January 15, 1999: Brian Burke finally trades Pavel Bure. In return for the Russian Rocket, Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and a 3rd round draft pick, the Canucks received Ed Jovonaski(D), Dave Gagner(C), Kevin Weekes(G), Mike Brown(D), and a 1st round draft pick. Bure is worth at least three players, and Mike Brown and Brad Ference are both minor leaguers. Hedican didn't have to be traded for it to be a good deal, but Burke had to trade Bure before the end of the season because the Rocket would have been a free agent. Jovonaski, nicknamed "Jovo-Cop", is a big strong defenceman that not many people can get by on a one on one. If they do, they get to meet the boards in a most unpleasant manner. Dave Gagner brings some badly needed support at the center position, one of the Canucks' weakest spots. Kevin Weekes and Mike Brown are prospects and "we'll see what happens in the future with them" players. "Jovo-Cop" and Gagner have played pretty well since the trade. In Florida, Bure looked like he never missed a game. In fact, he had 6 goals in his first 3 games back. The little prick hasn't played that well since the '94 Cup Run. His little complaints have been rather aggravating. He complained of Vancouver being a fishbowl city, and didn't like the fact at how he was hounded by fans. Well, let's see, Pavel, you're a superstar, an All-Star, played in the Olympics, excite the fans with your rushes and breakaways, so so apologies if the fans actually LIKE you for it! In Florida, he'll get the same thing. Florida has more severe rainstorms than Vancouver and the fans there will ALSO be hounding him. Let's see him get his words rammed back down that pinheaded throat of his.
January 24, 1999: Ding, dong, the psycho's GONE! Finally coming to his senses, Brian Burke fired "Iron" Mike Keenan. Marc Crawford was hired as head coach. The relationship between Burke and Keenan wasn't that great to start off with. That coupled with the fact that the Canucks were doing even WORSE than LAST season caused Burke to give Keenan the boot. When Tom Renney got the axe and Keenan was hired, there were better choices. However, Steve Tambellini, being the MORON that he is, decided to hire Mike Keenan. Pat Quinn, at this point, had been fired. His slow process of building up the Canucks to a Cup contender was finally recognized in the late 80's and 90's. The '94 Cup Run was beyond anyone's wildest dreams. But all that came crashing down in flames during those 15 fateful months Mike Keenan was hired as head coach and temporary GM with Steve Tambellini. Both effectively dismantled the team and tried to rebuild it again. The team unity was lost and so the players couldn't play well together. Now, with the Bure trade, the only one left from the '94 Cup Run is Dana Murzyn. Tambellini and Keenan sent fan favourites like Trevor Linden and Gino Odjick to the Islanders and Martin Gelinas to Carolina. If someone didn't agree with Keenan's style, out the door they went. Look now at the people he traded. Arturs Irbe, who is a LOT better than Garth Snow, was on this year's All-Star Team. Geoff Sanderson is one of Buffalo's leading scorers, Martin Gelinas is grinding like before, Dave Babych has gotten a lot of ice time in Philly while the guy we got, Jamie Huscroft, has hardly played at all since the trade. Keenan destroyed what was the Canucks and built a Keenan team. Big, slow, and unable to play defence. The only good side was the many good scraps all the players got into. Now begins the slow rebuilding process with Marc Crawford and a new chance at success. It may be another 12 years before another Stanley Cup Run.
February 13, 1999: Tonight was the final game in Maple Leaf Gardens, with the Leafs losing 6-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks. In fact, the Leafs lost to the Hawks in the FIRST game in the Gardens 68 years ago. Maple Leaf Gardens, one of hockey's greatest shrines, had its closing ceremonies after the game. Old Leaf greats and hall-of-famers came to celebrate the closing of one of hockey's great arenas. Players like Red Kelly, Frank "The Big M" Mahovalich, Tiger Williams, Eddy "The Entertainer" Shack, and Jonny Bower were there to take in the festivities. It was pretty funny to see Ron MacLean outdress Don Cherry, but it was no contest. A tuxedo with the tophat versus Cherry and his plaid suit and funky tie? There were many firsts in that arena: escalators, floodlights, the horn when a goal was scored....etc. Anne Murray sang as did Tom Connary. The Leafs now move into the Air Canada Center. As the song goes, "The good ole hockey game is the best game you can name.
April 2, 1999: Philadelphia Flyers' captain Eric Lindros is out for the rest of the regular season with a collapsed lung. Weird thing is that he didn't even feel it until the next morning. During the game he just got jostled a bit like regular games. The next morning, he felt chest pains. Doctors pumped almost 3 liters of blood out of where his lung collapsed. He's recovering now and should be ready for the playoffs. It's still a mystery as to how the lung collapsed in the first place. Tough guy. On an upside, Wayne Gretzky scored his 1072nd career goal. This is for professional hockey spanning the NHL and World Hockey tournaments. He surpasses Gordie Howe and becomes all-time goal leader. And he's still playing. And he's Canadian. Mwhahaha.
April 16, 1999: The greatest player who ever laced up skates retires today. After
twenty years in the National Hockey League, the Great One decides to call it quits.
What Michael Jordan did for basketball, Wayne Greztky did it for hockey, and perhaps
even more so. Although he didn't go out like Michael Jordan, he did break Gordie Howe's
record for most professional goals in a career with 1072. Here are some of his records:
Regular Season:
Goals: 894, Assists: 1962, Points: 2856, Goals including regular season, playoffs,
and WHA: 1072, Assists including playoffs: 2222, Points including playoffs(3238), Hat tricks: 50,
40-or-more goal seasons: 12, 50-or-more goal seasons: 9, 60-or-more goal seasons: 5, 100-or-more
point seasons: 14, Consecutive 40-or-more goal seasons: 12, Consecutive 60-or-more goal seasons: 4,
Consecutive 100-or-more point seasons: 13
Single Season:
Goals: 92, Assists: 163, Points: 215
Perhaps one of his most amazing records is 50 goals in the first 39 games of the season
in 1981-82. And get this: out of the many records Gretzky holds, one of them is for holding the most
records in the NHL. Good? I think so. The only two records The Great One will never break are most games
played in a career and most seasons played. Who are those held by? None other than Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe.
As Comissionner Gary Bettman said, there are others in the NHL right now who are extremely good: Kariya, Forsberg, Sakic, Yzerman, Selanne....
but there will never be another Wayne Gretzky. Some may have parts of him in them, but never
the whole person. Gretzky had some of his greatest moments against the Vancouver Canucks. Great, ain't
it? First goal, 500th goal, 802nd goal.....he owns the Canucks.
Gretzky will be sorely missed. Although it is fitting that No. 99 retires in the year '99,
he will be missed in the hockey world. His contributions to the game of hockey will be appreciated
forever.
