Charles Wang's notes from the Brooklyn press conference

Charles Wang indicating the number of people
who are sad to leave Nassau Coliseum.

Once upon a time, the 1980s happened.  Gas prices were cheap[er], people were having terrible crises with their hair and the New York Islanders were relevant.  But since winning four straight Stanley Cup championships to kick off that decade, they've pretty much been a joke.  Nowadays, a trip to the playoffs for the Islanders is as rare as Rick DiPietro playing consecutive games (that's your unoriginal and quite honestly terrible joke about Rick DiPietro for the day).  Now though, the Islanders have decided that the best way to forget their misery is to move west and abandon Nassau County and the awful concrete slab of an arena that sits in it.  The Islanders are moving to Brooklyn.

Islanders owner Charles Wang held a press conference to announce the move to Brooklyn to those who don't have Twitter accounts.  I wasn't there, but thanks to some friends in the media business, I obtained a copy of Charles Wang's notes from the presser, and I'm here to share them with you.

The wrongful perception of European NHL players

(Warning: this is a senseless rant.  If you don't like to read strong opinions, do not read on.)

...

Oh, you like senseless rants?  Well then, I hope you enjoy this.

Consider the following situation.

A young, talented Russian defenseman just came over to North America, and he's ready to become an NHL player.  He's been drafted by a smaller market NHL team with a roster of players he's unfamiliar with, so he refuses to sign an entry-level contract with that team.  A year goes by and now he's demanded a trade or he'll become an unrestricted free agent.  He and his agent provide General Managers with a short list of teams he'd meet with, and his list is based on teams that have players he knows and teams that he'd be guaranteed to play a certain number of minutes for next season.

That's pretty selfish of him, isn't it?  He refuses to sign with the team that drafted him?  Who does he think he is, Eric Lindros?

Of course, this situation is playing itself out right now, except the player is not Russian.  He's Canadian.  His name, if you haven't figured it out already, is Justin Schultz.

Yet nobody questions Schultz's tactics.  He's been invited to meet with several NHL teams, and he actually refused to grant teams meetings with him.  Essentially, he'll only sign with a Canadian team or the Rangers, and Toronto might be the leading candidate because his buddy, Jake Gardiner, plays for them.  But Schultz is a good Canadian boy, so let's not dare call him selfish.

Flash back to the winter of 2009-2010.  Ilya Kovalchuk is miserable, playing for a bad Thrashers team for the eighth time in nine seasons.  He turns down a pair of massive contract offers from General Manager Don Waddell, suggesting that he would not re-sign with Atlanta in the summer of 2010.  Instead, his GM went out and found a trading partner, the New Jersey Devils.  Kovalchuk went on to sign a $100 million extension with the Devils later that summer.  Kovalchuk was tagged as a selfish individual.  Why?  For not wanting to commit to a terrible team for longer than he already had?

Fast forward to this past winter.  Rick Nash is miserable, playing for a bad Blue Jackets team for the eighth time in nine seasons.  He's reportedly asked his General Manager, Scott Howson, for a trade to a contending team because he's frustrated with his situation in Columbus and at this point in his career, he wants to move on and have a chance to win.

But Rick Nash isn't selfish.  He just wants a chance to win, and that's what it's all about, right?

So what's the difference?  Kovalchuk went to a better team where he has a chance to win every year.

Now today, Sidney Crosby apparently agreed to a 12-year/$104 million contract with the Penguins.  He's not selfish.  Why is Kovalchuk for signing a 15-year/$100 million deal?  Why is Alex Ovechkin selfish for signing a 13-year/$124 million deal in 2008?

Then again, what if European players are selfish?  What if they are enigmatic and lazy?  After all, the Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup run belongs to Sidney Crosby, right?  It's not like Conn Smythe winner Evgeni Malkin actually led his team to victory.  After all, Malkin only had 36 points in 22 games.  How enigmatic.

