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2012 Stanley Cup Final Featuring Players with $686M in Accumulated Fortunes

2012-05-28T17:09:00.000-04:00

The 2011-2012 NHL Stanley Cup Final will feature a group of 51 players who accumulated, through their NHL careers, fortunes a bit over $US 686M in salaries, for an approximate average of $13,5M each! The New Jersey Devils players account for 59% of that total with $407M collectively, leaving 41%, or $279M, to the Los Angeles Kings.

Each team has 7 players that accumulated NHL fortunes over $20M and, overall, the Devils lead the pack with Brodeur, Elias, and Kovalchuk as the Top 3 before the first L.A. King, Simon Gagné.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: $407,422,416
Brodeur, Martin = $73,053,018
Elias, Patrik = $53,424,498
Kovalchuk, Ilya =$47,390,000
Zubrus, Dainius = $27,860,000
Sykora, Petr = $27,826,000
Zidlicky, Marek = $22,540,000
Volchenkov, Anton = $20,600,000
Parisé, Zach = $19,906,000
Tallinder, Henrik = $18,745,300
Salvador, Bryce = $18,415,000
Zajac, Travis = $13,702,600
Ponikarovsky, Alexei = $12,712,500
Hedberg, Johan = $10,525,000
Bernier, Steve = $8,725,000
Clarkson, David = $7,230,000
Boulton, Eric = $5,907,500
Greene, Andy = $5,175,000
Janssen, Cam = $3,225,000
Carter, Ryan = $2,625,000
Harrold, Peter = $2,300,000
Josefson, Jacob = $1,800,000
Henrique, Adam = $1,200,000
Fayne, Mark = $1,085,000
Larsson, Adam = $925,000
Gionta, Stephen = $525,000

LOS ANGELES KINGS: $278,925,750
Gagné, Simon = $40,375,000
Richards, Mike = $26,827,200
Williams, Justin = $26,822,500
Mitchell, Willie = $24,500,000
Carter, Jeff = $23,827,200
Penner, Dustin = $22,207,000
Kopitar, Anze = $20,865,000
Stoll, Jarret = $19,301,600
Brown, Dustin = $15,342,000
Scuderi, Rob = $12,675,000
Greene, Matt =$11,655,000
Doughty, Drew = $8,625,000
Quick, Jonathan = $4,820,000
Richardson, Brad = $3,625,000
Fraser, Colin = $3,500,000
Lewis, Trevor = $2,318,250
Parse, Scott = $1,800,000
Drewiske, Davis = $1,737,500
Bernier, Jonathan = $1,740,000
Clifford, Kyle = $1,450,000
Martinez, Alec = $1,400,000
Westgarth, Kevin = $1,025,000
Voynov, Slava = $787,500
King, Dwight = $585,000
Loktionov, Andrei = $575,000
Nolan, Jordan = $540,000

The usual fine print: Figures in US$. Salaries paid in Canadian currency by Canadian teams, in the early 90s, were converted to $US as per the January exchange rate of the given seasons. Some players have two-way contracts and have received lower salaries than those listed when playing in farm clubs. The listed salaries were gathered from different sources and while they closely reflect reality, they are not necessarily exact. Of course, that is from their NHL salaries only and it does not take into account any other revenue streams such as endorsements, summer jobs, business ventures, being a Mary Kay independent consultant to supplement revenues, etc. Base salaries are usually shown as bonuses are generally not made public. Totals do take into account the fact that players received only +/-58% of their salary during the 1994-95 season because of a strike (48 games played instead of 84). Some players possibly had contracts stipulating that they were paid despite a strike but we have no information in that regard. During the 2004-05 lockout, some players joined various teams in North America and Europe and were paid to do so. It is not included in the Grand Total because we have no information about the salaries they made in those leagues. Figures shown represent earnings; investment results may vary - ask Sergei Fedorov. Still reading? How is your 401k/RSSP doing?

Habs: Roy Head Coach with Carbonneau and Pepe Lemieux as Assistants?

