Dominik Hasek: Return To NHL? *************UPDATE*************

              The NHL off season hasn't even started yet and already there is a huge shocking rumor. It's been reported that legendary former NHL goaltender Dominik Hasek is planning a NHL comeback. Hasek spent the 2010/11 season in the KHL with the Spartak Moskva where he lead the league with 7 shutouts. So the Dominatior's stats were still dominate so to speak. Hasek then retired after that season and has spent the last season training. Hasek was reported to say that he's been training for this moment and is really interested to making yet again, another comeback into the hockey world. Hasek has been cycling and skiing as well as playing soccer and volleyball. "We are working on (a new deal) but I don't know the answer yet," Hasek told Denik Sport. "Of course, my agent Rich Winter knows about what I want. But I don't want to comment on that any further. Nothing changed in my plans. But right now, I don't have anything in front of me. So I'm waiting. I think in June the decision will be made," Hasek said. "I know where I would like to play, but I don't want to talk about it. I think it's better to keep it between the two sides involved. It wouldn't be appropriate to publish anything right now."

              The teams Hasek is rumored to be negotiating with are the Tampa Bay Lightning and two of his former teams, The Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings. It is also rumored that he would like to be a starter but if he has to be a backup, he'll just be happy to be back in the NHL. Another team that may be interested in Hasek is the Toronto Maple Leafs Here are some of the reasons why Hasek may be interested in them and why some teams are interested in him.

Tampa Bay Lightning

               The Lightning may be a great place for the Dominatior to make his return as they have a strong scoring team and have plenty of potential to win a Stanley Cup. However, They just need a strong goaltender. That was the Lightning's major downfall this season. Also, in Tampa, Hasek will more then likely be the Starter. The Lightning would love to add his Veteran skill to there line-up to replace soon to be retired Dwayne Roloson. With Hasek in goal and Stamkos, Lecavalier, and St. Louis up front, they feel they can be a dominating force and push to the cup. 

Toronto Maple Leafs

                 The Leafs may consider acquiring Hasek because of his skill. After missing the playoffs for the 7th straight season. The Leafs have done multiple goalie changes since then and have yet been able to solve the problem. The Leafs are a veteran lead team so Hasek would be a perfect fit for them. The Leafs goaltending consist of James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson.

Detroit Red Wings

                  Hasek may look to making a 3rd return to Hockey Town. The Red Wings is the team he won his 2 Stanley Cups with. However, here he would most likely be the back up to Jimmy Howard. But, Hasek would also be on a stacked team with tons of skill and which knows how to win a Stanley Cup because most of them were there before. The Red Wings may lose a key veteran to retirement, Nicklas Lidstrom. So without Lidstrom, would Hasek still be interested?

Buffalo Sabres

                     Finally, would the Dominator return to the team that pretty much lunched his career? The Sabres, like the Red Wings, would also use Hasek as a Back up. However, Hasek has been spotted at multiple Sabres games this season. Also, last season he did a special ceremonial puck drop in a game against the Thrashers. Hasek appears to be very close to new owner Terry Pegula. Could Pegula be the major reason Hasek makes his return to Buffalo? Pegula has appeared as friendly and as a mentor to many people. Pegula also brought back and reunited almost a hundred Sabres Alumni for the 2010/11 Season Regular Season Closer. Pegula Grew up as a season ticket holder. He saw Hasek play during his prime and know what he is capable of. Hasek's unique style of play could lead to being a solid back-up to Miller. What would that mean for current back-up Jhonas Enroth? That is unsure. Would the Sabres go with 3 goalies? Would the send Enroth back to Rochester? Only time would tell if the Sabres did decide to sign the future hall of famer.

                         

                           It's kinda been clued that Hasek has tons of interest in the Sabres and has been in the Buffalo area the last few days. For example, on Saturday May 26, Terry Pegula's daughter Kelly tweeted "Going to the Falls #americanside," When just the day before, she stated they were in Florida. Why would the Pegulas all of a sudden make a trip back to Buffalo? 

                              Also, Hasek's charity group Hasek's Heroes tweeted on May 29, "Nice to see Dominik Hasek in Buffalo he recently met with Heroes Board of Director and visited the program and rinks," shows that Hasek is currently in the Buffalo area and showing lots of interest, Was Hasek just in town to meet with his charity or was he also here to talk about a new deal with the Buffalo Sabres?

                                   Only time will tell for this epic Hasek tale. This isn't the first Hasek comeback and who knows if it is the last. The decision will be released sometime in June as the hockey world sits on the edge of their seats waiting to find out where the Dominatior lands next.

