Sixteen months ago Ryan Kesler played in the biggest game of his life.

The previous two weeks had been somewhat of a coming out party for the Livonia, Mich. native.  The star of the hometown hockey team was now the new face of Canada’s toughest Olympic competition.

Wednesday night Kesler will play the biggest game of his life, again.

And this time there will be no encore.

With all the respect to the Olympics, which I love, when you play shinny you pretend you just scored the game winning goal in the third overtime of game seven for the Stanley Cup.  That is the dream.

This time around Kesler will have the support of the hometown fans.  He and a set of Swedish twins look to return Stanley to his home and native land for the first time since 1993.

If the Canucks do beat Boston Wednesday, the story belongs to the people of Vancouver and Canucks fans, but Kesler story also is a symbol of a growing sport and providing some good news to a place and fan base that could use some.

Like many top American players Kesler spent two seasons playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program.

Kesler’s next stop was the campus of The Ohio State University.

In one year with the Buckeyes, 2002/03, Kesler played 40 games, scoring 11 goals, 20 assists, 3 game winning goals, a +6 rating, and taking 22 penalties.

Kesler was a CCHA All-Rookie Team Honorable Mention, December CCHA Rookie of the Month, and a three time CCHA Rookie of the Week.

Now Kesler will look to become the second Buckeye player to ever win the Stanley Cup.  The other Buckeye was Jamie Macoun who won two Cups, in 1989 and 1998.

Kesler’s year in Columbus earned him a pro contract and the next season he played 28 games for the Canucks, while splitting time with Manitoba.

Now, Ohio State hockey will never produce players for the NHL at the rate Ohio State football produces players for the NFL.  But at this moment, Ryan Kesler is the best professional player in any league to come out of Ohio State.

That last sentence may not seem like a big deal at first, but think about it.  Ohio State has the biggest athletic department of any college in America.  It is also one of the most recognized and popular brands in the NCAA.

Ohio State is not known as a hockey school, it is a football school. Period.  But for the first time the best pro Buckeye is a hockey player and that is something every Buckeye should be proud of.

As you may have also heard Ohio State is going throw some rough times right now.  Nothing like a shiny new Stanley Cup to make the old Scarlet and Gray heart proud again.

Kesler is just one player, but he is one of a continuing number of great players coming from America and coming from a college that is not located in Minnesota, Michigan, or Massachusetts.

The greatest game on Earth continues to grow, and there is nothing like a Stanley Cup Final game 7 to celebrate that.

If Stanley heads back home north of the 49^th Wednesday night it will be Vancouver’s party, but there should be some smiles in Buckeye country too.

Everyone has memories of it.

Most of the time it ends in disappointment.

Other times with kisses.

It always ends in tears.

It is the Stanley Cup playoffs.

For over a century teams, fans, and cities have traveled this emotional roller coaster.

For people who question the importance of sports, I show them the Stanley Cup playoffs.  How could something not important bring out so many emotions.

It’s two months of important games keeping you on your edge and staying up into the wee hours of the morning.

If your team is out, you keep watching, even perhaps adopting a new team for a few weeks.

Every year an old silver cup brings out emotions like nothing else can.

The only question is what will those emotions be this year?

Enjoy the games.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And now for my first round picks…

Washington Capitals over New York Rangers in 6.

-          The Caps just have to much fire power and have been playing to well for the Rangers.

Philadelphia Flyers over Buffalo Sabers in 5.

-          Flyers have the experience and depth advantage.

Boston Bruins over Montréal Canadiens in 7.

-          The biggest rivalry in the game right now, should be the best first round series.

Tampa Bay Lightning over Pittsburg Penguins in 7.

-          No Crosby, no Malkin, no series win for the Penguins.

Vancouver Canucks over Chicago Blackhawks in 7.

-          The Blackhawks will give the Presidents Trophy winners a scare, but will not have enough to overpower Vancouver this year.

Los Angeles Kings over San Jose Sharks in 7.

-          It’s the Sharks in the playoffs, do I need to say more.

Detroit Red Wings over Phoenix Coyotes in 6.

-          On April 28, 1996 the Detroit Red Wings beat the Jets in Winnipeg in game six of the first round on a Sunday on Hockey Night in Canada.  The Jets moved to Phoenix that summer.  This year’s game six is in Phoenix on Sunday, April 24 on HNIC, just saying.

Anaheim Ducks over Nashville Predators in 6.

-          The Ducks may not have the star power to go deep in these playoffs, but they have enough to take this one.

The commercial was very well done and got me thinking about all the good things in hockey, and how sometimes in the million dollar world of the NHL we can sometime lose sight of that.

Click here to view the embedded video.

(Unfortunately for the Canadian Tire marketing team I was not thinking about Canadian Tire or the Mastercraft Maximum Ratcheting Bolt Remover 2-Piece Set! Now 50% Off!!! )

It seems in the first three weeks of the season most of the big stories have been about issues that have nothing to do with the actual completion on the ice. From rude gestures and attacking fans to salary cap issues and instant replay.

Now I understand the NHL is a big business and that causes things to get more complicated and in the heat of a game people will do some stupid things.

But what the commercial got me thinking about was how the game is so great in its simplest form. Whether that form is playing shinny at 1 a.m. at the local rink, on a frozen pond before the next snow storm hits, or in the street after school.

What makes these games of shinny so much fun is there are few rules and it is policed by the players themselves. Games are played with two or 20 people. Every rink, pond, river, lake, street, or driveway has its own rules.

You keep score, but at the end of the day the score does not matter because you will be back soon enough to defend or regain your title. Every game is the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final.

Players respect one another, no cheap shots. And on those occasions when a penalty is committed, a verdict is reached by the group, each side pleading their case.

