The Top 10 Hockey Stories of 2011

On the other hand, here's a guy who hasn't been in the news at all this year...

2011 is on life support today, and by tomorrow night, it'll be just another year that has come and gone.  It did, however, produce a tremendous number of dramatic news stories in the hockey world.  Let's have a look at the 2011 Year in Review in the hockey world (stories are in chronological order).


1. SIDNEY CROSBY'S CONCUSSION - The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was supposed to be a celebration of the league's two best players: Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.  Neither player was relevant in the game itself, except for Crosby getting drilled in the head by David Steckel, which is the likely initial trigger of Crosby's concussion.  Luckily for the Penguins, if you add up the rest of their roster, they almost come close to the offensive production of Crosby.


2. THERE'S A NEW OWNER IN BUFFALO - In February 2011, Terry Pegula was approved to be the new owner of the Buffalo Sabres.  He seemed to bring a new attitude to the franchise and emphasized winning multiple championships.  The Sabres went on a shopping spree in the summer, but let's just say that Ville Leino probably wasn't worth 6 years...or even one.  Pegula says he wants to win in Buffalo, but he never really provided a time table...


3. THE BOSTON BRUINS' RUN TO THE CUP - The Bruins run to the Stanley Cup wasn't easy: they were taken to a Game 7 three times, including the Finals themselves.  Rookie sensation Tyler Seguin exploded when he entered the lineup, thus...gaining on Phil Kessel in terms of playoff points with the Bruins.  What's more: Tomas Kaberle became the first player - other than his own brother - to win a Stanley Cup despite doing absolutely nothing for the team he won with.


4. VANCOUVER CHOKES, CITY RIOTS - Despite finally getting past the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs, the Canucks failed to win the Cup again.  Although they were the number one team in the league in the regular season, Roberto Luongo insisted that he wanted to retain the honor of being the laughing stock of the league.  To celebrate the Canucks' epic Stanley Cup Finals collapse, Vancouver fans took to the streets and rioted violently all over the city, but they can do that because that shows that they're passionate, right?

NHL 2011-12: Contender of pretender?

We're far enough into the NHL season (every team has played at least 10 games...except the Islanders) where we can begin to seperate the contenders from the pretenders.  These are the teams that we're not really used to seeing in prominent positions in the NHL standings.  I think you know where this is headed: I've created a guide to help you decide whether a team is a contender of pretender.


Toronto Maple Leafs: 8-3-1 (17 points: 2nd in NHL)

Why they're contenders: The magic of Phil Kessel, who leads the NHL in every category other than most goaltenders injured.
Why they're pretenders: Kessel's 23.8 shooting percentage and MacArthur's 26.7 shooting percentage is as inflated as the real estate market was four years ago.
Verdict: Does the Leafs' planned parade route stop by the Hockey Hall of Fame? ... Sorry, force of habit...



Dallas Stars: 8-3-0 (16 points: Tied for 3rd in NHL)

Why they're contenders: Dallas has revived Sheldon Souray and Jamie Benn scores goals that make Blue Jackets players wonder why they're even in the NHL.
Why they're pretenders: Didn't they get off to a good start last year too?
Verdict: Even if they lose every game for the rest of the season, they'll be the 3rd best team of the 4 major sports in the Dallas area.


Edmonton Oilers: 7-2-2 (16 points: Tied for 3rd in NHL)

Why they're contenders: Two first overall picks in a row probably will make your team better, eventually.
Why they're pretenders: Linus Omark was sent down to the AHL, so the Oilers have no incentive to win shootouts now.
Verdict: Nail Yakupov could really help them long-term...


Phoenix Coyotes: 6-3-2 (14 points: Tied for 8th in NHL)

Why they're contenders: As long as they're coached by Dave Tippett and have a goaltender who knows what pads are, they'll be decent.
Why they're pretenders: The Coyotes' owners apparently tend to cancel things and lose a lot of money for a lot of people.
Verdict: The team's shooting percentage is 9.7%, which is approximately the percentage of seats that have ever been filled for hockey games at Jobing.com Arena, give or take 9%.


Colorado Avalanche: 7-5-0 (14 points: Tied for 8th in NHL)

Why they're contenders: Ryan O'Byrne has already scored a goal this year.  To clarify, it was a goal for the Avs...
Why they're pretenders: If they keep waiting on the potential of Erik Johnson, they'll be waiting longer than Islander fans waiting for Brian Rolston's stick to strike the puck when he loads up.
Verdict: Somehow, the Avs are 7-5, but the team is a combined -37 in terms of +/- rating.