And how about the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings who had just 14 European players on the team?  And how about the most talented player in the NHL right now, Pavel Datsyuk?  He only has 3 Selke trophies and 4 Lady Byng awards.  The recently retired Swedish defenseman Nick Lidstrom wasn't too bad, either.

The European stereotypes go to unbelievable extremes, and quite honestly, it's ridiculous.  What about the New York Rangers this past spring?  They struggled to score goals in the playoffs, so the Slovakian-native Marian Gaborik took the blame.  Guess what?  He posted 11 points in the playoffs, which is one more than the American-born captain Ryan Callahan.  American-born Derek Stepan had just one goal in the playoffs.

There's nobody who demonstrates more European hatred than Don Cherry, who called Dainius Zubrus "lazy" during the playoffs.  What if Zubrus was Canadian?  Cherry would love him.  After all, Zubrus is a big, power forward who kills penalties and plays a two-way game...even though he's of Russian descent.

Want more?  Of course you do.  Alex Ovechkin has 59 points in 51 playoff games.  Kovalchuk has 25 points in 28 playoff games with the Devils.  Malkin has 81 points in 68 playoff games.  Only Malkin has won a Stanley Cup.  Somehow, all three players have been tagged as "lazy" or "selfish" as recently as this past season by fans and even the media (mostly Don Cherry).

So how did this bias against European players start?  Did people knock Stan Mikita in the 1960s, Jari Kurri in the 1980s or Slava Fetisov in the 1990s?  Was Jaromir Jagr simply the lazy guy that played next to Mario Lemieux?  You know who one of the first players was that I believe changed the perception of Europeans?  Alex Kovalev.

The bottom line is that Europeans can be awesome too.  Not all of them are as beloved as Teemu Selanne or Mats Sundin, but maybe it's time to take a step back and appreciate what they're doing.  Ovechkin, Datsyuk and Kovalchuk are legends developing right in front of us, and many people are going to completely miss out on what fantastic hockey players they are because of their native country.  Obviously, some people do appreciate them, and those people are watching some pretty special hockey players.

Then again, if his name was Justin Schultzov, he'd be viewed as a selfish...

Beast of the East: NJ Devils 2011-12 Timeline

"Ask Lundqvist if he'd like to join us.  No really!"

Last week, I broke down the LA Kings' 2011-12 season to date, and now, we know who they'll face in the Stanley Cup Finals: the New Jersey Devils.  Of course, this means I will be able to provide a completely neutral post with absolutely no bias whatsoever.  ...  Okay, seriously, stop laughing at me.


So how did the 2011-12 Devils come to be?  Here's a look back:

April 12th, 2011: Despite just a 3.6% chance to win the Draft Lottery, the Devils win the lottery and move up to 4th in the draft order.  Gary Bettman immediately fires everyone who planned the draft lottery in rage.

June 24th: The Devils draft Adam Larsson with the 4th overall pick.  Ten minutes later, Larsson realizes his Twitter account is now history.

July 19th: Lou Lamoriello is mocked by the entire world for hiring the recently fired Panthers coach, Peter DeBoer, because obviously not hiring a "trap" defensive coach turned out to be a huge mistake.

July 20th: In a bizarre unforeseen turn of events, Lou Lamoriello does not fire DeBoer the day after hiring him.

July 28th: The Devils trade Brian Rolston and his humongous contract to the Islanders for Trent Hunter.

August 1st: The Devils waive Colin White...and Trent Hunter.

What would it mean to win the Stanley Cup?

(insert your own Gary Bettman/Stanley Cup joke here)

Which ever of the four remaining teams wins the Stanley Cup this year, there will be several first-time winners on that team's roster.  That means a very special moment in a team and players' history is just a few weeks away from happening.  Winning the Stanley Cup is often a dream realized by many NHL players and coaches, so let's take a look at just what it would mean to win the Cup.


Brad Richards - He's prepared a speech to give in the locker room after the game, in which he'll talk about what winning the Cup means to him.  Meanwhile, John Tortorella and Ruslan Fedotenko will just roll their eyes.

