On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins announced that they have re-signed center/wing Rich Peverley to a 3 year deal worth $3.25 million per year.

The undrafted 29-year-old from Guelph, Ontario arrived in Boston via a trade in February, 2011 and played a key role in the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship. Peverley scored four times and added eight assists in the 2011 playoffs. He has tallied two goals in the Bruins’ first three games of the 2011-2012 campaign even though the Bruins have only amassed two points in the standings.

Peverley’s offensive career highs in the NHL came in the 2009-2010 when he put up 22 goals and 55 points. Following the trade to Boston, Peverley scored only four goals and seven points through 23 games while playing primarily on Boston’s third line. Following the retirement of Mark Recchi, the Bruins are counting on 20+ goal, 50+ point production on a consistent basis from Peverley on Boston’s second line, centered by two-way stalwart Patrice Bergeron.

With the three-year extension awarded to Peverley, the Bruins have a total of seven forwards (not including forward Marc Savard, who is on LTIR, recovering from multiple concussions), five defensemen, and starting goalie Tim Thomas under contract for the 2012-2013. Those 13 players carry a combined cap hit of $41.87 million for the 2012-2013 season. Assuming a $3 million rise in the cap ceiling to $67.3 million, the Bruins would have over $26 million in available cap space to sign 10 players.

One player expected to use a significant portion of that available cap space is first line center David Krejci, whose current contract expires at the end of the 2011-2012 season. Krejci will likely command a cap hit of $5 million minimum on an extension, which would leave the Bruins with $21 million (again, based on the assumption of a $67.3 million cap ceiling for next season) and nine players to sign. If the current Bruins play to the level of their contracts, they should have no trouble filling out a roster for the 2012-2013 season with $2 million or less cap hits.

Stick checks, face washes, and slew foots are welcome on Twitter @Gordsie.

The Boston Bruins kicked off Game 1 of their Eastern Conference final series at the Garden on Saturday night, hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first time since March 3rd. This is the first appearance the Bruins have made to the conference finals since 1992, and this also marked the first playoff meeting between the B’s and Bolts in their franchise histories.

However, Game 1 didn’t play out quite the way the Bruins wanted it too. Bolts’ Bergenheim, Clark, and Purcell all scored within 90 seconds of each other halfway through the first period, ultimately winning the game 5-2. Many argued that the absence of Bruins alternate captain Patrice Bergeron, who had been out suffering from a minor concussion since Game 4 against the Flyers, was to blame for their lack of scoring ability. But the B’s also had a lot of downtime following there second round sweep, which may have produced some rust.

Luckily, the Bruins were able to tie the series 1-1 after their 6-5 win on Tuesday, and rookie Tyler Seguin proved to be the star of the night. Although Seguin made his first playoff debut during Game 1 subbing in for Bergeron, the chemistry only seemed to grow around Chris Kelly’s line. Seguin had two goals and two assists, and Michael Ryder also found the back of Tampa’s net twice. While a lot of people thought the rookie might buckle under the immense pressure of the playoffs, Ryder was not surprised that he was able to deliver.

“He wasn’t drafted second overall for no reason,” Ryder said. “But he’s definitely got great skill there. We have some chemistry together, and we clicked.”

Game 3 of the series went down Thursday night, and once again Tim Thomas proved why he is an ideal candidate for the Vezina trophy. Thomas can add another shutout to his list of postseason accomplishments, and with a little help from David Krejci and Andrew Ference, the Bruins now lead the best of seven series against the Bolts 2-1. Patrice Bergeron returned to the ice last night as well. He seemed to be on his A-game, but the Bruins know first hand how scary head injuries of their teammates can be. Marc Savard has been out since January following a hit from former teammate Matt Hunwick, and was out for 6 months before that after a dirty hit from Matt Cooke in March 2010. Even so, although Bergeron isn’t usually praised for his physical play, he was aggressive on the forecheck as well int he neutral zone on Tuesday, and didn’t shy away from anything physical.

Game 4 will definitely bring forth some A+ effort from both the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the final round in the quest for the cup only a few games away, the pressure is certainly building. But the future for the Boston Bruins looks bright indeed.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove NHL / Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent

The Boston Bruins brought their brooms to TD Garden Friday night, as they swept away the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1.  In the process, Boston exorcised the demons of their collapse after blowing a 3-0 series lead last year, making no mistake as to which was the better team this time around.

While Boston was able to gain redemption, Philadelphia’s once-promising season came to an abrupt end.

“It’s something that you’re never really prepared for, to stop playing, to be knocked out,” said left winger James van Riemsdyk.  ”You want to be playing to the very end and lift that trophy over your head and to not get there is pretty devastating.”

Mike Richards had similar feelings about the early exit.

“It is disappointing whenever you end the season on a loss,” the captain said.  ”Not sure where it went wrong.  It’s a slippery slope when you stop playing your brand of hockey.  Give the Bruins a lot of credit they played extremely well.  We just didn’t have an answer for it.”