Did the puck cross the goal line? While arguments may arise, it always seems a conclusion can be reached much quicker than it takes NHL replay officials. And you know what, if the goalie grabs the puck in mid-air half an inch cross the line then give him credit for a great save and move on. (Full disclosure, I played goal so I may be a little biased on this one.)

So what is the point of all of this since most of you reading this site already knew what I just discussed in the last four paragraphs. Well there are actually two points.

First, maybe it is time the NHL started thinking about making things simpler and players started treating each other with more respect. Go back to one referee, limit the use of instant replay, and go back to softer pads to make players feel less invincible.

Second, no matter how distracted everyone may get with head shots, economics, and some players (and the league) doing stupid things, the game is still great because it’s great at its core. And it will always be great as long as it has so many great people (who way outnumber the bad) in it.

So thank you to David Perron, one of the great people, for reminding us of it.

(Oh and Canadian Tire, you are welcome for the free plug. Maybe that was your marketing strategy all along.)

The fun thing about the draft is debating what player your team should take.  Do you go with the best player?  Or team need?

The answer to who your team should of taken really can’t be answer until five or ten years from now.  Other than a few player each year who everyone knows are going to be stars (and sometimes we get those players wrong too) the draft is really about getting lucky.

So now that I told you the draft is mostly about luck, I will tell you who, in my humble opinion, each team should take in the first round.  Now to be clear these are the players that I think each team should take not necessarily who they will take.

(Draft order as of June 23)

1. Edmonton – Taylor Hall, Windsor

2. Boston – Tyler Seguin, Plymouth

3. Florida – Cam Fowler, Windsor

4. Columbus – Alex Burmistrov, Barrie

5. NY Islanders – Erik Gudbranson, Kingston

6. Tampa Bay – Brandon Gormley, Moncton

7. Carolina – Brett Connolly, Prince George

8. Atlanta – Nino Niederreiter, Portland

9. Minnesota – Nick Bjugstad, Blaine H.S. (Blaine, Minnesota)

10. NY Rangers – Derek Forbort, U.S. Under-18

11. Dallas – Ryan Johansen, Portland

12. Anaheim – Jeffrey Skinner, Kitchener

13. Phoenix – Jack Campbell, U.S. Under-18

14. St. Louis – Mikael Granlund, HIFK Helsink

15. Florida – Austin Watson, Peterborough

16. Ottawa – Vladimir Tarasenko, Novosibirsk

17. Colorado – Mark Pysyk, Edmonton

18. Nashville – Emerson Etem, Medicine Hat

19. Los Angeles – Riley Sheahan, Notre Dame

20. Pittsburgh – Dylan McIlrath, Moose Jaw

21. Detroit – Tyler Pitlick, Minnesota State

22. Phoenix – John McFarland, Sudbury

23. Buffalo – Jarred Tinordi, U.S. Under-18

24. Chicago – Jon Merrill, U.S. Under-18

25. Vancouver – Quinton Howden, Moose Jaw

26. Washington – Jaden Schwartz, Tri-City

27. Montreal – Brock Nelson, Warroad H.S. (Warroad, Minnesota)

28. San Jose – Calvin Pickard, Seattle

29. Anaheim -  Charlie Coyle, South Shore

30. Chicago – Calle Jarnkrok, Brynas
Now if you are a Red Wings fan like me, you probably don’t care about the first round because as we all know the great players are not drafted until rounds five through seven.

Enjoy the Draft everyone!

The problem with a team who does not play consistently is that you don’t know who your real team is.  Are the Red Wings the team that was out of the playoffs at Christmas? Or are they the team that was one of the best in the NHL after the Olympics?

I think the Wings are that second team and that people who are saying that the Red Wings run as a top team is over are mostly just hoping.

Having said that it is possible the Wings finish toward the middle or bottom of the Western Conference next year, which would then result in some big changes.

This summer though expect the roster to say mostly the same.  There is still a solid core in Detroit and the Red Wings have lost in the first and second round before in the last decade and Ken Holland has not changed things too much.

Also the Wings did play well against the Sharks, who are a very good team.  Every game the Wings lost was by one goal. In fact over the five game series the Wings managed to outscore the Sharks 17-15.  You have to think that there have not been too many other five game series where the team that won got out scored.

The Wings downfall was they were not able to get a goal when they need one; Howard could not steal a game, and the bounces did not go Detroit’s way.  (Not to mention Gary had his minions out in full force going against the Wings, but Detroit is use to that by now.)

The biggest question for Detroit this summer is if Nicklas Lidstrom comes back or retires.  If I had to bet I would guess Lidstrom does come back, but that is just my guess.

Loosing Lidstrom would hurt the Wings, but it would also free up some cap space and make the Wings a player in free agency this summer.

One addition the Wings know they will be getting this summer is Jiri Hudler who is returning to Detroit after a year playing in Russia.  Hudler’s addition will give the Wings some added goal scoring ability and as I mentioned earlier that could come up big in some games.

If Lidstrom comes back Hudler will be the only major pick-up the Wings make this summer.

The Wings have five Restricted Free Agents in Derek Meech, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Justin Abdelkader, and Darren Helm.

I would expect them all to be signed, but one or two may not be back if the money is not right.

Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk Maltby, Jason Williams, Brad May, Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja join Lidstrom as unrestricted free agents.

Holmstrom will be back and Bertuzzi should join him unless Bertuzzi decides he can get way more money somewhere else.  Most likely Williams and May are gone.  Maltby will be a tough decision for Detroit.  Maltby has been with the Wings for all their Cup runs, but will only return if he and the Wings can come to a cheap agreement.  I would suspect that either Lebda or Lilja will say and the other one will go.

