Final Thoughts on 2010-2011

No, this isn't going to be a Jerry Springer rip off, although that would be hilarious. Anyway, with the puck having been dropped for the final time, and the Cup awarded I think now is a good time to comment on the Cup Final series as well as look back at the season in general.

The Stanley Cup Finals certainly lived up to their own already impressive reputation. Not since 2007-2008 has a President's Trophy winner competed in the Stanley Cup Finals. It also saw two Vezina finalists; Tim Thomas, the eventual Conn Smythe winner; and Roberto Luongo, the scapegoat of the millenium, go head-to-head. Also center stage were the Sedin twins, perhaps the first brothers to win Hart Trophies, and possibly doing it consecutively. With the previous rounds providing seemingly endless amounts of water cooler moments, the finals proved to be no different.

This series saw two teams with radically different approaches to the game. The Canucks are a much more effective puck moving team, and early results showed that as crisp passing would pull Thomas out of position on more than one occasion, giving Vancouver easy goals. Unfortunately for the Canucks, they ran into a much more physical team in the Boston Bruins. Boston presented something the Canucks didn't really face in the playoffs until the Cup finals. Boston used their bodies effectively and won the war of attrition against the Canucks and as series wore on it paid dividends, ultimately leading them to their first Cup win since 1972. Injuries to key defensemen as well as undisclosed injuries to members of their foward core rendered Vancouver's offense all but useless.
The unofficial battle for the Vezina was a sight to behold in games 1 and 2. It took until the final 19 seconds of game 1 to see a winner and OT in game 2 to see Vancouver come away with a 2-0 series lead. Unfortunately, Boston's TD Garden was anything but kind to Luongo. Losing 8-0 and 4-0 in games 3 and 4 to bring Boston even. Whether or not the hit to the head of Nathan Horton was the official catalyst or not for Boston's surge remains to be seen, but it certainly looked like it turned something on for the Bruins and they ran with it. Games 5 and 6 once again saw the home teams winning, with Luongo picking up his 2nd shutout of the series in game 5, forcing the decisive game 7 on Wednesday night.
It seems that Nathan Horton's delivery of water from the TD Garden ice surface proved to be the good luck charm the Bruins needed as they scored in the first period and never looked back. Despite Luongo giving up four goals, you cannot place all the blame on his shoulders. At the end of the day your best players need to be your best players, and for Vancouver they were anything but the best. In a series that should've shown the best of the best that hockey can offer, it showed us that diving and whining about officiating was more important than bearing down and trying to outwork the competition for the Canucks. From where I was watching, there seemed to be a sense of entitlement surrounding the Vancouver team that I simply cannot explain. The better team on paper, got outworked by a group of guys who simply wanted it more. Desire will always win when talent doesn't want to perform.
Regardless of the awful display by certain people set on willful destruction and mayhem following the end of game 7, the Stanley Cup playoffs were excellent all around. Boston's greatest moment will be the lifting of the cup, but they cannot forgot the remarkable comeback season of Tim Thomas, setting the modern day record in save percentage and basically having the best season anyone can remember for a goalie in quite some time. Let us not forget the Nashville Predators advancing to the second round in their history, mark with exclamation points on Pekka Rinne's regular season and playoffs, as well as Joel Ward being a beast in the playoffs. Although I'm fairly certain most people in Nashville will want to forget Bobby Ryan's incredible goal in their first round series. We can also look at Tampa Bay's climb back towards the top of their division and Conference Finals appearance (their first playoff appearance since 06-07) with their impressive erasing of the 3-1 Pittsburgh series lead to eliminate them, then moving on to sweep the Washington Capitals. Despite what the front office, players and fans would regard as a disapointment, the Flyers James vanReimsdyk burst on the scene with one of the most single handedly dominating performances in recent memory in game 2 against Boston in the 2nd round.

