Hockey

The AHL playoffs are over and your Grand Rapids Griffins have won the Calder Cup after defeating the favorite Syracuse Crunch 5-2 at the War Memorial Arena in New York on Tuesday. The Griffins jumped out to a 3-0 series lead with two wins in Syracuse and one in Grand Rapids before being taken to game six by back-to-back Crunch victories at the Van Andel Arena. After giving up the first goal of the game, the Griffins scored two unanswered goals to take the lead. Syracuse tied it in the third, but Brennan Evans gave the Griffins a lead they wouldn't relinquish before Tomas Tatar and Joakim Andersson added empty-netters. On their way to the Final, the Griffins defeated the Houston Aeros, the Toronto Marlies, and the Oklahoma City Barons. Each of those series went the maximum number of games. On the other side, Syracuse flew through the first three rounds only losing one game to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. Tomas Tatar was named the AHL's playoff MVP. He scored 16 goals and was a force for the Griffins. Petr Mrazek also put up a slate of excellent performances, leading the AHL in shutouts during the playoffs. Other standout performances came from Nathan Paetsch, Brennan Evans, Joakim Andersson, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Jurco, Jeff Hoggan, and Jan Mursak. Congratulations to the Griffins for their series victory.

All good things... GR-5 SYR-2 Grand Rapids Wins the Series 4-2 Grand Rapids Wins the Calder Cup Cedrick Desjardins allowed 3 goals on 23 shots in a game that encapsulated the Finals for Desjardins. Brilliant at times, he allowed a goal through him on the eventual game winner by Evans that he surely wishes he had back. It will be interesting to see how Julien BriseBois retools between the pipes for next season, because you can make the argument the difference between Desjardins and Mrazek was, in large part, the difference between champion and runner-up. First Period SYR Panik, (9) (Taormina, Palat), 17:15 Second Period GR Callahan, (6) (Ferraro, Grant), 2:23 GR Tatar, (15) (Nyquist, Ferraro), 12:41 (PP) Third Period SYR Sustr, (2) (Namestnikov, Devos), 5:14 GR Evans, (2) (Callahan, Sheahan), 9:54 GR Tatar, (16) (Andersson, Nyquist), 19:11 (EN/PP) GR Andersson, (3) (Glendening), 19:54 (EN) I think Lightning fans everywhere, even with the bitterness of this defeat, need to start by saying, "thank you" to this group of players. The team we've referred to as "SyraNo" on this site, which won a championship in Norfolk last year and almost did again this year with Syracuse has been one of the best groups of players ever to take the ice together in the AHL. A lot of these guys, like Radko Gudas who returned tonight from injury, are ticketed for the NHL next year. Others, some of the really veteran guys, may move on in the offseason. So, this group of guys will never be together again, but we should tip our hat to them for two years of sustained brilliance the likes of which we're unlikely to see again anytime soon. As for the young prospects who will likely return to Syracuse next season, I found myself highly impressed with Vladislav Namestnikov and Andrej Sustr, both of whom got stronger as the playoffs wore on. Namestnikov is a legit threat to be an AHL All-Star next season, if not more, with his wizardry with the puck and Sustr is something rare and interesting in pro hockey. You have to put aside the fact Andrej is 6'8", because he refuses to play to type. He's not a bone crunching stay-at-homer, and there's a lot of times he looks like a forward with his ability to read the play offensively and jump into the action. His feed to Tyler Johnson in the slot in the Third Period tonight was an incredible bit of vision that I think stunned TJ a bit, and darned near got Syracuse the key goal they needed in the final frame. That's after he tied the game once in the final period with an absolute bullet from the point. These two guys will be fun to watch develop next season. Ondrej Palat finishes the playoffs as the AHL leader in postseason scoring. Well done, Mr. Palat. Box score from TheAHL.com. read more

Hello Mark Streit. Au revoir Danny Briere. One 35 year old player arrives in Philly while another 35 year old soon-to-be-will be departing soon. Earlier Tuesday night, CSN Philly's Tim Panaccio confirmed ESPN's Pierre LeBrun's report that the Philadelphia Flyers have indeed decided to buyout the centerman. According to the report, Briere and Flyers GM Paul Holmgren met last week, at wh...

The goaltender was told he'll stay.

Listen to the return of our weekly Hockeybuzz Live podcasts starting tonight at 10pm with Mike Augello and Hockeybuzz alums Shaune Vetter, Ryan Garner and Brian Metzer:...