In a game that required nothing but the most-desperate of efforts from the Orange-and-Black, the Flyers managed just 23 shots Friday, their lowest total of the entire playoffs.

The line of Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton had their way with the Flyers during the whole series, and Friday night was no different.  Lucic scored his first two goals of the postseason, Horton had two helpers, and Krejci added an assist.

The line combined for 8 goals and 19 points (Krejci 4 goals, 9 points; Horton 2 goals, 7 points; Lucic 2 goals, 3 points) in the four contests.

Philadelphia, the Eastern Conference representative in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, was outscored 20-7 by the Bruins in the series.

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Defenseman Sean O’Donnell said Boston was just playing better at the right time.

“I’m not going to say the better team won, but the team that was playing better is moving on,” said O’Donnell.  ”They are hitting on all cylinders right now.”

“I’m not taking anything away, they deserved the series,” O’Donnell added.  ”But it seemed like we were a little bit off and they were playing real well.”

Peter Laviolette chose to go with Sergei Bobrovsky in net, and the rookie held the team in the game for most of the game.

“I thought he did a good job,” the head coach said.  ”He gave us an opportunity to win the game.”

Bobrovsky made 22 saves on 25 shots.

“I mean he played well, obviously, kept us in the game,” said center Claude Giroux of the rookie goaltender’s play.

Lucic opened the scoring at 12:02 of the first period with Boston on a man advantage courtesy of a Dan Carcillo cross-check.  It was Lucic’s first goal of the playoffs, and also snapped a 21-game stretch without a goal for the big winger.

The Flyers were able to tie the game just past the midway part of the second frame.

Richards won a battle and got the puck up to Kris Versteeg, who went in alone on Tim Thomas.  Versteeg went forehand-backhand high over Thomas’ blocker and high into the net at 13:22.

With the score tied 1-1 heading into the third period, Johnny Boychuk netted the game-winner.  His point shot deflected off of Scott Hartnell’s stick in front and went up over Bobrovsky’s glove hand and under the crossbar at the 2:42 mark.

Lucic put the game away with his second goal of the evening with just 4:57 remaining.  Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille added empty-net goals with Bobrovsky pulled for an extra attacker to round out the scoring.

Laviolette noted that his club’s defense was a lot different without its anchor, Chris Pronger, in the lineup.

“You just notice the impact that a guy like (Zdeno) Chara has on the other side, and when you don’t have your big guy in there,” Laviolette pointed out.  ”He (Pronger) plays the same style and the same way, you certainly miss him.  But, I have never been one to really use injuries as an excuse.  We had good players in the lineup and opportunities to win some games and we didn’t.”

When asked how much his team missed Pronger, O’Donnell was quick to point out that the Flyers weren’t the only club missing key players.

“I’m sure they (Boston) missed (Marc) Savard and I’m sure Pittsburgh missed (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin,” O’Donnell said.  ”Everyone is dealing with injuries right now.”

General manager Paul Holmgren, who will have his work cut out for him in retooling his club during the off-season, assessed the series loss.

“They took it to us right from the start,” said Holmgren.  ”I didn’t think we were ready to play in the first game, mentally or physically.  I thought the game we needed to win was the second game and it was a good game, probably our best game by far.”

Another aspect the Flyers had trouble with was solving Thomas.  A round after finally wearing down Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres, Thomas stopped 142 of the 149 Philadelphia shots he faced for an astounding .953 save percentage.

Thomas was a big difference from this year’s series and last year’s, when Tuukka Rask was manning the Boston crease.

“I would have liked to generate more offensively,” Laviolette lamented.  ”I think in all the losses, we needed to generate more.  We need to spend more time in the offensive zone.”

So another playoff season ends on a sour note in the City of Brotherly Love.  This makes 36 years and counting since their last Stanley Cup championship in 1975.

Holmgren was asked about his defensive unit’s struggles – a group that he had rebuilt over the past two summers.

“I will sit back and we’ll spend a lot of time over the next little while evaluating…and to our meetings with obviously staff and the coaches and the players and just see what went wrong,” the GM said.  ”My first reaction is that we got beat by a better team in this series.  They deserve to be moving on.”

Taking a Flyer:  The Flyers were swept in a seven-game series for just the sixth time in franchise history and the first time since the 1997 Stanley Cup Final vs. Detroit…van Riemsdyk led Philadelphia in shots again tonight, and finished with an NHL-leading 70 shots on goal in 11 games…Center and leading-scorer Patrice Bergeron left the game after taking a huge hit by Giroux and did not return.  It is particularly worrisome since Bergeron has suffered from concussion-related problems in his career.  Head coach Claude Julien did not have an update on Bergeron’s status after the game.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove NHL / Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent

The Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins have had some pretty significant postseason meetings.  They first met in 1974 in the Stanley Cup Finals, with Philadelphia becoming the first expansion team to claim Lord Stanley as their own.

