Boulerice in and Boulerice out...simple as that!

First went Downie, then fell Boulerice...

29-year old enforcer Jesse Boulerice has been suspended 25 games by the National Hockey League for his striking hit on Canucks forward Ryan Kesler's face last night in Vancouver.

The suspension bodes nicely with prospect Steve Downie's out of training camp on Ottawa's Dean McCammond (he got 20 games).

But as for Boulerice, he's in and out.

Signed October 3rd as a free-agent to a 1-year contract, Boulerice was expected to assure a depth role on the Flyers checking lines this season.
But one week and two days into his Flyers tenure, the Plattsburgh, New York native gets slapped with the longest single-season ban in NHL history.

Longest NHL suspensions ever include:

Chris Simon, NYI March 2007, 25 games
Jesse Boulerice, PHI October 2007, 25 games
Marty McSorley, BOS Februaru 2000, 23 games
Gordie Dwyer, TAM September 2000, 23 games
Dale Hunter, WAS May 1992, 21 games
Steve Downie, PHI September 2007, 20 games
Todd Bertuzzi, VAN February 2004, 20 games
Tom Lysiak, CHI October 1983, 20 games
Brad May, PHO November 2000, 20 games

"This was more than a careless and reckless play," Colin Campbell said. "It was senseless."

Paul Holmgren expected nothing less than that from Campbell on this situation.

"Is 25 the worst?" he said. "It's pretty close to what I expected."

Boulerice isn't new to massive suspensions, in fact, he was suspended one entire year in 1998 by the Ontario Hockey League for his newfound fondness for "stick-swinging", something Habs fans can remember Alexander Perezhogin for during his short-lived Bulldogs stay

The following year, now in the American Hockey League, Boulerice didn't get the nod to play until mid-November, when he was ruled "eligible" to return to action.

He will be eligilbe to be reinstated to the Flyers active roster December 13th against the Montreal Canadiens; but one can wonder if he'll ever suit up for the Flyguys ever again.
It's unlikely, in my opinion, that Boulerice gets a second chance for his infraction and if anything he'll salt the rest of the season down on the farm with the Flyers' AHL affiliate Phantoms.

It's not as if he was ever good or effective in his role to begin with.

-BBeR

Canucks new jersey...can this finally be the one?

Countless "leaks", speculation, unconfirmed talk and restlessness from Canucks fans caused a good deal of havoc for much of the month of July, when most of the jerseys were released, primarily because they seem to be so picky about what their team will wear in the coming seasons.

But all that may just be about to end.

Just recently, the Canucks logo was confirmed by many a leaked images to be this one:

Shortly after -gee, what a coincidence- the Vancouver Canucks official website leaves behind a typical teaser, previewing the Canucks new jersey and advertizing its release date by showing you just enough to get an impression of what it may look like and still keeping you in the dark by actually not showing you anything but the basic colours.

And the moment we've all been waiting for...your EA Sports NHL 08 Canucks UNCONFIRMED (I say this because if this turns out not to be legit, then please don't come down hard, I blog for fun and I try to give fans the most accurate information possible) leak (which I got from a very reliable source connected to EA Canada.)

-Note: some of the colour/contrast/clarity may be a bit off in some spots, that's my image hosting service's doing.

Click here for a higher-resolution version

Feel free to speak your mind in the comments section.

And as for the jersey, I actually like it very much; I always enjoyed watching them suit up in that classic look every so often last season.

-BBeR

NEW Flyers jersey information leak?

Reader John D. sends in the following (who will as well become a contributor for the Flyers on this blog, you interested? Shoot me an email over at bbrblog@gmail.com, now back to the topic!)

Thanks John for sending this in, really appreciated.

But folks, take it for what it's worth, John didn't get this from the team directly, so it's hardly a done deal, just a rumour.

Thought I'd let the hockey world know some inside information about the
Flyers new jerseys that will be out next year. I was at the Flyers main
practice facility today (in Vorhees, NJ) and will be for the rest of the
week. On my way out, I was talking to the staff, and we were discussing
the new jerseys coming out in the fall.

Apparently, there will be a complete overhaul of the Flyers jerseys and
it will be released on September 14th. No one, even the staff, even
knows what it will exactly look like except for this clue (thanks to the
skate shop staff): "You know what the Buffalo Sabres wore last
year...Yeah, it's like that."

