NHL Awards Recap

By Scott Antoszewski

The NHL’s post season awards were handed out on Wednesday night in Vegas, and no, I didn’t win MVP. Here’s who did win and a few comments:

Hart Memorial Trophy, MVP: Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks. This is being called a huge upset as he beat Ovechkin and Crosby. I think it’s good for the sport to have a different guy as MVP. He did lead the league in goal scoring which netted him the Art Ross Trophy as well.

Ted Lindsay Award: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals. This is the “players” MVP, as this award is voted on by the players.

Norris Trophy: Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks. The Norris is awarded for the best defenseman. Keith’s win signals a “changing of the guard” from the veteran defensemen like Nicklas Lidstrom.

Calder Trophy, Rookie of the Year: Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres. This was a mild upset, considering he beat out Matt Duschene, but certainly not a surprise.

Vezna Trophy, Top Goalie: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres. I think we all know why he won this. He’s awesome.

Jack Adams Award, Top Coach: Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes. Phoenix came within one win of getting to round two of the playoffs. Considering where they came from. Enough said.

Best time of the year...for some

By Scott Antoszewski

The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the temperatures are rising, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun!

The last series of the first round starts tonight as the Nashville Predators head to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The story of the playoffs so far, granted it’s only been 3 days, has been the lack of home ice advantage. The home team has lost four out of the seven games played so far. Phoenix, Vancouver, and Buffalo are the only home teams to win. I loved seeing the whiteout in the desert. I find it interesting how people make such a big deal out of getting home ice for the playoffs, and every year it ends up meaning crap. The Capitals lost games one and two on home ice against the Rangers during last year’s first round. Carolina spanked Boston on home ice twice during last year’s second round. I don’t think it matters where the game is played; the better team is usually going to end up winning. I’ll have more playoff comments next week, after the series are a little bit further along.

In other news, the Tampa Bay Lightning have fired head coach Rick Tocchet and all his staff, as well as General Manager Brian Lawton. The new ownership in Tampa wants a fresh start for next year. They will be picking sixth in the draft, so they should be able to get another quality prospect, possibly an NHL ready player.

The New York Rangers have agreed to extend HC John Tortorella contract for one more season. The Rangers missed the playoffs by a single point this year. It’s going to be tough for them to make a lot of moves in the off season due to the overpaid and undervalued vets that are on the team. It will be interesting to see what they do for next year.

The Edmonton Oilers won the NHL draft lottery this week. They finished with the worst record in the league AND won the lottery so they will be picking first. The Boston Bruins got Toronto’s first round pick for Phil Kessel earlier in the year, and their number came up second. The Florida Panthers pick third, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

There are playoff games basically every night for the next week, so enjoy the games!

How do you define success?

By Scott Antoszewski

The NHL playoffs start in about a week. Last night the Colorado Avalanche completed the Western Conference bracket by dousing the Calgary Flames. There is only one spot left in the East and it appears that the New York Rangers just aren’t interested enough to get it done.

The beginning of the playoffs had me thinking about what the different playoff teams would consider a successful season. The Avalanche have a rookie head coach and are in year one of the rebuilding process, so the fact that they led their division several times this year and have made the playoffs is huge success for them. The Phoenix Coyotes are in the same type of situation. They were picked to miss the playoffs altogether, so the fact that they darn near won their division was a success in and of itself.

The other side of the coin has team like the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. Success for the Caps and Sharks is measured much differently. The Sharks recent playoff failures have their whole fan base in a wait and see mode as the playoffs start. The popular thinking is that anything short of a Conference Final or Stanley Cup final may mark the end of the GM, the coach and many of the players. The Caps on the other hand are working against an ever shrinking window. There will be serious salary cap issues for Washington to deal with in the not too distant future. Nicklas Backstrom is a restricted free agent after this year, Alexander Semin has one year left on his deal, and players like Schultz, Morrison, Poti, and Fehr will be due big raises, not to mention the questions in goal. The time to win is now for the Caps. Anything short of a Conference or Stanley Cup final would leave fans of Ovechkin’s army very disappointed as well. Presidents Trophy teams do not have a stellar track record of converting that into playoff success. I doubt people will be jumping off the Caps bandwagon, but an early playoff exit will make for a long summer in our Nation’s Capital.

It will be interesting to see how these teams handle the success they’ve had or the huge expectations of their fan bases in the coming weeks. Buckle up folks, the playoffs should be a wild ride.

A real life "Major League"

By Scott Antoszewski

It was about this time last year that Jerry Moyes was debating how he could get out from under the mountain of debt that was the Phoenix Coyotes. The team was terrible, in the middle of a rebuild that seemed to be going on forever. Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was struggling as coach of the team, and no one was showing up at the games. The future of hockey in the Arizona desert looked bleak when the team entered bankruptcy court and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie was in line to be the next owner.