In goal both Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard are under contract to come back next year.  Howard took over the goal during the regular season and kept it in the playoffs.  This is now Jimmy Howard’s team and it will be for years to come.  Howard really did not steal any game in the playoffs, but he kept the Wings in games and that is all Detroit has ever really asked from its goalie.  Howard should only get better with the more experience he gets and by next spring should be in top form for a Cup run.

Osgood is an interesting case right now.  I have never been a big Osgood fan and would like to see him go, but unless the Wings get a good offer for him I do not see that happening.  Ken Holland has always seemed to like Osgood and Howard and Osgood seem to get along good, so expect one more year with Osgood as the backup.

The Red Wings have a lot to prove next year and they should be motivated to do so because if they don’t play up to Detroit’s expectations there will be major changes in Hockeytown in 2011.

After Detroit went down three nothing in a very quick faction I was concerned about how they would respond.  It would have been very easy of the Wings to mail it in at that point.  They were playing less than 48 hours after a big Game 7 victory and they could have said they were happy to be in the series and just decide to save their energy for Game 2.  Instead the Wings woke up and crawled their way back making it a one goal game and showed that they were not going down easy.  The Wings making it a game gave me the confidence that no matter what the score is the Wings always believe that they can come back in any game.

The biggest decision made in the game was that Mike Babcock did not replace Howard with Osgood in the first when the Sharks got three quick goals to go up 3-0.  By sticking with Howard, Babcock was telling Howard that no matter what this is his team and his playoffs.  That fact should have been clear by now, but if there was ever a chance that Howard was going to get pulled it was going to be in that situation.

Howard played well for the rest of the game and his attitude seems that losses and goals don’t bother him which is good when you are going through a long playoff run.  However, if the Red Wings are going to make a long playoff run Jimmy Howard is going to need to win a few games by himself and not depend on his forwards to get three or four goals a night.

In the end what Game 1 showed is that these are two evenly matched teams who are both capable of scoring a lot.  This series will very likely end up being won by the team whose goalie can steal a game.

The Wings will take advantage of the two day break to get some much needed rest before they resume the series with Game 2 on Sunday night.

As always thanks for reading and enjoy the games!

The first round of the playoffs had everything that you could asked for.  Let’s just hope that round two can deliver the same.

I would like to personally thank the Montreal Canadiens for eliminating the Washington Capitals and avoiding an Eastern Conference Final of Sid vs. Ovie.  I am sick of all the talk being about only two players and two teams.

Speaking of other teams the Red Wings had a statement win in Game 7 and now get to start the second round in San Jose.   The Sharks are a good team that has as good if not better talent then the Red Wings, but the Sharks have just a little history of not showing up in the playoffs which makes this series very intriguing.

Should San Jose beat Detroit it would put to rest a lot of the Sharks playoff result jokes and give the team confidence that they can win in the playoffs.

The Wings just want to win to shut up all the Wings hatters who say the team is too old and that the glory years are over.

These two teams match up very even on paper.  The biggest question is if the San Jose forwards show up.  If they do the Sharks have the upper hand.  But until they do I am not betting on it and will take Detroit with all the playoff experience.

And now prediction time:

Red Wings in 6

Wings win games 1, 3, 4, 6     Sharks win games 2, 5

In other series:

Vancouver over Chicago in 7

Pittsburgh over Montreal in 5

Philadelphia over Boston in 6

In case you were wondering I went 5-3 in my first round picks but 4-0 in the west.

Enjoy the games everyone!

There are few words that are more beautiful in the English language.  Unless of course it is your team who is playing in it, then Game 7 is just stressful.

So if you are not a fan of the Detroit Red Wings or the Phoenix Coyotes enjoy Game 7 Tuesday night because it should be a great game and anything can happen.

And everything has happened in this series.  We have had stretches where both teams could not stop scoring and stresses where either team can score.  We have had a Phoenix blowout and a Detroit shutout.  For the most part though these teams have been very even, answering each other goal for goal.

As for what is going to happen on Tuesday, I have no clue what to expect.  I really don’t see the Wings getting blown out for a second straight game, but if Phoenix does get out to a quick to go lead and the crowd is into the game I am afraid that the Wings may just mail it in at that point.

It also would not be a big surprise if the Wings come out knowing that they blew a chance in Detroit and want to make a statement.  This would be very bad news for the Coyotes because if the Wings play at their full potential and are angry the scoreboard will be very lopsided in the Wings favor.

The most likely outcome of Game 7 is a close one goal back and forth game where the winner will be the team who is playing the best in the third period.

So if you are a Red Wings fan like me or a Coyotes fan like Mr. Gary Bettman expect to be on the edge of your seat hoping to not have a heart attack as your team’s season hangs in the balance.

If you are just a hockey fan enjoy the wild ride.

Game 7 Fun Fact from Steve Schrader the Detroit Free Press:

“That is a scary historical footnote, that the Wings haven’t won a Game 7 on the road since 1964 in Chicago. Then again, it’s not as bad as it sounds. They’ve only played one Game 7 on the road since then, a 1991 loss in St. Louis.”

The worst thing that the Wings will want to do is give Phoenix any momentum and have to play a Game 7 in Phoenix’s barn.  For the most part home ice does not come into play until a seventh game.  That means Detroit knows their best chance to win this series is in Game 6.  The Joe should be rocking and the Wings should ride the fan support to a series win.  Not only do the Wings not want have to risk going back to the desert, but they should be motivated to win this series in front of their fans to give them something for all that they have been through this year.

Earlier this week I said that a key for the Wings would be to get two wins in a row for Jimmy Howard to get confident about playing in the playoffs, I think he has that confidence now.  At this point in his career Howard is not a great goaltender, but he is a good goaltender and that is all that Detroit has ever needed to win the Cup.

