Radio Iowa

Is Dion Phaneuf the most overrated player in the NHL?

Sports Illustrated (they still exist?) has conducted a poll of 161 NHL players who could vote in secret for the player they think is the most overrated in the NHL.

So who was #1? Dion Phaneuf.

It is truly hard to believe that other players didn't make it over him for being the most overrated. Just think of the list of these players that clearly take the cake in terms of their reputation and skill. Try these NHL players for size:

Jarome Iginla, Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Richards, Ryan Kessler, Alex Burrows, Jeff Carter, Jason Spezza, Scott Gomez, Carey Price, James Reimer, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone, 

From the top 15 players that don't deserve to be on that list include Dany Heatley and Chris Pronger. These are 2 great players, Heatley is always scoring goals and has a knack for playing on winning teams, mind you they don't win the cup. Chris Pronger only has one downside which is bad luck that has caused him so many injuries it isn't funny. When healthy, give me a team that doesn't want him besides Edmonton or rather he doesn't want them. These players are not overrated but rather players don't like playing against them.

Phaneuf is a player who doesn't belong on that list of 15. This season he is one of the league leaders in defenceman in points and Toronto players better with him than without. 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/1114135--leafs-dion-phaneuf-voted-most-overrated-in-the-nhl-brian-burke-not-amused?bn=1

Tampa Bay Lightning advance to conference finals

The Tampa Bay Lightning have punched their tickets for the conference finals and will face the Boston Bruins who have raced to a 3-0 series lead with little doubt they would make the same mistake they did last year and become the 3rd team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead.

Tampa Bay took out a strong Pittsburgh Penguins team in 7 games in round 1. Against the #1 ranked Washington Capitals they were embarassed and swept them off the ice with the broom. Washington which is usually a strong team will probably have their team ripped apart and maybe they didn't deserve it however their performance against the lightning will put their coach, captain and other star players into question if this is a team built to win the Stanley Cup or not.

Tampa Bay right now is on fire: Vincent Lecavalier is basically leading the playoffs in scoring. Martin St-Louis is having another MVP year just like in 2004 when he won the Hart trophy. Steve Stamkos is looking stronger as the playoffs carry on and he is starting to snipe a few goals. Dominic Moore is stepping up huge and Steve Yzerman looks like a genius as a result. Sean Bergenheim is providing excellent secondary scoring and his timely goals just zapped the Caps of any sort of confidence.

Last but not least, Dwayne Roloson is 41 but has robbed the Capitals of sure goals and is proving he is definitely the real deal. Not only a great pickup but another mastermind play from general manager Steve Yzerman that has this team feeling like they can win the cup this year.

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadians playoffs

The first round of the NHL playoffs begins soon with one rivalry heating up as the #3 seed Boston Bruins take on the #6 seed Montreal Canadiens. Boston finished the season ahead of Montreal by just 7 points but won their last game and completely embarassed the Habs. As the series starts people will be talking about the Max Pacioretty hit that has left him with possibly a concussion and a broken neck.

The edge has to go to Boston on this series. Cary Price has had a very good year but that doesn't even compare to what Tim Thomas has done for the Boston Bruins. The goalie edge goes there. In terms of forwards Boston has a bigger lineup and players that can all put the puck in the net. You can't exactly say the same for the Habs who are struggling with players like Pouliot and Scott Gomez. Gomez is probably preventing the team from achieving bigger heights with a lot of money going towards the players who has the worst plus/minus on the team. If they didn't have so many top injured defenceman they would be a tough team to play against.

Series prediction: Boston wins in 6 games. This series will be dictated not by the goalies but more by the 3 solid lines of scoring that Boston have.

Matt Cooke gets suspension for elbow headshot

Matt Cooke has in person hearing with Colin Campbell which is a guaranteed suspension. Mario Lemieux asked the league to deliver tougher punishment for headshots and he got his wish as Matt Cooke is getting suspended for his headshot and dirty elbow on New York Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh. It is poetic justice that Mario Lemieux cries to the league because his star player is injured from a concussion yet he has one of the cheapest dirties players in the game on his team in Matt Cooke, the same player who received a 4 game suspension earlier this year for another dirty dangerous play: a hit from behind.