April 17, 1999: The Great One plays his final game. In the last game of the regular season for the non-playoffbound New York Rangers, the national anthems are slightly altered to honour the greatest player to ever play the game. Gretzky received a SEVENTY-FIVE INCH television from his teammates and a Mercedes from the Ranger management and NHL. The most moving act was from Comissionner Gary Bettman. He retired the number 99 all over the NHL. No player will ever wear that number ever again. I doubt any player would want to. Who could match The Great One's skill? Don't think anyone can. In the game, Gretzky used over 50 sticks. All of them went to charities except for one. The one he kept was the one he collected his last assist with in the NHL. Point number 2,857. Jaromir Jagr spoiled the last game of Gretzky's career with an overtime winner, but the game itself didn't really matter. What mattered was that the greatest player to play the game was leaving the game he loved. After a couple victory laps and handshakes from the Penguin team, Gretzky stepped off the ice and took off his skates for the last time. No one will ever match the likes of The Great One. He was named NHL MVP an incredible NINE times. No other player in any other sport has matched that feat. The closest was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with six in the NBA. The likes of The Great One will never be seen again. He's definitely as good as it "Gretz". :)
May 3, 1999: Steve Chiasson is dead after being thrown from his truck. He was driving home from a game against the Boston Bruins and drove off the road and into a fence. Alcohol is suspected to be involved. Steve Chiasson leaves behind a wife and kids. He was a hard worker and an excellent defenceman. What really rubs salt in the wounds is that the Carolina Hurricanes were kicked from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. He will be missed by the hockey world.
May 5, 1999: Well, the first round is over. New Jersey and Ottawa, 1st and 2nd in the Eastern Conference respectively, have taken an early exit thanks to Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Detroit, Dallas, and Colorado moved on as expected, although Colorado had more trouble with San Jose than expected. Phoenix failed to move on even tho leading 3-1 in the series. Can we say 11th time? Toronto knocked off Philly and Boston knocked off Carolina. Seeds 1, 2, and 3 in the East are gone. Boston and Buffalo will be a good series. Dafoe led the regular season with 10 shutouts. And Buffalo has the Dominator. The other good series is the best rivalry in all of sports. Detroit vs. Colorado. Expect to see much blood (literally and figuretively). One of the best scoring tandems vs. the deepest bench in the NHL. Can Detroit 3-peat? We will find out.
May 19, 1999: The reign of the Red Wings has ended. Colorado came back from 2-0 and won four straight to knock the defending Stanley Cup champs from the playoffs. The Avs will now face the President's Trophy winning Dallas Stars as they mopped up the Blues. Roy has over 100 playoff victories. Belfour is great but could never win the big one. Could this be the year for Eddie the Eagle? Canada is still in the hunt for Lord Stanley's prize as the Leafs got by the Penguins. They now face the Buffalo Sabres who took care of Boston. The Dominator vs Cujo. A very interesting matchup. In any case, GO LEAFS GO!!!!!
June 4, 1999: Colorado's out. Mwahahahaha. Unfortunately, there are no Canadian teams left in the playoffs. Hafta wait another year to bring Lord Stanley's prize back to its native soil. Dallas and Buffalo for the Cup. The Dominator vs The Eagle. Should prove to be quite interesting. The team with the best record in the NHL this regular season against a gutsy team with a goaltender that saves their asses every single bloody game. I'm rooting for the Stars since Toronto's out cuz they've been #1 in the league for 3 straight years and no Cup. Go Dallas.
June 19, 1999: CANADA HAS BEEN AVENGED! SWEEEEEEET!!!! Dallas has won the Stanley Cup. Eddy the Eagle has finally won the Big One, the one everyone said he couldn't win. Brett Hull scored the winning goal in triple OT. Lindy Ruff, coach of Buffalo and a poor sport, complained that Hull's TOE WAS IN THE FREAKIN' CREASE. What a bastard. He didn't even shake hands with Dallas after the game. It's their own fault, they didn't complain. And besides, it was ruled that Hull had control of the puck so the goal stands. Ruff is gonna piss at the NHL for a while and say his side of the story to the media, which of course is BULL. Would have been better for Dallas to win at home, but no one wanted a seventh game except the Sabres. If Ruff is gonna be such a poor sport and a moron, he doesn't deserve to have his name on the most revered trophy in professional sports. His team might, but not him. After being kicked out of the playoffs after being number one for so long, this Cup win is especially sweet for the Stars. The game was fast-paced, and suspenseful. Both teams had a chance to end it earlier but the Stars prevailed in the end. Kick ass. Now it's hockey withdrawal until October.
June 21, 1999: In the light of the stupid contraversy of the winning goal, the NHL has made a rule change to the gay crease rule that's in effect right now. Many a time a goal has been called back in the regular season and playoffs this year cuz a guy's toe WAS IN THE FREAKIN CREASE. He has nothing to do with the play and no effect whatsoever on the goal. Just cuz his bloody TOE is in the crease, they call the goal back. And so, starting next season, there will be no more video review concerning if a guy is in the crease. It will be ref's decision. That means no more stupid "TOE'S IN THE CREASE! NO GOAL NO GOAL!" crap. There will still be video review for things like if the guy kicks in the puck or if the puck actually crosses the goal line. Another rule change, which I think is stupid, is the overtime format. After 60 mins, and the game is tied, each team will get a point. There will be 5 mins of sudden death in which the winning team gets an extra point. If not, both get 1 point. If one team wins, the winner gets two, the other gets 1. Overtime will also be played four-on-four, which is really gay. But I suppose it has to be that way to open up end-to-end rushes. However, this format is only for the regular season. In the playoffs, it'll be back to good ol' five-on-five hockey with a 20 minutes period. Long live hockey and Lord Stanley's Cup.
June 23, 1999: Today, it is announced that Wayne Gretzky will not have to wait the normal three years after retirement to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Why the hell wouldn't they waive the waiting period? The formal presentation to induct the Great One into the Hall of Fame will be November 22nd. Joining him will be veteran, and recently retired, referee Andy Van Helleman. Gretzky will also win the Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly-like player. In competition with Gretzky was Niklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings who only got 7 minor penalties in 81 games. However, The Great One's gotta win something in his final year in the NHL, so for purely sentimental reasons, Gretzky gets the award to add to his already impressive trophy case.
June 24, 1999: The NHL awards went on tonight. Here are the winners as follows:
Calder Memorial Trophy(top rookie): Chris Drury, Colorado Avalanche
Frank J. Selke Trophy(top defensive forward): Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
Hart Memorial Trophy(MVP of the league): Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Art Ross Trophy(most points in regular season): Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lester B. Pearson Award(top player as voted by NHLPA): Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lady Byng Trophy(most gentlemanly player): Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
James Norris Memorial Trophy(top defenceman): Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues
Vezina Trophy(top goaltender): Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres(who the hell else would get it???)
