A couple more trades...

Hudler to Florida for a 2nd and 4th pick. Honestly Calgary could have gotten more for this guy at the end of last season but would have been hated by the fans for it. He had an amazing season and wasn't going to do it again (see current season). Still, getting 1 high pick and 1 middle pick for an aging UFA isn't bad.

Also, Reimer and Morin to San Jose for Stalock, Smith and a conditional 4th round pick in 2018. This is a good trade for San Jose. Gives them another solid goalie who is likely to perform better with a better team in front of him even if he is in there as a backup to Jones (I think it is Jones). Not really sure what Toronto gets out of it but maybe they were just looking to get rid of Reimer and tank for the rest of the season.

geeogree : I was kinda sad to see Ladd go from the Jets - he may not have been a key player per se, but he def made himself part of the team.

From what I've heard also Winnipeg didn't get anybody for the trade, but I may be incorrect on that.

plasticinsanity : They got a 1st round draft pick from the Blackhawks and one of their top prospects for him which was a high price for the Hawks to pay, but I don't think any of Blackhawks fans will be complaining if they Hoist their 2nd of back to back cups this summer and their 4th since 2010.

I'm happy with the way my Hawks played against the Capitals on Sunday, especially in an EARLY game which it seems the Hawks don't usually play well in. I had to look twice when I saw that the game was starting at 11:30.

Fleishman already made his presence felt and really played scrappy. I guess Weise had some sort of Visa issues, so he wasn't with the team, but I'm excited to see him play as well. It was a good measure to see how the team would match up vs the Capitals, especially since they scored 3 goals on Hotlby.

I just wish the playoffs would hurry up and get here! Hawks are going to be tough to beat in the playoffs especially once they get Hossa back healthy.

yeah, it was a fairly high price to pay but Chicago has a limited window in which to continue winning cups. Toews and Kane are nearing their peaks as players (both are 27) so the number of chances to win while they are at their best are maybe 3 more years. After that they will likely be on the decline overall and then Chicago will have more trouble winning after that. And the defence is even older I think. Kieth and Seabrook are both in their early 30's so they should be declining as well.


That's not to say that Bowman can't keep things going. Panarin looks like a star already and he's pretty young. Teravainen hasn't even come close to hitting his stride either. There are 2 guys to lead the team going forward as Kane and Toews age. Still, I wouldn't be banking on them winning yet if I had a chance to win now. I think Chicago has the cap era figured out and has been successful long term where other teams (like Pittsburgh) have had short term success but couldn't maintain it even though they should have been able to.

Jordanv78 : Ahhh see, I wasn't aware of that lol but I guess it's because we haven't had any one new come over to the team yet... that I'm aware of.

I'm probably just being a stubborn mule, but since the Jets aren't going to be making the playoffs I'm not as excited as last year. But I hope Chicago gets it (Toews is from Winnipeg, so it's partly a Canadian-pride thing).

There is a part of me that wants my favorite teams (I have several teams I like to cheer for) to win but at the same time I do get tired of seeing the same teams going for the cup every year. It's a tough balance of being happy that a team I like won and sad that a team that really deserves a shot at the cup can't get there.

I understand how tough it can be to see teams other than your favorite teams win year after year. Thankfully I'm a fan of the Blackhawks and am riding this wave of excitement. Especially since I had to watch old man Wirtz try to ruin the team from the mid/late 90s all the way till the early 2000s before he passed away.

So trust me, I've had my ups and downs with the team and was getting pretty sick watching our hated Rivals (The RedWings) win cup after cup in the late 90s/early 2000s

Jordanv78 : yeah, I understand that too. The mid to late 90's were bad in Calgary. Early 2000's up to the cup run (which was the peak in recent memory) to the drop off and hopeful resurgence with the young guys that Calgary has playing. It's hard to see your absolute favorite team not do well but I don't cheer just 1 team anymore. I'm a fan of several teams in the East and West and will cheer for plenty of teams. Obviously I would love to see Calgary win again but I'm realistic and know they won't. I would like to see another team overcome the odds and beat a Chicago in order to go to the finals (like they did with Vancouver I believe a few years back when Vancouver was the favorite to win).

I mean, I don't blame you for hoping for as many cups as your team can win but for a lot of the rest of the league they are ready for someone else to come along

Well I have to say, I haven't liked the way my Hawks have been playing the past few weeks AT ALL.

Honestly I'm not that worried per-se, but I'm hoping they can get a little stronger going into the last couple weeks of the regular season. Getting Hossa back (and later Kruger) should help balance out the lines and REALLY help the struggling PK as they are 2 of the Hawks best PK guys.

Really though they just need to stop the bad penalties they've been taking the past couple games, and they will be fine. Hawks are a team built for the playoffs anyways. I'm excited for the Playoffs to hurry up and get here!

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the playoffs as well. Calgary won't be making it this year but I honestly am okay with that. They aren't going to be really playoff ready for another 2-3 years at least. Too many really young players that need years to mature before they are ready. I can be patient knowing that there is a lot of potential there. In a couple years with a solid goalie behind them Calgary should be a a regular playoff team. For now, we suck

I really hope that the last 2 or 3 spots in each Conference go down to the wire though. I always enjoy those games because they start to mean so much. Almost more exciting than actual playoff games. Not sure what I'm going to do during the playoffs though. I don't have cable right now so I likely will miss a lot of it. Might need to find a site that streams games so I can watch at least some of them.

geeogree : I'm not sure in Canada, but there has to be an APP where you can watch some of the games at least. I know that the NBC app here allows you to watch games, but I've heard it's kinda hit or miss regarding how well it actually streams. Maybe the actual website is better, but I've not tried it myself.