Next year, the Flyers will be sporting 2 new jerseys - a black and a
white model. There will be NO THIRD JERSEY next year. When there is
one though, it will be an orange one. It is most likely going to be
released after this upcoming season or the season after that.

I hope I helped! I know it's not much information, but thats all there
is right now. I'll give regular updates when I get them.

John will also be given updates once he joins in officially on this blog!

-The Detroit Red Wings signed former Blues captain Dallas Drake to a 1-year contract worth just above league minimum at $550 K.
Drake is still effective, even at his current status, and for that price, he may just turn out to be a bargain, much like Yannic Perreault was last season with the 'Yotes.

-Speaking of em 'Yotes, Phoenix has signed former Flyers forward, Mike York to a 1-year deal.
York will net $1 millon over the course of next season before being eligible to hit the UFA market once again.
York's career has slown down big time after a few succesful seasons with the Islanders, he was dealt mid-season to the Flyers, along with defenceman Alexei Zhitnik (later passed on to Atlanta) for centre Randy Robitaille and poitman Freddy Meyer,

How slow, you ask?

I think a downfall from 53 points with the Isles in 2005-2006 to just 21 points in two-half campaigns with New York and Philadelphia is more than enough cause for concern.

-Among other news, the Stars picked up tough-guy Todd Fedoruk today, signing the enforcer to a 1-year/$850 K contract likely to drop the gloves on more than a few occasions next year.
The Canucks agreed to terms with defenceman Aaron Miller on a 1-year contract, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

--BBR

Another logo bites the dust?

The Vancouver Canucks logo may be going into a whole new dimension, come next season.

If you remember last offseason's Buffalo Sabres' new logo and uniform controversy, then you'll love what I have to post here.

Last year, Sabres fans were outraged at the new Sabres logo that had been leaked out to them, and as a result, it became a hot topic around the hockey world.

Well this time, it's the Vancouver Canucks that may be getting a total makeover.

The "new concept" of this Canucks jersey, would look like this:

Personally, I think it's awesome, and I would totally buy a jersey like this.

The logo is very cool and the colors are well-chosen.

I hope for the Canucks, that this turns out to be their new uniform, but I wouldn't mind seeing them in their "stick in a rink" whale jerseys next season once again.

--BBR

Game 7: Dallas @ Vancouver

Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks will host the Dallas Stars in what promises to be an epic game 7.

The words "game seven" sometimes there is a pit in your stomach or the hair stands up on your neck.

In a game 7 situation, every shot, save, rebound, penalty, dump in, line change and many other things will be magnified. It is a time where the best players have to be great, and unlikely heroes emerge.

In a game 7 situation, all the players will leave it all on the ice. Tomorrow is guaranteed for only one team. The team who wins will celebrate for a few hours before traveling to their next destination, with almost no rest. The team who loses, will sit and wonder what else they could have done.

As close as this series has been, both teams are deserving to win. Vancouver took 3 of the first 4 games, including 2 overtime games, one of them being the 6th longest game in NHL history when Henrik Sedin scored in the 4th overtime. Taylor Pyatt scored the winner in game 3, and an old guard for the Canucks, Trevor Linden, scored late in game 4 to give the Canucks 2 wins in Dallas. The Canucks won their 3 games, each by one goal. Roberto Luongo has quieted skeptics, in his first playoff series in his seven-year career.

Dallas put in a big effort to win game 2 in Vancouver, and then stellar perfomances by Marty Turco have put the Stars in position to complete the come back. He has quieted his critics for now. Dallas won all of their games via the shutout, including a 1-0 OT win on a goal by Brendan Morrow in Vancouver.

So let us sit back and watch this game 7, the only one of the first round. The entire hockey world will consume one of the greatest nights in sports. The intensity of game 7 are unmatched, and this one will be no different.

Yet another hysterical my NHL commercial...

I'm a little late on this one, as I hadn't seen it on TV before, here's a my NHL commercial involving the Sedin twins that'll make you laugh.



And if you didn't get it, it's a bunch of guys waiting for "Swedish twins" at a bachelor party.