William M. Jennings Trophy(goaltenders allowing fewest goals in regular season): Ed Belfour & Roman Turek, Dallas Stars
Jack Adams Trophy(coach-of-the-year): Jacques Martin, Ottawa Senators
Maurice Richard Trophy(most goals in regular season): Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
King Clancy Memorial Trophy(most humanitarian to community): Rob Ray, Buffalo Sabres
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy(for perserverance): John Cullen, Tampa Bay Lightning
All the players deserved their awards this year. They put on a good show this season and we hope so next season. Congrats to all players. Now...hockey withdrawal till September. Nooooo....
July 25, 1999: 'Tis a sad day today in the world of the coolest game on Earth. Philly D-man Roman Tyrtyshni(can't remember how to spell his name) died in a boating accident in Kelowna. He fell off the boat he was riding on and his throat was slit by the propellor. Rescue workers were on the scene within minutes but he succumbed to his injuries. He was a strong, hard-working defenceman that received good praise from his teammates.
October 1, 1999: Hockey starts again! Woohoo!!! Today the 1999/2000 season started for the NHL. Also started is the the Post-Gretzky Era in the NHL. The half-hour ceremony before the league's first game(fittingly, Oilers vs. Rangers) saw The Great One's number and jersey was retired high in the rafters of Skyreach Center in Edmonton. Gretzky remains the game's ambassador, but it's the first time in 21 years that No. 99 will not be suited up and playing. It was yet another emotional ceremony for Gretzky as his number rising to the rafters finalized his retirement from the coolest game on Earth. Still, the season proves to be less stressful than the last one because of the modification of the crease rule. No longer will there be annoying stoppages to check whether a player's toe was in the crease. It will now be on the referee's shoulders to decide whether or not the player(s) was interfering with the goaltender. With Ed Jovanoski signed, Adrian Aucoin(20 power play goal scorer last year) remains the only Canuck unsigned. With what was a solid young defence core last year, Marc Crawford must now rely on players brought up from the minors. Mattias Ohlund and others are out with injuries. However, Steve Kariya(brother of Paul) seems promising. We'll see how the brothers match up on Dec. 8 when the Canucks meet the Mighty Ducks for the first time this season. The first two lines look solid for offence, while the checking line is okay. Fourth line isn't that great, but then, fourth lines aren't expected to be that great anyways. If the Canucks can avoid the injury plague, they might be able to make a run for the playoffs this year(finally).
November 5, 1999: Pavel Bure's back in Vancouver for the first time since his trade and he said he's been looking forward to playing here again. Just before the game, he held a conference saying he couldn't play because he broke his PINKIE FINGER. Doctor reports say he shouldn't play cuz of risk of infection but it's prolly all BULL to cover up the fact that he's a wuss and doesn't wanna be booed out of the rink by all Canuck fans. When he was traded, he said he hated it here, and now he's spewing crap about how he's excited to be back here and disappointed he can't play. He breaks a PINKIE FINGER and says he can't play. Someone should smack him over the head and knock some sense into him. This guy fired his own dad... Good thing he's not a Canuck anymore. Stevie Kariya's replaced that dillweed. Bure's out for TWO WEEKS cuz he broke a finger(from what I saw on the camera shot, it was just a fracture, he's just a wuss). Let's see if he'll suck it in and play like a REAL hockey player next time he's in town....on the up side, the Canucks beat the Panthers 3-2.
December 20, 1999: It's official. Brian Burke is a liar and an idiot. Today he contradicted his own words by making a trade with the Islanders. Earlier in the week, Brian Burke dispelled rumours about a trade that would get Felix Potvin from Long Island. Today, Burke traded Dave Scatchard, Bill Muckalt and Kevin Weekes to the Islanders for Felix Potvin and 2nd and 3rd round draft picks for the 2000 draft. Talk about a ripoff. And what the hell was Burke's talk about Weekes being the "goalie of the future"? His excuse is that "neither Snow nor Weekes showed performance worthy of a starting goaltender". And trading Muckalt and Scatchard for DRAFT PICKS? Damn, he's an idiot. But he's not as bad as Keenan was. Getting pretty damned close tho. Who's gonna replace Muckalt and Scatchard? More rookies? The Canucks did that enough with the injury bug. How'd they fair? Won 3 out of 10 or something close to that. I suppose with Josh Holden, it might be OK, but unfortunately, he's just had MAJOR SURGERY!!! Looks like another bust year for the Canucks, but hopefully they can maybe make it into the playoffs. Hopefully "The Cat" may return to his form of just a few years ago. Maybe Burke can stop making idiot trades and sign a free agent or something that will give the Canucks some boost.
February 25, 2000: Haven't updated in a while. Then again, the All-Star game was a flop. The uniforms bit, and the game totally blew. A one-sided affair as the World Team went on a scoring spree and Olaf Kolzig shut out Team North America in the 3rd period. Some of the best pured defensive defencemen in the world on the North America team(Pronger, Borque, etc) and 9 goals against. Quite sad indeed. But the big news this week was the cowardly attack on Donald Brashear by Bruins' enforcer Marty McSorley. He claims he just wanted to fight Brashear(ever since Brashear took him to school in the 1st period, which was pretty sweet). A really lame-ass excuse for his inexcusable actions. McSorely took his stick and used two-handed slash to Brashear's temple. Brash was out before he hit the ice. His helmet popped off and he suffered a grade 3 concussion, the second worse possible. If Brash HAD kept his chin strap done up, maybe he wouldn't have suffered a grade 3 concussion, but that still does not excuse the deed McSorley did. Just because you want to fight someone does NOT give you the right to club him on the head with your stick. Brashear could have died had he not had a helmet on. Garth Snow came to his teammate's aid(albeit he was the only one not restrained by a ref, linesman or a Bruin) and gave McSorley a good pummelling. McSorley faced Colin Campbell, the judge and jury of the NHL, and was handed out a 23 game suspension(the rest of the season) and all of the playoffs, should the Bruins make it. This was the longest suspension in NHL history since the 21 game suspension on Dale Hunter for blindsiding Pierre Turgeon in the playoffs about 5 years ago. If McSorley wants to play next year, assuming a team even WANTS him(since he is a free agent at season's end), he will have to face NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. This looks like the end of the career of Marty McSorley. McSorley is not a bad person, he does have some honour. But that was taken away when he viciously slashed Donald Brashear across the head. McSorley will forever be remembered for two stick infractions: the illegal curve in the playoffs a few years ago and this slash. He should not be remembered as a thug, but his lapse in judgement and a really REALLY stupid decision has cost him some respect in the hockey world and has put a black eye on this great sport.
