Free Agency Preview

                        Tommorrow, the NHL will start it's annual Free Agency Period. Teams always battle out for the best players that are avalible. Some people consider this years free agents class to be weak compared to past years. The names that highlight the list are Zach Parise, Jamie Benn, Dustin Penner, Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Martin Brodeur, Nick Foligno, Jaromir Jagr, Shane Doan, T.J. Oshie, Mike Green, Alexander Semin, and Cory Schneider. Here's a list of all this years free agents.


ANAHEIM DUCKS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Nick Bonino, Luca Caputi, Mathieu Carle, Marco Cousineau, Kyle Cumiskey

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Mark Bell, Jason Blake, Troy Bodie, Sheldon Brookbank, Dan Ellis, Niklas Hagman, Jean-Francois Jacques, George Parros, Rod Pelley, Teemu Selanne, Matt Smaby

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Ryan O'Marra, Sean Zimmerman

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Sebastian Erixon (Contract bought out by the team), Riley Holzapfel, Dale Mitchell, Rick Schofield, Iiro Tarkki


BOSTON BRUINS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Jamie Arniel, Matt Bartkowski, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Stefan Chaput, Adam Courchaine, Lane MacDermid

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Joe Corvo, Josh Hennessy, Nathan McIver, Zach McKelvie, Mike Mottau, Michel Ouellet, Brian Rolston, Marty Turco, Greg Zanon

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
None

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
TBD


BUFFALO SABRES

Group 2 (Restricted)
Alex Biega, T.J. Brennan, Tyler Ennis, Patrick Kaleta, Dennis Persson, Drew Schiestel, Paul Szczechchura

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Brad Boyes, Jochen Hecht, Ales Kotalik, David Leggio, Drew MacIntyre, Shaone Morrisonn, Michael Ryan, Colin Stuart, Derek Whitmore

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Travis Turnbull

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
TBD


CALGARY FLAMES

Group 2 (Restricted)
Akim Aliu, Mikael Backlund, Paul Byron, Leland Irving

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Guillaume Desbiens, Scott Hannan, Raitis Ivanans, Olli Jokinen, Tom Kostopolous, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, David Moss

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Brian Connelly, Stefan Meyer

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Ryley Grantham, Logan MacMillan


CAROLINA HURRICANES

Group 2 (Restricted)
Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk, Evgeni Dadonov, Mike Murphy, Justin Peters, Jerome Samson, Chris Terry, Jeremy Welsh

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Bryan Allen, Chris Durno, Mathieu Roy, Jaroslav Spacek

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Justin Soryal, Brett Sutter

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll, Kyle Lawson, Matthew Pistilli


CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Simon Danis-Pepin, Chris DiDomenico

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Andrew Brunette, Cristobal Huet, Sami Lepisto, Brett McLean, Brendan Morrison, Sean O'Donnell

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
None

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Jonathan Carlsson, Igor Makarov, Alexander Salak (Released)


COLORADO AVALANCHE

Group 2 (Restricted)
Trevor Cann, Zach Cohen, Jonas Holos, Erik Johnson, Jamie McGinn, Jake Newton, Mark Olver, Ryan O'Reilly

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
David Liffiton, Joakim Lindstrom, Greg Mauldin, Jay McClement, Danny Richmond, Patrick Rissmiller

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Evan Brophey, Cedrick Desjardins, Justin Mercier, Ryan Stoa

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Peter Mueller, Kevin Porter


COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Maksim Mayorov

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Darryl Boyce, Alexandre Giroux, Kristian Huselius, Aaron Johnson, Brett Lebda, Radek Martinek, Curtis McElhinney, Curtis Sanford, Martin St. Pierre

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Dane Byers, Mark Dekanich, Nick Holden

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Taylor Ellington, Brent Regner


DALLAS STARS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Richard Bachman, Jamie Benn, Jordie Benn, Mark Fistric, Ryan Garbutt, Luke Gazdic, Philip Larsen, Colton Sceviour, Tom Wandell

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Adam Burish, Jake Dowell, Radek Dvorak, Maxime Fortunus, Brad Lukowich, Toby Petersen, Andrew Raycroft, Raymond Sawada, Sheldon Souray, Dan Spang

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
None

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Angelo Esposito, Jake Hauswirth, Michael Neal, Mikhail Stefanovich


