Last weekend – the cup spent a day with NHL star Dustin Byfuglien — who played on the Chicago Blackhawks squad when they won the championship this year. Dude was rollin’ around Roseau, Minnesota when he decided to make a gas run — and brought Stanley along for the ride.
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Looks like today is “fake retiring day” First we have reports all over the place about Brett Favre’s 2,349,897th fake retirement, now we have a guy who just retired at the end of this past hockey season, now deciding he wants to come back. And that’s a shame because we already put a nice, complete bow on his career a few months ago:
The man of the evening of this season finale was a man who has never played for the Minnesota Wild franchise, but has more to do with hockey history in the State of Hockey than the Wild have had in their entire decade of existence. Mike Modano skated in his final game before retiring, the rare professional in this day and age who played his entire career with one organization. He is the highest scoring American born player in the NHL, and possibly the greatest American skater ever.
By Bryan Vickroy
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The Chicago Blackhawks salary cap mess claimed another big name player Monday. This time it’s the starting goalie on their Cup winning team. The Hawks front office decided to pass on awarding Niemi his arbitration award; and will let him walk.
Instead they signed former Dallas Star Marty Turco.
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Art Berglund, Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Dr. V. George Nagobads and Former Chicago Blackhawks legend Jeremy Roenick comrpise the United States Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010, as announced today by USA Hockey. The five-member class will be enshrined into the Hall on October 21 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
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As much fun as June was for Blackhawks fans, July was pretty painful. We all knew the Blackhawks summer Yard Sale was coming for the past 18 months or so, but we had no idea it would hurt this much. Likewise, we knew their window for winning the Stanley Cup was short and rapidly closing, but we didn’t have a clue that the window was this narrow.
Which brings us to the link of the day It’s by Andrew Tomlinson of “On Frozen Blog,” and it’s entitled “Chicago: a Case Study in Poor Management.” My intention is to highlight his most salient points and convey that I agree wholeheartedly. Also, there are a few points I disagree on; so I’ll debate those.
All in all, Tomlinson is telling us something about this hockey off-season that has gone wildly under-reported in the mainstream hockey media (if you consider hockey reporting mainstream that is), so I must give him kudos on that.
By Paul M. Banks
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“We don’t like you very much here.” That’s what a Vancouver, British Columbia local said to me when I told him where I was from.
My visit occurred the same exact day my beloved Chicago Blackhawks finished off the San Jose Sharks to reach their first Stanley Cup Final since 1961. And the wounds of a Stanley Cup Playoff series loss, just one round earlier were still fresh within these Vancouverites. Remember when Bufy the Luongo Slayer and the rest of his Hawks teammates sent the Vancouver Canucks home in 6 games? That was cool.
My response: “You guys got the Gold, we’ll get the Cup.” And a couple weeks later, we sure did. Of course, if you happen to be reading this and your name is Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews or Duncan Keith, you obtained both.
But beyond all that smack talk, what I loved most about the city of Vancouver, host to the 2010 Winter Olympics, is a trait also present in my neighborhood back home in Chicago.
By Paul M. Banks
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I sincerely hope, as the Bob Probert death stories start to pile in, no one gives his death the ESPN Chris Henry treatment. I really don’t need to hear that Probie was “turning his life around” during his final days. PLEASE, just don’t do that. As of right now, we know very little about the details of his death- they are sketchy at best. So we don’t need journalists making unclear assumptions to fit a possibly fictional narrative.
We may not know much about his death, but we do know a whole lot about his life. He often broke the rules both on the ice, and away from it. Probert spent seven of his 16 National Hockey League seasons as a member of the Blackhawks, registering 125 points (49G,76A) and 1210 penalty minutes in 461 regular-season tilts from 1995 to 2002. He posted five points (2G,3A) and 64 penalty minutes in 18 postseason contests with Chicago.
By Paul M. Banks
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We all knew this salary cap bomb would go off sometime. The fuse was lit with the qualifying offers mailing snafu last summer. And it’s really a good thing the Chicago Blackhawks did win the Stanley Cup last month because we knew their window would close soon, as they would have to begin a veteran fire sale in the very near future. That sale continued today as the Hawks let Adam Burish, BY FAR the most interesting guy on the team to talk to, go and sign with the Dallas Stars today. And when I say by far I mean BY MILES AND MILES.
The former Wisconsin Badger’s candor has made him easily one of the top 5 most written about athletes here at The Sports Bank, so it’ll be really sad to see him go. I’m not sure we’ll be writing about him too much anymore.
By Paul M. Banks
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Like the great American poets Jermaine Dupri and Christopher Brian Bridges once said, “Welcome to Atlanta.”
The phrase applies to yet another Chicago Blackhawks player from last year’s Stanley Cup winning team: Andrew Ladd. He becomes the fourth Blackhawk dealt away in the post Stanley Cup fire sale. Chicago has now dealt away three more players in the six days GM Stan Bowman said all the wheeling and dealing was done. Yes, they’ve kept their stars in tact, but a lot of the color and personality of the team is now gone. And much of it is reuniting in Hotlanta. Maybe we can crown the Atlanta Thrashers the 2010-11 Stanley Cup Champions (And if I get an idiot commenters, I’m warning you that was a joke)
By Paul M. Banks
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The Blackhawks are once again, on the clock…..
The Chicago Blackhawks have selected Ludvig Rensfeldt from Brynas (SWE) in the second round (35th overall) of the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday.
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The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired the 35th and 58th overall selections in the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft from the New York Islanders in exchange for the 30th overall selection in the 2010 Draft.
With the addition of the 35th and 58th picks, the Blackhawks now have 11 total selections remaining in the 2010 NHL Draft, including five in the second round (35, 43, 54, 58 and 60). Chicago selected forward Kevin Hayes from Noble & Greenough School (MA) with their first selection (24th overall) on Friday.