March 7, 2000: Crown Council has decided to press charges against Marty McSorley for the Brashear stick incident. The charge is assault with a weapon. Well, in my opinion, the police should not have gottened involved. The NHL handed out its most severe suspension ever in its history and McSorley's future as a player is in serious doubt. However, McSorley did commit a crime in their eyes, and I can see their viewpoint. But where will it stop? When will Crown Council draw the line at where it will press charges and where it won't? Donald Brashear said himself he doesn't want to pursue the issue. He just wants to get back on the ice and play. This is not the first time charges were laid out against an NHL hockey player. However, no NHL player has ever been convicted. Mostly they have just been fined heavily and charges dropped. Violence in hockey has escalated a little too far. MINOR hockey players are getting checked from behind. Developing kids may have their careers ended before they even start. The NHL needs to clamp down on these things, especially these kinds of stick incidents and hitting from behind. We want more players in the game, not more players being carted off on stretchers.
April 7, 2000: Tonight, the Canucks lost their must-win game against the Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks are now eliminated from the playoffs. The Spring Run to the playoffs for the Canucks comes to a disappointing end. However, if this is any indication of how the Canucks will play next year, season tickets will sell pretty well. The Western Conference is wrapped up, everyone from 1-8 is in. The last game the Canucks have is against San Jose, and they can help their fellow Canadian team out by beating the Sharks so Edmonton, with a win in Calgary, can move into 6th place and face Dallas in the first round. Unfortunately, Dallas, St. Louis, it doesn't make much difference, because they're both 100+ point teams in the regular season. The Eastern Conference is still to be decided, with Montreal and Buffalo battling for 8th and final playoff spot. My vote is that Toronto will go all the way and win the Cup(hopefully) but if not, GO DETROIT!
December 9, 2000: Jersey won the cup in a rather unexciting cup final compared to previous seasons. Canucks are doing pretty good now, even tho the Moose has shipped back to the Big Apple(taking a pay cut BTW). Three seasons, 20 mil, no playoffs even once. Good money spent? I don't think so. Shoulda signed Sakic with that money. Tho I partly blame Keenan for the past couple of years. Really rebuilding after "Wrecking Ball" Keenan was thru with the team. Steve Tambellini needs a spine...but the Canucks lead the league in scoring this year, and they have some pretty good depth. Mind you, their defensive game needs some spit and polish, along with the PK. But, instead of going 7-20 like last season thru the last two months, they're now 8 games above .500 and going strong. In other news, Magnificent Mario has announced his return to the game. Kinda weird for the Pens to be playing next to their owner :). Wonder who'll get the C, and Jagr will definitely be revitalized when Lemieux joins the lineup. He's been in a bit of a funk lately in the production part. When he DOES come back, he'll be on a tear, considering when he left the league he won the Art Ross with 50 goals under his belt. At 35, he's still got plenty of hockey left in him, and we will see if Super Mario can return to his old form and show Lemieux est Le Mieux. :)
June 19, 2001: Well, it's been a while. Haven't had any time, due to IB exams and such, but I'm taking a break from Chem provincial review. The Stanley Cup finals went to seven games for the first time since 1994 when the Rangers and Canucks went the distance. Still, this series wasn't that great, except for maybe the last one in part, both teams did not show up to play every game. However, Ray Bourque finally got to kiss Lord Stanley's mug after 22 seasons in the NHL. The Canucks bowed out early to the Avalanche in 4; it probably should've been closer, but there was no bounces for the Canucks this year. Next year should prove interesting as the Avalanche try to hold onto their free agents(namely Sakic, hint hint Brian Burke) and the Canucks try to continue their success. Will Backup Bob return? Will shot-blocking Murray Baron return? Will captain Markus Naslund recover in time for training camp? Those questions to be answered in due time. Now, hockey withdrawal kicks in...
September 12, 2001: Well, university has started, so I'm not really gonna be updating this much. However, time WILL be set aside to watch hockey, nonetheless. I guess the biggest thing is "will the Avs be able to defend their Cup?" That's in serious jeopardy as they have lost Bourque to retirement, Klemm to free agency and Foote to injury. So that's half of their defence from last year. Not a good way to start. To top it off, they STILL don't have a proven backup for Patrick Roy. He's getting on in the years, and if they want to stay competitive, they MUST find another goalie. The Red Wings were the busiest over the summer, signing huge free agents like Bret Hull and the Dominator. I think they have the best chance of winning it all this year, despite their average age of 31.3 years. They better win this year, else they're gonna lose some guys to retirement. Igor Larionov comes to mind. Philly bolstered its ranks with Jeremy Roenick, but I don't think that's going to bring the Cup to Philly. They need a lot more than that, ie a better defensive core to take the load off Eric Dejardins. Toronto really improved as they signed free agents Alex Mogilny and Mikael Renberg. This, coupled with CuJo between the pipes, should vault the Leafs to Cup contenders...that is if the team chemistry works out. Ottawa again looks tight, even with the departure of Alexei Yashin, but they still have to prove themselves come post-season, as they have been kicked out the first round for the past two years. The Islanders picked up Peca and Yashin(who got a ridiculous amount of money for an unproven playoff performer). However, I doubt the Islanders will get to the playoffs, despite their 3-0 start. They have much to improve on(ie defence, goaltending even tho they have Osgood) before they become a contender again(remember the '82 series between the Canucks and the Islanders?). The Caps got Jagr for a freakin' BARGAIN, but Mario should be able to hold up his team, despite his recent injury. The Canucks didn't keep Essensa, which I'm surprised at(he's in Buffalo now) and decided to go with unproven NHLer Martin Brochu from the waiver draft. He looked pretty good his first game as a Canuck, however, only time will tell if this young netminder will be a capable backup to Dan Cloutier(who himself is somewhat unproven...but to his credit, he WAS with the Lightning...). That's about it for now, I think the Canucks will make the playoffs, but probably not make it past the first round. More experience is needed, especially in net, but they should be good in a year or two. All for now.
November 14, 2001: Well, Trevor Linden is back with the Canucks after a three year absence. Everyone disagreed with Keenan after he traded Linden to the Islanders. True, we did get Todd Bertuzzi in the deal, but Keenan was still an idiot. Linden, the heart and soul of a Canucks franchise that made it to the '94 Cup Finals, finally rejoins the team that he never quite left...at least not in spirit. After his return, the Canucks went 2-0 and defeated an impressive Chicago Blackhawks team, despite almost losing; but thanks to some nifty goaltending by Dan Cloutier, the Canucks squeaked by the 'Hawks 3-2. Remains to be seen what will be left of the Canucks season, whether this is a turn-around or just another repreive in the storm, I'm not sure. But then again, the Stanley Cup champs are doing worse than the Canucks, so it could go any way this season. Looks good tho, as hockey always is!
April 17, 2002: Time for playoffs again! Yay!