Even the 2010-2011 regular season had some great moments. The second half pushes from the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils were truly remarkable. Both teams played some of the best hockey of the year when it mattered most. While early season stumbles proved too much to overcome, it was certainly entertaining to watch them make everyone take notice. I would be remiss to not mention the Maple Leafs who also put together a late season surge, led in no small part by the play of James Reimer, aka Optimus Reime. The Leafs already did the smart thing and locked him down to an extension and for the first time in a long time the future seems legitimately bright in Toronto.
Corey Perry in Anaheim was this year's only 50 goal scorer and was part of one of, if not the most, dangerous line in hockey with Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan. Martin St. Louis put together his best season since 06-07 playing with Steven Stamkos, proving to be one of the most dynamic duos in the league today. While talking about Philadelphia goaltending is both repetitive and usually depressing, the performance of Sergei Bobrovsky certainly deserves mention. Undrafted out of Russia, he won the starting job in training camp, when most predicted he would be in the AHL. With the usual rookie ups and downs he turned in a solid rookie season and only looks to get better.

And now it is time to say goodbye to the 2010-2011 NHL season. We all had our good times and bad. Playoff beards have been shaven by all but the grizzliest of men, and we turn our eyes to the draft next week and July 1 for the start of Free Agency. I would also like to thank those of you who have actually taken the time to read this over the season. For being not even a year old, and far from a "professional" blog, it's nice to know that there are some of you out there who read this and (hopefully) enjoy it. The season is over, but the mediocre coverage you've come to know and...tolerate will continue this off season. I'm sure there will be plenty to talk about, so keep reading.

"Elite" Goaltending

Can you win without it? This has been the debate for awhile now and with two high paid, Vezina battling it out for the Stanley Cup, I figured it's high time to put this to the test. We will be going back to the lockout looking at goaltending match ups and seeing who is an "elite" goaltender (in terms of talent and price) and who isn't. Both winners and losers, so let's get right to it.

note: most numbers will come from hockeyzoneplus.com a nifty little site for crunch numbers, past and present. Capgeek.com provides the rest.

2005/2006 Edmonton Oilers vs Carolina Hurricanes

Dwayne Roloson:
salary during cup run - $1,672,000
salary post cup run (average) - 3.25 million (currently 2million)

Roloson has built a reputation on being a competitor and all but unbeatable in elimination games. His first elimination game loss in his career was this year in game 7 of Eastern Conference finals to Boston. A late bloomer, and a fierce competitor, Roloson comes relatively cheap for an expirienced and reliable goaltender.

Cam Ward:
salary during cup run - $684,000
salary post cup run (average) 1.91 million (currently 3 million with a cap hit of 6.3 million through 2016)

Ward was what everyone wants, a young cheap goaltender with top level talent, who rode a hot streak at just the right time. 05-06 was his rookie season and his stats were average at best. 14-8-2 with a 3.68 GAA and a save percentage of .882. Yet, in the playoffs he went 15-8 with a GAA of 2.14 and a .920 save percentage en route to hoisting the Stanley Cup and winning the Conn Smythe trophy. His numbers have improved steadily in each year following his rookie campaign, despite not making it back to the Cup finals. Ward is the kind of goalie you want behind your team, as he will give them a chance to win game in and game out.

2006/2007
Anaheim Ducks vs Ottawa Senators

Ray Emery:
salary during cup run - $925,000
salary after cup run (average) - $1,410,000 (currently in a 500,00 one year deal)

Ray Emery has quite the story. He comes out of nowhere to help Ottawa get the closest they've ever been to win the Cup, and then quickly falls from grace with reckless off ice behavior and poor work ethic. After a year in KHL, he improved his work ethic and play, only to fall victim to a potentially career ending hip injury. He has since battled back and got a job with Anaheim, but will be a UFA at the end of the season. With his athletic style and competitive nature, one can only imagine what he could be commanding if he had more commiment a few years ago....and stayed healthy.

Jean-Sebatian Giguere
salary during cup run - $3,990,000
salary after cup run (average) - approx. 7million (currently in the last year of a 6million contract)

Giguere is one of the highest paid on this list, both before and after the cup win. A Conn Smythe winner in 02-03, and a Cup winner in 07, J.S. Giguere comes with a winning pedigree and, when healthy, a chance to win every game as well as a chance to steal a game or series. What has lead to Giguere being a question mark for a lot of teams has been his health. A UFA on July 1, the big payday will be hard to come by for the oft injured Giggy. For the right price he could still be a reliable 1B in a tandem or veteran backup for a team.

