Hockey Hall Makes Call

To be a hall of famer means that your just a little bit better. There have been many great athletes that have played in the National Hockey League, and also have graced the great game of hockey on the international stage as well. When those men and women play the game at such a high level, it means that they are of a chosen few who are truly great at what they do. Once your playing career is over, if you get so lucky, to get enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto means you were just that much better than everybody else to ever do it. The 2022 class adds six new members to the hallowed halls.

Roberto Luongo, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Daniel Alfredsson, Riikka Sallinen, and Herb Carnegie got the call that they are going in for induction this November.

Herb's legacy goes beyond his playing career. He was one of the leading pioneers for diversity in the great game of hockey, after his playing career ended in 1954. He never did make it to the NHL, but his contribution to the sport was felt when he began the Future Aces Hockey School in his retirement and tried to bring diversity to the sport.

Riikka Sallimen was the best female player to ever compete from Finland. She played for her home country on an international level from 1989 to 2019. During that time, she registered 123 points in 89 international games. During that same time frame, she played in 227 Finnish Elite League games, and registered 514 points on 240 goals and 274 assists.

As for the players going in from the NHL, lets start with Daniel Alfredsson. He played in the NHL from 1995-96 all the way through 2013-14. His final year was in Detroit, but up till then he'd spent his entire career in Ottawa, serving as the Senators Captain during the 1999 season. He holds the Ottawa records for goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108). Alfredsson was second in games played (1.178) behind Chris Phillips (1,179) in Senators franchise history. The one year he played in Detroit, he had 18 goals and 31 assists for 48 points. He finished with 1,157 career points.

Next we have the Twins, Daniel and Henrik Sedin. They were drafted 2nd and 3rd overall by the Canucks during the 2000 draft and played their entire 18 year careers in Vancouver, retiring in 2018 Henrik was the better playmaker of the two, finishing with 830 assists and 1,070 points (to go along with 240 goals). He lead the league in assist for three years in a row from 2009 to 2012.His 2009-10 year, he lead the league with 112 points which won him the Art Ross trophy as the leagues leading scorer and he also snagged the Hart Trophy as league MVP that same season.

The next season, 2010-11, Daniel followed his brother and claimed the Art Ross as the league's leading scorer, and finished 2nd that year in MVP voting. Daniel finished his career with 1,041 points on 393 goals and 648 assists. Those 393 goals are the most in Vancouver history, while he sits second behind his brother in assists, points, plus-minus (plus-147), games played (1,306) and power-play points (367).  The twins were two of the greatest playmakers that the Canucks ever had.

Vancouver also had themselves a pretty good netminder in Roberto Lungo, the biggest bundle the New York Islanders ever had. The Islanders drafted him 2nd overall in 1997. He played in 24 games for the Islanders in 1999-2000. Then got traded to the Panthers and the rest his history. Had two stints in Florida sandwiched around a run in Vancouver, which included an appearance in the finals in 2011. By the time Luongo ended his career, he finished fourth all-time in wins with 489, and second in games played among goalies with 1,044. Luongo spent eight years in Vancouver which split up the eleven years he was in Florida. He won 230 games in Florida and 252 in Vancouver.  He finished with a .919 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average. Luongo was known for his flexability and his fantastic mental attitude and being able to shake off bad goals and bad games.

Congratulations to the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2022!

Did the hall get it right? Who got snubbed?

Championship To Denver

For the third time in the history of the franchise and for the first time in twenty one years, the Stanley Cup now takes residence in Denver Colorado. The Colorado Avalanche claimed their third title in franchise history, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to claim the title. Colorado had been the best team in the Western Conference all season long, and now they have a title to show for it.

For Colorado, this has been a long time coming. They haven't won a title since 2001, and this is the deepest the Avs have gone since that title run. its been brewing in Denver the last couple of seasons too. They last missed the playoffs in 2017, the year in which they managed just 22 wins. But from that point on, it was off to the races for the Avs, who made the playoffs every year since. They had made it to at least round two in each of the last three seasons but finally got over the hump, if you will, this year and really finding their stride as a team. There had been some concern the last few years as to whether or not Colorado could do this. Given the fact that the Avs hadn't gotten out of the 2nd rounds since 2002, it leads to a lot of questions. Those were answered as the Avs marched through the playoffs like a team on a mission.

Colorado lead the Western Conference from wire to wire, with Mikko Rantanen leading the team in goals and points and Nazim Kadri leading the way in assists. Colorado had been a club built on speed and solid defense.

Cal Makar was great on the back end this season, which finished with him winning the Norris trophy as the leagues top defender, and the Conn Smyth trophy as MVP of the playoffs. He scored 29 points in the post season, after finishing with  86 during the regular season, which was good for 4th on the team. Makar showed the rest of the hockey world what Colorado has known all along. This kid is one of the top ten blue liners in all of the game today.

What made this team so good is that they never let up from wire to wire. They kept their foot on the gas from the beginning of the year and it never stopped until the Cup was in their position.

