I’m not sure if any of you heard about this but I found it pretty funny.  On this past Tuesday, the Penguins resumed their NHL season after the 2 week Olympic break.  They opened up at home against Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabers.  Miller did not play because Sabers coach Lindy Ruff was giving him a day off after his amazing display for Team USA.  Prior to the game the Penguins introduced the players who played in the Olympics on both teams.  There were nice ovation for Brooks Orpik and Evgeni Malkin but Ryan Miller obviously had the biggest one.  The entire Pittsburgh Crowd Stood up and cheered for the Sabers Goaltender as he raised his arm to salute them.  And then there was Sidney.  You know, the best player in the league.  The guy who won the Cup for them last year.  The guy who literally saved their franchise from moving.  Well he was booed.  BY HIS OWN FANS!  It was a pretty funny sight to see Penguin fans booing Crosby.  Obviously they love him but now they know how it feels to play against him.  Something fans of the 29 other teams are accustomed to.  Anyway Crosby went on to record an assists as the Pens rolled over Buffalo and the fans did indeed cheer when he recorded that point.  I guess they have the ability to forgive quite quickly.

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Many numbers have become immortal in hockey history. 99 for the great one. 66 for Lemieux. 87 for Sid. But now a new number has joined the club. And that number is 17.6. Seventeen-point-six is the television rating that the Olympic Gold Medal game got here in the United States. As the Americans faced off against Canada in the biggest game in hockey history, no one was quite sure how the game would do in the States. There was no question that everyone in Canada would be watching, but here in America, that was far from likely. Hockey has been by far the fourth sport here following Football, Baseball and Basketball respectively. However yesterday was hockey’s day. Yesterday Hockey was king. Yesterday everyone was watching a puck instead of a ball.

I wrote a blog a few months ago regarding the NHL sending their players to the Olympics. Rumors are still circulating that it won’t be done. That the league won’t let their players go. I still see why the league is afraid to send their players. Injuries and fatigue play big factors when the players return. But now my opinion has changed. The NHL MUST send their players. What yesterday’s game did was put hockey back on the map. The amount of skill on the ice was incredible. Patrick Kane, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla. The list goes on and on. The truth is the NHL needs the Olympics. People are suddenly interested in hockey which is great. If the players don’t go, the caliber of play won’t be as high and the names won’t be players we recognize.

The NHL has plenty of time to make a decision. I just hope it’s the right one.

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Without any NHL action recently, there hasn’t been much for me to write about.  The funny thing about the lack of hockey here in NY is that for the first time in four years, hockey actually was on the back page of the newspaper!  It may be hard to believe but the last time hockey was the main sports story here in NY was back when Lundqvist won the gold for Sweden in 06.  The back of the newspaper read “King Henrik” and showed the King celebrating with the Swedish flag.  Unfortunately that was the last time hockey made it on the back.  The truth is, hockey just isn’t very popular here in the states.  However, after the thriller between Canada and the U.S., pictures of Rangers captain and American player Chris Drury were displayed on both the back of the New York Post and Daily News.  It was pretty cool to see if you happen to be one of the few hockey fans living here.

Anyway, the NHL resumes sooner than later and soon enough, I’ll be back giving you an insight of whats going on here in America.

Until then…

GO USA!

The Rangers were literally just slapped in the face by their arch-rivals.  Just a few days after trading for 11 goal scorer Olli Jokinen, the Rangers turned around to see the Devils acquiring one of the, if not best scorers in the league in Ilya Kovalchuk.  Let’s examine both Trades and see how they will Affect both teams.

                The Kovalchuk trade is obviously the bigger one of the two so we’ll start with that one.  It’s no secret that the Devils have never been an offense first type of team.  They’ve built their team around Marty Brodeur and have put defense first.  It’s worked for them for years so there’s no reason why they would stop.    However adding a player of Ilya’s caliber will only benefit them.  Kovalchuk is tied for 5^th in the league with 31 goals and leave a team, In which he has spent his entire career in.  Not only does the trade benefit the Devils but it helps Kovi too.  He’s leaving a weak Atlanta team to join one of the best clubs in the conference.  While doing so he’s not joining a team that polishes him in the spotlight like New York or Toronto would.  Fans do not have to worry about him feeling the pressure because the fan base in NJ is not any bigger than the one in Atlanta.  The only negative about this trade is the fact that Kovalchuk is on the last year of his contract and who knows if the Devils Will Be Able to re-sign him.  Either way, the Devils are playing to win the cup this year and acquiring the Russian superstar will help their chance dramatically.

