the Rangers, as Betts is considered the Rangers best penalty-killer and heading into Game 7, the Rangers have allowed just 6 powerplay goals on 31 powerplay opportunities for the Caps.

My thoughts on the Brashear hit was that it was exactly what the NHL doesn't need. Brashear, a player who's been suspended a total of 6 games since the NHL lock-out isn't exactly a player NHL VP Colin Campbell doesn't know very well. He's accumulated over 2,500 minutes of penalties in his NHL career, and he's the chief punk (like that 'Slap Shot' reference?) of the Southeast Division. I believe the suspension of 6 games is very justifiable as Brashear, could have ended the career of Blair Betts had he hit him closer to the temple. As much as I have given harsh criticism to NHL VP Colin Campbell, for a guy who's preaching about cutting down on dangerous and malicious hits I believe his punishment of Brashear fits the bill. As Betts isn't playing anytime in the near future, possibly not for the rest of the playoffs, it's only fitting that Donald Brashear watches his team from the press box, the same place the man he injured will be tomorrow night at the Verizon Center.

2009 NHL Playoffs: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Predictions

In the Eastern Conference, it was the year of the Bruins. Bruins stood atop of almost every offensive and goaltending catergory in the NHL and even Coach Claude Julien is considered the odds on favorite to win the Jack Adams Award. This year in the East also gave fans of teams like the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens severe heart attacks as their teams fell in and out of the playoff race as the season went on, but all three find themselves in the dance. It was also a year of disappointment as the Florida Panthers became so close to capturing their first playoff berth in 8 years, only to be denied by a Montreal overtime loss.

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens - Seriously, what would the NHL Playoffs be without a Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens showdown? The Bruins come in as the East's top seed, led by Norris-favorite Zdeno Chara and the best offense in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Habs late season push has to be credited to the revival of the powerplay in Montreal. However, the Habs are without leader of the powerplay Andrei Markov, who's sidelined with a knee injury and Mathieu Schneider is playing through what was at one point considered a season ending shoulder injury. With Montreal putting their three best offensive players on the same line (Tanguay-Koivu-Kovalev) their offense will surely lack depth and the inconsistent goaltending of Carey Price will ultimately make them unable to get the job done. Prediction: Bruins win in 5.

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers - Perhaps one of the most intriguing series in the NHL Playoffs is the battle between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers. The Rangers have proved to be a worthy adversary for every team they face since the trading deadline. For Washington, the juggernaut that is Alexander Ovechkin is coming off yet another MVP-like season and has one of the NHL's best supporting casts with Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alexander Semin skating alongside him. The biggest question mark for the Capitals will be in net, Jose Theodore. Theodore has lacked the consistency he had throughout his tenure in Colorado and is by far less superior to Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Prediction: Rangers win in 7.

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes - Is this not the most boring series in the entire playoffs? Combine the Devils sleep-inducing defensive trap style of play and the over all bland team that is Carolina Hurricanes and what do you have? This series. The mystery for the New Jersey Devils is which Martin Brodeur will show up? Will it be the Marty of old Devils fans know and love or the Marty who's struggled since returning from his bicep injury. The Hurricanes have been on a tear since acquiring Erik Cole from the Oilers, and Cole has responded well to his return to Raleigh, posting 15 points in 17 games with the 'Canes. Prediction: Hurricanes win in 6.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers - The interstate rivals meet again in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. There's no doubting that these two teams hate one another, as the battle for Pennsylvania continues in the 1st round. The Penguins are on fire since the hiring of Dan Bylsma behind the bench while Sidney Crosby has found his stride just in time for the playoffs. With the offensive additions of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, and add in Russian sensation Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have surely regained the offensive strength they had during last years Playoff run. Meanwhile, across the state in Philly, the Flyers late seasons struggles due to lack of strong goaltending left them in the fifth seed and without home ice advantage, something they fought for all season long. Prediction: Penguins win in 7.