Shane Doan - After spending his day with the Cup, he'll be awfully confused as to why all of his equipment has been postmarked "Quebec City."

Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Justin Williams, John Stevens - After winning the Cup, they've planned to meet outside their local Philly bar, but they won't be able to figure out why everyone in Philly keeps cursing out New Jersey.

Martin Brodeur - He'd obviously like a fourth Cup, but nobody has been able to figure out why he keeps Patrick Roy's number waiting on speed dial.

Mike Smith - He'd love to win the Stanley Cup, because it'd give him another large object to slam LA Kings' players with repeatedly.

PREVIEW: #6 Devils vs. #1 Rangers

Torts?  Angry?  Get used to this sight.

"When we play our game, nobody can beat us."

You see that quote above?  That was Ilya Kovalchuk earlier this season.  Head coach Pete DeBoer insisted that the Devils are an "elite" team, and he proclaimed that many months ago.  DeBoer seems to be the most liked Devils coach in years.  This could be the best Devils team in years.  The next 4-7 games will play a huge role in determining if these Devils are as good or better than the last championship team in 2003.  Round 3 of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs are about to begin, and of course, it's Devils-Rangers for a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.  *Whew.*  Take a deep breathe everyone.

So how did both of these teams get here?

As you probably know by now, the Devils needed a second overtime of Game 7 to beat a pesky Florida Panthers team in the first round of the playoffs before dismantling a fatigued Flyers group in five games to advance to the Conference Finals.  The Devils have excelled playing 5-on-5, as they're scored 24 of their 36 goals this post-season 5-on-5, and they've surrendered 13 goals against 5-on-5.  That 1.85 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio is the best of the 16 playoff teams.  Basically, the Devils will succeed if they stay out of the penalty box and continue their dominant forechecking game.

Proof that it is, in fact, possible to score on Henrik Lundqvist.

True to form, nothing comes easy for this year's edition of the New York Rangers.  This isn't your "older brother's" Rangers, who boasted the likes of Shanahan, Jagr and mega-free agents (although they rely on Gaborik and Richards for much of their offense).  This is a very hard-working, "blue-collar" hockey team that likes to play physical and wear down their opposition.  They ran into two opponents who have tested them to the brink of elimination, in #8 Ottawa and #7 Washington, but the Rangers squeaked by both series in seven games each, and now face the Devils in the Conference Finals.  The Rangers have scored 19 times 5-on-5, while allowing 17 this post-season so far.

How the Devils are preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals

Despite beating the Flyers in 5, Pete DeBoer knows he failed as a coach by letting Zac Rinaldo escape the series uninjured.

The annoying part about winning a short series is waiting to find out who your next opponent will be.  The Kings, Coyotes and Devils have advanced to the Conference Finals, but the Rangers and Capitals are still battling out their series, as Game 7 will be Saturday night.  The Devils have already begun preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals, despite not knowing who they'll be playing.  So what exactly are they doing?


David Clarkson - He's decided that if scoring goals while skating right in front of the goaltender when he is trying to clear puck doesn't work, he'll screen the goaltender and wave his stick in the air like an idiot.  Or did the league outlaw that?

Ilya Kovalchuk - After all the times he helped the red light go on behind Ilya Bryzgalov, he's forced Bryzgalov into a habit of flopping and throwing his hands up every time he drives up to a red traffic light.

Anton Volchenkov - Since he can't practice due to injury, he sends Brayden Schenn a get well soon postcard.  Every day.

Ryan Carter - Purchased a New York Rangers inflatable punching bag and drew a #41 "Bickel" on the back.

Zach Parise - Has been looking at real estate in northern New Jersey, because apparently the Devils winning probably bodes decently as far as Parise's future in New Jersey.

Lou Lamoriello - He's working very hard to inform the media of various Devils injuries.  Marek Zidlicky is "day-to-day with an undisclosed injury."

Biggest surprises in the 2012 playoffs (so far)

A collection of objects that went through Ilya Bryzgalov's five-hole this month.

