Un-Duckin' Believable: Anaheim wins Cup

The Anaheim Ducks have done it - Stanley Cup Champions. I'm very happy for the fans in Southern California. As I've been saying to many friends via e-mail today (including my friend Eel, who was at the game last night - lucky Duck!) - it's a great thing for the sport when a team that has never captured the Cup before finally wins it.

The coolest thing about this Cup victory? Other than Captain Scott Niedermayer, who won three other Cups, no other player on the Ducks had ever won a Cup before. That's pretty amazing, and a testament to the leadership on this team, from Owner Henry Samueli to GM Brian Burke to Head Coach Randy Carlyle to Captain Niedermayer, this team has solid leadership who knew how to get it done.

This site didn't break my heart - Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson watching the Ducks celebrate after the final horn. The Sens captain did one of the most classless things I've seen in hockey, ever, during Game 4 before the end of the second period, when he intentionally shot the puck at Ducks Captain Scott Niedermayer. He's lucky he didn't get the living stuffing beat out of him. The footage:

One of the things I love about hockey is the code that exists between the players. After the final horn last night, all of the players lined up and shook hands. You don't see that in the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals or the World Series. And all of the Ducks shook hands with Alfredson.

Fittingly, Scott Niedermayer won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Everyone knows that the Stanley Cup is the coolest, most recognizable championship trophy in all of sports, but the Conn Smythe Trophy doesn't get enough recognition. It's a very cool trophy; I saw it up close when I was at the Hockey Hall of Fame in the mid-1990s. Most people probably can't even name, much less recognize, the MVP trophy in any other major professional sport in North America, but the Conn Smythe has personality. (Incidentally, the trophy is a rendering of Maple Leaf Gardens with a Canadian Leaf behind it.)

Captain Niedermayer lifts the Cup; the captain is always the first, as he's presented the trophy from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The first person the captain handed it to was his brother Rob Niedermayer; the duo are the first brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Brent and Duane Sutter won it with the New York Islanders in 1983.

It was very cool to see Teemu Selänne win his first Cup last night. It's been a long time coming for the Finnish super star, and he's waited a long time. He broke in with the Winnipeg Jets during the 1992-93 season, when he notched 76 goals and 132 points (both are records that still stand) while capturing the Calder Trophy.

Ducks G Jean-Sébastien Giguère with the Cup. Few people deserved a championship more than "Jiggy," who led the Ducks the the Finals in 2003, only to fall short. He won the Conn Smythe that year, one of the few players on the losing team in the Finals to win the award. I can still remember the tears streaming down his face after the Ducks lost to the Devils.

This picture is awfully hard to look at - it's former Edmonton Oilers Chris Pronger (left) with Todd Marchant celebrating their Stanley Cup win. When the Oilers traded Pronger to the Ducks last year for Ladislav Šmíd, Joffrey Lupul and picks galore, it was recently revealed that Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe told Ducks GM Brian Burke, "I'm giving you a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final." Burke responded that if the Ducks made it to the Finals, the Ducks would throw in one more first round draft pick. Draft picks are nice, but there isn't a soul in Edmonton who would not rather be in a Stanley Cup parade this weekend with Pronger still on the team.

Pronger will be Public Enemy No. 1 in Edmonton for a long time for deserting the team the way he did. But, I've got to give the man his due - he had a very big impact on the Ducks. The duo of Pronger and Scott Niedermayer are the best 1-2 punch on the blue line in the NHL.

Marchant and Pronger are the 17th and 18th ex-Oilers to win the Stanley Cup since Edmonton last won it in 1990. Yay.

This is just a cool photo - it's Ryan Getzlaf celebrating with some bubbly.

Ducks Owner Henry Samueli celebrating with Stanley.

The Ducks team photo. This year marks the 19th anniversary of the first on-ice team photo after the deciding Stanley Cup Final game - Wayne Gretzky asked his teammates to pose for one in 1988 after they beat the Bruins (below left). Two months later, he was traded.

I have to admit that I'm pretty happy the Finals are over, because this marks the beginning of the offseason, and hopefully a resurgence for the Oilers. They've got a lot of work to do.

