Bruins Return To Garden To Battle Devils

Hi Boston, remember hockey?

It’s been five days since the Boston Bruins have played a game, a thrilling win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night in Canada’s capital where the B’s scored two goals with under a minute and a half left in the third to tie it and eventually win in the shootout.

Tonight, the B’s will play host the New Jersey Devils, a team that has given the Bruins trouble and close match-up’s for years. Under Claude Julien, the Bruins are 3-2-3 against the Devils and no final score between the two clubs has had a goal differential over three, which has happened only once.

Ten games into the season, the Devils, back with Jacques Lemaire behind the bench, are off to a 6-4-0 start, but their road record has been more than impressive, it’s been perfect. The Devils are undefeated on the road with a 5-0 record.

As always, a main cog in the success of New Jersey has been Martin Brodeur, who missed much of last season with a torn bicep injury. However, luckily for Boston, Marty will be watching tonight’s game from the bench as Yann Danis will make his Devils debut tonight in Boston.

With the departure of Scott Clemmensen to Florida through free agency and retirement of Kevin Weekes, the Devils were without a solid back-up and addressed this issue with the signing of Yann Danis to a one year contract worth league minimum.

For Danis, this is his third NHL franchise in as many years, spending last season with the New York Islanders, where he put together a respectable season on a dreadful team with a 10-17-3 record, .910 save percentage, and 2.86 goals against average.

Despite his decent numbers, the same cannot be said when Danis stepped in between the pipes against the Boston Bruins.

In three games last season against the Killer B’s, Danis went 0-3-0 with a .881 save percentage, including a start against the Bruins in the Isles season finale where he was lit up for four goals in 25 minutes.

For Boston, the focus will be on looking to continuing the momentum they gained last week as the team gained five out of a possible six points while without top-liners Marc Savard and Milan Lucic.

The Bruins will still be without Lucic (finger) and Savard (foot) for tonight’s game, but call-up’s Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka have played considerably well and aren’t causing headaches for fans in the Hub of Hockey when on the ice just yet.

Last week, the success for Boston came in the final five minutes against the Sens, a task they surely don’t want to have to repeat tonight with Danis in net. The keys to the game will be to put the pressure on the Devils early and get Danis rattled. However, given the Lemaire trap-style of play, inducing lullabies everywhere since 1993, the B’s may have very limited chances to do so in tonight’s game, creating the mantra of capitalizing on their chances.

Players To Watch

For Boston, the pressure-cooker has got to be building on Matt Hunwick. Hunwick, who missed nearly all of the Bruins playoff-push last year following a ruptured spleen injury, has struggled out of the gate on a defensive standpoint so far in 2009-10. While the 24-year old has three goals in ten games thus far, he’s been a total liability when it comes to defending the Bruins zone responsibly. If this continues, B’s fans will be clamoring for the return of Johnny Boychuk from the press box in place of Hunwick sooner, rather than later.

Tim Thomas, coming off a huge 27-save performance in Ottawa on Saturday will be in net tonight for Boston and will look to improve to 5-3-0 on the short season. The 2009 Vezina Trophy winner has experienced relatively good success against New Jersey, boasting a 4-3-3 record and .920 save percentage, including a shutout of last year’s Devils.

In red and white tonight, while Patrik Elias is tops among Devils forwards when it comes to career points against Boston, Elias will be inactive tonight still recovering from off-season groin surgery, putting the focus on Devils captain and notorious Bruins killer, Jamie Langenbrunner. In 10 games this season, Langenbrunner is already off to a fast start with seven points and a +4. Always the dangerous playmaker due to his size and effective skating, Langenbrunner has already tallied 23 points in 34 career games against Boston and could have more if not contained by the Bruins.

Follow me on Twitter, friends.

Ty

30 Teams In 30 Days: A Tougher Toronto In '09

Hello Toronto, this is Brian Burke. He's here to fix the cataclysmic series of bad events happening here in recent years and end a near 45-year drought.

Upon the arrival of the 2008-09 NHL season, the Maple Leafs were without a familiar face in not just Toronto, but all of Ontario. Putting a name to the face leads you to 38 year old forward Mats Sundin. The Leafs all-time point leader, Sundin left Toronto, a place he called home and captained for 13 seasons and was officially a free agent. Sundin was still chasing the ever elusive Stanley Cup, a goal he's yet to even come close to in his entire 18 year career.

Following Sundin's departure, fellow Leafs teammates Andrew Raycroft and gritty forward Darcy Tucker left the club through free agency and after a trade that sent Bryan McCabe packing for Florida, the Leafs seemed to be in serious trouble heading into their 91st year of hockey.

The additions to the Maple Leafs in 2008 included defensemen Jeff Finger, Stars forward Niklas Hagman and Montreal-castaway Mikhali Grabovski. Despite these additions, the Leafs couldn't compete in this year's Eastern Conference. The team's lack of a solid goaltender was undoubtedly their biggest downfall as Vesa Toskala spent significant amounts of time on the injured reserve while Curtis Joseph continued to provide loss after loss. This lack of goaltending put the Leafs in the unfortunate situation of rushing Justin Pogge to the NHL along with trading for veterans Martin Gerber and Olaf Kolzig to try and sure up the holes in the crease.

Heading into the summer of 2009, Leafs fans were anxious to see how Brian Burke was going to put his stamp on the club as this was his first real off-season with the club. Burke wasted no time in drafting Nazem Kadri, despite his apparent desire to create another brother combo in Toronto like he did with the Sedin's in Vancouver and Niedermayer's in Anaheim with his interest in drafting Brayden Schenn.

Burke's biggest splash was ultimately made through free agency with size being a major need for the Maple Leafs in his eyes, something he has preached about for years. Addressing this issue, the Leafs signed Mike Komisarek away from their rival Montreal Canadiens with a four year contract worth four and a half million dollars a season. To complement the signing of Komisarek, the Leafs were also able to add former Anaheim defensemen Francois Beauchemin to the roster through free agency. In what was a somewhat expected move, the Leafs then sent defensemen and alternate captain Pavel Kubina to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Colin Stuart and Garnet Exelby.

In true Burke fashion, the Maple Leafs now had a large set of bigger defensemen with great physical styles of play. Adding to the bigger squad, the signing of Colton Orr to a four-year contract had the Leafs already looking to be a far grittier team in 2009.

The biggest problem remained in the crease of the Air Canada Center. The Leafs goaltending was simply horrid in 2008-09 and Vesa Toskala (and his deceptive record of 22-17-11) was a headache to watch every night and Curtis Joseph, or what's left of him anyhow was no relief. The idea that the Leafs still needed a legitimate number one goaltender for the future remained.