AP Photo / Michael Perez

Last year in the Eastern Conference Semifinals Boston raced out to a 3-0 series lead, only to have the Flyers roar back to win the next four.  The comeback from 0-3 down was just the third time in NHL history that it had occurred, and the first time in 35 years.

All history aside in this rivalry, this season is yet another very evenly-matched encounter.  Expect a long, tough, physical series, as both teams thrive on taking the body and wearing down their opponents.

This could well end up being a war of attrition.

At first glance, it would appear that the Bruins would have a tremendous advantage in net.  Tim Thomas will be the second straight elite goalie from the United States, with Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres being the first in round one.  Thomas finished the regular season with a 35-11-9 record, and a goals-against average of 2.00 and .938 save percentage – both of which were league-leading numbers.  Thomas continued his stellar play in Boston’s first round series with arch-rival Montreal Canadiens, registering a 4-3 record, with a 2.25 GAA and .926 save percentage.

Peter Laviolette’s team went through three goaltenders in their first round triumph over Buffalo, as Sergei Bobrovsky gave way to Brian Boucher, who then gave way to Michael Leighton.  Leighton faltered, and Boucher came back in to finish off the set.  The Sabres’ media dubbed the threesome “Moe, Larry, and Curly.”   Boucher was far from a Stooge, as he ended up with a 4-1 record, a 2.10 GAA, and .934 save percentage – numbers that were all better than those posted by Thomas.  When one writer asked Boucher yesterday if he felt like the “Rodney Dangerfield of hockey, because he gets no respect”, the 34-year-old Rhode Island-native chuckled and said “Yeah, I guess if you want to say that, you can say that.”

The teams each have a hulking, physically-intimidating anchor on their blue line – Chris Pronger for the Flyers, and Zdeno Chara for the Bruins.  Both can hit and clear the front porch for their respective goaltenders, as well as contribute to the team’s offensive effort.  Pronger missed the first five games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals while recovering from late-season surgery to repair a broken hand, but provided an inspirational boost with his return in game six.  He played just 4:33 – all of which came on the power play – but his mere presence made a difference.  He took a semi-regular shift in game seven and while not playing his usual amount of minutes, still logged 17:27.  His return to form will be key for Philly’s chances.

The rest of Philadelphia’s defense that will be eating up the most minutes is rounded out by fluid-skating, smooth as silk veteran Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Meszaros, and Sean O’Donnell.

Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ference, Tomas Kaberle, and Adam McQuaid fill out the rest of the Boston defensive position that will see the most time on ice for head coach Claude Julien.

Up front, both the Flyers and Bruins have a wealth of talent, grit, and physicality, as well as a deluge of intangibles their respective groups bring to the table.

Philadelphia is led by Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Mike Richards, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino, Kris Versteeg, and Scott Hartnell.  Giroux continues his development into one of the finest two-way centers in the game, leads all playoff scorers with eight assists, and is tied for second in points with nine.  Briere was a goal-scoring machine in the first round against his former teammates, tying for the NHL lead in goals with Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks with six.  The Flyers have to be encouraged by the progress being made by van Riemsdyk.  The 21-year-old left wing was a force against Buffalo, using his six-foot, three-inch, 200 pound frame to create havoc in front of Miller, hitting every Sabre in sight, and scoring four goals.  He also led all NHL skaters after the first round with 43 shots on goal, and along with linemate Giroux, van Riemsdyk was creating many quality scoring chances.

One thing that remains the same from last year’s meeting is the absence of Jeff Carter from the Philadelphia lineup.  The Flyers’ leading goal-scorer missed the entire 2010 series after suffering a broken foot in the first round against the New Jersey Devils, and his status is not good for seeing time against the Bruins in this year’s series.  Carter suffered a sprained MCL in the Buffalo series in a knee-on-knee collision with defenseman Tyler Myers, and is currently listed as out indefinitely.

Boston also has a loaded roster at the forward spot.  With Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Rich Peverley, Michael Ryder, Nathan Horton, Brad Marchand, Mark Recchi, and Chris Kelly, the Bruins boast one of the deepest stables of attackers in the league.  The first round defeat of Montreal was done with a balanced scoring attack led by Bergeron, Kelly, Peverley, and Marchand.  Horton provided  timely goals, including the series-clinching overtime goal in game seven.

Boston’s loss of Krejci last year was one of the key turning points for Philadelphia in the historic series.  Even though he had just one goal in round one, the talented Krejci always does well against the Flyers.  He led the Bruins in regular season scoring against Philly, recording four assists in the four meetings.  Having him stay healthy for the series as a whole is vital to Boston’s chances of advancing.

Marc Savard returned from a concussion for game one last year and provided an inspirational, emotionally-charged moment when he notched the game-winning goal in overtime, but will not be able to lend his abilities to the Bruins’ cause this season.  He is out for the remainder of the year with concussion-related injury, and the career of the 33-year-old center is in doubt.