DETROIT RED WINGS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Justin Abdelkader, Kyle Quincey

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Fabian Brunnstrom, Ty Conklin, Chris Conner, Garnet Exelby, Tomas Holmstrom, Jiri Hudler, Doug Janik, Jamie Johnson, Chris Minard, Andrew Murray

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
None

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Travis Ehrhardt, Logan Pyett


EDMONTON OILERS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Devan Dubnyk, Sam Gagner, Linus Omark, Theo Peckham, Jeff Petry, Alex Plante, Chris Vande Velde

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Yann Danis, Josh Green, Darcy Hordichuk, Ryan Keller, Bryan Rodney, Ryan Smyth

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Taylor Chorney

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Cam Barker, Milan Kytnar, Johan Motin, Hunter Tremblay


FLORIDA PANTHERS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Michael Caruso, Roman Derlyuk, Keaton Ellerby, Brian Foster, Dmitry Kulikov, Michal Repik, Eric Selleck, Kris Versteeg, James Wright

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Krys Barch, Scott Clemmensen, Mark Cullen, Jason Garrison, Bracken Kearns, John Madden, Greg Rallo, Mikael Samuelsson, Marco Sturm, Sean Sullivan, Bill Thomas, Mike Weaver, Wojtek Wolski

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Jonathan Matsumoto

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Justin Bernhardt, Matt Bradley (contract bought out by the team), Tyler Plante (Contract terminated by the team), Ondrej Roman, Mike Santorelli (contract bought out by the team), Keith Seabrook


LOS ANGELES KINGS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Justin Azevedo, Andrew Campbell, Thomas Hickey, Dwight King, Stefan Legein, David Meckler, Jacob Muzzin

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Trent Hunter, Cam Paddock, Scott Parse, Dustin Penner

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Patrick Mullen, Jeff Zatkoff

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Ray Kaunisto


MINNESOTA WILD

Group 2 (Restricted)
Cody Almond, Dennis Endras, Justin Falk, Chay Genoway, David McIntyre, Carson McMillan, Jarod Palmer, Nick Palmieri

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Erik Christensen, Jon DiSalvatore, Kurtis Foster, Mike Lundin, Jed Ortmeyer, Warren Peters, Jeff Taffe

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Jeff Penner

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Kris Fredheim, Nick Johnson, Guillaume Latendresse


MONTREAL CANADIENS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Rafael Diaz, Lars Eller, Andreas Engqvist, Blake Geoffrion, Aaron Palushaj, Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Alexei Yemelin

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Joe Callahan, Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Alex Henry, Nathan Lawson, Garrett Stafford, Brad Staubitz, Brian Willsie

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Frederic St. Denis

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Hunter Bishop, Michael Blunden, Andrew Conboy, Olivier Fortier, Dany Masse, Mark Mitera, Robert Slaney


NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Niclas Bergfors, Jonathon Blum, Atte Engren, Ryan Flynn, Sergei Kostitsyn, Teemu Laakso, Jack Maclellan, Alexander Radulov, Jeremy Smith, Ryan Thang, Shea Weber, Colin Wilson

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Francis Bouillon, Sebastien Caron, Andrei Kostitsyn, Brian McGrattan, Tyler Sloan, Ryan Suter, Jordin Tootoo

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Brodie Dupont

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Jack Hillen, Zack Stortini


NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Matt Corrente, Mark Fayne, Vladimir Zharkov

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Martin Brodeur, Johan Hedberg, Jay Leach, Brad Mills, Zach Parise, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Bryce Salvador, Tim Sestito, Petr Sykora

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Matt Taormina

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Kory Nagy, Timo Pielmeier


NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Sean Backman, Justin DiBenedetto, Mark Katic, Mikko Koskinen, Tomas Marcinko, Matt Martin, Rhett Rakhshani, Ty Wishart

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Jeremy Colliton, Mark Eaton, Trevor Frischmon, Trevor Gillies, John Grahame, Milan Jurcina, Al Montoya, Jay Pandolfo, Pierre Parenteau, Dylan Reese, Steve Staios

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Micheal Haley

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Yury Alexandrov, Anton Klementyev (contract terminated by the team), Tyler McNeely, Yannick Riendeau, Tony Romano