Matt Cooke is famously known for being a dirty player and has a reputation of being someone who goes for headshots. Just ask Marc Savard, the league did nothing about that cheap hit that has nearly ruined his career. It is a crime that these players risk having to retire due to serious injury while Matt Cooke gets a free ticket. 

All of this drama comes after a general manager summit to discuss headshots which was just after the Chara hit on Pacioretty. 

 

Matt Cooke elbow on Ryan McDonagh

Matt Cooke's career on cheapshots

Is Zdeno Chara hit Max Pacioretty a conflict of interest with the NHL?

Zdeno Chara absolutely destroyed Max Pacioretty and what did the NHL do about it? Absolutely nothing. It is very tough to argue if Chara intentionally went after Pacioretty and there is a good chance he did this in retaliation to the previous game they played where Pacioretty scored the overtime game winner then shoved Chara in the back which caused a scuffle as the game had ended. 

 

Now the video above you can tell that Chara already has a problem with Max Pacioretty and the next game Chara seems to get his revenge. The next video shows the Chara hit and if you watch the video in slow motion you see Chara push his elbow out at the last minute to ram Pacioretty's head into the partition.

 

The big issue is that the NHL declined to give Chara a suspension but this might be a big mistake that is already hurting the NHL. Even if Chara didn't intentionally try to hurt Pacioretty the right thing to do is to give Chara some suspension to send a message to players that they have a responsibility on the ice. Hits to the head is already ripping the NHL apart  and players know they can get away with it. 

Gary Bettman gives Boston Bruins preferential treatment

Joe Thornton recently announced that he feels the Boston Bruins organization gets preferential treatment. You can read that here where he said it is strange that Chara gets no suspension and that Milan Lucic cross check to the head of another player, he got away without a suspension and of course the VP Colin Campbell's son Gregory Campbell players on that team as well.

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/articles/joe-thorton-says-bruins-get-favorable-rulings-from-nhl-disciplinary-committee-on-regular-basis-474034.html

Boston Bruins owner gets Gary Bettman a new contract

Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is the biggest backer of helping Gary Bettman get a new 5 year contract as the NHL president who is making a whopping $7.2 million per year. 

It is obvious that Gary Bettman has some ties with the Boston Bruins and it does explain why Boston's Zdeno Chara got away without any suspension. 

So Gary Bettman spends too much time trying to help failing southern NHL franchises while neglecting what is happening in Canada. Bettman is going to be the NHL boss for another 5 years getting $35 million. He is a lawyer that probably has never skated in his life and it is sad that he is driving the NHL into the ground. If you want to make your vote heard boycott the NHL and ask for change.

Did Zdeno Chara have bad intentions and try to get even with Max Pacioretty? This pictures speaks for itself

Pittsburgh Penguins injuries Crosby Malkin

Pittsburgh's season is in jeopardy all because their top 2 star players Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both injured. Malkin is done for the season with a torn acl and Crosby has no timetable to return due to his concussion he received at the classic outdoor game against Washington.

Mark Letestu is also injured and out for probably 6 weeks and this means expect Pittsburgh to go on a bit of a losing streak and hope to survive for a playoff position.

Meanwhile Matt Cooke is suspended after injuring more players. It is surprising that this guy is still allowed to march around the league with dangerous hits to the head. Marc Savard's career might be over thanks to Cooke and who knows who will be his next victim.

Stamkos versus Crosby for MVP

Who will be the NHL MVP this year to end the 2011 NHL season? The only 2 choices worth considering are clearly Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos. Going into the All-star game both players were nearly tied with goals and points. Perhaps what is most surprising is that Steven Stamkos is having a great season and he is only in his 3rd NHL season.

The same could be said for Sidney Crosby as he had a 25 game point streak in the middle of the season which was the longest since Mats Sundin back in 1993. Crosby has helped his Pittsburgh Penguins overcome a slow start to the season and now become one of the toughest teams to play against. He has been getting better almost every year since he broke out into the NHL.

Steven Stamkos started the season with a goal per game average but now looks like he will finish the season somewhere around 60 goals total. Sidney Crosby also appears to be on pace for the magical 60 mark which is reserved for truly elite players.

