The Devils must be seen as a Cup contender with the hockey they've been playing as of late. That's Devils hockey, where the "D" stands for defense. Right now, take the top 8 from the East, and honestly tell me that New Jersey could not take them in 6 games or less. Buffalo-NJ is my current pick for the Eastern Finals, and I personally think they may be the Devils' only challengers. The defense is finally gelling, that Brodeur kid stops a puck every now and then and, as much as it pains me to say it, they are getting (ugh) timely offense from a depth-filled forward group.
The NHL Youngstars game has got to go. You know when Mike Emrick, Bill Clement and Eddie Olczyk of Versus can't foster any excitement over a game, it needs to be re-thought. You know when you have league officials in the locker room telling you to play harder, it has to be re-thought. A much more interesting angle would be an NHL version of the NBA's Freshman-Sophomore challenge. Of the 17 goals scored in the game, nine were scored by rookies rather than sophomores. I think Malkin, Kessel and Kopitar vs. guys like Parise and Jokinen and Getzlaf is much more interesting than East vs. West.
People have been looking for spots to peg Peter Forsberg, and why not throw Boston into the mix? Four points out of a playoff spot, with unrestricted free-agent Brad Stuart to deal, and you have Forsberg, Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron going down the middle. That is a playoff team, and one that could challenge for a round.
The NHL and Versus have agreed to continue their partnership through 2007-08, according to the Toronto Globe & Mail. There is apparently an extra year in the contract at either party's discretion. (NOTE: Late word is that the deal will be for longer than that. Comcast's Versus network will televise NHL games nationally through 2011!)
The Edmonton Oilers are dangerously close to becoming what has been a staple in the NFL: the runner-up from last year missing the playoffs. You see it in football quite often, but the Oilers just aren't getting what they need from their defense. Roloson coming back down to earth after a superhuman postseason last year, as well as the loss of Pronger for the undeveloped Ladislav Smid and the underachieving, enigmatic Joffrey Lupul have made for an inconsistent club that's dangerously on the verge of missing the chase for the Cup.
If you call the Stanley Cup Finals "the NHL Championship," you will not be taken seriously. The Parents Family Network has launched an unsuccessful campaign to protest to the FCC after NBC let Ray Whitney's live F-bomb after winning the Cup go unbleeped. Of course, they referred to the tilt as "The NHL Championship Game". We are not college football, or basketball. We have traditions and we call things by traditional names. Until our commissioner decides we need to be like everyone else and turn into the "NHL Finals", you need to call it the Stanley Cup Finals, random right-wing complaining network.
Stephen Colbert has given hockey more publicity than anything the NHL has done this year. Putting his support behind the OHL's Saginaw Spirit (they named their mascot Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle) this season, the late-night comedy host was appalled when Oshawa Generals fans threw teddy "bears" on the ice during an Oshawa victory over Saginaw. Colbert then made a bet with Oshawa's mayor that if Saginaw lost, he would have to wear a Generals' jersey on his show. If Saginaw won, Colbert's birthday would officially be "Stephen Colbert Day" in Oshawa. Saginaw won, and now he is trying to make it so that the Oshawa mayor's birthday is "Stephen Colbert Day". Why can't every day be Stephen Colbert day? If I'm the NHL, I pay him money to keep mentioning hockey in a positive light.
-SFM-
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