The Good, The Bad, and Cooke's Season's Over (REDWING77)

My Oh My..... Gary Bettman, if you're reading this, don't worry big guy. You're still the boss. And there's always next year. Perhaps at the GM meetings this offseason you can make a new rule that breathing on Crosby will be a 5 minute major and an automatic 3 game suspension.

The Bad

Chicago lost in 7 to Vancouver. Man, I'm bummed about this. But it really comes down to what I thought it wouldn't come down to: Offensive inconsistency. I thought Chicago's weakness was Crawford (well, Turco, but he sucks so bad, he isn't even allowed to carry Crawford's bags... which brings me to this question: Who sucks worse: Turco or Huet? Tough one! Still say Huet. Turco was good for more than one season at one point). I was wrong. Crawford was the bright spot in Game 7. Toews finally showed up offensively. Big drop from Conn Smythe to barely noticeable on the stat sheet. I know, he wasn't bad in this series but... everyone is ruled by the stat sheet.

Anaheim vs. Nashville: I wonder if anyone in Tennessee even knows that the Preds won a series? This series was only slightly more noticeable than the Cubs baseball games in that time period... but alas, Anaheim and Nashville could beat the Cubs... And yeah, at baseball. And yeah, the Cubs are that big of a joke.

The Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice. I understand you want to take a stance that physical play belongs in hockey. I agree with you. But dangerous hits to the head doesn't belong in hockey. Might want to revisit that.

The Good

2/3rds of the Triumverate of Awful are eliminated!!!! (The Avs were eliminated 2 months into the season so I guess that means 3 of 3?) Somewhere Gary Bettman is squeezing the crap out of that stuffed penguin pet he has and crying into his Pens Jammies. His beloved boys are out! Carey Price is OUT! Let me explain:

First, Montreal. You know, I despise Carey Price. Normally, it would end there. I have nothing against any of the other players, coaches, or whatever. However, how come so many of Montreal's web-based fanbase come across as such pompous, arrogant whiners? Uh huh huh, so you can speak two languages! Uh huh huh so you historically root for a team that has won 25 Stanley Cups (probably more). But you haven't won since Patrick Roy was a rookie. Gracious in losing and in everything is what measures a fanbase. And, I admit, I root for two fanbases that have shown their backsides at times, but really... grow up guys.

Second, Pittsburgh. I feel for Crosby. He is an innocent in all of this. But he's also the Messianic message to Pittsburgh fans and the NHL Front Office. After all, no way would TB have won had Crosby been playing. After all, that's what the commentators say every time the Pens lose when Crosby isn't on the ice! In fact, I'm fairly sure that, if Crosby were healthy and the game was called the way it was supposed to be called, Pittsburgh wouldn't have lost a single game since Crosby first suited up for the Pens. He is a God child anyways.

As for Fleury, he played well, but I still think he's an overrated goaltender. Not quite as overrated as Carey Price (who I predict is going to get a nice paycheck to suck for X years for Montreal... Yep, he's the next Jose Theodore for Montreal), but that's not the story. He got outplayed by 41 year old Dwayne Roloson. The neatest Fleury trick though was Moore burned him 2 times in a row... WITH THE SAME DARN PLAY! You'd think, as Crybaby Roenick pointed out, a GREAT team like the Pens would learn. Nope. Fleury first learned that he was scored on when the red light when Moore celebrated coming out from behind the net.

As for Matt Cooke, his suspension ended up being just the right length, which is KARMATIC JUSTICE. He can now stare moodily at the video footage with Byslma 24/7 until training camp starts up without worrying about which playoff team is he going to traumatize with his cheap and illegal antics. SUCK IT COOKE.

The Red Wings: You know what: I think the Red Wings are now more dangerous. They were fairly banged up coming into the playoffs but this sweep of the Yotes may be just what the doctor ordered. In other news, the Yotes might be distracted by wondering where to address their moving boxes.