Up front Datsyuk and Zetterberg have stepped it up and looked good, although it always seems to feel like they can do more, but I think that mostly speaks to how talented they are that you just always expect more.  Bertuzzi has also played good as a role player, but it would be nice to see him on the score sheet a little more.

On a side note it sounds like Jiri Hudler is coming back next year which will help the offensive.

1. The Wings want to end this series Sunday in Detroit and not have to travel back out west for a Game 7.  There are still three rounds left and if the Wings advance they want to be as rested as possible.

2. A win tonight gives Jimmy Howard back to back playoff wins for the first time in his career and that should give him confidence to keep the streak going as the playoffs continue on.

3. Not only does Howard’s confidence increase with a Wings win tonight, but the entire team would benefit from a shot of confidence in the arm.  This season has been a rollercoaster for Detroit and it felt like we were heading back down a hill until Game 4.  The Wings need to keep climbing to make a run at the Cup.

4. A Detroit victory would put all the pressure on a young Coyotes team.  If the Red Wings win Game 5 they will have won two straight and force Phoenix to win two straight including one at the Joe Louis Arena.

5. Speaking on the Joe, it was rocking on Tuesday and if Detroit comes back home for Game 6 with a chance to close out Phoenix the place should be rocking again and the city will start to believe another Cup is in its sight.  I can’t see the same atmosphere happing if Wings are losing the series.

Sorry to keep it short, but today has been very busy with midterms and the Ohio State spring game tomorrow.  More coming tomorrow and Sunday on this series.

The Wings opened the playoffs that spring against the Phoenix Coyotes.  Phoenix was a team looking to catch the defending Stanley Cup Champions off guard and pull off a major first round upset.  After a tough Game 1 loss the Coyotes came back and took a 2-1 series lead.

From that point on the Red Wings went 15-4 to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

If only history could repeat itself.  Sadly, I don’t see that happening this year, at least not the 15-4 part.

There is no doubt that the Wings can come back and take this series.  They have enough fire power where they could easily rattle off five straight wins at anytime, but this year they have been so inconsistent that they could just as easily lose five straight.

A loss in Game 4 would all but certainly mean the Wings are not going to get out of this round.  If the Wings win I think they are in a good position to take the series, but I will never count this Phoenix team out.

The biggest key for the Red Wings to win Game 4 is to get out to an early lead and build some confidence for Jimmy Howard.  And not just one goal leads; the Wings need a two goal lead.  Howard has played shaky at times in this series but if his forwards can build him a nice early lead, it should give him the confidence to keep the Wings in the game.

Another key for a Detroit victory will be to not let Phoenix score in the 2, 3, 5 minute period following a Wings goal.  Nothing causes a crowd to get out of a game quicker or a team to get frustrated then when another team scores right after you just scored.

The Wings won Game 4 on April 28, 1998 and let’s hope they do it again, tie this series up and keep it going because it has been fun to watch and I would hate for it to be over before it begins.

The Wings showed they can score goals and they can score goals in bunches if their top players are firing on all cylinders.  There were a number of times where the Red Wings could have given up or conceded defeat to the Coyotes.  It seemed like every time Detroit scored Phoenix would answer right back.  The second or third time that happens to a team it can cause them to start wondering if they will ever catch a break.  The Red Wings did not give up and just kept pounding away until they took the lead for good.  And give the Coyotes credit too, they could have rolled over at points but they fought to the bitter end.

If nothing else the winner of this series is going to prove that they can score goals and can respond well when facing diversity.

Jimmy Howard did not play his best game, but his forwards stepped up for him and gave him his first ever playoff win.  That should give him confidence and fan support as he makes his first home playoff start Sunday afternoon inside Joe Louis Arena.  Howard’s job at this point in his career is just to keep the Wings in games and so far he has done that.

The big question as the series shifts to Hockeytown is how the teams respond after an emotional, high energy Game 2.  The Wings should come out strong wanting to control home ice and try to take control of this series.  The bigger question will be how Phoenix comes out.  The Coyotes gave it their all Friday night and it might be a challenge for them to get back up for a game less than 48 hours later and after travelling half way across the country.

Hopefully both teams will come out just as fired up because if they do Game 3 should be a fun one.

Until next time, enjoy the games.

The Red Wings played like they did in January during the second and third periods.  They stayed in the game but just seemed like they were waiting for something to happen and it never did.  Sadly, I felt the same away about Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

All is not lost however for the Red Wings.  The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a marathon not a sprint.  If Detroit takes Game 2 tonight (10:00 EDT; VS, TSN, FSD) they will have all the momentum going back to Hockeytown on Sunday.

The Red Wings have shown that they can turn it on when they want too.  There is great danger in waiting too long though.  The margin for error in the West this year is very small.  There are six teams that I could easily see coming out of the West and no one is going to be able to coast like the Wings tried to do Thursday night.

Jimmy Howard played great considering it was his first NHL playoff game.  Even if the Wings lose tonight there will be no going back to Chris Osgood this year.  Howard is the Wings new guy and the team will sink or sail with him.

What the Wings need is a forward (or two) to step up tonight during pressure situations and get the big goals where we need them.  Perhaps if Mike Babcock cannot get the Wings to step it up tonight we should just send Muhammad Ali down to talk to the Wings.  Although just playing in front of him would be motivation enough for me.

Enjoy the games tonight, talk to you tomorrow.

In late January there were people who thought the Red Wings would not make the playoffs.

But here we are the playoffs have been set and it’s the Phoenix Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarter-finals.  This series should set up favorably for Detroit.  The biggest advantage that the Red Wings have is that they have playoff experience that the young Phoenix team does not have.  The Wings used this to their advantage last year against Columbus and I can only hope that it works as well this year.