Insert Jonas Gustavsson. Also known as "The Monster" in Sweden, the 24 year old goaltender simply dominated the Swedish Elite League yet again in 2008-09 with his 1.96 GAA and even more impressive and record setting 1.03 GAA, .961 save percentage and 5 shutouts in the SEL Playoffs. Although many rumors indicated Gustavsson was heading to Vancouver to replace former Boston College goaltender Cory Schneider, the Monster signed a one year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2009-10 season.

If Gustavsson is to falter, which has become a relatively more common thing involving European goaltenders who dominate their leagues overseas the Leafs have insurance policy Joey McDonald waiting down in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.

As it stands right now, the Maple Leafs have just over two million in cap space and with the reacquiring of their 2010 second round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks it appears as if Brian Burke is preparing to make a big run at Boston sniper and restricted free agent Phil Kessel. If Boston and Toronto are to work out a deal involving the 21 year old forward, Toronto would gain a first line type player they desperately need while Boston would likely obtain the Leafs first three draft choices from the 2010 Draft.

However, with 2010 expected to be one of the poorer draft classes in recent years the idea of Boston matching the offer in order to work out a trade with Toronto seems likely. This will definitely be a story to keep your eyes on as the NHL season draws closer.

Here is how the Leafs line-up should shake up come October 3rd.

Jason Blake - Mikhali Grabovski - Lee Stempniak

Niklas Hagman - Matt Stajan - Alexei Ponikarovsky

Nikolai Kulemin - Jiri Tlusty - Jamal Mayers

Colton Orr - John Mitchell - Wayne Primeau

Extra Skater: Rickard Wallin

Mike Komisarek - Tomas Kaberle

Luke Schenn - Francois Beauchemin

Jeff Finger - Ian White

Extra Skaters: Mike Van Ryn, Garnet Exelby

Vesa Toskala
Jonas Gustavsson

This team essentially needs a superstar forward in order to make a serious run for the playoffs. Is Kessel that player? It's entirely possible, but still may not be enough and will be a total non-factor until he's officially out of Boston and into Toronto. The defense for the Leafs may be stronger, but it may be a great idea for Burke to look to shop Kaberle for some help on the forward front. It's still too early for the Burke Plan to become a plan lasting into mid-April and will continue to be in process of building a complete team in Toronto this season.

Players To Watch: Luke Schenn, it'll be interesting to see how the 19 year old performs in his second season in the NHL. Him being a prized possession of Brian Burke only tells you good things about his future. Jonas Gustavsson is also an obvious player to be watching for Toronto this season, just how does the Monster handle the NHL? Will he be the next Henrik Lundqvist, or the next Hannu Toivonen?

Prediction: 4th in Northeast Division. 9th in Eastern Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Duchene Time In Denver

When many of us think about the Colorado Avalanche one name comes to mind, British Columbia's own Joe Sakic. Never the dance after a goal kind of player, but a stern and confident leader on the ice who led by example. Sakic, the Av's only captain in their 13 season history in Denver, left the NHL this off-season and opted to retire. His departure is just one of many changes for the Colorado Avalanche heading into 2009-10.

Since their arrival to Colorado, the Avalanche have become a staple of success in the Western Conference. Prior to the 2008-09 season, the Avalanche averaged 100 points a season throughout their history and were coming off three consecutive 95 point seasons. To say that those results didn't repeat in 2008-09 would be putting it lightly.

Following a sweep out of the 2008 Western Conference Semifinals by their arch-rivaled Detroit Red Wings, the future of the Avalanche was uncertain. Peter Forsberg was seemingly out of the equation for good, starting goaltender Jose Theodore was a free agent and Sakic simply wasn't getting younger.

On July 1st, 2008 the now fired Avalanche GM Francois Giguere let veterans and key components of the 2007-08 club walk when Jose Theodore, Jeff Finger, Kurt Sauer, Andrew Brunette and Peter Forsberg all left Denver for other clubs and/or hit the open market uncontested. Rather than finding valuable replacements that could bring the same production, Giguere opted to bring in Toronto tough guy Darcy Tucker and former Bruin and Calder Trophy winner Andrew Raycroft.

The youth movement in Colorado seemed to be officially in motion. With the reins of the starting job seemingly handed down to Peter Budaj, the Av's were set for their 2008-09 club roster. The results? Absolutely horrendous.

Budaj seemingly fell flat on his face in 2008-09, a letdown from his previous three seasons where he went a combined 61-37-16 with a .902 save percentage. The struggles of Budaj let to a battle for the starting job between him and Andrew Raycroft where the Avalanche weren't seeking the best goaltender as much as they were simply seeking the lesser of two evils. Budaj finished with a career worst 20-29-5 record along with a save percentage under .900 for the first time in his career.

When Raycroft left the Av's after just one season to go back up Roberto Luongo for league minimum, the Av's went out and grabbed Craig Anderson to back-up and possibly take over for Budaj if his struggles are to continue. Anderson went 15-7-5 for the Florida Panthers in 2008-09 and is without question an upgrade to the Colorado goaltending core.

At the conclusion of what was a disastrous season where Colorado finished with just 66 points, a remodeling was needed and they did just that. Francois Giguere was sent packing after just three years with the organization as General Manager, which was followed up by the firing of coach Tony Granato. As Joe Sacco will take over behind the bench for the Av's in 2009, the rosters will surely have a different feel to them.

The biggest addition is certainly the Avalanche's first round draft choice and third overall, Matt Duchene. The 18-year old, who grew up an Avalanche fan is coming off another successful season with Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League. His 79 points in 57 games and 26 points in 21 playoff games in 2008-09 show the Avalanche that he's a clutch performer ready to take it to the next level.

Although he may be lacking in size at 5'11, Duchene has the skill set to be a phenomenal center with offensive capabilities and a sound defensive touch for many years to come.

Besides Duchene, the biggest name heard in Denver regarding the Avalanche was the moving of Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings. The 33 year old winger is coming off a 59 point season and was moved to L.A for defensemen Kyle Quincey in a seemingly obvious cap dump considering Smyth's contract puts him at a 6.25 million dollar salary cap hit for the next three seasons.

As the Avalanche begin to look towards the 2009-10 season, the goal is simple and that is to keep the rebuilding going. A playoff spot for Colorado seems near impossible, but isn't that what we said for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008?

The Avalanche opening night line-up should go as follows.

