Leafs Rumor

There is word that the Toronto Maple Leafs will actively pursue the Columbus Blue Jackets first round pick (fourth overall) in the 2010 draft. It has been speculated that Toronto might make an offer with veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle as the centrepiece. As the 2010 draft comes closer, speculation that Kaberle could be dealt to improve the Leafs draft position has been widely discussed. After trading their first and second round picks in the 2010 draft to the Boston Bruins in the Phil Kessel trade, the Leafs will not select a player until number 62 is called in the third round.

If Leafs GM Brian Burke is able to grab a first round draft pick, it will be very beneficial to the growth of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, as this draft seems to be quite strong at the forward and defense positions. I think that these trades are possible, but not easy and not without paying a premium price. If the Leafs really want that fourth overall pick, or any first round pick for that matter, they better be ready to give up some quality assets in return.

The biggest stumbling block for this trade, could be that the Blue Jackets want to be assured that Kaberle would stay after his current contract expires at the end of the 2011 season. Here is a link to the Columbus Dispatch website and Aaron Portzline article, who commented on the rumor:

The Columbus Dispatch - Aaron Portzline
http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/05/boucher_kaberle_etc.shtml

Who Will Fly Higher?

The always highly anticipated Stanley Cup Playoff has finally begun, with both teams clearly focusing on offense in game one. Game one might have exhibited what most pundits believed about most teams leading into the series, in that goaltending is a weakness and offense is a strength for both. It is hard to believe that 11 goals were scored in one game this late in the playoffs, but it shows how the game has changed in the past few years. If anything, it makes for an entertaining game and would undoubtedly attract some new fans.

Game two of the series takes place in Chicago tonight, and it will be interesting to see how both teams react to game one. Leighton is reported to get the start in goal for the Flyers, while the Hawks will stick with Niemi in their net. Philadelphia Flyers head coach, Peter Laviolette made another change, reinserting tough guy, Daniel Carcillo at forward and making James van Reimsdyk a healthy scratch for game two.

I imagine both teams will approach this game differently with more emphasis on defense and toughness. This one will be close, but I do not think there will be nearly as much scoring as in agme one. I think the Flyers take game two by a score of 3-2.

Blackhawks Make Short Work of Sharks

I expected the Blackhawks to take this series, but I hardly thought if would have been meagerly handed to them by the Sharks. It's easy to see how good this Chicago Blackhawks team is, but sweeping the San Jose Sharks in the Conference Finals? Is this team really that good? Yes. But San Jose fizzled right out. Patrick Marleau played a good series, but he needed some help to take his team to the next level. Dan Boyle, Dany Heatley, and I hate to say it, but Joe Thornton should all be held accountable for how their team fared in the Conference Finals.

With Patrick Marleau becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer, and having been the teams most consistent leader, it will be a tough decision for the San Jose Sharks in whether or not they stick with Thornton and Heatley or Marleau and Heatley. In my opinion, there is no sense in bringing back all three. Also with the emergence of Joe Pavelski, there needs to be some sort of a shakeup with this team's first line over the summer.

Seeing as Dany Heatley just arrived in San Jose last year, he sticks around. In my mind, General Manager, Doug Wilson should put 'Big Joe' on the trade market this summer and see what comes up. This has nothing to do with my questioning Joe Thornton's will to win, it's just a matter of switching up something that clearly has not worked when it matters the most. Even with all his regular season accomplishments, none of it will matter if Thornton doesn't start to produce when it matters the most. A stumbling block to a Thornton trade is his $8 million salary in 2010/2011, but that is only for one more year. So there would be some teams interested. Whether or not Joe Thornton becomes trade bait, the Sharks need to do something.

Back to the Chicago Blackhawks, they have just got better throughout these playoffs. From Toews to Hjalmarsson this team seems complete. They are playing as a complete team and coach, Joe Quenneville seems to have everyone buying into his system, which is not really a surprise considering that the Hawks have played this way for most of the 2009/2010 season. If only they could get Hossa scoring. Whoever comes out of the East, they better be prepared for this Blackhawks club.

On another note, has Jonathan Toews already won the Conn Smythe? You tell me.

Conference Final Preview

Due to "high demand" I have decided to put my Conference Final predictions up. For your enjoyment...

As I discussed in my last post, the Eastern Conference has been competely turned upside down in the 2010 playoffs. After elimating two powerhouses in the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, the Montreal Canadiens now move onto a completely different foe in the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are arguably tougher, deeper, and are running at full speed after coming back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series 4-3 against the Boston Bruins.

Montreal has played very well in these playoffs and has a lot of confidence heading into round three as well, but they also have not faced a defense quite like the Philadelphia Flyers either. Chris Pronger is still doing what he does best in shutting down the opposing teams top scorers and punishing anyone who tries to take liberties with his goaltender or teamates. In addition, he also provides a booming shot and great passing abilities which helps create offense.

Along with solid defense, the Flyers have been getting the maximum from its forwards. Mike Richards and Scott Hartnell have been brilliant in these playoffs, providing the perfect balance of grit, leadership, and offense. Between getting Simon Gagne back from injury, the rejuvinated Danny Briere playing some great hockey, and the emergence of Claude Giroux, Ville Leino, and James van Reimsdyk the forward lines seem to have hit their stride. This is all despite the fact that the Flyers are playing without one of their top scoring forwards in Jeff Carter.

As I said last week, I have to say that the Philadelphia Flyers win this series. They are simply playing too strong and the Habs will not be able to contain their depth on forward. It will be interesting to see how the Canadiens react to the embarassment that occured in game one.

