One-A-Day: Pittsburgh Penguins

Thanks to holliliicious for the write-up.

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Pittsburgh Penguins


Before the season even started the Pittsburgh Penguins were involved in one of the most talked about signings of Summer '11.
Jagr-gate.


When Jaromir Jagr decided to sign with the Flyers, it seemed to be an evil foreshadowing of how the Flyers would end the Pens’ season. The Pittsburgh Penguins had a winning season last year. The season I feared would end in assault and battery charges; from the infamous end of regular season game with the Flyers (they started it!). Ok, not all of it was their fault, but the Flyers definitely egged the Pens on (yeah, I'm talking to you Scott -he pulled my hair, waaaa-Hartnell). So from the shadows of the Cup still in the locker room to landing flat on their @$$es, that season is all in the past ready to be forgotten. (How does one say the Pens landed on their @$$ while still making it to the playoffs? Because we know the Pens are better than the playoff showing they gave us last Spring. Maybe say something about how hopefully this year they can carry a great season in a better post season than last year? Ride the momentum better?)

One-A-Day: Philadelphia Flyers

Thanks to ajshanus for this write-up.

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Philadelphia Flyers


Oh look, a Flyers season a year after making HUGE GINORMOUS BIGGEST TRADES IN FRANCHISE HISTORY.


A lot happened in the span of 8 months for the black and orange. The season started on a really positive note by ousting the Bruins on opening night. What better way to open the season than by wiping the smile off that damn bear? It looked good, very good.

The only real disappointment from the season besides once again losing in the 2nd round would be going 0 and 6 against their hated rivals about 90 miles up I-95: those guys in blue that play in that other big city. Not only did they win most of the matchups by at least 2 goals, but the Rangers also beat the Flyers on their own turf (literally) at the Winter Classic. Having attended a Rangers-Flyers game at MSG proudly sporting my winged P and the last matchup of the year at the Wells Fargo Center, I can personally express how painful it is to watch that happen in person. Twice.

Rookies emerged as the stars of the season. Sean Couturier and Matt Read from the very beginning showed themselves to be dependable and play in all situations. Brayden Schenn was plagued by injuries but decided to quietly start contributing by scoring his FIRST NHL GOAL EVER AT THE WINTER CLASSIC.


The Flyers suited up 12 rookies throughout the course of the year, all of which showed immense promise to be factors in the future for the Big Club. Of course new comers to the team played super big awesome roles. Jake Voracek with his speed, Wayne Simmonds is basically Scott Hartnell with less hair, I’ll be writing more about Max Talbot further into the post, and Jaromir Jagr is Jagr and what happened this season could not have been accomplished without him. His work ethic and leadership cannot be understated in helping Claude Giroux become a ginger beast that impregnates the citizens of hockey-dom on a regular basis.

Oh yeah, Giroux. That guy. He did alright.


The playoffs were exciting yet disappointing once again. It’s not worth mentioning unless they actually went further than the previous year, which they didn’t. The Flyers-Penguins series was great entertainment, but weird and only a first round matchup. Yes, only. So we move on.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, the regular season was solid and the future looks brighter than what most teams in the league can boast. Let’s delve.

One-A-Day: New York Rangers

New York Rangers


Our own Henrik is one of the biggest Rangers fans we know. And the past season that the Rangers had gave a lot of fans like her hope that the team would be able to get past the hump and into the Finals for once.

The Rangers were #2 in the entire league right behind the Vancouver Canucks. They were in the top five in penalty-killing, goaltending and wins. It was an improvement over last season and it gave fans hope.

And after all of the hoopla surrounding Brad Richards and where he would end up last summer, we were glad to see him actually play and make a difference instead of being a bust.

After exiting the playoffs early again, the Rangers were not happy. And Rangers fans were even unhappier. It was like every hope and dream was dashed and the Rangers had to start over again.

That's where the Rick Nash trade came in. It seems that everyone wants to play in New York. Must be a cool city, we've never heard of it. Will he be the offensive catalyst that the (still) defensive team needs? Will Brandon Dubinsky be missed? Is Nash a bust or the best?

Those are questions that we are taking into the next season and we know gives most Rangers fans a mix of fear and wonder that this is their team.

One-A-Day: New York Islanders

New York Islanders


Ugh, is there a more frustrating team than the Islanders? Maybe but sometimes we don't think so. Like, they shouldn't be a bad team. They have more than a few talented forwards. And the defense isn't that bad. It's frustrating and we're not even real Islanders fans. We can only imagine what it's like for them.

