Ist Round thoughts 2nd rounds picks

I told you 2015‘s Opening round winners’ were the toughest to pick since in a decade. I went 5 of 8 my worst in years. A bounce here a bounce there things would be different but that’s what all the losers say. The next round should by easier because round 1 is for upsets rounds 2-4 are for champions. First though a few thoughts on round 1.

The Rangers dispatched the Penguins in 5 games. The games were close but the series never was. Rangers played as hard as they needed too. Geno Malkin did absolutely nothing 0s across the board but Marc Andre Fleury hopefully won over his critics with an outstanding series. The Rangers will need to play better in round 2 especially Nash and Kreider. Getting Klein back on defense will help lesser how many times Boyle and Yandle are scared in the corners.

The Capitals/Islanders series was by far the most entertaining in round 1. Both teams, every player finished every check, usually viciously every game. It was secondary scoring that was the difference as Washington had a little more skill and just as much grit as the Islanders. Troy Brouwer knocking Calvin de Haan out left New York weak on the back end and it showed in Game 7.

Montreal took care of business against the Senators. Ottawa pushing it to 6 gave the Canadiens just enough of a scare to help them down the road. The Ottawa fairy tale ended when the Hamburgler’s did.

Detroit had Tampa Bay beat and let them back in. Just like last year when they let Boston off the hook.  Mrazek was awesome for Detroit as was Datsyuk and Tatar. The Niklas Kronwell suspension hurt but it should not have gone that far. Tampa Bay needs to thank their lucky stars that Tyler Johnson didn’t disappear like Steven Stamkos did. Ben Bishop Looked scared in net and was lucky when the puck hit his big body.

Out West Anaheim swept Winnipeg which was a shame because each game was a war. The big bodies on both teams were crushing each other. Anaheim’s goalie Frederick Anderson played better than Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec but really came down to the Duck’s experience. They scored clutch goals and didn’t take stupid penalties. Anaheim’s Dynamic Duo of Getzlaf and Perry looked like they were waiting since October for that series and Kesler looked like has was waiting since 2012.

The Calgary Flames kept their Cinderella season going by beating the Vancouver Canucks.  The Canucks new found depth and grit didn’t bring it in the playoffs. The Flames top line of Monahan, Hudler and Johnny Hockey looked unstoppable at times. I don’t understand the Canucks not playing Vrbata with the Sedin twins but in the end the Canucks D looked old and the Flames wanted it more.

The Chicago Blackhawks toyed with the Nashville Predators. You knew Chicago was going to score whenever they really had too. Chicago was flip flopping goalies and they never seemed concerned. That’s Championship ped

igree and the Hawks have it. Toews, Kane (who came back from injury firing on all cylinders) Hossa, Sharp, Keith the names go on and so will their quest for the Cup. Nashville has nothing to hang their heads about the Hawks are loaded. The Predators played without their leader and super defenseman Shea Weber and watching Seth Jones take his minutes showed they have another super defenseman

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The St Louis Blues are the ones who should hang their heads. What an absolute disgrace. Don’t blame the kid goaltender Allan. It’s St Louis’s rotten core. Their overrated Canadien Olympic defense and overrated top line Backes -7, Oschie -10, Steen -5 . The Blues always claim they needed secondary scoring well Tarasenko got a hat trick and more. Taking nothing away from the Wild though, goaltender Devan Dubnyk was outstanding and Zach Parisse is a Prince among men.

On to round 2.

Rangers/Capitals

I love the way the Capitals play but the referees won’t let them play that way against the Rangers. The refs will make it a special teams fest and King Hank and the Blueshirts will eek out the series. Remember the Capitals defensemen took a beating against the Islanders and the fresh Rangers D are adding Klein Rangers in 7

Canadien/ Lightning

Lightening star Stephen Stamkos is in a slump so the last thingg he want to do is face the best goalie in the NHL Montreal’s Carey Price. The worst goalie still playing is Tampa’s Ben Bishop. He got upset by the tactics of noted rabble rouser Tomas Tatar ( sarcasm) what’s he gonna due with Monteal’s angry midgets) Gallagher, Galchenyuk) Throw out the regular season  Canadiens in 6

