NHL History & News

On Tuesday when Scott Niedermayer retired from the NHL after 18 seasons on the blue line, Hockey lost one of the greatest defensemen to ever play the game. In the game, Niedermayer is one of the most accomplished defensemen, winning awards and trophies from junior hockey all the way to the Olympic level. After winning the Gold Medal with Canada during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver; Niedermayer felt it was the right time to go out on top.

Hockey betting blog star, Niedermayer got off to red hot start to his career. Niedermayer tallied 40 points as a 19 year old, during his rookie campaign with the New Jersey Devils in the 1992/93 season. He would go on to amass 172 goals and 568 assists during his career. As perhaps one of the most decorated players in history, he leaves the game. Niedermayer won the Norris Trophy (league’s best defenseman), four Stanley Cup Trophy’s (1995, 2000, 2003 with the Devils and 2007 with Anaheim), two Olympic Gold Medals with Canada, a Memorial Cup in junior hockey, and the Gold Medal at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

Until the final five years of his career, Niedermayer played for the Devils, at which point he joined the Anaheim Ducks to play alongside his brother Rob. However, Niedermayer has agreed to remain on staff with the Ducks as a consultant to general manager Bob Murray and won’t be walking away from the game entirely.

On June 25 at the NHL Entry Draft, only two NHL teams get to select Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin. The Bruins are the holders of the second overall pick and will likely select whichever player wasn’t taken by Edmonton with the first pick, by virtue of a trade with Toronto.

With a pair of first round selections, the Bruins are one of three teams. It seems much more likely that they will take whoever is left out of Hall and Seguin, although there have been rumors that Boston may package the second overall pick in a deal for a goal-scoring forward that can help right away.

For the Plymouth Whalers, Hall plays left wing for the Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Seguin plays center. Having twice won the Memorial Cup, Hall is the more famous of the two. Seguin, however, was NHL Central Scouting’s top North American skater in the year-end rankings and has a tremendous shot and a special combination of skill, speeds, and size.

Leaving the Bruins to take Seguin, the consensus is that Edmonton will use the first pick on Taylor Hall. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has stated that they would be happy with either one and his scouts have no favorite between the two. Even though they are relatively deep at center, they will still use the second overall pick on Seguin should the Oilers take Hall.

Bruins goal tender Tuukka Rask led the NHL in save percentage and in goals allowed and will gladly welcome more help on the blue line. They will consider defensemen Dylan McIlrath, Derek Forbert, Mark Pysyk and Jonathan Merrill, when they pick again with the 15th overall selection.

The wings are another area of concern for Boston. They need to pick up some wingers to help out and they are deep at center (and will be even more so if they end up with Seguin). They will be very active in terms of trades at the draft, so it is very likely that they could package either the 15th pick or the 32nd pick in a deal to bring in some new talent on the wings.

On June 23, this year’s 2010 NHL Awards will be held in Las Vegas and there are several hotly contested categories. Below are the four most closely watched of the award.

For the Hart Memorial Trophy, this year’s finalists, which is awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, are Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, and Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins. To the President’s Cup, Ovechkin led his team and he is a two-time defending champion, but there are some who believe that Sedin played on a weaker team and thus was more valuable, overall to his team.

For the Vezina Trophy, which is given to the league’s best goalie as voted on by the NHL clubs’ general managers, are Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, Ilya Bryzgalov of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Ryan Miller, the goalie for the Buffalo Sabres, are the goalies vying. Miller is a sentimental favorite for his outstanding play for Team USA in this year’s Olympics games, even though, what happened in the Olympics shouldn’t be a factor in the awards.

For the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is given to the best defensemen as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association include Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Mike Green from the Washington Capitals, and the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Duncan Keith, are the nominees.

For the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is given to the best defensemen as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association include Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Mike Green from the Washington Capitals, and the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Duncan Keith, are the nominees. With 76 points, Green had an outstanding year and has the best plus/minus of the three with a plus 39.

For the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year, which is voted on by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, are Joe Sacco of the Colorado Avalanche, Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators, are vying for the award. After just plain ugly seasons last year, Both Sacco and Tippett unexpectedly brought their respective teams back into contention.

On June 23rd, the other awards presented include the Frank J. Selke Trophy for outstanding defensive forward. Detroit Red Wings‘ Pavel Datsyuk, Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Kesler, and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jordan Staal are included as nominees. Up for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct is Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings, Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars, and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, are the nominees. Nominees for the Calder Memorial Trophy for outstanding rookie are Colorado Avalanche’s Matt Duchene, Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, and Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres. Lastly, for the Masterton Trophy, which is awarded to a player for perseverance and sportsmanship is Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Kurtis Foster, the San Jose Sharks‘ Jed Ortmeyer, and the Washington Capitals’ Jose Theodore, are the nominees for the award.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers met up in Chicago for the 5th game of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, on Sunday, June 6th. The home team had won each time, in the first four games. Philadelphia was hoping to change that, but they were unsuccessful, as Chicago beat them 7-4. As Chicago nor Philadelphia had much luck stopping the other, Philadelphia was hoping to change that, but they were unsuccessful. However, it did not matter in the end, as Chicago simply overwhelmed Philadelphia with their offensive attack.

Antti Niemi, goalie for Chicago and Stanley Cup odds star, made 23 saves and allowed 4 goals. Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, Philadelphia used two goalies and each allowed three goals, though Boucher got the loss. On the offensive side of things, Dustin Byfuglien was the unlikely hero for Chicago, as he scored twice and added two assists as well. 6 different players had scored for Chicago, including Patrick Kane, by the end of the Game 6. Four different players scored for Philadelphia, and Kimmo Timonen was the standout player for them, as he scored a goal and added an assist as well.

One thing was crystal clear, by one thing was crystal clear. In a defensive struggle, if Chicago were not able to beat Philadelphia, they would beat them by playing a non-stop, action-packed style of hockey. They managed to do that perfectly, and all they need now is a victory on Wednesday, June 9th, to seal the deal and clinch the 2010 Stanley Cup.

On Saturday, on May 29th, the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers kicked off the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Chicago was hoping to shutdown Philadelphia‘s offense and had the advantage of playing at home. While Chicago managed to win the game 6-5, it was far from the clean, dominant victory they were hoping.

In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in history, the 11 goals that the teams combined for was the highest number of goals. Antti Niemi picked up the win for Chicago by managing 27 saves, while none of the goalies that played in the game was impressive. The starting goalie for Philadelphia, Michael Leighton, was pulled and Brian Boucher was put in as the backup. In the loss, he picked up 11 saves.

As 5 different players scored a goal, Philadelphia did manage to show off their impressive depth. Including Troy Brouwer who scored twice, five different players scored for Chicago as well. The last goal of the game came from an unexpected source, as Tomas Kopecky, who had not played in the last five games, managed to score a very tough goal on Brian Boucher. Andrew Ladd suffered an injury and because of which Kopecky was playing.

In the Stanley Cup Finals is to expect the unexpected, the one thing that always holds true. Game 1 of 2010 Finals continued to prove that. It delivered plenty of excitement, while the game may have lacked the pure technical skills expected from the final two teams.