Well, since today is the big day the Road to Lord Stanley's Mug begins, I thought I'd give my own playoff predictions(hockey nut that I am) as to how things may turn out in the first round. First and foremost, and I may be getting a little ahead of myself here, but the Stanley Cup champion this year will DEFINITELY be from the Western Conference. One look at the standings will tell you that much. In the West(discounting the run made by the $70 million dollar payroll of the Red Wings), 2nd through 8th is separated by a mere 5 points. In the East, due to Bettman's weird format, gives the Carolina Hurricanes home ice advantage while having lower points than everyone except the 8th place Montreal Canadiens. Meanwhile, most of the Eastern Conference teams are limping into the playoffs while teams such as the Vancouver Canucks have been on a tear as of late, most due to the urgency to make the playoffs. Now to my predictions. Let's start with the West:
(1)Detroit vs (8)Vancouver: You really think I'd NOT do this one first? :) The Red Wings put up impressive numbers all season this year while boasting three 600 goal scorers. However, they have been playing meaningless games for the past three weeks since it was that long ago that they clinched the President's Trophy. Scotty Bowman has decided to rest his top players in preparation for the playoffs. Not to mention Hasek isn't quite the "Dominator" he used to be when he won the Vezina and Hart trophy in consecutive years with Buffalo. Hasek's play of late hasn't been spectacular either(remember that goal scored when he left his net to yell at some guy for beating up his teammate? Uuuuuuglyyyy). It doesn't help the Wings that their captain Steve Yzerman is riding a bum knee into the playoffs and hasn't played a game since February. Still, if you can boast TWO Norris trophy finalists on your team, plus having an NHL high 11 Olympians on your team, you're a tough cookie to contend with. On the other side, the Vancouver Canucks have been the hottest team in hockey since Christmas(boy, can't hear enough of THAT *grin*). After a rather dismal start to the season, and ending up 7 games under .500 for the Christmas break, the Canucks went on a tear. Led by the newly dubbed "Assembly Line", the Canucks mowed down all opponents, often by just outscoring their opponents by a landslide. Defence didn't really have to worry about mistakes because when they were made, a bunch of goals followed by the Canucks to make up for it. However, the Canucks proved they could win the tight games when they won a close 2-1 game against the defending Stanley Cup champions. To win, the Canucks will have to DEFINITELY stay out of the Sin Bin, as Detroit can most certainly stack their PP unit: Yzerman, Federov, Shanahan, Hull, Lidstrom as 1st unit and STILL have Robataille, Datsyuk, Draper, Larionov and Chelios as a 2nd unit. Hmm...I wonder why the Wings have the 2nd best PP% in the league! Still, if this series gets longer, the toll will take on the older Red Wings. But experience may prove to be a factor. I say Canucks in 7, but then, I'm biased. :)
(2)Colorado vs (7)Los Angeles: The remainder predictions won't be as long, mainly because I'm a Canucks fan and I analyze those better. :) Anyhoo, Colorado has a mission to defend their Cup title from last year, but are without the services of the legendary Raymond Bourque, who retired after winning his one and only Cup last spring. However, the Avs still boast such names as Blake and Foote in their defensive lineup, and a young de Vries is very good as well. Up front, Colorado is without the services of Milan Hedjuk, as he is out with injury. Avs fans won't have to hold their breath as Peter Forsberg returns to the lineup, a guy who kicks some sweet ass in the playoffs. Patrick Roy has had a great season(although sorta masked by Iginla's 52 goal season and Roy's denial to play in the Olympics) with a NHL leading 1.94 GAA and the 2nd highest save percentage, 2nd only to Jose Theodore, another Hart Trophy candidate. While the Avs boast great offensive skills up front(watch out for Joe Sakic), the Kings aren't too shabby either. Jason Allison is a brilliant playmaker and Adam Deadmarsh has a few things to settle with his old team. Goaltending may be a problem for the Kings as Felix Potvin can be pretty crappy at times. However, he played quite well last year when the Kings upset the Red Wings in the first round in 6 games. Overall, however, goaltending will be key and Potvin may steal a game, but Roy will steal a bunch more. I say Avs in 6.
(3)San Jose vs (6)Phoenix: The team run by the Great One himself was a team nobody thought would make the playoffs after dumping high priced players Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick. But here they are, not only making the playoffs, but getting 6th place. Not exactly that big a deal in placing considering the Western Conference, but a big deal in just MAKING the playoffs considering the Western Conference. :) San Jose didn't do too well last year as Teemu Selanne broke his thumb in the first game of the playoffs and had a bum knee as well. This year, the Sharks have Selanne healthy plus he's having a pretty good year. Not anywhere near his rookie season where he scored 76 goals, but then again, the next highest goal total after Iginla's 52 this year was 41. Still, Evgeni Nabokov is playing quite well in net for the Sharks, and Owen Nolan's leadership will boost performance(plus his team leading 66 points). The Desert Dogs have their work cut out for them this round, as they have no spectacular players to speak of(well, when you measure against the Sharks superstars that is) except for the goaltending of possible Vezina winner Sean Burke. Burke has played excellent this season despite being on an on-again, off-again team. Gretzky says Burke should be a Hart candidate. Isn't this the guy that passed Burke over for, of all people, ED BELFOUR for the Canadian Olympic squad? But let's not dwell on such things. While the Sharks are the better team on paper, Phoenix has shown the ability to claw their way back out of seemingly impossible situations(I point you to the 6-4 win in Nashville when the Dogs were behind 4-2 and scored 4 unanswered...but then that was more of a total collaps of the Nashville defence). Sean Burke will be able to steal probably at most two games for the Coyotes, but without the proper support, Phoenix won't go anywhere. I say Sharks in 6.
(4)St. Louis vs (5)Chicago: Chicago let home-ice advantage slip away in the final couple games of the season. While coach Sutter should be the Jack Adams winner this year after taking his team basically unchanged from no playoffs last year to 5th this year, the Hawks' play has faultered as of late. After tearing out of the gate in the early part of the season, the Hawks have cooled off, but albeit not as much as the Flames cooled off(who weren't so much cooled off as snuffed out). Steve Sullivan, the tiny centre, has played exceptionally this year while Phil Housley proves just 'cuz you're old, doesn't mean you can't dish the puck. If Daze performs and Tony Amonte gets going again, Chicago has a good chance of winning. Goaltending is an issue for both teams. Chicago has Thibeault(who has been spectacular at some points and very mediocre at other points) and Passmore(an inexperienced backup who has yet to prove he can perform consistently). Sutter will have to choose one of them, and whomever he chooses to go the distance in the series will have a serious impact on his team's chances to win. St. Louis has the problem as well. Brathwaite or Johnson? Brathwaite showed signs of brilliance in Calgary and thus was traded for Turek(who buckled under the playoff pressure two years in a row for St. Louis). Johnson is relatively inexperienced but has shown that he can perform during the regular season. The Blues have been singing the blues this season because of their underachievement despite Bill(I'm a richass millionaire who's a big big freak) Laurie dumping $57 million on the payroll. Strange how they can put out Tkachuk and Weight, plus have the anchors of MacInnis and Pronger on defence yet still not perform to expectations. Then again, I point you to the $65 million payroll of the NY Rangers. If St. Louis can get their classic defensive game back and let Tkachuk and Weight pot a few goals, Chicago's season is done. If Chicago can get their forwards rolling and hope for some underachievement by the Blues, St. Louis will be golfing early this spring. In any case, it'll probably be a hard fought battle. I say St. Louis in 7.
