Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[WingsFan]

The Blackhawks have a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice for the first time since 1938. That's a big carrot dangling in front of the veteran players that have been with the Blackhawks through their two most recent Stanley Cups.

[Prime2]

Row 5, golden.

[Prime2]

Sharp who hadn't scored since the Lindbergh Kidnapping, scores an empty netter after Bishop and Hedman tangled.

First Period:
If there ever was a sign that you are no supposed to win the Stanley Cup it's when your SCP Leading scorer, nearly pots one but instead likely breaks his clavicle.

[YouTube]_RbNZ-GvEpk[/YouTube]

[Prime2]

Black Hawks win Stanley Cup in 6!

Duncan Keith wins Conn Smythe, over 700 minutes, joins Pronger, Doughty & Lidstrom.

[paul daugherity]

Yep. And kane made his presence felt tonight. 3 cups, 3 different Conn Smythe winners. This is chicago's golden era. I am glad I live in the area to see and experience it.

[Prime2]

Johnson, broken wrist, entire final, Bishop tore groin game 2, Stamkos, breakaway, couldn't buy one, for the lead. Put another off the crossbar.

[Youtube]gxwduUtWTGc[/YouTube]

[Prime2]

Tampa hit a wall last 3 games of the final. 4 rounds, 7 potential games per series, that's 28 games, post season + 82 game RS.

Hardest trophy to win in sports.

[Prime2]

Greatest Dman in world, tied with Doughty IMO.
Duncan Keith's trek to Stanley Cup trifecta proves he's a future Hall of Famer.

http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/756701

After scoring the series-deciding goal to oust the Tampa Bay Lightning, and just before kissing the Stanley Cup for the third time, the Chicago Blackhawks defenseman was unanimously named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff's most valuable player for his near-superhuman contributions.

From the moment the puck dropped in the first round, Keith sheltered - and hoisted - a thinning, aging defensive corps. He was required to be the fourth player in NHL history to log more than 700 minutes in a postseason run, taking more than a half hour per night for a rotation often limited to four men.

Keith finished with 21 points, fourth-most in the tournament, and earned a share of the franchise record for single postseason points by a blue-liner with Chris Chelios. His three goals were game-winners, two being decisive, series-clinchers. His plus-16 rating topped all skaters. He equaled Patrick Kane with a playoff-best 13 even-strength points.

The scientific wonder is the first defenseman to win the Conn Smythe since 2007, and just the ninth in NHL history. And it's the company he now keeps - not the fact he shone brighter than the throng of superstars playing in the season's terminal series - that reflects just how remarkable his performance was.

Serge Savard, Bobby Orr, Larry Robinson, Al MacInnis, Brian Leetch, Scott Stevens, Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer, and now Duncan Keith, represent the handful of rearguards who own miniature plaques attached to the annual Stanley Cup appetizer.

With two Norris trophies and two Olympic gold medals already on his mantle, Keith, 31, really only has one outstanding accomplishment left to attain in his sport. And it's an honor he may have tipped the scales in achieving with his heroics in these playoffs.

And that's to join those defensemen once more, in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

[froot loops]

He's a great Spartan.

[Prime2]

My 8 NHL draft tickets arrived last week, Sunrise (Ft. Lauderdale), FL, June 26-27th.

Event is actually free, attended in 2002 and it is surreal, entire NHL brass assembled in a hockey rink!

Sadly just may be stuck in NYC this Friday and miss the Connor McDavid show!

Nice piece in the Edmonton Journal.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Hype+hope+Connor+McDavid+greatest+thing+years/11151349/story.html

[WingsFan]

3-on-3 overtime for the NHL is what Ken Holland has been advocating for five years and finally got his wish when the GMs recommended that the league go to 3-on-3 overtime, effective next season.

The rule change still has to be ratified by the NHL’s board of governors, but once something passes the muster of the GMs, that’s considered a rubber stamp. “I’m happy,” Holland said. “I think 3-on-3 overtime is going to be very exciting for our fans.

[Hannibal]

That had better not be the only rule change this offseason.

[Prime2]

Kiss the Olympics goodbye insofar as NHL pro participation, the Canada Cup/World Cup (Proper) has returned. All games played at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Sept.16th to Oct. 1st. 8 team tournament with an under 23 years old North American squad, moronic. They will be speed burners but a glaring weakness in goal.