2007/2008 Detroit Redwings vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Dominick Hasek:
salary during cup run - $2,050,000
salary after cup run (average) - retired

Hasek is a rare case here, as he was a veteran with enough hardware; 6 Vezina trophies, 3 William H. Jennings, 2 Lester B. Pearson awards and a Hart Trophy. All that was missing was a Stanley Cup, which he narrowly lost in a controversial goal in 1999 scored by Dallas' Bret Hull. A Bargain at just over 2 million, Hasek made the most of his opportunity, and finally won the last piece missing from his already impressive collection, a Stanley Cup.

Marc-Andre Fleury
salary during cup run - $1,600,000
salary after cup run (average) - currently in a long term deal with a 5 million cap hit

Fleury, in just his 3rd season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, helped the team to within two wins of the Stanley Cup in 08. While the Penguins were beaten by the seasoned veterans of the Red Wings, they would turn the tables next season.

2008/20009 Detroit Redwings vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Chris Osgood:
salary during cup run - $1,700,000
salary after cup run (average) - $1,416,667 (UFA july 1)

Osgood has been a staple in the Redwings lineup for the better part of his career since 93-94 (barring a 3 year stint with the Islanders and St. Louis). At times the starter and backup others, Osgood has seemed to as much a part of the Redwings as the Winged Wheel. Nearing the end of his career, it seems he took a home town discount to be in Detroit for what one would assume would be the final years of his career. Once again the battle tested Redwings made the playoffs and looked to repeat as Cup champions, but this year the Penguins would turn the tables and win in a dramatic game 7.

Marc-Andre Fleury
salary during cup run - 3,500,000
salary after cup run (average) - currently in a long term deal with a 5 million cap hit

Marc-Andre Fleury would not be denied a second time, and with the clock winding down in game 7, the man they called Flower made an incredible diving save to deny the redwings a chance to tie and the Pittsburgh Penguins hoisted their 3rd Stanley Cup, and first since 1992. Fleury has cemented himself among the games best goaltenders in the game today with that save.

2009/2010 Chicago Blackhawks vs Philadelphia Flyers

Michael Leighton:
salary during cup run - $600,00
salary after cup run (average) - $1,500,000

Michael Leighton, and the story of the 09-10 Philadelphia Flyers goaltenders, will probably one of the most bizzare and talked about events of that season, at least among Flyers fans. Michael Leighton was claimed off waivers as an emergency back up when Ray Emery was injured, as was seemingly every other goaltender in the Flyers organization at the time. A career backup/AHL netminder, Leighton captured lightning in a bottle and took the starting job not once, but twicew from Brian Boucher and led the Flyers within two wins of the Stanley Cup, the closest they've been since winning it all in 74-75. However remarkable the run was, including 3 shutouts in the conference finals against the Montreal Canadiens, the reasons he has spent a lot of time in the minors became apparent on the bad angle Cup Winning goal by Patrick Kane.

Antti Niemi:
salary during cup run - $826,857
salary after cup run (average) - $2,000,000 (in a long term deal with 3.8 million cap hit)

Coming into the playoffs, the biggest question mark for the Blackhawks was the play of their goaltenders. Niemi, a 26 year old rookie, and Cristobal Huet were seen as the weakest links for Chicago, when arguable goaltending needs to be the strongest. Niemi managed to silence all but the harshest of critics. He wasn't spectacular, but he managed to close the door when it mattered most, and helped Chicago win their first cup since 1961. Niemi was eventually allowed to walk after an arbitration hearing where the cap strapped Blackhawks could not afford to re-sign him. He ended up in San Jose and took them to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the Vancouver Canucks.