Now onto the "Leasts from the East":
(1)Boston vs (8)Montreal: Hooo boy, Original Six matchup baby! Although a far cry from the team that won 8 Cups in 11 years, the Montreal Canadiens still have some punch in them. Gilmour's got some good experience, plus over a point per game in the playoffs. With the return of Koivu and Audette(despite one back from cancer and one back from a lacerated arm), the Canadiens are the feel-good story of the year. With Hart candidate Jose Theodore between the pipes, the Canadiens have a chance to go far. The Bruins prove to be a worthy advesary as they have whenever these two teams match up in the playoffs. With 40 goal scorers Bill Guerin and Glen Murray, Boston has threats up front. It can't be said Byron Dafoe has played like a brick wall, but he has played well in many games for the Bruins. Size is a big advantage for the Bruins, as Montreal forwards can't quite matchup in that aspect. Plus throw in the playmaking abilities of Jozef Stumpel and Joe Thornton and you've got one potent team. The #1 PK in the league doesn't hurt either. While I am a fan of any Canadian team(except when they play the Canucks), I think the Bruins just have too much firepower on their team this year. Also Koivu and Audette aren't 100%. However, I am a Canucks fan, and there's just something magical about the Habs this season, so I root for the underdog more often than not. Theodore will steal this series for the Canadiens, hands down. Hart Trophy anyone? Montreal in 7.
(2)Philadelphia vs (7)Ottawa: Both of these teams have a really big need to win. Ottawa's exited the first round for three straight years and Philly hasn't had much playoff success since their last Stanley Cup. The Flyers also haven't dominated like they would like to with their huge payroll. Neither team can blame distractions anymore for their playoff woes(Yashin's gone to the Islanders and Lindros to the Rangers). Ottawa's goaltending is great, but Lalime's never won in the playoffs. Philly's goaltending may be suspect as Cechmanek has followed up a great year with an okay year and Boucher hasn't been the same since the year Hextall left. However, if Philly can get LeClair and Primeau going, they can win this series easily with their size advantage overall compared to the Sens. The problem is, the Flyers have struggled as of late and neither LeClair nor Primeau have performed exceptionally well. Ottawa has some good young talent back on the blueline with Wade Redden and a good frontal attack captained by Daniel Alfredsson. But, Philly's got the size, pretty good speed, and talent up front as well as on the blueline. Had the Sens played well down the stretch, they probably could've drawn the Carolina Hurricanes and beaten them. Just some bad playoff luck I guess for the Senators. They just aren't ready to take on a team like the Flyers in post-season play. I say Flyers in 5.
(3)Carolina vs (6)New Jersey: Okay, this is just a really stupid matchup because Carolina's only in the playoffs out of sheer incompetence by the rest of their division. I mean, Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay??? Jeez, ANYONE will make the playoffs with those yuppies in theird division. New Jersey boasts Martin Brodeur, who has won over 35 games six season straight and has a very stingy playoff GAA. With recent additions of Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner to make up for injuries to Gomez and Stevenson, the Devils are going to easily take the Hurricanes. However, the Devils have scored less goals this year with the departure of Alexander Mogilny. The Hurricanes' top man is the ageless Ron Francis. Can anyone name another good player besides Kapanen(who, by the way, has NOT gone goal crazy like he should)? Irbe's faultered due to a really crappy defence and his backup shouldn't scare anyone. New Jersey hasn't played like the perennial Conference leaders they used to be, so they may lose a game or two out of a sheer drunken stupor. Devils in 5.
(4)Toronto vs (5)New York Islanders: Toronto's 100 point season, and they're fourth due to Bettman's utterly messed up playoff format. Despite having injuries to key players down the stretch such as CuJo, Corson and Roberts, the Leafs have been able to play quite impressively through it all. Backup Corey Schwab(one-time Canuck I think) played brilliantly in the absence of Joseph and insurance goalie Tom Barrasso wasn't too shabby either(tho now he's sidelined with a groin or hamstring). To start the series, the Leafs won't be at 100% as Corson and Roberts will be coming back from injuries. But look for Corson to be stuck like glue to Yashin to make sure Yashin doesn't do anything. Likewise, look for Mike Peca to be stuck like glue to Mats Sundin. However, Corson may have an easier time with Yashin since Yashin has shown that he doesn't perform in clutch situations in the playoffs. Sundin is slightly bigger than Peca, so Peca will have to rely on his wits and stick skills to make sure Sundin doesn't do any damage. With Yuskevich on the sidelines with an injury, Toronto will have to come up with another quarterback for their powerplay. Osgood must show the New York faithful that he was unjustly thrown out of Detroit. After a seven year absense, the Islanders are back and must show they belong like they did in the early 80s(remember the 82 Cup run by the Canucks? Sorry, couldn't resist *grin*). Toronto hasn't won a cup since '67 and they'd like to end that drought. The Leafs have matched up well against all the teams in the league, and as long as they stay healthy, they should do quite well. I pick Leafs in 6.
Those are my predictions, and if you're running a pool, don't take my word for these things. I just base it on some gut feeling and a computer program I downloaded off the Internet. :) Kidding...anyways, whatever the outcomes, it should prove exciting the times ahead. GO CANUCKS!
May 1, 2002: Well, I was 5-3 in the first round so I'm above .500. :) The Devils were on crack...I swear, I don't know WHAT the hell was wrong with them. Give credit to Carolina though. I mean, if someone would've come up to me and said "Carolina's gonna beat New Jersey without significant contribution from Ron Francis or Sami Kapanen", I would've checked him into a mental institution. However, that is exactly what happened. Brodeur played great for the Devils. He didn't steal any games for the Devils, but that was more of the fault of his team NOT SCORING. Seriously, Kevin Weekes shut them out. KEVIN WEEKES!!! Sure, Weekes isn't the worst goalie in the world(he made the NHL didn't he?), but he's no Martin Brodeur. The Canucks series, well, I've commented already. The Flyers-Senators series, well, when you've got such a powerful lineup, how could you not score? 2 goals in 5 games. Absolutely pathetic. And one of those goals was in overtime so only ONE regulation time goal in the series. New record in the books, but not one you want your name attached to. :) Patrick Lalime walked out of the series with a 0.38 GAA. Primeau? No points. LeClaire? No points. Roenick? No goals. And these guys blamed their coach. Now what kind of class does that say of them? Jeez...