Wojtek Wolski - Paul Stastny - Milan Hejduk

Darcy Tucker - Matt Duchene - Marek Svatos
Cody McLeod - T.J Hensick - Chris Stewart

David Koci - Philippe Dupuis - David Jones

John-Michael Liles - Adam Foote

Kyle Quincey - Scott Hannah

Brett Clark - Ruslan Salei

Peter Budaj

Craig Anderson

Although the offense is there, the defense in front of Budaj or Anderson is just plain awful. Expect more of the same from this year's Avalanche, lots of goals against and not enough offensive firepower to combat. However, it'll certainly be fun to witness how the Duchene Era will begin now that the Sakic Era is officially done in the Rockies.

Prediction: 5th in Northwest Division, 14th in Western Conference.

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.

Free Agent Frenzy: 10 Best Defensemen

Continuing on the "Free Agent Frenzy" pieces, we have the ten best defensemen available come July 1st. In what is rapidly becoming an aging position, the market for defensemen is sure to be big for teams looking to add that big physical presence or that puck-moving defensemen to put their club over the edge for the Stanley Cup.

10) Mathieu Schneider - What a year it's been for the 40 year old defensemen. Schneider's season began in Anaheim, but not for long as he was sent to Atlanta before the season began in a cap-crunching move. In Atlanta, Schneider was relied upon to become a pivotal role player on the Thrashers powerplay. However, the Schneider experiment failed as in 44 games the blue-liner had just 4 points on the Thrashers powerplay and was traded to Montreal days before the trading deadline. In Montreal, Schneider provided a spark to the revitalized Canadiens powerplay with 14 out of his 17 points coming on the powerplay. By season's end, Schneider was battling shoulder injuries and was useless in the Habs 4 game sweep out of the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. Even at 40, Schneider can provide a great veteran presence on a blue-line and is still a very capable weapon for any team's powerplay. His pay day will undoubtedly not be nearly as lucrative as his current 5.6 million dollar salary.

9) Niclas Havelid - Along with Schneider, Niclas Havelid found himself to be exiting Atlanta during the week of the NHL Trade Deadline. The 36 year old's 190 blocked shots put him among the Devils/Thrashers leader and with 37 takeaways he's still a very valuable defensive minded defensemen. With a 2.7 million dollar cap hit, Havelid's future with the Devils is uncertain. The Devils already have their hands full trying to hold on to goaltender Scott Clemmensen, defensive forward John Madden, defensemen Johnny Oduya and speedy winger Brian Gionta so it's entirely possible that Niclas Havelid could be seeking a new home come July.

8) Johnny Oduya - Along with Havelid, 27 year old defensemen Johnny Oduya is another Devil without a contract. In just his 3rd full NHL season, all with the Devils, Oduya is certainly developing a name for himself as a clutch defensmen. 3 of his 7 goals in the 2008-09 campaign came in the final five minutes of the game and 8 of his 22 assists came with under five minutes left in play. After two straight seasons with a +/- over 20 and when you factor in his youth Oduya is certainly a player who can fly under the radar in Newark. His current cap hit of 600,000 is nothing and will certainly get a nice pay raise, likely double his current salary whether it be from the Devils or perhaps the Calgary Flames to re-join coach Brent Sutter as the Flames are in the market for a lower tier defensemen this off-season.

7) Derek Morris - It can be said that 2008-09 was somewhat of a underachieving year for Edmonton native and 'Yotes/Rangers defensemen Derek Morris. The 30 year old's play in the desert took a hit as he struggled to post solid numbers under coach Wayne Gretzky and found himself traded to the Big Apple in a deadline deal. His decrease in powerplay points will surely hurt 1996's 13th overall draft pick in this year's market. Although Morris' numbers picked up in New York with the Rangers, how could a team be sold that Morris wouldn't throw in the proverbial towel if he signs with a team that ends up being a non-contender as he displayed in Phoenix? Morris will surely find a team to sign with and probably with ease, but I for one am doubting the notion that any team is going to offer him more than the 3.9 million dollars a year salary he currently makes or even as much.

6) Francois Beauchemin - Chances are if F.B had played in more than 20 games this year for the Anaheim Ducks he'd be higher on this list. However, due to a torn ACL Beauchemin missed the final 62 games of the Ducks regular season before returning to the line-up for Anaheim's push towards their second Stanley Cup in 3 years. In Francois' 20 regular season games, he scored 4 goals, including 2 game winning goals and tallied 1 assist. In 13 post-season games for Anaheim, Beauchemin registered 31 hits and finished with a +1, showing potential suitors that his physical game was still there even after the surgery. In all likelihood, the team that can sign Francois Beauchemin to a contract this off-season will be making one of the better choices in the sure to be wild free agency market.

5) Scott Niedermayer - The only reason he's lower on this list is because he's pretty much a lock to return to the Anaheim Ducks. How much does the captain still have left in the tank? The soon to be 36 year old blue-liner still has his scoring touch, registering 59 points in 82 games with the Ducks. With Pronger now a member of the Flyers, the load on Scott's back may have just gotten a little bit heavier.

4) Mattias Ohlund - Vancouver's alternate captain and all-time scoring leader among defensemen Mattias Ohlund is set for a new contract. The 32 year old Swede is coming off yet another strong season for the Canucks where he led the Vancouver blue-line to their second divisional title since 2006-07. Ohlund's +14 was second to Willie Mitchell (+29) for the lead on the Canucks point. Ohlund was still a premiere force on the defensive aspect of the Canucks game as he blocked over 150 shots and led the Canucks in shifts and shifts per game. There's no denying that Ohlund's services are greatly taken on any team and with the Canucks having their plate full with re-signing the Sedins, extending Luongo and looking to make a splash in the free agent market it's possible that the 2006 Olympic gold medalist will be moving to another city.

3) Rob Blake - Will age ever catch up to Rob Blake? It doesn't appear to be, for the time being. The 39 year old former King, Avalanche and now Shark had his best season since 2005-06 as he and Dan Boyle became one of the best defensive pairings in the National Hockey League. Blake's +15 was the best among Sharks defensemen and his 45 points were second only to Dan Boyle. With age, the concerns about endurance become a big issue with teams interested in the services of the 18 year NHL veteran. However, Blake's 26.8 shifts a game average and 21+ minutes of time on ice per game give teams reason to not be concerned.