                Olli Jokinen is not the same player that was playing in Florida a few years ago.  When he joined the Flames Began his stats to drop and his reputation as a high scorer Began to fade away.  With all that said, this is surprisingly a good trade for New York.  They send Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik to Calgary for gates Brandon Prust and of course Jokinen.  The reason the trade works for the Rangers is because of the contracts they’re getting rid of.  They shipped Kotalik away who was making $ 3,000,000 dollars a year for the next 3 seasons.  Jokinen will be a free agent after this season so the Rangers will have more flexibility when it comes to signing free agents.  Now do not get me wrong, Jokinen is not bad player.  In fact he’s an upgrade on Kotalik and Higgins but there’s no question that the Rangers made this trade because of money reasons.

Oh and by the way.  The two will battle tonight in a classic Rangers-Devils match-up.  Should be fun.

The first blockbuster trade of the season has taken place.

While working at the NHL Store yesterday I was shocked when I was told to make a Dion Phaneuf jersey.  Since the store is in New York, Ranger jerseys sell the most and I find myself making Lundqvist, Callahan and Gaborik jerseys all the time.  Every so often we get an order for a player on another team.  The players ordered are usually players who are playing well at the time.   A good example would be Henrik Sedin.  Prior to this season H. Sedin jerseys weren’t very popular but thanks to his success this year, he’s one of the top selling non-rangers we have.   It’s fair to say Phaneuf has had an off year so it’s strange to hear that someone wants his jersey now.  I was then told that his name wouldn’t be going on a Flames jersey, but a Maple Leafs jersey instead.  Now it made sense.

                Over the course of the past few seasons, Dion Phaneuf has established himself as one of the leagues top d-men.  Though he is having a bit of an off year this season, the trade to Toronto certainly benefits the Leafs more than the Flames.  Included in the trade was Freddy Sjostrom who will be one of Toronto’s top PK men.  Toronto has obviously been struggling over the past few years but this trade might start to turn things around.   He may be able to teach sophomore defensemen Luke Schenn a few things and in a few years the two may turn into one of the elite pairings in the league.

                The Leafs also acquired former Stanley Cup winning goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Ducks.  The move was bound to happen eventually since Anaheim has been stuck with two #1 goalies for the past few years (Jonas Hiller being the other).  This is another great move for Toronto since it gives them a goalie they can truly rely on.  Unfortunately for Sweden, Jonas Gustavsson’s playing time is going to decrease dramatically.

                Check back tomorrow when I discuss rumors about the Rangers attempt to acquire Finnish all-star Olli Jokinen and what in the world is going on up in Calgary.

Last night the Rangers failed to score a goal and were shut out by their rival Philadelphia Flyers 2-0.  After the game Rangers Coach John Tortorella spoke to the media about the loss.  New York Post writer Larry Brooks asked him about why no Ranger player was there to help out Marian Gaborik when he was in a fight.  Brooks and Torts have had a bad history over the past year due to some of the things Larry has written when discussing the Rangers.  After Brooks posed the question, Tortorella snapped at him saying he wouldn’t discuss such matters.  To Brooks’ credit he defended himself instead of keeping quiet like most members of the media would’ve done.  The coach and writer would get into a feisty argument that was actually caught on tape.

                I’m not a big fan of Tortorella and don’t like the way he treats the media at times.  I understand that his job is to coach the Rangers and not to be friendly to the media but he still could do a better job.  I read Brooks’ articles often and don’t always agree with them but he is entitled to write whatever he likes so when he put Torts in a negative light this morning, it was to no one’s surprise. 

                It shall be interesting to see how the loving relationship between John and Larry works out throughout the rest of the season.  Will Tortorella answer the next question Brooks asks?  Only time will tell.

If the playoffs started today, the Red Wings would not be in it.  It’s very unusual for the mighty Red Wings to be sitting outside of the top 8 in the West but sure enough, that’s the case.  It seems as if the tide may be finally turning out West as Detroit is no longer dominating the conference like they used to.  We’re barely half way through the season so there’s a very good chance the Wings can turn things around but, the former Western Conference champs have a lot of work to do. 

            One thing Detroit does not have to worry about is its Goaltending.  Jimmy Howard has ceilings over as the starter thanks to his superb play.  Chris Osgood has struggled throughout the year so he now takes the position as the team’s backup.  Swedish superstar Henrik Zetterberg trails Pavel Datsyuk for the team lead in points but, other than those two players, the Wings are struggling to find scoring.  Zetterberg has had a solid season offensively but is on pace for just 20 goals Which is a problem for Detroit.  Datsyuk only has 11 goals so far and has played 6 extra games.  The goal scoring certainly has been a problem and it showed in an embarrassing loss the other night.  When I first heard the Islanders beat the Wings 6-0 a few nights ago I thought I heard wrong.  If you’re losing 6-0 to a team like the Isles, there are certainly a few problems that you have to fix.

