NHL Trade Deadline Approaches
There you are, just minding your own business, getting ready to lace 'em up against the Vancouver Canucks, and your cell phone rings. The next thing you know you're on your way to another country.
This is how Anaheim Ducks' winger Joffrey Lupul's Wednesday unfolded. When he got off the phone with Ducks' GM Bob Murray, he discovered he was on his way to Toronto, exchanged for journeyman defender Francois Beauchemin.
Lupul's trade is largely seen as the first of many over the next couple of weeks as teams in the playoff hunt attempt to strengthen their lineups. Teams have until 3:00 P.M. ET on February 28th to pull the trigger on any trade.
If you've been following the NHL on satellite or cable TV, then you've probably thought the same as me: Where are all the trades? It's been quiet until now. However, league insiders suggest there are as many as 20 deals in the works right now, and some include some pretty big names. Expect to see teams like the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, and Washington Capitals to pull the trigger before the trade deadline.
Stay tuned. I'll follow all the big trades between now and the end of the month, and will bring you the biggest news as it unfolds!
Bruins Have Campbell's Back Against Stars
Dallas Stars' Steve Ott took a very cheap shot at then-Florida Panther Gregory Campbell back in March of 2009. Fast-forward to last night and now-Boston Bruin Gregory Campbell and several of his new teammates took exacted serious retribution against Ott and the rest of the Stars.
In a game that will go down in history, the first 120 minutes of the game exploded into some sort of Gordy Howe hat trick on steroids. Three fights, two goals, and goaltender who looked like a deer in the headlights was benched for being a sieve. This was possibly the most exciting start to a game I've ever seen on satellite television.
At the 0:01 mark of the game, Campbell dropped gloves and went toe-to-toe with Ott. Call it a draw. At the 0:02 mark, Shawn Thornton and Krys Barch did the dance. At what felt like an eternity between fights, Adam McQuaid and Brian Sutherby duked it out at the 0:04 mark. After this WBC start, Bruins' Milan Lucic scored just 35-seconds in. At the 2-minut mark, the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron dumped one past keeper Andrew Raycroft, prompting head coach Marc Crawford to bench him for the night. The Bruins bested the Stars, 6-3, chipping in a total of 48 penalty minutes.
It's great to know that wherever you play, when you need your team to have your back, they will. It's the foundation of hockey around the world, and in the National Hockey League we all are treated to examples of it every night of the season.
It's Always Fan Appreciation Night In The Minor Leagues
So, I went to a minor league hockey game and a pie-eating contest broke out.
I know, generally people go to hockey games and a fight breaks out, particularly in the minor leagues where younger skaters are all about proving their mettle. The National Hockey League is still a fantasy for many of these players, and yet any one of them could get called up to play for their NHL team at any given moment. Can you even imagine being on satellite TV and playing in a game in the national hockey league and still be in your teens?
One of the great things about minor-league hockey teams is how much effort is put into marketing their product. It's non-stop 'Fan Appreciation Night', but they mean it and it's honest. Fans are the lifeblood of every minor league team, no matter which sport. Without fans, there's no show. Draw the blind, pull the shades, and the last one out gets the lights.
So, I took my seat early last night. I like to watch the teams skate during warm-ups. In no time at all, two of my team's marketing girls made their way to me. I was greeted with two winning smiles and a heartfelt plea to "please be in the pie-eating contest during the first intermission". How could I say no? Guys like me help keep our team where they belong: right here.
I drew the coconut cream pie, which was a bit of a blow. If I'd only had first choice I would've chosen the chocolate cream. It was chosen first. The poor guy who drew the banana cream didn't even have a horse in the race. So, I took 2nd place and graciously accepted my gift, which turned out to be a certificate for a free meal and a free pie at a popular national restaurant.
Ya know, it didn't cost the hockey team anything worth mentioning, but it was a generous gift all the same. It's a free meal and a pie, which costs about what my ticket cost, so I look at it as though I paid for the meal and pie and got a free hockey game out of the deal. That's probably how they'd like me to see it.
NHL All-Star Game Descends On Raleigh This Weekend
It's quickly approaching NHL Fan Appreciation Weekend, otherwise known as the NHL All-Star Game.
The NHL has made sure that this year's All-Star Game has a unique aspect, namely a draft. No, it's not being played outdoors. I mean the kind of draft where the two captains choose players like a pick-up game on a February pond, except that it's broadcast tonight on satellite television.
The trick for Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom, captains of "Team Staal" and "Team Lidstrom" respectively, is to balance that very delicate decision between best friend and best player. Since defenses seldom show up at any all-star game, the premium will be on drafting the best forwards available at the time. Seriously, how cool is this going to be? No nationalities, no conferences, just 48 players waiting to be selected, one after the other, until the last player is selected. Awesome!
I don’t know about you, but I can't wait for tonight's festivities. My DVR is already set to catch the draft, the skills completion, and the 2011 NHL All-Star Game this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina. Don't miss a single minute. You'll regret it if you do!
Happy Birthday Wayne Gretzky
The Great One turns the big 5-0 today, so wishing him a happy birthday seems quite fitting.
Some of my greatest hockey memories on satellite TV have involved Wayne Gretzky the scoring champion of the NHL like no other scorers before or since. So cool is Gretzky, the NHL retired his famous number 99 the moment they were informed of his retirement.
Retiring the jersey numbers of players who are both special and extraordinary is one of the most genuine ways an organization can truly honor the memories of the players who help make them unparalleled champions. It reaches a completely new plain of existence when an entire sports league retires a player's jersey number.
We're talking a very short list here, by the way. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's #42. Robinson broke the MLB color barrier in 1947. Wayne Gretzky retired in 1999, was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1999, and had his #99 retired by all National Hockey League teams in 1999. There's your complete list of players who've had their jersey number retired by an entire league.
Gretzky is still the only player in NHL history to score 200 points in a single season, and still holds the first-year player scoring title at 137 points. So, happy birthday, Wayne Gretzky. May you live until you're at least 99!