2012-05-15T16:52:00.002-04:00

Patrick Roy as the new Canadiens head coach with Guy Carbonneau and Claude Lemieux as assistants? Why not? Everything is possible with the Habs 2.0. They obviously have a good chemistry together, and look right up Bergevin's alley:

Photo: Magazine Les Canadiens (Nov./Dec. 1987)

Brodeur Leads Top 10 NHL Goalie Fortunes with $73M

2012-05-04T20:25:00.001-04:00

According to HockeyZonePlus.com's unique NHL salary history database, Martin Brodeur is still leading the list of NHL goalies with the biggest accumulated fortune. Out of the Top Ten, only 4 are still active:

1 - Martin Brodeur: $ 73,053,018
2 - Patrick Roy: $ 56,771,988
3 - Dominik Hasek: $ 55,942,300
4 - Nikolai Khabibulin: $ 53,856,518
5 - Roberto Luongo: $ 52,248,500
6 - Curtis Joseph: $ 51,438,000
7 - Ed Belfour: $ 49,633,000
8 - Olaf Kolzig: $ 43,810,000
9 - Mike Richter: $ 43,620,000
10 - Jose Theodore: $ 42,219,968

The Small Print: Figures in US$. Salaries paid in Canadian currency by Canadian teams, in the early 90s, were converted to $US as per the January exchange rate of the given seasons. Some players have two-way contracts and have received lower salaries than those listed when playing in farm clubs. The listed salaries were gathered from different sources and while they closely reflect reality, they are not necessarily exact. Of course, that is from their NHL salaries only and it does not take into account any other revenue streams such as endorsements, summer jobs, business ventures, being a Mary Kay independent consultant to supplement revenues, etc. Base salaries are usually shown as bonuses are generally not made public. Totals do take into account the fact that players received only +/-58% of their salary during the 1994-95 season because of a strike (48 games played instead of 84). Some players possibly had contracts stipulating that they were paid despite a strike but we have no information in that regard. During the 2004-05 lockout, some players joined various teams in North America and Europe and were paid to do so. It is not included in the Grand Total because we have no information about the salaries they made in those leagues. Figures shown represent earnings; investment results may vary - ask Sergei Fedorov. Still reading? How is your 401k/RSSP doing?

Photo credit: Flickr/carolbrowne

Jagr Leads Top 25 NHL Fortunes with $101M

2012-05-04T20:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks to HockeyZonePlus.com's unique NHL salary history database, we can all dream looking at the Top 25 accumulated NHL fortunes:

1 - Jaromir Jagr: $101,338,851

2 - Nicklas Lidstrom: $100,365,000

3 - Chris Pronger: $93,900,500

4 - Joe Sakic: $93,174,047

5 - Paul Kariya: $82,686,100

6 - Keith Tkachuk: $80,498,674

7 - Rob Blake: $80,487,982

8 - Mats Sundin: $79,669,132

9 - Mike Modano: $75,837,650

10 - Martin Brodeur: $73,053,018

11 - Jarome Iginla: $69,025,000

12 - Teemu Selanne: $68,857,790

13 - Vincent Lecavalier: $66,550,000

14 - Pavel Bure: $66,369,794

15 - Sergei Fedorov: $65,519,036

16 - Peter Forsberg: $65,405,213

17 - Steve Yzerman: $64,672,616

18 - Joe Thornton: $63,431,000

19 - Brendan Shanahan: $60,915,000

20 - Ed Jovanovski: $59,740,000

21 - Brad Richards: $59,726,000

22 - Mark Messier: $59,542,008

23 - Brian Leetch: $59,501,250

24 - Doug Weight: $58,954,775

25 - Marian Hossa: $58,550,000

The Small Print: Figures in US$. Salaries paid in Canadian currency by Canadian teams, in the early 90s, were converted to $US as per the January exchange rate of the given seasons. Some players have two-way contracts and have received lower salaries than those listed when playing in farm clubs. The listed salaries were gathered from different sources and while they closely reflect reality, they are not necessarily exact. Contact CPAs of players for exact figures. Of course, that is from their NHL salaries only and it does not take into account any other revenue streams such as endorsements, summer jobs, business ventures, being a Mary Kay independent consultant to supplement revenues, etc. Base salaries are usually shown as bonuses are generally not made public. Totals do take into account the fact that players received only +/-58% of their salary during the 1994-95 season because of a strike (48 games played instead of 84). Some players possibly had contracts stipulating that they were paid despite a strike but we have no information in that regard. During the 2004-05 lockout, some players joined various teams in North America and Europe and were paid to do so. It is not included in the Grand Total because we have no information about the salaries they made in those leagues. Figures shown represent earnings; investment results may vary - ask Sergei Fedorov. Still reading? How is your 401k/RSSP doing?