            As mentioned earlier, Detroit has only played 45 games and they have plenty of time to right their ship.  However if they do, “hockey town” will not be much of a hockey town come playoff time.

New York Islanders goaltender Rick Dipietro made his highly anticipated return to the ice last night in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars.  Just a few years ago “Dipi” signed a contract that will keep him in Long Island through the year 2021.  No, that wasn’t a typo. I did indeed write the year twenty-twenty one.    When the ICE-landers signed #39 in 2006, they weren’t expecting their franchise goaltender to be injured this much.  At the time Dipi was establishing himself as one of the premier goalies in the league.  Regardless, a player should NEVER EVER receive a contract that lasts longer than 6 years, let alone 15!  I mean really!  15 YEARS!?!  I don’t care if your name is Wayne Gretzkey, I’m not signing anyone to a 15 year contract.  These long term contracts are an easy way to temporarily lock up players.  If the Salary Cap is to go down in the future, these contracts are going to come back and haunt the teams that created them.  Once Dipietro started getting hurt, the Islanders began to panic.  This past off-season they signed two starting goalies in Martin Biron and Dwayne Roloson.  No one in a million years would have thought they would’ve had to do that a few seasons ago.  Sure enough Dipietro is still locked up and his FAT contract is cutting into the Islanders expenses.  Don’t get me wrong; watching the Islanders suffer is music to my ears.  Seeing them struggle and pay Dipietro to sit at home puts a smile on my face every night.  In fact I thank the Islanders for being the prime example of why not to sign long term contracts.  Hopefully teams will learn from them that the player they see on the ice today, may not be the same in 10+ years. (2+ years in Dipi’s case).

There was no rain and there was barely any action.  The NHL lucked out when the Winter Classic was able to dodge any type of precipitation on New Year’s and play in what seemed like perfect conditions.  The air was chilly and at first the sun was shining down on Fenway Park as the two teams stepped out of the dugout and on to the ice.  After a few pre-game ceremonies, the game began but the excitement dwindled.  Sure it was awesome to see the Bruins and the Flyers battle it out on the Red Sox infield, but after a few minutes the game seemed to lose some steam.  Mid way through the 2^nd period, the Flyers finally scored the games’ first goal.  It wasn’t a pretty one but either way; the crowd was excited to be able to see something happen.  Until the final 5 minutes of regulation the game didn’t have many memorable moments.  In fact if it were just any ordinary game in an arena, there’s a good chance you would have seen many fans yawning and falling asleep.  Luckily the Bruins tied it late and went on to win in O.T. which made the game somewhat interesting. 

                I understand that the Winter Classic isn’t necessarily about how great the hockey is.  It’s about the magic of hockey returning outdoors and playing a game in a historic stadium.  The NHL did a solid job of building the game up and making Fenway into a temporary hockey paradise.  I congratulate the league on succeeding in that sense and hope to see them continue this tradition.  Maybe next year the game will be somewhat interesting.

In about 24 hours a puck will be dropped on an outdoor pond.  The pond will sit in a field full of dirt, grass and snow.  Tomorrow 40 players will battle outdoors, just like the used to, in the 3^rd annual Winter Classic.  This year the site will be the historic Fenway Park, home to my beloved Boston Red Sox.  The hometown Bruins find themselves taking on a Flyers team who is coming off of a 6-0 beat down of the Rangers last night. 

                The NHL has made a number of idiotic decisions in its history.  Signing with the sports channel Versus over ESPN is one that still has me scratching my head.  However the league made quite possibly its smartest decision when coming up with the idea for the Winter Classic.  Just 3 years ago the Sabres fell to Sid the Kid and the Penguins in Ralph Wilson Stadium up in Buffalo.  Last year saw the Blackhawks and Red Wings play in the historic Wrigley Field.  As mentioned before, this year the location is Beantown.  The event has grown tremendously over the years and has influenced other leagues to follow in its footsteps.

                It was a blizzard back in 2008 when the Sabres and Pens went to a shoot-out.  The game had to be delayed time and time again to clear the snow but I didn’t mind much considering what an amazing sight it was.  Last year’s game didn’t see any precipitation which I’m sure the league was thankful for, but tomorrow isn’t looking too bright.  According to some weather reports up in New England, rain may be in sight for tomorrow’s game.  If rain did indeed fall, the game will have to be delayed or possibly even…CANCELLED! :0…It would be the NHL’s worst nightmare and the scary part is, it may come true.  Let’s all hope Santa can provide a late Christmas gift and hold off the rain until after the game.

Oh and by the way,

Bruins 5

Flyers 4