You also might find people on apps like Periscope.

I would die without playoff hockey, so I can only imagine how you feel.

Calgary does have a nice young core going for them. Just need time to develop and add a few pieces. So they should be in good shape for the future.

The only race right now that I'm super watching (aside form the Hawks) Is the Wings and Philly fighting for the 8th spot. Wings have something like 24 STRAIGHT playoff appearances (just crazy) that could be broken this season and the Fliers are red hot.

Jordanv78 : yeah, I'm always torn about streaks like that. There is part of me that wants to see the streak broken and part of me that respects a streak like that in sports and wants to see it last as long as possible.

If nothing else that streak will never be broken by another team. I can't see any team in the cap era making that many appearances in a row.

geeogree : Although the Wings were the Hawks hated rivals for years, I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm hoping the streak is broken but I wouldn't be upset if it did

Really it's a great accomplishment in ANY of the major sports, let alone the way the NHL and salary cap is structured these days.

So, lots has happened since either of us posted last.

Standings in the West are all but set. Colorado would have to win every game and Minnesota would have to lose nearly every game remaining in order to change the wild card standings in the West. Not overly interesting at this point. I think the only thing left is waiting to see who wins each division to see which teams are playing each other in the playoffs.

The East has been more interesting. I think only Washington has qualified for sure though I think several teams will qualify (especially if Detroit loses a game today). I think several teams can clinch a spot if they also win (like Pittsburgh). The race for the last wild card spot is interesting. Detroit is on the outside looking in and has to win absolutely every game to even stand a chance at getting the spot. Even if they do they could still miss out if Philly gets more points in their 5 games than Detroit gets in their 3.

And then playoffs come! That'll be fun!

Also, 6 games for the stick in the face from the ice on Keith - kind of lame. I realize it was intentional but the amount of damage that could have done doesn't seem that great. Maybe I missed the aftermath of it but it just seemed really overblown to me. Chicago will overcome this like they do just about everything else though. It almost seems to push them to be better when they lose someone.

Anaheim Ducks are looking good like they always do every year (or at least most of the time during the regular season) hopefully this year they can stick with it and not mess up during the Lord Stanley Cup playoffs and such like they have been doing almost every year. Other then that I am really hoping Detroit gets in on the wild card but if they don't its still entertaining to watch that last spot.

Honestly the Keith situation was kinda dumb. It was a dangerous play by him and I know that he feels bad about it, but 5 games and a playoff game seems kinda stiff to me. Especially in that particular game when all sorts of crazy stuff was going on that had carried over since their last meeting when Dunba took a run at Kane and hit him in the head when he was looking down at the blue line.

Hopefully though giving some other guys mins going into the playoffs should help them as a defensive unit. Although now I'm kinda worried about the Shaw injury that occured yesterday in the "Peg" Coach Q seems to think the injury isn't serious, but if it was serious enough for him to leave the ice and not return, that seems kinda serious enough for me to be worried.

Sigh of relief that Toews seemed to escape injury from the point blank clearing attempt that hit him in the ear. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that happen.

So I just can't believe that NOT ONE Canadian team made the playoffs this year. Kinda sad really. It's better for hockey if Canadian teams are represented and honestly makes it more fun to watch the playoffs. I was hoping that some of these Canadian teams could build off last years momentum but sadly it just wasn't in the cards.

Yeah. It's just about the only thing being talked about as the playoffs approach. It's getting kind of old actually. I get that the Canadian teams get support almost no matter what but that doesn't mean the teams are going to be good no matter what. You have 3 teams that are rebuilding (Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton), and 4 teams that played under what they were likely capable of playing this year. I'm sad that there isn't a Canadian team to cheer for but I also think if all of those teams suck then so be it. Better luck next year

Okay so some interesting stuff has been happening with the Lightning. Stamkos is out for 1-3 months because of a blood clot (I bet they wish they had noticed earlier) so he is out for the first round of the playoffs for sure and if the Lightning get out of the first round he may miss more than that though I imagine they'll bring him back if they can. I think they also lost Stralman which is going to hurt. Their chances have gone from good to average at best at going anywhere in the playoffs.

The x-factor though is that they have recalled Drouin from the AHL. If this kid ever wants to be a full time NHL player this is his chance. The best player on the team is out so step up and show what you can do for the team. If Drouin plays even close to his potential with Stamkos out then they have a chance of advancing out of the first round (depending on their match-up). Still, with 2 of their better players out of the lineup I don't know how you overcome that long term. It'll be tough for them.

Also, looks like Detroit is going to make it for yet another year. Boston faltered at the very end and is the most likely to miss out on a playoff spot. I'm not too sad about this because I HATE Boston. I'd be happier with them out than Detroit honestly.

Well, the playoff teams are now set (not going to figure out if the seeds are set yet). Boston lost today and Detroit and Philly both won so Boston is eliminated from the playoffs officially. I'm not sad about this. I hate Boston's team so I'm not sad to see them gone. I'm okay with Detroit's team and Philly's team isn't as annoying as it was even a year or so ago. Plus, Philly is likely going against Washington and will get destroyed by that team.

I'm getting excited about the playoffs starting soon. Playoffs are always fun to follow even if I can't watch all the games.