Photo credit: Flickr/bridgetds

(Not So) Exclusive Picture of Paulina Gretzky

2012-05-02T15:48:00.001-04:00

Paulina Gretzky, 20-something daughter of the Great One, has been making the headlines recently. Much to the dismay of Wayne. Thanks to the old shoebox full of hockey cards, here's a 1992 Upper Deck hockey card providing a glimpse of where her interest for the spotlight, and photogenic talent, might be rooted.

Sopes Opera – Obama and Nice Pillows

2011-03-18T14:38:00.000-04:00

Brent Sopel’s day job is to play defense for the Montreal Canadiens. In their spare time, he and his wife enjoy broadcasting pedestrian details of their life via Twitter and a blog. Reality TV meets hockey in this web-based Sopes Opera!

So many things are going on in the Sopel family and, lucky as we are, they give us the inside scoop. So, what’s new since the trade? First, Brent’s 12-year-old son told Mom that he wants to kiss his girlfriend. He also probably hopes that her parents don’t read blogs. No words on any development on that front but we’re sure that TMZ is on it.

Second, the secret behind the “Simple Privileges by Kelly Sopel” Chicago boutique is out. We now have the business plan behind Brent’s post-hockey career. The 30-second elevator pitch? Pillows! Fluffy pillows that you can’t afford! Opening slated for April.

Brent also went to DC to visit President Obama and the White House along with the Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup. Forgetting that he’s now playing for a Canadian team – or, knowing that Montreal doesn’t have a chance this year and that he won’t be back next, he tweeted “Can't wait to do it again,” after the visit!

As a little nugget of reality:

90 = Quick non-scientific tally of comments or questions tweeted to Sopel in the last 5 days
0 = Number of replies from Sopel in last 20 days

That’s a two way road, folks!

Photo credit: flickr/ehpien

Hainsey: Say No to Commercials!

2011-03-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Thrashers’ Ron Hainsey, also known under the nickname “Hollywood,” provides a useful tip to fellow NHLers contemplating making a few extra bucks:

Bobby Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Colby Armstrong, Alex Ovechkin, Phil Esposito, and Ron Duguay are only the tip of the iceberg. What is potentially worse than hockey stars poorly pitching products is devoted fans filming themselves walking the isles of a supermarket, dressed with shirts sporting their heroes’ name, to find cereals and mustard peddled by their superstars! Dupuis Dijon Mustard and Fleury Flakes? Can’t live without that! Do they have Cooke Extra Strength Acetaminophen?

Sopes Opera – Poutine and Notary Public

2011-03-04T10:55:00.001-05:00

Brent Sopel’s day job is to play defense for the Montreal Canadiens. In their spare time, he and his wife enjoy broadcasting pedestrian details of their life via Twitter and a blog. Reality TV meets hockey in this web-based Sopes Opera!

Last week, Sopel was traded from Atlanta to Montreal a few days after his 3 kids texted him asking for help with the laundry that was piling up back home in Chicago. Right away, his wife told the world about how they hadn’t slept the night before, knowing he would be traded. She added that the kids’ reaction to the news was to ask if they could go play outside.

Brent quickly flew to Chicago to spend the night home before flying to Montreal the next day to join his new team. Joining the Habs means putting the Canadiens jersey and finally getting some Canadian candies, according to him. What more can you ask for?

He tweets the words “Bonjour” and “poutine” within 2 days of the trade, thereby using more French than Saku Koivu did in 13 years in Montreal.

On Saturday, he tweets: “I'm in need of a notary public TODAY - let me know if anyone is available here in Montreal.” Google doesn’t work on his iPhone, apparently. More troubling, Sopel’s agent won’t do such research for the 5% cut he gets. Must be extra. Nevertheless, tons of people reply immediately. They all have a neighbor, brother, uncle, or girlfriend that is a notary public. One guy even states that if it was not for the fact that he isn’t based in Quebec, he’d do it for free. That’s the kind of people you want to deal with: free for clients making over $1M/year; repo man on everybody else late on payments! Another guy asks if he needs a notary public because he’s buying a house in Montreal! Yep. Get traded Thursday and buy a house Saturday – the typical plan of a rental player likely to stay with the team for only two months. But then, his agent doesn’t seem to be on the top of his game so who knows?