Fast forward one year, and the Coyotes are now tied for the top spot in the Western Conference. Who saw this coming? Nobody! I was fortunate enough to see this team play the Caps in Washington earlier this year, and I knew then that they could be a playoff team. Ownership is still up in the air. The Coyotes are officially owned by the NHL, but there is a group that is going through the proper channels to take over the team. The Ice Edge group includes established MLB owner Jerry Reinsdorf. The team has re-worked its deal with the City of Glendale, helping the team make more money, and the fans are slowly starting to return.

The Coyotes aren’t doing this with a bunch of young kids, or a ton of high prices veteran talent, but they seemed to find that “spark” between youth and experience. The chemistry on this team is clicking. Although I doubt they have a cardboard cutout of the owner that they remove clothing from after each win. (see... Major League)

I’m willing to bet that Jobing.com arena will be rocking once the post season starts. This Phoenix team isn’t just a flash in the pan either. They have a farm system chocked full of young talent, almost ready to make their mark.

It looks like hockey is safe in the desert for the moment, so all the “non-traditional hockey market haters” can aim their venom at the Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers. By the way, the Thrash are only one point out of a playoff spot, without Ilya Kovalchuck. The next few weeks should be very interesting.

NHL Playoff Preview

By Scott Antoszewski

The Olympics and the trade deadline have come and gone and it’s time to look forward to the next milestone in the 2010 NHL season: The playoffs! There are some potential surprises as we approach playoff time.

We’ll start in the Western Conference:

The Colorado Avalanche keep winning, and if the season ended today they would be the sixth seed out west. Colorado is only two points out of first in their division, so it’s not out of the question that they could have home ice advantage. The play of goalie Craig Anderson and rookie phenom Matt Duchene are a big reason for the ‘lanche’s success.

The Phoenix Coyotes put the rest of the West on notice at the trade deadline. The acquisitions they made will help bolster their lineup, and if the goalie play and scoring can keep it up, they will make their first playoff appearance since 2002.

The Los Angeles Kings should not be a surprise to the other teams out west. The Kings have a young, up and coming lineup. Players like Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick, and Canadian Olympian Drew Doughty will make L.A. a tough place to visit come April and May.

The race for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference is incredibly tight. Currently the last playoff spot is held my Montreal (68 points). The Rangers and Thrashers are tied for ninth in the East with 66 points, and the Lightning and Panthers are still in the mix with 65 and 62 points, respectively.

I would be surprised if Atlanta stays in the race considering that they are now without their leading scorer in Ilya Kovalchuk. The Rangers hopes rest squarely on how quickly they can get Marian Gaborik back from injury. Henrik Lundqvist can only steal you so many 2-1 games. The Lightning have new ownership and a strong young core in Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman. It will be interesting to see if the Lightning’s young guns and veteran leadership can get them back in the playoffs.

There are lots of games with playoff ramifications this week, Tampa plays at Montreal hoping to gain ground on eighth in the east. Vancouver visits Colorado to try and pad their lead and the Panthers take on the Avalanche. Watch former Panther goalie Craig Andersen show Florida that he should have been the number one in Miami.

Trades: Dealine or Lifeline?

By Abe

As the dust settles after the NHL trade dealine, we finally get a good look at how the teams will look for the playoffs. Some teams made more trades than others because they could afford to do more, or simply because the team didn't feel they needed to make changes. Those who can afford to make changes gain an advantage in the fact that they can improve their team and give themselves a much better shot at making the playoffs if they are in contention.

The most active team during this years trade deadline was the Phoenix Coyotes, making seven different trades on this very busy day. They have added defensemen Derek Morris and Mathieu Schneider. They also added fowards Wojtek Wolski, Lee Stempniak, Petteri Nokelainen, and Alexandre Picard, as well as Goaltender Miika Wiikman and a few draft picks. This is a team that took full advantage of the trade deadline and made changes that they feel will help them either clinch or make the playoffs.

For teams like the Phoenix Coyotes, who are currently sitting in 5th place in the West and are only ahead of the 6th place Colorado Avalanche by 1 point, this deadline is more of a lifeline.

However, take a minute and think about this: these trades deeply change the players, yes for the fans they are fun to watch and you are happy, but not so much for the players. Some players want to get out off the organization and look forward to the trades, others are just traded. These players have to say goodbye to friends/teammates, and relocate including their family's which can be very hard, especially in the middle of the year. Think about this, your a player on one of the top team's in the league, or a team in major playoff contention. Next thing you know you get a phone call from your GM telling you that you have been traded. So instead of being on a top team, one that you have helped get there, you are now an a team that may not even be in playoff contention. I don't know about you but this would frustrate me; however, you can't do anything about it, other than try and help your new team. On the flip side, you could go from being on a non-contender to a top team, simply because that team feels you could help them go the distance.

In the end, for some team's this can be a lifeline and help them win a championship, or it can take you out of the playoffs. For players this can be a great thing and help you to win a championship or it can take you out of the hunt.