Look for both teams to try to impose themselves physically upon the other in game one in order to gain any kind of an early advantage, and overly aggressive play may lead to penalties.

And with both teams being so evenly matched, the final outcome may just be decided on special teams.

Both teams struggled on the power play in the first round.  Philadelphia was just 2-26 in the first five games against the Sabres, but recovered to score three times over the all-important final two contests.  Coincidently or not, the resurgence of the man advantage unit happened to occur with the return of Pronger to the Flyers’ blue line.

The team’s power play (14.8%) and penalty killing (77.4%) are both ranked 12th out of the 16 playoff teams, and will have to be much better in the next round.

Boston took their round one power play struggles to the next level by going 0-21 against the Canadiens, and actually giving up a shorthanded goal in the process.  The Bruins’ penalty kill (77.8%) wasn’t very good, either.

With history in their rearview mirror, this series also looks to be a classic.  Expect a six or seven game set, with the victor being the team that plays physically but stays out of the penalty box, and takes advantage of their man advantage opportunities.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

The latest installment in a weekly series from NHL Hot Stove correspondent David Strehle that examines teams, players, and issues from around the NHL.  In this Eastern Conference edition:  Matt Cooke Does it Again; The Islanders with a Bright Future; Goal Struggles in Tampa Bay; The Price is Right in Montreal.

By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent

Message needs to be sent by NHL

There was much talk at the recent GM’s meetings in Florida about making players take responsibility for head shots.  And Sunday provided a great opportunity for the NHL to put those statements into action.

Pittsburgh Penguins’ frequent offender Matt Cooke drilled New York Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh in the side of the head with an elbow early in the third period, and paid the immediate consequence with a five-minute major and game misconduct.

With such a textbook example of Rule 48 provided by Cooke, it’s time for the league to step in and put some teeth behind the talk – or it will all be the status quo, a bunch of jargon.

Cooke has been in and out of controversy for a bevy of hits over the past few years.  He has received three suspensions of varying lengths for his discretions over the past three seasons, and actually avoided any retribution for his shot to the head of Boston Bruin Marc Savard last year.  The Bruins’ star forward was shut down earlier this year with recurring symptoms from the concussion suffered from the Cooke blindside hit. 

In head coach Dan Bylsma’s post-game press conference, he seemed resigned to the fact that there will, indeed, be a lengthy suspension – and that it would be justified.  “I don’t think you can talk about eliminating head shots from the game, as we have as an organization, and not expect that to be examined, as there looks to be contact right to the head on the play“, Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Tribune.  “The league will look at it and treat it as such.”

Bylsma couldn’t have been pleased with Cooke’s actions or even the timing – early in the third period of a 2-2 game.  The resulting Rangers power play scored, and New York went on to post a 5-2 victory.

The guess here is that Cooke will go before disciplinarian Colin Campbell sometime early in the week - in person - and the suspension will probably be somewhere between seven and 10 games.

Anything less will make the NHL’s tough talk of the past week regarding protecting their assets and making players accountable for their actions look like a joke.

Bright Future on Long Island

For several years now, the New York Islanders franchise has been nothing short of a disaster.  On top of all of the wranglings concerning a new arena, this will be the fourth consecutive season that they will fail to qualify for the postseason.

But all is not lost, as there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel for the Isles.

The team suffered a horrific rash of injuries early in the campaign and were buried deep in the Eastern Conference basement by mid-December.  But since that time, they have had one of the best records in the East.

Several key factors have been:

• The play of Michael Grabner.  The 23-year-old Austrian was the 14th overall draft pick in 2006 by the Vancouver Canucks, but appeared to be on the way out after being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers just before the season started.  All Grabner has done is bring an added dimension with his speed and offensive ability, and he hit the 30-goal mark this past week.  A player of Grabner’s skill set is rare to come across, and along with John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Matt Moulson, Grabner should be a big part of the core of the team and any future success for years to come.
• The maturation of Tavares.  In the time that the Isles have turned things around, it’s no coincidence that Tavares has been better than a point per game – 18 goals, 28 assists for 46 points in 45 games.  The 20-year-old is playing with a confidence and efficiency that the organization expected when they made him the first overall draft choice in 2009.
• Jack Capuano.  With the club in dire straits in mid-November, Scott Gordon was fired as head coach, and Capuano named his interim replacement.  When the team went 1-8-2 in his first 11 contests, it appeared there was no hope for the Islanders.  But they have gone 24-15-6 since that time, which includes a 4-9-0 January.  That means that other than January, New York has recorded a 20-6- 6 mark.  Not too shabby.  Capuano has instilled a team concept that has seen them stand up for each other.  Though some of that has led to some ugly incidents and suspensions, there is no doubt that the Islanders have a unified locker room.  And that will be huge in building a winning atmosphere on the Island moving forward.