Finally, Sopel goes the safe route and connects with a notary public suggested by a “freelance sportswriter:” two free tickets for the game as a reward!

Sopel plays his first game as a Hab Saturday, tweets a picture of him with his wife before breakfast Sunday, takes a tour of Montreal, and sends of the wife back home in Chicago.

On March 1, they celebrated their 10^th wedding anniversary with a tweet and a blog post from the wife about the vow renewal last summer, pictures and all.

That’s it for this installment of Sopes Opera. Stay tuned for more!

As a bonus, some bullet point tips and tidbits for Sopel:

- Guy in Centre Bell’s Section 312, row D, knows more about hockey than Buck & Kincade together.
- Post game show in Montréal doesn’t mean taking 3 calls and giving out-of-town NHL summaries before signing off.
- You’ll see lots of news about some Labeaume guy. He’s never been seen in the same room as Badaboom.
- What’s the difference between 21,000 and 4,000 people signing Olé Olé Olé?
- Réjean Tremblay is the most powerful Montreal sports columnist. Easy to spot: shows up in the locker room once per month and doesn't recognize 70% of players.
- If asked which celebrity you’d like to meet, don’t say Sarah Palin like Eric Boulton did. Canada is not Georgia.
- Never question the hockey wisdom of Dany Dubé. Always question the wisdom of Michel Villeneuve.
- Michel Villeneuve has never been seen in the same room as Youppi.
- Call your old Canucks buddy Mike Keane before venturing into the French thing.
- Thought that corruption was a Chicago thing? Welcome to Montreal!
- Meet Donald Beauchamp, the guy who will approve, sanitize and translate your tweets starting now.
- If journalists bug you about commuting to Chicago, open a can of worms and tell them that GM Gauthier said it was OK.
- CKAC Sports is like Atlanta’s 680 The Fan except for additional 23 hours of daily hockey coverage.
- Don’t feed Youppi. Don’t feed Spacek.
- Don’t bother looking; GM Gauthier is not on Twitter.

Photo credit: flickr/chicagogeek

NHL Social Media – Where to Draw the Line?

2011-03-03T17:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks to social media, hockey fans get an unprecedented, unfiltered, access to some NHL players. While they are still few and far between, more and more players have Twitter accounts and are broadcasting thoughts and even pictures on a regular basis.

Ovechkin is having dinner and tweets photo proof. Paul Bissonnette describes, live and with pictures, a Christmas party at a teammate’s house, his Vegas escapade during the All Star Break, and Keith Yandle doing the doogie after a win. Dan Ellis tweets pictures of his new car and revamped backyard blueprint. Brent Sopel asks his admirers to help find a notary in Montreal. People love that, in this great age of Reality TV. But where do you draw the line? What’s over the top and too much?

On December 26, John Carlson of the Washington Capitals tweeted a picture he took of teammate Yanic Perreault in the airplane after a game where he broke his nose.

On February 4, Darryl Boyce of the Toronto Maple Leafs tweeted a gruesome picture of himself, with bloody face and lacerated nose as he was tended to by a trainer.

Original picture slightly edited for obvious reasons.
Graphic "artist" passed out twice during the Photoshop procedure.

Then, on February 17, the Facebook fan page of Montreal Canadiens James Wisniewski posted a picture that his wife emailed them shortly after a game where he sustained a deep laceration after receiving a puck in the face.

Original picture slightly edited for obvious reasons.
See you real soon!

What’s next, really? How much unfiltered access is too much? You have to wonder if and when the NHL will step in with some serious guidelines. On one hand, access is great. On the other hand, you can’t always count on people’s judgment.

One thing is for sure: good thing that Twitter wasn’t around when Clint Malarchuk was playing. Scanning Polaroids and firing up AOL mail on a 300-baud modem was just not the same.