However, Round 2 begins tonight with Colorado vs. LA, and I'll now give my predictions. Let's start with the West. Hey, whaddya know, the top 4 seeds advanced in the West. Gee, who didn't see that coming?(besides Detroit, I mean...I still say the Canucks could've won, but as I said, I'm biased *grin*).
(1)Detroit vs (4)St. Louis: Detroit finished off Vancouver with four straight wins and St. Louis posted three straight shutouts in a row to kick out Chicago. For Detroit, the sleeping giant has awoken. Yzerman, who carried the team in the early part of the Vancouver series, hasn't had to contribute as much offensively as Federov and Hull have stepped up. More sleeping Wings have yet to awake(Lucky Luc, Datsyuk, Draper, McCarty) and explode offensively. Hull woke up in game 6 with a hat trick. Dominek Hasek showed signs of his previous form. He's not up to his usual self, but as the playoffs go on, I think he'll return to form. Detroit has a new problem to deal with now. With Vancouver, it was the Naslund-Morrison-Bertuzzi line. Now the Wings have to deal with 30+ minutemen Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger who love to jump up in the play and wire it in from the point. Plus St. Louis forwards are slightly bigger than the Canucks and their cycle game is excellent. For St. Louis, their key to win is Tkachuk and Weight. They must score. If the Blues can get some secondary scoring from other lines and from Pronger and MacInnis, they have a good chance to win. But to have any chance at all, Weight and Tkachuk must put rubber behind Hasek. Johnson rattled off three straight shutouts against the Blackhawks and is coming in hot. Hasek is coming in lukewarm and is warming up. However, bitterness and disappointment won't distract my analysis, and I think it'll be Detroit coming out on top. They got experience, they got a kickass powerplay, and a crapload of experience. St. Louis won't go down easy though; this'll be a hard fought battle. Wings in 6.
(2)Colorado vs (3)San Jose: Colorado took 7 games to dispose of the Kings while the Sharks easily handled the Coyotes in 5. While the Sharks have had a week to rest, they shouldn't get too complacent. Over the first round, Colorado has gotten back the likes of Peter Forsberg and Milan Hedjuk. Colorado had problems containing the big line of LA in Ziggy Palffy and Jason Allison and Nordstrom really stuck it to Forsberg. In contrast, I'm not sure if the Sharks will be able to handle Sakic and Forsberg. Colorado's top two lines are rolling well and its fourth line has given some excellent cycling shifts in the LA zone and have provided some key goals. Patrick Roy, after a few shaky games, came back with two shutouts in the final couple games of the series and is showing his true form that earned him the name St. Patrick. In San Jose, Ricci got under the skin of the fans of Phoenix and contributed some key goals. Teemu Selanne is playing well and Owen Nolan is showing his leadership by example. Nabokov is also playing very well in net for San Jose, but then again, he's a child compared to Roy in the playoffs. I don't think San Jose has four full lines they can roll off the bench. Sutter shortens his bench to two, sometimes even one line when his team is behind. For Colorado, Hartley can put any line out and still expect a goal. The Avs continue their Stanley Cup defence in Round 2 and I think they'll continue. Four words: Look out San Jose. This freight train ain't gonna stop for you. Avs in 6.
The East was slightly different. The top two seeds are gone, and Carolina is probably the biggest surprise of the playoffs. I still think New Jersey was on crack. Maybe it's all the pollution out there in East Rutherford. :)
(3)Carolina vs (8)Montreal: Like I said, New Jersey was on crack, if I didn't iterate that enough already. Still, after knocking off the Devils(who had 5 more points than them, but due to the divisional format, Carolina got 3rd), the Hurricanes have confidence abounds. Unlikely heroes scored in OT for the Hurricanes, and an even more unlikely Kevin Weekes backstopped the Hurricanes in game 6 to the series clincher. Not sure who's gonna start in goal for the Hurricanes for this series, but I think Paul Maurice may give former Canuck Archie Irbe another shot. If the Hurricanes can get more scoring from their third and fourth lines and if Kapanen, Francis and O'Neill can get going, they have a good chance of winning. The Habs have come off another huge victory and beat the Bruins 4-2 in the series. Hart and Vezina candidate Jose Theodore had two brilliant final games and stole them for the Canadiens after a mediocre start. Despite having the smaller lineup, the Canadiens took it to the Bruins and came out on top. In this series, I don't think it'll be any different. Despite losing top playoff scorer Richard Zednik, I think the Habs will be just fine. Zednik may even be back in the playoffs depending on how his post-concussion syndrome goes. Montreal makes up what they lack in size with skill and abundance of heart. Underdogs again, I think the Canadiens will come out on top in this one. Habs in 7.
(4)Toronto vs (7)Ottawa: Well well well, Battle of Ontario Round III. The Leafs come into this series banged up, bruised and shorthanded. Captain Mats Sundin is out with a fractured wrist and Mikael Renberg is out with a hamstring injury. That takes away much of Toronto's offensive punch, but as the resilient Leafs have shown, they have managed to find goals from other sources. Roberts stepped up in game 7 against the Islander to score the game-tying goal and get the Leafs' mojo going yet again. CuJo was rather mediocre and showed even he can be human at times. In the bottom third of goaltenders in terms of save percentage in the playoffs, Cujo didn't play his A-game against the Islanders, but came up big when it counted. Big saves in the third period helped the Leafs cling to a one goal lead. Also, Cujo has OWNED the Senators in the playoffs. It's not even funny. Swept last year, Cujo turned aside shots from everywhere and the Senators just couldn't put enough pucks by him. The Senators, however, are different this year. Patrick Lalime has a GAA of 0.38, has allowed 2 goals in 5 games and has the highest save percentage. Three consecutive 3-0 victories against Philedelphia and the ability to hold players like Primeau, Roenick, Gagne and LeClaire in check is admirable. Obviously the Senators have been able to hold off the big Flyers and are a playoff ready team now. They have some very good skilled players and an excellent goalie between the pipes. Lalime will be tested though, as Toronto was in the top 5 in goal scoring as a team this season. Sundin may be able to come back in this series if it goes long, but it's doubtful. Thus, Toronto has to get scoring from other places just like they did against New York. Roberts, Cujo and especially Mogilny have to step up and have good games. For the Sens, Alfredsson, Bonk and Redden have to be on their A-game and Lalime must continue his stoning of opposition shots. This will be a close series, but in the end, I think the shorthanded Leafs won't be able to make up the loss of their captain. Sens in 7.