The Bruins: As Goon48 stated, Julien's job was on the line and Julien made it past the Habs. YAY! Now if the Bruins can just do what no one other than Chicago has been able to do in the last two seasons: Finish off the pesky Flyers. Bad news? Pronger is back so Savard better watch o... oops. Nevermind.

The Lightning takes on the Caps. Bettman's red headed stepchild is still in the hunt so look for the rare Ovechkin Snuggie to make an appearance wherever Bettman watches the games.

Looks like it win or be fired for Claude Julien...

Getty Images

The Boston Bruins looked pretty good winning the Northeast Division Title by 7 points, however since the Stanley Cup Playoffs began the Boston Bruins have looked disorganized and disjointed and are being saved many times by their all world goalie Tim Thomas.

According to KPD of the Boston Globe this could be Claude Julien's last game behind the Boston bench if the Bruins don’t win game seven of their series against the Montreal. Personally, as a Bruins fans I think head coach Claude Julien has been a miserable failure, none of his teams have been able to get out of the second round and last years meltdown during that Stanley Cup playoffs after being up three games to zero against the Flyers clinched it for me. I think if the Bruins’ lose tonight the GM and the head coach of the Boston Bruins should be fired.

Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe --- Time to man up on advantage. The Bruins have at least one more game, tonight, in a win-or-go-home Game 7 matchup with the Canadiens, to figure out how to wring a little cash out of a bankrupt power play. They’ve had two months to figure out those economics, including the first six games of this series, only to be left musing why they can’t get the kind of five-on-three advantages the Habs used last night to score both goals in a 2-1 victory.

“Well, let’s put it this way,’’ said Boston coach Claude Julien, who’ll need to win tonight if he hopes to preserve his job behind the bench beyond his fourth season. “It is struggling. We’ve talked about that. But they scored twice at five on three . . . five on four they weren’t a threat, and neither were we. I thought five on five we controlled the game. I know I would have liked to have a five on three, and maybe our power play would have scored, too.’’

Now, honestly, that’s open to much debate, considering the Bruins stand an eyesore 0 for 19 on the power play through six games. They went 0 for 4 last night, again too often looking hapless, punchless, and shapeless when awarded that little extra elbow room by the referees.

Would a two-man advantage help them? Hey, maybe? It could also double the pain, place a brighter spotlight on the total tonnage of their inefficiency.

Bruins not expecting Lucic to be disciplined.

According to the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa, the Bruins haven't heard from the NHL about Milan Lucic being disciplined for his hit on Jaroslav Spacek. This is going to make the Habs and their fans howl... You will hear a bunch of garbage about the NHL being in bed with Boston because Colin Campbell's son plays for the Bruins.

As of 1:30 a.m., the Bruins had not heard from the league regarding any supplemental discipline for Milan Lucic. They are assuming Lucic will be available for Game 7.

Lucic was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for his second-period boarding penalty on Jaroslav Spacek. After Patrice Bergeron was called for delay of game during the major, the Canadiens scored the game-winning goal during a five-on-three power play.

Mike Murphy, senior vice president of hockey operations, was not available for comment.

Toews scores while falling forward...

Wow! Check out this beautiful goal by former Fighting Sioux and Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews, that was a clutch goal. It’s hard to believe that Toews only scored one goal in a seven game series. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks season ended in overtime with a goal from Vancouver Canucks pest Alexandre Burrows.

Milan Lucic hit on Jaroslav Spacek

First some disclosure I am a Boston Bruins fans, I am in now way condoning what Lucic did tonight, it was a bad hit and would get Lucic a game suspension during the regular season I have not doubt about it… In this case I think the hands of the NHL Disciplinarian(s) are tied; if the NHL didn't suspend Mike Richards for his dangerous hit on Tim Connolly there is no reason to believe that Bruins forward Milan Lucic will be suspended by the NHL for his hit.

