My name is Michael Ford and my blog is about the National Hockey League and major topics surrounding the sport of Hockey.
Growing up a die hard hockey player and fan I am accustomed to all aspects of the sport. Hockey has grown to be my passion and day in and day out I am in tune with Hockey's news. This is what I want to share with you in my blogs. The everyday grit and glory of one of the best games out there ... The Good Old Hockey Game.
I am going to be hanging up the skates for a while, but remember to stay tuned with the 2012 Entry Draft tomorrow and find out what happens to big name players such as Rick Nash, Roberto Luongo, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, etc. It is a great time to be a hockey fan.
My skates are dull, I think it is about time we go get our skates sharpened.
Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings franchise for winning its first ever Stanley Cup. The Kings tremendous 16-4 playoff run provided the first ever 8th seed to win the hardest championship in sports.
The Kings captured this accomplishment on Monday night by beating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 at the Staples Center. Steve Bernier's 5 minute boarding penalty provided the advantage for the Kings to score the opening three goals and grab ahold of the home crowds emotions right from the get go. Coincidently, in a season where the NHL tried to crack down on major checking penalties, Bernier's boarding major played a major factor in the outcome of the game. After taking the feared three goal lead, the Kings never looked back on route to celebration.
Throughout the playoffs three players stood out in my mind. Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick. Dustin Brown's ability to be the hardest worker on the ice, while scoring big goals at the right time separated him from everyone else. Also, Anze Kopitar's physical dominance was evident in every series and was always a threat when put on the ice. Lastly, Jonathan Quick's unhumanlike performance earned him the Conn Smythe trophy. In addition, Quick posted a 1.11 goals against average in the final and his goalie statistics throughout the playoffs have rivaled the best ever.
Beyond the Kings players, GM Dean Lombardi and his staff did an amazing job in risk taking and putting the pieces together on this star studded team. Blockbuster deals for Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and finding the assets to sign Drew Doughty have all paid off and allowed the next question to be asked. Can the Los Angeles Kings repeat its Stanley Cup victory next season?
In my opinion, yes it is possible the Kings become back to back winners of the Stanley Cup. On the whole, the Kings squad is an average age of 26 and are built to last. Brown, Richards, Kopitar, Carter and the entire defence core are signed for at least two more seasons. The biggest issue is negotiating a long term contract with Jonathan Quick. Therefore, if all pieces fall into place, the Kings are capable of becoming a dynasty.
Thanks again for another Daily Skate. It is now the start of the off season, train hard and enjoy.
The Legendary Nicklas Lidstrom has retired after 20 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. The 42-year-old Swede set an NHL record by playing 1,564 games with a
single team. He had put retirement on hold in each of the previous two seasons by signing one-year contracts worth 6 million dollars. This came as a shock to a lot of hockey fans because many still believe Lidstrom has got what it takes to compete at the highest level of hockey, even though he is a seasoned veteran. In one of Lidstrom's less productive years he still posted 34 points and a plus-21 rating that ranked among the leaders of NHL defencemen.
Throughout the duartion of his career, Lidstrom scored 1,142 points, hoisted 4 Stanley Cups, won 7 Norris trophies and won the Gold Medal on the world stage with Sweden. He has truly been one of the best in his era and is arguably one of the best defencemen to have ever played the game.
There is no doubt that one day we will see no.5 lifted to the rafters in Joe Louis arena.
From a hockey perspective, the spot left void by Lidstrom calls for some big skates to fill. Already, just days after his announced retirement, the Nashville Predators' Ryan Suter has been on the rumour watch for defencemen the Detroit Red Wings are after. Also, with enough cap space the New Jersey Devils Zack Parise is also mentioned to be another candidate for the red and white. As one door closes another one opens and for the Detroit Red Wings to stay a tough NHL team to play against, management will have to look at all the options that are opened up due to Lidstrom's departure.
The question I leave this chalk talk with are what do you think the Red Wings will do on the off season?
Also, thank you, Nicklas Lidstrom for blessing us with 20 years of outstanding hockey, a round of applause to a real beauty of the game.
It appears that the Dominator (Dominik Hasek) has got the itch to strap on the pads in the NHL once again. It has been almost 13 years since Hasek announced his first retirement only to return to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 where he hoisted Lord Stanley at seasons end. After the cup win, Hasek yet again retired only to return in fine form in the 2007-2008 season in the red and white to save his way to another Stanley Cup. Following another retirement, Hasek has been unable to stay out of competitve hockey playing for HC Pardubice in the Czech Republic and his latest stint on Spartak Moscow of the KHL in 2010-2011.
From various reports, including Denik Sport, Hasek and his agent have been in negotiations with the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Posing the question, do you think Dominik Hasek will make a return to the National Hockey League? Also, Can Dominik Hasek live up to his nickname the Dominator at 47 years of age?
There is no doubt that Dominik Hasek's career has been worthy of a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The two-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time winner of the Hart Trophy, and six-time Vezina winner are some of the accomplishments sitting in Hasek's trophy case. He posted a 27-10-3 record with five shutouts, a 2.14 goals-against
average and .902 save percentage in his last NHL season with Detroit and in 735 career NHL games Hasek has 389 wins, a 2.20 goals against and a .922 career save percentage.
With this in mind reports have also mentioned that Hasek has been training hard everyday for his potential return. Hasek it seems is doing whatever it takes to be able to compete in the NHL as a dominant goaltender again. His heart and ambition is endless and unorthodox style of play provides some entertainment in the crease for whatever team that signs him.
Why not see his return to the NHL, everybody likes a comeback story.
After last nights controversial overtime Dustin Penner put the puck in the back of the net and the LA Kings are on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. After the game was over it was not hard to think back to the 1993 finals, when Wayne Gretzky was not called on an "imfamous" high stick to Doug Gilmour's jaw and clenched a spot in the final battle for the Stanley Cup. Dustin Brown's hit on Rozival was no doubt a controversial one. So here is my first question to all hockey fans: Was Dustin Brown's knee on knee collision deserving of a penalty or maybe even a suspension?
Furtermore, the Los Angeles Kings playoff performance has been nothing but unbelievable. Beating out the No. 1 and No. 2 seed, while posting an undefeated record on the road is something special. All year long the Kings have done whatever it takes to put a winning team on the ice. My second question is where does the LA Kings success lay? Is it from the revamping of their team through trades (Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter), the evident fact that they have 13 Canadian born players giving everything they have to hoist Lord Stanley, or the fact that this team has finally peaked at the right point of the year? Beyond this, do you think the Los Angeles Kings have what it takes to be the 2012 Stanley Cup Champions?
Throw on the stripes and comment on Dustin Brown's hit or let your inner General Manager comment on LA's winning formula.
Thanks for lacing up your skates for the First Annual Daily Skate.