2) Michael Komisarek - Loathed by Boston, loved by Montreal and an undeserving All-Star. Just a few terms and situations that can be used to describe 6'4 Habs defensemen Michael Komisarek. Whether you love his style of play or not (personally, I hate it. Eye-gouging and turtling have never been huge in my book.) fact remains that he's one of the best stay-at-home defensemen in the NHL. The rumored asking price for Komi has become one of the better laughs in the NHL as Komisarek's agent reportedly wants a 5 year contract worth atleast 35 million dollars in total. One issue for potential suitors of the 27 year old bruiser is his lack of showing up in the Canadiens first round series against the Boston Bruins, where his poor attitude was shown as he found himself ejected from Game 4 following a cowardly attack on Milan Lucic from behind after losing a fight against his arch-rival. If the Habs chose to move on from Komisarek and attempt to sign Bouwmeester, Beauchemin or Ohlund I'd expect to see Komisarek dawn the blue, orange and white and sign with the New York Islanders.

1) Jay Bouwmeester - Undoubtedly the biggest prize of the deadline and now the off-season in the market of defensemen is Florida Panthers 6'4 blue-liner Jay Bouwmeester. Following another 40+ point season in Sunrise, Florida it appears Jay-Bo is ready for his big pay day. His 20 powerplay points and upside certainly put the 25 year old at the top of every NHL GM's July 1st wish list. Despite the upside, Bouwmeester's 'disappearance' during the Panthers push to making the playoffs could be a turn-off to some teams who could view this as a sign that perhaps Jay couldn't handle the pressure and intensity of a hockey town or the playoffs. No matter how badly he performed for the last month of the season when looking at his -9 after the trading deadline, Bo's undoubtedly getting his big payday from some team out there.

Free Agent Frenzy: 10 Best Goaltenders

We're just six short days away from every hockey fans favorite part of the off-season, the start of free agency. This year, the focus is on the forwards and the potential of monstrous contracts even in this rough economic climate for the NHL. However, for many teams there are holes within their team that begin in between the iron in the goaltending department. Some of these teams heading into next season without a solidified goaltending situation include the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and even the Detroit Red Wings. Kickin' off the series of 'Free Agent Frenzy' pieces we have the 10 best available unrestricted free agent goaltenders come July 1st.

10) Antero Niittymaki - Niitty had a peculiar year in Philly to say the least. He was just as inconsistent as his teammate and fellow protector of the crease Marty Biron but his numbers weren't terrible either. Niittymaki went 15-8-6 with a 2.76 GAA in 32 games for the Flyers. As easy as it may be to write off Niitty as having a bad year, his numbers in fact very deceptive. In 7 of Niitty's 15 total losses when you count both regulation and overtime losses, he made 30 saves or more, including a 40 save effort in an overtime loss against the San Jose Sharks. He's not bound to get a major bump from his current 1.23 million dollar contract but the Finnish netminder has proved he's more than capable to perform decently in a platoon role.

9) Manny Legace - How far the Mighty Manny has fallen. Following a successful 2007-08 season where Legace earned a place on the Western Conference All-Star Team, Legace was in complete control of guarding the net for the Blues. His season struggles began early when Legace tripped on the carpet rolled out for vice-president wannabe Sarah Palin's puck drop between the Blues and Kings. Legace was injured during the spill and missed 5 games with an injured hip flexor. Inconsistency and a new found love for minor injuries found the Blues netminder with a 13-9-2 record and a .885 SV% and placed on waivers. Legace went unclaimed and played out the rest of the season with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. Legace went 14-7-1 with 3 shut-out's and a 2.00 GAA and was the goalie during the Rivermen's playoff run, which only lasted 7 games. There's no doubting that Legace still has the talent to compete in the NHL, but the injuries and confidence will be a big issue for teams with interest in the 36 year old goalie.

8) Martin Gerber - 2008-09 was a difficult year for the 34 year old Swiss goalie. For the first time since making the jump to the Eastern Conference, Martin Gerber looked frustrated and struggled to keep games close. Gerber's season began with the Senators, where he posted a 4-9-1 record along with a .899 SV%. Gerber's struggles mounted to 3 different call-up/demotions to the Binghampton Senators of the AHL until he was traded to Toronto during the NHL trading deadline. Gerber played considerably well considering the Maple Leafs (lack of) talent where he went 6-5-0 with a 3.23 GAA. His best Maple Leaf moment came when an irate Gerber threw a temper tantrum and bumped a referee, an action that cost him a three-game suspension. However, the 34 year old is still a more than capable as a back-up to any team in the NHL.

7) Craig Anderson - Before 2008-09, the Panthers goalie had never played more than 29 games in a season, but in 2008-09 he reached a new career milestone by playing in 31 games. No big deal, right? Well usually no, but when he consider Anderson's numbers it was truly a breakout season for the 28 year old. His 15-7-5 record and 3 shut-out's created a goaltending controversy mid-way through the Panthers season and Anderson finished the season with a .924SV%, good for 3rd in the NHL. Anderson's current salary of 550,000 dollars a season is sure to go up and it's likely that Anderson could stay in Florida with a reasonable offer when you consider the lack of NHL-quality netminders in the Panthers system. Tyler Plante went 5-10-1 while Chris Beckford-Tseu went 3-14-1 for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.

6) Dwayne Roloson - If you didn't find yourself tipping your proverbial cap to this guy at the end of the season, then you're simply not a hockey fan. Dwayne Roloson started 36 consecutive games for the Edmonton Oilers in their attempt to make the playoffs in what many considered a disappointing year. Dwayne's best iron-man attempt wasn't enough to recharge the Oilers offense, who by seasons end left the 39 year old Ontario native out to dry. Roloson finished with a 28-24-9 record along with a .915 SV% and is up for a new contract. Barring any unforeseen incident and attempt to officially hand the torch to Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers expect Roloson to be back in Edmonton for the same amount of money, perhaps a little less.

5) Scott Clemmensen - New Jersey's Scott Clemmensen presents an interesting case for teams interested. Is he the real deal, or was he a beneficiary of New Jersey's defensive style of play? The soon to be 32 year old Iowa native went 25-13-1 with a 2.39 GAA in the absence of Devils mainstay Martin Brodeur. Clemm's play certainly kept the Devils in the race for the Atlantic Division and even the Eastern Conference but found himself demoted back down to the Lowell Devils when Marty returned. The Boston College alum is certain to get a boost from his current 550,000 dollar salary based on the numbers and poise he displayed but whether he can get it from the Devils or not is a topic for debate. Along with Clemmensen, the Devils back-up Kevin Weekes is an unrestricted free agent and could likely be brought back for cheaper money than Clemmensen. However, given Marty's age and injury woes experienced in 2008-09, it should be in the Devils best interest to keep Clemmensen in New Jersey, using some of the cap money freed up from the now retired Bobby Holik.

