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David Backes was drafted in 2003, 62nd overall by the St. Louis Blues. Backes became their captain in 2011, but later in free agency signed with the Boston Bruins in 2016. Playing primarily center, Backes has filled in on the wing for the Bruins, with his gritty physical style of play matching that of the team. The 35-year old is aging, and is past his prime of being a 25+ goal scorer. Unfortunately since joining the Bruins, his lack of scoring has now gotten him sent down to their AHL team, and leaves fans wondering if this is the last time he will play in the NHL again. 

In 2016, Backes signed a five year, $30 million deal with the Bruins, which was pretty risky and now the Bruins must still pay him $6,000,000 of it until 2021, although the team buries $4,925,000 of that contract by sending him down to the AHL. 

 

Alternative captain, Patrice Bergeron, had this to say about Backes being sent down: “The impact that he’s had ever since he got here, on and off the ice, his leadership that he brought…he was a big part of the mentality that we’ve built here. We wish him all the best. We’re going to miss him.”

 

The 6-foot-3, 215 pound forward contributed one goal and two assists for three points in the 16 games he played for Boston this season. He has been made a healthy scratch for most of the season, as well as last seasons Stanley Cup Final against his former team. 

 

If this is the last time Backes plays for the Bruins or in the NHL; thank you for representing the city of Boston and the black and gold the best you could.

Until Next Time

∼RJ

 

On January 7th, 2020 the world lost an incredible musician in Neil Peart. Peart, best known as the drummer in a Canadian band called Rush, died after a three year battle with brain cancer. Throughout the years, NHL arenas would play sections from various Rush songs, such as YYZ and Tom Sawyer. Subdivisions is a very popular one to be played at TD Garden, because the arena comes with an organ. 

Being the main lyricist for Rush, Peart was able to publish several memoirs about his travels, as well as several other books.

Peart also contributed to Hockey Night in Canada by putting together a new version of “The Hockey Theme” in 2009. Hailing from Ontario, Canada, Neil said “I was a monomaniac about drumming. I was physically awkward. My ankles were weak, so I couldn’t play any sports. I couldn’t skate and I couldn’t play hockey, which in Canada is like football is in the U.K. And that makes you a pariah as a boy”. (Source) 

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Growing up, Rush was always present in my household. My father has attended almost all of their tours in the USA, some even more than once. His love of drumming was passed down to my older brother, who can crash out an Rush tune on the drums.

I also remember watching their live tour DVD, “Snakes and Arrows” and during “The Spirit of Radio” a man wearing a chicken suit came out on stage, which had rotisserie chicken machines and just messed with the band. Being a young girl, who sadly would rather be interested in Justin Bieber, Rush’s music didn’t interest me as much, although I loved watching that “Snakes and Arrows” DVD.

When Rush decided to retire from music in 2015, Peart was starting his private dealings with brain cancer. A quotes that stands out to me that sums up Peart was that he “didn’t want to be like everyone else. He just wanted to be Neil. He loved being a rock drummer, but he also loved literature. He loved poetry. He loved the outdoors. He didn’t care what society thought a rock star was ‘supposed to be’ — he wasn’t afraid to be himself, and he didn’t really care about fame”. (Source)

If you would like to express your condolences, please choose a cancer research or charity and make a donation in Neil Peart’s name.

Until Next Time

∼RJ

When the Bruins were in the Stanley Cup, during Game One, members of the 2011 Stanley Cup team were there to wave the flag before puck drop. Many people on twitter made jokes about the whereabouts of where the star goalie, Tim Thomas, was after dropping off the face of the Earth.

This past week Thomas made a rare appearance, helping to drop the puck at a Capitals vs. Bruins game with other U.S Hockey Hall Of Fame nominees.

Thomas talked about his issues with concussions, his last one pretty much ending his career, and causing brain damage.

Mental heath is the most important thing, and in hockey it is often ignored for fear of not being “tough” enough. Many other NHL-er’s have spoken up about their struggles with mental health while playing the game.