"I hear we're getting Swedish twins!"
"Swedish twins?" exclaims the geeky guy, "I thought that was just a myth."

Thanks to Earl over at Battle of California for this little beauty.

Mike Ribeiro falls for Trevor Daley...

This is good.

That's a pic of Ribeiro and Trevor Daley "celebrating" their Game 2 win over Vancouver, they look awfully close do they not?

He also said he was "happy" the Canadiens were not in the playoffs earlier this week, looks like he's having fun in Dallas...you know what, this come to mind now, it's funny because I read a rumour suggesting that Ribeiro was available and the Habs were going to try and get him back in the offseason...

Yeah...RIGHT!

Look where Daley's "let" his hand go...

I was right about Ribeiro being caught with a man!

"Let's wait until tomorrow when Mike Ribeiro gets caught with a man..."

You're staring at Henrik Sedin, then all of a sudden: a Slim Fast bar appears...

Some television viewers who stayed up late to watch Dallas' first-round playoff game against Vancouver might have missed Henrik Sedin's fourth-overtime goal.
The game was televised on Versus, and the network said Thursday it received reports the game was switched to an infomercial during the last overtime.

That "infomercial" part cracked me up, and I'm still cracking up while writing this now.

Imagine staying up 'till 3:00 AM and...there's Sedin in front of Turco, you're on your feet, he's about to let it go...and...you drop your beer in the process, you look down and pick up that all-important Molson Ex bottle...you immediately swivel your head towards the television screen...and...you see a limited time offer on Slim Fast bars...

Wow, imagine being a Stars fan and missing out on that all important moment, or, even worse, a Canucks fan missing out on Henrik potting one and giving you the winner while you sulk on the phone arguing with miss Bradshaw on how the infomercial caused you to grow an ingrown toenail, and, she advises you of an infomercial on now that could you help treat that.

My little story just cracked me up too...

8:03 PM: The Rangers lead the Thrahers 2-1, the Wings are on top of Calgary 2-0.

-Take a look at this...

Okay, now I'm having too much fun.

The playoffs have started...

Marty Turco works out at General Motors place right in front of the nicely-designed zamboni

STARS vs. CANUCKS
Game 1; VAN leads 1-0

1st
05:06
BIEKSA, K. : Hooking - 2 min
08:35
BIEKSA, K. : Hooking - 2 min
16:13
BIEKSA, K. : Interference - 2 min

3rd OT
03:16
BIEKSA, K. : Hi-sticking - 2 min

Now, count how many penalties our friend Kevin Bieksa took last night and you will know how many overtimes the Canucks and Stars played last night at General Motors Place in Game 1 of their series.

Yes, they played 4 overtimes, it was the 6th longest game in NHL history.

Marty Turco actually played a decent game, and made 51 saves in a losing 5-4 cause to the Northwest champions.
His counterpart, Roberto Luongo, made an astonishing and mind boggling 72 saves in his first ever career playoff game, a new record.

And the one to end it all, was Henrik Sedin, who at 18:16 of the fourth overtime, picked up a pass from (come on, guess)...Daniel Sedin and put the puck through the legs of a tired Marty Turco, to give the Canucks a one-game lead over the Dallas Stars.

Ladislav Nagy scored his first playoff goal in nearly a decade, his last one dating back to 1999 when he was still with the Blues.
I was too tired to watch this game last night, first I watch Ottawa cream Pittsburgh, then I watched the Sharks top the Preds, I think that was enough playoff hockey for me.
------
PENGUINS vs. SENATORS
Game 1; OTT leads 1-0

It was all Senators from the start.
As I tuned on to CBC to watch another Canadian team other than my Canadiens, I actually wanted the Sens to make (isn't it about time?) a serious run to win the Stanley Cup.

They sure looked like Cup contenders to me against the tough but inexperienced Pittsburgh Penguins in their first game last night, pounding them 6-3, although it was never close.

Jeremy Roenick, on TSN last night, put it best:
Sidney Crosby looks like a 19-year old out there.

That's all you need to know on how the Penguins played last night; most of their players had yet to skate on playoff ice let alone win a playoff game, their loss wasn't too unexpected.
Marc-Andre Fleury looked shaky in the first period, allowing two goals in the first eight minutes of the game, one that he should've stopped against defenceman Andrej Mezaros.