Onto the Western Conference where things turned out a little more predictable with the first and second seeds meeting in the Conference Final. This matchup is fitting coming out of the west, as both teams battled back and forth all season for first place in the Western Conference.

One thing that I really like about this series is that both teams have a lot to prove. Has San Jose finally risen up from past playoff failures? Can they finally do what has been expected for years and win a Stanley Cup Championship? Or, will the young talented Blackhawks prove that they are finally ready to win a Stanley Cup Championship?

In the case of San Jose, anything less than a Stanley Cup win will prove to be a failure. On the other hand, this extremely talented Blackhawks squad is hoping to show the rest of the NHL that they will be the best team in the NHL for years to come.

I think this series is going to be hardfought and close the whole way. Both teams want this win bad. My instinct is that Chicago wins this series, but not without a good fight from the San Jose Sharks.

So there it is everyone. I say that we get a Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final matchup.

Philadelphia Completes Unbelievable Comeback

Down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins in the semi-finals, many, including me, thought that that Philadelphia Flyers were over and done. However, veteran forward, Simon Gagne comes back from injury to play in game four and all of a sudden the Flyers show a pulse. It was nothing short of amazing how this team seemed to pull together after having lost its number one goalie to injury, and also dealing with other key losses at the same time.

In game four and on, the Philadelphia Flyers seemed to do everything right. The coaching was there, the offence and defense were there, and the veterans and younger players came together for one common goal: beat the Boston Bruins. Despite a blip in game seven that saw the Flyers down 3-0 early in the first, the Flyers beat Boston at every aspect of the game. They were tougher, faster, and just wanted it more.

The fact that the Eastern Conference Finals will have the seventh and eighth seeds compete is something that I doubt anyone predicted, even Flyers and Hab fans. Considering how these two teams are playing, however, it should make for a very interesting and exciting series. The matchup of Chris Pronger on the smaller Habs forwards will be an interesting one to follow as well.

My take in this series has to be the Flyers.

Playoff Update: Habs Force Game Seven, Red Wings Out

Things have certainly stepped it up a notch in round two of the 2010 playoffs, with lower seeded teams fighting back in the east, and a perrenial playoff loser from the west shaking off a few critics.

The Montreal Canadiens fought off elimination against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, forcing a deciding game seven tomorrow. Both the strong play of Jaroslav Halak and team defense was what led to a Capitals elimination, but do the Habs have what it takes to no defeat the defending Stanley Cup Champions? Well, yes of course they do, any team that can beat the President's Trophy winner in round one, and then force the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in round two can surely win one more game to make it to the Conference Final.

The only thing that stands against the Canadiens is the playoff experience of the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, that experience can only go so far in the playoffs. Despite the fact that game seven will be at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Montreal has the momentum in this series. It will be interesting to see how both teams react to game six. This should be an amazing game to watch. CBC will be covering game seven on Wednesday night at 7:00pm EST.

After going down 3-0 to Boston in the best-of-seven series, the Philadelphia Flyers have shown some life despite being riddled by injuries. Last night the Flyers convincingly shut out the Boston Bruins by a score of 4-0, and will now go back to the Wachovia Centre in Philadelphia for game six. In what started out to be a sleeper of a series, things have certainly picked up with the Flyers having won two in a row. For the sake of good hockey, this series has finally turned into an exciting matchup.

The San Jose Sharks hope they have shaken off some demons after taking out the veteran Detroit Red Wings in five games. The San Jose Sharks lack of post-season success has been highly documented over the years, and after a sluggish start to this years playoffs against the Avalanche, many were already speculating on how to blow up the roster. In the meantime, the Sharks will get some much needed rest as they await the results of the Chicago/Vancouver series, in which Chicago holds a 3-2 advantage.

Speaking of Chicago and Vancouver, game six goes back to Vancouver tonight, where the Canucks will try to even up the series and force a game seven. Momentum has gone back and forth in this series, so its really anybody's game in my opinion. However, Chicago still has the upper hand having won three games to two. Vancouver will also be without solid defensman, Sami Salo, who was injured in game five. This game will have a raucous atmosphere, where Vancouver fans will be tough on the Blackhawks and energize GM Place in a bid to help their home team win. Do not miss this game. You can watch it tonight on CBC at 9:30pm EST.

Playoff Update: Red Wings and Flyers Force Game 5

It's been an interesting, although entertaining, second round thus far, which had two teams on the brink of being swept in four games. The battle tested Detroit Red Wings were on the verge of being hastily eliminated by the San Jose Sharks, but refused to be swept, taking the Sharks down by a score of 7-1 in game four. Johan Franzen (also appropriately known as, "the Mule") was the hero, scoring four goals and six points for the Red Wings. Rookie goaltender, Jimmy Howard, also showed he can play in high pressure situations, allowing only one goal in the game.

The series will now shift back to the Shark Tank in San Jose for game five. You can catch that game tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:00pm EST on TSN. It should prove to be a tough, hard fought, high-flying game. It will be interesting to see how the San Jose Sharks react to Thursday's blowout loss. If there is any team in the NHL capable of coming back from a 3-0 series deficit, it would have to be the Detroit Red Wings.

Another team on the ropes showed some life tonight. The Philadelphia Flyers, also down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins, fought off elimination to force a game five back at the Boston Gardens. This game needed overtime, after Mark Recchi scored the tying goal late in the third period. The battle tested veteran continues to be a story of these playoffs, with six goals and nine points in ten games.

Recchi's heroics would not be enough however, as Simon Gagne (just back from injury) scored the overtime winner for the Flyers. The series will now go back to the Boston Gardens for game five on Monday. You can watch that game on TSN at 7:00pm EST.