As far as the coverage, it was pretty good - NBC did a pretty nice job. I do get sick and tired of seeing and reading all of the negative press about the NHL's ratings. There are a number of reasons for the NHL's low ratings, most notably it's lame TV contract with Versus, with some occasional games shown on NBC. It's too bad the league didn't stay with ESPN & ESPN 2.

One final note to the season. I heard Don Cherry on TV in between periods the other night giving the league some body blows, and I happen to agree with him. (Below, that's me meeting Don Cherry before last year's Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.) In Cherry's opinion, the league should do away with the instigator rule, where anyone who instigates a fight is given an extra two-minute minor in addition to a five-minute major for fighting, giving the opposing team a power play. Cherry couldn't be more right - when the league allowed more fighting, the players policed themselves, and idiots like Daniel Alfredsson would have the crap kicked out of him for being a classless player.

Since the NHL implemented the instigator rule, stick work and stupidity have both increased, not decreased. I'm not holding my breath that the league will change the rules, though. Just like it won't fix the stupid scheduling format, where a team plays divisions outside its conference once every three years. It's letter writing time.

All photos by AP except bottom photo
Bottom photo by R.J. Corby

Oil boils for 6!

What a night for my hockey team. Edmonton may very well start a new TV series this season - The NHL's I Love the 80's, because the Oilers certainly looked like the 80's version of the franchise, when they would just try to outscore opponents with lots of offense.

What a stunner this game was.

Edmonton goes up 1-0. Okay, cool, I thought. It's always good to get the first goal in your own barn - it gets the crowd excited and revs up the players.

About 25 minutes of hockey time later, the Oilers were down 4-1 on the heels of Jonathan Cheecho's natural hat trick and four unanswered goals by the Sharks. Oh Christ, I thought- not a good week; first the Cowboys, now the Oilers.

But, I'm glad I stuck with the game while I did my work. Five Edmonton unanswered goals later, the Oilers Ryan Smyth (above, scoring his first of the night) snagged a natural hat trick of his own, scoring three in a span of 2:01, breaking Wayne Gretzky's previous team record by 17 seconds. Now that's a good night.

Of particular note is goal number six tonight by the Oilers. The New NHL made it possible - under the old rules, the play would have been a two-line pass, but that rule was eliminated before last season. Ya gotta just love Ales Hemsky comin' out of the box, homerun pass on his tape... SCORE!

I think tonight's game will be a reflection of this year's Oilers, but I hope not all season. The young defense will suffer lapses, but with an obscenely deep group of forwards, this team can flash hot, in a hurry. But, I'm sure Head Coach Craig MacTavish would rather have the team play a little more defense. It didn't help either team that the refs were panting from blowing their whistles tonight from calling a very tight game for a total of 15 penalties.

There's 79 more games to go, but I don't know if my heart can take it.

Pronger who? Joffrey Lupul, who came to Edmonton in the Pronger deal, got his second of the season tonight. So far, so good.

Go Oilers!

A big trade, & other NHL thoughts

I've given up on promising not to talk hockey for any length of time - it's just not possible, but summer will be the lean months. However, the league has seen a flurry of activity this week, and I had to discuss a few notable happenings.

Well, the Oilers finally were forced to do the inevitable on Monday, trading Chris Pronger to the Anaheim Ducks for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, a first round pick in '07, a second rounder in '08, and a conditional first rounder. More on that in a minute.

First, I'd like to pay tribute to one of the greatest team captains in sporting history, the Detroit Red Wings' Steve Yzerman. (Pictured above walking off the ice for the last time following the Wings elimination in this year's playoffs at the hands of my Edmonton Oilers on May 1, 2006.)

Stevie Y announced his retirement this week, and it's certainly the end of an era in Hockeytown and for all of hockey. What a class act, what a warrior. After 22 seasons as a Red Wing, Yzerman has decided to hang up his skates, no doubt tired of all of the recent rehabbing he's had to endure on his balky knees. He will be a first-ballot hall of famer, taking his place along side other legendary hockey captains such as Messier, Gretzky, Howe, Bourque, Clarke, Esposito and Orr. He ends his career a one-team man; the Wings jersey is the only one he will ever wear - a rare feat in today's sporting world. Even rarer still - he holds the record as the longest-tenured captain in North American sports history - over two decades with the "C" on the front of his sweater. I'm just glad he didn't end up as one of the greats without a championship ring on his finger - he's got a couple well-deserved rocks from some great Wings teams. Bravo, Stevie Y, bravo. You will be missed.