It didn't help the Scotiabankers were chanting his name "FLEUUUUURRRY!" continuously. (Habs fans may remember the last playoff series before the lockout, when the Habs came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Bruins and it was all because of literally speaking, the fans who didn't stop abusing poor Raycroft...RAYYYYYYCCRRROFT!" )

Fleury settled down after, but in the third period, the Sens already had a 6-1 lead and many grumbled at a call that disallowed Sidney Crosby's goal in the second period, that would've put the game in realistic reach for Therrien's Pens, but no, it was waved off and I agree, Crosby went to the crease, the rebound went off Ray Emery and right to Crosby's legs who slid the puck in the goal as he was skating towards him.

Maybe it was a bad call, but from the angle I saw it, I wouldn't have ruled it a goal either.
Jocelyn Thibault played the last 5 or so minutes of this contest and it's likely he will start Game 2 for the Pens.

The Pens had something like 6 straight powerplays in the last ten minutes of the game, had they converted on 2 or 3, they could've made a serious run to tie the game.

Sidney Crosby scored in vengeance but it was no use as the Pens fell to the Sens 6-3 at Scotia Bank Place last night.

Daniel Alfredsson played a wicked game, the guy had like 15 shots on goal last night (it's probably not that) and played like a real captain.

-------
SHARKS vs. PREDATORS
Game 1; SJS lead 1-0

Just a quick recap for you...Jonathan Cheechoo left the game and blew his right knee out, after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Scott Hartnell in the second period.

The Sharks still ended up winning despite blowing a 4-2 lead.

Patrick Rissmiller picked up a nice pass from Pat Marleau and snapped it by Tomas Vokoun to give the Sharks a 5-4 OT win, sorry 2OT win.

Our friend Craig Rivet scored on a 5-3 for the Sharks and even had an assist.
Mike Grier, Milan Michalek and Matt Carle scored the other goals for San Jose.

Rookie Alexander Radulov and JP Dumont scored twice for the Preds who drop game 1 to the Sharks.

-------


WILD vs. DUCKS
Game 1; ANA lead 1-0

Here we go, my Wild were in Anaheim to take on the Ducks.

The game wasn't particularly exciting, but nonetheless, the Ducks prevailed 2-1 over Minnesota.
With about 5 minutes to go in the hockey game, Dustin Penner swiped at a puck supposedly under Nicklas Backstrom in the crease and buried it behind a fallen Nicklas Backstrom with a Kim Johnsson on him.

"I watched the replay and I was sure it was under me and nobody saw the puck," Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom said. "Of course, you're going to get the puck out from a goalie if you slash at it with your sticks.

"I don't know if he stopped the puck or whether he was right on top of it or if it was under the pad," Lemaire said. "He waited a bit and they whacked the puck right in."

Hmm, I learned this in pee wee, when the puck is under the goalie for 2 seconds, a whistle is supposed to be blown, I guess it wasn't this time Jacques.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere didn't play for the Ducks, Ilja Bryzgalov (their hero last year in the playoffs) started and made 24 saves.
Giguere's newlyborn son had a condition that could keep him blind in his right eye, however, fortunately, a specialist told the Ducks' goalie and his wife that he will have sight in that eye.

"We felt that the emotional roller coaster Giguere has been on, it was more beneficial to let him get his feet underneath him," said Randy Carlyle after being asked why Giguere didn't play.

Teemu Selanne and Pavol Demitra scored the other two goals of the game, a game that was relatively speedy and creative, but low-scoring.
I especially liked Demitra's goal, he took a slap shot 15 feet from Bryzgalov and the puck was just wired over the goalie's glove.
Hey, ya sure that wasn't Brian Rolston (remember his shootout slapper on Luongo?) ?
------
And there's your first playoff recap, I hope I'll be able to post after every game...

Tonight, the Sabres take on the Islanders, should be an interesting game; the Devils take on the Lightning, boy that'll be fun to watch; the Thrashers play their first ever post-season game against the Rangers and the Wings will host the Calgary Flames.

Salo to remain in Vancouver...