Blackhawks / Wild

Devan Dubnyk had an amazing year. He’s going to need to have a super amazing series against the Hawks if the Wild have a chance. The Hawks come in waves and I don’t see the smallish Minnesota defense being able to withstand the constant pressure. Matt Cooke can only take out so many knees. Hawks in 6

Ducks /Flames

Everyone in Canada wants the Flames to win. Sorry I don’t think even BBQ Bruce can mess this one up. Ducks in 6

2015 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview Round 1

Eastern Conference-

NY Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The Rangers are the best team in the East and the once powerful Penguins are limping into the series. The Rangers have the best defense in the East ( McDonagh, Girardi, Staal ,Klein) and a well balanced fast offense led by Hart candidate Rick Nash. The Penguins Big 4 Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Fluery is reduced to 2.5 with Letang out and Malkin injured. Fluery is having a career year but he won’t tilt the series because the Ranger’s goaltender is Henrik Lundqvist Rangers in 6.

Washington Capitals vs New York Islanders

These are not your same old Capitals. Barry Trotz got Alex Ovechkin to buy in to his system and play a little D. The Capitals acquired defensemen ( Orpik,Niskanen) over the offseason and are now formidable on the back end, It’s not all Ovie, Backstrom is a talented center and in Holtby the Capitals finally have a top goaltender. The Islanders have a number one pick/stud of their own in John Tavares and the best 4^th line in hockey ( Clutterbuck, Martin, Cizikas)  but something happen as the snow melted so did their secondary scoring and their netminder Halak looked like Halak.   Capitals in 7

Montreal Canadiens vs Ottawa Senators

Montreal’s Carey Price may win the Vezina and Hart this year he has been that good. No Montreal goalie had ever won 42 games before. Montreal folks not Carolina. Ottawa’s Andrew Hammond has been just as impressive saving Ottawa’s season by being a stone wall the last two months of the season. Ottawa’s forwards are big and young ( Stone, Hoffman, Lazar ), Montreal’s are quick and skilled ( Pacioretty Gallagher, Galchenyuk). PK Subban and Erik Karlsson will have dueling Norris trophy rushes from the back end. Ottawa has all the momentum, Montreal has newly sainted Jean Beliveau looking down on them.   Canadiens in 6 

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Detroit Red Wings

Tampa Bay has Steven Stampkos and the best 2^nd line in hockey led by Tyler Johnson . The problem is after Victor Hedman Tampa’s defense is ordinary and their goalie Ben Bishop is unproven. Detroit not only still has Datsyk and Zetterberg but Nyquist and Tatar are ready to blossom this spring. The Wings defense is steady and Mrazek is an upgrade over Jimmy Howard in net.  Red Wings in 6

Western Conference

Anaheim Ducks vs Winnipeg Jets

What would the playoffs be without Anaheim coach BBQ Bruce goalie controversy. This year he’s added messing with the defense. That’s the Ducks problem, they have two good goalies ( Gibson, Andersen), seven good defensemen led by Beauchemin so BBQ has to make decisions. Winnipeg has an abundance of big, talented forwards (Little, Wheeler, Scheifele)  and a solid defense led by Big Dustin Byfuglien .  Winnipeg’s team is huge and most of them play with bad intentions. That makes Winnipeg a fun team to watch, unfortunately they won’t have much fun watching the Dynamic Duo of Getzlaf and Perry. Those superheroes won’t let BBQ blow it. Ducks in 7

Vancouver Canucks vs Calgary Flames

Calgary has been a great story all year.Calgary was the little team that could. Even losing Captain Mark Giordano didn’t stop them from sending the Champion LA Kings golfing. The Flames though are a one line team. As great as Monahan, Hudler and Johnny Hockey are they are one line teams get shut down in the playoffs.  Vancouver is coming in with their best team in years, The Sedins are rejuvenated and the Canucks now has an abundance of much needed playoff grit ( Kassain , Matthias, Dorsett).  The Vancouver blue line is also revived by the comeback seasons of Elder and Bieksa. If Vancouver goes with Lack and not Miller in net Vancouver should storm into round 2. Vancouver in 5

St Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild

This could be the Blues year. They finally added enough scoring ( Tarasenko, Stastny) to go with their big bruising forwards led by their captain Backes. Their defensemen maybe a bit overrated but there’s enough quality 1-6 to shut down most teams.  While St Louis can’t decide who will be in net between Elliot and Allen Minnesota has no such problem. Devan Dubnyk has been the Wild’s savivor and work horse this season. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are earning their big money contracts but there’s only so many Blues Matt Cooke can hurt in one series. Blues in 5

Chicago Blackhawks vs Nashville Predators

The Chicago Blackhawks are the best team in the NHL without Patrick Kane but news out of Chicago is Kane will be ready to play in the playoffs. It’s not the Toews, Hossa, Sharp ,Saad and the rest of the forwards need any help. Coach Q played around with his veteran defensemen ( Keith, Seabrook,Hjalmarsson,Oduya) this season but they should be all on the same page for the post season. Chicago Corey Crawford is a Cup winner but not considered on the same level as Nashville’s Pekka Rinne. Not only is Rinne impressive the Predators defense maybe the best unit in the NHL led by the top pairing of Weber and Josi. Problem is who is going to score for Music City ?  Streaky Ribeiro, Rookie Forsberg or Daylight Savings Time James Neal.   Hawks in 5

Malkin a Stand

Evgeni Malkin has been called a Stanley Cup Champion, a Conn Smythe winner (playoff MVP) , a Hart winner( regular season MVP), an Art Ross winner (scoring champ ), and a Calder winner ( rookie of the year). On the negative side he’s been called a disengaged, lackadaisical, boneheaded, selfish and a typical Russian (a derogatory term in North America). He has never been called a leader and that’s exactly what he has been this year for the Pittsburgh Penguins. On his way to another possible MVP season he has put the beleaguered Penguins on his back and has dominated the ice every shift. 

It used to be when Geno was the best player the world, not playing second banana to Sidney Crosby, the Penguins were the best team on hockey. The salary cap, injuries and Ray Shero’s ignorance or incompetence has made that not true but the Penguins are in first place in the Metro and off to their best start in franchise history. All of this is being done while the team is hit by an array of injuries and illness that make it look more like Cedars Sinai emergency room than an NHL locker room. Goalie Marc Andre Fluery has been lights out and defenseman Kris Letang is playing the best hockey of his career but Malkin has led the charge up front. Malkin has also led the physical charge. Geno has always had a healthy mean streak but now his temper is controlled.  He has been physical on the fore check. A big strong forward who always defended himself Malkin now he is sticking up for his teammates as well.

Geno has been great most of the time his whole career, this year he’s been great all the time. The bonehead plays in his own end are non- existent, the passes to no one in the neutral zone are gone too. Malkin still takes too many penalties but none of them are due to laziness. Malkin still does try to do too much sometimes but you can’t fault a man for trying.

So what’s changed?  The Penguins changed and Malkin matured. The Penguins roster was restructured. Geno looked around the Penguins locker room, saw a leadership vacuum and filled it. Malkin knows after five disappointing seasons in Pittsburgh if the Penguins fortunes are going to change it needs to start with him. 

EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW

I have been doing Pre season rankings for about a decade now and this year , this conference has been the toughest I have ever done. The best teams in the East last year all got worse. All of the middle of the pack teams last year all got better. The only easy things to predict were that Boston is the best team and Carolina is the worst.

1.    1   Boston Bruins- Can Loui Eriksson replace Jarome Iginla?  No , Iggy is a Hall of Famer and Loui has never been just was a decent scorer who has never the same since a concussion. Hence the Bruins number 1 line won’t be as scary as last year but they still have Milan Lucic and David Kreci. The 2^nd line of featuring Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand shut you down and light the lamp. The defense still has the Beast of the East Zdeno Chara, who did 31 pullups in camp and the goaltending is top notch with Tukka Rask. The big, bad bruin may not be as scary but they’re still the best.

