It looks like Toronto isn’t trying to compete this year.  The crappy thing is that part of the problem is that Mats hasn’t decided what he’s going to do next year.  His delay means that Toronto has to hold onto the purse strings just in case they need to spend $7 or 8 million bucks on him.  Of course, this is only adding insult to injury.  The sensible thing to do for everyone involved would have been for Mats to waive his NTC back in the spring to allow the Leafs to get better.  As it stands, the Leafs have made no big additions and could very well be headed for the basement (not that last year was a great showing).

Montreal, on the other hand, has added some toughness in Laraque and has retained most of its young core that made them one of the best teams in the regular season.  I’m not going to say that Laraque makes the Habs a Cup contender but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

We’ll see.  Maybe Sundin will go to the Habs.  I think that would officially make him public enemy number one in Toronto.  Can you imagine if he brought the Cup back to Montreal in his first year after 13 years in Toronto?  I can.

I’ve seen some saves where the goalie bats the puck out of mid air with his paddle (clearly pure luck).  I’ve seen miraculous glove saves from point blank (luck again).  I’ve never, ever seen a goalie stretch out in the splits on a 2 on 1 to make a skate save to save the game and the entire series.

It was at a point in the game when I was really starting to think that Sidney Crosby and the boys just wouldn’t solve Chris Osgood.  Osgood stopped Crosby on a breakaway which, had he scored, would have made every highlight reel for years to come – his move was just that good.  But at the very last second Osgood flicked out his toe and really changed the momentum of the game.  Fleury easily could have given up and no one would have blamed him for the loss.

Before this game I really didn’t have a favourite for the Conn Smythe trophy but if Fleury is able to lead his Pens to even one more victory I would say that the trophy is all but his.  The mighty offence has been only strong.  The stingy defence has been porous.  The Penguins really have no business being down only one game to a Red Wings team that looks as solid from head to foot as any team I’ve ever seen.

Can I talk about Malkin for a minute?  I know that Don Cherry talked about Malkin being in a fog but I really want to ask him, “what are you thinking?”  All of the backhand and blind passes to no one, or worse?  It’s really quite ridiculous.  It’s to the point where, if I were coach I would sit him.  He hasn’t provided any offence and is causing at least one major turnover every shift.  That’s a liability.  And before you say that he assisted on the game tying goal I would recommend viewing the tape again.  He actually was in the process of giving the puck away!  He was very lucky that the Wings were unable to clear and the Pens kept the puck in deep.  It would have been just one more example of Malkin passing to a ghost.  You almost have to wonder if he’s doing it on purpose…

[images courtesy of playoffbeard.com - a big thanks]

In the post game interview on CBC Price was asked what he’d do with the puck from the shutout.  Price’s reply really left me with a bad taste in my mouth.  Price said, “I don’t know.  It’ll probably end up in a box with the rest of my stuff, at my parent’s house.”  Ugh.  I found that worse than the standard cliched drivel.  I would have preferred, “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the puck.  I’m really more happy that we got the win and that we had a total team effort.”  You know, the standard sports fare.

Now contrast Price’s on camera persona with a veteran, likable, future hall-of-famer in Curtis Joseph.  After coming into a game early in relief of one of the best in the game, and shutting out the Sharks for a comeback win from 3-0, Joseph lauded his team with credit and even boasted about how good the goalie was that he replaced!  Joseph has always been, and continues to be, a class act in front of the cameras and a good interview to boot.

Looks like there is something left to learn for Carey Price.

If you look at his numbers, Roberto Luongo actually still had a pretty darn good year (season-ending 7-1 loss notwithstanding).  His stretch run was nothing less than horrible, going 1-7 in his last 8.  I guess having a baby can be emotional and all but, ew.

Looks like I’ll be cheering for the Canadiens and the Flames.  That would be an awesome rematch of a final (see ‘85-’86 and ‘88-’89).  The past three finals have featured a Canadian team so hopefully this year will be no different.

It seems like the trend this year is to sign your big players for long contracts. My guess is that they’re thinking that their caps are going to increase each year and make these signings bargains in the future. I’m no Kreskin but the last guy to last 8 years in Philadelphia was… anyone? Eric Desjardins. Ok, that didn’t have the impact I thought it would. I thought the last guy was Eric Lindros – he was the next 8 yearer after Desjardins. Anyway, a quick check of the Flyers’ roster shows that longevity is not management’s strong suit. How long before Briere is made the goat and traded like Lindros was? Well, that’s a tough question.

Briere as a “no movement” clause. If it’s anything like Bryan McCabe’s, in Toronto, it means that Briere has to remain a member of the Flyers for the full term of his contract – unless he waives the clause in the [likely] event of a total failure by the team.

But Briere’s agent is no dummy. If things should fall apart in Philly, and Briere waives and moves, his contract could end up being significantly less. So how do you protect against that? Briere’s contract was front-loaded with a $5 million signing bonus. He’ll be making $10 million in the first year. Not bad at all.

Too bad Briere can’t save Philly.

Best team, post UFA frenzy day three? The New York Rangers. Hopefully they are able to hang onto Brendan Shanahan but even if they don’t, Lundqvist, Jagr, Gomez, Drury, Ozolinsh, Dawes, Hossa, Orr, Malik, Montoya… Great team.

My prediction for 2007/2008 Stanley Cup? Either the Rangers or the Penguins. They’ve both got teams full of talented, and energetic teams. And I stress the word teams.

Buy my predictions aren’t worth the ink on this web page so send me yours and we can giggle about them together next April.