Brad Richards Signed With the Blackhawks a Week Ago and I'm Finally Ready to Write About It

Yea this is super late but I wasn't in any mood to write about this all week. Seeing Brad go was rough but seeing him sine with another team was even worse. But that's hockey right? The good news (bad news for the league) is that Broadway Brad has landed in Chicago, where all they were missing was some veteran leadership and a top 6 center. And wouldn't ya know it, Brad can bring both. I'm not saying the Blackhawks will win the Cup next year, but that's exactly what i'm saying. Take it to the bank. He's a perfect fit for that team. Way less responsibility on him to be "the guy" with Toews and Kane and Sharp that on a Rangers team that couldn't find a goal with map. He also won't be relied upon as heavily for his leadership, since they have probably the best captain in the league in Toews. A reduced role is exactly what Brad needs at this stage in his career. He is still plenty good. A very respectable 2nd line center who will score points and probably be featured on the power play. But he will also be able to play at his own pace without having to be Superman the way fans in New York expected him to be. All in all I'm glad he ended up with a team I will still follow and don't mind rooting for as long as they aren't playing the Rangers. All Chicago needs now is his ring size.

If You Still Respect Jarome Iginla, You're Crazy

Jarome Iginla knows he’s running out of time to win the Stanley Cup. It was what motivated Iginla to push the Calgary Flames to trade him to Pittsburgh and when that didn’t work out, it led to him signing a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins for the 2013-14 campaign.

So while the fact that the Colorado Avalanche were offering the 37-year-old forward a three-year deal was obviously a factor, Iginla also chose them because he feels he can finally fulfill his desire to lift the Cup with his new teammates. (via ProHockeyTalk)

 I feel like this needs to be addressed. Jarome Iginla is everything that is wrong with sports today. This bullshit trend of hoping from team to team because you want to win a championship before you end your career has to be the single worst thing in the history of sports. Lebron dumped Cleveland for a super team in Miami. Now everyone's watching Carmelo as he basically goes around the country like he's shopping for a used car trying to pick out the best wagon to tie himself to and hope he ends up with a ring. How is this where we're at right now? Like that's not even sports. It's no longer competition. It's like having the best kids at recess pick their own teams and dominate everyone in kickball. It's stupid, and everyone's just okay with it because it let's everyone know ahead of time who to root for so that no one has to route for a losing team. It's the softest thing in the world. But for the most part it has been left out of hockey.
Listen before this whole debacle, Iggy is probably top 5 most respected active players in the league today. He stuck it out with the flames for countless horrible seasons, only ever coming close a handful of times. He basically has a spot in the hall of fame for sure and he will always be regarded as one of the best of our time. But you know what? None of that matters to me anymore. Basically renting himself to the Penguins before the playoffs was a sad attempt, topped only by then taking his talents to Boston the next year because they obviously always have a good shot. And now he figures he'll try his hand in the west with the hot new-look Avs with all that young talent? Just pathetic dude.
Honestly, i'd be okay with all the team changing if this was just a dude who wanted to keep playing the game as he got on in years. Look at Jagr. Dude's still going. After his prime in Pitt, Jags has been jumping from team to team for the last 10+ years. Aside from the Bruins in 2013, he didn't play for any team that anyone though had much of a shot. I'm talking Caps, Rangers, Flyers, Stars, and Devils. And you know what? He made every single one of those teams better than they should have been. I can respect that every day of the week. That's a guy with a competitive spirit who just wants to play a little more hockey. Everyone always says that Iginla has everything else, and now he just wants a cup. Well that's great for Jarome. I want to win a Stanley Cup too. But I can't just sign a contract with the Blackhawks and get a ring. It doesn't work that way.
I love sports. I love watching sports. It's always great to see a guy who has been waiting forever to win get what he deserves. But at this point I don't think Jarome Iginla would be one of those guys anymore. So good luck. I hope you get your trophy. Just don't be surprised if doesn't feel the way you thought it would.

You'll Never Guess What Claude Giroux Got Arrested For Last Night.

Although few details were immediately available, a source said Giroux was arrested for repeatedly grabbing the buttocks of a male police officer. Alcohol is believed to have been involved.
The incident occurred at a bar in the Byward Market the source said.
Ottawa Police have refused any comment on the incident. Police said they cannot comment unless charges are laid, but several sources did confirm to the Sun Giroux spent the night in jail.

