Insane Trades and Stamkos gets Resigned

What the heck just happened???? I'm coming home and check my phone to see that Steven Stamkos signs an 8 year 8.5 million deal with the Lightning, the Oilers trade Taylor Hall to the Devils for Adam Larsson, and the Predators traded Shea Weber (their captain) to the Canadiens for P.K. Subban. First off Stamkos got resigned which is a huge disappointment for everyone except Lightning fans. I mean who really wanted to see Stamkos playing somewhere else? Anyways, this is amazing for Steven Stamkos and the Lightning since they can still be Stanley Cup contenders, but that means they have to make some trades to stay under the salary cap. Now the Hall trade was insanely bad since he is a former first overall pick and he was a great left wing, and they wanted a top two defenseman, but got a top four defenseman Adam Larsson. This is weird since Larsson was good defensively, but he doesn't seem to be equal value to Hall and the Oilers really could've done better with this. The big trade with Subban and Weber is an amazing deal for the Predators for sure. They now have Subban along with Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis which is arguably one of the best defense in the league. It also works out well for the Preds wince Subban is 27 and in his prime and he should be a nice boost for the Predators to take that final step to the Finals. For Montreal, this can help for a little bit, but Weber is 31 and is close to the age where he starts to decline. This isn't too bad for Montreal, but their defense isn't too well (which was proven when Carey Price was injured) and kind of old so their defense can hold on for now as long as they have Carey Price who is still their best defensive player by far. All of these trades were one on one which doesn't happen too much and were 20-30 minutes apart. Also with Stamkos resigned that really ruins some team's plans. Who won these trades? Was the Stamkos contract fair? Will these trades have a big impact on the team's future? stay tuned....

NHL Draft Day 2 and Steven Stamkos

Day 2 of the draft had super minor trades that are not worth talking about and just more picks. There are now 211 more people that have joined the NHL, but only a few will actually be able to play in it this year. Sorry this post is short, but there's literally nothing good for me to talk about. On July 1st free agency starts and it seems like Steven Stamkos will not be returning to the Lighting. Also when Detroit traded Datsyuk's contract away, it surely meant that they're clearing up Cap Space so they can sign Steven Stamkos. That's about all I can give you guys. My next post should be when a free agent is signed so stay tuned....

NHL Draft Day 1 and Round 1

The first round and first day of the draft is done and not too many trades happened either. First off the Leafs selected Auston Matthews first overall which was no surprise, and he is the first American born player since Patrick Kane in 2007 to be picked first overall. Then right after that the Canadiens made two trades which had Lars Eller go to Washington for a 2017 and 2018 second round pick. They also got Andrew Shaw from the Blackhawks in exchange for the 30th and 45th overall picks for this year. Only 3 other trades happened after this so I'll just tell you guys now. The Blues traded Brian Elliot to Calgary for the 35th overall pick in this year's draft and a conditional 2018 3rd round pick. The Red Wings traded their 16th overall pick and Pave Datsyuk's contract to the Coyotes for their 20th overall pick, the 53rd overall pick, and forward Joe Vitale. The Last trade had the Devils trade their 11overall pick to the Senators for the 12th overall and the 80th overall. Anyways the Jets picked Patrik Laine 2nd overall which was no surprise, but the Blue Jackets surprisingly picked Pierre-Luc Dubois instead of Jesse Puljujarvi so the Oilers took him for the 4th overall pick. The Canucks picked 5th overall, Olli Juolevi ho will be a great skillful player for the Canucks. If you want to read about ALL the picks from last night, click the link here https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-draft-picks-live-tracker/c-281037406 . Side note: This was the best draft for Americans since 12 of them got picked in the first round, and those people were Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Clayton Keller, Logan Brown, Charles McAvoy, Luke Kunin, Jakob Chychrun, Kieffer Bellows, Max Jones, Riley Tufte, Tage Thompson, and Trent Frederic. Will any more trades happen? Will there be any surprises in day 2? Will these players become what they're expected to be? stay tuned....

Las Vegas Awarded NHL Franchise

There will be an NHL team in Las Vegas by the 2017-2018. There will be an expansion draft next year in 2017 when the expansion teams gets to pick 1 player from all 30 NHL teams. Those teams will be able to either protect 7 forwards, 3 defenseman, and 1 goalie or 8 skaters and one goalie. Plus all first year and second year professionals are safe from the draft ad will stay on their current teams. The expansion team has to have 14 forwards, 9 defenseman, and 3 goalie by the end of the draft. They will also have the same chance of winning at the draft lottery as the team who finished third to last in the standings. That is just a basic look at everything so if you want more info on it click on the link here http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/las-vegas-joins-nhl--here-are-the-2017-expansion-draft-rules-210738727.html Overall this is a great thing for the NHL as Las Vegas is a major city and has a great potential and should be really competitive in their first year. The jersey and logo has not been decided as well as the coaching staff and everyone else who works for the team. Also the team will be playing in an arena called T-Mobile Arena which is a big modern arena in Las Vegas.
Will the team be competitive? What will their roster look like? Will this whole process work out? stay tuned....