Kovalchuk and Devils bad - Atlanta Thrashers good

Ilya Kovalchuk is a player that plays only for money, not for the love of hockey. Unfortunately for the New Jersey Devils they have been considered one of the most consistent teams since 1995. Last season they finished the regular season strong but now they are challenging for last place in the NHL. If it wasn't for worse management with the New York Islanders than the New Jersey Devils would be in sole possession of last place.

So Atlanta Thrashers don't resign Ilya Kovalchuk then the tables would be turned. However Atlanta now sits 2nd in the Eastern Conference and is 21 points ahead of New Jersey in the conference standings. The Devils signed Kovalchuk to sell seats and to increase scoring, yet New Jersey is last in the NHL in goals for with a horrible 58. The last place New York Islanders have 65.

It makes you wonder how the lockerroom is in New Jersey now. If I was Martin Brodeur I would demand a trade of a team that has not only made the worst acquisition in it's history but they are going to suffer long term salary cap problems that will prevent them from winning a Stanley Cup as long as Kovalchuk is still being paid a salary. This is the same problem the New York Islanders had years ago signing Alexei Yashin to a stupid large contract. Now John Tavares has no real players to play with as salary cap money is going towards players like Yashin and Rick DiPietro who has essentially guaranteed money and might not play in the NHL for very long with his knee problems.

In conclusion, Ilya Kovalchuk has just sunk one of the greatest teams in the East but you can't blame him. Management can only be blamed for this. I think the LA Kings are happy they lost out on the Kovalchuk sweepstakes

Maple Leafs playing poorly

The Toronto Maple Leafs started the season on fire and were looking good in the process by outplaying all of their opponents. Then the team realized they were the Toronto Maple Leafs and started playing like them. In late October to mid November the team has taken on one of their worst losing streaks in history that doesn't seem to slow down anytime soon. The streak has exposed the lack of scoring prowesss needed to stay competitive in the NHL.

The team has almost no scoring talent aside from Phil Kessel but they are putting too much pressure on a young player that has no support in teammates or in veteran leadership. You can't argue that the Chicago Blackhawks had no problems scoring with no veterans around because this is just 2 different teams. The Chicago team were young and talented: Patrick Kane #1 draft pick, Jonathan Toews #3 draft pick, these 2 are franchise players. The same can't be said of Phil Kessel and he is just one player alone.

Either way the Toronto Maple Leafs and proven you need goal scoring to be successful and they definitely don't have that now. Expect Brian Burke to pull off a trade to haul in some scoring help. Nazim Kadri might be a good short term fix but will he be a minus player and a defensive liability?

Toronto Maple Leafs start season hot

The Toronto Maple Leafs are opening the start of their NHL season with an exclamation point. Having recently walked over rivals Montreal Canadiens followed up by the Ottawa Senators has people wondering if this team is for real. So far with their outstanding play it certainly has been. Their goaltending is solid with G.S. Giguere playing in fine form. Their defense might be considered one of the best in the league and also deep in that department. If Mike Komisarek can play healthy with captain Dion Phaneuf regaining his all-star form then the Leafs will have something to play for in the spring.

Another question mark has been Tomas Kaberle however he is playing so good it would be tough to trade him under any circumstances. Now if Luke Schenn can have a good year then this makes Toronto strong on defense and goaltending with people only left to question the forwards.

Nazim Kadri fails to impress

If you walk to talk about over hyped disappointment you'll have it with this young player. He doesn't seem to take the NHL seriously and it seems he doesn't take the AHL any more serious either. He was recently benched by the coach for turnovers that lead to goals. If he can't play defensively at all then he isn't worth having on the ice. Until he truly learns this maybe he'll get a job in the NHL but he has to learn fast. Hopefully the pressure in Toronto helps him rather than hurts him.

Leafs weak on offense

Before we say it's official the Leafs on paper look the weakest in the offensive zone. On the bright side it is difficult to do worse than last year and with a better defense it should make the offense more relaxed and have better opportunities to put the puck in the net. Expect Phil Kessel to score at least 30 goals and the Leafs will need heavy contributions from Clark MacArthur, Colby Armstrong, Nikolai Kuleman and Mikael Grabovsky. Tyler Bozak has a chance to do something but he needs to put up numbers to keep his role on the team.