2.     2  Pittsburgh Penguins- Will the Penguins miss high scoring winger James Neal? Maybe at the bar picking up chicks but not a much on the ice. Most of Neal’s goals came on the powerplay or when Evgeni Malkin put it on a tee for him. Neal was a fake tough guy who played with a sense of entitlement. Neal  has never won anything. The Penguins still have the 2 best players in the East centers Sidney Crosby and Malkin and more than  a few capable wings including Chris Kunitz, Pascal  Dupuis and Patric Hornqvist. The Penguins also added some much needed grit. The Defense is full of guys can move the puck and Marc - Andre Fluery is a better goalie the most people give him credit for.

3.      3  Montreal Canadiens – Are the Canadiens to small to win the East?  No, because they know how to beat Boston, their blood rival and best team in the East. The Habs are a small but highly skilled group led by Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais and Alex Galchenyuk. Brandon Prust and Dale Weise will provide enough muscle to keep teams honest. PK Subban is the best all around defensemen in the East and Carey Price is the East’s best goaltender. If Price stay healthy and coach Mike Therrien keeps pushing the right buttons Canada may put a team in the Finals in 2015.

4.      4  New York Rangers – Can the Rangers win the East again? Probably not. Last year everything fell into place for them in the playoffs. They injured a few goalies and came back against the sinking Penguins to claim the East. This year won’t be as easy but they could do it. Number 1 center Derek Stepan is injured now but he will return and they started horrible last year and came back to take East.  The Rangers did lose many valuable pieces from last year’s run Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman , Benoit Pouliot and Brad Richards and weren’t sufficiently replaced . The defense haso the best top pairing, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi  in the East. King Henry Lundqvist will  get more breaks in net this season with the emergence of Cam Talbot. The Blue Shirts can certainly make a run. Who knows Rick Nash may even contribute.

5.     5  Washington Capitals – Will Barry Trots make a difference? Yes, Alex Ovechkin gets the first competent coach he’s had in North America and the Capitals including Ovi will now play defense. It helps they actually now have some defensemen, Brooks Orpik  and Matt Niskanen and not just the fraud that is Mike Green. Brooks Laich and Nicklas Backstrom will help Ovi get all the goals he needs in Trotz system. Is Braden Holtby a top goaltender?  No, but first let’s play some defense in Washington.

6.    6   New York Islanders – Is John Tavares ready for the elite? The biggest tragedy of last year’s Olympics wasn’t Disco Dan’s  coaching of the US but John Tavaras’ injury. He’s the closest you’ll ever get to Mario without Immaculate Conception. John’s wingers are more than capable. Kyle Okposo should have been on the US team and Michael Grabner is faster than a speeding bullet. They will put up points galore. The new 2^nd line with Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai  Kulemin will also score. . The Isles also acquired 2 defensemen that have won Cups, Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. They also have their best goaltender in years,  an unintended back handed compliment, Jaroslav Halak.

7.   7    Detroit Red Wings - Do the Red Wings make it 25 years in a row in the playoffs?  Yes, lame duck coach Mike Babcock and GM Ken Holland will not let this impressive streak end. If Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg can dress most nights , them and the Mule ( Johan Franzen) can make one more trip to the tourney. Young guns Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyqvist will need to light lamp frequently though  to make the 25^th year happpen  because the Wings got no help on defense this offseason. Howard also needs to play better between the pipes this year.

8.     8  Columbus Blue Jackets – Was last year a fluke? No. The Blue Jackets are a  big, skilled , Western Conference style heavy team. The sky is the limit for this team when Boone Jenner and Nathan Horton come back from injuries. The Jackets have a franchise center Ryan Johansen and solid goaltending with Sergei Bobrovsky. Scott Hartnell will lead the way for their young forward group. The defense is average but good enough to keep them in the top 8 in the East.

9.   9    Tampa Bay Lightning- Why are they everybody’s darling team this year? Everybody loves Steven. Stamkos is amazing and someone to always root for, but I think they’re counting on too many kids and  Valerie Filppula to have another career year. Ryan Callahan is a leader but not a goal scorer.  They have a good defense led by the monster Victor Hedman and newcomer Anton Stralman  but  Ben Bishop is a fragile  goaltender and I am not drinking the Kool Aid.