The 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs turned four weeks old this past Wednesday, and by now, most people's brackets have been ruined.  Things haven't exactly gone as 'experts' thought they would to this point, but there have been more surprises than just which teams are still playing.  Here's what I mean.

• Jeremy Roenick called out several Russian players in the playoffs this season.  None of them were his ex-teammates in San Jose.
   
• After beating the Bruins in Game 7, Caps GM George McPhee said he might break the team's tradition of trading away their best goalie after flopping in the playoffs.
   
• Jamie Langenbrunner's team is on the brink of being bounced out of the playoffs in the second round.  The real surprise is that Jamie Langenbrunner's team hasn't been bounced out already.
   
• It's surprising that with all the bad shots Michael Yormark took at Devils fans that none of them went through Ilya Bryzgalov's five-hole.
   
• Tyler Seguin's popularity among females is gaining on Justin Bieber's.

2012 NHL Playoff Bracket

I worked this out several different ways.  Boston-Nashville kept turning out to be the Stanley Cup Finals.

It's mid-April.  The NHL playoffs are about to start, and 16 fan bases are optimistic that this could be their team's year to win the Stanley Cup!  The horrible truth to this is that most of us will be let down and our teams will be knocked out of the playoffs earlier than we had originally hoped.  So now that I've depressed you a bit, it's time for the second installment (here's last year's bracket, in case for some bizarre reason, you'd like to see it) of my playoff bracket.

*All NHL logos were


Eastern Conference (I start with the East because of East Coast Bias)


#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa Senators
Series slogan: What goes first?  Paul MacLean's 'stache or John Tortorella's temper?

I'm used to seeing the Rangers in the 1/8 matchup, but not as the #1 seed.  Both of these teams would be considered "over-achievers" this season.  A lot has to go right for Ottawa to win the series, and although I'm not crazy about giving goalies all the credit in the world, but this series will come down to goaltending.  Craig Anderson has seen this before: his Colorado Avalanche were the 8th seed in the spring of 2010, and he stole a pair of games for the Avs before losing in six to San Jose.  This series will be similar, although this Senators team is a much more offensively skilled team.  Ottawa will need to be very patient in this series, because the Rangers not only love to collapse in the neutral zone, but they collapse around the net and will make it difficult for Erik Karlsson and the Sens' defense to get their point shots through to Henrik Lundqvist.  Lundqvist, by the way, had a save percentage of .895 in March and April, so he'll need to be much better than that, or his Rangers could be heading home early again.

My pick: Rangers in 6.
Confidence in my pick: 9/10


#2 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Washington Capitals
Series slogan: Tim Thomas can ship up to Boston, but he'll have to be in the city of the White House too

It's been an inconsistently brilliant season for the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, but when they're on, they are the best team in the NHL.  They have a dynamic, yet balanced attack, which compliments Zdeno Chara, the world's best defenseman, and Tim Thomas, an elite NHL goaltender, very well.  The Capitals, meanwhile, had a very disappointing season and almost missed the playoffs, yet here they are, playing very well lately, as they've won four of five games heading into the playoffs.  If they had a consistent and healthy goaltender, I would pick this as the upset, since Washington is far overdue to make a long playoff run, but they don't, so it'll be another early exit for the Caps, even with Nicklas Backstrom healthy.  But hey, at least they fired Bruce Boudreau, riiight?!

My pick: Bruins in 6.
Confidence in my pick: 5/10


#3 Florida Panthers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils
Series slogan: If a playoff series was buried off NBC's networks and nobody saw it, did it really happen?

(I'll have a more detailed preview of this series during the week) It's been a long time coming since the Florida Panthers made the playoffs, but finally, the Panthers are the latest Miami team to take advantage of free agency to improve their team.  And the Panthers didn't sign LeBron James or Jose Reyes, so you don't have to hate on them.  The Panthers have their "Big 3," though, as Fleischmann, Weiss and Versteeg make up a very dangerous scoring line.  Meanwhile, it's been a huge bounce-back season for the Devils under yet another new coach, Pete DeBoer.  They won 48 games and picked up 102 points after missing the playoffs for just the second time in 22 seasons.  The Devils are no longer the old trap Devils, in fact, they're one of the East's most up-tempo and deep offensive teams.  That will be why the Devils win this series.  They have depth, as good of a defense as any New Jersey blue line since the lockout and Martin Brodeur has been playing very well since the All-Star Break.  Plus, DeBoer would love to beat the team that fired him.  If the Devils play a disciplined and smart game, which they'll have to against Florida, this won't be a very long series.