And I know that Phoenix has not cracked under pressure all year and that ignorance is bliss but the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a whole new animal.

The big ex-factor for Detroit will be Jimmy Howard and how he handles the playoff pressure.  If Howard does struggle Osgood could come like he did last year, but I don’t think the Wings want to go down that road.  My feelings are that Osgood is not happy being the backup again this year and I think some bridges have been burnt.

One of the best things I like about Phoenix is that they have one of my favorite players in Shane Doan.  It is great that he will get to be back in the playoffs.

Detroit fought hard down the stretch to get the best possible playoff matchup and they got the best that they could hope for.  Scotty Bowmen once said that he preferred to start series on the road as it takes the pressure off to win the first two games.  (Although I would suspect there will be a strong Detroit contingent at Jobing.com Arena.)

So here we go prediction time:

Detroit in 5

I think the Wings have an advantage in coaching, offense, and defense.  Goaltending is a tossup.

Red Wings win games 1, 3, 4, 5         Coyotes win game 2

Other Series

San Jose over Colorado in 5

Chicago over Nashville in 4

Vancouver over Los Angles in 7

Washington over Montréal in 5

New Jersey over Philadelphia in 6

Boston over Buffalo in 7

Ottawa over Pittsburgh in 7

There is no doubt in my mind that the NHL should continue to participate in the Olympics in Sochi and beyond.  Yes, I know it shuts down the league for two weeks but owners are still getting 41 home games just at a different time of the year and they are still getting the same money from Versus, CBC, TSN, and NBC if they go to the Olympics or not.  What the league gets from the Olympics is television exposure that they would not otherwise get, especially in the United States.  Do you think that Gary Bettman would have been all over every NBC owned network over the last two weeks if the NHL was not in the Olympics.  Also if the NHL kept playing for those two weeks while the Olympics were going on it is likely that the league would lose some viewers to the Olympic hockey tournament, in whatever new form it happens in.

Gary Bettman has said that the league has not currently made a decision on Sochi, but he sure seems like to point out the flaws of going to the Olympics over the positives.  If the NHL goes to Sochi or not will actually have to be decided in the next CBA so the NHLPA will have an input and at this point they seem all for it.  In all honesty it would not surprise me at all if Gary and the league are actually in favor of staying in the Olympics and are just using Olympic participation as a bargaining chip against the PA.

While the NHL should still go to the Olympics, the NHL should realize that it has some pull to use against the IOC/IIHF.  If the NHL did pull out of the Olympics it would greatly diminish one of the major attractions of the Winter Olympics.  The IOC would once again be left with a tournament that had European pros and amateurs from North America or they could move the World Juniors tournament to the Olympics.  The biggest problem with the World Juniors is that it would be less completive then the current format.  I mean there is a reason that it is huge in Canada every year and that is that they finish first or second every time.

The first thing that the NHL should demand in agreeing to go to Sochi is that games start at 9 AM and noon local time so that they can be on in prime time back in North America.  I am sure that some of the players and the Russian fans would not like this, but I doubt Michael Phelps enjoyed swimming in the morning in China but the IOC caved into NBC and he seemed to do fine.

Second, the NHL should take a stand and show that they are really committed to growing the sport by saying that if the IOC even attempts to take women’s hockey out of the Olympics the NHL will walk and have nothing to do with the Olympics.  Gary Bettman and the NHL always talk about growing the sport and this would be a BIG statement on the leagues part to support growing the game when it would not benefit financially.  Yes, currently the women’s hockey field is not that competitive, but the sport has grown greatly since it first entered the Olympics in 1998.  Over that same time women’s hockey as grown at lower levels including now having a number of competitive teams at the Division 1 level in the NCAA.  I would hate to see what would happen to all this if it was removed from the Olympics.

1:52pm (all times EST) – Here is a look at what I’m watching today.  Now- Curling USA v Germany   3pm- USA v Switzerland  5:30pm-USA v Russia (Women’s)  7:30pm-Canada v Norway  10pm-Finland v China (Women’s)  midnight-Russia v Latvia

2:06pm – Germany beating the US 5 to 4 in the 8th end.  They should put more curling on TV, its one of those things that after you start you just can’t stop watching.

2:17pm – Germany picks up 2 and is leading 7 to 4 through 8.  Does not look good in game one for the American men.

2:44pm – 3 rocks left and the US is looking to tie it up.

2:46pm – US try to make a comeback but come up short and fall to Germany.  Hockey is up next!

2:50pm – My medal picks for men’s hockey; GOLD: Finland  SILVER: Russia  BRONZE: Canada

3:05pm – And we are on our way!  USA USA USA!

3:08pm – US looks good early.

3:14pm – I love the fact that there are no commercial breaks built into the games.

3:18pm – The Swiss men are playing a lot better then the Swiss women.

3:31pm – USA GOAL!!!!  Ryan puts the U.S. up 1-0.

3:41pm – Why does NBC think that I like Sidney Crosby or want to here anyone talk about him?

3:49pm – Just on our way in the second.

3:57pm – 2-0 USA!!!!!!!!

4:02pm – PP Goal for the United States!  3-0.  Swiss starting to show their holes.

4:18pm – Love to here the Windsor Spitfires talk.

4:25pm – The logo for these Olympics is Great.  The Canucks should uses it on a third jersey.

4:42pm – Pierre McGuire mentions Ryan Kesler is from Ohio State!

4:51pm – Swiss score and we have ourselves a game.  3-1 USA

5:04pm – USA wins 3-1 against the Swiss.  Overall, I thought America look good today.  To me they are a wild card team that could finish anywhere from first to sixth.  We really will not find out to much until Sunday vs. Canada.  Next up is USA vs. Russia on the women’s side.  That game can be seen over on MSNBC at 5:30.

