Hockey

Central Division

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1. Chicago Blackhawks
They were the best from start to finish last year. Looks that way again.
2. St. Louis Blues
A solid team that has to contend with Chicago for the top spot.
3. Minnesota Wild
The big acquisitions get a full season to show what they can do.
4. Dallas Stars
A big offseason trade changes their outlook for the better.
5. Winnipeg Jets
A loyal fan base would like to see a playoff appearance.
6. Nashville Predators
Their chances of forgetting about last year have worsened being in a tougher division.
7. Colorado Avalanche
With a new coach the Avalanche will need to make some progress.

Blackhawks
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
Key Position: Defensemen – There really isn’t a weak point on this team.  They have stayed intact at many key positions.  The only thing to hold them back from staying in contention is injuries.  If either Brent Seabrook or Duncan Keith go down for an extended period of time it will hurt their chances of repeating.
Key Acquisitions: G Nikolai Khabibulin, D Theo Peckham
Key to Win the Cup: Follow the same formula
Blues
Head Coach: Ken Hitchcock
Key Position: Forward – They were a solid team last year, but they were in the middle of the pack in goals scored per game.  They hope the addition of Derek Roy will help solve that problem as the Blues top line was counted on too much to score goals.  Letting the oft-injured Andy McDonald go helps as they relied too much on him to provide a scoring punch the last few years.
Key Acquisitions: LW Magnus Paajarvi, C Derek Roy, C Maxim Lapierre
Key to Win the Cup: Keep everyone happy

Wild
Head Coach: Mike Yeo
Key Position: Goalie – They were a solid team, but the big offseason acquisitions from a year ago were overshadowed by the inconsistent play in net.  Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding are better than their numbers indicate.  A full season should give the Wild better results. 
Key Acquisitions: D Keith Ballard, LW Matt Cooke, D Jonathon Blum
Key to Win the Cup: Better goaltending


Stars
Head Coach: Lindy Ruff
Key Position: Forward – It will be interesting to see how the influx of talent meshes together, but one thing is for sure that the Stars are going to build this team around newly acquired Tyler Seguin. There are still some holes on defense, but the Stars will surprise some people.
Key Acquisitions: C Tyler Seguin, C Shawn Horcoff, C Rich Peverley, D Sergei Gonchar, G Dan Ellis
Key to Win the Cup: Continue to build for the future
Jets
Head Coach: Claude Noel
Key Position: Power Play – They were ranked dead last in scoring with a man advantage last year and that should change with the addition of Devin Setoguchi who is a good player on the power play.
Key Acquisitions: RW Devin Setoguchi, RW Michael Frolik
Key to Win the Cup: Improve the power play

Predators
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Key Position: Defensemen – They seem to be struggling here with the loss of Ryan Suter last year to free agency.  They were next to last in penalty kill percentage and goalie Pekka Rinne was forced to shoulder the brunt of the defense’s struggles.
Key Acquisitions: RW Viktor Stalberg, C Matt Cullen
Key to Win the Cup: No easy goals
Avalanche
Head Coach: Patrick Roy
Key Position: Forward – They have an immense array of talent on their first two lines that it would shock most if the Avalanche are not higher than 15th in goals scored per game.  Their defense and goaltending are still behind in development so they might have to wait a year for it all to mesh for a playoff run.
Key Acquisitions: LW Alex Tanguay, D Cory Sarich
Key to Win the Cup: Score with the best of them

Pacific Division

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1. Los Angeles Kings
They’re still one of the deepest teams in the NHL.
2. Anaheim Ducks
One more year of Teemu means another run at the Cup.
3. Vancouver Canucks
New coach, new attitude. Need the old Luongo.
4. San Jose Sharks
Probably the last run for the current group of stars.
5. Edmonton Oilers
It’s time to see how this group plays with expectations.
6. Phoenix Coyotes
A stable ownership group will put the focus on hockey.
7. Calgary Flames
Clearly a rebuilding year, but they have some bright spots.