It is always a good idea to have a back up plan; while one back up plan often does the job, two is even better. Want to be extra safe? Have three. The Canucks are continuing to pave the way for Luongo’s exit, signing Swedish goaltender Joacim Eriksson and further solidifying their goaltending depth. Now the Canucks have three potential back-up goalies for Cory Schneider in their prospect system – Eriksson, Eddie Lack and Joe Cannata. While Eriksson has yet to play a hockey game in North America, he has been given nothing but praise in Sweden. He spent this past season with Skelleftea of the Swedish Elite League and won the Swedish Elite League championship. While his regular season stats were good (1.67 goals against average and .931 save percentage) his playoff stats were outstanding; in 10 games he posted a 1.06 GAA and a .952 SV%. Skelleftea swept Lulea in the final round, in which Eriksson had two shutouts and only allowed three goals in four games. “This player was highly sought after,” assistant GM Laurence Gilman told the Vancouver Sun. “There were a number of teams vying for his services. We identified him early. (European scout) Lars Lindgren was very much pushing us to sign him … we tried to sign him last year, actually. I saw him play in November and he’s a very good goaltender, very athletic.” Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the seventh round (196th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Eriksson has not signed with an NHL team until now. His butterfly style and 6-foot-2, 190-pound form will be seen either in Utica next season as a member of the Canucks’ new AHL team or with the Canucks themselves. “His performance has improved each of the last three seasons,” Dave Gagner, director of player development for the Canucks told canucks.com. “His all-around play has matured and he’s developed into one of the most reliable goalies in Sweden.” Eriksson however, is only one of two Swedish goaltenders in the Canucks system. The other is Eddie Lack, who had hip surgery in January and should is finishing up six months of rehabilitation. The 25 year old, who is tall at 6-foot-5, was signed by Vancouver on April 6, 2010. Since then he has played for the Canucks’ AHL team. He is expected to be competing with Eriksson for the position of  back up goalie at training camp in September. “We think that Eddie Lack and Joacim Eriksson both have the talent level to compete for the backup role,” Gilman said. Lack had 28 wins in 53 games with the Manitoba Moose in 2010-11 and 21 wins in 46 games with the Chicago Wolves in 2011-12. While his stats are not impressive like Eriksson’s (his best AHL season was with the Moose in 2010-11 when he had a 2.26 GAA and .926 SV%), Lack has been spoken highly of by Canucks management. “It’s going to be like that wherever you play,” Lack told the Vancouver Sun of competing against Eriksson. “You have to earn your spot and I kind of feel like I have paid my dues in the minors now and it’s time for me to step it up a little bit and show that I can play in the big leagues now…I have been here three years now and I kind of feel like this is my time to show something.” With both Lack and Schneider injured during the latter part of the 2013 season, the Canucks’ third promising goaltending prospect, Joe Cannata, got to sit on the Canucks’ bench as the back up goalie for a few games. Cannata played in 14 games for the Chicago Wolves this past season, and in one game for them in 2011-12. What he is known for however, is his time at Merrimack College, where he was a important part of the team’s transformation and their ride to the Hockey East Finals and NCAA Tournament. A Bruins fan growing up, the 23-year old was signed by Vancouver on March 21, 2012 to an entry-level contract. He was had been drafted by the Canucks 173rd overall in the 2009 N

Never again is what you swore the time before… As preparations continue toward my departure to the Middle East, I find myself wondering if I will ever have another hockey adventure. Truthfully, thanks to Vancouver and finally completing my set of NHL arenas, I actually feel ready to just end the hockey chapter of my life. If I actually do that is another story entirely. It is kind of exciting, though, to think of myself in another world, with another life, and another passion. It’s like getting the chance to start all over again, and be the person I may have been if my uncle didn’t make the mistake of taking me to Maple Leaf Gardens all those years ago. I guess we’ll see what happens, but as the clock keeps ticking, the less likely it is that something is going to come up and pull the plug on my Arabian adventure. Anyway, while I still haven’t quite worked out my fate with hockey, I have decided to share some of the “pearls of wisdom” that 70 hockey rinks and A LOT of misspent time have granted me. Enjoy! Puck drop won’t wait for your friends. One of the things that always surprised me in my career of hockey misadventures was the envy I received from the fans who wished that they could do what I have done. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I don’t have any special privileges! I do what I want, and my desire just happened to be traveling to hockey arenas. I don’t ask permission from anyone, and I don’t wait around until I can find a friend or two to hold my hand along the way. I just go! And, yes, if you are a single female, the shit eaters are likely going to call you a super bunny or stalker for traveling alone, but who cares, right? Fuck ‘em! You’re having fun, and they are at home trolling your blog! Remember… At the end of the day, the puck will drop whether you’re at the game or not! The worse the hockey player is on the ice, the worse he is off the ice. This was one of the things I learned very early on in my teen years. Once hockey players entered my “sphere,” I quickly began to notice a direct correlation between a player’s on ice prowess and his off ice behaviour. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but typically I found that if a player was better on the ice, he usually made better choices off the ice. Obviously, this is some sort of confidence thing. The players that are scraping the bottom of the TOI barrel or know that they have little to no chance of a solid hockey career, are more likely to cling to that cliched “hockey lifestyle” and milk it for all it’s worth. It is easy to spot these players. After warming the bench for most of the game, you’ll see them out with the textbook, dime a dozen, please-wear-a-name-tag-so-I-can-tell-you-apart blonde on each arm. He knows he won’t be able to use the “I play hockey” pick up line for long, but look what he can afford to buy today! Can you blame this guy for being a world class douche? Not really. Sadly, confidence issues seem to be on the rise in our beloved game at the professional level, which is probably why more players (regardless of skill) seem to be trying to live that life. Interestingly, however, in junior hockey, players seem to be buckling down more than before. Perhaps the NHL locker room of the future will be a very different (emotionally secure) place indeed. Sex doesn’t hinder one’s capacity to understand and appreciate the game of hockey. It should be easy to digest, and yet female hockey fans seem to resist this bit of logic with every fiber of their beings. The last time you had sex, did you forget the rules of the game or your passion for it? Probably not. So, why would “bedding” a hockey player have the power to erase the mind of the hockey fan and transform her into this puck bunny anti-fan thing? Let me break it down for you (for the millionth time). Some hockey fans fuck hockey players and some don’t, but they are all fans at the end of the day. I mean, if you really believe that girls pay money for hoc