We want so much for the Islanders and it physically pains us to see them so awful. We want John Tavares to be top three in scoring. We want Travis Hamonic and Calvin De Haan to be all that and a bag of chips on the Islanders blueline. We want the team to actually have a goaltender that plays and wins. We want them to be successful. Maybe some day, when the pieces all come together for the Islanders they will be an amazing team.

But when you're the only one in the Atlantic Division that makes the playoffs, well, there's something wrong with either your team or that division.

The next season we will be keeping our fingers crossed for the dominance of Tavares. And the blowwoming blueline becoming stronger and stronger. And goaltenders that actually know how to win.

Some day. And we will be waiting.

One-A-Day: New Jersey Devils

Thanks to Tuorto for the recap.

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New Jersey Devils, 2011-12 Eastern Conference Champions



Year in Review
While the disappointment of losing in the Stanley Cup final cannot be discounted, Devils fans can be secure in saying that the team was beaten honestly and that making it to the Cup final in a year in which hockey pundit John Buccigross said this –

This season: I'm surprised I picked them to make the playoffs. If they do, they will barely make it. Not much down the middle, a lack of scoring depth, a 39-year-old goalie … great googly moogly! I better stop before I talk myself out of it.

- is sweet indeed. No joke, winning the conference final felt like a Cup celebration in many ways. The 39-turned-40 year old goaltender stacked pads like a 20-years-younger version of himself. Offense popped up in the most unexpected places, like a truly dominant 4th line. Devs fans are extraordinarily proud of our team’s efforts and accomplishments. Besides, WE BEAT THE RANGERS LIKE THEY OWED US MONEY. AND THE FLYERS. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Courtesy of The Pensblog


“I took a page out of Ron Hextall’s book and played humongous bad during the playoffs.”


Courtesy of In Lou We Trust

However, Bucci also said this at the beginning of the season -

Bold prediction: Parise is either traded at the deadline or lost to free agency over the summer.

- and he was right. While some fans are burning Parise sweaters in the street, I get why he went home. He’s just a rotten bastard for doing so.

In ironic news, Stefan Matteau, (hellspawn) son of Stephan Matteau (of 1994 wraparound goal-scoring fame) is now the property of the New Jersey Devils via the draft.
And so we begin 2012-13.

One-A-Day: Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres


Before the 2011-2012 season started, Sabres fans were already over the moon. They had a new owner in Terry Pegula who actually knew what spending money was and he was gonna go it.

It was nice to see. Especially when the Sabres went after Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino and paid them whatever amount they wanted. With a giving owner, a decent defenseman in Ehrhoff and an underrated playoff player in Leino, things were looking up in Buffalo.

Until the season actually happened and injuries took out everyone important. Like Ryan Miller and, oh wait, he's pretty much the most important player on their team. Goaltenders are like that.

There were bright spots for the Sabres and their fans. Like the trade for Cody Hodgson, which could be one of the biggest busts or one of the best trades that day, jury is still out. And the emergence of Tyler Ennis as a small but tenacious scoring forward. And the potential of Marcus Foligno.

Somehow, Lindy Ruff is still the coach of the Sabres. He's the Barry Trotz of the East. The team got tougher and the young guys are starting to make some noise. It isn't a bad time to be a Sabres fan.

One-A-Day: Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators


No one, and we mean no one, expected the Senators to make it into the playoffs. But they did, with some impressive games and wins under their belts. It helped that they had the league's best d-man on their team and someone named Jason Spezza was actually playing.

They were ousted by the New York Rangers in the first round but not without a battle. It was a hard fought series and one that could have gone either way. The Senators should be proud of their work.

There were some whispers that Daniel Alfredsson would retire. And Senators fans were almost on the brink of devastation. But he decided to stay for at least one more season, just to see if they can win the Cup in Ottawa this season.

During the offseason, the Senators traded a few players to the Blue Jackets for some shutdown defense. Which is definitely what they needed.

Could they make it into the playoffs this season? Yeah, why not. If Spezza keeps up the offense and Karlsson is more than a fluke and the youngsters step up their game, it could happen.

One-A-Day: Boston Bruins

Thanks to Cat for the write-up.

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Boston Bruins


If nothing else the Bruins can always be depended on giving their fans stress ulcers, high blood pressure, heart conditions, sore throats from screaming, steep credit card bills from when they A) ticket prices, B) after having to replace a tv because they threw something at their last one, C) hospital bills after their liver transplant surgery and/or D) all the merchandise they decorate themselves, their spouse, their children, their house, their cars and their pets with, then, lastly the lifelong memories of a roller-coaster ride you could never buy at an amusement park.