If Lucic is suspended by the NHL then I do believe the Boston Bruins would have a legitimate complaint as well. What do you think is going to happen to Lucic? To the person that suggested that this one hit puts Lucic on par with Pen's Hack Matt Cooke, that suggestion is so far off the mark it's silly. Lucic doesn't have a history of making hits like this, Cooke has made a living doing these kinds of things.

American Hockey Coaches Association convention is this week.

It could prove to be an interesting week in college hockey, its sounds like college hockey realignment is going to be one of the more popular discussions… It would be fun to be a fly on the wall and just be able to listen to what these people have to say.

Andy Baggot, Madison.com --- American Hockey Coaches Association convention is staged Wednesday to Sunday in Naples, Fla. Coaches and administrators from every affiliation will be on hand to ostensibly map out the future of NCAA Division I men's hockey.

For the first time, the six members of the newly proposed Big Ten Conference will get together at the AHCA convention to devise strategy and policy for their debut in 2013-14. That includes the University of Wisconsin, which will send its men's and women's coaching and support staffs as well as three administrators: UW senior associate athletic director Sean Frazier, athletic board chair Walter Dickey and athletic board member Sheila McGuirk.

Those meetings will take place under the same roof of the five established leagues -- Atlantic Hockey, Central Collegiate Hockey Association, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Hockey East Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association -- whose futures are tied in various ways to the Big Ten.

Most affected are the CCHA, which is losing Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, and WCHA, which is losing Minnesota and UW.

There has been a lot of talk recently of mergers and acquisitions, most centering on CCHA resident Notre Dame, which reportedly has had talks with WCHA officials.

Is a WCHA/CCHA super league in the offing? What will become of independent Alabama-Huntsville? Is there another Big Ten program on the drawing board?

Perhaps most important, who will dictate and oversee the changes? Will they be on the same page or will there be rogue entities?

One thing seems certain: the AHCA meetings will be anything but dull.

Joe Thornton OT winner

Joe Thornton has had a reputation for choking during the playoffs, if you don't believe me all you have to do is go to http://www.google.com and type Joe Thornton and Choke. I think last night Joe Thornton exercised some playoff demons.

Vancouver GM Mike Gillis whining about the officiating.

Talk about whining, holy cow... So how does Vancouver GM Mike Gillis get away about complaining about the refs and not get fined by the NHL? Also, if you're unhappy with the number of penalties your team has taken, tell your players to stop taking ill advised penalties. Basically this guy is begging the refs to not call penalties on his players. I think this press conference could back fire on him. As hockey fans, I am guilty, I complain about the officials as well, I admit it, but I am not a general manager of an NHL franchise. There are always 6-7 calls that could go your way in any game, that don't go your way. That's hockey.

The Chris Conner Kerfuffle

I actually feel bad for this kid, on the big stage in the big game... Former Michigan Tech University Husky and current Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Conner loses the handle on the puck during a penalty shot during tonight's game. Unfortunately for Chris Conner his is going to be on all of the highlights tonight.

But of course; Flyers SBN blogger didn't think Richards hit warranted a suspension

They don't call the Flyers the Broad Street Bullies for nothing. I find this blog post and the comments to be remotely entertaining, I thought I would share them with you... The sad part is that Karma has a way of evening things out. Eventually Mike Richards is going be on the receiving end of one of these hits... It will be interesting to see if the Flyers fans will say the same things they are now. There was no malicious intent, players shouldn't have put himself in that position, blah, blah, blah.

Broad Street Hockey ---- I base my opinion off of a few things. For starters, I don't believe there's any malicious intent from Richards, and it does sound horrible and you feel bad saying it, but there's definitely some onus on Connolly to not put himself in that kind of position. The rulebook even says that.

But for the most part, I think the lack of suspension is the right call based solely on the precedent we've seen in these playoffs so far. Jarret Stoll sat one game for direct contact to the head of Ian White, as did Chris Kunitz for his elbow to the head of Simon Gagne. Those are much more egregious hits than Richards', considering the whole contact-to-the-head factor.