NEW YORK RANGERS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Lee Baldwin, Francois Bouchard, Chris Chappell, Michael Del Zotto, Sam Klassen, Anton Stralman, Cameron Talbot, Andreas Thuresson, Pavel Valentenko, Casey Wellman, Mats Zuccarello

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Brendan Bell, Andre Deveaux, Steve Eminger, Ruslan Fedotenko, John Mitchell, Kris Newbury, Brandon Prust, John Scott, Jeff Woywitka

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Stu Bickel, Chad Johnson, Michael Vernace

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Sean Avery (contract terminated by the team), More TBD


OTTAWA SENATORS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Stephane Da Costa, Kaspars Daugavins, Nikita Filatov, Nick Foligno, Eric Gryba, Jim O'Brien

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Alex Auld, Matt Carkner, Tim Conboy, Matt Gilroy, Zenon Konopka, Filip Kuba, Francis Lessard, Corey Locke, Mike McKenna, Mark Parrish, Jesse Winchester

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Rob Klinkhammer

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Craig Schira


PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Marc-Andre Bourdon, Ben Holmstrom, Tom Sestito, Jakub Voracek, Harry Zolnierczyk

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Jason Bacashihua, Johan Backlund, Blair Betts, Matt Carle, Matt Ford, Jaromir Jagr, Dan Jancevski, Pavel Kubina, Michael Leighton

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
None

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Joonas Lehtivuori, Andrew Rowe, Mike Testwuide


PHOENIX COYOTES

Group 2 (Restricted)
Kyle Chipchura, Brett MacLean, Chris Summers, Viktor Tikhonov

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Dean Arsene, Adrian Aucoin, Mathieu Beaudoin, Alexandre Bolduc, Shane Doan, Daymond Langkow, Patrick O'Sullivan, Nathan Oystrick, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Taylor Pyatt, Michal Rozsival, Kurt Sauer, Ray Whitney

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Tyler Eckford, Justin Pogge, Brock Trotter, Matt Watkins

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Gilbert Brule, Colin Long, Nick Ross


PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Robert Bortuzzo, Marc Cheverie, Alex Grant, Carl Sneep, Brian Strait, Eric Tangradi, Keven Veilleux

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Arron Asham, Ryan Craig, Brent Johnson, Steve MacIntyre, Colin McDonald, Scott Munroe, Richard Park, Steve Sullivan, Jason Williams

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Brad Thiessen

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Mattias Modig, Cal O'Reilly, Alexandre Picard, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Boris Valabik


ST. LOUIS BLUES

Group 2 (Restricted)
Jay Barriball, Jori Lehtera, T.J. Oshie, Anthony Peluso, David Perron, Brett Sonne

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Jason Arnott, Jonathan Cheechoo, Carlo Colaiacovo, Brennan Evans, Kyle Hagel, Kent Huskins, Jamie Langenbrunner, Chris Porter, Brett Sterling, Danny Syvret

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
None

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
TBD


SAN JOSE SHARKS

Group 2 (Restricted)
T.J. Galiardi, Tim Kennedy, Brandon Mashinter, Frazer McLaren, Matt Pelech, Nick Petrecki, James Sheppard, Alex Stalock

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Ben Guite, Torrey Mitchell, Dominic Moore, Mike Moore, Antero Niittymaki, Jim Vandermeer, Colin White, Brad Winchester, Daniel Winnik

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
John McCarthy

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Benn Ferriero, Tony Lucia, Cam MacIntyre, James Marcou, Tyson Sexsmith


TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Group 2 (Restricted)
Jaroslav Janus, Anders Lindback, Evan Oberg

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Brett Clark, Mike Commodore, Bruno Gervais, Richard Petiot, Dwayne Roloson, Brandon Segal, Ryan Shannon, Trevor Smith, Tim Wallace

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Scott Jackson, Jonathon Kalinski, Michael Kostka, Alexandre Picard

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Sebastien Piche, Benoit Pouliot


TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Cody Franson, Mark Fraser, Matt Frattin, Richard Greenop, Simon Gysbers, Korbinian Holzer, Nikolai Kulemin, Juraj Mikus, Marcel Mueller, Jussi Rynnas, Ben Scrivens

Group 3 (Unrestritced)
Joey Crabb, Philippe Dupuis, Jeff Finger, Ryan Hamilton, Mike Zigomanis

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Matt Lashoff, Jay Rosehill

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Colby Armstrong (contract bought out by the team), More TBD


VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Eddie Lack, Mason Raymond, Cory Schneider, Dale Weise

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Nolan Baumgartner, Byron Bitz, Matt Climie, Andrew Ebbett, Sami Pahlsson, Steve Pinizzotto, Steven Reinprecht, Aaron Rome, Sami Salo

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Mark Mancari

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Mike Duco, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Victor Oreskovich, Ryan Parent


WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Jay Beagle, John Carlson, Mike Green, Zach Hamill, Kevin Marshall, Mathieu Perreault

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Keith Aucoin, Sean Collins, Kyle Greentree, Jeff Halpern, D.J. King, Mike Knuble, Jacob Micflikier, Zach Miskovic, Alexander Semin

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Christian Hanson, Jordan Henry, Joel Rechlicz

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
None


WINNIPEG JETS

Group 2 (Restricted)
Brett Festerling, Michael Forney, Evander Kane, Arturs Kulda, Maxime Macenauer, Spencer Machacek, Ben Maxwell, John Negrin, Frederik Pettersson, Paul Postma

Group 3 (Unrestricted)
Mark Flood, Tanner Glass, Jonas Gustavsson, Jason Jaffray, Randy Jones, Peter Mannino, Chris Mason, Derek Meech, Tim Stapleton, Kyle Wellwood

Group 6 (Unrestricted)
Kenndal McArdle

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Eric Fehr, Andrei Zubarev


FREE AGENT CLASSIFICATIONS (Courtesy of nhl.com)

Group 2 (Restricted Free Agents) - Subject to compensation and right to match. The following players have been tendered a qualifying offer by their respective clubs and are subject to draft-choice compensation and right to match. The draft choice compensation scale is based on compensation offered by the new club (These are last summer's figures and are meant as a general guideline for compensation. If new figures are released, they will likely be released on July 1, 2011):

$1,034,249 or below - No compensation
Over $1,034,249 to $1,567,043 - Third-round choice
Over $1,567,043 to $3,134,088 - Second-round choice
Over $3,134,088 to $4,701,131 - First-round and Third-round choice
Over $4,701,131 to $6,268,175 - First-Round, Second-round, and Third-round choice
Over $6,268,175 to $7,835,219 - two First-round choices, one second-round choice, and one Third-round choice
Over $7,835,219 - four First-round choices

Group 3 (Unrestricted Free Agents) - The following players have qualified for Group 3 Free Agency (age 27 or older or with at least seven accrued seasons) and are Unrestricted Free Agents.

Group 6 (Unrestricted Free Agents) - The following players qualify for unrestricted free agency, having met the requirements for Group 6 free agency. These players, whose contracts have expired, are age 25 or older, have completed three or more professional seasons, and (i) in the case of a player other than a goaltender, have played less than 80 NHL games (regular season and playoffs), or (ii) in the case of a goaltender, have played less than 28 NHL games (regular season and playoffs).

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) - The following players were not tendered a qualifying offer and are therefore unrestricted free agents not subject to a right to match or draft choice compensation.

           Check back tommorrow fora alist of all the free agents signings and trades! It should be another great year of signings!

Wallenda Walk

                I thought I'd write an article out of the usual today. Some hockey fans may know about the topic of this article considering this event was broad casted around the whole world last week and over 16 Million people watched as Nik Wallenda, a 7th generation tightrope walker, made a famous walk across the world wonder Niagara Falls. The Falls separates the border between the United States and Canada and the water from 4 of the 5 Great Lakes flow into the Falls. This daring stunt has never happened. In the past, people have crossed the gorge but never directly over Niagara Falls. Nik Wallenda completed the unthinkable on June 15, 2012. 

                   Wallenda has always dreamed of being able to walk the high wire over Niagara Falls since he was a little 6 year old. Nik has accomplished and owns 6 different World Records. He isn't just known for his stunts on the high wire, he attempts many dangerous stunts, others wouldn't dare attempt. Nik Wallenda is a direct descendant of Karl Wallenda, whom he calls his role model and his "biggest hero in life." Wallenda enjoys the family business. "I like to mix it up," he says. "It keeps [our family] on our toes and gives the public something new to see every year." The whole family is involved in the preforming business, including his young children who also plan on preforming in the future. Stunts have been in his family since the 1700s. His great grand father, Karl Wallenda, was the founder of the world famous flying Wallendas. Tragically, Karl lost his life doing what he loved and during every event, the family make sure to honor him in some way. Wallenda even has his shoes made by his mom. It's always been a family tradition that his mom made the shoes.