4) Manny Fernandez - Following major knee surgery that limited him to just 4 games in 2007-08, Manny Fernandez rebounded and rebounded well for the Boston Bruins. The 34 year old Fernandez went 16-8-3 for the Bruins, including a 2.59 GAA and went on to win the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Tim Thomas. Manny's health came into question when he was sidelined with an undisclosed injury that kept him out of the line-up for two games, and later sidelined for 4 games with a back injury. His injury provided Bruins fans to get a view of the future of the B's crease, Tuukka Rask. In Rask's one game, he made 35 saves to shut-out to New York Rangers. The health of Fernandez will certainly turn some teams off, but there's still no denying that when healthy, Fernandez is a goalie who can thrive in a platoon role with another goalie. At this point in his career, he himself has even stated that being a full time starter is likely out of the question due to his age and health. With Rask ready for the NHL, there's simply no room for Manny in Boston. He certainly won't receive the 4.3 million dollars a season he made in Boston, but Manny will undoubtedly find a team very shortly.

3) Ty Conklin - In recent years, Ty Conklin has become one of the best journeyman goaltenders in today's NHL, Alex Auld being his best competition. Following another strong season as a back-up to a contending team where he went 25-11-2 including a spectacular 6 shut-outs, the 33 year old goaltender is without a contract, again. Conklin's 750,000 dollar salary looks like a joke when you look at his numbers but his preference of a platoon/back-up role is what makes the deal so sweet for clubs looking to sign the UNH alum. Conklin's stated his desire to stay in Detroit, but with young goaltender Jimmy Howard beginning to look NHL ready down with the Grand Rapid Griffins of the AHL where he posted a 21-18-4 record with 4 shutouts and a .916 SV%. As much as Conklin may want to stay in Detroit it's possible that San Jose, Pittsburgh (again), Chicago and Philadelphia could be knocking on his door come July 1st.

2) Martin Biron - When the Flyers obtained Martin Biron from the Buffalo Sabres back in February of 2007, the feeling in Philadelphia was that this guy was going to be the goalie that brings the Flyers back to the top of the NHL. However, the honeymoon in Philly never really took off. Biron's play, although solid has become a model of inconsistency on Broad Street. In two full seasons with the Flyers, Biron has posted a 59-39-14 record with a 2.67 GAA. On a team crippled by questionable signings and an unfavorable cap number, Biron appears to be on the outs in Philly, despite his contributions of taking the Flyers to the Conference Finals in 2008 and leading them again in the 2009 Playoffs. He'll likely get a minor raise from his current 3.5 million dollars a year salary, but don't expect it to happen in black and orange.

1) Nikolai Khabibulin - 2008-09 was a year for Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to prove himself. He began the season finding himself placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks, who felt that newly signed goaltender Cristobal Huet could lead the 'Hawks into the playoffs better than the 13 year veteran. However, the man nicknamed the Bulin Wall proved all of his doubters in the front office wrong by going 25-8-7 for the Blackhawks and becoming their driving force into their 2009 run for the Stanley Cup. Despite getting injured in the Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, Khabibulin's play spoke for itself as he went 8-6-0 with a .898SV% through the recurrence of the lower body injury that kept the 36 year old out of 12 regular season games late in the season. It's unlikely he'll see the 6.75 million dollars a year that he currently gets from the Blackhawks from anyone given his age, durability and health but he is without the doubt the biggest free agent goaltender in this year's market.

A Possible Three's A Crowd: The Hamilton Coyotes?

Following the debacle that the possible sale of the Phoenix Coyotes has become, NHL fans keep hearing the mentioning of just one city: Hamilton, Ontario. For those of you who are not so geographically-savy, Hamilton is in the southern area of Ontario, in between Toronto and close to Buffalo, New York. Poising the question, will 3 NHL franchises within an hour of one another be too much?

The perennial NHL loser Phoenix Coyotes, found themselves among the bottom of the Western Conference and out of the playoffs for the 6th consecutive year. Another year where the Coyotes struggled yet again to put a winning product on the ice and fans in stands of the Jobing.com Arena. On top of missing the playoffs, the Coyotes have never advanced past the 1st round in their 13 year history in Phoenix. Their lack of success has undoubtedly produced a lack of serious fans in a questionable hockey market as the Coyotes ownership failed to make a profit for yet another season.

2008-09 was yet another trying year for the Coyotes franchise, as the team faltered so did the ownership's bid of climbing out of the red and into the black. The financial woes of the Phoenix Coyotes were disguised quite well, until a story leaked stating that the NHL had been giving advances in revenue sharing to the Phoenix Coyotes to help the team avoid bankruptcy. Since then, it's been reported that the Coyotes received 80+ million dollars from the NHL in order to avoid massive losses. It's also been rumored that 'Yotes owner Jerry Moyes was at one point buying 1,000 seats to every home game to avoid large losses; a practice reportedly stopped by NHL authorities. The struggling franchise then hit their lowest of lows when on May 5th, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Following the filing of bankruptcy, the news of Canadian tycoon Jim Balsillie offering to purchase the Coyotes franchise for an estimated 200+ million dollars off Jerry Moyes broke, an offer which Moyes reportedly accepted. The name of Jim Balsillie is nothing new to NHL executives, he's the same man who attempted to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, all with the same intention: moving the team to Hamilton. As both attempts by Balsillie were blocked by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, stating that the relocating of the Predators or Penguins franchise was out of the question during Balsillie's bids, Bettman has proved to be willing to move the Coyotes out of Glendale, Arizona and into a market hungry for hockey.

There's no doubting that Hamilton is perhaps the most suitable location, but whether it's most deserving is another question. They possess the biggest advantage and perhaps biggest potential issue for any other city vying for a team: an active NHL ready stadium. Copps Coliseum, an arena currently used by the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate, is a more than capable arena for NHL standards. The Coliseum, can seat up to 17,360 for hockey games and offers an additional parking garage for fans. Ultimately this gives an advantage to the city of Hamilton, who's original motive behind building the Copps Coliseum was to attract an NHL team to their city.

However, they're not the only ones in the hunt for a team. Winnipeg, which is ironically where the Jets left to become the Phoenix Coyotes has expressed their desire to the NHL to bring hockey back to the 'Peg. Despite the demolition of the Winnipeg Arena, the city of Winnipeg feels that the MTS Centre who acts as home to the Manitoba Moose, the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate. The arena located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg currently holds just over 15,000 fans at full capacity, which would make it the smallest arena in the NHL today. However with the NHL's return to Winnipeg, tickets would undoubtedly be in demand and a packed house would only mean good things. Demand is nothing new to the MTS Centre, as a 2008 poll by Pollstar Magazine stated that the arena was the 19th busiest in the world; 3rd busiest in Canada.