My pick: Devils in 5.
Confidence in my pick: 9/10

Hockey experts sound off on Tortorella and Clowe



I don't read minds, but if I had to guess, I'd say he's not very happy there.  Or ever.



Yesterday may have been Good Friday, but the hockey world has seen some not-so-good action over the last week.  First, Rangers coach John Tortorella ripped the Penguins organization and blasted Brooks Orpik for his knee-on-knee hit on Derek Stepan.  That cost "Torts" $20,000.  San Jose's Ryane Clowe, meanwhile, cheated a bit against the Los Angeles Kings.  No, he wasn't paid to injure anyone, but that doesn't make him a Saint.  He reached over the boards and played the puck from the bench.  Here's the reaction that wasn't from hockey experts (please note: this is not real).


Pierre McGuire

On Tortorella - John is one of the best coaches in the league, he's so good with his team.  He should at least be one of the top two or three or twenty finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy.  He's so smart with his team, Doc.
On Clowe - Ryane Clowe is an excellent player.  He's a gritty player and I think every team in the league could use someone like him, but that's just uncalled for.  He should know better than that, but Ryane Clowe is still an exceptional hockey player, Doc.


Mike Milbury

On Tortorella - Well finally someone spoke the truth!  I mean, when was someone gonna man up and tell it like it is?  I love John Tortorella.  The fact that the NHL fined him is stupid and completely idiotic.
On Clowe - There is absolutely nothing wrong with players being a little creative out there.  He helped his team, and if the refs aren't looking, hey, why not?  I wish I had told my players to do that more on Long Island.


Don Cherry

On Tortorella - LISTEN, JOHN, I LOVE YA AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT BUT YOU CAN'T BE SAYING THAT ABOUT THA PITTSBURGH PENKWINS.  YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW.
On Clowe - RYANE CLOWE, HERE, HE'S A GOOD ST. JOHN'S BOY FROM NEWFOUNDLAND, WHICH IS ALMOST AS GOOD AS ONTARIO, HE'S GOTTA BE SMARTA THAN THAT!  BUT HEY, THE L.A. KINGS SHOULDA TRIED TA FIGHT HIM!  THAT'LL SHOW HIM.  I HOPE THEY FIGHT HIM TODAY.

Re-living the Devils' Cup run in 1995, Part 1

The playoffs are just around the corner, which means that the playoffs are about to start, most Canadian teams are eliminated and there's no more shootouts!  Before the 2012 playoffs get under way, I wanted to take a look at each of the three Devils Stanley Cup runs.  Hopefully, this will get Devils fans in a playoff state of mind.  All videos in these posts are courtesy of YouTube user McKay4429061 .

PART ONE: 1995 New Jersey Devils Season in Review (plus first two rounds of the playoffs)

Coming off a 47-25-12 season in 1993-94, the Devils made a statement to the rest of the league that they were no longer the "Mickey Mouse organization" that Wayne Gretzky infamously named them in the early 1980s.  The Devils entering 1993-94 having made the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons, but after the famous Game 7 loss to the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, it was time for the Devils to take the next step.  They finished second in goals for (306) and second in goals against (220) in 1993-94, so they had become a complete team, with youngster Martin Brodeur in net.

Biggest stories heading into the playoffs



"Alexander, how does it feel to replace Carrie Underwood as the face of the Predators?"

 Well, it's been another entertaining season of NHL hockey (except in New Jersey, since by definition, hockey in New Jersey has to be boring.  Even if that means Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise are classified as boring players.), which means the playoffs are just around the corner for the top eight teams from each conference.  We've seen a lot of interesting things this season, so here's a look at the top stories going into the playoffs.