                     What made this daredevil cross the Falls? His heart and desire. Wallenda has a strong faith in god and loves what he does. He doesn't do it for the fame and fortune, he does it because he enjoys it, wants to continue on the family legacy, and entertain the fans. Wallenda spent more then 2 years pleading with the government officials from both sides of the border in order to make this walk happen. The daredevil was denied multiple times, yet he wasn't giving up without a fight. Finally the date was set. June 15, Wallenda would walk Niagara Falls. Wallenda's practices began. Wallenda did a walk across Baltimore Harbor. People were scared after this as he almost fell from the high wire and he hadn't even fasted the major conditions of Falls. Wallenda claimed to have been talking to his friend in the bucket when he almost fell and it caused him to lose concentration. 

                      
                       Wallenda then started to prepare for the real thing at practices outside the Seneca Niagara Casino for almost 2 weeks. He had fire hoses and a jet from a boat that helped him get the feel for the elements of the Falls. At his last practice Wallenda stated, " We gained a huge amount of experience here, we learned a lot about how the cable will react." Nik felt very confident and tired following his final practice and was ready to return home to relax before his big day.

                            June 15 came and there was little change in plans. His major sponsor, ABC, made Nik wear a harness. Nik felt this would lose a lot of value to the event. Making the event less dangerous but did the stunt anyways. Before his walk, him and his family prayed and said their final good byes. During the walk Wallenda was talking to his dad. Also, Nik was was very connected with god and continuously prayed through the whole walk. He was not nervous at all during the walk and was very confident. Nik made across way faster then predicted. It took a little more then 25 mins. Nik accomplished his life long dream.

                             “It’s exciting to know that I was part of history,” Wallenda, 33, said, looking back on his stunning accomplishment Friday night.  “What a blessing, the life that I’ve had so far. To be able to complete something that no one in the world ever has is quite an honor.” “Mentally, your mind goes, ‘What are you doing?’ That’s where I tell myself you’re on a wire. The wire is the same whether you’re over land or over water or over the moon, it’s still the same so focus on the wire and, again, focus on the other side,” he said.
Wallenda will never forget his trip over the high wire. He already has plans to return to Niagara Falls very soon. Also, he already received the permit to cross the Grand Canyon.

                        

                      

Rick Jeanneret Headed to Hockey Hall of Fame

             The long awaited moment Sabres fans have been waiting for has finally arrived. No, sadly it's not the Return of Dominik Hasek or that they decided to reawarded the 1999 Stanley Cup to the Sabres after the mistaken "No Goal." Rick Jeanneret is finally joining the hollowed sacred territory all NHL players, coaches, referees, and personal dream of making it to: The Hockey Hall of Fame. RJ has been along for all the great and sad times in Sabres history. He was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres this past season along with fellow HHOFer Dale Hawerchuk. Also very recently he was inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Even though RJ has stated making the Sabres Hall of Fame was the greatest honor, bigger then the HHOF would be, I'm sure this has to be a really huge honor for the long term legendary play-by-play. 

"I never dreamed of this when I started", Jeanneret told Buffalo's Channel 7 Sports Director Jeff Russo on Friday. "All of the Halls are special, this one has been my business for over forty years, so it's very special as well. The fact that I will be going into a Hall, a second Hall, with the late Ted Darling means a lot." Darling received the Foster Hewitt Award in 1995 (Read full article from Channel 7 here). Jeanneret has been selected to receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award which honors excellence in hockey broadcasting.

            "I'm excited, there's no doubt about that whatsoever," Rick Jeanneret said by phone. "You can try and act blase and try and say, 'Well, it's just another day in RJ's life,' but it's not. It really does mean something."It means a lot to me when the fans recognize me for what I do, but they do that on a regular basis. Organizations such as halls of fame don't do it on a regular basis, particularly the Hockey Hall of Fame. There's been a lot of broadcasters in the NHL who are not in the Hockey Hall of Fame, so it's impressive to me to be allowed within the doors."

