Pension Plan Puppets

This & That

2012-05-17T12:49:10Z

Last night, the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Rangers 3-2 to knot the series at one game a piece, so if you're looking for details, head over to In Lou We Trust or The Globe and Mail for a recap.

There are plenty of links to check out this morning, so follow me over the jump for a smattering of everything.

Kadri Versus his Draft Class
From Bleeding Blue And White.

Get Outta Town
Ryan Fancey at The Leafs Nation has high hopes for Brian Burke's trading abilities.

When an athlete says, "I’ll know when I’m finished", most don’t…
What do you think drives players to stay in the game, beyond their "best before date"? Michael Langlois poses the question.

7 Things You May Have Missed In The Hockey World While Distracted By NHL Playoff Hockey
Dirty Dangle has a few notes for you.

Coyotes’ Martin Hanzal suspended 1 game for boarding Dustin Brown
Sean Leahy from Puck Daddy with the story.

Seattle takes step toward new arena, but has sights set on NBA
Paul Waldie thinks this is good news for QC.

Niklas Kronwall Kronwall’d the bejezus out of Latvia’s Kaspars Saulietis
From Justin Bourne at Backhand Shelf.

The Reasonable Puritan: Untangling Hockey’s Complex Relationship with Booze
From Ellen Etchingham at Backhand Shelf.

Backhand Shelf Podcast
From Bourne and Pizzo.

The West Is Won

2012-05-16T13:17:45Z

Ok, it's not, but it might as well be. I'm sure to receive a few admonishments from some corner of the internet, but I really think there's no chance that the Phoenix Coyotes ever come back to beat the Los Angeles Kings.

If you're looking for a recap of the game, there's no better place than Five For Howling, who had an understandably dour take on last night's events.

Plenty more links over the jump.

Why GMs Overpay for Bottom Six Players
Good read from Danny Gray at The Leafs Nation.

The list of "could-be" Maple Leafs grows daily…
ROSTERBATION. From Michael Langlois.

Is Martin Hanzal’s shove from behind on Kings’ captain Brown worthy of suspension?
From Harrison Mooney at Puck Daddy.

Marlies vs. Barons, and 15 points on the playoffs so far
Anthony Petrielli with a few thoughts on the Marlies' run at MLHS.

Injuries in short supply so far in NHL playoffs
The four teams left in the chase for the Stanley Cup have managed to stay healthy, says James Mirtle.

Backhand Shelf Podcast
The latest from Bourne and Pizzo.

A Stanley Cup in 2012 makes the Brad Richards contract a good one
Sigh. From Chris Lund at Backhand Shelf.

How A Rebuild Defense Is Built

2012-05-15T19:48:00Z

How A Rebuild Defense Is Built

The Copper N Blue's Ryan Batty looks at how recent cup winners constructed their defense.

A positive for the Leafs? No drafted players were contributors before year 5 (Kris Letang). There's hope for Luke Schenn yet.

Rangers Take Game 1, Leafs Bring Over Komarov

2012-05-15T12:32:55Z

I couldn't decide which story I wanted to run with over the jump, so I'll just link both of them.

Last night, the New York Rangers won the first game of the semi-finals 3-0 against the New Jersey Devils. Sure, it was a low-scoring game (the third goal was an empty-netter), but it was nevertheless an exciting one, remaining close until the end of the third.

Catch a recap from In Lou We Trust or Blueshirt Banter if you're looking for in-depth coverage on the evening.

The other story is, of course, that the Leafs have agreed to terms with Leo Komarev on an ELC.

Komarev, who is now playing in the KHL, was drafted in 2006, and may be able to crack the Leafs' lineup in a bottom-six role and add a bit of scoring. There's no guarantee he'll make the cut, but this is a low-risk signing that may help push the likes of Colby Armstrong or Matthew Lombardi off the Leafs' payroll, and I'm all for that.

Jump for more links.

Rangers shut out Devils in Game 1
Recap from Mirtle.

Home is where Dale Hunter’s heart is
David Shoalts with the story on Dale Hunter's resignation as Capitals' head coach.

Copy-cats, defensive hockey madness, Carlyle's brand of hockey and winning
The latest rumination from Michael Langlois.

The Shifts that Changed the Game: The Defection
A good read from TJCAPS at Arctic Ice Hockey about Alexander Mogilny.

Everything Old is New Again: Bringing Back the Two-Minute Minor
The latest from Ellen Etchingham at Backhand Shelf.

Backhand Shelf Podcast

The latest from Pizzo and Bourne.

How Do You Spell Denial? J-E-T-S

2012-05-14T11:00:46Z

Sure this has nothing to do with the Leafs, but it's too good of a story to pass up.

Letter to Jets Fans Past and Present - Jeff Mazur at The Hockey Writers

I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, just some of you. You know who you are. The Phoenix Coyotes are not the Winnipeg Jets. They never have been.

Yes, I know the Jets left our fair city and headed to the desert 16 years ago, but they ceased to be the Winnipeg Jets in July of 1996 when title of the team was transferred to the new owners. They had their own management team put in place. Yes, the players made the move (or at least some of them) but they were wearing different jerseys and played in a different country. Teemu was already gone and Alexi Zhamnov never made the trip. It didn’t take long for most of the players who wore the Jets jersey to move on to other organizations.