Well, here I go again. Ever since the Avalanche jerseys reverted to the Reebok Ege template, Avs fans everywhere have lamented the downgrade. As a hockey jersey enthusiast, I have spent way too much time looking at hockey sweater concepts and designing many of my own. Now, many teams have shed the RBK cookie cutter template jerseys (Nashville, Dallas...etc) and it's time Colorado did the same. After several designs and redesigns, I have finally completed a uniform set that I believe would be an acceptable replacement to the ''uniprons''. via i1324.photobucket.com One of the things I miss the most about the Avs jerseys is the mountain design. No other team had anything like it, it was unique to Colorado and was instantly recognizable as part of the Avalanche identity. I've attempted to bring back the mountains. In 2007 Paul Lukas designed the Ottawa Senators heritage jersey after posting his concept online, and garnering an overwhelming fan response. This finally got the attention of the Senators organization and eventually, the jersey was worn by the Ottawa Senators team in 2011. (Interestingly, the first night they wore it, the Avs beat them 7-1) I think it is possible that we can do something similar. I have posted this concept on a few sites and have always received very positive feedback from fellow fans. Today it was featured as the concept of the day over at Icethetics.com link and has generated a ton of very positive reactions. Some have suggested starting an online petition, but as of now, it hasn't happened. So, if anyone wants to start a petition or trend going with this design, please feel free. Let's get rid of the uniprons, and bring back the mountains! Well, here I go again. Ever since the Avalanche jerseys reverted to the Reebok Ege template, Avs fans everywhere have lamented the downgrade. As a hockey jersey enthusiast, I have spent way too much time looking at hockey sweater concepts and designing many of my own. Now, many teams have shed the RBK cookie cutter template jerseys (Nashville, Dallas...etc) and it's time Colorado did the same. After several designs and redesigns, I have finally completed a uniform set that I believe would be an acceptable replacement to the ''uniprons''. via i1324.photobucket.com One of the things I miss the most about the Avs jerseys is the mountain design. No other team had anything like it, it was unique to Colorado and was instantly recognizable as part of the Avalanche identity. I've attempted to bring back the mountains. In 2007 Paul Lukas designed the Ottawa Senators heritage jersey after posting his concept online, and garnering an overwhelming fan response. This finally got the attention of the Senators organization and eventually, the jersey was worn by the Ottawa Senators team in 2011. (Interestingly, the first night they wore it, the Avs beat them 7-1) I think it is possible that we can do something similar. I have posted this concept on a few sites and have always received very positive feedback from fellow fans. Today it was featured as the concept of the day over at Icethetics.com link and has generated a ton of very positive reactions. Some have suggested starting an online petition, but as of now, it hasn't happened. So, if anyone wants to start a petition or trend going with this design, please feel free. Let's get rid of the uniprons, and bring back the mountains!

Per the Canadian Press: The Great One firmly believes the NHL will return to Quebec City. The Quebec capital has been without an NHL franchise since the Nordiques left in 1995. But hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said Tuesday his gut feeling is that Quebec City will again have its own pro hockey franchise. "I think it's only a matter of time before Quebec City is going to get a franchise," Gretzky told reporters at the Joe Carter Classic Golf Tournament. "Listen, I think we all agree it's a good city and it can support an NHL team, especially now with the salary cap rules and the parity we have in the game of hockey. When that's going to be, it's anybody's guess but when they do come back in, it's going to be a strong, solid franchise just like Winnipeg is now and it will be as successful as they are." And, regarding Phoenix: "Honestly, I've not followed it at all," he said. "I don't live in Arizona anymore and you probably know more about it than I do. I'd be just guessing if I said anything . . . and probably so would you." Continued with Cup Final talk and coaching rumor chatter.