After all the craziness and excitement we've seen this offseason comes the most shocking news so far: Ilya Kovalchuk has retired from the NHL.
Controversy has followed Kovalchuk in recent years, in regards to the massive, cap-circumventing contract he signed with the Devils back in 2010. Yet here we are, at the end of the Kovalchuk era.
Here's the full statement from the Devil's GM Lou Lamoriello:
As cliche as a "winners and losers" post is, there was so much action around the free agent frenzy (which, refreshingly, actually was a bit of a frenzy this year) that it's easier just to boil all the action down to which teams improved...and which failed to achieve that goal.
Winner: Edmonton Oilers. It's hard not to like what the OIlers did during free agency. For years the team has been looking to add the right mix of veterans and grit players to support their young stars. Andrew Ference will bring the veteran leadership, toughness on the back-end, and a Stanley Cup ring certainly doesn't hurt either. Boyd Goron never got much press in Phoenix, but he's the quintessential third line winger that can win faceoffs and give you excellent two way play. Jason Labarbera has been a serviceable backup goalie throughout his careers, and can even spell Devan Dubnyk if the need arises during the season.
On Tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame membership grew by five, as Scott Neidermayer, Chris Chelios, Brendan Shanahan, Geraldine Heaney and Fred Shero joined their ranks. All five are legends in their own right and deserve the call, though surely there must be some debate about the players passed over again this year, most notably Eric Lindros, Rob Blake and coach Pat Burns.
Nevertheless, let's take a quick look at the careers of the five inductees.
No, seriously...can one of you please tell me what just happened?
First of all, I should preface this article by mentioning a few changes in my personal life, if you will indulge me. A few weeks ago, in the midst of the Stanley Cup Final, my girlfriend came home from work and announced that we were moving. The next two weeks were full of back-breaking labor, packing, cleaning...and worst of all I had no internet. I didn't get to see game six, with Chicago captain Jonathan Toews lifting the Cup a second time, I missed the buyout period, the draft, free agency. So today, when I'm finally able to get back online, I'm hit with a huge shockwave of news.
The NHL hasn't seen this much player movement and activity since the last lockout in 2005. But some of the moves were absolutely stunning.
It's getting to be that time of year, as the Stanley Cup Finals near to a close and fan's attentions turn towards the offseason and changes their teams will make. Trading in the salary cap era is different than it was before, though that hasn't stopped some GM's from making horrific blunders. Here's my list of the top ten worst trades since 2005.
1. (2012) Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus - 2nd, 4th, 4th round picks to Philadelphia.
Everyone knew at the time of this trade that Philly was taking a risk. Bobrovsky was a young up and coming goalie who obviously had talent. But the Flyers were sticking with Ilya Bryzgalov between the pipes and were looking to move Bobrovsky for whatever they could get, in this case some draft picks. Now, you can't exactly call this one a straight win for Columbus, it depends on how those picks pan out in the future. However, with Bobrovsky winning the Vezina Trophy after a phenomenal campaign, and Bryzgalov on the short list of players soon to be bought out, right now this looks like the worst trade in the salary cap era.
Boston Bruins @ Chicago Blackhawks (8:00pm ET)
TV: CBC, NBC, RDS
Series: 2-2
A lot of the outcome of this game will be determined by which Hawks team shows up tonight. Will it be the team that was lulled to sleep by the Bruins defense and only scored one goal in two straight losses? Or the team who, when faced with the prospect of going down three games to one, came out with a fire in game four and torched Tuukka Rask for six goals?
To be fair to Rask, the Bruins played their worst defense in front of him in a long, long time. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg logged more than 30 minutes in game four, but had nothing to show for it except a minus two and surely some video from the coaches for him to watch. Then there's Zdeno Chara who despite getting a couple of assists was a minus three and looked out of gas by the end of the night. Even for all his great mobility and unsurpassed reach, I don't think I've ever seen him beat to the outside so many times in one game before.
Credit to the Blackhawks forwards, who knew that they had to play their speedy, attacking style if they ever wanted to break through. All of the big guns for Chicago were firing, as they got goals from Patricks Sharp and Kane, Jonathan Toews (finally) and Brent Seabrook with the OT winner. But of course, that comes with a consequence; giving up chances against. Goaltender Corey Crawford didn't exactly come out of game four smelling like a rose either, having given up five goals on 33 shots.
I realize all this is merely rehashing game four, but it's very relevant to what should happen tonight. The aberration that was game four likely isn't going to be repeated, as fun as it was. We're not going to see eleven goals. Crawford isn't going to get beaten five times to the glove side. Chara isn't going to be doing a pylon impression. These are quality, skilled, veteran teams who have been here before, and I expect a much tighter game akin to what we saw in the first three matches.
But going back to my original question, which Chicago team will we see tonight? I think they've got the momentum, I think they're going to come out flying on home ice, and I think the Bruins are going to have to weather a tough early storm if they want to go back to Boston with a chance to clinch. If they can get through the first period relatively unscathed, I expect another close, hard-fought chapter of this incredible series and perhaps some more overtime as well.
Marian Hossa skipped practice yesterday, but is expected to be in the Hawks lineup. Nathan Horton is still struggling with his shoulder injury, but will play as well. There may be a slight wrinkle, as Carl Soderberg was practicing on the Bruin's fourth line and may take the place of Kaspars Daugivins, as coach Claude Julien continues to look for chemistry there since Gregory Campbell went down with an injury. Crawford will start in net, even after his poor performance led to some calling for Ray Emery to make an appearance, and Rask will naturally start for Boston.
Prediction: 3-2 (OT) Hawks.