Sources say he is expected to be released without any criminal charges. (via The Sun)

Another instant Claude Giroux off season classic! How do you outdo hurting yourself playing golf? Easy. You go out and try to molest male police officers in Ottawa. Perfect move. Has anyone ever gone from being nominated for the Hart trophy, to being on a sex offender registry so quickly in the history of the NHL? Probably not right? I'd have to look it up, but I doubt it.

But you know what, I feel for poor Claude. Obviously he's had a rough couple of months. First he gets knocked out of the playoffs first round, then the Flyers get rid of Scott Hartnell, who he had been romantically involved with for some time. Just heart breaking stuff. Who could fault a guy for going out and trying to pick up some rebound action? I'm certainly not going too. We've all been there. After all, no one wants to spend Canada Day alone.


PS: Is this what Canada Day is all about aboot? I always thought it was like the Fourth here. I pictured a bunch of Canadians celebrating syrup and ham and stuff. I had no idea it was some weird, rape-y holiday with like dude-on-dude butt touching and stuff. Totally turned off from Canada Day now.

NHL Awards, Who Ya Got?

UPDATE: I guess I officially need to warn everyone who didn't see the awards that this contains SPOILERS since I correctly predicted fucking four out of the five major awards. If anyone needs me i'll be waiting by my mailbox for NBC to send me a contract.

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So obviously there's no NHL hockey til preseason starts in September, but the NHL Awards provide avid fans like myself an opportunity to watch 2 hours of hockey players that speak little to no English making speeches that are way out of their league (lookin at you Geno). The ceremony is kind of unnecessary and rediculous when you think about it. But if i'm being honest, it's a nice little wrap up to the season. Especially since it ended the way it did. With that in mind, let's try and predict some of these things, eh?

Calder Trophy, Top Rookie 
Finalists: Tyler Johnson (TBL), Nathan MacKinnon (COL), Ondrej Palat (TBL)
Winner: Nathan Mackinnon

Are you kidding me? Obviously it's MacKinnon. If you didn't already know i'm sorry that you're stupid. Sorry Tampa, the highlight of your season will still be getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round.

Norris Trophy, Best Defenseman
Finalists: Zdeno Chara (BOS), Duncan Keith (CHI), Shae Weber (NSH)
Winnder: Duncan Keith

Tough one here because Drew Doughty isn't nominated. He was a force in the playoffs so it's a shame he won't be considered. Gotta give it to Keith because he was stellar all season both offensively and as a shut down d-man. Weber will never win because he plays for a small market team and not enough people see him play day in and day out to realize that he's actually pretty solid, but i guess he is getting recognized because he's nominated. Not even gonna talk about Chara here because I think he is the most overrated defenseman in the league. Probably a liability 95% of the time if he didn't have the benefit of a stick twice the length of anyone in the league.

Vezina Trophy, Best Goaltender
Finalists: Ben Bishop (TBL), Tuukka Rask (BOS), Semyon Varlamov (CBJ)
Winner: Tuukka Rask

This is another one that's kinda tricky. We just spent the last few weeks watching Henrik Lundqvist and Johnathan Quick battle their way to the Stanley Cup Final, where they went head to head in 3 of the most intense OT and Double OT games in recent memory. Clearly two of the best in the league. Neither is up for this award. Fair is fair, the award is for the regular season. Those guys are just fresher in our minds, that's all. But I think Rask takes it. He has been so important to Boston's success in the years after Tim Thomas. With that said, I could just as easily see it going to Valamov. So what if the guy kidnapped or beat his wife or girlfriend? Dude stood on his head all year and was even more important to Columbus making the playoffs than Rask was for Boston.

Hart Memorial Trophy, League MVP
Finalists: Claude Giroux, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf
Winner: Claude Giroux

Hate to say it but it has to be. Giroux is probably the only person in the world who actually believed the Flyers could make the playoffs after the start they had. Even though they went out early, you can't deny how impressive their turnaround was, and there's only one guy Philly fans have to thank. Crosby and Getzlaf are probably both better players, but that's just not what were talking about here. We're talking about value to your team. As valuable as Sid and Getzlaf are, they are surrounded by superstar caliber teammates. That's not the case in Philly. Claude takes the Hart.

Ted Lindsay Aaward, Most Outstanding Player (as voted  by players)
Finalists: Claude Giroux, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf
Winner: Sidney Crosby

This is the big one for sure. Obviously the Hart is huge. But any award voted on by your peers has to be the most important to any player. It goes to Sid because he is the most impressive player to watch, day in and day out, to anyone with a knowledge of the game. The things he does on the ice are almost incomprehensible. These are three of the most talented players in the league today. Getzlaf and Giroux can do things with the puck that I would give my left pinky to be able to do. But Sid is Sid and he will win because hockey players appreciate hockey. And there's no one better at hockey than Sid.