Really? Bum US Hockey Fans; Thrashers’ Staffer Looking Down at Quebec City

2011-02-11T16:43:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought you’ve heard it all, someone comes up with something that makes you shake your head in disbelief and roll your eyes. The latest:

A Thrashers employee on Twitter:
On Thursday, the Québec government and Québec City announced the funding of the construction of a new $400M arena in Québec City, hoping to eventually get an NHL franchise. The arena is to be ready in 2015. Shortly after the announcement, an Atlanta Thrashers’ employee posted the following on Twitter:

Not a free agent would sign there? Coming from a Thrashers employee and, we assume, fan? Sure, he has a point that the 62-year old Colisée is not of NHL caliber anymore. And one could argue that he even has a point about free agents not wanting to play in Québec City. But, coming from Atlanta? Surprising and a tad arrogant given not only that quality free agents are not exactly flocking towards Atlanta but also given how many quality players left the organization running as soon as they got the opportunity.

Jean-Charles Lajoie on CKAC Sports Radio in Montreal:

The ever subtle Jean-Charles Lajoie, during his L'esprit sportif radio show today on CKAC Sports in Montreal, burst into a weird rant on how American hockey fans are, in his words, just “bums” looking for blood, violence, ambulance hovering around arenas, and a rollerderby show when they go to games.

Photo: flickr/halfgeek

Hope for Cheaper Beer at NHL Arenas

2011-02-09T14:05:00.001-05:00

Progress never ceases. A beer tap that pours beer from the bottom of the glass, filling at a rate of up to nine times faster than traditional beer taps according to the manufacturer. The Flyers recently started using the device at their games; the Washington Caps will start this weekend. Is it the beginning of cheaper beer at NHL arenas triggered by highly efficient beer serving operations? Yeah. Right.

For the engineers who actually want to see how it works, this CNN's video demonstrates the amazing technology breakthrough.

ECHL Hockey Ad - Boom De Yada

2011-02-04T11:30:00.001-05:00

A couple of years ago, the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings came up with this version of the Boom De Yada TV ad from the Discovery Channel.

“I love to score some goals”
“I love to stop some pucks”
“I love to go to games”

Still waiting for the studies to determine the impact on attendances.

Cheesy Rangers Blast from the Past – Oo La La!

2011-01-28T14:19:00.002-05:00

This week, there were talks about NY Rangers’ Sean Avery posing nearly naked on a t-shirt for a "Protect The Skin You're In" ad.He is certainly not the first, or last, Rangers to pose for ads. In his case, it was for a good cause. In the case of Don Maloney, Anders Hedberg, Phil Esposito, Ron Greshner, and Ron Duguay’s TV and print ads for Sasson Jeans, it was for profit and… our enjoyment 30 years later! Oo La La!

Original ad with Esposito, Maloney, Hedberg, and Duguay.

Second ad where Greshner replaces Duguay.

Esposito now lives in the Tampa area and is radio analyst for the Lightning’s home games. Duguay lives in New Jersey and is a MSG hockey analyst for the New York Rangers. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Hedberg is the NY Rangers head pro scout for Europe. Greshner lives in Florida and is involved with his Foundation for autism awareness. When not fighting lawsuits from his ex-wife Carol Alt, he is also involved in various ventures including a sports memorabilia shop and construction brokerage. And Maloney is the General Manager of the soon-to-be Winnipeg Coyotes.

Hunch: Teammates Not Lining Up to be Hal Gill’s Roommate

2011-01-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

Interesting and somewhat funny feature here with Canadiens players telling us what they’d bring to a team potluck dinner. Beer! Cheeken! Ask my wife! But what stands out is Hal Gill’s response at the end. If he’s always that picky picky even over trivial stuff, it’s safe to say that teammates are not lining up to be his roommate!

Stanley Cup Finals TV Viewership: Sport Event Drawing the Most US Households Earning $100k+

2011-01-25T14:10:00.005-05:00

Nielsen published yesterday its “State of the [US] Media: Year in Sports 2010” report with information on the US sports fan consumption across leading sports media properties last year. The report is downloadable for free after providing some contact information.

As per the report, among the major sporting events televised in 2010, the Stanley Cup Finals had the highest percentage of viewers from households earning more than $100,000 per year. The report also ranks the Top Ten US-based NHL teams based on the local market ratings:

1 - Pittsburgh
2 - Buffalo
3 - Detroit
4 - Chicago
5 - Boston
6 - St. Louis
7 - Philadelphia
8- Minnesota
9 - Washington
10 - Colorado

Hockey Sponsored by Bail Bonds Company: Welcome to Mississippi!