I’ve always known that people were out there who refused to let go, and you’d think the fact that we have a team named the Jets back in town would put that to rest, but apparently that’s not enough for those of you still living in the past.

There is no doubt in my mind that had Winnipeg won a Cup or two, this guy would be calling for the banners to be hung in MTS Arena.

Links after the jump.

Leafs Links

TML Organization Depth Chart - Center

"SHALLOW WATER - NO DIVING"

UFA Wishlist: Who is That?

Why it's Matt Carle.

Does it Matter to You that Phil Kessel is no Playing (Again) for the US at the World Championships?

Nope. Word is he ended the season with an injured hand/wrist, and frankly if Joey Crabb is playing the tourney then I don't care about it.

Other Links

A Cheering Guide for the Apathetic Fan

Loser Domi tells you how to take meh and turn it into woohoo.

About the Final Four Goalies

Ms. Conduct chats up backstops at Backhand Shelf.

For Devils and Rangers, Everything Old is New Again

Except for Brodeur, he's still old. And fat.

Blast from the Past

2012-05-13T11:00:23Z

It's been eighteen years since the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils met in the Eastern Conference Finals. That series happened to wind up as one of the most famous playoff series of all time. Will we see the same quality of hockey in 2012? Probably not. Mark Messier isn't around to utter guarantees to the local media (Daniel Alfredsson does that now) and Stephane Matteau is long retired; but you have to believe NBC is salivating over the possibility of a Cup Finals between New York (or New Jersey) and Los Angeles. A series involving the two biggest TV market in the US would probably break records for viewership and could even lead to claims like the one from a 1994 cover of Sports Illustrated. Should be fun to see how things unfold.

Links after the jump...

Brian Burke and the 8th seed

Interesting piece from MLHS on Burke, LA, and the Toronto media

What the Leafs can learn from the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The LeafsNation says defense first?

A fan's guide to handling the pressure of game seven

New DGB

2012 Draft & Combine - the almanac

good thing to keep around for the draft from Copper & Blue

Kule & some links

2012-05-12T11:00:17Z

Night and day. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Call it what you will, but Nikolai Kulemin has put together two polarizing seasons in succession that have fans of the Leafs and fantasy hockey managers alike questioning what his true potential is...

For Kulemin’s sake and for the sake of th Leafs, one should hope a change of scenery isn’t what’s needed to get him going again, and hope that he can grow and become stronger as a person and player. Will his return see him pot another 30 goals?

Interesting analysis from OT Winner. Kulemin escaped a lot of heat this year because of the fantastic performances by Kessel and Lupul and because he missed the end of the season. Had the Leafs been a little more desperate for goals or a little closer to a playoff spot in March, public perception of Kulemin could be very different.

A lot of very smart hockey fans felt Kulemin's goal totals would go down from the 2010-2011 season, mostly due to natural regression in shooting percentage. But nobody thought he'd score a measly 7 goals in 70 games. Going forward I'm not sure you can pencil Kulemin in as a second line player. He's only had one season with more than 16 goals and he'll be 26 this summer. He may not be a regular 25 goal guy because of his low shot totals. His contract negotiations this summer will be very, very interesting. Like a lot of Leafs, there's a bit of mystery surrounding what kind of talent he is - something Brian Burke and company need to figure out this offseason.

Links after the jump...

Embarrassing NHL team name google image search results

Hockey fans find a lot of weird and funny stuff once their team is eliminated

Drunken Pat Kane photoshops

More chuckles from Puck Daddy for a Saturday morning

Kirill Kabanov - KHL bound?

Update from Lighthouse Hockey

Western Conference Finals preview

My, my, my - three reasons to root for LA

Are Sports Figures Heroes?

2012-05-11T11:00:34Z

Money, expectations and our macho culture can’t help but lead to issues for many athletes: a delicate balance that doesn’t always work out - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories

When Ron MacLean spoke the other night on Hockey Night in Canada and tried to, albeit somewhat awkwardly, compare the efforts of hard-working hockey players at playoff time with those of the courageous responders during 9-11, it brought a predictably negative response.

The long-time host was trying to say something very positive about the players while also paying homage to the real heroes of that tragic day more than a decade ago. Upon reflection, he may have chosen his words a bit differently, but his heart was no doubt in the right place.

That said, I think a lot of us have struggled for a long time with how we think about sports and sports figures, and this notion of athletes as not only "heroes" but "warriors". It’s a difficult thing. People often want, perhaps even need what we perceive as heroes- maybe as a kind of psychological pick-me-up. It might be that we are struggling with something in our own lives. Perhaps the human heart just needs to hear, see and touch nice, uplifting stories every once in a while. And that’s OK.

Really a great read. Head over there and read it all. More links after the jump.

Leafs/Marlies Links

Marlies Carrying Leafs Flag Deep Into Playoffs

I think they're carrying the Marlies flag but whatever.

Marlies vs Heat Game 5 Recap

Spoiler Alert: Marlies won.

Marlies Off to WCF

Jeffler at Marlies HQ give you the rundown.

2012 NHL Mock Draft

Sorry Zona. The Leafs aren't taking a dman.

Other Links

Remember LA Gear and Gretzky Street Hockey Shoes?