Some awards Thomas acquired during his 20 year NHL career are: 2x Vezina Trophy winner, Conn Smyth Winner, Stanley Cup Champion and is the first goaltender to win the Stanley Cup, Vezina and Conn Smyth in one season since the 1974-75 season. Thomas also holds the record for most saves by a goaltender in a playoff run with 798 saves, and most saves by a goaltender in a Stanley Cup Final series with 238 saves.

With Tim Thomas making his return to the public’s eye and it being the end of the decade, many fans have voted him as the best goaltender of the decade.

Until Next Time

~RJ

 

Throughout the NHL there have been numerous bad contracts; Rick Dipietro, David Clarkson, and Ily Kovalchuk to name a few. 2 of the 3 players named above are still on the books for teams, but are not actively playing while Ily Kovalchuk has made his return, signing a 3 year contract with the Kings after signing a 17 year deal with the Devils in 2010.

Boston Bruin’s Worst Contract

Currently, the Boston Bruin’s worst contract is David Backes signed until the 2021-22 season for $6,000,000. The 35 year old 6’3 center/right wing signed with the Bruins at the start of the 2016-17 season after playing for the St. Louis Blues and being their captain for the last 5 years, the Blues drafted him in the second round, 62nd overall in 2003. Backes was made a healthy scratch for the last few games during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final (in which his former team won) and since joining the Bruins, his scoring has gone down. Off ice, Backes and his wife are huge animal welfare advocates. They have started a foundation called Athletes for Animals which raises funds and awareness for rescuing and protecting the welfare of homeless pets. While his toughness and never quit attitude is an amazing quality, I think that the Bruins will soon try to trade him, send him down to the minors or buy his contract out in order to sign players.

 

Comparables/Who The Bruins Could Trade For

Mikal Backlund: The 6’1, 30 year old center is currently signed with the Calgary Flames until the 2024 season. He was drafted 24th overall by the Flames in 2007. He is making roughly $5,350,000 and is centering a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolík playing on either side of him. He was described by his coach as being on of the NHL’s premier two-way players. Off ice, Backlund is a spokesman for the Special Olympics and the Kid’s Cancer Care Foundation. With Calgary recently signing him, it is a long shot that they would want to trade Backlund for Backes.

 

Bryan Little: The 6 foot, 31 year old center is signed with the Winnipeg Jets until 2024, making roughly $5,291,666. He was drafted 12th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006, and stayed with the team when they relocated.  He has won the Dan Snyder Memorial Award in 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2016-17. This annual Jets award is given to the player who best embodies perseverance, dedication, and hard work without reward or recognition so his teammates might succeed. The Jets honored former Thrasher Dan Snyder, who died in a car accident in 2003, making the award in 2004.

 

Josh Bailey: The 6’1, 29 year old right wing is signed with the New York Islanders until 2024, making roughly $5,000,000. He was drafted by the Islanders 9th overall in 2008. He plays on a line with Matthew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier, and puts up decent points. He makes the least out of the other two players and makes $1,000,000 less than Backes.

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Do you think that the Bruins will do something with David Backes contract? If so, will it be a trade and who will the Bruins get in return?

Until Next Time

∼RJ

Nearly 200 female players do not have a club team to play for the 2019-20 season after the closure of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League earlier this year. Players such as Hilary Knight are stating that they will sit out the upcoming season if certain standards are not met. The hashtag, #ForTheGame, started because players need health insurance, to be paid humanly, and have the opportunities to work with companies, business leaders and sports professionals. Metropolitan Riveters goalie, Kimberly Sass, stated “it is in our best interest as players to not play next season until a long term sustainable and viable professional option is available”. 

NWHL vs. CWHL

NWHL: The National Women’s Hockey League was founded in 2015 and was the first women’s professional hockey league to pay its players. Their first season, in 2015, players made roughly $10,000 and in 2016 the league got a 50% pay cut, meaning players got paid $5,000. In a league update on May 30, 2019, the NWHL announced that due to no additional investors, the league would not be able to increase to full-time salaries or provide players with health insurance outside of the typical worker’s compensation for injuries, but had come to an agreement to a 50 percent revenue split on all league-wide sponsorship and media deals. 