1   10   Toronto Maple Leafs –   Can Brendan Shanahan do  the on an impossible and make the Leafs a true contender? Yes, but it’s going to take time. The Leafs have great high end talent in James  Van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel. If Nazem Kadri ever wakes up they could score enough goals to make up for the Dion Phaneuf and who else defense. Shanny traded toughness for speed throughout the lineup but all the speed in the world will not matter if there’s more James Reimer in net than Jonathan Bernier.

1  11.  Philadelphia Flyers – How much will the loss of Kimmo Timonen hurt? Not much. Fact is Timonen is one of the most overrated players in hockey. He never shows up when it matters, the playoffs. Not to worry the Flyers won’t make the playoffs because their defense is worse than ever. Always big and slow, now with Michael Del Zotto you can add soft and dumb. Claude Giroux and company will score on the power play with Wayne Simmonds doing his thing but not enough. Trading Scott Hartnell for R J Umberger proves this team is still woefully mismanaged.

1   12  New Jersey Devils – Can Jaromir Jagr player forever? Yes, his great butt and greater hands never get old. Hockey fans should treasure this man. After Jags the New Jersey roster is non descript just like GM Lou Lamoriello likes it. If the Devils could ever win a shoot out ( 0-13) last year they can sneak into the playoffs.

1   13 Ottawa Senators – Is Erik Karlsson going to win another Norris trophy? No, because the Senators will not nearly win enough games. The 3 most interesting things about the Senators this season will be watching to see if Bobby Ryan can live up to his new contract and who will snap first rugged winger Chris Neil or owner Eugene Melnyk.

1   14  Buffalo Sabres – Are the Sabres headed in the right direction? Yes, anytime you part ways with useless eyesore John Scott you’re headed in the right direction. Adding Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges from the Habs gives coach Ted Nolan a little more talent and the team some much needed leadership.

1   15  Florida Panthers – Will the influx of veterans help the Panthers? Yes, they will help the team stay out of the number 1 pick in the draft but not out of the “this team should relocate rumours”.Winger Jonathan Huberdeau  will be fun to watch scoring goals. Old man Shawn Thorton will be fun too because he may do something stupid.

1  16  Carolina Hurricanes – Which Staal will be the first one traded? It will be Eric the Captain. He’s the only one anybody wants. New GM Ron Francis has no allegiance to like Staal family “stepfather”  Jim Rutherford did. Jordan has a broken leg and a contract he never lived up to Jared won’t be traded , he’ll probably be waived.

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEASON PREVIEW

BB.WCP

 The Western Conference has 7 haves, 5 have nots , and 2 directly in the middle. I’ll take the Wild to make the playoffs over Vancouver because their style of play is so boring maybe no one will notice if I’m wrong. Here’s my preseason ranking of the 14 Western Conferences Teams and an answer to one of their pressing questions.

1. LA KINGS - Will the Kings suffer a Stanley Cup hangover?  No, this is the Kings 2^nd Stanley Cup in 3 years so they have been here before and know what to expect. They have played more hockey than anybody else in 3 years but this team has a lot of young legs up front ( Toffoli, Pearson, King ) and on D ( Voynov, Muzzin) . Their two best skaters are entering the prime of their careers ( Kopitar, Doughty) They have a better than average backup ( Jones) for their great goaltender Jonathan Quick saving him too much wear and tear. They will also have trade deadline savior Marian Gaborik all season. The Kings have great leadership and a GM who pulls the trigger on deadline deals. The will not fall far from the top if at all this season.

2. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS- Will Brad Richards regain his old Conn Smythe form? How can he not, hands usually don’t go away and he’ll be playing with an exceptional pair of wingers either Kane, Sharp, Hossa or Saad. The Hawks have the best top five defense in the league ( Keith , Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Oduya, Leddy) and will be right at the top of the Western Conference again. Super center and Captain Toews knows this maybe his last great shot at Cup number 3 before the salary cap tears this team apart.