Richards isn't innocent in the slightest bit, and honestly, I'd be surprised if this wasn't a suspension in the regular season. Now, though, this isn't suspension worthy in the playoffs, as the NHL has held a pretty strong line on not enforcing this hit-from-behind stuff. That should change, but for now, the Flyers have their captain in Game 7.

Michael Frolik penalty shot...

I have never seen a goalie get hurt on a penalty shot before. I hope that Canucks goalie Cory Schneider is ok. Schneider was playing well until he was pulled from the game due to this injury.

Bryan Bickell smokes Canucks "bleep" Kevin Bieksa...

First off I can't stand Kevin Bieksa, he has been running around all over the ice acting like a "Bush League" hack... My question is to you is, do you think this is the same kind of hit as the Raffi Torres hit on Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook? I think their different hits, in my opinion Brent Seabrook never touched the puck behind the Hawks net, but Kevin Bieksa did have possession of the puck. I want to know what you think, is this the same kind of hit?

Vancouver Sun --- Bieksa didn't see him approaching, was vulnerable, and Bickell lowered his shoulder and drilled the defenceman in the head, sending him flying, a tremendous collision of the type that is certain to make the next Rock'em Sock'em collection.

It was a virtually identical hit to the one with which Vancouver's Raffi Torres flattened the vulnerable Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook, concussing him, in Game 3. The only difference was that Bieksa had the puck, Seabrook did not, so where Torres was handed a minor penalty for interference, Bickell was entirely unpenalized.

We don't yet know what the effect on Bieksa's brain will be. Seabrook's symptoms didn't appear until a day later.

Both hits were, in exactly the same way, deplorable: blindside hits targeting the head of an unsuspecting opponent, the kinds of hits the NHL ought to want to be rid of, but seems instead to make every possible excuse for, even to encourage.

Another perspective on the Fighting Sioux nickname and the NCAA...

I really like what this guys says and it would appear that there is a growing dislike for how the NCAA has handled this situation.

David Coulson, Executive Editor/Managing Partner College Sporting News --- Emmert was a breath of fresh air that afternoon as he outlined his plans for a more forthright NCAA. The one-time Montana State administrator even stayed around to watch Eastern Washington beat Delaware in the championship game.

But after reading about how the NCAA is treating the University of North Dakota, it looks like things are pretty much status quo for this most frustrating of organizations.

Let me get this straight, the NCAA cannot find a way to stand up to Cam Newton as his father tries to sell him off to the highest bidder, but it thinks it is important to bother UND about its supposedly politically insensitive nickname of the Fighting Sioux.

Nothing bothers me much more than hypocrisy and no organization epitomizes that term more than the NCAA, just as it has since the days of its first president, Walter Byers.

Its previous leader, the late Miles Brand, might have accomplished a lot during his tenure, particularly in the area of academic reform, but one of the biggest wastes of time during those years was the NCAA's attack on Native American nicknames.

And it appears this Gestapo-like siege isn't going to change under Emmert, the organization's fifth executive director.

Some petty, dipstick of a bureaucrat named Bernard Franklin — officially an "executive vice president" with the NCAA — announced this week that it didn't matter that the state of North Dakota had passed legislation requiring North Dakota to use its historical nickname of the Fighting Sioux, because the NCAA was ready to penalized UND anyway.

First off, as a means of full disclosure, I have some Cherokee blood running through my veins, so I know from history what it means to have a Native American group face discrimination.

If a team in North Carolina, or some other state with historical status wants to honor my Cherokee roots with a team moniker, I have zero problem with it, just as I don't mind Notre Dame honoring some of my other ancestors by calling themselves the Fighting Irish.

Awesome BSU Hockey video

Beaver Hockey from Beaver Hockey on Vimeo.

Here is a promotional Video for BSU hockey that Troy Mills had posted on his facebook page. Troy is the owner the BSU Hockey message board, the Beaver Pond. My friend Scott Williams with the call on the goals from Lakeland Public Television.