Frederik Andersen Traded to the Maple Leafs

Former Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen has been traded to the Maple Leafs which solves their goalie issues for sure. The price of this was the 2016 30th overall pick they got from the Kessel trade with the Penguins and a 2017 second round pick. Right after the trade the Leafs signed him to a 5 year contract. That was especially smart because he would have been a restricted free agent starting on July first. Andersen is 26 years old and isn't even in his prime yet, (prime is when you're in your best years usually when you're 28-30).  He was 22-9-7 this season with the Ducks and is a true playoff performer and always picked up the Ducks when John Gibson wasn't doing so well. When the Ducks decided to trade Andersen it clearly meant that John Gibson as going to be the new starting goalie for the Ducks, and that they preferred him over Andersen. This means that Jonathan Bernier will probably be the backup for the Maple Leafs or they could use Garret Sparks who played well in his only games with the Maple Leafs. This was an ok trade for the Ducks, they now have two first round picks in the draft (24th and 30th), but for next season it's not going to have that much of an effect except when John Gibson doesn't play well, then the would need a good backup. This was a good trade for the Leafs and they continue to rebuild and plan for the future well. Who won the trade? Will Andersen play well for the Leafs? Will Gibson be able to be a good starting goalie for the Ducks? stay tuned....

Pavel Datsyuk Leaves NHL

Pavel Datsyuk met with the Red Wings on Saturday to inform that he will not be playing for the Red Wings or the NHL anymore. He is going to be returning home in Russia to play the rest of his career out. One big reason for this decision is his daughter and the rest of his family who lives in Russia. Datsyuk was one of the best Red Wings to ever play and helped the Wings to two Stanley Cup Championships in 2002 and 2008. He also invented the Datsyukian deke which is when you cut one way and shoot the puck on the open net. Check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5dJWXTswzI His amazing hands were just incredible and got him 314 goals, 64 assists, and 918 points. He also won the Lady Byng trophy 4 times and the Selke Trophy three times. He did all of this as a sixth round pick which rarely happens to players so it just adds to his brilliance. One problem he left for the Red Wings is his 7.5 million dollar contract. He has one more year on that deal so the Wings should try to trade it away. The even worse new for the Wings is the hole in the line up now.  Datsyuk could really do everything except goaltending in the NHL and the Red Wings will somehow have to play around all of that next year unless a trade happens. Will the Red Wings trade away his contract? Can they make the playoffs for the 26th year in a row without Datsyuk? Will Datsyuk continue to play hockey in Russia? stay tuned....

Kopitar New Kings Captain

When Dustin Brown was stripped of his captaincy in May, we knew it would most likely be Anze Kopitar. And it is. Kopitar has been one of the best King players for a while, while Dustin Brown has struggled in the past few seasons. Kopitar has replaced Brown who has been captain since 2008 and he is in his prime and has been more of a leader than Brown. Kopitar had 25 goals and 74 points last season while Brown only had 11 goals and 28 points in 82 games as the King's captain which is his worst year in points since his rookie year. Kopitar seems like the perfect fit to be captain especially since he'll be staying a King for at least 8 more years as Dustin Brown is in his early 30's now and clearly won't be getting any younger. Was this a good choice? How will Kopitar do as captain? Will Brown get his game back? stay tuned....