            RJ has been the play-by-play for the Sabres for years and has been found as one of the top announcers of all time. Some people think his career behind the mic is finally winding down. RJ had a cut schedule this past season where he called most of the home games and a limited number of away games. Rick has been a mastermind of calling the game. He's made many great calls over the years including the legendary "Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalafontaine," "May Day May Day May Day," "Top Shelf Where Mama Hides The Cookies," "Now Do You Believe!?," and many many more that Sabres and hockey fans will never forget.

           RJ's career started by mistake when he was in an attendance at a junior game in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The normal Play-By-Play was sick so they came into the stands asking for someone to call the game. RJ stating that he never done it before agreed to give it a shot. At that time, a legend was born. RJ then went on to broadcast for the Sabres since their 2nd season in 1971-72 and has done it since. Brad May says that the "May Day" call is a major reason he was made famous around the league. Pat Lafontaine says that almost anywhere he goes, he commonally hears "Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalafontaine" even outside of Buffalo. Marty Biron said in the Sabres DVD "Top Shelf: The Rick Jenneret Story" that he remembers growing up watching the top plays and hearing Rick Jenneret making these famous calls that fans still talk about to this day.

            Rick Jenneret will also be joined in the Hall of Fame by Roy MacGregor who writes hockey articles in the Toronto area. "I have much admiration for Roy MacGregor," Jeanneret said. "I've read him for years and years and years, and I think he's a huge authority on the game of hockey and on the game of life."
The ceremony in Toronto will bring the number of broadcasting and writing honorees in the Hockey Hall of Fame to 88."I'm looking forward to it," said Jeanneret, who will be accompanied by his biggest fan. "My mom, she'll be there again. You know that. She'll be pumped up to be there, for sure. She's gung-ho to go already. She's got her bag to go to Toronto."

          As Rick Jenneret finally is gaining his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, we leave you with some of the top Rick Jenneret moments of all time. Enjoy!

MIke Robitaille Interview

I just recently did an interview with former NHLer Mike Robitaille. Mike Robitaille spent his career with the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers and, Detroit Red Wings. Robitaille's career ended after multiple injuries in 1977. Robitalle joined the Sabres Broadcast crew in 1991 and has been a part ever since. Robitaille played in 382 regular season NHL games, scoring 23 goals and adding 105 assists. Mike still resides in the Buffalo area and is part of the Sabres Alumni Association. Mike and his wife also own Robitalle Real Estate . Though Mike's career has been long over, Mike still interacts with fans in the Buffalo area and has been a fan favorite. This interview is another interview done with the help of The Puck Stops Here Please enjoy! Questions are in Blue and answers are in Green!

1. What do you miss most about living in Canada?

    Nothing much---- I became a U.S. citizen 10 years ago

2. Who did you have the most fun playing with? Also who was your favorite line mate?

 Ab Demarco Jr. and my favorite defense partner was Tim Horton

3. During you career what goalie did you have a particularly hard Time scoring against?

Seemed like all of them but maybe Tony Esposito Chicago Blackhawkes

4. What is your Number 1 regret, what didn't you accomplish during your career?

 Took playing too serious and never had enough fun

 

5. What was the high point of your career?

 Being chosen to play in the NHL All Star game---broke my wrist a week before and couldn't play in the game ----also being chosen for the unsung hero award in the NHL

6. What is your greatest memory of hockey player?

 Being chosen the best defensmen in Jr A hockey ( Kitchener Rangers)

7. Now being a Intermission reporter, what do you miss most about the game? What has been the biggest change since your years in the NHL, compared to the NHL of today?

 Really nothing as the game didn't come easy to me. The biggest changes has been how scientific the game has become---the condition of the players---and the amount of money to be made in such as short amount of time 

8. When you were younger what NHL star did you look up to?

They were all heroes to me as I was growing up.

9. If you could meet any hockey player past or present, who would it be?

Eddie Shore

10. What former teammate/player are you closest to still today?

Larry Carriere my former defense partner with the Sabres

11. What do you like most about being an analyst for the Sabres?

Speaking and explaining the game in simple terms ----- also working for terrific owners who make decisions with morals over money

12. Growing up, what was your favorite team?

Detroit

13. Do you miss playing hockey? 

Not at all---toughest job I've ever had by far

14. Do you like being part of the Sabres Alumni? 

Proud of the Alumni and so many players that have made a difference in our community.

It was another great interview and we appreciate the interview from Mike Robitaille! Stay tuned for more! 