Kings
Head Coach: Darryl Sutter
Key Position: Forward – Losing Dustin Penner takes away some size on the top two lines, but there is enough depth to help offset that.  It just means bigger roles for the likes of Kyle Clifford, Dwight King, Trevor Lewis and Jordan Nolan.  Whoever out of that bunch can take charge will help this team contend.
Key Acquisitions: RW Matt Frattin, LW Daniel Carcillo, D Jeff Schultz, G Ben Scrivens
Key to Win the Cup: Stay Healthy
Ducks
Head Coach: Bruce Boudreau 
Key Position: Defensemen – There is enough young talent to help offset the trade of Bobby Ryan, but the Ducks will need to improve their defense after a disappointing early end to their season last year in the first round.  Too many turnovers at inopportune times lead to easy goals for the opposition.
Key Acquisitions: RW Dustin Penner, RW Jakob Silfverberg, D Mark Fistric
Key to Win the Cup: No first round exit
Canucks
Head Coach: John Tortorella
Key Position: Goalie – The last time the Vancouver Canucks were a powerhouse in the NHL, their goaltender Roberto Luongo was without a doubt the best in the game.  If Vancouver wants to get back to the Cup Final they will need him at his best and new head coach John Tortorella knows it.
Key Acquisitions: F Brad Richardson, D Yannick Weber
Key to Win the Cup: They need the old Roberto Luongo back
Sharks
Head Coach: Todd McLellan
Key Position: Forward – They were ranked near the bottom half in goals scored per game last year, but their power play was near the top half of the league.  That can’t happen again this year if the Sharks want to make one last push with this current group for a Stanley Cup berth. 
Key Acquisitions: C Tyler Kennedy
Key to Win the Cup: Don’t listen to the hype
Oilers
Head Coach: Dallas Eakins
Key Position: Defensemen – Edmonton can score with the best teams in the NHL.  Their biggest problem isn’t necessarily their goalie position, but rather their shots against per game.  Next to last in the league last year.  Adding Andrew Ference will help, but the up and comers in this group need to do better.
Key Acquisitions: D Andrew Ference, G Jason LaBarbera, LW David Perron
Key to Win the Cup: Exceed all expectations
Coyotes
Head Coach: Dave Tippett
Key Position: Power Play – Besides not scoring enough goals on even strength, they struggled to score when they had the advantage.  They also struggled to stop opponents from taking advantage with a man advantage.  With added stability knowing the franchise is definitely going to stay in Arizona the Coyotes focus should be strictly on the ice.
Key Acquisitions: C Mike Ribeiro, G Thomas Greiss
Key to Win the Cup: Score more goals
Flames
Head Coach: Bob Hartley
Key Position: Goalie – With the retirement of long time net-minder Miikka Kiprusoff the Flames now have a huge hole.  They were very good on special teams last scoring goals on the power play and preventing goals from being scored on the penalty kill. However, their goals per game average of 3.27 was third worst and with the loss of Kiprusoff it won’t get any better.
Key Acquisitions: LW T.J. Galiardi, D Kris Russell, G Karri Ramo, C Sean Monahan
Key to Win the Cup: Worry about it next year

Stanley Cup Prediction

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+ – Division Winner
Eastern Conference
1. Pittsburgh Penguins+
2. Boston Bruins+
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. New York Rangers
5. Detroit Red Wings
6. Washington Capitals
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
8. New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
1. Chicago Blackhawks+
2. Los Angeles Kings+
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. St. Louis Blues
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. San Jose Sharks
7. Minnesota Wild
8. Edmonton Oilers
Conference Finals
Canadiens over Bruins
Blackhawks over Blues
Stanley Cup Finals
Blackhawks over Canadiens

Is this the End?

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“My only friend, the end”
Do you remember the 2004-05 NHL season?  I certainly do because there wasn’t a season.  
The NHL set itself back 10 years with that players strike.  League owners caved into pressure and gave the players a huge chunk of the money pie.  Now the owners are looking to take some, if not all of it back.

What to do, what to do?  A hard question indeed for both sides. Well, I have the answer for both the owners and the players.

GET A DEAL DONE!