Those are just the bullet points. I'm also really looking forward to seeing if either of the Ranger nominees (St. Louis for the Lady Byng, and Dominic Moor for the Masterton) go home with hardware. Certainly wouldn't be a stretch for either one of those guys. With everything that has gone on in their personal lives recently, you'd have to be dead inside to not be rooting for them.


BONUS: NHL15 COVER VOTE
Finalists: Patrice Bergeron (BOS), P.K. Subban (MTL)
Winner: Patrice Bergeron

As if that playoff series weren't enough, we get a little more Boston v. Montreal action to see who will grace the cover of the new EA Sports NHL video game. Stakes literally could not be higher for either team considering they were both knocked out of the playoffs shy of the Stanley Cup Final. Gotta believe the Boston fans want it more though. You know what they say, revenge is best served on the cover of a video game. Either way I think EA Sports puts Bergy on the cover just because of the sales they'd lose in Boston if they put a black guy on the cover.

Farewell, Brad Richards

I don't want to say a whole lot about this because there isn't really much of an argument to be made. What I will say, is that it was the contract that was bad for the team. Not the player. Brad Richards came through when he had to over and over again during his time with the Rangers. With the exception of the 2 playoff series (2013 East Semis vs Boston, 2014 SCF vs Kings), Broadway Brad was exactly what the Rangers knew they were getting when they brought him in as a blockbuster free agent. The team is losing a leader in the room, and what should have been their next captain. So let's say goodbye. Brad Richards' top 3 Rangers moments are as follows...

Honorable Mention: 

Pretty meaningless game, but a game winner with less than a second left is always worth taking a look at.

#3) 2012 Winter Classic Game Winner vs. Flyers

Nothing super special here. Just a big goal at a big time in a big game. Overshadowed by Hank's HUGE penalty shot stop on Briere, and for good reason. But a big goal nonetheless.

#2) 2014 Game 7 Game Winner vs. Penguins



Game 7 winner on the power play to complete the Rangers' improbable comeback from 3-1 down against Sid and the Pens. Instant classic. He had a great series against the Pitt (with the exception of the middle 3 games where everyone played like shit), so it was fitting he put it away with a huge power play goal.

#1) Game 5 tying goal "WITH 6.6 TO GO!"



What a huge goal. That whole series was nuts and Brad was a huge part of every game, including the set up on Marian Gaborik's triple OT winner in Washington. This goal was by far the biggest goal he scored as a Ranger and was an example of the kind of big game player Brad Richards is, was, and will continue to be in the league.

So that's it. Goodbye Brad. Thanks for 3 solid years. You'll always have at least 1 fan in New York.



PS: The Broadway Hat was Brad's idea.

No Points for Almost, Rangers Headed to L.A. for Game 5

Yep. The Los Angeles Kings were this close to hoisting the Stanley Cup last night at MSG.

Twice...
To say that Game 4 was uncomfortably close would be an understatement. The Kings brought their A game but the Blueshirts were still able to steal one thanks to the unreal play of Henrik Lundqvist in yet another elimination game (11-2 in those since 2012), and some very friendly bounces around the net (see above).

But I don't want to let 2 close calls at the goal line overshadow the fact that the Rangers actually played a pretty solid must-win game at home in the Stanley Cup Final. They came out flying, scoring an early goal that might as well have been on the power play (2 seconds after), and hitting everything with a pulse. They showed the Kings that they were not gonna go down easy. Especially not at home.

Let's not forget that the man in charge deserves a HUGE assist on this win. AV did everything right in this situation. He had this team ready to play mentally, and he made the decisions on the ice that may have been the reason the boys are boarding a plane for Los Angeles today. Dan Carcillo was eligible to play last night after his 6 game suspension for assaulting an official, but Vigneault decided to stay with Dorsett, who has been playing the best hockey I've seen him play since he's been in New York. No brainer. More risky was the decision to start Brad Richards on the 4th line. Obviously you never know how a demotion will effect a player. Especially a superstar like Richards. But what I saw was a more motivated Brad Richards who seemed to understand the situation and accept the decision for the betterment of the team. Another great call by the first year coach who has this team playing at 150% of its potential right now.