2011-01-25T14:04:00.001-05:00

Where was that picture taken? Look at the ads on the board. Yes, welcome to Mississippi hockey where prime board ad spaces are reserved for bail bonds companies! This is Southaven, MS, home of the Mississippi RiverKings of the Central Hockey League, coached by former NHLer Paul Gardner.

Get the link between the ad and the penalty bench? Almost as clever as teams announcing penalties to the opposing team along with sponsorship from pest control companies.

Price or Subban: Who Needs More Makeup?

2011-01-21T16:22:00.002-05:00

Late last week Habs’ goalie Carey Price and rookie P.K. Subban were at a studio for a photo shoot and the taping of material for the ad campaign of a Montreal-area car dealership, Jacques Olivier Ford. As expected and documented by this 7-minute video, the two models had fun goofing off while posing and recording their French tagline.

“I’m just prettier,” said Subban, explaining that he needed less makeup than Price, before they made their Zoolander faces at the request of the interviewer. Later, as the crew was getting ready for the photo shoot, they are seen horsing around with Price trying to keep Subban away from the snack table and in line with his no-carb diet.

Interestingly enough, someone in charge of the shooting can be heard in the background telling the crew, in French, to “try to be more disciplined so we can get this done.”

Those driving near Jacques Cartier Bridge in the near future will be able to see a huge billboard with Carey and P.K. In the meantime, an oldie but a goodie: Phil Esposito trying to sell us a VW Rabbit over 20 years ago. Wonder if he was forced to drive one!

Thrashers Using "Wait List" and "Season Tickets" in Same Sentence

2011-01-19T15:00:00.007-05:00

The Atlanta Thrashers' marketing department is using the words "season" tickets" and "wait list" in the same sentence on this ad on their website:

We get it. Still. It makes one look twice (and hopefully buying, for the Thrashers.)

Thrashers’ D Brent Sopel Drops R-Word on Vancouver Reporter

2011-01-14T20:43:00.007-05:00

Twitter, Twitter! The gift of being directly connected to thousands of fans for some or being able to share non-stop deep – and mostly shallow -- thoughts to 12 followers for most!

On January 13, 2011, veteran Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Brent Sopel shared a thought with his fans via Twitter:

Nothing earth-shattering. Apparently, he was having a bad day during that long – hockey-wise - 4-day break he was having. It happens. Who knows what was making his day terrible? Doesn’t matter.

Of course, when a celebrity (strange saying that about a hockey player in Atlanta) complains about a bad day on Twitter, it triggers a bunch of compassionate replies from adoring fans. Also a whining millionaire is bound to trigger something else. Here comes Adam Forsythe, a sports and news reporter for CKWX News 1130 in Vancouver:
Celebrity life would be too good if you could broadcast 140-character whiny messages to the world and have for only response your thousands of followers, mostly strangers, all turn around and send you care packages to make you feel better! But it’s the real world and Sopel got a sarcastic Twitter reply. Since he apparently was having a really bad day, he responded right away with a not-so-politically-correct r-bomb:

Maybe that day, Sopel should have stayed in bed instead of tweeting. He’s done that previously in lieu of blogging, as nicely documented for the world:

Pronouncing Byfuglien: The Easy Way

2010-11-23T09:01:00.002-05:00

Bufflin? Really? That's how you pronounce B-y-f-u-g-l-i-e-n? Even a 5-year-old learning to read will come up with something closer to the real thing.

Tampa Bay Lightning Apologizes for Missing the Playoffs

2010-05-26T13:33:00.004-04:00

So, the Tampa Bay Lightning send us a private Twitter message to apologize for missing the playoffs. That's sweet. We're sorry too.

That's not all. They want to know our off-season plans. Now, that is sweet. Sweeter than sweet. Steve Yzerman will have a busy summer both smoothing things down with Lecavalier and St.Louis and reviewing what the Bolts' fans are up to for the summer. Talk about caring.

Seriously, is that what Web 2.0 (or are we now at 4.0? Hard to keep up with the hype) and social media are for now? Pretending to care? Some NHL intern assigned to the NHL Twitter initiative is on the loose and needs to sharpen his corporate social media skills.

In case Yzer really cares: a trip to the beach; BBQ on the 19th (RSVP ASAP please); a few ballgames; and repainting the fence.

