Stanley
The Chicago Blackhawks are just 60 minutes away from drinking out of Lord Stanley, and it will be present at tonight's game at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Should the Blackhawks win, it will be their first championship in 49 years.
"It has been flashing in my head since Game 1 of the playoffs," said Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. "Every time you win one game, it feels like you're going all the way to the Cup. I've always said when you lose a game it feels like your season is going to be over. It just has been such a crazy ride."
Yesterday was a big day in Leafs Nation. Â And I think I speak for all fans when I say it's about time. Â While two teams are currently battling for the opportunity to lift Lord Stanley's Cup, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been forced to sit on the sidelines and watch, bide their time with the other half of the league who wasn't fortunate enough to make into the NHL's playoffs.
And while they have kept themselves busy, and Brian Burke has shown a penchant for rarely letting his team slip into the background, a lot of hype has been leading toward this time of year.
Even without a first-or second-round draft pick, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still making plenty of waves, and it appears Burke is fit to make an impression at the draft, whether he is selecting or not.
Which, although he would never admit it, would be the perfect way to steal the spotlight back from the doom and gloom position of Boston using the Leafs pick to select a potential franchise cornerstone.
Tomas Kaberle, long been rumoured to be on his way out of Toronto, may be inching closer and closer with each passing day. Â As the calendar flipped to June yesterday, and now with the entry draft and free agency now firmly in sight on the horizon, it appears Kaberle's time with the Toronto Maple Leafs is now being measured in days. [more…]
You’ve read about the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, you’ve read about the Leafs’ current predicament, and you’ve read about Howard Berger getting “pwned†by Ron Wilson. Let’s take a gander into the Leafs’ crystal ball and see what awaits the club next season, shall we?
*The following is an opinion piece regarding the players who, I think, are on their way out of Toronto by March 4th (not the off-season)*
The Leafs are in the midst of, yet again, a mediocre season. Unlike previous years, however, the Leafs have refrained from the up-and-down, "I BeLeaf in 8th place" facade that was commonly grouped with the Leafs during the past few years. Rather, the Leafs have been posting L's on the calendar regularly this season, "rewarding" their fans with disappointing efforts.
I feel that the NHL has paradoxically lost a lot of it's appeal to the casual hockey observer by ushering in a salary cap and establishing the presence of relative parity. The prospect of competitive balance within the sport of hockey was long viewed as the ideal scenario, assuring the opportunity to succeed in any given season for even the least moneyed franchises and as a direct result providing these franchises with the means to draw new fans out of their tepid markets. It all sounded good on paper. But the league has lost a valuable dynamic that in my estimation plays a large part in the success of other major sports leagues and associations within North America.
Delving deeper into the hockey world, interacting with players, coaches and organizational personnel, I’ve learned a big lesson.
We’re dealing with people.
Guess what; fans are people, too.
