Blackhawks Sign Kris Versteeg Avoid Crisis

It appears that the Chicago Blackhawks have avoided the potential crisis of losing a couple of their young stars because of some botched qualifying offers.

Chicago was able to sign Cam barker to a 3-year $9.25Million extension yesterday and it appears that they have accomplished the same deal with Kris Versteeg according to Marty Baceda’s Twitter feed. Baceda indicates that he interviewed Versteeg personally and that he had indeed signed a 3-year $9.25Million deal.

This deal has now also been confirmed by Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.

Now, the next problem for the Blackhawks is trying to skirt the salary cap – they’re already against the cap, with no second goalie,  and are currently relying on Cristobal Huet to tend the net as the starter.

With so little cap space and a certain requirement in goal, it begs the question as to who the Blackhawks will trade in order to fill that void?

TSN.ca suggests that Versteeg, Patrick Sharp and/or Cam Barker are potential trade bait.

Why Playoff Hockey Offers The Best Entertainment Value

One of the reasons why the NHL continues to grow in popularity, especially in television viewership is the excitement that continues to be brought to the game by a host of fantastic young stars.

While we have seen the tide turning for a few years now, it has not been since the mid-1980′s that the National Hockey League has had as many bonafide young stars as it does today!

Playoff Hockey

What’s more, the NHL playoffs offer hockey fans the chance to see these young stars perform at the peak of intensity and pressure. The best example thus far in the playoffs was, of course, Game 3 of the Penguins vs. Capitals series where both Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin scored hat tricks for their respective teams. But, there is certainly evidence of talented youngsters leading the charge in all of the series’.

Some of the most poignant examples are:

• Ryan Getzlaf, who is tied for the lead in playoff scoring, and Jonas Hiller have led the 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks past the President’s Trophy winning San Jose Sharks and at least to a six game series with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings.
• Cam Ward and Eric Staal have put the Carolina Hurricanes on their young, but capable, shoulders and carried the team past the New Jersey Devils and into a 3-1 series lead over the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins.

The Unlikely Hero

Adding to the already exciting story of NHL playoff hockey, it seems that in every playoff year, there emerges an unlikely hero of sorts.

Often, it is a young goaltender that emerges with a fantastic playoff performance, such as Cam Ward did in 2006 on his way to Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe honors. The same could be said for Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and Tony Esposito among a few others.

However, the more unlikely heroes are those forwards whose names rarely mark the score sheet during the regular season but somehow when the pressure is turned up in the playoffs, manage to bring their game to new heights.

The Legend of John Druce

The most prolific example of such an unlikely hero is that of John Druce. In the 1989-1990 season Druce managed just 8 Goals and 3 Assists. But it was the playoffs that year when Druce made a name for himself, scoring 14 goals and three assists for 17 points in just 15 games. NHL Director of Corporate Communications, Mike DiLorenzo may have said it best for NY Ranger fans when he noted “That John Druce broke my heart”.

Last season’s unlikely playoff hero was undoubtedly Philadelphia Flyer forward R.J Umberger (Now with Columbus). Umberger notched 10 goals in last year’s 17 game playoff run with Philadelphia after scoring just 13 times in 72 regular season games for the Flyers.

Not to disappoint fans this season, the emergence of an unlikely playoff hero has come to fruition.

Jussi Jokinen of the Carolina Hurricanes was discarded twice by NHL teams this season and manged to score just 7 goals in 71 games split between Tampa Bay and Carolina. However, in just 11 playoff games, Jokinen has scored 6 goals – including 3 game winning goals and 1 game tying goal.

Of course, true hockey fans would watch playoff hockey without the unlikely hero stories or the emergence of a young superstar goaltender, but it is these stories that round out the entertainment value of playoff hockey, start water cooler conversations and deepen fan relationships with their teams.

Is there any better entertainment in the world than playoff hockey?

I think not.

Curtis Joseph Chases All-Time Loss Record

With Martin Gerber’s referee shoving episode earning him a 3-game suspension, Curtis Joseph found himself looking at three straight starts.

Interestingly enough that may be just enough starts to break an NHL record this season.

Collecting his 351st career loss on Friday night, Curtis Joseph moved within one loss of Gump Worsley’s career loss record for goaltenders.