 *************UPDATE*************

               It was just annouced today that the Dominatior has been having face-to-face conversations with Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier, Coach Lindy Ruff, and owner Terry Pegula over the course of the last month. It has been reported however, the Sabres have declinded to sign Hasek. Regier says he is not ready to give up on current back-up Jhonas Enroth. "One thing I am sure of: He has no doubt in his mind that he can play," Regier said. "I think  it probably gives him a little bit of lift seeing somebody like (Martin) Brodeur play at 40 in the Stanley Cup Final. I know better than to question Dom's desire and his ability. Unfortunately, it's not something that was going to fit here." After these statments from Darcy Regier, it appears the Buffalo Sabres are offically out of the Hasek race. Hasek came to the Sabres in order to try to make a new deal. Buffalo was Hasek's first choice to sign.

                 After coming up short with the Sabres, Hasek now has 29 other teams to pick from if he wants to play for a North American team. Top teams in the hunt for Hasek consist of Tampa Bay, Toronto, and 2 new teams who were more then likely not intrested. The Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders. The Jets recentally lost back-up Chris Mason to Nashville in free agency and failed to sign recentally aquired Jonas Gustavsson, who decided to sign with Detriot instead. Hasek could easily take the starting job in Winnipeg ahead of current starter Ondrej Pavelec. However, they had signed goaltender Al Montoya, who left the Islanders. Montoya has been known to struggle in the past, so Hasek could easily start there. The Islanders after losing Montoya will continue with their goalie struggles so Hasek would probaily start there too. The Red Wings are more then likely out of the race after the signing of Jonas Gustavsson.

                  Now the hockey world sits back and watchs as the Hasek drama continues to go on. all they know for sure is that Hasek will not be wearing the Blue n' Gold next season.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals Starts Tonight

              The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals kick off tonight in New Jersey. This series is set to be yet another thrilling match-up between the Veteran lead New Jersey Devils and the shocking ,8th place finish, Los Angles Kings. As Time Magazine puts it, its all about the magic of momentum. The Devils look to win they're 4th Stanley Cup. The Devils past 3 Cups were lead by Marty Brodeur who yet again will lead his Devils in this battle against the Kings who are looking for their first cup. The Kings were last in the Finals lead by the legendary Wayne Gretzky. There's defiantly a new era of players playing for the Kings. The Kings are lead by the likes of Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick. "You never know when you're going to get here or when you're going to come back again," Kopitar said at Tuesday's off-day press conference. "Right now everybody is really excited to get going. I think it's obviously going to be fun and hard working at the same time. We have to make sure we're ready." The Kings are ready to show everything they got here on the Big stage after shockingly throwing off the Canucks, Blues, and Coyotes. Now they face the biggest task yet, beating the Devils for the holy grail of hockey.

                The Devils will not let this happen very easily. "It's excitement really. A little nervous," Parise said about being in the Finals for the first time. "Maybe today now going through all this, but I guess it hasn't really sunk in that we're in the Final yet. But we got a lot of work. That's the thought process. We got a lot of work to do. We know how great a team L.A. is." The Devils beat the Kings 2-1 in a shootout earlier this season in their 1st match-up.Quick stopped 36-of-37 shots in a losing effort in the 1st game. Brodeur only faced L.A. for 20 minutes in the regular season, leaving the 1st game after one period due to body soreness. The 2nd match-up ended with a 3-0 Devils victory. Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus had two goals each in the season series for New Jersey, while Gagne had the lone goal for L.A.
                 

                What should really make this series interesting is the combination of great goaltending. Marty Brodeur and Jonathan Quick have both been spectacular throughout these playoffs. You should defiantly expect this to be a low scoring series. They both have similar Save Percentages (Quick .946 Brodeur .923.) Quick has a better GAA with a 1.54 but Brodeur only has a 2.06. These to goaltenders will more then likely be the difference makers in this Stanley Cup Final. One thing Brodeur has over Quick is his previous 3 Stanley Cup rings and many more years of experience. However, Quick has proved against tough opponents in these playoffs and appears to be ready for almost any challenge ahead of him.

               Both teams may also see a key player return to their line-up. The Devils may see the return of defensmen Henrik Tallinder after he suffered from a major blood clot. For the Kings, the may see the long awaited return of Simon Gagne. Gagne suffered a concussion back in December and he would be a very important return to this Kings line-up. If the Kings put Gagne with Richards and Carter, they will defiantly be a shut-down line as they were during their Philly days.