5:20pm – In case you care it is still snowing in Columbus, OH.  And for some reason Sidney Crosby is on my TV.

5:30pm – Chris Matthews says this game is a big one.  USA vs. Russia is next!  Oh, and Hillary Clinton will not be moving to Canada.

5:39pm – USA up 1-0.  This game should not be close.

5:40pm – My medal picks for women’s hockey; GOLD: United States  SILVER: Canada  BRONZE: Sweden

5:46pm – GREAT goal by Potter for the United States! 2-0

5:49pm – Dinner time

6:28pm – I’m back and the US is rolling 6-0

6:39pm – USA ties Olympic record with 5th PP goal.  9-0 USA

7:00pm – USA up by 12 after two.  Russia may be good at men’s hockey but they are not good at women’s hockey.

7:10pm – Canada is warming up.  They’re game my overlap a little with the USA women’s game.  Canada’s game is on CNBC  MSNBC CNBC or you can watch Countdown next on MSNBC!

7:16pm – On our way in the third period and the US scores it’s 7th PP goal! (An Olympic record)

7:18pm – Before I forget Happy Fat Tuesday!

7:34pm – USA is winning 13-0 and it could be a LOT more.  I feel good about my Gold better pick.

7:36pm – The moment Canada has been waiting for has arrived.  Canada and Norway is on it’s way.  NO TV until curling ends on CNBC.  Just over 3min to play in the USA women’s game.

7:42pm – FINAL: USA 13 Russia 0  A great win for the American women.  Next up for them is a big game against Finland on Thursday.

7:46pm – Canada and Norway scoreless on MSNBC (Update: The game is now on CNBC).

8:08pm - Scoreless after one.  I am guessing that most Canadians thought Canada would have scored by now.  Maybe teams with maple leafs on the front of their jerseys just can’t win.

8:28pm – Canada can look now.  1-0 Great White North in the lead.

8:32pm – When it rains it pours 2-0 Canada

8:46pm – It must be nice for Rick Nash to be on a winning team.

8:58pm – The best part of NBC’s Olympic coverage is their music.

9:01pm – I love this Walmart commercial with the little girl who plays hockey.

9:28pm – Canada is looking great, up 6-0.

9:44pm – Hat Trick for Jerome Iginla.  Iginla may be my favorite player.

9:49pm – Canada wins.

10:05pm – Finland vs. China is next.  Go Finland!

10:33pm – China up 1-0.  Late in the first.  This would be a HUGE upset.

11:21pm – Finland leads China 2-1 after 2.  China is holding on and this has become a surprisingly good game.  Finland needs to start pulling away soon or China might pull the first upset of these games.

11:51pm – Finland is on the PP still up 1 mid way through the third.  This is impressive that China has kept it this close.

12:06am – Finland holds on to win it.  They are going to have to play a lot better then that against the US on Thursday.  But we a least had our fist close hockey game of these Olympics.  Well, that will do it for the live blog.  Enjoy the Russia-Latvia night cap and thanks for reading.

Curtis Joseph was my favorite NHL player, even though I have no memory of the first third of his career.  I think that when every kid first gets into hockey the first thing they notice is the goalie.  They are always on the ice, easy to recognize, and have great mask designs.  And no one had a cooler mask then Curtis Joseph.  For that matter is there a better nickname in sports then Cujo.  So Curtis Joseph was an easy choice for the favorite player of a nine year old who loves hockey.

My first memory of Curtis Joseph was the 1998-99 season and playoff run with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Sorry, Oilers and Blues fans I am too young to have any memories of Cujo in your fair cities.  The Maple Leafs have always been my favorite Eastern Conference team and I grew up on Saturday nights with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Curtis Joseph.

In the summer of 2002 Curtis Joseph left the Maple Leafs and signed with my favorite team, the Detroit Red Wings.  Now Cujo’s time in Detroit did not go the way that he and the Red Wings thought it would.  Thanks in no small part to another Hall of Famer, Dominick Hasek, deciding to come out of retirement giving the Wings two all-star goalies.  Curtis Joseph’s time in Detroit may not be his career highlight, but I loved to see him in the winged wheel.

In 2005 after playing in four great hockey cities, Cujo packed his bags and went to the hockey hotbed of Phoenix.  Which, ironically enough is the one place where I saw him play a game.  Yes, I am one of the select few who have seen a hockey game in Phoenix.  I mean why travel 60 miles to Detroit or 300 miles to Toronto when I could travel 2,000 miles to Arizona.  I sat behind the goal and saw Cujo close up for warm-ups, and two periods.  In a weeklong trip through Arizona, I took more pictures of Curtis Joseph than anything else (how many pictures of the Grand Canyon does one need).

After Phoenix, Cujo played 32 more NHL games for the Flames and Maple Leafs before announcing his retirement yesterday.  Here is a little know fact, Curtis Joseph was traded by the Maple Leafs to Calgary in June 2002 for a 2004 8^th round draft pick.

Curtis Joseph did not retire on top, nor did he want to.  Curtis was happy to play any role in the game he loved.  Curtis Joseph is a Hall of Famer and the fact that some people are even trying to turn it into a debate is ridiculous.

There also may have never been a nicer professional athlete then Cujo.  I have never read a negative thing about him.  Curtis donated time and money to children’s hospitals where he played and is an example of why hockey players are the nicest and best athletes.  You could not ask for a better role model.

Thanks for the memories Cujo.

I love the Winter Classic.  There is just something about outdoor hockey that is 10 times better then the indoor version.  Going into this year’s game I was kind of expecting a letdown after last year.  The old baseball stadium thing had been done before and I really had no rooting interest in the game, after having my favorite team in last year’s.  But you know what, this years was better and the best since the 2003 Heritage Classic because for me the first will always be the best, especially when you consider the old-timers game was played too.