Nothing at all to take away from what their opponents, the Tampa Bay Lightning, have done the last few seasons. The Bolts had come into this finals as the two time defending champions and had won 11 straight payoff series coming in. And, after it was announced today, all the injuries that the Lightning had been fighting through just to even get to this point. It is just scratching the surface of what truly made this Tampa team so special but boy have they been good and have been playing great hockey on the run that they had. Can't take anything away from what the Bolts have done.

Now that the dust has settled, Lord Stanley has a new home. It resides in Denver, Colorado. Congratulations to the Avalanche on winning their third Cup in franchise history

NHL Hands Out Hardware

Ah yes the handing out of the hardware. At this time of the year, the National Hockey League honors the best individual achievements in this great team game. All the awards were given out in Tampa and we will dive right into all of it right now.

All-Rookie Team
Forwards: Michael Bunting (Maple Leafs), Lucas Raymond (Red Wings), Trevor Zegras (Ducks)
Defencemen: Alexandre Carrier (Predators), Moritz Seider (Red Wings)
Goaltender: Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)

First All-Star Team
Forwards: Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs), Mitchell Marner (Maple Leafs), Johnny Gaudreau (Flames)
Defencemen: Cale Makar (Avalanche), Roman Josi (Predators)
Goaltender: Igor Shesterkin (Rangers)

Second All-Star Team
Forwards: Connor McDavid (Oilers), Matthew Tkachuk (Flames), Jonathan Huberdeau (Panthers)
Defencemen: Victor Hedman (Lightning), Charlie McAvoy (Bruins)
Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom (Flames)

Now for the individual hardware.

Lady Byng Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player): Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets

King Clancy Trophy (Leadership on and off Ice): P.K. Subban, New Jersey Devils

Bill Masterton Trophy (Dedication to Hockey): Carey Price, Montreal Canadians

Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward): Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year): Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames

Calder Trophy (Top Rookie): Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings

Veznia Trophy (Top Goalie): Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman): Cal Makar, Colorado Avalanche

Hart Trophy (League MVP): Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

Some of these winners came as a bit of a surprise, while others were obvious choices. Like for best goalie. Igor had a season for the ages. Sure he might not have put up the win totals, but his goals against and save percentage were off the charts. He's a huge reason why New York went as far as they did this season, and also why he was a finalist for MVP this year. Matthews winning said MVP I think was kind of a given this year. Scoring 60 goals for the year is a monster reason for that. Yes Toronto was a loaded team, but the Leafs don't finish near that pace of play if it wasn't for the overall play of Matthews and the season he had this year.

Makar winning the Norris was a slight edge over Josi. Only reason he got it was he had more total votes than Josi did, as Josi had more of the first place votes. Lets be honest, no disrespect to Josi who had a great year in Nashville. Makar was just that much better in Colorado.

So what say you? Did the voters get these right?

Gronk Hangs It Up

Playing eleven years in the National Football League is a pretty impressive feet. In Doing so, you become one of the very best to be able to play at your given position is even more impressive. Such was life in the NFL for Rob Gronkowski, who's had one of the greatest careers that a tight end has ever had. As of today, that career has come to an end, as the man they call Gronk has called it a career.

The numbers for Gonkowski speak for themselves. He played the first eight years of his career in New England, with the last three in Tampa Bay. Since entering the NFL, Gronk has caught 92 touchdown passes, the most by any player in the league since 2010 and the 3rd most by a tight end of all time.

Gronk won four Super Bowls,  a four time first team all pro and a five time pro bowler. He also holds the NFL records for most receiving touchdowns in a season by a tight end with 17, most career touchdowns in the postseason by a tight end with 15, most total touchdowns in a season by a tight end at 18, and the most 100 yard games by a tight end in NFL history with 32. Gronk finished his career with 621 catches for 9,286 yards and those 92 scores.

Gronkowski is considered to be a force of nature on the field, a pass blocker who has the hands and pass catching ability of a wide receiver. He did things that a man of his size should not be able to do on a football field. And he did it, doing it very, very well. He was one of if not the most well rounded tight end that this great game of football has ever seen. The man could do it all!

So enjoy retirement Gronk! We will see you next in Canton when you get inducted into the Hall of Fame!

Dynasty In California

They are running wild in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors are becoming the next big thing in the NBA! Golden State beat Boston in six games to claim their 4th title in eight finals appearance, and their 7th title overall. That's now the 3rd most ever in NBA history. Stephen Curry was named MVP of the finals.

So now two big questions come out of this finals series for me. Where does this put the Warriors amongst NBA Dynasties? Where does this place Steve Kerr amongst the greatest coaches the game has ever seen?

When you think of some of the great dynasties that the NBA has had over the years, this has to be put in the conversation now. In the last eight years, the Warriors have made the finals six times. They missed the playoffs totally in the last two seasons. But every other year since Steve Kerr took over, more on that in a second, the Warriors have played in the finals, winning four times. The Jordan lead Bulls in the 90s. Kobe and Shaq lead Lakers from 2000 to 2004. The Magic lead Lakers in the 80s. The Boston Celtics from 1957 to 1969. San Antonio winning five titles from 1998 to 2014. Now with the Warriors winning their fourth title in six tries, its more than a given fact that we can put Golden State into the debate.