May 17th, 2002:How can there be a day without hockey in the spring??? Nooooo...well, maybe it's some sort of ease of withdrawal thing so people don't die when they go near cold turkey after the Stanley Cup is awarded. Neh. In any case, I was 2-2 in Round 2, which brings my overall record to an astounding 7-5. Still above .500, and stayed .500 for the round. I really was disappointed in the Montreal series, I thought they could do it. Unfortunately, this year's Team of Destiny was carried by one man: Jose Theodore. And the camel's back broke, I'm sorry to say. It was still a good run though. The Canadiens really do need to improve their defence core(it's rather meagre when Patrice Brisebrois is your top d-man) and get some SIZE up front for goodness sakes. Eric Cole is like Todd Bertuzzi(except not as good) and plays like Bertuzzi(the crash-to-the-net-taking-three-guys-with-you type rushes). No one on the Bruins did that, and thus the Canadiens were able to weather the storm. They could not weather the Hurricanes, however, and now are playing golf. Ottawa, I was surprised that they didn't win. 3 of Toronto's top d-men out, top scorer out, one of their top checkers out, a first line winger out, and they STILL manage to win. Who would've guessed that Gary Roberts would take this team, put it on his back and carry it(somewhat like Theodore, but not to that extreme, but pretty damn close). The only significant loss the Senators had through the series was Zdeno Chara. But either Quinn was brilliant in his management of the farm team or those young guns just stepped it up, I don't know; either way, the Leafs managed to use old fashioned grit and grind to beat the Senators' trap and gun style of hockey. Lalime did his job and so did Joseph. The difference was the Leafs' forwards did their job and the Senators' forwards did not. Let's go on with the predictions:
Western Conference Championship:
(1)Detroit vs. (2)Colorado: Hooo boy this series should heat up in a hurry. Despite Colorado's two grueling 7 game series against the Kings and the Sharks, Colorado's a bit younger and will be able to make the transition easier. Detroit's had a couple more days rest due to their 4-1 dispatch of the Blues. This has GOT to be a dream matchup in goal: Hasek vs Roy. Arguably two of the greatest goaltenders of all time and certainly the past 15 years, these two goalies have given the backstop their teams needed to make it this far in the playoffs. If you take a look at the trophy case, you'll see 6 Vezinas, 2 Harts and no Stanley Cups for Hasek; you'll see 3 Vezinas, 3 Conn Smythes and 4 Stanley Cups for Roy. Roy is the winningest playoff goalie of all time and his playoff success overshadows that of Hasek. However, if you match 'em up in the games they played against each other, Hasek has the winning record, the better GAA, better save % and more shutouts than Roy. However, due to Roy's experience, I give the edge to the Avs. The Red Wings defeinitely have more firepower in their lineup in terms of offensive capabilities. Nevertheless, you can't count out Burnaby Joe and Peter Forsberg(who leads the league in playoff scoring despite not playing a single game of organized hockey all year until the playoffs started). Though with the Wings' impressive lineup and their payroll says it all, the edge goes to the Wings. Checking, I would have to give to the Avs, as although Kris Draper definitely fits the bill as a top checking centre, the Avs' fourth line doubles as a checking line and an energy line. Their third line also clamps down quite well on opposing offenseive lines. However, I think Hartley may be putting Joe Sakic's line out against Steve Yzerman's line. In terms of d-men, the Wings don't go too much beyond Lidstrom and Chelios, but the Avs only play 4 defencement most of the game. Sometimes it goes down to the big three of Blake, Foote and Kaspiritis. This means lots of ice-time for those guys but more fatigue. Bowman likes to roll his d-men for the most part, but likes to keep Lidstrom and/or Chelios against the opposing teams' top line whenever he can. This category is about even. This will be a hard-fought series, but ultimately, I think it will be the Red Wings prevailing in this struggle simply due to their strong offensive capabilities. And if there is a power play, watch out because the Wings' puck movement is second to none and if you move the puck a lot, you can put pucks by Patrick Roy. Detroit in 7.
Eastern Conference Championship:
(3)Carolina vs (4)Toronto: Well, both these teams have had improbable runs and it is only fitting that they match up to see who continues their improbable run for a shot at Lord Stanley's mug. No doubt it is goaltending that is a big reason why the Leafs are in this round of the playoffs. Cujo played brilliantly in the final two games against the Senators. He's baaaaaaaaack. Carolina, on the other hand, has flip-flopped goalies but has now settled down for the experience of Arturs Irbe. Weekes played well against the Devils, but that was because the anemic New Jersey offence failed to produce any quality scoring chances on him. He was chased in Montreal. So really it will be Irbe vs Joseph. This is somewhat of a no-brainer, as although Irbe is a pretty good goalie, he's no Cujo. Edge goes to Toronto. Forwards are a different story. The "BBC" line of Carolina is on fire, and has produced much of the Hurricanes' offence. Francis' line has chipped in a few, but Kapanen is stone cold and Francis is more of a role player and a checker than an actual offensive threat. Those days ended in his stint with Pittsburgh. Likewise, the line of McCauley-Roberts-Hoglund has produced much of the offence for the Leafs with Green, McCabe and even Domi chipping in the odd goals. Both teams right now are pretty much one-line offence teams with the other lines being "rest time" for the top lines. It is grit vs crash the net. This is even. Checking in this series is okay. Both teams don't really have the best checking lines in the world, although Travis Green has been laying the smackdown in the playoffs faceoff-wise. Francis and Brind'amour are Carolina's top two centremen %wise, but they are mainly offensive threats(supposedly) than checkers. However, Tucker has a separated shoulder and broken bone there courtesy of a Daniel Alfredsson check so he's a key element that won't be there. Due to the faceoff ability, I'll give this edge to Toronto. If Toronto had all their d-men healthy, this would be no contest. It would be Toronto hands-down. But unfortunately, Pilar, Lumme and Yuskevich are all out. Pilar and Lumme may return but Quinn may want to keep one or two of the younger d-men in for the speed(which Lumme does not possess) to counter the speed of Carolina's forwards. Other than Hedican, Carolina doesn't really have a big threat other than Hill. McCabe, Kaberle and Berg have been carrying the load for Toronto. Edge to the Leafs, but not by much. Due to Toronto's battered and bruised lineup, this will be a long series as Carolina will be able to take advantage of the Leaf injuries. Also, the Leafs have just come off a 7 game series. Remember game 1 against Ottawa after a 7 game series with New York? A 5-0 schelacking. However, the Leafs have shown a great resiliency despite all their injuries. They proved it by winning game 1 by a score of 2-1. Mats Sundin is a possibility to return later in the series. If he does, look out Carolina. This will be a grit and grind series, and I think the Leafs have more grit. Toronto in 6.
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