Although they may not hold the arena capacity advantage, Winnipeg has the biggest advantage in their corner: the backing of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. The head of the NHL has repeatedly stated his own preference of Winnipeg over Hamilton. Bettman has even used the age of Copps Coliseum as a reason not to bring a franchise to Hamilton, stating the fact that the arena was over 25 years old was working against Hamilton's bid for a franchise.

Personally, both cities presents intriguing options considering both are brimming with eagerness towards putting their city on the NHL's map of relevancy. Hamilton's advantage lies within the backing of a multi-billionaire while Winnipeg owns the nostalgic advantage and support of Gary Bettman. As interesting as bringing an NHL team to Hamilton would be, the idea of Winnipeg regaining a hockey team they never should have lost is sure to be a lift to the NHL. Not to mention Hamilton is directly between Buffalo and Toronto, creating a triangle of NHL franchises within an hour of eachother, which would undoubtedly create change for divisonal alignments. I'm rooting for the return of the Winnipeg Jets, after all, who wouldn't want to see the return of the original white-out? Pittsburgh has nothing on Winnipeg.

The downfall of the Phoenix Coyotes had to be expected, especially when your "Save The Coyotes" rally draws only 100 people. In a state that already has an NFL, MLB and NBA team, the introduction of hockey club to the desert was simply not to be. As the battle for the sale of the 'Yotes are heading towards deliberations for a June court date, for once, the eyes of NHL fans will be on the Coyotes.

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.

Laughable: Lucic Suspended?

According to NHL.com, the NHL has suspended Boston Bruins LW Milan Lucic indefinitely following his cross check to Maxim Lapierre in the 3rd period of Saturday's 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Following a blown whistle, a what has been annoying Maxim Lapierre came charging at Lucic to step between his scrum with defensemen Mathieu Schneider. As Lapierre came charging at Lucic, Lucic raised his stick and gave an apparent cross-check to the face of Maxim Lapierre.

As mayhem ensued as it does with any Montreal vs. Boston game, Habs 'tough-guy' Mike Komisarek joined the chaos and ripped Lucic's helmet off. Following a 3 minute delay of play, Lucic was given a 5 minute game misconduct for the cross-check and was sent to the dressing room. However, the bigger news didn't come out until after the game.

As many Bruins fans got home and onto their computers, they soon found out that Lucic had received a match penalty and will be suspended until a disciplinary hearing was held. Of course, the hearing is pending but in all seriousness, has can the NHL honestly give Lucic a suspension for this?

Just two days ago, in the final seconds of Boston's 4-2 win over the Canadiens in Game 1 an incident occurred in the Bruins corner. Tom Kostopoulos made a clear as day intent to injure elbow to the head of Matt Hunwick.

Now, you can't watch that and try to seriously say that Kosto wasn't going for the TKO on Matt Hunwick's head. Now for a league who's current aim is to reduce injuries to the heads of their players, to let such an action go without any punishment is laughable. However, the cross check to the helmet of Lapierre is worth a suspension? What about Cammelleri's punch to Havlat's head? Thank you Colin Campbell, thank you for proving your inconsistency yet again.

Matt Hunwick Hospitalized

It's been a rough week for Matt Hunwick. After getting his eye-gouged by Mike Komisarek, news broke this morning of the Bruins rookie being taken to a Boston area hospital. Following a team meeting at the Bruins practice rink in Wilmington, it's said that Hunwick "didn't feel right". From there the trainers called an ambulance, and Hunwick was taken.

"It's related to his spleen, and that's all I can tell you right now" a concerned Claude Julien said to the media. He followed that up by saying there was no prior knowledge that something was wrong. "He was fine," said Julien. "When he entered this morning he was still feeling fine.". At the moment, little information is available to anyone, even the Bruins as everything happened so fast. When asked if Hunwick lost consciousness Julien told the media "Not to my knowledge".

For many NHL fans, this story seems very familiar to one that happened during last years NHL playoffs. New York Rangers LW Sean Avery suffered a lacerated spleen during last year's playoffs. For Avery, the injury was sustained in a collision during an Eastern Conference Semi-Finals game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although it's unknown if Matt's injury is as severe as the injury that ended Sean Avery's 2007 post-season, the history of spleen injuries and the playoffs are not promising. Dating back to as far as 2001, Peter Forsberg suffered stomach pains, upon further tests it was revealed that the Avalanche star had a ruptured spleen, forcing him to miss the next 2 rounds of the NHL Playoffs.

As for the next question of who'll fill in for Hunwick, it's not hard to realize that Shane Hnidy will probably be playing in the Bruins line-up tonight. The 33 year old Hnidy played in 65 games for the Boston Bruins, scoring 12 points (3 G 9 A) and finishing with a +6. He often found himself in the press box at seasons end due to the arrival of Steve Montador and consistently strong play of Matt Hunwick. However, Hnidy will have no problem shaking off any rust he may have as he played in the Bruins final 3 games of the regular season.

Model of Inconsistency: Colin Campbell

It's safe to say NHL VP and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell has already had a busy playoffs. He's already suspended Flyers enforcer Daniel Carcillo for 1 game following his face-off punch to the head of Penguins forward Maxime Talbot. He followed this up by not suspending Flames forward Michael Cammalleri for his in my opinion, far more vicious punch to the head of Martin Havlat. Following last night's battle in Boston, Colin's work is just beginning.

Following Phil Kessel's empty net goal that secured a Bruins victory in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal agitator Maxim Lapierre took a run at Kessel. Following a scrum in the corner of the ice (and Alex Kovalev losing his stick to a fan reaching through the glass) play resumed with just a few seconds left. The Bruins won the face off and took the puck into their own zone when Montreal "tough guys" Tom Kostopoulos and Mike Komisarek decided to take a run at Bruins players.

Kostopoulos took a run at Matt Hunwick, going for a vicious elbow attempt to the Bruins rookie's head. The attempt was soon followed by mayhem. Komisarek then went at Hunwick and looked to be going for Hunwick's eyes with his fingers (Eye poking? Really Montreal, really?), as if that wasn't enough to get you miffed, they did this of course without Zdeno Chara or Milan Lucic on the ice.

Surely as a bloody eyed Matt Hunwick left the ice you would think some repercussions would be taken against the sore sportsmanlike conduct of the Canadiens. Following Carcillo's late game punch, Campbell went on a rant about the non-toleration of "message sending" in games that were decided. How was this any different? Going at a players eye when the game is out of reach and in it's final seconds isn't Montreal's feeble attempt at sending a message to Boston?