Ex-Eagle Ben Smith forces game 7 for the Blackhawks...

There was a story line that I didn't think about, two Boston College Eagles played a big hand in tonight's game between the Blackhawks and the Canucks. First Cory Schneider played hockey with Ben Smith at Boston College and now were facing each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Obviously, Cory Schneider was the Vancouver Canucks goalie, albeit before he left the game because of an injury that he suffered on the penalty shot goal by Blackhawks forward Michael Frolik.

In the overtime Blackhawks forward Ben Smith was able to get the upper hand on his former teammate by ending the game with his goal at the 15:30 mark of overtime, forcing a game seven. The final twist is; Apparently the Canucks have two goalies that are both banged up, Roberto Luongo was hurt in game four and Schneider was hurt in tonight's game.

Mike Richards pastes Tim Connolly

Another night, another dangerous hit. The Buffalo Sabres are not happy with Mike Richards hit on Tim Connolly. Sabres All World goalie Ryan Miller had this to say on the hit, "If Mike Richards thinks we're getting away with murder I don't know what he just got away with. Mass murder? Are we stepping up a notch? Unbelievable." This could be a rough game seven if either team gets a big lead. If you see a players rear numbers you can not drive them face first into the boards.

PSU to hire Guy Gadowsky as head coach

Interesting! While many said that Scott Sandelin was the front runner for the PSU head coaching position the PSU Nittany Lions select Princeton head hockey coach Guy Gadowsky as their guy.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State Director of Athletics Tim Curley has announced the hiring of Guy Gadowsky, formerly of Princeton University, as the first head coach of the men's ice hockey program. The 2008 Inside College Hockey National Coach of the Year, Gadowsky brings 15 years of head coaching experience to lead the Nittany Lions into NCAA Division I competition starting in 2012-13.

Gadowsky has spent the past seven years leading Princeton's resurgence, which includes NCAA Championship berths in 2008 and '09 and the 2008 ECAC Hockey Championship. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he was head coach at Alaska-Fairbanks for five years prior to taking the reins of the Princeton program and has earned league coach of the year honors at each of his three head coaching posts.

"Guy is the perfect choice for Penn State," said Penn State President Graham Spanier. "He has been immensely successful, is a great motivator, knows how to build programs, and has strong academic values."

"Pursuing success with honor. Building tradition. Achieving excellence. As we launch our hockey program at the Division I level, these are the on and off-ice expectations, and Guy Gadowsky has successfully accomplished these goals and more throughout his career. We welcome Guy and his family to Hockey Valley," said Curley.

"I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Penn State hockey during this transitional period and into Division I," Gadowsky said. "I am truly honored to join Penn State and the spirit, pride, passion, class and professionalism found within its students, staff and alumni. I am humbled by the tremendous gift by the Pegula family and the commitment by Penn State. This is a very exciting time for college hockey and Penn State and our family is thrilled to be joining the Penn State family."

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany on the B1G Hockey Farce

This article was in the Omaha.com newspaper on Friday. Its the same stuff again, we (Big Ten) are trying to do what's best for college hockey, we are trying to be sensitive. Which is basically a load of crap, B1G is just  trying to maximize their profits with their television network and they could care less about the have-nots of college hockey, BGSU, FSU, LSSU, NMU and WMU of college hockey. Personally, I think the WCHA and the CCHA should tell the Big Ten, good luck and don't let the door hit you in the @$$ on the way out. Pardon me if I am not enthusiastic about the Big Ten Hockey Conference. You can call me a hater, whatever, I don't care...

Omaha.com --- Prompted by Penn State's decision to launch a program, the move was long rumored, but that didn't make it any more popular in some hockey hotbeds around the Midwest.

UNO coach Dean Blais voiced his opposition, saying the move could potentially ruin college hockey, dismantling old rivalries and hurting low-budget programs. What's Jim Delany's response?

