Game Two of Round Two is in the bag for the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburg Penguins, though not in a way that the Senators appreciate. The Penguins on the other hand, well, nothing says success like a hat trick am I right?

On the bright side, Ottawa came close to taking the Penguins to a guaranteed game five, pushing for the goals to end the game only one goal down, 4-3. The Senators even managed to get the last word in!

The first period kicked off with, of course, a goal from » Continue reading “A Hat Trick For Crosby And No Win Yet For Ottawa”

Sure we see them on the front of packages from Upper Deck now a days, but have you ever wondered what the supserstars looked like when they were younger? This week’s Hump Day Hockey Cards is featuring cards from around the league of today’s elites when they were little guys, still learning the basic fundamentals of the game.

First up, take a gander at current Frank J. Selke Award victor Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins. As a child he played for the Quebec Pee Wee Hockey Team and helped them win a championship. Featured here is his hockey card from 1998. He entered the NHL in 2003, making the jump from junior (QMJHL) to the NHL becoming one of the best two-way forwards in the game. He consistently leads in the faceoff circle year after year and has been a pivotal piece to the Boston Bruins club.

Internationally he represents Team Canada winning  gold medals at the 2004 World Championships, 2005 World Junior Championships and 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Through the off-season and partial-season lockout, he played overseas in Europe for HC Lugano and played for the Spengler Cup alongside Bruins teammate Tyler Seguin, helping Team Canada win.  » Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: ‘Young Guns’”

He da man.

After a few months of stacking small piles of hockey cards all over my apartment, I finally had the chance to spend some time to properly organizing overthinking my card binder. Rather than coming up with a specific plan or actually putting any cards into the binder, I decided to look at Marty Turco cards on eBay because TurcoMania still runs wild in my heart.

It was then that I stumbled upon the “You Da Man” Marty Turco card pictured above. I had somehow forgotten about the 60 card Sidelines subset that made its appearance in the 2009-10 Upper Deck Be a Player Signature Series set. When the set was released, Sidelines cards weren’t anything new for hockey card fans or collectors with or without a sense of humour.

The 1992-93 Pinnacle Sidelines Subset (which I will get to at some point) was very informative. How would I have ever known that Luke Richardson was a rocket builder? And other cards popped up here and there with news about what players were doing off the ice, many of them related to the sport of golf.

Let’s relax, unwind and take some time to enjoy a few of the anecdotes and guffaw inducing moments brought to you by a handful of the 2009-10 UD BAP Sidelines cards.

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: You Da Man, Marty Turco”

Photo by Bridget Samuels/ Flickr

Every team, every game, has a hero. In hockey there’s usually more than one hero per team. Some like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin are always at the top of the headlines, appearing in numerous All Star games and Olympic events. Others go about the business of trying to win games for their team without much fanfare. This week’s “Unsung Hero” is the Washington Capitals’ Brooks Laich.

When you think of Washington, the name that most often comes to mind is Ovechkin. Laich’s a great player in his own right, producing 41 points while appearing in every game last season. Laich stepped his game up during the 2012 postseason, tallying seven points (tying him with Jason Chimera for third in Caps postseason scoring) and a plus-1 rating in all 14 games. » Continue reading “Unsung Heroes: Brooks Laich”

I don’t know what would be more disappointing. Opening a brand new pack of hockey cards and finding a “Celebrity Captain” card or discovering that Mr. Rogers is a Pens fan.

Why, Fred? Why??

» Continue reading “Hump Day Hockey Cards: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Hart Memorial Trophy Photo by Alexis Boucher

For the last week of the regular hockey season, the Aerys NHL writers have been revealing their picks for the NHL award categories. You can find the previous prognostics over on the side bar.

Ahhh, the Hart trophy.  According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, this is the award given annually to the most valuable player during the regular season.

The first Hart winner was Frank Nighbor of the Ottawa Senators in the 1923-1924 season. Wayne Gretzky has won the Hart the most. The Great One took it home 9 times over his career, 8 of those during his time as an Edmonton Oiler and 1 as a King in Los Angeles.

Gordie Howe has won it 6 times and Eddie Shore has 4. That’s pretty lofty company to be in. Last year’s winner was Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, which I accurately predicted.

I have made the decision to title this year’s Hart race “Why Evgeni Malkin Will Win The Hart, But Steven Stamkos Is Actually The Best Player In The League.”

Let’s get to the nitty gritty here…

» Continue reading “NHL Awards Preview: Hart Memorial Trophy”

According to players, Daniel Sedin was the most outstanding player of 2010-11. Who will it be this year? (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

The Ted Lindsay Award, formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, is the only one that the players get to decide. The award, meant to be a companion to the Hart Trophy, is given to the NHL’s most outstanding regular-season player as decided by the NHLPA.

A bit of background, since I’m a hockey history junkie: the end of the 1971-72 season was the first time the then-Pearson award was handed out. Lester B. Pearson, its namesake, had been Prime Minister of Canada and also coach of the U of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s hockey team. Then, in 2010, the NHLPA changed the name to honor Ted Lindsay, a Hall of Fame player who helped establish the first players’ union.

Past winners have included Wayne Gretzky (of course), Mario Lemieux (again, obvious), Eric Lindros, Joe Sakic, Jaromir Jagr, and both Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Last year’s winner was Daniel Sedin, whose 104-point season certainly turned heads. So who will be in the mix this year?  My guesses are:

Steven Stamkos, Lightning: The red-hot Stamkos scored his 57th and 58th goals of the season in a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals Monday night and has become just the sixth player in NHL history to record more than one 50-goal season before he even turns 23. He’s certainly on the upward trend, and with Crosby having battled injury all year and Ovechkin far from his usual mark, Stamkos has caught everyone’s eye as the guy to beat in the points race.

Evgeni Malkin, Penguins: 105 points this year. Yup, you read that right. One hundred and five. 48 goals, 57 assists, and while Stamkos has the edge on him in goals scored, Malkin has pretty much blown him out of the water overall, and in fewer games played, too (73 to Stamkos’ 79 so far). Overall, Malkin is just a dynamic player who can make something out of nothing, and not just when that other great Pens player is on the ice with him.

Phil Kessel, Toronto: Okay, sure, so his game’s tapered off a bit, but this really has been a breakout year for the 24-year-old winger- 37 goals, 44 assists, good for fifth in the league in scoring. More recently, he’s been playing without linemate Joffrey Lupul who’s out with an injury, but he’s still dangerous, with deceptive speed and smarts to match.

Also consider Claude Giroux, who’s third in scoring and has become quite the star in Philly, emerging from the shadows of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards; James Neal, in a three-way tie with Kessel and Ilya Kovalchuk for fifth with 81 points; and Jason Spezza, who has come practically out of nowhere to claim fourth in the league with 83 points. All are deserving of at the very least nomination; who will win? The answer will come in June… who do I think should win?

After serious consideration, I’m torn between Malkin and Stamkos. I feel that Malkin will ultimately win it, but I’m pulling for Steve mainly because I feel that he’s more of the forgotten party in the rush to talk about *star* players like Crosby, Ovechkin, etc. Stamkos has been developing at an incredible pace, and while I’m sure playing with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis helps, the fact remains that Tampa Bay doesn’t have THAT much depth. The idea of Stamkos tallying 95 points this season with virtually no help is incredible- and the kicker is that he’s only 22. He still has much more to go. He already has two 50+ goal seasons and a 45-goal season under his belt- what more can there be? Oh, I think we’ll all be surprised.

Stay tuned!