And here’s John Tortorella’s old yearbook picture

Posted by Justin Bourne under General Awesomeness on May 16, 2013

New York Rangers v Washington Capitals - Game Seven

Via Toucher and Rich, The Fonz’s John Tortorella’s yearbook photo from Concord-Carlisle High in Massachusetts has surfaced, and you won’t be disappointed, mostly because he includes the phrase “bathroom brawls” in his…what were those things called, “bequeaths?”

Some thoughts:

* “Lanas Garage” – him and his buddies leaving certain special dates/locations for posterity?

* MAN, his friends had cooler nicknames than mine. Snake, Mendy, Musky…bad to the bone.

* B.D.W.B? Bhat Dould Webus Bo? That can’t be right. Bacon Derby Wombat Brisket? I’m open to suggestion.

Enjoy, and here’s to hoping that he eventually found MUSKY: Read the rest of this entry »

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Dave Lozo’s Bag Skate: Brad Richards future with the Rangers, Game of Thrones & Five Guys

Posted by Dave Lozo under Dave Lozo's Bag Skate on May 16, 2013

New York Rangers v Washington Capitals - Game One

Brad Richards has been staggeringly bad at hockey this season. That doesn’t make him unique. What does though is the fact he makes $6.66 million per season through 2019-20, which is a lot of money to pay someone who acted as a fourth-line center during the first round of the playoffs.

Richards turned 33 years old in May and will be 40 years old when his contract expires. Whether the season of the New York Rangers comes to a conclusion in two weeks, four weeks or six weeks, he seems like a very strong candidate for an amnesty buyout when June 15 rolls around. The Rangers would need to shell out $24 million over the next 14 years to send Richards on his way. That is a lot of money until you remember the Rangers treat money the way a sociopathic 11-year-old treats ants in that they enjoy setting both on fire.

Despite all of the evidence — age, declining production, huge salary, a franchise that doesn’t care about money — it would take something monumental for the Rangers to buy out Richards this summer. Read the rest of this entry »

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The 2013 NHL award nominees had stellar regular seasons; how are they doing in the playoffs?

Posted by Daniel Wagner under 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Playoffs! on May 16, 2013

(Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

(Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Throughout the playoffs, the NHL has been parcelling out announcements of the post-season award nominees. This has led to the usual debates: did Player X get snubbed for Award Y? Should the Hart be for the player most valuable to his team or for just the best player in the league? Do purely offensive defencemen belong in the discussion for the Norris trophy?

For some fans whose teams didn’t make the playoffs or got bounced in the first round, these arguments can be a welcome distraction, if they still want to think about hockey at all.

But what I find interesting is that the Selke award is the only one that still has all three nominees in the playoffs. At least one nominee for all the other major awards either didn’t make the playoffs or got knocked out in the first round.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Jaromir Jagr is “not good now,” according to Jaromir Jagr

Posted by Justin Bourne under Notable Quotables on May 16, 2013

Toronto Maple Leafs v Boston Bruins - Game Seven

One of my favourite things about older players is that they’re more prone to honesty, given everything they’ve been through in the NHL. They’ve built their reputations, proven themselves, and tend to open up a little bit more as they get on in years.

Jaromir Jagr is one of those “on in years” players, and in reflecting on his time with the New York Rangers prior to playing them in a best-of-seven series (starting tonight), he made some awfully interesting comments about himself.

Here are the quotes, as given to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com (stick-tap to Pro Hockey Talk): Read the rest of this entry »

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Noteworthy, May 16th: The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1

Posted by Justin Bourne under Noteworthy on May 16, 2013

Detroit Red Wings v Chicago Blackhawks - Game One

Last season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I put out a morning “noteworthy” column in the style of Trey Kerby’s “Things Of Note” posts on The Basketball Jones. This year I’ll be doing something similar (I think with some upgrades on my own previous attempts) using the NHL’s morning press release (“Stanley Cup of Joe,” they’re calling it), my own opinions, and some videos, .GIFs and appropriate pictures. Quoted passages are from the NHL press release.

***

Only one series was in action last night in the NHL (we’re getting perilously close to that time of the year where some nights there’s none), and that was the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings Game 1. The Blackhawks beat Detroit 4-1, and it was never really all that close, despite being 1-1 in the third period for awhile. Hell, Chicago outshoot their opponent 42-21. Read the rest of this entry »

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Digestible Playoff Previews: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings

Posted by Justin Bourne under 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Previews on May 15, 2013

Detroit Red Wings v Chicago Blackhawks

With the playoffs on the horizon, I wanted to put together previews of each series, but more specifically, I wanted to put together the type of previews I’d want to read. Bite-sized, few stats, and little splash of opinion for seasoning. This is my attempt at providing that.

***

1) Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7) Detroit Red Wings

Head-to-Head in 2013: Chicago 4-0-0 Read the rest of this entry »

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Court of Public Opinion: Raffi Torres did another borderline illegal thing

Posted by Justin Bourne under Court of Public Opinion on May 15, 2013

Last night Raffi Torres threw a dicey hit on an opposing player (as balloons, confetti and streamers fall from the ceiling rewarding me for typing that for the 100th time), and we’re going to take a look at it. So far, the NHL hasn’t followed up on it, so it seems like there won’t be any supplemental discipline.

(Update: Yeah there will be.

Part of me wonders if they won’t just tell him to f*** off and not come back, but that probably wouldn’t be very professional.)

The facts:

Raffi Torres comes from below the goal line and up to take care of his role defensively. As he skates up in the Kings’ zone, he sees that Jarret Stoll is going to get possession of the hockey puck. Being a physical player, he decides to throw a hit. Stoll has bent down to play the puck with his glove. Torres hits him with his shoulder, impacting Stoll on the side of his head and shoulder simultaneously.

My opinion:

I think it’s a bad hit, I really do. Read the rest of this entry »

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