Now for the head coach debate, with Steve Kerr. When you think of the great coaches that this game has ever seen, you have to add his name into this list. Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Red Auerbach, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Red Holtzsman, and Gregg Popovich are just some of the great coaches that come to mind when you talk about this list. And now with this fourth title, you can add Kerr to this list. My question is, is Kerr that great a coach or is it the team that he has? It's a combination of both.

Look at Phil Jackson during his career. He had two of the greatest players to ever play the game in Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He still had to be a great coach to get the best out of his players. Kerr does the same thing with the Splash Brothers.

Congratulations to the Warriors on their 4th NBA title!

Stanley Cup Finals Preview

We have finally arrived. The moment is finally at hand. We started this journey way back in October. It began with thirty two teams all trying for the same goal of hockey's ultimate prize. Now there's two teams left. One is looking for its first title since 2001. The other is the two time defending Stanley Cup Champions.

We have the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Colorado has lost only two games all playoffs long. They got here with a sweep of Nashville, a six game series win over St Louis and another sweep over Edmonton. Tampa took a little bit longer. The Lightning beat the Maple Leafs in seven games, swept the Panthers, then beat the Rangers in six games to get here. Its now the 11th straight playoff series win for the Lightning.

This is the toughest series to be able to pick out of all the series that have been played so far in the playoffs. Colorado has only lost two games all playoffs long. St Louis seemed like it was the only team that has really tested them in the first three rounds. They have been pretty much running over everybody that's gotten in their way so far. The offense is firing on all cylinders at the right time and they've had a few days off to really be able to rest and recoup . Cal Makar been leading this team in scoring from the back end, but they've had solid output from their forwards in Nathan MacKinnion, Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanin. A big factor for me in this series is can Darcy Kumper take hold of things in the Colorado net? He's been good in the playoffs, but its going to be a totally different animal facing the champs in this round.

Now Tampa has been good in these playoffs. They've taken a little bit longer of a route to get here then Colorado has, but they standing here for the 3rd year in a row. Stamkos and Kucherov have been playing red hot as of late. They also getting clutch scoring from Palat as of late. Now the big question is, when or will we see Brayden Point in this series? If he does play in the finals it will change the dynamic for the Lightning offense. Then there's the storyline in net of Andrei Vasilevskiy. He at times has look a little bit off his game, and at times he's reminded everybody why he won MVP of the playoffs a season ago.

This is the toughest test for both. Colorado has had a little bit of time off since the end of the last series so they might get off to a bit of a slow start against the Bolts. If Colorado can't find its legs fast enough in this series they going to get run out of the series quick. Its going to be a pretty even matchup but the Avalanche offense is firing at the right time and showed that it could pretty much play any style. Tampa is a battle tested and talented team and is going to be a huge test for Colorado. But the Avs have proven all year long that they can handle it.

Prediction: Colorado in 6!

Say It Ain't So Joe

Managing in pro sports isn't an easy thing to do. Major League Baseball maybe one of the tougher managerial jobs in all of sports. Having success over 162 regular season games and if you get lucky up to 19 more playoff games is a very tough thing to do. Just ask Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon, both of whom have been let go by their respective clubs over the last few days.

Girardi had almost two full seasons to manage the Phillies, leading them to 3rd and 2nd place finishes in the NL East, before getting fired 51 games into this season. With only 21 wins for the Phillies this year, and with such high expectations, the team fell flat and it cost this Joe his job. And maybe that was the kick in the pants that the Phillies needed. Since they fired Girardi on Friday, they have managed to win four in a row. So was it on Joe for the Phillies bad start? Who really knows. Maybe sometimes the manager can't really get the best out of their players.

The other firing, the Angels letting go Joe Maddon, is the more interesting story of the two firings this week. The Angels were in their long losing streak, which hit twelve at the time Madden was let go. It now hit 13 as they lost in extras to the Red Sox last night. All of this happening, after the Angels had gotten off to a hot start and were ten games over .500 when this losing streak started. May 24th was the last time the Angels won a game, a 5-3 win over Texas. They were 27-17 after that win, and now after losing 13 straight, sit at 27-30.

Maddon was hired by the Angles right before the Phillies hired Girardi. Both guys were being looked at by both the Phillies and even the Mets before Maddon signed with Anaheim and Girardi took the Phillies job. And both teams seemed to be in the same boat, in that they've endured long playoff droughts and have super high payrolls. Both teams have shelled out a lot of money in order to lock up certain players, but haven't really built as much around those said players.

Now with all this happening it also makes us wonder, who else around the Majors could be on the hot seat this season? Davey Martinez in Washington could be on a short leash with the high expectations the Nationals have. Same thing with Don Mattingly in Miami.\

All we know for sure is there's be two managerial shake ups around the league, with more that might be on the way before summers end.