Montreal Predictions: Journalists Pick Pens; Fans Pick Habs!

2010-04-30T11:44:00.005-04:00

A few hours before Game 1 of the Pens-Habs Series, Montréal journalists are predicting that Pittsburgh will win the Series while fans predict a Montéeal victory and prepare to skip work for Stanley Cup parade celebrations. Miracles are possible! Wonder if they’d bet money on this, though.

The low down on the Montréal French media moments before the Pens Series start:

Canadiens Coach Jacques Martin interviewed Thursday night:
• [snooze]We just played against one of the best team of the league. We’re now going to play against the Stanley Cup champs. They are on top of their game right now. We will need to work as a team and work hard. It’s a big challenge and we will be ready. As you move forward in the playoffs, the challenge gets bigger. Having challenges is exciting. We’ll need to step up our play a notch. [/snooze]

Michel Bergeron:
• I hope that Jacques Martin brought clothes for more than 2 days when heading to DC!

Dany Dubé (Radio broadcast color commentary):
• The team was quiet in the plane to Pittsburgh right after the game.

François Gagnon (La Presse beat writer) :
• The Pens are better prepared than the Caps and are taking Montréal seriously.
• Montreal players are tired.
• The Pens are as strong as Washington on offense and they are more physical.
• Pittsburgh will be better, defensively, than the Caps were.
• The big question is: will Halak be able to keep playing like that?
• Fleury is the weak link of the Pens against Montréal. He has a rough time against the Canadiens. He won 9 games in 17 against Montréal. He has a 3.46 GAA against the Habs, putting Montréal in last place in GAA against the 29 NHL team.

Yvon Pedneault (RDS/CKAC/Dinosaur)
• The Pens-Habs will be even more exciting than the Caps one.
• I have doubts about Marc-André Fleury. He’s not the same as he was in last year’s playoffs.
• The Pens have 3 great centers; Montréal needs a different strategy against them.

Martin Maguire (Play-by-play radio guy for Canadiens games):
• The Caps have more talent than the Pens but Pittsburgh has a system with is well-structured with better team work than the Caps. They are more hungry and physical than the Caps.
• Sergei Kostitsyn can’t keep up and won’t commit to the team so he shouldn’t play.
• Spacek was on the ice Wednesday morning and got dizzy. He’s not ready to come back.

Jacques Thériault (CKAC Sports)
• I wonder if Ovie has enough intelligence to learn something from the Series against Montréal
• Crosby is the best hockey player in the world.

Michel Langevin (CKAC Sports)
• If Montréal does like they did in Washington – not having control of the puck – they will be destroyed by the Pens.

Predictions :

Journalists – Pittsburg [almost] all the way!
• Jacques Thériault (CKAC Sports): Canadiens in 7
• Réjean Tremblay (La Presse columnist) : Pittsburgh in 7
• Ronald King (La Presse columnist): Pittsburg in 6
• Bernard Brisset (CKAC Sports contributor): Pittsburg in 5
• Yvon Pedneault (RDS; CKAC Sports): Pittsburgh in 7
• François Gagnon (La Presse): Pittsburg in 6
• Norman Flynn (RDS) : Pittsburg in 6
• Bob Hartley (RDS; CKAC Sports): Pittsburg in 6
• Pierre Durocher (rue Frontenac): Pittsburg

Joe Sixpack calling CKAC Friday morning – Habs! Habs! Habs!
• Louis: Montréal in 6.
• Sylvain: Montréal in 7. Goalies will make the difference.
• Patrick: Montréal in 6 (maybe in 5). Gomez can be as good as Malkin in a given Series.
• Alberto: Montréal in 6. Big rivalry between quebecois on the ice.
• Some dude: Montréal in 6.
• Marcel: Montréal in 7. Halak is giving lots of confidence to the team.
• Some other dude: Montréal in ? Pittsburgh had a rough time beating Ottawa that had to deal with a bunch of injuries. This looks like 1986 when we won the Cup.
• Harris: Montréal in 5.

Photo credit: flickr/themensp

Montreal Paper Casting a Spell on Ovie!

2010-04-28T15:51:00.004-04:00

On the day of the 7th game of the Caps-Canadiens series, Montreal's La Presse newspaper is casting a spell on Ovechkin! Complete with a drawing and instructions on building a little Ovie voodoo doll!

