Jaromir Jagr Should Have Hit 2000 NHL Points

Everyone knows how good Jaromir Jagr is. Five Art Ross Trophies, three Ted Lindsay Awards for most outstanding player voted by the NHLPA, and one Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP help hammer that point home. We've all seen Jagr put up big points - 1658 NHL points to be exact - and as the all-time leading scorer for all European players you know that he is destined for the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever he decides to hang up his skates. Currently though, Jagr sits 8th all-time in NHL scoring which is a bit of surprise due in large part to the fact that he's played through three NHL Lockouts and played in the KHL for three years. Given his time away from the NHL, it's not unreasonable to think that he would have been only the second player in NHL history to hit the 2000-point mark and sit only behind the great Wayne Gretzky in career points.

Bad Luck Blue Jackets

Last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets got burned on a brutal no goal call by referee Dan O'Rourke. Midway through the second period and down 2-0, the Blue Jackets scored what appeared to be a powerplay goal on a point shot from Derick Brassard, but the goal was waved off immediately by O'Rourke for goaltender interference. Take a look: 

Now there is no penalty on the play so it was considered incidental contact between Crawford and Foligno, but from the replays you can see that Crawford initiates the only contact when he tries to play a game of Grab Ass with Foligno. O'Rourke is watching the front of the net prior to the goal and hastily waves the goal off to most players surprise. Fuck, Crawford doesn't even argue and goes immediately for a swig of water. You can see Hawks d-man, Brent Seabrook do a double take at the call, but the best reaction is Blue Jackets captain, Jack Johnson, simply laughing at the referee as he skates over to the timekeeper. Probably the worst thing about this call is the Columbus Superfan got all worked up for nothing:

We learned during the NHL Lockout that other leagues don't take too kindly to these botched calls by their referees, more specifically, the KHL. Over in the K, they don't fuck around with human error and suspend referees or send them down to the minor leagues. NHL officials have been slow out of the gate this year and the lockout appears to have put some rust on their whistles as the botched calls grow every game. This shit happens, but how much longer can we allow it without any repercussions? 

Vinny Lecavalier's 1000 Games Infographic

This past Monday, our favourite sun-tanned Florida athlete, Vinny Lecavalier hit the 1000 games played mark in the NHL and became just the 49th player in league history to do so with one team. He's had quite the roller coaster career in Tampa Bay after being selected 1st overall by them in 1998 and his on-ice success is definitely worth celebrating.

Nail Yakupov's Slip N' Slide Cele

Nail Yakupov tied up a controversial game against the LA Kings with 4.7 seconds left on the clock that has hockey fans shaking their heads. After a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins game-tying goal was called back with just over a minute remaining, Yakupov provided sweet justice by scoring a ridiculous goal and following it up with a full-ice slide celebration:

Nino Niederreiter Should Stop Sulking

El Nino really wants off the Island

Nino Niederreiter is a little pissed these days that he didn't get invited to the New York Islanders camp last week and won't get a chance to start the season with the team. It was reported a few days ago by Katie Strang of ESPN that Niederreiter's agent spoke with Islanders GM Garth Snow and had requested a trade.

Nail Yakupov Vs. Alex Galchenyuk

Last night, Alex Galchenyuk potted his first NHL goal with the Montreal Canadiens on a nice deflection in front of the net to become the first player from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft to score an NHL goal:

Then just a few hours later out in Edmonton, Nail Yakupov sniped for the Oilers on a one timer to become the second player drafted in 2012 to score a goal:

It will be an intriguing goals and points race between the two former teammates of the Sarnia Sting. While Yakupov was a lock to make the Oilers, Galchenyuk's status was unknown, but he impressed in Montreal's short training camp and is already a fan favourite with his scoring ability. Yakupov will get the most ice time of the two (and probably of all rookie forwards), but don't swear Galchenyuk off as he still finds his scoring chances in his 12 minutes/game.

While we doubt we'll see either win the Calder with much older and more developed candidates already off to hot starts, we are curious as to who be the better player this year: Yakky or Gally? Who you got?

NHL Rookies To Watch This Year

It's been a fun week for hockey fans with training camps underway and daily scrimmages and practices to follow along with. This year there seems to be a great crop of rookies ready to make the jump from junior or the AHL and if you have one of them on your favourite NHL you have to feel pretty good about the future. The Calder Trophy race seems wide open before the NHL season and hopefully it continues throughout the season as there are more than a handful of rookies to keep an eye on.

How NHL Teams Should Repay Their Fans

The 2013 NHL season is almost here and a lot of the talk going into opening weekend is how the NHL will make it up to the fans. It was quite clear this time around that writing "Thank You Fans!" on the ice was not going to cut it as many fans have considered the latest lockout the final straw. The NHL and its teams have some work to do to make up for this shortened season, and simply giving a discount on NHL Centre Ice won't cut it. Teams are already rolling out the promotions to get fans to the rink and buying gear again, but we have some of our own ideas as to how each NHL team should repay their fans.