In three years the NHL has established itself a foothold on New Year’s Day, what was once thought to be a one sport day.  However, the NHL will have a decision to make coming up with the 2012 Winter Classic.  You see January 1, 2012 falls on a Sunday and when New Years Day falls on a Sunday college football moves its bowl games to Monday, January 2^nd so it does not have to compete against the NFL.  So the question is should the NHL follow college football and move the Winter Classic to January 2^nd or keep it on New Year’s Day and go head to head against the NFL?

The bowl games move to Monday because college football would not want to lose viewers to the NFL plus the bowl games and the NFL share some of the same TV networks.  NBC does not carry any afternoon NFL games so they could still air the Winter Classic and their primetime NFL game.  But would NBC want to go up against their partners in the NFL?  Or would the NFL put any pressure on NBC not to have the game on New Year’s Day?

If I were in charge on the NHL I would keep the game on New Year’s Day.  That is the day people expect it and I think there are plenty of people who are not NFL fans out there who would be looking for something else to watch on New Year’s Day.  People said that the NHL was stupid to go up against college football and they did that, so why not take on the NFL for one Sunday.  Also, I suspect that the CBC would want to keep the game on New Year’s Day, although in recent history the NHL has not seem to care as much about what CBC wants instead giving in to NBC.

Not having college football to go up against in 2012 would also give the NHL an opportunity to play the Winter Classic in a Big Ten football stadium where the schools and the NHL would not have to risk a chance of that school’s football team playing at the same time.  The Big Ten plays two bowl games that currently overlap with the Winter Classic.

So what would you like the NHL to in 2012, move the game to the 2^nd or keep it on the 1^st?

1. 2001-2002: 116 points, 1^st place in Central Division, 1^st place in the Western Conference, Stanley Cup Champions

-This team was full of Hall of Famers and was perhaps the best NHL team ever assembled.  With addition of the Salary Cap it is likely that we will not see a team this good again.

2. 2008-2009: 112 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 2^nd place in the Western Conference, lost to Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup final

-This team came within one game of back to back Stanley Cups and was better than the Cup winning team from the year before with the addition of Hossa.

3. 2007-2008: 115 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 1^st place in the Western Conference, Stanley Cup Champions

- The Red Wings proved that they could win a Cup in the salary cap era and answered any questions concerning the age of the Wings.  Also, Lidstrom became the first European captain to win the Stanley Cup.

4. 2004-2005: 114 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 3^rd place in the Western Conference, lost to  Toronto in the Stanley Cup final.

-The Wings fell just short to the Leafs, who won their first Cup since 1967 by beating the Wings in the forth overtime of game seven of the Stanley Cup finals in the game of the decade.

4. 2006-2007: 113 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 1^st place in the Western Conference, lost to Anaheim in the Western Conference final

-It looked like the Wings would win their first cup in 5 years, but they would have to wait one more year after losing to the Ducks for the second time in three seasons.

5. 2005-2006: 124 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 1^st place in the Western Conference, lost to Edmonton in the first round

-The Wings showed that they were still contenders even with a salary cap, but were upset by the Oilers who would go on to have one magical spring.

6. 2002-2003: 110 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 2^nd place in the Western Conference, lost to Anaheim in the first round

-A shocking playoff result for a team that one year earlier had won the Stanley Cup.

7. 2003-2004: 109 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 1^st place in the Western Conference, lost to Calgary in the second round

-For the second straight year a hot goalie knocks the Red Wings out of the playoffs.

8. 2000-2001: 111 points, 1^st place in the Central Division, 2^nd place in the Western Conference, lost to LA in the first round

-This embarrassing loss to the Kings lead to Red Wings management assembling one of the best teams ever for the next season.

9. 1999-2000: 108 points, 2^nd place in the Central Division, 4^th place in the Western Conference, lost to Colorado in the second round

-Yes, there was one year that the Red Wings did not win the Central.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS: Red Wings Mad Libs Edition

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through The Joe

Not a creature was twirling, not even an octopi;

The banners were hung by the rafters with care,

In hopes that Lord Stanley soon would be there;

The players were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of clean bills of health danced in their heads;

And Mike in his fedora, and Mr. I in a limo,

Had just settled down for an old winter game,

When out on the river there arose such a clatter,

They sprang from their office to see what was the matter.

Away to the entrance they flew like a flash,

Tore open the doors and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave the lustre of mid-day to the city below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight Wings of the past,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be Budd Lynch.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

“Now, Sawchuk! now, Aurie! now, Lindsay and Howe!

On, Delvecchio! on Able! on, Konstantinov and Yzerman!

To the top of the RenCen! to the top of the bridge!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the top of the Motor City they flew,

With the sleigh full of eleven cups, and Budd Lynch too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the rink

The stopping and starting of each skate blade.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the from the dressing room Mr. Hockey came with a bound.

He was dressed in full gear, from his head to his foot,

And his sweater was all tarnished with blood and puck marks;

A bundle of Lord Stanley’s cups he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a fighter just waiting for the first attack.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his elbows how scarry!

He was ready to fight Don Cherry!

The wood stick he held tight in his giant hands,

And the shot it would fire would light up the lamp;

He was skillful and tough, a right old Red Wing,

And I starred in amazement when I saw him;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know the Bruins had everything to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled the net; then fought with a jerk,

And waving his fingers to the fans who rose,

And giving a nod, up the rafters he goes;

He sprang to great heights, to his crowd gave a whistle,

And away the team skated like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he skated out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

To come up with this list I took into consideration the amount of time the player spent with the Red Wings, their significance within the organization, and what they did on the ice as a Wing. I only looked at a player’s time with the Red Wings and only at their stats from 1999-2000 to 2008-2009.