The Price is Right in Montreal

The Montreal Canadiens were heavily criticized by many when they dealt playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues in the offseason, thereby annointing Carey Price as the number one by default.  Truth be told, the controversy of constantly pondering which netminder was the starter and which should be backup became a distraction in hockey’s Mecca city, and Price and the Habs have thrived in Halak’s absence. 

Price is currently tied with the Detroit Red Wing’s Jimmy Howard for the league lead in wins with 34.  That total is also tops in the Eastern Conference, and Price’s eight shutouts is second only to the nine posted by Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.  Price’s .922 save percentage is tied for fifth best, and has a very respectable goals-against average of 2.38.

While the regular season has proven Price to be a worthy starter, his true test will come in the form of this year’s playoffs and whether he can match Halak’s magical run last year – or even come up with a reasonable facsimile.

Goal Struggles in Tampa

There has been much talk of goal troubles in Tampa Bay this season, but it has centered on the earlier woes of the club’s crease area.

The team was cruising along this season and even began to challenge the Philadelphia Flyers for the Eastern Conference lead in the latter stages of February. 

But as the calendar flipped to March, the team’s success level has dropped off significantly.  With just a 2-5-4 record since February ended, combined with the red hot streak of the Washington Capitals, the Lightning now trail the Caps by five points for the Southeast Division lead.  Tampa does have a game in hand, but a finish in the top three is looking like it may be slipping away.

Head coach Guy Boucher pointed out what he felt was the key to their recent slump.  Secondary scoring.  Boucher juggled his lines in hopes of finding combinations that work to compliment Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, and Vinny Lecavalier in the goals department.  After Stamkos (43), St. Louis (26), and Lecavalier (19), Teddy Purcell (17) is the only other Bolt with more than 13 markers this season.

With Ryan Malone (abdominal), Steve Downie (knee / ankle), and Simon Gagne (neck) all on the shelf with injuries, the club is struggling to find offense from the wings. 

Purcell has been a revelation and had played his way onto the power play unit even when everyone was healthy.  Boucher will need more from the likes of Sean Bergenheim, Adam Hall, Dana Tyrell, and Mattias Ritola, especially in the absence of his injured wingers. 

But another issue has to be that Boucher must have expected more production from the blue line.  Pavel Kubina was brought back to Tampa as a free agent in the offseason and it was hoped that he would be a force on the power play, but he has only registered three goals in 69 games thus far.  Victor Hedman, the number two overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, also has three in 71 contests.  His numbers are pretty much on par with what he finished with as a rookie last year, but the Lightning had to have been looking for more in his development process.  Boucher has received more input than anticipated from free agent signee Brett Clark (eight, including six on the PP), but with the offensive slump will be awaiting contributions from all avenues.

When the Bolts rectified their ”other goal problem” by obtaining Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders, it appeared as if the team was on to something big. 

But no one expected the team’s offense to disappear the way it has over the past few weeks.  Gagne is day-to-day and could help give opponents more weapons to key on, but Malone and Downie are listed as out indefinitely.  (Although the Lightning may have some good news regarding Downie – this was posted on Twitter Monday morning).  It’s time for everyone to step up in Tampa Bay, or their aspirations of a long playoff run could evaporate much like their goal totals have recently.

_____________________________________________

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter - @David_Strehle.

Lets run down the list or notorious hits the last few years. Todd Bertuzzi on Steve Moore. Marty McSorley on Donald Brashear. Matt Cooke on Marc Savard (and pretty much everyone else), Mike Richards on David Booth and of course our most recent example Zdeno Chara on Max Paciorety. What do all of these have in common? They have all taken place since 1992, the same year the instigator rule was initiated.

Simply put, the rule calls for an automatic extra two minutes for anyone deemed to have instigated a fight. It seems straight forward enough but i believe it has resulted in mass chaos which is now rearing its ugly head.

Since the formation of the rule the league has seen fighting drop significantly over the years, but has seen the increase in ugly incidents, more stick work and head shots to the point now where the game is in trouble. With sponsors threatening to pull out and TV networks not sre they want to have this mess on their screens, it is time for the NHL to rethink the rule.

Fighting always has and always will be a part of the game. People who dont like it or dont see the purpose of it dont understand the game. I have been to hundreds of live games and watched hundreds more on television, not once have I ever seen the crowd leave or sit idle while a fight is started. If anything it usually gets the crowd more pumped up. It is the release of testosterone from playing a very high tempo physical game.

As well, lets be honest fighting serves as somewhat of a deterent in the game. I recall the days when you would have Bob Probert, Dave Brown, Tie Domi, McSorley and Dave Semenko patrolling the ice and their sole purpose was to protect the likes of Steve Yzerman, Wayne Gretzky and Doug Gilmour. Rarely did you see Semenko lay a viscious elbow to the head of some opposing player. Nor was it common to see Probert cut across the ice and jump at an unsuspecting players head. No, they settled it the way it should be settled, man to man, fist to fist none of this garbage we see in the game now.