2010/2011 Boston Bruins vs Vancouver Canucks

Tim Thomas:
salary during cup run - $6,000,000
salary after cup run (average) - $6,000,000 (5 million cap hit)

Tim Thomas has had a bounce back year where he looks to be all but assured his 2nd Vezina Trophy. Despite some games against Montreal and Tampa Bay in the playoffs, Thomas has continued his excellent performances from the regular season. He has kept the Bruins in close games, and has managed to stifle the competition in others. Whether or not he will hold the Stanley Cup above his head remains to be seen, but with play like his, it's not hard to imagine it already.

Roberto Luongo:
salary during cup run - $10,000,000 (5.3 million cap hit)
salary after cup run (average) - long term deal with 5.3 million cap hit

Luongo will forever be labeled as a choker, until he wins the Stanley Cup, and he is the closest he has ever been. Having passed to two tough mental challenges to get here, the Chicago Blackhawks who have twice defeated the Canucks in the 2nd round, and making it out of the 2nd round, Luongo finally looks ready to silence the critics. Until games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup finals where he has allowed 12 goals on 58 shots. I don't need to do the math to know those are terrible numbers. Luongo will have to shake the cobwebs off and be much more solid in game 5, or else he will find himself again on the bench watching the younger and cheaper Cory Schneider try to win it all for the Canucks.


So now the question is, do you need "elite" goaltending to win the Cup? After last season, the common answer is no, but looking at all the winners (and in some cases the losers) of the Stanley Cup, the answer seems to be yes. Are there bargain goalies who can get hot and help you win, or at least get you close? Absolutely, and the Flyers are proof positive of that last year, as are the Blackhawks. However, both teams tried it again this year (Sergei Bobrovsky/Boucher/Leighton for the Flyers, Corey Crawford for the Blackhawks) and they both came up well short of a rematch. It is entirely possible for a young goalie to get hot and help you win, as proof by Cam Ward's run in 06, but at the end of the day you need someone who can stop the puck when it matters most. Judging by the track record of so-called bargain goalies, you get what you pay for...and that's close, but not close enough. The eventual winner of the Stanley Cup for the 2010-2011 season will have one of the highest paid goaltenders in the league, as well as possible Vezina winner. For two teams looking to end a drought or bring home the franchise's first, the price paid to hold that piece of silver up will be worth every penny.

8 down, 8 to go.

We’re halfway home. The Conference Finals start Saturday the 14^th and well, we’ve come this far, so let’s break down the match ups and pick some winners. Although last round predictions were terrible going one for four so let’s see if this will be better or worse.

Western Conference Finals
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs #2 San Jose Sharks

The age old battle of the choke off. Which team wants to lose marginally less is how most people are looking at this. Both teams blew 3-0 series leads this year, only to win their respective game 7’s in dramatic fashion. The Canucks gave up a one goal lead inside of the final two minutes of regulation against the Blackhawks in the first round to conjure up shades of the past two years where they were eliminated by Chicago in the conference semis. Somehow, Chicago managed to beat themselves in OT and Vancouver moved on to face Nashville who they defeated in six games.
The Sharks had their own little voyage of “they’re going to blow it…again” moments this year as well. After defeated the injury depleted Los Angeles Kings in six games, they faced Detroit, a team they faced in the second round last year as well, and handily beat in five games. San Jose are the poster boys for post season futility, as they consistently perform well in the regular season, but fail to win when it counts. They advanced to the Conference Finals last year, but were swept by eventual cup winners Chicago.

Breakdown: The Canucks have a lot of pressure on them, having won the President’s Trophy this season and advancing to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1994, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, losing to the New York Rangers in seven games. The Sharks have never been to the Cup finals, but are looking to shake their underachieving reputation once and for all with a trip of their own. San Jose has a bit of history on their side this year. He currently stands between the pipes and goes by the name Antti Niemi. He was in goal last year for the Chicago Blackhawks when they dispatched the Canucks, and I’m surely the Sharks are hoping he continues his winning ways against them.
While the Sedins have been relatively MIA this post season, the play of Ryan Kesler has been simply outstanding for Vancouver. 11 of his 15 postseason points came in the series against Nashville, and he appears to be finding his groove, which is something the Sharks can ill afford to let continue. Offensively both teams are rather well balanced in terms of depth, but you have to give the edge defensively, at least on paper, to Vancouver. So far Luongo has played well, outlasting Corey Crawford and Pekka Rinne but given Nashville’s lackluster offensive numbers, that wasn’t a huge task. The Sharks are a much more offensively gifted team than Nashville was, and he will need to play some of the best hockey of his career to advance the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 16 years.