Ottawa doesn't suck - Despite every single 'hockey expert,' plus Damien Cox, predicting the Senators to finish dead last in the Eastern Conference this season, they're a playoff team and might even finish as high as 2nd in the conference.  Yet management claims that their success this season has nothing to do with the fact that they threatened to trade the team's worst player to Edmonton at the end of the season.  Weird.


Radulov's back - After completing his fourth straight season in Russia's KHL, Alexander Radulov decided it was time to return to the NHL and the Nashville Predators.  This fulfills Caps' general manager George McPhee's bold prediction that 'Alexander will definitely be ready for the playoffs by the end of March.'


Florida Panthers are back in the playoffs - They haven't officially clinched a playoff berth yet, but barring a historic collapse, the Panthers will be a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in...umm, a very long time.  It's been so long, in fact, that Sean Avery hadn't pissed off anyone in the NHL yet.


Sharks on the playoff bubble - Since the lockout, hockey fans can be assured of two things: the Toronto Maple Leafs will miss the playoffs and the San Jose Sharks will collapse in the playoffs.  This season, the latter won't happen if the Sharks actually miss the playoffs.  This year's Sharks are so bad, in fact, that Martin Havlat is averaging fewer points per game than during his Minnesota days.  Think about that.

Things that happen in the first 5 seconds of hockey games



Hey Torts, Y U HEFF TO BE MAD?


Last night at Madison Square Garden, the Devils and Rangers engaged in three simultanious fights immediately after puck drop (see below).

The results of this included an energized crowd, two angry coaches and some blood.  But was that the most interesting thing that has ever happened at the start of a hockey game?  I've thought of a few others, so you can make the decision for yourselves.

• Rick DiPietro leaves the game with an undisclosed injury, such as itchy finger nail.
   
• The Toronto Maple Leafs are losing 4-0.
   
• Sidney Crosby has already been named first star of the game.
   
• John Tortorella is fuming, because the opposing coach actually started a line.
   
• Zdeno Chara has stepped onto the ice, and all five opposing skaters gulp.
   
• Kyle Wellwood has become famished.
  

Some St. Patrick's Day Traditions Across the NHL

Maybe fans will start throwing four leaf clovers onto the ice.  You know, there's four leafs, ugh, leaves and all...

Like many of us non-NHL players, several NHL players have various traditions that they follow every time St. Patrik (or Patrick)'s Day comes around.  I've put together a list of some of the traditions that people around the NHL.


Patrick Kane - Gets drunk.


Tim Thomas - Goes with a group of his friends to someone's house to party.  I can't swear by this, but I don't think it's a white house.


Adam Larsson - Has a tradition of insisting to bartenders that I.D.'s are a ridiculous way to proof people's age.


Boston Bruins - Have "Shipping up to Boston" playing constantly at TD Garden, which annoys no one, says Zdeno Chara, who's guarding the music room.


Patrick Kane - Still drunk.


Dustin Byfuglien - Upon drinking his fifth or sixth beer, he makes the mature decision not to drive drunk.  Instead, he often takes his boat out, which doesn't always end well for him.


Colorado Avalanche - Like most NHL teams, the Avs sell green t-shirts with their players names on the back and an added O', such as O'O'Brien, O'O'Byrne and O'O'Reilly.

How to be a good road fan at an NHL game

 

Yes, it is proven to be more entertaining to be places where you're not wanted.  Just ask Sean Avery.

 Last night, I was a part of the Devils Generals' group that invaded Nassau Coliseum.  As much as Devils fans get annoyed when groups of visiting fans chant for their teams at Prudential Center, our cheers were loud and at times, well, obnoxious.  It got me thinking, how do you be a good road fan when you're on the road with your favorite team?  I've come up with a list of do's and don't's.


DO: Cheer when your team's players step onto the ice for warm-ups.
DON'T: Bang on the glass when Zdeno Chara is nearby, as you might be killed.