While the all-time record for losses by an NHL goaltender is not an enviable position to be in, Joseph also ranks 4th all-time in wins with 453 NHL victories.

Considering the length of Joseph’s career, it is obvious that the losses are the bi-product of a long career backstopping a host of mediocre teams rather than poor performance.

The Year of The Goalie

In a year when Martin Brodeur has set the record for most career wins, and has been hailed by many as the best goaltender in history, there is one category other than career losses where Joseph leads Brodeur. Joseph (26,707) has had more shots against him than Brodeur (24,842). in fact, Patrick Roy (28,353) is the only goaltender in history with more shots against than Joseph.

In his 19 seasons, Joseph has made nearly 54,000 saves, allowed more than 2500 goals against and has a career goals against average (GAA) of 2.79. Joseph was an NHL All-Star on two occasions in 1994 and 2000

Joseph’s worst full season came in 2006-2007 when he held the fort for a very poor Phoenix Coyotes team, and finished the season with 321 losses and a 3.19 GAA.

With those statistics and without winning a Stanley Cup, does Joseph deserve a shot at the Hall of Fame?

Alex Ovechkin Celebrates 50th Goal

Alexander Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the 2008-2009 season on March 19.   Ovechkin, who leads the National Hockey League in goals, is favored by many fans as the most impactful and exciting player in the league. Ovechkin celebrated his 50th goal by dropping his stick and when attempting to pick it up, pretended it was too hot to touch!

[Video thanks to On Frozen Blog]

Too Much Celebration?

I wonder what Don Cherry, who criticized Ovechkin on the February 28th edition of Hockey Night in Canada for his excessive celebrations, will have to say about the celebration of his 50th goal?

For those who haven’t seen Cherry’s previous remarks on Ovechkin’s post-goal celebrations, I submit the following video:

In my opinion, as a hockey fan, if you can score 50 goals in the National Hockey League, then you are entitled to a little excessive celebration.  I actually enjoy watching Ovechkin’s celebrations because he shows his love for the game and passion for scoring.

Until he crosses the line from showing passion and excitement for the game to mocking the opposition, I will continue to Ovechkin and his goal celebrations are great for the game.

Honestly, it isn’t as if Ovechkin scores a goal in the opposition’s arena and then skates as fast as he can to center ice, stopping and standing on the other team’s logo – I mean that is disrespectful! (Terrell Owens – NFL Video)

Take a moment and watch the above video again.  Notice how Ovechkin is just randomly swinging his arms and jumping.  Most of the time it is just pure exuberance and random displays of emotion. There is no pre-planned celebration going on – He didn’t pull a Sharpie marker from his skate to autograph his stick (Terrell Owens…again!)

Ovechkin is a Team Player

One key thing to understand is that Alexander Ovechkin gets excited for every one of the Capitals goals.  Many times I have witnessed him jumping up and down and pumping his fists and hurling himself at a teammate who just scored.  That is pure passion for the game, nothing more.

Cherry, in the above video, encourages young players not to act like Ovechkin after scoring. Okay, even if you think Alex is a touch over the top from time to time, he isn’t faking his appreciation for his teammates.

That said, I encourage each and every young hockey player to act like Alex Ovechkin acts when his teammates score.  It is a pure exhibition of excitement and enthusiasm for the members of his team and, if nothing else, he deserves to be recognized for that.

Thoughts and opinions, as always, are most welcomed in the comments section.

Stan Smyl: Vancouver Canucks Legend

The following video is a great and fitting tribute to one of the Greatest Vancouver Canucks in history and the only Canuck, other than Trevor Linden,  whose jersey has been retired by the team.

He actually led the Canucks in Goals, Assists, Points and Penalty Minutes in 1979-1980, a feat that no player has accomplished since.

Watch and enjoy a great tribute to Stan Smyl!

Wayne Gretzky Fights

The Great One drops the gloves on December 22, 1982 versus the Minnesota North Star’s Neal Broten and loses a decisive battle. I’m glad that TSN brought this Gretzky highlight out of the archives! Enjoy.

As brought to our attention by a reader, Gretzky fought two other times.
1.) Doug Lecuyer – Chicago on March 14, 1980
2.) Bob Murray – Chicago on March 7, 1984

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