Ottawa Senators: 7-6-0 (14 points: Tied for 8th in NHL)

Why they're contenders: They've played 13 games, and they don't have 13 losses yet.
Why they're pretenders: Sens players have reportedly talked about winning some huge silver Cup this year.  C'mon, the Calder Cup isn't that big...
Verdict: Losing to the 2nd worst team in the NHL normally wouldn't be unusual for Ottawa, since they're usually right behind that team.  That wasn't the case this week.


Florida Panthers: 6-4-1 (13 points: Tied for 12th in NHL)

Why they're contenders: They renovated their roster coming into this season by signing every free agent available.

Why they're pretenders: Their signings of guys like.......oh, so they didn't really sign anyone good?!

Verdict: It's about quality, not quantity...unless you're talking about getting fans to attend home games.

 

 

Minnesota Wild: 5-3-3 (13 points: Tied for 12th in NHL)

 

Why they're contenders: They've had some dramatic moments already this season, and even Dany Heatley seems exciting to be on the team.

Why they're pretenders: Heatley hasn't experienced a Minnesota winter yet.  That's when trade rumors could surface.

Verdict: They're still the only team in NHL history to have never outshot their opponent in any game.  Okay, that's a minuscule exaggeration...

 

 

Carolina Hurricanes: 5-4-3 (13 points: Tied for12th in the NHL)

 

Why they're contenders: They're always in contention...at least until the last day of the season when all they need to do is win one home game to make the playoffs.

Why they're pretenders: Eric Staal is a -13 and Tomas Kaberle still thinks he's good.

Verdict: As a side note, Jeff Skinner told his team he was participating in No-Shave November.  The team is still laughing at him.

Most bizarre things thrown onto the ice during a hockey game

As you may or may not know, Toronto Maple Leafs fans are quite creative. What would most fans do when their team struggles or loses? Actually, most people would do nothing, some would do what I do, and complain on a blog, and some would even go as far as updating their Facebook or Twitter accounts. I was at game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Devils and Hurricanes in 2008, the year the 'Canes came back and knocked the Devils out of the playoffs. Beer bottles, towels, even jerseys were thrown to the ice in frustration.

There have been many unique ceremonials objects tossed to the ice that pertain to certain events. Hats are thrown to the ice when a player scores his third goal of a game, octopi are thrown to the ice in Detroit during the playoffs (8 wins used to win the Cup, now it is twice that, hence the eight legs of the octopus), and even once, Wings fans threw beef onto the ice. Who would forget the Florida Panthers fans throwing mice onto the ice during the mid-1990s after Scott Mellenby killed a rat in the Panthers' locker room. A Flyers fan even threw a smoke bomb onto the ice in Philadelphia in a game against the Devils a couple years ago. Also, former Devils coach Robbie Ftorek even threw the home team's bench onto the ice. An online campaign led Phoenix Coyotes fans to throwing rubber snakes onto the ice.

But all of those people may have been topped recently. A Toronto Maple Leafs fan threw...waffles onto the ice as he was disgusted with his team's performance during a 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. Waffles. Really?!

- First of all, who brings waffles to a hockey game? Is the ACC's restaurant really that bad?

- The fan is now in jail. I want to know something, how many people were injured by this waffle tossing? How is this more violent than hats? You don't see arena staff encouraging fans to throw hats onto the ice...

- If Toronto had played Philly that night, one must wonder if Chris Pronger would have eaten the waffles. Come to think of it, I'm kinda surprised Big Buff resisted.

- The Leafs banned the fan from the arena. One must wonder if this had happened on Long Island, if the fan would have been rewarded with free season tickets. After all, the Isles are desperate to sell tickets.

- I think the ACC should have free waffle night.

- Aren't Leaf fans used to losing by now? I guess they still weren't used to losing to Atlanta.

- The ACC should really work on arena security. If they're so concerned about fans bringing in waffles, maybe pancakes, or even french toast could be next. Oh wait, french toast is only in Montreal. Quebec is French, Ontario is Italian.

- Devils fans should have thrown doughnuts onto the ice after...well, you know when.

- Where was Phil Kessel? He shoots everything in sight on the ice, while Plaxico Burress shoots himself off the field.

- Okay, that last one was pretty bad.

- I have a better idea than waffles. Throw pucks onto the ice during play and see if the Leafs can score with two pucks at once. Probably not, but it's an idea.

- If Gary Bettman was the GM of the Leafs, he probably would have fined the fan $3 million and two draft picks in his fantasy league.

- If this fan likes waffles so much, is he a Toronto Maple Syrups fan?