The season started off with the boys looking like they were REALLY nursing a hangover. To say that October was brutal would be an understatement. The Cup winning team we had watched just the year before suddenly looked like they had blacked out the past 20-40 years of their lives and forgotten how to play hockey. Only 10 games played, but they already had 7 losses on the books. At the end of the month they lost 3 in a row. Things were looking mighty grim.

But then the calendar page turned and November seemed like the Hockey Gods had sprinkled insane talent pixie dust on the team. Win after win after win after win. Ten wins in a row to start the month, twelve total for the month. The only loss was in a shootout against the Detroit Red Wings. Timmy showed the playoffs were no fluke. He could stop anything and the rest of the team scored like they were playing games of shinny on the frozen ice of their homes. Everyone knew they could not possibly keep that pace up forever and when they had 2 regulation losses in a row early in December it seemed like the grind had caught up with them. Then they went on another tear to win 7more games straight. Of course then January came…they went a little sideways, then down. Then down again. And the slide just wouldn’t end. Of course they did make the playoffs, but a few too many players left their hearts at home and the dream of a repeat came to a quick, hard end.

Still the dream never truly dies and with the beginning of each new season (may Bettman & the owners be damned to the depths of hell for being absolutely shameless in openly admitting they don’t need to rush an agreement because they know hockey fans are like junkies who will always come back for their fix, but I digress…). Each new season begins with hope. And a lot of tearing apart the GM for what he did or did not do over the summer.

Hot or Not Playoffs: Results

Okay everyone, it's the moment you've all been waiting for...the Hot or Not Playoffs Winner.

It all started with 32 players and round after vicious round before we finally found the hottest guy in the league.

The final two were Erik Gudbranson and Gabriel Landeskog. We were surprised that such mainstays like Patrick Sharp and Henrik Lundqvist were voted out of contention and beaten by these young kids.

But sometimes pretty comes in young packages.

Anyway, the winner.....

GABRIEL LANDESKOG.



He won over Gudbranson by one vote. That's right, one vote. This was literally the closest race during the Hot or Not Playoffs.

Could not have been closer. Literally.


We asked Curtis to give her opinion and this is what she had to say:
I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW CLOSE IT WAS!

Hot Erik was my horse the whole time, I'm surprised he made it this far because I thought I had weird taste. I think he deserves like, a huge runner-up trophy because he put up such a fight. The fact that the finals were decided by ONE vote? Might as well call it a tie!

Erik had to go through Schenn, Parise, Lundqvist, and Crosby. Gabe had to go through Weber, Brassard, Toews, and Sharp. I think Erik had the harder route but both were pretty impressive!


We pretty much have to agree with what she had to say. When the playoffs started, we joked about Gudbranson going all the way into the Finals. And when he did, we were surprised but kinda not really.

He's one of those guys that just looks good in like every picture he's in. Plus he's tall. And he has pretty eyes. And he's a really good hockey player. Sure he's young but he's only going to get better looking.

Sometimes, life just isn't fair.

And what can we say about Gabriel Landeskog. He's got a great smile and he's Swedish and he's almost perfect in every way.

Like it is unfair how pretty he is. And all of those shirtless photos he keeps posting on his Twitter doesn't help with our obsession at all.


Anyway, thanks to everyone who voted. We really appreciate the support and we hope that you had fun with this. We know that we did and it's always interesting to see who we all really think is the hottest player in the league.

Congratulations to Gabriel Landeskog's face.

It's a nice one.

One-A-Day: Toronto Maple Leafs

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs.



One of the oldest teams in the league, also one of the top earners for the NHL, have been under-performing for the last several seasons. There haven't been many off-season moves this year, but who knows moves Burke still has up his sleeves.

Hot or Not Finals: Videos Galore

For this, the last day to vote on the Hot or Not Playoffs, we have compiled a few videos for your viewing pleasure.

Maybe this will make the choice a little easier.

Remember:

Erik Gudbranson vs Gabriel Landeskog


And voting ends tonight at midnight.

After the jump will be the videos. Get watching and get voting!

One-A-Day: Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens


Every season seems like a disaster when the media talks about the team. Yeah they aren't doing so hot and yeah there are some off-ice issues, but is it really that bad? There are worse things that could happen to a team.

Sure, the team struggled throughout the season and lost more games than they should have. Injuries plagued the entire team last season and it showed. But there were bright spots of course.

In some ways, Carey Price is finally playing like the goalie that he showed as a rookie. There is some offense in Montreal, despite the ridiculous decline in any kind of scoring from Scott Gomez. Is that joke old? Yes. Does that make it less true? No. And the offensive prowess of Max Pacioretty was a delight for fans of the team. There are a bunch of up and coming kids that can help the team do better. It's only a matter of time.