So how much of an impact has this rule had on the game? Well this is just one mans opinion, but the impact has been significant. No more is there the deterent to go out there and blindside a player. In the old days Cooke would have had to answer for his hit on Savard. He would have been forced to duke it out with a league heavyweight or better yet, he may have thought twice about even attempting such a move.

If the instigator rule was not in place the game would be a much safer place in my opinion. Yes fighting may increase, and you may see more brawls and things which seem to always make it on the highlite films in the US, but in all honsety would you not rather have that then the injuries we are seeing now? Without the rule, weasels like Cooke would have to answer for their actions. The lack of respect in the game today is overwhelming and surprising.

The incidents of players being hurt in a fight are rare. Yes there were the ones like Todd Fedoruk who paid for their fisticuffs, but in the big scheme of things a player being seriously injured in a fight is uncommon. The rash of head injuries we ahve seen over the years are sickening. Here is just a small list of guys who have suffered serious head injuries since the inception of the rule.

• Pat Lafontaine
• Eric Lindros
• Brett Lindros
• Sidney Crosby
• Willie Mitchell
• Steve Moore
• Matthew Lombardi
• Max Pacioretty
• Marc Savard

All of these guys are on the elite level of the games scale and yet all have been felled by head injuries; all since 1992. There are hundreds more who could be added to the list, and that is the tragedy of all of this, that none of them had to be even on that list. Prior to 1992 head injuries were rare or at least not publicized to the extent they are now. Players did not miss significant time because of headaches or nausea. You rarely heard of a player blacking out or even having a career ended because they were the victim of a headshot. Why is that? Because anyone who would have stooped that low would have had someone on them immediately. By taking away that deterent it has opened the game up to a new level of disrespect.

Here’s hoping the league can find a way to adjust the problem before someone else is seriously hurt or worse killed by a chaepshot. The instigator rule must be abolished or at the very least re-worked to protect the players because no amount of suspensions or fines at this point is going to make a difference, players are pre conditioned to the way they are playing, the only solution is to allow player to police themselves and let those cheapshotters know that this will no longer be tolerated.

I know that this will never happen as the league fears it could escalate violence and it very possibly could but this is a physical game and the players need some form of release from frustration and they are all competitive. Would you rather they release that through a stick to the head or an elbow to a guys jaw or through a fight? This is the question which now must be asked for the good of the game.

Concussions in the NHL have recently been at the forefront of discussion. Sidney Crosby has been suffering concussion symptoms since the Winter Classic in January, Marc Savard’s career may be over due to a series of concussions and post-concussion syndrome (PCS) and Max Pacioretty is the latest victim of concussions as well as a severe neck injury. We won’t soon forget the on-going battle Eric Lindros fought with concussions and how it ended his career.

To this day the serious effects of a concussion and what it does to your brain are not fully grasped. I’m passionate about educating people on the seriousness of concussions and the reasons it keeps players out for months. It’s important to understand not just to relate to players, but to be aware of the signs and symptoms in case you, your athletic child or athlete (as a coach) experiences head trauma.

According to the Zurich Statement, the gold standard of treatment of concussions;

A concussionis “A complex pathological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces.”

Treatment of concussions includes complete physical and neurological rest. Those affected by symptoms should refrain from watching tv, reading and listening to music until they can do it symptom free. This applies to return-to-play for athletes as well. The immediate treatment of symptoms is pertinent to the patient’s life. They should not participate in any physical activity until they are asymptomatic due to the increased chance they may be re-concussed and experience Second-Impact-Syndrome (SIS). If someone is re-concussed too soon after initial impact they may experience the fatal SIS. Victims re-concussed must be sent to the ER immediately. Their vitals may rapidly decline and will die if not treated immediately transported to the hospital. It’s imperative to treat concussions immediately after they happen.

Most notably Boston Bruins’ forward Savard has been the recent poster-child of PCS. Those affected must undergo neuropsychological testing by a board certified psychologist.They’re tested for attention, concentration and memory. Symptoms include depression, anxiety, “seeing stars”, fatigue, headaches, sleep disturbance, sensitivity to light and noise as well as irritability. For anyone to experience a concussion is frustrating, but especially to professional athletes. Those experiencing symptoms feel them on a daily basis and are unable to participate in many daily activities. As noted, depression is often experienced by those with the PCS.

The concussion healing process varies from person-to-person. No two athletes will experience exactly the same symptoms or get over them in the same time frame. Often, like in Crosby and Savards’ case there is no timetable for a return. The most important detail to remember is that athletes should not return to play until they are asymptomatic. As tough as it is as fans wanting our favorite players to return to play, it is ten times tougher for the athlete in question. Patience is key in recovery.

This topic all comes full circle to head shots. What can the NHL do to remedy this “head shot”problem? There are fans all over the country who concur that the NHLPA does not handle suspensions with an iron fist. There lies the gray area. I often wonder what hits (with the end result being head trauma) count towards suspension? It all seems to be different. Montreal Canadiens’ fans are completely outraged overwhat happened to Pacioretty, rightfully so, and are cancelling subscriptions to for tickets to NHL games, amongst other things. Air Canada is taking part in this as well, threatening to pull sponsorship to make a bold statement about the state of things and the NHLPA.