On to the trade I've been dreading for weeks. What a tremendous disappointment. I was just coming down off of the high of having seen in person two of the Oilers Stanley Cup Finals games in Carolina. It was a disappointment that they didn't get it done, but it was a remarkable and unexpected run. Immediately after the series was over, I rushed to the Poconos to be with my dying grandmother. I'm gone for about five days, I come home, and the first thing I read when I boot up my computer is that one of the league's top three defensemen, Chris Pronger, wants out of Edmonton. Ouch.

Anyway, Pronger (above) is gone, and I'm not quite as disturbed about his departure as I thought I would be. It's heartbreaking and a huge hole to fill, but the Oilers didn't do all that badly in this trade. First, a congrats to my friend Eel and his daughters, avid Anaheim fans who no doubt are salivating at the prospect of having the top defensive duo in the league in Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. They should be excited - next year could be Anaheim's turn to parade Stanley around the ice. Later, Pronger. I'm over you. This was a tough trade to swallow, but the Gretzky trade it ain't.

Anyway, a few words on the new Oilers. Give it a year or two, and both could be studs, and could potentially be parading Stanley around the ice in June.

Here's TSN's take on Joffrey Lupul: First line winger. Has a goal-scorer's mentality, creative instincts and unlimited offensive potential. He can line up either on the wing or at center.

Oh yea, baby, I like the sound of that. If healthy and surrounded with talent (and right now both are a big yes), he has 40-to-50-goal scorer written all over him. And at 22, he's a baby in the sporting world. Bonus - he's Edmonton born, so he won't be whining and complaining about the city like Pronger and his wife did.

I'm even more excited about Ladislav Smid, pictured above as a member of Portland in the AHL this season. Here's his Scouting Report: The son of famous Czech Extraleague and international defender, Ladislav Sr., has been widely regarded as the top 1986-born defenseman prospect in his country. Smid is a rare combination of size, skill, and smarts found in so few defensemen. Was impressive at the recent 2004 IIHF World U-18 Championships while helping to lead the Czechs to a solid third-place finish while earning a spot on the tournament's All-Star team. Talent-wise, Smid instantly catches your attention with his tall frame, smooth powerful skating, crisp accurate passing, and excellent puck control. Defensively, Smid is more of a finesse defenseman that uses smart positioning and ability to read the play, rather than punishing physical play.

NHL Potential: Power play quarterback with plenty of offensive upside. Could pan out big time for a team with patience.

Again, me likes. And Smid's only 20. He could turn out to be every bit the defenseman Pronger is, and he's 11 years younger. Hollah!

Anyway, there are holes to fill on the blueline now, but today the Oilers started addressing their most glaring problem by signing Daniel Tjarnqvist to a one-year deal. It's a start, but Kevin Lowe has plenty of work to do. But, he's got my confidence after the just completed cup run. I know he's got a plan.

Locally, the Flyers seem to be in disarray and haven't done much, save signing R.J. Umberger, and goalie Antero Niittymaki. I hear Peter Forsberg may not even play next season, and that will just be brutal to Flyers fans if that doesn't happen. The best case scenario I heard a few weeks ago was January, and now that's even in doubt. The Flies are my second favorite hockey team (hockey is the only sport where I follow two teams - that's how much I love hockey. But, Philly will always be a distant second to Edmonton), and I hope to see Philly do well, but they look to have many problems. At least with Forsberg out, I won't have to listen to the three-headed jackass that is the Flyers broadcasting trio of Jim Jackson, Steve Coates and Gary Dornhoffer blabber on and on about Forsberg being "the best player in the world." Not if he can't put skates on, boys.

One of the biggest priorities in town is signing left wing Simon Gagne, who didn't file for arbitration. "We want a long-term contract and the Flyers want a long-term contract," Gagne told the Philly Inquirer. "We started talking last week, and hopefully we will find a solution."

Bob Sauve, Gagne's agent, rejected the Flyers' initial four-year proposal last week and countered with his own. Gagne is asking for about $5 mil per. He'll get it, unless Bob Clarke and Ed Snider have lots their minds. But, with Forsberg out, Gagne is a must-sign.

I miss hockey already, but football is right around the corner, and the Red Sox are doing well.