Penguins Run to the Stanley Cup

The Penguins had a crazy year that ended up with a Stanley Cup and it couldn't have ended up any better. They had to go through the Rangers, Capitals, Lightning and Sharks to win it all. For the first two games of the first round against the Rangers, Jeff Zatkoff started the game as a backup for the Penguins and won game one, but lost game 2. In game 3 rookie Matt Murray who has basically no NHL experience started for the Pens and only allowed one goal that game. In game 4 Murray got his first NHL shutout in a 5-0 win with 31 saves. The Penguins ended that series at home in game 5 when they won 6-3. The Rangers in that series looked totally unprepared, but the Penguins came ready to play at the very get go. For round 2 the Pens had to play the Presidents Trophy winner Washington Capitals which proved to be not as bad as expected. This was also Eric Fehr's former team so it was obviously special to play them. Game one was a 4-3 overtime loss with Capital's forward T.J Oshie getting a hat trick. Game 2 was a close game, but a win for the Penguins with a score of 2-1. Game 3 was a home game for the Pens while the series was tied so it was important to win at least one of the two games at home. Murray faced 49 shots while only allowing 2 goals while the Penguins had less, so he really stole game 5 form the Capitals. Game 4 was a close one that had the Penguins taking it 3-2 in another overtime. The Capitals were facing elimination at this point so they played really hard in game 5 and emerged victorious with a 3-1 win. Game 6 was a memorable one that had to Penguins win 4-3 in overtime on Nick Bonino's memorable overtime goal. That series really boosted the confidence for the Pens for they took out their rival Capitals once again in the second round. Now the Penguins had to play the former Eastern Conference champion the Tamp Bay Lightning. Game one was a 3-1 loss, game 2 was a 3-2 win, game 3 was a 4-2 win, game 4 was a 4-3 loss, game 5 was a 4-3 loss in overtime, and game 6 had the Penguins facing elimination for the first time this year, but the came out on top 5-2. Game 7 was a do or die for the Penguins and they won 2-1 with Bryan Rust scoring the only two goals for Pittsburgh. The Penguins would have to take the final test against the San Jose Sharks who miraculously made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Game one was up and down, but had Nick Bonino give the Penguins a 3-2 lead late into the game. Game 2 was all Penguins with Conor Sheary winning the game in overtime. Game 3 proved that the series was far from over when the Penguins lost 3-2 in overtime and instantly gave the Sharks the momentum going into game 4. Game 4 was the Penguins once again winning the game, but this time it was 3-1 in San Jose. Game 5 gave the Penguins the chance to win the Stanley Cup at home for the first time in their history, but Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 44 saves and prevented the Pens from winning it at home. 4-2 was the final score. Game 6 was close, but had Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, and Patric Hornqvist all score goals in the finals game of the 2015-2016 NHL season. Through all of this Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smyth trophy and everyone in Pittsburgh can now celebrate with the Stanley Cup. Did Crosby deserve the Conn Smyth? Are the Penguins going to repeat as champions? Is this the beginning of a dynasty? stay tuned....

Penguins Win Stanley Cup

THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS HAVE WON THE 2016 STANLEY CUP. They beat the Sharks 3-1 in San Jose and have won their first Stanley Cup since 2009. Sidney Crosby surprisingly won the Conn Smyth trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He also passed the Stanley Cup to Trevor Daley who broke his ankle during the playoffs and he passed it to Pascal Dupuis who had a blood clot that ended his career during the season. For the Sharks, they have made an amazing run to the Finals that ended 2 games away to the Stanley Cup. 18 year Sharks Patrick Marleau sadly did not win the Cup and this could be his only chance to win the Stanley Cup unless he plays somewhere else in the future or wins it here in San Jose. Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, and Patric Hornqvist were the scorer for the Penguins with Hornqvist's being the empty netter. Logan Couture was the only one who scored for the Sharks this game. The Penguins will be having their Stanley Cup, parade soon and the Sharks will just have to hit the golf course. I will be putting out more info tomorrow in my Penguins season review that should come out tomorrow morning. Could the Sharks have won the game? Did Sidney Crosby deserve the Conn Smyth? Will the Penguins win it next year again? stay tuned....

Stanley Cup Finals Game 5

It ain't over till *** *** **** *****. The Sharks beat the Penguins 4-2 at Pittsburgh and got their first lead of the series in the first 2 minutes. There were 4 goals in the first 5:06 which is a new NHL record. This game the Sharks' super stars finally came to play. Brent Burns scored 1 minute and 4 seconds into the game when he had the puck behind the net and skated out to the bottom of the left circle and turned and fired it in. Matt Murray went down way to early on the shot which is why Burns was able to score that specific shot. Logan Couture got the next one 2 minutes and 53 seconds in when he deflected Justin Braun's shot from the point in front of Matt Murray. Evgeni Malkin scored 4 minutes and 44 second in when Phil Kessel passed it to him from the other side of the ice and Malkin from the bottom of the right circle shot it at the net, but it deflected off of Justin Braun's skate and went in. Carl Hagelin tied it up when Nick Bonino got the puck and shot it from the top of the left circle and Hagelin deflected it in. Melker Karlsson gave the Sharks the lead again when he got the puck in between the two circle and snapped the puck that hit Murray's glove and went in. This was all in the first period which was the only period with goals except for Joe Pavelski's empty netter and the end of the game. Overall the game was close because of Martin Jones which he stopped 44 shots and Murray stopped 19. Game 6 is in San Jose on Sunday at 8 PM ET. Will Murray start game 6? Can the Sharks force a game 7? Will Martin Jones continue to play like this? stay tuned...