5 Free Agents That Could Help NHL Teams

NHL camps have started up, but there are still a few NHLers out there looking to sign a contract and find some work for the season. While most talks surrounding training camps involve line combinations and rookies making squads, there are quite a few UFA's who are looking to sign and step in right away to prolong their NHL careers. They might be old and have their careers winding down, but these veterans have a wealth of experience to share, especially in a shitshow shortened-season.

Brian Burke: Short Buses, Barns and Sound Bites

"Earlier this week Burke handed in his keys for the short bus"

I am sure many of us are shocked by the news that broke Wednesday that the Maple Leafs have relieved Brian Burke of his duties as GM and Club President and that he will become a senior advisor to the board. The timing of this with the NHL just about to start up after a lockout is shocking. But if you look at Burke's track record with the Leafs you can see that his time was near.

Going into his 5th season as Maple Leafs Gm the Maple Leafs posted a 128-135-42 record with Burke at the helm. That's not good enough if you are the GM of the Florida Panthers or any GM in the league and shouldn't be good enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Why Morgan Rielly Should Stay In Moose Jaw

With NHL camps starting up later this week there is a great deal of excitement around the league to see what hot young prospects stick with their big clubs. Jonathan Huberdeau, Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, and Ryan Strome are some of the top prospects expected to make a good run at joining their NHL clubs for a shortened season. In Leafland, many fans are excited to see how their 2012 5th overall pick, Morgan Rielly, will do in camp and if he can impress the coaching staff enough to land a spot with the team. Sure he might impress, but it would be a big mistake if Rielly lands a spot with the Maple Leafs this season.

Pavel Datsyuk Says Goodbye To The KHL

Early this morning it was announced that there was a tentative deal in place to end the NHL Lockout and begin a 2013 NHL season as early as January 15th. Despite this announcement, a handful of NHLers still took to the ice in the KHL for their final games in Europe as the great exodus of NHLers out of Europe will begin shortly. One of those players was Pavel Datsyuk who suited up for CSKA Moscow just as he's done the past 4 months and boy are we glad he did.

Here's his shootout goal from this morning:

That's the most Datsyukian goodbye ever. 

Dirty Dangle 2013 WJHC Pool Winners!

What a tournament it was to watch and follow along with as the USA took home the Gold Medal after a rollercoaster two-week tourney. It was a close tournament and an even closer WJHC Pool as we ended up with a three-way tie for first place! Scoring 84 points each, Geoff T., Megan P., and Mark M., with help from most of the tournaments top scorers and goaltenders led the way to 1st place out of 79 entries. Their picks were strong as a maximum of 103 points could have been scored if you had picked the highest scoring player from each box. Thanks again for all who entered and the tourney will be back again next year for its 4th installment.

Here are the final standings:

PLACE		NAME	POINTS
1		Geoff T.	84
1		Megan P.	84
1		Mark M.	84
4		James S.	82
5		Julie M.	80
6		Ryan W.	78
6		Toby M.	78
8		Juri B.	75
9		Jake M.	74
9		Ryan McC.	74
11		Ellay H.	73
12		Ben G.	72
12		Daniel S.	72
13		Steve C.	71
13		Arik P.	71
13		Mike P.	71
13		Jonas M.	71
13		Ethan L.	71
19		Paul C.	70
19		Brendan R.	70
19		Robert F.	70
19		Sarah L.	70
19		Sarah D.	70
19		Mike J.	70
19		Nathan S.	70
26		Ryan M.	69
27		Scott H.	68
27		Nick H.	68
29		Erin C.	67
29		Aidan C.	67
31		Ashleigh D.	66
31		Matt E.	66
31		Nick K.	66
31		Swalli L.	66
35		Luke M.	65
35		Mark K.	65
35		Willam McK.	65
35		Mark D.	65
39		Greg S.	64
39		Josh L.	64
41		Liam C.	63
41		Matt H.	63
41		Wade S.	63
41		Scott B.	63
41		Thomas W.	63
41		Lori C	63
41		Colin O.	63
48		John T.	62
48		Adam M.	62
48		Justin D.	62
48		Kyle W.	62
48		Laura D.	62
53		Ryan B.	61
54		Ryan Mcg.	60
54		Daniel K.	60
54		Chris Mc.	60
54		Jason R.	60
54		Ryan Du.	60
54		Lucas G.	60
54		Brody E.	60
54		Matt Z.	60
62		Max M.	59
62		Craig M.	59
62		Brittany L.	59
62		Tristan S.	59
62		Jeremy P.	59
62		Jonathan B.	59
68		John V.	58
69		T.s. Moose	57
69		M.P.	57
71		Sean M.	55
71		Cory W.	55
73		Ryan J.	54
74		Brad M.	53
75		Kristy M-K.	51
75		James D.	51
75		Ben M.	51
78		Steve M.	49
78		Alex M.	49

Congrats to the winners once again, we'll be in contact with you to find out what prize you want and where to mail them!