Jim Delany: “I don't think anybody has been more sensitive or hands-off on college hockey than the athletic directors and coaches at Big Ten universities for the last 20 years. We had five institutions that played. They did everything they could to help hockey maintain itself. It's not a sport that's widely sponsored outside of certain regions of the country. And every time the issue came up, they said we need to do what's in the best long-term interest for hockey.

“Before Penn State announced its (hockey) membership, it really talked to the conference athletic directors and presidents about forming a hockey league if we got to the minimum of six institutions. We had a good discussion about that and decided that if we had six members, we would want a Big Ten hockey league, as we do in every sport that has six members. There were things about that that would be good for Big Ten hockey and there would be things that would help grow hockey. We may ultimately end up with more than six members doing hockey.

“But before we announced it, at least a year ago, we went to the commissioners of both hockey leagues (WCHA and CCHA). We told them we wanted to be thorough, respectful and we wanted to communicate with all the hockey schools. In fact, we spent a lot of time talking with the two commissioners about how we could put our schedules together in a way that served other hockey-member-playing institutions. We wanted to commit to them those nonconference games ... They continued to say, ‘You need to let us know what you're going to do, so we can make plans. We then said, ‘Well, give us numbers of every athletic director in every hockey school in your conference.' We wanted to communicate directly with them to see how best we could serve. They preferred that we not. I don't know why. But we had offered to do that, to work with them, to sync up schedules.

More Colin Campbell....

Time to strike while the iron is hot, the time has come for Colin Campbell to move on, I believe that Campbell usefulness has come to and end... I can see why people are becoming unhappy with the status quo in the NHL. after listening to this podcast. I have to admit that I had not heard the postcast in question till this morning, this man sounds like a bumbling buffoon.

PITTSBURGH - The NHL hockey operations department has endured a difficult season, and apparently it's far from over.

But perhaps it's time for NHL head disciplinarian Colin Campbell to step down from his role and hand it off to somebody else. Campbell has taken a large amount of criticism this season for his decisions, whether it was from suspensions handed down or plays in which it was deemed a suspension was not worthy.

Campbell is no doubt in a difficult spot, having to answer to the 30 general managers while dealing with plenty of backlash from fans and media for his decisions. And this playoff season has particularly been tough on Campbell as there have been five suspensions already handed out in the first round — there were four all of last postseason — on top of suspensions to Vancouver's Raffi Torres and Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke that carried into the playoffs.

But Campbell is starting to show the strain of the decisions he makes and all but snapped during a radio interview with TSN Radio, based out of Toronto, with James Cybulski and Dave Feschuk. Campbell accused the hosts at one point of having an agenda and not watching hockey.

"Thankless job? Yeah, it's thankless," he said. "Especially at this time of year when there's so much at play here with the playoffs and cities are involved. When you rule on certain situations, all of a sudden you become public enemy No. 1. ... Am I (ticked) off right now? Yeah I'm (ticked) off.''

Time for Colin Campbell to step aside.

I couldn't agree more... To be honest with you I don't know a lot of people that like Colin Campbell and I can't imagine him leaving would have a negative affect on the NHL. All I see is a positive.

Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun --- The time has come for Gary Bettman to take Colin Campbell aside, hand him a nice going-away cheque, and say thanks.

The time is relatively soon — at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Campbell has been on the job as chief NHL disciplinarian for too long. He has become too erratic, too emotional, too exposed to be of real internal or external value to the league any longer. His explosive interview on TSN Radio this week was both telling and startling: There was a Howard Beale element to it all: Campbell may not be mad as hell — in most cases, I’ve found him to be rather sane, terribly human and always approachable — but he doesn’t seem to be willing to take it anymore.

The job of patrolling the out-of-control state of the NHL borders on the impossible. Campbell has had a long run and mostly a good run as sheriff. It’s time for someone else to find out just how impossible this position happens to be.