Bottom Line: Sharks in 6. I believe that Antti Niemi will be the better goaltender in the series, but given the actual clutch play of “Jumbo” Joe Thorton, the Sharks are finally getting playoff production from their top players. If Vancouver cannot get that same kind of production from the Sedins, this series will be over pretty much before it began.


Eastern Conference Finals
#3 Boston Bruins vs #5 Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning waste no time. This is their first playoff appearance in four years and here they are now, four wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Bruins on the other hand haven’t been to the Conference Finals since 1992. Tampa Bay has had a remarkable run this post season. Coming from 3-1 down to eliminate the Crosby/Malkin-less Penguins, they then went on to sweep the top seeded Washington Capitals, where they managed to make them regress a few seasons in a matter of a few periods. The Tampa Bay Lightning also have one of the most dynamic playoff goaltenders in Dwayne Roloson. This guy is practically unbeatable in elimination games, and he carried the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup finals in 06, where if not for his injury in game one, many believe they would’ve won the Cup.
The Boston Bruins have no slouch between their pipes either. All but guaranteed a second Vezina trophy for his absolutely dominating performance this season, Tim Thomas has returned to the form he seemingly lost a year ago. The Bruins defeated their bitter rivals the Montreal Canadiens in a seven game classic series in the opening round before having their way with the Flyers in a four game sweep in the Conference semifinals. A balanced attack and solid team defense, along with Thomas stopping almost everything that comes his way makes the Bruins a tough out this post season.

Breakdown: Tampa Bay is getting scoring from the unlikeliest of places. Vinny Lecavalier. While that seems like a joke, Vinny hasn’t been his 50 goal self in a long time, and he is finding his touch this post season, as he is second on the team with 12 points, behind Martin St. Louis with 13. Other unlikely scorers are former Islander Sean Bergenheim. He has 8 points (7, 1) in 11 games. His career high regular season numbers are 29 points (14, 15) which he scored this year. It’s not impossible to think that he can match his regular season goal total in the playoffs this year. Steve Downie also continues to thrive down in Tampa as he is tied with Lecavalier for points in the playoffs. If Steven Stamkos can start to contribute regularly (4g, 2a, -2) this Tampa Bay Lightning team will become even scarier.
The Bruins finally got some scoring from Milan Lucic in the second round where most of, if not all, of his points came in the series against the Flyers. He and Nathan Horton have found some chemistry and they are a dangerous pair coming down the wing. The biggest concern for Boston is the loss of leading playoff scorer Patrice Bergeron, who was concussed on a questionable hit from Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux. Taking his place in the lineup will be 19 year old rookie Tyler Seguin. Seguin doesn’t bring the complete game Bergeron has, but he has speed, an excellent skill set and youthful energy. It’s unlikely he will produce the kind of points that Bergeron did, but he can give the Lightning one more thing to think about. David Krejci and Nathan Horton will be looked on to contribute more in the points department, but after watching Krejci in the Philly series, that shouldn’t be a problem. Look to Tim Thomas once again to stop the vast majority of pucks thrown his way. He will be there to bail the Bruins out should any type of defensive lapse or breakdown occurs.

Bottom Line: This will be a great goaltending match up to watch. Tim Thomas is a Vezina winner and Rollie the ageless goalie is simply an unbelievable playoff performer. Two potential Conn Smythe winners will be battling it out in the Eastern Conference for a right to play for the Cup. At the end of the day, I think that Tampa Bay has more “elite” talent (as much as I hate to use that reasoning) and Roloson’s will to win, will put Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup finals once again. Lightning in 7.