The NHL needs to sit down and seriously discuss guidelines on suspension and what actions will result in suspensions without question. The injury is important yes, but sometimes clean hits can resultin an athlete’s concussion. Point of view and human error come into question when it comes time for punishment of a dirty hit. What happens when those in charge aren’t making the moves to prevent these kinds of hits? The inconsistency is frustrating to everyone and can be compared to a spinning roulette wheel, who is going to get the worst of it? Everyone has their theories but how much is politics involved? There’s so many questions I wish I could provide answers to, however that responsibility rests on the shoulders of the NHL.

It was bad news day in Boston today, as Joe Haggarty of CSNNE.com announced that Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard would miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season with a concussion.

The news comes after Savard suffered his most recent concussion in a Jan. 22 matinee games in Colorado. The hit by Avalanche defenseman — and former Bruin — Matt Hunwick brought back the symptoms that Savard was cleared of after his lengthy battle with post concussion syndrome. Savard returned to the Bruins lineup Dec. 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was beginning to hit his offensive stride midway through January, and had points in four of his last five games before the injury.

Despite being very deep at the centre position, this is a move that hurts the Bruins moving forward. As mentioned, Savard was just regaining his offensive prowess and looked good centering a line of Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. In 25 games this season, Savard has eight assists for 10 points.

Looking towards the end of the season the team will have to rely on David Krejci to return to his early season form where he scored 11 points in the first 10 games of the regular season. Krejci has shown signs of his magician-like hands with some nifty dangles, and he has been good lately, but for the Bruins to move forward without Savard, Krejci is a key part.

If anyone can make Savard optimistic about a return from his concussion it’s Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron is having a fantastic season that has him leading the Bruins with 19 goals for 44 points in 53 games. He has already matched last season goal total and is only eight points away from hitting his 52 points he scored in 73 games last year. It was a lot of work, but Bergeron came back after two concussions, one in 2008 after a very questionable hit by Philadelphia Flyers’ defenseman Randy Jones forcing Bergeron out the remainder of the season. His second took place after — now teammate, then with the Carolina Hurricanes — Dennis Seidenberg laid him out, which saw Bergeron miss over a month.

The 2009-10 season was the reemergence of Bergeron where he put up 52 points and played a very strong two-way game that earned him a spot on the gold medal winning Team Canada roster at the winter Olympics, albeit playing sparingly. This year has been no different as he leads the Bruins atop the North East division.

The decision to sit Savard out the remainder of the season is said to be happening sometime on Monday. It is then we will find out the cap space that will be cleared by Savard. If there is a positive to take out of this, it will allow GM Peter Chiarelli to have some cap room to play with on trade deadline day. Reports out there now say that the Bruins are interested in adding a puck moving defenseman, although rookie rearguard Steve Kampfer has been filling that role nicely, a goal scoring winger is also something they would be interested in adding.

The best thing for the Bruins to do right now is gauge how they are playing without Savard before making a decision on what to spend the money on. So far the teams record is 3-2 without their playmaking centre.

It’s going to be interesting to see what Chiarelli does before the Feb. 28 NHL trade deadline.

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Editor-in-chief
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8

Prior to opening a 4 game Eastern road trip (beginning with a shootout loss tonight in Carolina) the Calgary Flames were informed that Tom Kostopoulos was suspended for six games for a hit on Brad Stuart. Following the suspension, both Kostopoulos and GM Jay Feaster emphatically stated that they disagreed with the disciplinary action and that any suspension was handed down at all.

While viewing the above video evidence, it is hard to agree with the Flames organization, however, when one examines similar incidences around the league, the Flames may have a valid argument.

The league has recently attempted to begin a crackdown on hits to the head, with the theoretical intent of disciplining players who do violate this policy, and there are notable examples this season:

Joe Thornton received a two game suspension for levelling David Perron with this hit to the head. A similar incident earned Shane Doan a three game suspension for his hit on Dan Sexton.

When viewing these incidences, one finds it difficult to comprehend why Kostopoulos was assessed a whopping six game suspension. If the league is attempting to crack down on hits to the head, six games is indeed a reasonable length, however, why were the other hits only worth two and three games respectively? I fail to see the difference in principle.

Now, for every hit that is disciplined by the league, there are countless examples of hits to the head (often resulting in severe long term injury) that go unchecked.

Very recently David Steckel delt Sidney Crosby a blow to the head (resulting in a concussion, and a serious loss for the Penguins) that did not draw a penalty, nor did Steckel receive a suspension.

Earlier this season, Marc Staal crushed Matt Stajan with a vicious hit to the head, once again unpenalized and undisciplined.

Perhaps one of the most significant and cowardly attacks to the head was dealt by Matt Cooke on Marc Savard, once again no discipline was handed down by the league.