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Good day sports fans! On Wednesday night, the NHL gathered all its greatest goal getters, stingiest shot stoppers, and dynamic defenseman in Las Vegas for the annual awards show. Although the action on the stage wasn’t that great (Jay Mohr doing his same three impressions over and over again does not make entertaining television), the real stars of the show were the players and their achievements of the past season.
Some awards I agree with, others I feel the voters, were wrong. So to get a true sense of the highlights of the past year, I’ve decided to properly hand out the awards, all by myself. Do I think that highly of myself? Perhaps, but I feel that you, the fan, deserve to know the truth. And I will have no problem shouting it out. Please save your applause for the end, when all our recipients have been announced. Thank you, merci.
By: Bryan Vickroy
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Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! The third and final 2010 Mock NHL Entry Draft is here for your consumption. As the hockey minds, the movers and shakers, and future stars converge on downtown LA (6:00p CT, Versus) tonight and tomorrow for an exercise in selection (unless the teenie boppers riot over the Twilight premiere), I have done the leg work for you and figured out who will be going where, pick by pick. Already this week we’ve had a couple first round picks change hands, and the way it looks, the moves will not stop before, during, or after the draft.
Many of the picks remain the same, but with resources scarce, and different teams with different needs now, some teams missed out on who they hoped for last go round. Let’s put the Oilers on the clock and get on with this Hollywood production. Tick….tock…. tick….tick….
By: Bryan Vickroy
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We’re back at it again, this time with a full look at the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which goes down Friday and Saturday, June 25-26) from Los Angeles. This is the year of the defenseman, but nothing will overshadow the saga of who will go #1: Tyler or Taylor? Action will be hot and heavy, so expect trades and chaos. Edmonton has the task of choosing between the two wunderkids, so without futher ado, the Oilers are on the clock, and as my idol Jack Bauer would say, “We’re running out of time!”
Before we get to the first pick, here’s a little background information to help make the whole concept of the entry draft a bit clearer. The Draft is seven rounds long. All players eligible must be 18 by September 15, and not older than 20 on December 15, except for non North American skaters. A player who has been drafted can re-enter the draft if he hasn’t signed with the team who owns his rights within two years. NCAA players may be drafted and keep their eligibility, as long as they do not play for a professional team, or hire an agent. NCAA player rights are kept until 30 days after the player leaves college.
By: Bryan Vickroy
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[More …]
The 2009-2010 campaign is officially over. The Cup has been claimed (Chicago in 6, thank you very much!), the players are now on vacation, and its time for management to earn their keep. Coming next on the NHL horizon is the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, June 25 and 26 from the hotbed of hockey, Los Angeles.
This draft is pretty much considered a two horse race: Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. They have been the consensus best two players of this class, and have done nothing to prove otherwise throughout the regular season, playoffs, and junior competitions. After the two big guns, this draft is very, very deep on defenseman. Look for a lot of blueliners to go early and often. Mock, yeah! Draft, yeah! Yeah? Yeah!
Here’s a look behind the curtain of the 14 lottery teams who missed the playoffs.
Let’s start the clock on the first pick!
By: Bryan Vickroy
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Nuggets, tidbits, facts and figures relating to the Chicago Blackhawks cup run. Prior to winning last last night, the Hawks had lost each of their past five Final series, in 1962 (to Toronto), 1965, 1971 and 1973 (to Montreal) and 1992 (to Pittsburgh).
Stanley Cup Wins Since NHL’s Founding in 1917-18
23 – Montreal Canadiens *
13 – Toronto Maple Leafs *
11 – Detroit Red Wings
5 – Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers
4 – Chicago Blackhawks (1934, 1938, 1961, 2010), New York Islanders, New York Rangers
3 – Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils
2 – Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers
1 – Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning
* Canadiens and Maple Leafs each won one Stanley Cup prior to the formation of the NHL in 1917
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This is for the hockey geeks tonight watching game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers. Here are the numbers, records, trends and just overall factoids you’ll want to pay attention to.
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Much has been made of the Chicago Blackhawks‘ top line struggles during these 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. At least up until game 5, when the Hawks’ young stars and big names broke through to help give Chicago it’s most dominating game of the postseason.
But what about the Philadelphia Flyers? Captain Mike Richards, regular season MVP Chris Pronger, and key offensive weapon Jeff Carter were all big shooters all season long. And two of them have had big stretches this postseason. But what’s up with them now?
By Paul M. Banks
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So there’s been some obvious trends in this 2010 Stanley Cup Finals- the home team seems to do really well, and every game has been close. In game 5 Sunday night between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers, the first trend held true, but the second truly did not. The #2 seeded Blackhawks (who had the third most points in the NHL this season) were heavy favorites over the #7 seeded Flyers (who finished 18th out of the 30 NHL teams in points) when this series began.
During the first four games, we didn’t see why Vegas liked Chicago so much better. Tonight we did.
By Paul M. Banks
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The 2010 Stanley Cup featuring the Chicago Blackhawks vs. the Philadelphia Flyers is the hottest ticket in Chicago since the ’05 White Sox World Series. I probably should’ve applied for media credentials for it, all they can do is say no, right? But I was able to score a ticket for game 2 through friends of friends for a price that wasn’t too exorbitant. Well, it was still scalper marked up, but it wasn’t ridonkulously expensive.
Coincidentally, my seat was a section over from the overflow media section they created in the 300 level for the game.
By Paul M. Banks
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Established in 2005 by former US President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative, is responsible for improving the quality of life in over 170 countries around the world. Clinton, along with his advisor Doug Band, have reached out to heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize winners, global CEOs, major philanthropists, and foundation heads to help improve the state of modern globalization and international cooperation for humanity.
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