Fact is, Montreal was frustrated. They dressed Laraque, they even put the guy on the top line and they still couldn't beat Boston. They tried playing Boston's style of play, and still lost. They're without Markov, still. In a game where the Bruins played like garbage for almost two whole periods the Habs still could not pull off the upset. So what happened? Quite simply, Montreal lost it. What's your thoughts on their actions Mr.Campbell?

"You've got to let the games unfold. You've got to let hockey be hockey, playoffs be playoffs. You've got to let the energy flow. And then, when they cross that line, you do what you have to do." a somewhat-comical Campbell said about the incident in Boston. So what will he do when that said line was crossed? Nothing.

Eye-gauging and eye-poking is nothing new to Colin Campbell. In March 2009, Campbell suspended Dallas Stars pest and Boston nemesis Steve Ott following an attempted eye gauge of Ducks forward Travis Moen. Ott's suspension was for one game. However by Campbell's standards, a bloody Hunwick leaving the ice doesn't prove to be enough to send a message to the cowards of Montreal. Colin Campbell once again proves himself as the model of inconsistency in the NHL.

Big Georges Laraque Talks Big About Series

One can argue this is the series that Bob Gainey signed him for. Him, is of course "Big" Georges Laraque, the oft-named best enforcer in the NHL. When the Montreal Canadiens signed the 32 year old enforcer to a 3 year contract that payed him 1.5 million dollars a year the reason was evident: to try and match the Boston Bruins physical style of play. Gainey gave a quite simple explanation to the media for the signing on July 3rd, 2008 stating "We reached the point last season where our players got better and they attracted more attention from the opposition, we thought it would be good if we could sign a robust, physical player like Georges.".

Although the signing seemed like a plus at the time, it's safe to say things haven't really worked out the way Georges expected. When Georges wasn't hampered by a groin injury, he often found himself in the Press Box. In fact, Laraque suited up in just 33 games for the Habs, his lowest total since his rookie 1997-98 season. Even in those 33 games, Laraque found a dance partner just 9 times, posting a 6-2-1 record according to HockeyFights.com. One of those losses came against Bruins tough-guy Shawn Thornton, but even in Laraque's worst season of his career, he's still finding time to mouth to the press.

Today during an interview with KCAC in Montreal, "BGL" went on to say that Shawn Thornton was "not in his league" and was too small to compete with Georges. Really Laraque? Have you noticed this from your seat in the 9th level of the TD Banknorth Garden? How about all 2 of the games you've played against Boston, was Thornton too afraid to fight you? Oh, you have an answer..great! "A few of his teammates told me that he was scared of me before the October 15th game in Montreal". Really, so let me get this right, Shawn Thornton's teammates told you they're afraid of you? I have an incredibly hard time believing that.

Laraque wasn't done just yet as he went on to further talk about Thornton, "If he wants to step up to me, especially in Boston, I'll be more than happy to go with him because I'll shut up the fans at the Garden.". Wow Georges, those are pretty tough words for a guy who has averaged just over 7 minutes a game, when he actually plays. To quote UConn basketball Coach Jim Calhoun "My best advice to you? Shut up."

Fact is Georgy, your goon hockey doesn't happen in the playoffs. So yeah, go ahead and go after Thornton, I'd love to see Bob "Oscar The Grouch look-a-like" Gainey suit you up for Game 1 because in order to do that, he'd have to take an actual hockey player out of the line-up. As for "shutting the fans at the Garden up", it's going to be pretty hard to shut us up when you're in the box for interference as the Bruins are on the powerplay.

Return of the Bergeron

Concussions have ruined the career of many of great hockey players, such as Pat LaFontaine and Eric Lindros. One player however, is determined to not let concussions ruin his career: Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins 23 year old center from Quebec. After suffering a Grade 3 Concussion thanks to a questionable Randy Jones hit on October 27th, 2007 Bergeron struggled to regain his scoring touch in the early parts of the 2008-09 season. Some were saying he wasn't playing with the same tenacity, aggressiveness and consistency that made him so successful. Then, one of the worst fears of any Bruin fan became a reality; On December 20th against the Carolina Hurricanes, Bergeron was the recipient of a shoulder to head hit by Dennis Seidenberg and was down.

Bergeron suffered yet another concussion. Although not as severe as the initial one sustained in 2007, this was Bergeron's second concussion in 14 months and the concern came with good reason. One concussion could ruin a career, but yet another one just over a year later? As the doubts of Bergeron's future grew into the minds of Bruins fans around the world their worries were put to rest on January 27th. Hours before a showdown between the Capitals and Bruins it was announced that Patrice Bergeron would be making his return to the Bruins line-up.

In the game, Bergeron had an assist on a beautiful save to keep the puck in the attacking zone on the powerplay. From that point on, it's been said that Bergeron is making the right steps to becoming the 37 Bruins fans were used to. Now, with the playoffs just on the horizon Bergeron is finding his stride for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The addition of Mark Recchi has ultimately been the biggest help to Patrice, in the 17 games since acquiring the 41 year old winger, Bergeron has scored 1 goal and 11 assists with a +3. Recchi's veteran know-how, Kobasew's raw style of play and Bergeron's resurgence has undoubtedly made the Bruins 3rd line one of the strongest 3rd line's in the NHL.

With two essentially meaningless games left in the Boston Bruins regular season, Bergeron's picked the perfect time to get things going on all levels. There's no debate that last night was by far Bergeron's best game of the 2008-09 season. In the Bruins 5-4 overtime thrilling win over the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens, Bergeron was a major force on the ice. After scoring the first goal of the game on a tic-tac-toe play on a feed from Matt Hunwick, Bergeron was on the board with a goal for just the 8th time this season. He followed this up with an assist on a Bruins powerplay goal, but then the injury bug almost nailed Patrice yet again.

On the penalty kill during the 2nd period, Bergeron took a slapshot right off the foot of the skate. A wobbling Bergeron was assisted back to the bench and down the run-way. The initial reaction of Bruins fans was, well some not so friendly words to share. However, the resilient Bruin wasn't about to sit the remainder of this one out. He returned shortly and made his presence known, just ask Maxim Lapierre. In the overtime, as the Canadiens attempted to go on the attack, Bergeron hit Lapierre with a hip check, freeing the puck, and as Bergeron skated up towards Habs goalie Carey Price he hit Recchi with a pass to put one by Price and win the game for the Bruins.