Montreal Media Do or Die Night

2010-04-28T13:46:00.003-04:00

Montreal French media comments, on CKAC Sports, between Halak’s Miracle Night and Game 7 in DC:

Jean-Charles Lajoie (afternoon show host):
• I originally predicted Caps in 7. I’d like to be wrong. If we win, we have to face the Pens! We have to beat the best to be the best.

Yvon Pedneault (was writing on the Habs in the pre-fax machine era):
• Before the series, I said Caps in 5 in what would be a good series. That’s exactly what Montreal is giving us. [Talk about trying to spin a dead-wrong prediction!]
• Wednesday, we’ll see if Ovie is in the same league as Crosby.
• If the Caps lose, Boudreau will probably empty out his office before going back home.

Jacques Demers, live from DC:
• Bruce Boudreau is playing his job tonight. [he calls Ted Leonsis, “Ted Leonis”] If he loses in the first round, he might be gone.
• During Game 7, I’d replace Halak if he is nervous and gives a couple of bad goals. No matter how good he was in Game 6, I have to replace him during game 7 if he’s a bit shaky.
• The Habs’ attitude tells me that they will win Game 7.
• Varlamov has to start game 7 for the Caps. He better be ready because Poti won’t be playing.
• When asked what’s more important between having the momentum (Habs) or the home-ice advantage in game 7 (Caps), he says that it is home-ice advantage.

Bob Hartley:
• Given the choice, you’d want to play a Game 7 at 10am. You’ve seen them, you’re ready, you want to play now!
• The Caps are in shock and can’t believe that they are in Game 7. They are a bunch of rock stars and reality hit them in the face.
• Tonight, it’s Talent vs Team. The Caps rely on offense only.

Game on!

Photo credit: flickr/milesevenson

Montreal Media Before Game 4 - Last Game in MTL?

2010-04-21T17:23:00.002-04:00

Lots of talk on CKAC Sports between game 3 and 4 of the Caps-Habs series. Some snippets:

Jean-Charles Lajoie
• Are we allowed to bring up PK Subban in the lineup? [like that is the solution]
• Markov is not a leader at the blue line. A real leader has leadership, heart and can play more than 23-minute per game. As a number 2, we’d be doing great. With him as a first d-man, we’re in trouble.
• Boudreau is miffed at Jacques Martin for apparently spying during the Caps’ Power Play practice Tuesday.
• In the last 48 hours, the Caps have been enjoying every minute of Montreal’s life. Let’s leave it at that. Boudreau went to bed early Tuesday night while his players didn’t do exactly the same while spending the night in Old Montreal.

Dinosaur Pedneault
• Since Backstrom’s goal in game 2, it’s 10-2 for the Caps.
• The Caps are 0-in-14 in PP. Can you imagine if they wake up?
• Caps’ strategy is clear: park someone in front of the net and shoot from every possible angle.
• Price has to be back for game 4 which probably means that Halak has played his last game in the Canadiens uniform.
• Why dress Darche to play him only for 2 minutes. Bring in O’Byrne.

Ron Fournier (Former NHL referee turned radio-yapper)
• I predict a Canadiens win in game 4; Price and Cammalleri are the stars.

Réjean Tremblay (La Presse columnist)
• One or two quick lucky Montreal goals could make the Caps panic and open the door to Montreal. Otherwise, with a close game, Washington has the advantage as the game progresses.

Michel Villeneuve
• There’s not much ambiance outside the Bell Center, two hours before the game. Nothing like it was Monday night.
• People are hockey for Jesus Price, not Carey Price on game 4.
• Interesting that Kevin Collins, who was a linesman not got enough to become a referee , is now a supervisor of officiating.

Dany Dubé (Canadiens radio broadcast analyst)
• The Habs need to have confidence; mental toughness. They need to be the cat looking at the mirror and seeing a lion.
• It’s type for O’Byrne to be back in the lineup. Price also must start; Halak got his chance.

Joe-Sixpack
• Caller Michel: The series was over Saturday. We’ll be doing a post-mortem next Monday. Jacques Martin is asleep at the wheel. When the hockey management that we have, we have 5-6 years ahead like this: making the playoffs and getting knocked off in the first round.
• Caller Whatever: We should not be ashamed; we’re playing against a very powerful team.