                This series is yet again going to be another amazing year for the Cup. Fans will not be able to see this great show down between the Kings and Devils. The epic battle of goaltending should defiantly highlight this series along strong goal scoring. As everyone knows, there can only be one Champion. Two teams, one common goal. Only one can be victorious and the battle shall begin.   

Dominik Hasek: Return To NHL?

             The NHL off season hasn't even started yet and already there is a huge shocking rumor. It's been reported that legendary former NHL goaltender Dominik Hasek is planning a NHL comeback. Hasek spent the 2010/11 season in the KHL with the Spartak Moskva where he lead the league with 7 shutouts. So the Dominatior's stats were still dominate so to speak. Hasek then retired after that season and has spent the last season training. Hasek was reported to say that he's been training for this moment and is really interested to making yet again, another comeback into the hockey world. Hasek has been cycling and skiing as well as playing soccer and volleyball. "We are working on (a new deal) but I don't know the answer yet," Hasek told Denik Sport. "Of course, my agent Rich Winter knows about what I want. But I don't want to comment on that any further. Nothing changed in my plans. But right now, I don't have anything in front of me. So I'm waiting. I think in June the decision will be made," Hasek said. "I know where I would like to play, but I don't want to talk about it. I think it's better to keep it between the two sides involved. It wouldn't be appropriate to publish anything right now."

              The teams Hasek is rumored to be negotiating with are the Tampa Bay Lightning and two of his former teams, The Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings. It is also rumored that he would like to be a starter but if he has to be a backup, he'll just be happy to be back in the NHL. Another team that may be interested in Hasek is the Toronto Maple Leafs Here are some of the reasons why Hasek may be interested in them and why some teams are interested in him.

Tampa Bay Lightning

               The Lightning may be a great place for the Dominatior to make his return as they have a strong scoring team and have plenty of potential to win a Stanley Cup. However, They just need a strong goaltender. That was the Lightning's major downfall this season. Also, in Tampa, Hasek will more then likely be the Starter. The Lightning would love to add his Veteran skill to there line-up to replace soon to be retired Dwayne Roloson. With Hasek in goal and Stamkos, Lecavalier, and St. Louis up front, they feel they can be a dominating force and push to the cup. 

Toronto Maple Leafs

                 The Leafs may consider acquiring Hasek because of his skill. After missing the playoffs for the 7th straight season. The Leafs have done multiple goalie changes since then and have yet been able to solve the problem. The Leafs are a veteran lead team so Hasek would be a perfect fit for them. The Leafs goaltending consist of James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson.

Detroit Red Wings

                  Hasek may look to making a 3rd return to Hockey Town. The Red Wings is the team he won his 2 Stanley Cups with. However, here he would most likely be the back up to Jimmy Howard. But, Hasek would also be on a stacked team with tons of skill and which knows how to win a Stanley Cup because most of them were there before. The Red Wings may lose a key veteran to retirement, Nicklas Lidstrom. So without Lidstrom, would Hasek still be interested?

Buffalo Sabres

                     Finally, would the Dominator return to the team that pretty much lunched his career? The Sabres, like the Red Wings, would also use Hasek as a Back up. However, Hasek has been spotted at multiple Sabres games this season. Also, last season he did a special ceremonial puck drop in a game against the Thrashers. Hasek appears to be very close to new owner Terry Pegula. Could Pegula be the major reason Hasek makes his return to Buffalo? Pegula has appeared as friendly and as a mentor to many people. Pegula also brought back and reunited almost a hundred Sabres Alumni for the 2010/11 Season Regular Season Closer. Pegula Grew up as a season ticket holder. He saw Hasek play during his prime and know what he is capable of. Hasek's unique style of play could lead to being a solid back-up to Miller. What would that mean for current back-up Jhonas Enroth? That is unsure. Would the Sabres go with 3 goalies? Would the send Enroth back to Rochester? Only time would tell if the Sabres did decide to sign the future hall of famer.

                         

                           It's kinda been clued that Hasek has tons of interest in the Sabres and has been in the Buffalo area the last few days. For example, on Saturday May 26, Terry Pegula's daughter Kelly tweeted "Going to the Falls #americanside," When just the day before, she stated they were in Florida. Why would the Pegulas all of a sudden make a trip back to Buffalo? 

                              Also, Hasek's charity group Hasek's Heroes tweeted on May 29, "Nice to see Dominik Hasek in Buffalo he recently met with Heroes Board of Director and visited the program and rinks," shows that Hasek is currently in the Buffalo area and showing lots of interest, Was Hasek just in town to meet with his charity or was he also here to talk about a new deal with the Buffalo Sabres?

