Stanley Cup Recap With Some Draft Talk

Congrats to the 'Hawks

Jonathan Toews lifts the Cup. (Photo Credit: Google Images)

The 2013 Stanley Cup Final was a great one! Overtime games, crazy finishes, everything hockey - no, SPORTS - fans ask for in a playoff series. I'm quite proud of picking this series pretty much exactly right. I said Chicago would win Game 1, Boston would win Game 2 and 3, Chicago would finish it off by taking Game 4, 5, and 6. That's what happened, so I'll be waiting for my call from NBC to replace Mike Milbury. The Bruins almost made a liar out of me by taking Game 6, but Chicago has other ideas. I still can't believe that Chicago scored two goals in seventeen seconds to steal the Stanley Cup away from Boston. Now, when I think of the Game 7 collapse by the Devils in 2009, I can always just say to myself, "Well, at least we didn't lose the Cup because of it." I feel like Chicago won the Cup because they have the depth that nobody could match. They were able to roll four lines in every game, and they were all effective unlike most teams that only have about two lines that can make a difference. I can't take anything away from Boston, though. They made this one heck of a series with all of the overtime games and the finishes. The NHL proved that they still have the best and most exciting playoff series of the four major team sports in the U.S.

Devils Off-season Questions

Now that the season is over and the Stanley Cup has a home, I turn my attention to what my Devils need to do to get back to the playoffs and the Final. I'm glad to see that Dainius Zubrus is going to re-sign for three more years. I didn't always like him, but Zub has grown on me. He's consistent; you know exactly what you're going to get from him night in and night out. So, I like that he's coming back and for a decent price too. $3.1 million per year for three years works for me. Now, the next move should be getting Patrik Elias re-signed. This should be a slam dunk. Patty has said he wants to be a career-Devil, so this deal shouldn't take too long to hammer out. I hope Marek Zidlicky gets shown the door. In his prime (which was about a decade ago), he was an average defenseman at best. He's thirty-seven years old, and I've seen my friends that play at Bridgewater Sports Arena hold the blue line better than he can. However, I do think David Clarkson doesn't come back. This free agent class is the worst I can remember because David Clarkson is going to be one of the best free agent's available. He won't get the kind of money in New Jersey that he will be able to command on the open market. I think Clarkson continues the trend of Devils going home and he ends up with the Leafs in Toronto.

In terms of the draft, the Devils need to do one thing with their first-round selection (9th overall), draft a dynamic scoring winger. If I don't see that in our pick's scouting report, we screwed up. We have plenty of young defense, but we have little or no primary scoring outside of Kovalchuck. We have a couple of promising prospects, but we need to fill the farm with some offensive flair. That being said, so many teams can use young defense, and we have plenty of it. There's no reason we shouldn't be kicking the tires on a trade for someone like a Thomas Vanek or Bobby Ryan because we desperately need someone to take the load off of Kovy. In terms of free agents, it almost sounds like a lock that Danny Briere is going to be a Devil next year. If we can squeeze a year or two out of him for a discount, I'll be more than happy with that. With Vinny Lecavalier being bought out, I would LOVE to have him on the Devils, but I don't think we get him. Some big-market team (read: Rangers) will probably overpay for him.

Blockbuster Trade

Real quick, I'm a Nets fan on the low. The trade with the Celtics is nuts. It's like a trade you make in NBA 2k! It will be interesting to see how these guys fit with the Nets. Some die-hard Nets fans that I know don't like this deal, yet others I know couldn't be happier with the deal. I think that at the end of the day, it all comes down to how Jason Kidd makes this work. If he can get the most out of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in the twilight of their careers, I think the Nets are going to be a team to watch in the next few years.

The Final Is Set and Timmy Finds a Home

Remember last time how I said I would roast Rutgers on here? Well, I changed my mind. I don't even think it's worth "wasting" a blog post on my embarrassing alma mater. If you know me, you know exactly how I feel. Anyway, onto things worthy of writing about...

Stanley Cup Final Preview

It's finally here! Tomorrow, the battle for sport's greatest trophy begins in Chicago as the Blackhawks host the Boston Bruins, which should be a fantastic series. This was my pick before the playoffs started. So, I'll be waiting for my call from NBC to replace Mike Milbury. It amazing to think that this will be the first time that these two Original 6 teams will face-off for the Stanley Cup. Let me go off on a tangent for a second, though. I couldn't care less that we have an "Original 6 matchup." It doesn't make the hockey any better, and no one that isn't in their late 70s really cares about "Original 6 matchups." So, I don't really understand why everyone is making a huge deal about it. But, I digress...

The first thing that needs to be considered is the old "Rest vs. Rust" argument for Boston. Yes, they swept Pittsburgh in a very impressive manner. Let's be real, though, Pittsburgh is a soft team. It wasn't really a "hard-fought" sweep (if there is such a thing). They've had all of this time off while Chicago has been going into overtime games against LA. Chicago gets the few days off that they needed, but it's not too many that they will ruin their momentum going into this series. If Claude Julien kept his players sharp during this layoff, the time off won't be an issue, but if they falter in Game 1, it will be the first thing the analysts run to to explain the loss.

Next, it will be interesting to see how Boston handles Chicago's depth. Joel Quenneville (former Devil) is able to roll four lines with no problem. He was even doing that in overtime games, so it shows you how much trust he has in his guys. Pittsburgh might have been "deep," but the depth was old superstars passed their prime. Chicago has skill and speed all throughout their lineup (Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Shaw, Saad, etc.) This will definitely be Boston's biggest challenge yet.

As always when the Stanley Cup Finals come around, goalie match-ups are huge, This is where things even up. Rask and Crawford have been solid all playoffs. Whichever team can break the other goalie first will have the upper hand, and that won't be easy to do. Even since the game against the Rangers when Rask gave up that fluky goal when he fell, he has been a rock in net for Boston. He completely shut down the Penguins that were supposed to have all of this offensive firepower. Crawford was able to help Chicago come back from being down 3-1 to Detroit and thus lead them to the Finals. This is going to be a great, long, tough, hard-fought series. I can't wait for it to start tomorrow!

Prediction: Chicago in 6.

TIMMY!

Unless you live under a rock, or are boycotting all forms of social media, Tim Tebow signed with the New England Patriots. This is one of those things that is shocking, yet not at all surprising. I say that because I didn't think he had a shot at playing this year. But, this is a textbook Bill Belichick move. It's one of those reclamation project he loves oh so much. If Tebow sticks with the Pats, I would love nothing more than to see him score a game-winning touchdown versus the Jets. I was talking with some people yesterday, and we could only figure that Belichick has some crazy plan for Tebow. There's got to be an offensive package that he's cooked up for Tebow that can help him excel. No matter what the rationale behind the move is, it's sure to be a media circus in New England now. Here's to hoping it's a huge distraction!