Stanley Cup Finals Game 4

The Penguins are now one win away from winning it all after beating the Sharks 3-1 in San Jose. The Sharks have to step it up in order to keep this thing alive and get more offense. Ian Cole got the first one when he got the rebound off of Kessel's shot and snapped it in the net. Evgeni Malkin got his first of the series when Kessel's hard pass to him who was at the side of the net hit Justin Braun and then himself and went in. Melker Karlsson got the Sharks within one when a rebound got hit to him and he tucked it in the net with a wrist shot. Eric Fehr scored with 2:02 to go in the third when he got a pass from Hegelin while skating in the zone and he got in between the circles and fired it home. That would be it as the Penguins won 3-1 and have 3-1 series lead with a chance to clinch t home in front of their fans. The Sharks need more offence as they have only 7 goals in 4 game which just isn't enough for more than one win. Once again Martin Jones played amazingly with no support, and Mat Murray played amazingly as well and got offensive support. Can the Sharks get more offense? Can the Penguins clinch the cup in game 5? Can the Sharks keep their season alive? stay tuned....

Stanley Cup Finals Game 3

The Sharks have saved themselves from being down 3-0 when they beat the Penguins 3-2 in overtime in their first Stanley Cup Finals home game and their first win in the series. The Penguins struck first when Ben Lovejoy got the puck and slapped it from the point while the puck was on edge so it was dipping while it was in the air. The Sharks tied it up when Justin Braun used his amazing wrist shot from the point and it went in without Matt Murray even seeing it. Braun at this point continues to be the only offense for the Sharks. Patric Hornqvist gave the Penguins the lead when Ben Lovejoy shot in from the point and he tipped it in. Joel Ward tied it about halfway through the third period when he slapped it from the point on a 3 on 2 rush. Towards the end both teams came really close to getting the lead, but it went to over time instead. Joonas Donskoi won it with 7:42 left in the third when he got the puck behind the net and skated it to the bottom of the left circle and turned around and shot it top shelf. The Sharks were once again outshot badly, but this time it was 42-26, but Martin Jones continues to play amazingly and the Sharks this game finally supported him with offence. Game 4 is on June 6th at 8 PM ET which could be the biggest game of the series since the Penguins can take a 3-1 series lead or the Sharks can tie the series at 2. The game will be played at San Jose. Will the Sharks continue to get this offence? Can Martin Jones continue to play well? Who will take game 4? stay tuned....

Panthers New Uniforms

The Florida Panthers have showed off their new uniforms and they look better than I expected. The home uniforms is red that has a white stripe that's outlined with gold running through it. The alternated logo is a panther on top of a modified version of the state flag. The new logo on the home jersey says 'Panthers' is has a panthers sticking it's head to the left side. The road uniforms has the same logo except it says Florida. The logo overall looks like a soccer logo, but it looks nice with the uniforms themselves.  The road uniforms are mainly white and have a red stripe that's outlined with gold running across it. On both jerseys they have the players' number on it and the numbers and name on the back on the home is white with a gold outline, and on the road is blue with a gold outline. This is a totally different look for the Panthers and isn't all that bad. Maybe in the future they'll release an alternate uniform that can be used as well at home games. What do you think of the uniforms? Will the Panthers keep these? Will they do good in the new uniforms? stay tuned....

Stanley Cup Finals Game 2

Game 2 was yet another Penguins win, but this time it was in overtime on Conor Sheary's goal. The first period was scoreless, but had a lot of close chances in it. The second period had the Penguins strike first when Phil Kessel scored on a pass from Nick Bonino across the goal with Roman Polak trying to block the pass. The game was played close in the third period, but once again a late goal was scored and his time it was for the Sharks. Justin Braun tied it with a slap shot that hit the post and went in from the top of the circle, and all this happened with 4:05 to go in the third. Conor Sheary won it when Crosby won the faceoff to Letang who passed it to him and he shot it home. The Penguins keep finding ways to win and will now have a chance to make it 3-0 in the series with a win in San Jose. The Sharks have only 3 goals in the two game s so far and need to get more sustained offence. Martin Jones has played amazingly for the Sharks since the Penguins have badly out shot the Sharks every game. Matt Murray has been playing amazingly as well since he only allowed 3 goals this series. Game 3 is on June 4th and will be on at 8PM ET. Can the Sharks get some offence? Can the Penguins keep up the amazing play? Who will take game 3? stay tuned....