The NFL last year almost lost an entire season over money issues. I said then that they should split their $9 billion dollar pot in half and be done with it.  They eventually came to an agreement, but it wasn’t solved that easily.

I am saying the same thing to the NHL owners and players.  Split the pot down the middle, 50-50.

I know that it’s an easy way to solve a complex issue, but I’m a man of common sense.  Do you honestly think that you guys will make it out unscathed if there’s a lockout this season?

Instead of setting yourselves back 10 years.  You’re looking at 20-30 if you let this happen again.  And I’m not just talking about missing an entire season.  If you miss any regular season games, just one.  You will have lost another generation of fans.

Be forewarned.  Just because Donald Fehr (pictured above at the microphone) is the best man to lead the NHL players association doesn’t mean he’s going to do what’s right for the sport.

He was an integral part in nearly destroying baseball.  His tactics lead to the strike of 1994 and his stance against testing players for steroids for many years after nearly killed America’s past time. Players and the owners contributed to the fall of baseball as well, but Fehr was front and center with commissioner Bud Selig.

Do you want the same to happen to the NHL?  I’m sure commissioner Gary Bettman is as cold and calculating as Donald Fehr.  That’s what worries me about this situation.  I truly love this game.  It’s a unique and fast paced game that doesn’t deserve this.

After all they have accomplished, they’re willing to throw it away yet again.  Don’t make the same mistakes that others have already made.  You will regret it in the end.

2012 Stanley Cup Champions

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The unthinkable has happened for a team that has been around for 44 years.  The Los Angeles Kings have won a Stanley Cup title. Not since 1993 has the ‘City of Angels’ been this close to winning the greatest trophy in all of sports.  That year they were expected to win.  They acquired ‘The Great One’ Wayne Gretzky just 4 years earlier from the Edmonton Oilers.  
Their luck ran out that year as they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games.  This year was quite different.  The Kings were expected to be contenders, but it was a rough start to the season.  Their offense was stagnant.  It looked as if their Vezina candidate Jonathan Quick would run out of steam towards the end of the season.  Yet, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi made two bold moves that would change their fortune.
Terry Murray, who was the Kings previous head coach the last 3 seasons was let go after a 13-12-4 start to the year.  His replacement John Stevens was named on an interim basis and was 2-2-0.  Lombardi hired Darryl Sutter who has been around the NHL for many years.  He led Chicago, San Jose and Calgary to the playoffs in 10 out of the 12 seasons he’s coached.  One of those years was a Stanley Cup appearance with Calgary in 2004.  
However, the last time he coached was in 2006.  Would he be the right guy to jump start the Kings into contenders?  Lombardi wasn’t done making moves.  He then traded away one of the teams best defensemen in Jack Johnson to the Columbus Blue Jackets before the trade deadline for Jeff Carter.  In the offseason the Kings acquired Carter’s former teammate from Philadelphia in Mike Richards.  Carter was subsequently dealt to Columbus.  
The move was shrewd at the time, but it made a lot of sense. Carter and Richards immediately made each other better and Dustin Penner began to awaken towards the beginning of the playoffs as well.  That trio was perhaps their best line of the entire playoffs.  They combined for 39 points, including 15 goals.  
Sutter knew which buttons to push and it resulted in the Kings finishing the season with a 25-13-11 record in the 49 games Sutter was behind the bench.  They defeated the No. 1 seeded Vancouver Canucks, who were also the defending Western Conference champions.  Next they swept the No. 2 seeded St. Louis Blues. And had no problems defeating their division rivals, the Phoenix Coyotes in 5 games.  
The New Jersey Devils weren’t an easy foe in the Stanley Cup Finals.  The Kings nearly swept them, but New Jersey caught fire thanks to Martin Brodeur’s stellar play in net for Games 4 and 5. New Jersey’s hill though was too far to climb as they fell in Game 6 on Los Angeles’ home ice.  The Kings fans had never experienced a Stanley Cup victory before and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings and their fans.  You could see the makings of a championship team many years ago. The moves made in the last 3-4 years by Dean Lombardi though are a sign that the Kings should remain contenders for many more years to come.