DO: Hi-five other fans of your team when you see them walking around the arena.
DON'T: Hi-five Rick DiPietro.  You might break him.


DO: Bring your own food, since the food is probably over-priced at the arena.
DON'T: Bring waffles to the Air Canada Centre.  It just won't end well for you.


DO: Engage in educated hockey conversations with visiting fans.
DON'T: Ask a Penguins fan who their favorite player before 2005 was.  They'll give you a blank stare.


DO: Laugh off home fans who make fun of your team.
DON'T: Tell them that their team sucks, especially if your team is out of the playoffs.

NHL Power Rankings - Week of March 5th, 2012

The regular season is winding down, and at this point, we know most of the teams who will participate in this spring's Stanley Cup playoffs.  We also know that others will hope to land Nail Yakupov in this June's entry draft.  All 30 teams get to be in the power rankings, so here's my top 30.


1. New York Rangers - I can't deny it anymore: the Rangers are the President's Trophy favorites, which by default, means they aren't Stanley Cup favorites.

2. Vancouver Canucks - The Canucks knew Cody Hodgson could never succeed in Vancouver, thus proving that no actual human beings can be superstar scorers in Vancouver.

3. St. Louis Blues - If Jamie Langenbrunner had sustained an injury last season with the Devils, fans probably would have celebrated.

4. Nashville Predators - Pekka Rinne : Vesa Toskala :: Ferrari : Kia

5. Pittsburgh Penguins - Here's a new outlook on the Penguins that nobody has thought of before me: if Sidney Crosby returns this season, the Pens are going to be reeeeally good.

6. Detroit Red Wings - They can't win at home.  Throw in the towel, the season's lost.

7. Chicago Blackhawks - The Hawks have found ways to win without Jonathan Toews.  Hopefully, before they can blink, Toews will be back.  Unless they're waiting for Toews to blink.

8. Philadelphia Flyers - Ilya Bryzgalov shut out the Caps last night.  Michael Leighton could have shut out the Caps last night.

Top 10 Video Special - Devils hat tricks since the lockout

On Friday, Zach Parise scored his second career NHL hat trick as the Devils slammed the Capitals, 5-0.  By my count, that's the 9th hat trick by a Devil since the 2004-05 lockout, which is one short of the necessary 10 for a DGA Top 10 Video Special, so I chose not to do one.


...


Just kidding.  Actually, I cheated.  Thanks to Gordie Howe, there's another kind of hat trick: the Gordie Howe hat trick.  I used the two Gordie Howe hat tricks this season and added the other 9 Devils hat tricks since the lockout (which is actually 11 videos), and here we go: the 17th Top 10 Video Special in the series.  Enjoy (also enjoy my attempts at awful titles for some of the hat tricks).


#10: Henrique and Kovy score, assist and scrap

On January 10th, 2012, the Devils played a miserable game in Calgary.  They lost 6-3, but at least Adam Henrique had a coming out party...of sorts.

On February 4th, 2012, Ilya Kovalchuk duplicated the feat, except Kovy's fight was much more dramatic.

#9: Maddog Rags on New York

This is the lone playoff hat trick of the countdown.  It comes against the New York Rangers, as the Devils went on to sweep the Rangers and capped off their 15-game winning streak.

#8: Gio's lone trick caps crazy game with the Leafs

Unfortunately, video footage of Brian Gionta's third goal of the hat trick exists, but he made it count, as he tied the game at 6.  The Devils won, 7-6 in overtime.

#7: Pando scores three...in one game!

Jay Pandolfo scores the first hat trick in Prudential Center history.  It's his only career hat trick and it came in a 6-1 win over Tampa Bay.  It came on Halloween, 2007.

Things that happen every 4 years

Pictured: 2 NHL toddlers.  Simon Gagne turns 8 today and Cam Ward turns 7.

It's leap day.  February 29th.  The day that comes every 4 years.  Since this day only happens every 4 years, I thought it would be appropriate to look at some other events that only occur every 4 years.  This was one of the simpler blogs posts I've written.  Take a look.

