Mini-Duck

At 5'9", Paul Kariya was clearly not the biggest fish in the pond, but when everything was right, he was one of the best offensive weapons in the NHL in the late 90's and early 2000's.  Then the hit by Scott Stevens in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals changed everything and he was never quite the same player afterwards.  And it is due to the concussions suffered over the course of his career that he had to retire yesterday.  With 402 goals and 989 points, Kariya retires as a point a game player (on the dot), but there are questions that will remain, such as could he have reached 500 goals had he not been injured late in his career.  In his 15 year NHL career, he was the face of the Mighty Ducks before Teemu Selanne claimed it in his second go-around with the Ducks (and he could be playing one more year, at least), was the Lady Byng Trophy winner twice for most gentlemanly player, and before the NHL, was a Hobey Baker Award (best collegiate hockey player) winner while at Maine in 1993 and played for the silver medal winning Canada team in the 1994 Winter Olympics.  An incredibly talented player whose talents were marred by injuries, we'll never know just how great he truly was.

Hall of Fame Class of 2011

Yesterday afternoon, four players were announced to be a part of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and as you can see from the picture above, three of those players played for the Toronto Maple Leafs at one point in their respective careers.  Coincidence or not, those three (from left to right: Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, and Joe Nieuwendyk) and Mark Howe all have their reasons for being in the Hall of Fame.

Belfour was never the elite goaltender in his time.  Of course, playing in the same era with the likes of Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, and Martin Brodeur have something to do with it.  However, Belfour put up similar numbers and won a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.  He has also won the Vezina Trophy twice, been a Calder Trophy recipient, and is third in wins all time.  All of that means he gets into the Hall on the first ballot.

Having fallen short on his first ballot last year, Nieuwendyk is quite possibly the quietest player to have reached 500 goals in his career.  By quiet, I mean he never got the recognition that the likes of Theo Fleury, Mike Modano, or Brett Hull got in their careers.  Despite all that, he managed to win the Calder Trophy and was a part of three Stanley Cup teams (Calgary in '89, Dallas in '99, and New Jersey in '03).  In short, he was a winner.

"Killer" has been on the ballot since 2006, and should have been in the Hall last year.  Gilmour was a Stanley Cup winner in '89, and has won the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward.  The most well-rounded player of the four going into the Hall this year and the face of the Maple Leafs in the 90's.

The man with the longest wait of the four was Mark Howe.  On the ballot since 1998, Mark Howe didn't do so badly for being the son of Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe.  405 goals in his career while playing in the WHA and NHL isn't a bad number, until you realize that he was a defenseman.  While not on the same level as Mr. Hockey, Mark Howe carved out his own legacy and can say that he played on the same line as Mr. Hockey, having done so with the Hartford Whalers in the WHA.

Bieksa-llent!

Last night was rather chaotic, thanks to the Forbidden show last night, with trying to get all the interviews done...during the show, but it has been done, so all is good.  Want to know how to make a good night even better?  When I got home to turn on the sports news, the last bit of news that came up concerns the man in the picture you see.  And Vancouver fans should get used to seeing this image for five more years, as it was reported that Kevin Bieksa will remain a Vancouver Canuck, effectively taking him off the free agent market, which is slated to begin July 1.  Consider this great news, as Bieksa was the best blue liner on the Canucks last year, especially when it came to the playoffs.  Given that Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo are entering free agency, the Bieksa signing is a great step in the Canucks' chances to return to the Finals.

Back to Seeing Red

Over the weekend, the Florida Panthers unveiled their new home jerseys.  Thanks to the fine folks at Icethetics, we now have first pictures of the new jersey the Panthers will be wearing in the 2011-12 season.  Now, when I first saw these jerseys during the televised first round of the NHL Draft, I felt that there was something missing, namely the white separating the red from the blue, like there was on the Panthers' original red threads.  Looking at the jerseys now, I still think having some white separate the red from the blue would make things great, but given that there is an absence of piping on the jerseys like there were on the navy blues and the road whites, perhaps it was for the best.  The new reds are simplified, and should be an instant hit for Panthers fans...all 100 of them (kidding).

Nation's Losers

WASHINGTON CAPITALS


Once again, the Washington Capitals failed to make the Conference Finals, something the team last achieved in 1998.  Alex Ovechkin had a down year, but was his usual self when the season was nearing its end.  Unfortunately, he needs help come playoff time.  It would be great if Semyon Varlamov could claim the starting job, something he lost to Michal Neuvirth.  Though Neuvirth struggled in the Tampa Bay series, it looks like Neuvirth will be the starter next season, and Varlamov will have to pick up his game to challenge for that spot.  John Carlson put up respectable numbers on the blue line in the regular season, but like everyone not named Ovechkin, Carlson struggled mightily.  Carlson figures to be better next season.

So Close...

VANCOUVER CANUCKS


All of the expectations that were put on the Canucks this year, all for naught by one game.  Despite having an APB put out for them in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, were present for everything else, and never was the more evident than when Daniel took his turn with the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award.  The Roberto Luongo saga never ends, and his maddeningly inconsistent playoff career was on display for all to see.  Great regular season, up and down playoffs...that's Luongo for you, and now, the pressure will be even higher on him to come through next season.  Dan Hamhuis was everything the Canucks expected of him, and when he went down to injury in game one of the Finals, the Canucks felt his absence.

Out of Time...and Columbus

The person you see above is Niktia Filatov.  Vancouver Canucks fans will remember him as the guy that was rumored to be included in a deal that would have seen Kevin Bieksa sent to Columbus.  Of course, that never happened, which turned out to greatly benefit Vancouver.  For Filatov, he was moved out to the Ottawa Senators this morning in a deal that saw Columbus gain a third round pick this year.

Filatov was supposed to be an offensive weapon for the Blue Jackets when he was drafted 6th overall in 2008.  In 44 games, he only managed 13 points and was a headache for the Blue Jackets the likes that only Nikolai Zherdev could claim.  While Zherdev has been a headache for the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers (and a KHL team) since then, one gets the feeling that Filatov could very well be following that same path of a talented player who causes more problems for the team he plays for than the ones he's facing.  Filatov's most (in)famous moment in Columbus was his clash with then-head coach Ken Hitchcock in the 2009-10 season that saw him finish in the KHL that season.  Last season saw him flounder in the AHL after a failed stint with the Blue Jackets.

So, what does that mean for both the Senators and Blue Jackets?  Well, the Blue Jackets are rid of one headache, but now have another first round flop on their hands.  For the Senators, Filatov will likely be given every chance to win a spot on the Sens' roster with their dearth of offense.  If Filatov doesn't fulfill his potential, it could very well be an Alexei Yashin redux.