CWHL: The Canadian Women’s Hockey League was founded in 2007 and closed in 2019. The league started paying their players at a minimum salary of $2,000 during the 2017-18 season for the first time. On March 31, 2019, it was announced that the CWHL board of directors had decided that league would discontinue operations effective May 1, 2019. The league cited that the fragmentation of corporate sponsors between the two women’s hockey leagues led to the league becoming financially infeasible, but that the Chinese partnership had kept the league operating during the previous seasons. The board of directors believed it owed its players more than the league could continue to provide, that there is only room from one women’s league, and encouraged the players to push any successor leagues to pay a livable wage. During the leagues time, two transgender players came out, Jessica Platt and Harrison Browne. 

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Where does this leave professional women’s hockey for future considerations?

Until Next Time

∼RJ

I remember my first time watching a hockey game on T.V. We had just upgraded to a bigger (and hi-def) T.V, and my dad and I quickly grew fascinated with the sport, with all the hard hitting action and very little time for breaks. I didn’t go to a Bruins game until the 2010-11 season, the season when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, ending a 39 year drought. It was a few days before Christmas and the Atlanta Thrashers were visiting Boston. I had prime seating, 5 rows up from Tim Thomas’s net. At the drop of the puck, gloves were thrown off and I experienced my first NHL fight.

Grittiness and physicality is a constant feature in the Boston Bruins style of playing, and I loved it. From Shawn Thornton, Milan Lucic, and Johnny Boychuk to Chris Wagner, Connor Cliffton, Kevan Miller and Charlie McAvoy, the grittiness and hard hitting style has slightly faded from the current Boston Bruins. The Bruins Stanley Cup Final teams (2011,2013 and 2019) all differ. In both 2011 and 2013, they were known as “The Big Bad Bruins” and used fear and aggression to silent their opponents. The 2019 Bruins are a smaller and faster team as the league today is shifting to a more skilled direction as opposed to a fear tactic one. I agree that the game has gotten more skilled based, which is great, but I tune into a hockey game to be entertained. I still enjoy the “Big Bad Bruins” style of play from their last successful Cup run.  

Seeing women being added to a sport I love, and a team that I will always cheer for gives me hope that one day I will be able to be among those working in the NHL. Being a woman in a “man’s sport” is a challenge every woman in the sports industry has to face, but recently the Bruins just added their first woman PA announcer, Jayme Parker,  earlier this year, making me happy and hopeful for the future of women in sports. Watching the game and falling in love with a sports team is something any sports fan can relate to, and for me I fell in love with an inclusive organization that I will cheer for, throughout the good, the bad and the ugly times. Being a Bruins fan is in my blood, is it in yours?  

Until Next Time

∼RJ

On June 12th, 2019, the St Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup over the Boston Bruins, winning Game 7 in TD Garden by a score of 4-1. As a Bruin fan, that sentence and the game hurt, especially getting the chance to win the Cup on home ice. While the Blues celebrated, the Bruins thanked their fans and headed to their clubhouse to celebrate a well fought season. When the Bruins cleaned out their lockers and faced the media, all the injuries the team had faced throughout the playoffs came out.

Injury List:

Chris Wagner: Broken arm

Matt Grzelcyk: Concussion

Brad Marchand: Abdominal and groin injuries, sprained hand

Patrice Bergeron: Groin injury

Jake DeBrusk: Concussion

Zdeno Chara: Multiple jaw fractures, loose fragments in elbow

David Pastrnak: Re-aggravated thumb

Noel Accari: Broken sternum

John Moore: Blown shoulder and broken humerus

Kevan Miller: Broken kneecap

On the bright side, the Bruins have the offseason to rest and get back to their top form. There are key players that need to be re-signed, such as McAvoy, Carlo, Johansson and Krug to name a few, and the NHL Draft is starting tonight. The Bruins have a first-round pick, which is the 30th overall. Yegor Spiridonov is predicted to be drafted in that spot. The Russian can play center or left wing, and shoots right-handed. The Bruins need someone to play on Krejci’s right side consistently and not double shift Pastrnak or if they can not re-sign Johansson.