3. ANAHEIM DUCKS- Will the acquisition of Ryan Kesler be enough to make Ducks the best team in Southern California? Maybe, the Ducks addition of Kesler started the Western conferences off season arms race. Every good team in the West without two great centers went out and got another center.  Getzlaf and Perry are the NHL’s most formidable center winger pairing, having a line with Kesler behind them makes the Ducks a chore to play against. The Ducks added Clayton Stoner to add  some beef on the blue line jersey sales at the merch stand.  The Ducks still will not overcome their biggest weakness , coach BBQ Bruce Brodeau, just ask Teemu Selanne .

4. ST. LOUIS BLUES- Will Paul Stastny get the Blues to the top of the Western conference ?  Stastny will provide this defense first regular season juggernaut team with more offense then they have seen since the Brett Hull era. If Ken ( Capt Kangaroo) Hitchcock plays Stastny with Oshie and Steen they might not have to worry about how weak their goaltending is because no matter how many minutes excellent defensive center Backes and the awesome defensive core ( Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester  play goaltender Elliot can’t stop a beachball.

5. SAN JOSE SHARKS- Will Joe Thorton and the Sharks choke again this year? No, because Thorton won’t be a Shark by the end of the year. San Jose has done everything to get Thorton to remove his no trade short of burning down his house. They ripped the C off his sweater and publicly flogged him. The Sharks have a ton a young talent ( Pavelski, Couture, Hertl , Nieto) and the hull they get from a Thorton and a Marleau trade is what this franchise needs to make the jump to the next level. The fact they kept their maligned coach (McLellan) and moved Burns back to defense I don’t have faith in this franchise.

6. COLORADO AVALANCHE- Will Patrick Roy’s carriage turn into pumpkin?  The Colorado Avalanche will not win the Central division regular season title this season because they realize that and five dollars will get you a cup of coffee and Starbucks. The Avs lost Stastny to the Bliues but still have 2 top centers in Duchene and MacKinnon. Those two centers with wingers O’Reilly and Landeskog the Avs will still score a ton of regular season goals. They went out and got Jerome Iginla and Daniel Briere to score big goals in the playoffs. The Avs problem was a below average defense even before Matt Cooke took cheap shots them.

7. DALLAS STARS- Will Lindy Ruff’s carriage turn into a pumpkin? No, because the great Lindy Ruff is the best coach in the NHL that doesn’t have a Cup (he must hate Brett Hull) and the Stars will be scaring the hell out of some team next spring. The Stars will score a ton of goals. The Stars found their arm’s race center in Ottawa’s Jason Spezza. Dallas has a great number one line combo of Seguin and Benn and a 3^rd line that is becoming stuff of legend ( Roussel, Eakin, Garbutt) . The problem with the Stars will they stop any goals?

8. MINNESOTA WILD- How will the Wild handle their goaltending situation? Poorly, If Ilya Bryzgalov the answer, rip up the question. I get that Backstrom hurt, Harding is sick , and Kuemper is young but if Bryz is the answer make a trade. Parise , Pominville and Vanek can’t score enough goals to overcome the Russian nightmare. Super defenseman Suter may play 35 minutes a game but he doesn’t play goal.

9. VANCOUVER CANUCKS- Why are the Canucks not going to make the playoffs? Because this team needed a complete rebuild not a tweak. Head coach John Tortorella was not the only problem last year. The Sedins aren’t getting any younger or grittier. Ryan Kesler, their best two way forward is now in Anaheim and goaltender Ryan Miller hasn’t stopped in important shot in at least four years. I feel sorry for Kevin Bieksa he always seems to be the only guy in Vancouver that plays with balls and brains.

10. WINNEPEG JETS- Will the Jets wish they were still in Atlanta? Yes, playing in front of nobody wasn’t any fun but neither is playing in the rough and tumble Central Division and at least they weren’t freezing in Winnepeg. The laughable Southeast division doesn’t exist anymore but gifted , talented and troubled Kane and Byfuglien will rack up enough points to bring in a major haul at the deadline for the total rebuild that should have started two years ago.