• Bob McKenzie screws up a trade on Twitter.
   
• Scott Gomez scores a goal...sometimes two.
   
• A Flyers goaltender posts a shutout.
   
• Henrik Lundqvist allows a goal.
   
• Peter Forsberg un-retires.
   
• The Devils go through 4 head coaches.
   
• Dany Heatley gets traded.  Twice.
   
• Leafs fans call for Ron Wilson's firing, two weeks after petitioning to the NHL for his Adam Trophy nomination.
   
• The Islanders win a playoff series. 

Behind the scenes of Rick Nash trade negotiations

As you probably know by now, the Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to trade all of their good players.  Yes, Rick Nash is on the trade block.  Between the Rangers, Sharks, Maple Leafs and Kings, there's been plenty of speculation as to where Rick Nash will end up.  Of course, no matter hard General Managers try to hide these matters from the public, bloggers like me always find a way to find out what really is[n't] happening.  Take a look.


February 23rd, 3:47 PM: Kings GM Dean Lombardi calls Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson.

Lombardi: Mr. Howson, I'd like to acquire Rick Nash.

Howson: Rick...who?

Lombardi: Nash.  He's your team's captain.

Howson: Oh, yeah, sorry, I've been meaning to watch a Jackets game this season.  It just hasn't happened yet.

Lombardi: Every now and then, I do, but only if I actually want to watch lots of goals scored.

Howson: Hey, listen, the phone's ringing.  It's Brian Burke.

Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke calls Howson.

Comparing the NHL stretch run and MLB Spring Training



Alex Rodriguez isn't the only Alex who's been distracted from his sport recently.



It's about this time of year that professional baseball players and major league-hopefuls are reporting to Arizona or Florida for MLB's annual Spring Training.  It's also this time of year that the NHL is preparing for the final stretch before the playoffs.  I figured there have to be some similarities and differences, and it turns out that I was right...well, sort of.


Similarity: The games are completely meaningless for teams from Washington D.C.
Difference: The Nationals could surprise everyone and compete for a playoff spot.


Similarity: Superstar players are meeting their new teams, either after free agency or trades.
Difference: Rick Nash expects to meet his very first full-time NHL team next week.


Similarity: Many teams are preparing for this season, while others are already looking towards next season.
Difference: For hockey fans in Phoenix, they are very, very afraid of next season.


Similarity: The New York teams are trying to build on the Giants' Superbowl victory by bringing the Big Apple more championships this year.
Difference: The Mets and Islanders sit off to the side awkwardly.


Similarity: Teams in both leagues are making trades to improve their team.
Difference: The Colorado Avalanche are getting manipulated miserably by Steve Yzerman.

NHL Power Rankings - Week of February 20th, 2012

Today's President's Day and it's only fitting that the team most likely to win the President's Trophy tops my list of NHL teams this week.  I mean, you can't really argue with Detroit.  Ever.


1. Detroit Red Wings - The Wings reportedly thought about losing at home, but they won't until Nicklas Lidstrom retires.  Whoa boy...

2. Vancouver Canucks - They were recently voted the most overrated team by the league's players, including Roberto Luongo.

3. New York Rangers - Ranger fans were chanting "we don't want you!" at Rick Nash last night.  It's okay, they're still learning what it's like to win.

4. Nashville Predators - Something that literally just occured to me: if Rick Nash went to the Preds, would they name the city after him?  Nash-ville?

5. New Jersey Devils - Something that must be considered: is Martin Brodeur just as cool of an old guy as Lidstrom and Selanne?

6. St. Louis Blues - They won a game via shutout recently allowing just 13 shots on goal.  Then again, that's a lot of shots for Minnesota in one game.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins - Evgeni Malkin is not one of the three stars of the week.  It's panic time in Pittsburgh.

8. Boston Bruins - They got shut out by Niklas Backstrom yesterday, but that's okay because they won't run into any other good goalies in the playoffs.