                                   Only time will tell for this epic Hasek tale. This isn't the first Hasek comeback and who knows if it is the last. The decision will be released sometime in June as the hockey world sits on the edge of their seats waiting to find out where the Dominatior lands next.

Philly Flys Out of Playoffs After Game 5 loss to Devils

            The Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated yesterday from the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center in Philly. The Flyers struggled throughout the series to find strong goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers were strong scorers, however when it came to stopping the puck at vital times, Bryzgalov was unable to be solid to lead the Flyers to victory. Yes, Bryzgalov was able to make some huge saves, however, he wasn't able to stop them when the Flyers needed him to the most."I wanted to put the puck in the corner for Kimmo (Timonen) to start back up," Bryzgalov said about the numbing pass he attempted that ended up behind him, "and the puck, I don't know, hit him in his stick and going in the net. A bad bounce, unfortunately. It could go anywhere — in the corner, higher, lower, but it goes straight between the legs." Bryzgalov was very disappointed in his play. The Flyers signed Bryzgalov to a 9-year, $51 million contract this past summer and fans now are starting to question "Was he worth the money?"

               Even with the key additions of Bryzgalov, Jaromir Jagr, Max Talbot, and Brayden Schenn, they still suffered many key losses. They traded Richards and Carter away during last off-season. Also, the Flyers were hit by the injury bug through out the entire season. The list included key players such as Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, and the long term injury to Chris Pronger. During the 2011/12 season, the Flyers suited up 14 different rookies. 

               Veteran forward Jaromir Jagr stated after the lose, "From the organization to the last player on the team, and the fans, they were so nice to me, I hate to finish it right now. That's the worst feeling. You finish the whole story, the whole year, that's a sad day.I want to cry right now."

            The Future of Jagr with the Flyers is uncertain. The 40 year old veteran has been in this league for many years and felt similar results in the past. The former 2-time Stanley Cup Champion, hopes he can win another cup sometime. However, does he have enough in him? He was third on the team with 54 points, but faded in the playoffs and was a non-factor against the Devils. Most teams would still be interested in Jagr, although the question is, where will he decide to play?

             Head Coach Peter Laviolette stated after the lose, "We could never seem to get down that road." Laviolette knew his team was struggling to get past the Devils, but was unsure how to shake up the struggling Flyers. Some fans may ask "Why didn't you give Sergei Bobrovsky a chance?" The Flyers had to much faith in Bryzgalov, that they didn't want to give up on him. Bobrovsky may have been the starter for most of last season and the playoffs, but if you remember, the Flyers had goalie trouble last season as well. The Flyers continually would switch between Bobrovsky and current Hurricanes back-up Brian Boucher. Is it a goalie problem in Philly or is it just poor defense? The answer is both. The Flyers have put a lot of effort in finding great goalies as they also have Michael Leighton playing for their minor league team the Adirondack Phantoms. The Flyers should look more into strengthen their defense and not as much their goaltending. They already have plenty of talent in the net even if it didn't show in the playoffs.

             Even though the Flyers played poorly, you can't  say that the Devils didn't have a strong series.They had a lot of success from veteran goalie Martin Brodeur. They also had strong scoring from players like Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, and David Clarkson. Clarkson stated following the Game Five 3-1 victory, “I’ll take ’em any way I can get ’em,” referring to the goal he scored that was the go ahead winning goal after a bad play by Flyers goalie Bryzgalov. “I’ve never been this far,” said Zach Parise, the first-year captain. “It’s a good feeling. But we’re only halfway there. It’s only going to get harder.” The Devils know they have a long road ahead of them in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, they need to get ready to face off against the winner of the Capitals-Rangers Series. They know it'll not be an easy road ahead as the continue their battle for the Cup. When asked if  he was excited for a break as they wait for the end of the Capitals-Rangers series, Kovalchuk responded, “I want to play as soon as I can.”

             No one on this Devils team wants to wait long as they are ready to make a run for the cup. The Devils have not won a Stanley Cup since 2003 and would love to add another banner to the rafters of the Prudential Center. "It seems forever for a lot of guys," Future hall of famer goaltender Marty Brodeur said following the win. "It's tough to do that. We're fortunate to have made it there so far." Brodeur is another veteran that many fans are unsure how many years he's got left. The Future Hall of Famer has been part of all 3 Devils Stanley Cup Championship teams and has been the solid backstop for the Devils since 1993. The Devils have a huge task in front of them and will have to play even better if they want to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.