GM: Ken Holland; A great GM but also the only one that the Red Wings had during this decade so he wins this honor by default.

Head Coach: Mike Babcock; Four Central Division titles, two Western Conference Championships, one Stanley Cup in four seasons.

Center

1. Pavel Datsyuk

2. Steve Yzerman, Captain

3. Kris Draper, Assistant Captain

4. Sergei Fedorov

-Three Hall of Fame centers, plus Draper who spent the entire decade in Detroit.

Right Wing

1. Dan Cleary

2. Brett Hull

3. Darren McCarty

4. Kirk Maltby

- Two grinders, a Hall of Famer, and a Newfoundlander.

Left Wing

1. Henrik Zetterberg

2. Tomas Holmstrom

3. Brendan Shanahan

4. Luc Robitaille

-Hank could end up as one of the top three Red Wings ever and Homer has been a staple on this team for more than a decade.

Defense

1. Nicklas Lidstrom, Assistant Captain

2. Chris Chelios

3. Brian Rafalski

4. Niklas Kronwall

5. Mathieu Dandenault

6. Jiri Fischer

- A great defensive core. Fischer makes this list not only because he was a good defenseman but because his story will always be one of the things that I will remember from this decade of Red Wings hockey.

Goalies

1. Dominik Hasek

2. Chris Osgood

-Both won Stanley Cups this decade, but at his best Hasek could out play any goalie.

Ok, now let the debate begin! Any one I missed? Someone you want to take off the list? Sound off and let me know.

Note: Before Christmas I will have a blog ranking the ten nine Red Wings teams form the last decade. Also, I have two other special Red Wings blogs that I am working on so stay tuned.

Dear Gary,

That is it, we’re waving the white flag, we give up, you win.

It has been well known for years now that you and your friends at the NHL offices in New York don’t care for our favorite hockey team, the Detroit Red Wings.  First, you stick Detroit in the Western Conference so that most of our road games are out of the Eastern Time zone.  It must be nice to play in the Atlantic where you get to take a bus to all your games.  Then, you do everything in your power, including shutting down the NHL for a year and making Ron MacLean introduce movies for a living, to implement a salary cap.  You said that you wanted to create parity, but we all know that you just really wanted to stop the Red Wings from winning by limiting how much money that Mr. Ilitch could spend.  Heaven forbid that a team does everything in their power to win.  If some teams in the Confederacy can’t afford to keep up well then maybe they should not be in the league.  But we still beat you Gary, didn’t we.  We played under the cap and still won the cup.  Then last year you got scarred again and had to make sure every call went the chosen ones way.  You seemed to take great pride in giving him the cup at the center ice of Joe Louis Arena.

This year all your work has finally paid off.  Three of our best players left because we couldn’t afford to pay them as much as we once could, next we have to start the season half way around the world and lose our first two games, then a quarter of the team gets injured and the salary cap will not allow us to bring in equal players (no offence to Drew Miller).  Then we started to turn things around and you got scarred again.  So what happens, you disallow a goal scored by Brad May that would have tied the game against Dallas on November 18^th.  And jeez Gary if we are counting on Brad May to score our goals doesn’t that mean you have already succeeded in your master plan?  The Wings lost to the Stars and then proceeded to lose four of the next five games (including the fifth game where 2 Dan Cleary goals were disallowed).

So you win Gary.  I guess this is what you wanted; the Red Wings are no longer the front runners to win their division.  Unless your ultimate goal is to have the Wings follow the Shock and move to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  I mean a hockey team in Tulsa would do much better than one in Detroit. (On a plus side the Tulsa Red Wings would make more since to be in the Western Conference.)

My only question to you Gary is why?  Why do you hate Detroit?  Is it because we love hockey more than basketball?  Is it because we are actually located north of Canada?  Or do you just dislike the people here?

Just think how many cups the Wings could have won if you would have just left us alone or actually liked us.  And add the fact that two of our top defenseman went down to non-hockey related career ending injuries; the Wings could easily have two or three more cups.

Oh yeah one last thing, don’t think that we didn’t notice how Honda has become the official vehicle of the NHL.  That does not go over well in these parts.

Yours Truly,
Detroit Red Wings Fans

Going into this season the Central Division was spouse to be one of the best divisions in the NHL with the Red Wings and Blackhawks battling it out on top and the other three teams having a good shot at making the playoffs.  As the standings stand now it’s the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Red Wings fighting for the top spot and the Blues and Predators outside of the playoffs but still within striking distance.  With only three points separating the top three it is the closest division in that aspect.  However, the Blackhawks do lead the division with only 26 points which is the second lowest amount of any division leader.

At this point the Central is not as dominant as may have been predicted, but still does have a good shot a qualifying three or four teams into the playoffs and should get better as the Red Wings get healthy and Marian Hossa joins the Hawks later in the season.

Division Power Rankings:

1. Atlantic

2. Pacific

3. Northwest

4. Central

5. Southeast

6. Northeast

Central Power Rankings:

1. Detroit Red Wings- Ok, I know that they are in third place right now, and yes this may be partly a homer pick, but the Wings are only three points behind Chicago and have played one less game.  When you look at the players that have been out of the line up and the fact that they are 10-3-3 in the last 16 games this is still a strong team.

2. Chicago Blackhawks- Locking up the young player’s long term will keep this team at the top of the Central for years to come.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets- Started out the season strong, but seem to be leveling off lately.

4. Nashville Predators- Should hover around in playoff contention for awhile, but will most likely fall out of contention around February.

5. St. Louis Blues- I still have faith that the Blues are a playoff team, but they are going to need to start turning it up soon before it’s too late.

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

(Born: 1872 Guelph, Ontario   Died: 1918 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France)

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.