The Canucks signed Salo to a four-year contract extension Thursday that will pay the 32-year-old Finn US$3.5 million a season. "He has great presence out there," assistant general manager Steve Tambellini said from Los Angeles prior to the Canucks' game against the Kings. "He's so confident in his play, whether it's the most important game of the season or the way he prepares himself for training camp.
-CBC

Very good signing by Dave Nonis; if he had been let go, Salo would have attracted much interest in the free-agent market by defenceman-hungry GM's.

The Finnish-born defenceman is a very good scoring defenceman and has been a leader of this Canucks team for a while now.

Dave Nonis and co. must be relieved that he's staying, if he had hit the free-agent market, Salo would've been a hotly anticipated commodity if last year's frantic defenceman signings mean anything this year.

"You want to win," said Salo, who sat out the game against the Kings with a groin injury. "I felt that team we have in Vancouver right now, and in the future, we have a really good chance of going far in the playoffs.

Salo has 13 goals and 21 assists with a great +19 rating and 6 gawe-winning goals, the triple of what he had in each of the past two seasons.

That last stat is also reassuring for the Canucks, if they expect to go far in the playoffs, they'll have Sami Salo's shot right behind them.

Hello, my name is Henrik and here's my twin brother Daniel...

Daniel Sedin (left) and Henrik Sedin (right) are both making huge strides with the Canucks this season...

FleetCenter; Boston, MA; June 26th, 1999

The Vancouver Canucks were a failing team, desperate for some young talent.
And on June 26th, 1999 they were ready to make a move.
After a season which saw them accumulate 47 losses and a mere 58 points, they were determined to gain a little more respect.

Just a little respect.

On this date in 1999, they changed the look of their prospect repertoire, certain Swedes by the name of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin whom were both 2nd and 3rd overall picks respectively.

But who were these kids some asked? "The twin brothers from MoDo in Sweden."

Scouts were impressed with the twins' offensive ability in Sweden, however they did not put up huge numbers: Henrik had 47 points in 50 games before being drafted and Daniel was slightly worse with 45 points in 50 games. While fans drooled over the possibility of another Sutter. But most importantly, experts proudly promoted that this had better have been carefully chosen pair of draft choices, as the Canucks were floundering and had just dissapointed big-time with 47 losses, they needed some kind of consolation for that.

The Canucks drafted potentially high-impact players, but more interestingly, they had taken two brothers with two consecutive picks.

Their careers started off a little slow for highly-picked draftees but nevertheless, expectations were still high for the dynamic duo.
However, things began to go bleak when the pair failed to reach 55 points in their first four NHL seasons after being taken very high in the draft.
The highest they ever got to were back in 2003-2004, the last pre-lockout season, the last "Old-NHL" season when Daniel broke the bank and recorded 54 points while Henrik presented only a slight improvement over the previous seasons with 42 points.

"What's going on? Why aren't they the superstars they should be? Did we screw up by choosing 50 point players 2nd and 3rd overall?"

I have to admit, I was kind of reluctant to accept that they would ever accomplish the goals fans around the nation expected of them.
It wasn't a particularly talent-filled draft choice pool that year, with Patrick Stefan going 1st overall to the new Atlanta Thrashers and many other nobodies taken further on.

The most notable pick of the draft was probably the Senators' selection of Martin Havlat 26th overall in the 1st round, the rest either did not accomplish what had been planned for them or simply were flops.
The biggest flop being Patrick Stefan, now with the Dallas Stars, who was probably the worst first overall pick ever.

Wait!

The new NHL proved to be a career-saving, career-ending or career-changing experience for many players.
In the career-saving: Jaromir Jagr...Cristobal Huet...Martin Straka...Mats Sundin... just to name a few, turned their careers around after going downhill for a few years.

But then there was the career-changing which saw Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin turn the heat up and finally post star numbers with 71 and 75 points each. Henrik's proved to be a playmaker more than a scorer, with 57 assists last season and currently 57, they have proved to make up the majority of his point totals. Daniel has emerged into a scorer who finishes the plays up with the help of his linemate brother, netting 22 goals last season and currently 31.

And the great duo just proved they are what the Canucks drafted them to be: talented players, and that's what you get from Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

And what has people talking these days is also their clutch performances, last week, Henrik scored the game-winning goal against the Sharks about a minute into the game a week ago and yesterday, Daniel scored the winner in a similar time span against the Blues. They each had 1 goal and 1 assist in a 3-2 overtime win against the falling Blues.