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.

Buffalo Sabres Alumni Spotlight: Andrew Peters

        When Buffalo Sabres fans think about some of the great enforcers during the Franchises history, Original fans think of Jim Schoenfield, Larry Playfair, and Jerry Korab. Then fans during the 90s defiantly can't forget the line of Enforcers consisting of Rob Ray, Matthew Barnaby, and Brad May. Now fans look to guys like Cody McCormick and Patrick Kaleta to stand up for their team. However, Sabres fans can't forget who protected the Sabres after Rob Ray was traded to Ottawa in '03.

             Andrew Peters was selected 34th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1998 NHL draft. Peters wouldn't even have to leave the area for team relations as the Draft was held in Buffalo that year. However, "Prime Time" remained with his OHL Oshawa Generals and his final year with the Kitchener Rangers until 2000-01 when he joined the AHL Rochester Americans. While in Rochester, Andrew got into an on-ice fight with his brother Geoff Peters. Andrew stated in an interview after the game that he did not know it was his brother that he was fighting. Later on, for a short time, the two brothers played together for the Amerks. In Peters 2nd year with the Amerks, he lead the league with 388 penalty mins.

                In Peters' 1st season with the Sabres, Peters played 42 games, scored 2 goals, and had 151 Penalty mins. Peters had taken over right where Rob Ray left off. The two hard nose enforcers even were engaged in a fight during a Sabres VS Ottawa contest. Peters continued to harass players around the NHL. February 22, 2007 was no different.

                On February 22, 2007 Sabres Captain Chris Drury was hit by Sens Enforcer Chris Neil. Drury was taken out of the game with a concussion but the next play is when everything occurred. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff sent out his top fighters to send a message to the Sens that they weren't going to be messed with. As soon as the whistle blew, everyone was looking for a partner including the goaltenders. Marty Biron went after Ray Emery and the scrambled for awhile. After the referees attempted to break up the brawl, Peters skated over to Emery and had some unfinished business to accomplish. The two of them started to go at it for awhile before being split up by the refs. However as this was going on, the coaches also wanted a piece of each other. The coaches started a huge yelling match between the benches. Coincidentally, Rob Ray was once again in the middle of this as he was doing TV work for the Sabres. Peters and a few others were thrown out after the fight. Peters was not only trying to go after Emery, he really wanted a piece of Chris Neil who was sitting in the penalty box during the brawl from the previous hit.

                 Surprisingly enough, on January 6, 2009 Peters was once again involved in an incident with the Senators. Sens forward Jarkko Ruutu and Peters started to get into a scrum. Ruutu was unhappy with Peters and grabbed his hand and bit him. Ruutu denies he ever bit Peters but it was clear he really did. Ruutu even stated, "I had his fingers in my mouth but didn't bite." The next day Ruutu was suspend for 1 game by the NHL. Peters was very shocked by the incident and said he never saw anything like that before.

                 Following the 2009 season, Peters would not return to the Sabres. He was invited to the Devils training camp and later signed to a 2 year deal. However after a poor season, the Devils waived Peters and he was bought out of his 2nd year. He signed with the Panthers the following year and was sent to the Amerks. In October, he was traded to the Canucks and following being kicked off the Amerks, Peters announced his retirement 3 months later.

                 Peters now resides in the Buffalo area and is part of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni. He is frequently spotted attending Sabres games and still very involved with the team. Aside from hockey, in his free time, Peters helps numerous charities, and made several visits to Children's Hospitals in both Buffalo and Rochester during his career.He was also a featured member at Ryan Miller's "Catwalk for Charity" events. In 2008, Peters would tend bar at the Pearl St. Grill and Brewery during the summer with all tips going to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.Peters and his wife also did work to promote the Family Justice Center of Western New York, which works with women who have been victims of domestic violence.In 2010, Peters was a big part of two charity hockey games. In the first ever "Hockey Night in St. Catharines" he was able to gather some other NHL players from the area to play in the game which ended up raising over $100,000 for the United Way. Also, he participated in a game in Rochester for the late Craig Charron, who was a former teammate of Peters.

                  Andrew is always very kind with fans. Always willing to talk and chat. He will also willingly sign autographs for fans who ask. Peters has always been known as a piratical prankster. Peters is also now involved with the Time Warner Sports show Enforcers with Rob Ray.