Armstrong replaces Yzerman: (TSN)

The first order of business for the man tasked with leading Canada to a third straight best-on-best world title may be his toughest assignment.
Doug Armstrong must decide on a head coach for Team Canada. Both Mike Babcock, winner of back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics, and Joel Quenneville, with three Stanley Cups in the last six seasons, are at his disposal.
Then, after that, Armstrong will pick a hotly debated lineup.
No sweat, right?
Armstrong is officially taking the reins as Hockey Canada’s executive director for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey this morning. Steve Yzerman stepped down after delivering gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Armstrong, 50, served on the management team under Yzerman in both Olympiads. He will be assisted by Detroit’s Ken Holland, Montreal’s Marc Bergevin and Los Angeles’ Rob Blake, Anaheim's Bob Murray and Scott Salmond of Hockey Canada.
The Toronto-based eight-team World Cup of Hockey, reincarnated for the first time since Canada topped Finland in 2004, includes a North American young stars squad and a pan-European team made up of players not from the six major hockey-playing countries: Canada, USA, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden.
What will Canada’s 2016 World Cup of Hockey roster look like?
A lineup of 16 players must be submitted eight months from now, by March 1, 2016. The balance of each 23-man roster will be named no later than June 1, 2016, with training camps opening on Sept. 4, 2016.
One wrinkle still to be ironed out is the exact age qualification for North America’s young stars team. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told TSN.ca the official birthdate cutoff for the team has not yet been set. Any player who falls in the younger category, believed to be 23-and-under by the time the tournament begins, will not be available to be selected by Team Canada or Team USA.
In other words, 18-year-old Connor McDavid is not eligible to play for Team Canada.
Here’s an early projection of Canada’s roster.
FORWARDS (13)
Jamie Benn
Sidney Crosby
Matt Duchene
Ryan Getzlaf
Claude Giroux
Taylor Hall
Ryan Johansen
Ryan O’Reilly
Corey Perry
Tyler Seguin
Steven Stamkos
John Tavares
Jonathan Toews
DEFENCE (7)
T.J. Brodie
Drew Doughty
Mark Giordano
Duncan Keith
Alex Pietrangelo
P.K. Subban
Shea Weber
GOALTENDERS (3)
Corey Crawford
Braden Holtby
Carey Price
Other forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Logan Couture, Jordan Eberle, Brendan Gallagher, Brad Marchand, Rick Nash, Jaden Schwartz.
Other defencemen: Tyson Barrie, Brent Burns, Kris Letang, Jake Muzzin, Brent Seabrook, Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Under-23 ineligible: Aaron Ekblad, Dougie Hamilton, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Sean Monahan, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Morgan Rielly.

[Prime2]

Team OP hits the NHL Draft tomorrow night in Ft. Lauderdale followed by dinner, riverwalk Los Olas.
Full coverage to follow, stay tuned.

In other news.....

The 2015 NHL Awards were broadcast live from Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Here's a look at which players and personnel added to their trophy cases:

Art Ross Trophy (scoring champion)
WINNER: Jamie Benn, LW, Dallas Stars

Benn ended the season with 10 points in his final three games, finishing with 87 - one more than John Tavares.

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (goal-scoring leader)
WINNER: Alex Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitals

Ovechkin's 53 goals were 10 more than anyone else in the league. This is his third consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy, and fifth overall.

William M. Jennings Trophy (goaltender who plays at least 25 games for the club allowing the fewest goals)
WINNERS: Corey Crawford, G, Chicago Blackhawks and Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens

The Blackhawks and Canadiens finished tied with a league-low 189 goals allowed each.

Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player as voted by the players)
WINNER: Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens

Price set a franchise record for wins with 44, and led the league in both goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.933).

Selke Trophy (forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game)
WINNER: Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins

Bergeron led the league in faceoff wins, claiming more than 60 percent of his draws.

Norris Trophy (top defenseman)
WINNER: Erik Karlsson, D, Ottawa Senators

Karlsson led all defensemen in points for the third time in four years, notching 66 in 82 games.

Jack Adams Award (top head coach)
WINNER: Bob Hartley, Calgary Flames

Hartley guided the Flames to a 97-point regular season, 20 points better than the team's 2013-14 total and the biggest improvement in the Western Conference.

General Manager of the Year
WINNER: Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning

King Clancy Memorial Trophy (for leadership on and off the ice and noteworthy humanitarian contribution to community)
WINNER: Henrik Zetterberg, C, Detroit Red Wings

Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award
WINNER: Jonathan Toews, C, Chicago Blackhawks

NHL Foundation Player Award (community service)
WINNER: Brent Burns, D, San Jose Sharks

Calder Trophy (top rookie)
WINNER: Aaron Ekblad, D, Florida Panthers

Ekblad is the youngest blue-liner to win the award since Bobby Orr in 1967.

Vezina Trophy (top goaltender)
WINNER: Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens

Price earned 27 of 30 first-place votes.

Lady Byng Trophy (player best combining sportsmanship and ability)
WINNER: Jiri Hudler, LW, Calgary Flames

Hudler recorded career-highs in goals (31), assists (45), and points (76) while registering only 14 penalty minutes - fewest among the league's top 20 scorers.

Masterton Trophy (perseverance and dedication to hockey)
WINNER: Devan Dubnyk, G, Minnesota Wild

Dubnyk started 38 straight games for Minnesota, helping the Wild qualify for a playoff spot even though they were eight points out when he arrived.

Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player to his team)
WINNER: Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens

Price's career year helped the Canadiens post their best season since 1988-89. He is the first goaltender to be named a Hart Trophy finalist since Henrik Lundqvist in 2011-12.

[Prime2]

Off to the NHL Draft 2015 boys. Witness Connor McDavid making history!

Early cocktail party at Team OP's, now up to Sunrise!