Scoring...playmaking...energy...clutch...what more can they give? Time will only tell and blossom the pair into great and offensive leading players.

Oh, and they're both making the same amount of money each year too, funny indeed, one isn't beating out the other, at least not yet...

A new way to tell apart the Sedin twins...

IT'S A BOY: Canuck centre Henrik Sedin missed the Thursday morning skate as he spent time with his new son, Walter, who was born on Wednesday. According to Uncle Daniel, Walter weighed in at six pounds, six ounces. "They think he's a red head, but he might also be blond," reported Daniel. "It's tough to know." Henrik Sedin was in the lineup Thursday night.

Vancouver Sun

Congratulations to Henrik Sedin! Maybe this is a glimpse of the future hockey great family such as the Sutters?

Now we can tell 'em apart, Henrik is the one holdin' the baby...

Happy trails Walter and Congrats Henrik!

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge

Brent Sopel headed back to Vancouver

Last offseason, the Kings signed free-agent defenceman Brent Sopel from the Vancouver Canucks.

Not even a year later, he's headed back to the team that had given up on him.

Sopel, 30, was traded to Vancouver about 15 minutes ago per TSN, for a second and fourth round draft pick. He has 4 goals and 19 assists for a total of 23 points this season and has managed to be a +2 on a mediocre Kings team.

He has a good shot and is useful on the powerplay as well, he has collected 7 points on the powerplay this season with 2 goals and 5 assists. Sopel always had the potential to be an upper-tier defenceman but he never really got there which promted the Canucks dealing him away.

And on a side note: TSN reports Bryan Smolinski's trade is for a conditional second round pick and it's safe to say this is all but done now.

Oh, and the Leafs-Habs games is great, Canadiens leading 3-1 heading into second. Check it out on TSN.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

TSN/Eklund: 9 players on waivers.

EDIT: TSN just reported this, it is official.

It is Eklund, so until this becomes official (if it does) ...take it with a grain of salt:

He claims a reliable source has informed him that, 9 players have been put on waivers and here they are:

"Brian Boucher, Bryan Berard, Michael Leighton, Denis Hamel, Jason Krog, Niko Kapanen, Marc Chouinard, Aaron Downey, and Petr Cajanek"

Some very interesting names in there, especially Berard, Kapanen, Boucher and Cajanek.

Berard requested a deal out of Columbus, maybe putting him on waivers is the first step, although, I would not understand any logic behind this since Columbus would lose one of its top defencemen and get absolutely nothing in return.

Expect most of these names will likely be claimed.

TSN/Team 990: Berard requests trade!

Denis Casavant, on the local sports radio station in Montreal, the Team 990, just reported Brian Berard requested a trade out of Columbus.

He mentioned it as they were ending the show.

New Jersey is rumoured to have interest in him. The Ducks, Canucks and Oilers are all possible suitors.

Stay tuned...

EDIT: I overlooked TSN's article

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

8 scouts last night at Kings-Avs game...

Over at the Denver Post, Terry Frei just reported 8 teams (rumoured to be Chicago, Vancouver, St. Louis, NY Rangers, Dallas, Boston, Columbus and Tampa Bay) were in attendance for last night's Kings-Avalanche game).

The possible shoppings from both teams are believed to be:

Brent Sopel: Los Angeles is rumoured not to want a mountain of players for him, most likely a mid-round draft pick. Sopel can be an affordable option for teams wanting to bolster their blue line. He is also more affordable than Sheldon Souray.

Aaron Miller: Might attract some attention for teams in need of depth...

Ossi Vaananen: With the injury to defenceman Jordan Leopold, Vaananen's chances of being dealt have likely diminished, unless the Avs make a same position swap and trade Vaananen for another defenceman.

Ken Klee: Klee is aging quickly and he has not been as effective this season as he was with Toronto and New Jersey last season. If he is dealt, he will be for at best a mid-late round pick for teams seeking depth.
Don't look for teams to sacrifice much or trade any young players such as New Jersey did (Aleksander Suglobov)last season.

Ian Laperriere: Slight drop-off from last season, Laperriere is a checking centre with a light offensive side.