While the Bruins did not have an ideal end to this season, they proved to be more than just a “one team line” with Cassidy starting the fourth line some nights to get the team fired up. As much as it hurts me to say, but congratulations to the St Louis Blues on winning their first ever Stanley Cup, they went from dead last to winning it all.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3BEcY4YfWw

Until Next Time

∼RJ

 

 

 

After nearly a month of post season hockey, everybody’s bracket has probably been ruined. I did predict that the Bruins and Leafs series would go seven games with the Bruin’s winning in OT, I was correct in that prediction (minus the fact that it did not end in OT). So where do the other series stand?

EAST:

The Columbus Blue Jackets, coming in as the second wildcard in the East, swept the President Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning, who many had as winning the Cup. Boston won game six in Columbus, moving on to face the Hurricanes in the ECF. The last time the Bruins appeared in the ECF, they moved onto the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2012-13 season.

The New York Islanders, the number two seed in the Metro, swept the number three seed Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. They were then swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. The New York Islanders were projected to not make the playoffs after trading away their long time captain John Tavares, they proved those predictions wrong after finishing second in their division.

The Carolina Hurricanes, the first wildcard in the East made their first post season appearance since 2009, faced the defending Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals in the first round. The Hurricanes won that series in seven games. Building off that momentum, they swept the Islanders and will face the Boston Bruins for a chance to play in the Stanley Cup Finals, for the first time since the 2005-06 season, when they won their only Cup.

WEST:

The Nashville Predators faced the wild card Dallas Stars in the first round. The Dallas Stars won that series 4-2. This was the first playoff meeting between the two teams.

The Winnipeg Jets faced the St. Louis Blues in the first round. This series lasted six games, with the St. Louis Blues winning and Jaden Schwartz scoring a natural hat trick in a 3-2 win. The Blues won in double OT, with St Louis Native Patrick Maroon scoring the winner. They now will play the San Jose Sharks in the WCF.

The Calgary Flames faced the wild card Colorado Avalanche in the first round. The Avalanche won the series in five games and moved on to the second round for the first time since 2008.

The San Jose Sharks faced the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round, a repeat of last years second round series between these two teams. In game seven, the Golden Knights took a controversial penalty which resulted in a Sharks win in OT. The officiating was so terrible in that game, that the NHL put out a statement saying that those referees would not work the rest of the playoffs.

The Sharks and Avalanche faced each other in the second round, forcing a Game Seven which the San Jose Sharks won 3-2.

MESSAGE:

The bottom mess is, don’t count the underdog out. I always root for the underdog to win, because I find it so much rewarding when a team who is not known to win championships, actually wins one.

The Boston Bruins have a chance to win their seventh Stanley Cup, their last one being won in the 2010-11 season. The team still has core players from that playoff run: Chara, Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, Rask and have added a mixture of veteran presence and hungry young guns: Backes, MacAvoy, Carlo, and Wagner to name a few.

The Carolinia Hurricanes are the only wildcard team left out of the remaining four teams. They last won their only Stanley Cup in the 2005-06 season. The only player still on that winning team roster is Justin Williams, who has a chance to win his fourth Stanley Cup. Being dubbed “A Bunch of Jerks” by Don Cherry, this team has been able to mix fun in with hard work. Some notably players on the team are: Mrazek, Hamilton, McGinn and Williams.

The St. Louis Blues went from being in last place in the leauge to finishing third in their division. They have the chance to win their first even Stanley Cup after 52 years, making them the oldest NHL team to never have won the Cup. The team is backed up by young goaltender Jordan Binnington and has amazing players such as Patrick Maroon, Alex Pietrangelo, Tarasenko and Colton Parayko.

The San Jose Sharks have the opportunity to give Joe Thornton his first Cup in his 22 year career. The Sharks have made it to the finals before, but ultimately losing to the Penguins in the 2015-16 season. The Sharks have acquired talent such as Erik Karlsson at the trade deadline to push towards the Cup.