Tonight even, Curtis Glencross was laid out by a hit from Jeff Skinner, who left his feet with a deliberate hit at Glencross’s head. Now I am no mathematician, but if Kostopoulos received six games for his hit, and Skinner undertakes a similar action, shouldn’t he get six games as well?

It would be nice if the NHL worked that way, but unfortunately NHL discipline is the “responsibility” of Colin Campbell.

Campbell is now very well known for his unprofessional and biased behavior. It is well documented that Campbell had sent emails to an NHL official citing that Savard was a “little fake artist”. Upon confrontation he defended himself by suggesting that he didn’t think others would read his emails.

Hmm, well it now makes sense to me why the Cooke hit on Savard went unpunished, but there are so many other hits that go ignored, I wonder who else Campbell dislikes, or likes for that matter!

After the Kostopoulos’s hit on Stuart, Detroit coach Mike Babcock was very vocal in his opinion that Kostopoulous should receive a suspension. It went to the extent that the team’s GM (Ken Holland) phoned Campbell to raise his displeasure. I wonder if this influenced Campbell’s fickle opinion?

If Sutter or Feaster raised hell over tonight’s hit, would Campbell care? Probably not. With dictator-like management at the highest level, this creates a rather unfortunate parity in the NHL at a fundamental level.

I’m by no means suggesting that hits to the head should not be punished – they should – players need to be protected. I am merely advocating for a lack of bias and increased consistency from the league office. In my opinion, this means either getting rid of Campbell – for his record is rather unflattering, or creating a committee to oversee disciplinary action within the NHL.

Based on evidence from around the NHL – I can see why the Flames organization was shocked at the length of suspension for Kostopoulos when similar hits are going unpunished. It seems to this writer, that discipline is dependent upon who is involved in the incident – not exactly a model for successful practice. I just hope that the NHL gets it right and adopts a consistent model before more players become seriously injured.

Shahbaz Syed
Twitter: DDxDino

During his tenure with the Boston Bruins Marco Sturm was known for being a clutch goal scorer with blazing speed, a passion for the game and unfortunately having a problem with staying healthy.

It’s hard to talk about Sturm without mentioning he scored two of the biggest goals in recent Bruins history.

The pivotal piece in the Joe Thornton trade, Sturm lit it up in his early days as a Bruin, scoring 23 goals for 43 points in 51 games.

It’s safe to say he provided leadership on a Bruins team that was in disarray after trading away a the former first overall selection and future MVP (that season) in Thornton. With young players like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes on the roster, it was clear Sturm was going to be one of, if not the, key part of the offense.

Random fact, it was also Tim Thomas’ first season as a Bruin after spending the previous year in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.

Although Sturm would never match his point totals from his first partial season with Boston, he did have back-to-back 27 goal seasons and high of 56 points in 2007-08.

With the impending trade to the Los Angeles Kings, with no return I might add, it seems only right to look back on Sturm’s career sporting the black and gold.

There are two moments that stand out during Sturm’s time with the Bruins and the first came during game six of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs when he scored an extra effort game winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens net minder Carey Price, a series which the Habs went on to win. His most recent claim to glory was the magical game-winning goal 1:57 in to overtime during the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It’s tough to give up a player with the heart and determination that Sturm showed, but for GM Peter Chiarelli it was an option that allowed him to keep young forward Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder, and who doesn’t want a player known for goal scoring during a contract year, so it makes sense.

The deal may leave a bitter taste in the mouth of some of the Bruins faithful, but in the salary cap era it was a deal that had to be made.

With the recent return of Marc Savard it was inevitable that a trade was coming and the return wasn’t going to please the majority. Trading Matt Hunwick was a start, but it wasn’t going rid the team out of their cap issues, although picking up Boston University rearguard David Warsofsky was a solid return.

Obviously getting back a conditional draft pick, which was the case in the original deal, would have been ideal, however with the injury baggage Sturm brings with him there was not going to be a plethora of buyers for the oft-injured winger.

A player that has always been known for his speed down the wing is not too valuable when coming off knee surgery. It would have been nice to get a few games in with the black and gold to prove he still has it, but that was not an option for Boston.

With some smart drafting, Chiarelli and co. have setup the Bruins with some bright spots that will fill the void left by Sturm. With the likes of Jordan Caron, Joe Colborne and Jared Knight, just to mention a few, on the up and up the future remains bright in Boston.

Oh yeah, somehow Tyler Seguin is on the roster, not to mention a future top ten pick seems to be on the way.

Always a fan favorite, Sturm will be remember for being a bright spot during tough times in Boston. He without a doubt had an impact on the young Bruins and it would be hard to come by someone with someone bad to say about the forward, aside from his injury problems.

With the deal there is no more remembrance of the trade that shook Boston, which after thinking about it, could be a good thing.

Brandon Macdonald
NHLHS Editor-in-chief
bmacdonald@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter @bMacdonald8