Bergeron will likely sit out the next two games for the Bruins as they travel to Buffalo and Long Island to finish the season, allowing him more time to rest his foot before the playoffs. In the larger picture, 530 days since the Randy Jones hit, it's safe to say Bergeron is back.

Bruins vs. Canadiens: Is It Fate?

Hatred. That's the one word and emotion most Bruins fans become consumed with when analyzing the Boston vs. Montreal rivlary. There is no debate, the Bruins vs. Canadiens rivlary is the head-liner of the NHL. These two teams have played head to head against eachother more than any other pair of teams in NHL history, and their 32 all-time playoff matchups is an NHL post-season record. Now, with just five days remaining in the NHL season, could the Bruins and Canadiens be set for playoff match-up number 33?

The Bruins and Habs rivalry has been signified by one thing: Montreal dominance. In the 32 playoff showdowns, Boston has left the series as the victor just 7 times. In fact, the sheer win and loss tallies aren't even kind to the Bruins as in these 32 match-ups the Habs are 90-64. The most thrilling series in recent memory is of course the 2008 1st round match-up between the two Northeast Division rivals where a Bergeron-less Bruins took the Habs to a seventh game after what's considered the greatest hockey game played in the TD Banknorth Garden's history only to be dismantled easily by Carey Price and the Canadiens in Game 7.

Boston's longest and perhaps only stretch of success against the Montreal Canadiens came in the early 90's when Ray Bourque and the Boston Bruins beat Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens in four consecutive years in the playoffs. This success was short lived however as in the proceeding three series, Montreal has won all of them and in two of the three series the Bruins have entered as the higher seed with home ice advantage.

Boston hasn't always been the victim, especially not this season. The Bruins have simply made the Canadiens look foolish this season, going 4-0-1 against les Habitants in their centennial season. Boston's emergence as the Eastern Conference's top team and Montreal's incredibly disappointing season has surely felt as if the tables have turned between the two franchises. With the Canadiens fighting for their playoff lives and the teams set to due battle tomorrow at the TD Banknorth Garden, is fate about to take a favorable turn for the Boston Bruins?

The rollercoaster that has been the Montreal Canadiens season will take yet another turn tomorrow night in Boston. The Habs are coming into Boston hanging onto the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference by a single point over the New York Rangers and three points away from falling into the 9th seed and out of the playoff picture. If the Bruins were to win tomorrow night and beat the Canadiens for the 5th time out of the 6 meetings between the arch-rivals the Canadiens will surely be in a spot to slip into the 8th seed, and possibly even the 9th seed.

If the Habs are to fall into the 8th seed, we'd be seeing yet another Boston vs. Montreal series. As much as the history tortures the Bruins from a concussed Rocket Richard putting one by and beating Sugar Jim Henry to Carey Price's 5-0 shutout in Game 7 last year the idea that Montreal is in Boston's head was been made clear and sometimes overpowering. However, heading into the 2009 playoffs there's no doubting the advantage is in the Bruins corner.

The Canadiens have lost leading scorer Andrei Markov for atleast three weeks with a knee injury while Mathieu Schneider's season is over due to a shoulder injury. Without their top defensive pairing and powerplay weapons, the Habs are a significantly weaker team. Take into account the Bruins high powered offense and the inconsistency of Carey Price and this only adds to the Bruins advantage. That being said, a win tomorrow in Boston for Montreal could be a momentum boost for the Habs if they were to head into the playoffs against Boston. Like previously stated, without Markov and Schneider on defense the Habs are a much weaker defensive team and with Tim Thomas expected to be between the pipes tomorrow night and B's coming off a frustrating loss against Ottawa, don't bank on the Habs locking up the 7th seed just yet.

Tim Thomas, the Vezina?

Journey-man, career back-up at best, a poor man's Dom Hasek. These were a few of the terms used to describe Bruins goalie Tim Thomas throughout his career. However, All-Star wasn't a term ever used, until the 2007-08 season. Thomas built off this success in 2008-09, getting named to yet another All-Star Game and essentially winning the game for the East. Now, with 7 games remaining in the regular season, the question is: Is Tim Thomas really the Vezina trophy front runner?

Most Bruins fans say yes, but some of them probably also feel that the rules of the NHL should be re-worked so that Milan Lucic wins the Art Ross Trophy. With Martin Brodeur not playing nearly enough games to be in the running, Thomas is by far the clear cut favorite in the Eastern Conference. One could make the argument for the Rangers goalie and King of Sweden Henrik Lundqvist but his stats pale in comparison to Thomas. In fact, there's no goalie in the Eastern Conference or NHL for that matter that can post stats that look better than Ole' Reliable Tim Thomas' do.

For those who do not know, the Vezina works on a 5-3-1 point system. The G.M's of all 30 NHL clubs meet and vote for 1st place (5 points), 2nd place (3 points) and 3rd place (1 point). With the Boston Bruins success this season, surely it would be a Bruin, right?

However, the biggest factor working against Thomas winning the Vezina Trophy is his games played. Often, in order to be in contention for the Vezina Trophy a goalie must play over 55 games. This of course causes problems for Thomas' chances as he split time with goalie Manny Fernandez almost 50-50 for the first 2 months of the NHL season. Thomas is currently at 50 games played, with 7 remaining. With the Bruins clinched for a division title and playoff spot, it's possible and likely that Thomas won't play 5 out of the next 7 games, putting him at the 55 game mark.

Number 30's biggest competitor may reside in the Western Conference, Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames goaltender is currently leading the NHL in wins with 43 and has played in 70 of the Flames games. This of course gives him an edge over Thomas, but if you look beyond the wins the real Vezina resides in Boston. That being said, you can't ignore Timmy's numbers. He's number one in the NHL for GAA (2.13) and SV% (.931).

Thomas is currently selling the doubters following two incredibly strong performances. Last Sunday, the Bruins netminder held the at-the-time 2nd place in the East New Jersey Devils to 1 goal on 42 shots. His encore was in fact, even better as last night Thomas held the Philadelphia Flyers to 3 goals on 48 shots. In the past two games, Tim Thomas has a .957 SV%. That's what I'd call Vezina worthy.

Although Kiprusoff has been a busy camper for the Calgary Flames, I would not put him in as the Vezina Trophy winner. Evgeni Nabokov has been another intriguing option but the fact that he plays in such a mediocre division is a minus for him. Although Lundqvist's stats are promising, the fact is he's just been too inconsistent to bring home the hardware. This leaves just one, the 34 year old goaltender, son of a Michigan blue-collar family and once NHL-never-was Tim Thomas.