11. NASHVILLE PREDATORS- Will Peter Laviolette take Nashville to the promised land? If the promised land is the back of the net, yes. If the promised land is the playoffs, no. Lavy will install an actual offense in Nashville. Malcontents Neal, Jokinen and Ribeiro will enjoy Lavy’s on ice freedom but not his intensity. Like a country western song this franchise better enjoy the great defensemen Shea Weber because it will be mighty lonely when he’s gone.

12. EDMONTON OILERS- Will they finally cash in on some of their potential? I have faith in the Edmonton Oilers will be a better team this year and put some heat in frozen Rexall Place. Shipping off Gagne and not having ancient Captain Canada Smith to prop up will enable Hall , Nugent Hopkins and Eberle to mature as a group. Who knows Yakupov may also turn it around this year. May he at least be serviceable enough to bring back some veteran defense at the trade deadline.

13. ARIZONA COYOTES- Will they finally move to Seattle or Las Vegas? No, because even though our Commissioner does not nearly have the psychopathic ego of some pro sports commissioners he still will not back down on keeping an ice hockey team in the desert. Plus Dave Tippett has done such a great job keeping the Dogs relevant all these years he deserves great tee times twelve months a year.

14. CALGARY FLAMES- Will fighting practice in training camp payoff? Yes, because when they are down to two goals in the first people will need a reason to watch. When Monahan  is not on the ice people will need a reason to watch. When you can go to bed or watch the last highlights on NHL Tonight we will need a reason to watch.

The Penguins address team toughness with Downie and Carcillo

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed Steve Downie and Daniel Carcillo because they had to.  Downie is a cheap shot artist with a little skill and Carcillo is goon with even less skill. Carcillo will fight anyone, which is good, but he will always take a stupid penalty…which is bad. Carcillo is a modern day Craig Berube which means he’s a Neanderthal. Downie is a class A rat. A  crap disturber who has more than once gone over the boards just to injure people including Penguins and NHL poster boy Sidney Crosby. Downie has few friends but one of them is newly hired Penguin assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Tocchet is a folk hero in Pittsburgh and he was hired by Pittsburgh’s new management specifically to make the Penguins a tougher team.

The Pittsburgh Penguins needed to get tougher. Tougher not only as a team that would fight more often but also throw more hits, grind in corners and generally just be a harder team to play. The Penguins since their most recent Stanley Cup have become a super talented but small soft team to play against. They are the NHL version of Disney on Ice. A show packed with familiar stars and fun for the whole family but unable to win playoff series.

It wasn’t always that way, the previous regime took over a team with young baby faced stars who they “won” after being at the bottom so long they stockpiled lottery picks. Not only did these stars need protection but the franchise also needed to reacquire respect on the ice. In the rough and tumble world of the NHL respect is bought and it’s earned. The Penguins brought in big ,tough and sometimes dirty players like Gary Roberts, Georges Laraquae, Mike Rupp, Jarkko Ruutu , Matt Cooke to name a few. Along the way they went to two Stanley Cup finals , won one and were near the top of the league in penalties and fighting majors. Everything was swell unto the debacle on Long Island in 2011.

The debacle on Long Island was a game long brawl between the Penguins and the New York Islanders ( who were looking for respect , NHL style). The game’s crimes scenes were so over the top they actually made the lead story on ESPN’s SportsCenter. Lebron must have had the night off.

Penguin’s owner /legend Mario Lemieux was so appalled he wrote a famous letter to the NHL league asking it to clean up its act and he started with his own house. Tough guys were moved out and not replaced. A defenseman Deryk Engelland was asked to play team enforcer as well as take a regular shift on defense and Matt Cooke was rehabilitated then not signed. Big, heavy  forwards who live in the corners and in front of the net were replaced  by  small, light players who would rather make a nice pass than a bone crunching hit.

Since the organizational shift Pittsburgh have not advanced in the playoffs has far as any member of the Penguins organization or their fan base thinks they should have and the main reason/excuse being the  i was  too small and soft. GM Ray Shero was replaced by Jim Rutherford and Head Coach Dan Blysma was replaced by Mike Johnston. Sure Shero and Blysma won but not in June in six years. Prevailing thought was if the team was tougher they would have. The theory of if Crosby isn’t being cross checked in the head he might score.