Obviously the Rangers still have some work to do here if they want to have any chance at hoisting the cup in LA 6 days from now, but it had to start somewhere. For the optimists out there, you can look to the fact that the Kings played possibly their best hockey last night, and the team from New York managed to hang on, despite not being as sharp late as we've seen them. That's the way they have to look at things going forward. Take some confidence out of this game, but that's all. Friday night is another battle. This time in LA, where the home crowd will know what's in the building.




PS: It's all about Hank.

via NHL

Do or Die Time, Here We Go

Well the New York Rangers have really stepped in some shit this time... I'll be honest, like most people, I didn't really give this team a chance in this series. Obviously anything's possible in the playoffs and you never know how momentum will swing. And after the first 2 games you'd be an idiot to think the series couldn't have easily been 2-0 the other way. But let's not kid ourselves here. The Rangers played 1 starting goalie through 3 playoff series to get to the cup, and that was Marc Andre Fleury, who happens to be notorious for his horrendous play in the post season, while LA was busy sending home the 3 best teams in the NHL. I'm not trying to say that what this team did was not impressive, because if you told me in October, when Tomas Hertl was going thin mints between his legs on Marty Biron in a 9-2 disaster, that the New York Rangers would play for the Stanley Cup, I would have laughed in your face. But let's be real here.

Now this thing isn't over until the horn sounds at the end of the Kings' 4th win, but anyone with a brain knows it would take a miracle at this point. Maybe they'll find that miracle like they did against Pittsburgh and maybe they won't. Either way, even if the Rangers lose game 4 tonight, in front of their fans, in their building, you have to be happy with this season as a whole. A new coach came in and brought a new system with him, and he took this team further than anyone thought they could go. It's just a damn shame that game 3 went the way it did. Because this series was far closer than anyone will remember in years to come. Sure this might go down as the first sweep in 16 years. Or Kings in 5 after the rangers manage to save one at home. But at the end of the day, the New York Rangers battled the Los Angeles Kings as hard as they could for 2 games in their building, and if not for a couple bounces, this could be a very different series.

Whatever happens tonight will happen, and if they can manage to dig deep and make something out of this mess, that'd be great. But the outcome of game 4 has no effect on what the New York Rangers accomplished this year.

Two Videos to Get You Jacked for Game 3

New York Rangers 'Don't Give Up'

'This City Deserves A Miracle' NYR Stanley Cup Final

WOW. I don't care who you are, if these videos don't make your pants move a little you might be a dead person. As if I wasn't already counting the minutes til puck drop.With literally nothing else of importance on in the world of sports tonight, I highly recommend that, hockey fan or not, you watch at least some of this game. First cup final game in the Garden since the night they won it all in '94. That's 20 years. You won't find a better atmosphere in sports than tonight at MSG, so if you've never watched a minute of ice hockey in your life before, these are 60(+?) you won't want to miss. There's room on the wagon for everyone. It's not too late.

Rangers Face Must-Win Early in SCF, What Else is New?

Well we all knew this one was coming. Down 0-2 to probably the best team in the NHL in the Stanley Cup Final. They’re done. No chance, right? Wrong. In fact, anyone who has ever followed this team might call this comfortable, familiar even. In 21 years and 9 months of my life, nothing has surprised me less than the fact that the New York Rangers, in their first SCF appearance in 20 years, have dug themselves an early hole. It’s just the way things have to be. Am I upset that they lost two on the road despite carrying the play (and the lead) for the majority of both games? You could say that. Am I bummed that a missed call (or two) may have cost them a very important win in game 2? Maybe a little. But am I worried? No. Because this is exactly where this team needs to be at this point in the season. It was never going to be any different. I half believe this has all been intentional. Taking the sub-par Flyers to 7, going down 3-1 to the Pens before rallying for one of the most emotional come-from-behind series wins of all time, taking a commanding 2 game lead against Montreal, only to watch the series come down to a virtually must-win game 6 at MSG that would ultimately be decided by 1 goal, scored by none other than hard-working, loveable, can’t-route-against-him Dominic Moore. The Rangers are writing a fairytale here! If you don’t think Brad Richards scores the Stanley Cup winning goal in 9 overtimes of game 7, then doesn’t get bought out, and lives happily ever after, you’re stupid. Bottom line, the New York hockey Rangers are in the Stanley Cup Final, and they are playing EVERYONE. The script has been written. At this point they’re just pulling the strings, making it look nice and dramatic for the DVD. So ask me again if I’m worried. Rangers in 7.