I agree whole heartily agree the Penguins need to get bigger and tougher but they didn’t not win a Cup in five years solely because of toughness but that’s another column. I don’t hate the signing of Carcillo on principle and just think there were better fits than Carcillo. Mainly three former Penguins Mike Rupp, Ryan Malone or Paul Bissonette. Each is bigger than Carcillo and has more hockey skill the Carcillo even if for Biz Nasty only barely. Sure Daniel is a better fighter but more important than fighting prowess is the former Penguins don’t randomly lose their minds and take stupid penalties that hurt the team. Stevie Downie I don’t want on the Penguins or in the NHL. He has purposely injured people and the Penguins and the league don’t need him. As for Downey I’m trusting Tocchet. Tocchet could probably tame a wild tiger so why not Downie.

 The Penguins realized if the NHL is not going to play nice why should the Penguins. Time to fight fire with fire and reestablish the respect the Penguins once had but lost thinking the NHL would change. You  know the old saying if you can’t beat them, join them

A Quick Review of the 2014 Off Season -So Far

As the calendar hits August let’s take a quick look at what NHL teams have done this offseason. The top teams in the West have improved and the top teams in the East have weakened.

The Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings did the only thing they had to do they resigned winger Marian Gaborik. The Kings did lose steady and clutch defensemen Alec Martinez but someone had to go. The Kings have the best team in hockey and every other team has to catch up to them. Most teams out West figured the best way to win the West was have two great centers like the Kings do (Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter)

The Blackhawks went out and got center Brad Richards, some say he’s past his prime but I’m sure working with wingers like Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa will revive him. They also resigned Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane long term.  

The St. Louis Blues signed Paul Stastny to be their number two center, he should be their number one center and David Backes number two but you know cave man coach Ken Hitchcock won’t see it that way.

The Anaheim Ducks traded to get Ryan Kessler giving them the one two punch of Getzslaf and Kessler arguably the best center combo of scoring and nasty in the league.

The Dallas Stars traded for Ottawa’s center Jason Spezza. Putting Spezza on a 2^nd line behind the dynamic duo of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin gives the great Lindy Ruff the most offense he’s had to work his whole career , except when he’s Team Canada’s assistant coach.

I loved what the Colorado Avalanche did. Signing Hall of Famer Jerome Iginla and Daniel Briere gives the Avs a much needed veteran presence and payoff toughness they will need next spring. Unfortunately they lost Center Paul Stastny to division rival St. Louis. Losing a top center in this era of the two center model was a mistake.

The other Western playoff teams made made no major moves. The San Jose Sharks have two top centers ( Joe Thorton and Joe Pavelski) but did nothing to improve their chronic underachieving team. The Wild added winger Tomas Vanek. Whoop Dee Doo. Of the West’s bottom feeders Calgary improved themselves the most stabilizing their goaltending by adding Jonas Hiller and yes I do now consider Vancouver a bottom feeder and Ryan Miller does not stabilize their goaltending.

In the Eastern Conference most of the teams got weaker, especially the top teams. The perennial beasts of the East Boston and Pittsburgh lost arguably their best, wingers Jerome Iginla in Boston and James Neal in Boston. Pittsburgh also lost half their blue line, heart and soul defenseman Brooks Oprik and plus minus monster Matt Niskanen while only sort of replacing them with Christain Erhoff. The Eastern Conference winners New York Rangers bought out Brad Richards and lost prime playoff performers D man Victor Stralman and center Brain Boyle.

The Flyers made two stupid moves this off season. They sent Scott Hartnell to Columbus for washed up RJ Umberger and their Captain Claude Giroux got arrested in Ottawa for groping a male cop.

 Montreal lost steady defenseman Josh Gorges to Buffalo as well as their captain Brian Gionta. The Sabres also signed free agent sniper Matt Moulson.

The Sabres weren’t the only also rans who got better. Florida acquired proven Cup winners Willie Mitchell, Shawn Thorton, Jussi Jokenen and Dave Bolland. The Devils added offense with Mike Cammalleri. The Islanders got two wingers, Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski to wingers to play with John Tavares and the Capitals got half the Penguins defense so someone will play defense in DC this year.