Curtis has recently discovered the beauty of Nathan Beaulieau and has shared that love with us. He's got a great body, that boy.

Over the summer, a new GM was hired. Bergevin is quite possibly in the top five best-looking general managers. As well as a new head coach. Therrien, it's been a while since he's been spotted behind the bench of an NHL team. And a couple of hard-nosed guys have been added to the forwards and things, they are a-changing in Montreal.

Hot or Not Playoffs: Gudbranson vs Landeskog

Shirts off, dance off!

Let's get this picspam started!

Thanks to Google for the pictures. Couldn't have done this stalking without you!

One-A-Day: Washington Capitals

Today's One-A-Day comes to us courtesy of Laurel. We appreciate her for preventing either of us from writing about the Capitals. She does a much better job than we would have!


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Washington Capitals


The Washington Capitals have had a pretty solid run of it over the last while, making the playoffs for five years in a row.  They've won the President's Trophy and been conference and division champions.  Unfortunately, their regular season dominance never quite carries over to the post-season, and they've been out within the first two rounds every year.  Whether this is a player thing or a coaching thing or a luck thing or some kind of massive conspiracy involving Gary Bettman, Ted Leonsis, former Cold War operatives, and Martians is an ongoing debate, but the point is--the Caps kind of suck at the playoffs.

After going 7-0 to start the 2011-12 season, the Caps fell into a slump that resulted in Bruce Boudreau losing his job as head coach.  They replaced him with former Capital and current London Knights owner/GM/all-around overlord Dale Hunter, who took the "defensive responsibility" thing that Boudreau had been trying to work into the Caps' game and pushed it to extremes.  The results were, well, results: the Capitals became harder to score against, but they also lost the offensive spark that had been their trademark for years.  Fans weren't happy with his coaching choices (benching the best offensive players as soon as the Capitals took a lead, for one), and after losing in game seven of the second round to the New York Rangers, Dale Hunter returned to London, bringing his singular suit with him.

Now the Caps have brought in Adam Oates, another former Capital, as head coach.  It's his first head coaching job at any level, but he comes highly recommended.  Caps fans are hoping that he'll be the one to find that magical balancing point between all offense all the time and smothering defense.

The team's got the firepower to score and the ability to stop the other team from scoring.  We've all seen that.  The only thing they need to figure out is how to do both at the same time.  Capitals fans have seen their team rise to unimaginable heights, only to fall apart when it counted, and they've seen their team be underestimated and still fight their way through.  What they haven't seen is that particularly meaningful mug within reach.

Maybe this year they'll figure it out.

Unless it really is an alien conspiracy.

Hot or Not Playoffs: FINALS

As you know, the Finals are finally here.

And it is between two young studly mcmuffins and we couldn't be happier about this development.

If you thought the previous rounds were hard, we think the Final round will be even tougher.

Voting will end on midnight of the 23rd and the poll will be in the sidebar for the next couple of days.

Good luck and get ready for this round.

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ERIK GUDBRANSON


01. we call him HOT!ERIK for a reason

02. tall, tall, tall

03. legs for days

04. a smile that makes our knees weak

05. can be nasty on the blueline if he has to

06. did we mention that his CHEEKBONES make us weep like the crybabies that we are?

07. when he holds children, we cannot stop the angels from crying while in heaven

08. is still stupidly hot when splattered with his own blood after a fight

09. dreamy eyes

10. did we mention... legs for days?


OR


GABRIEL LANDESKOG


01. is Swedish

02. looks like a male model

03. did we mention that he's freaking Swedish?

04. he shares a name with an angel

05. had a banging rookie season and capped it off with the Calder Trophy

06. Gabe the Babe is his nickname for a reason

07. likes to be shirtless and show off and kill us slowly

08. oh, and he scores some pretty important and awesome goals while also backchecking like a beast

09. Landeskoging

10. S-W-E-D-I-S-H



So, who is it gonna be?

Vote in the sidebar.

One-A-Day: Carolina Hurricanes

Thanks to Esbee for the write-up.

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Team name - Carolina Hurricanes


I never thought I would be sitting here writing my One-A-Day after the 2011-2012 season and talking about the playoffs! I guess that’s a good thing since we didn’t make them again. History repeated itself as my beloved Canes finished in the basement of the Eastern Conference at 12th above the Isles, Leafs and Habs. I don’t like to think of it as a damp basement with leaky pipes and cobwebs but rather a fun rumpus room with a stereo hi-fi, shag carpeting and an endless supply of grape soda.

I don’t even know how to explain last season. It was supposed to be different. But we started off with a 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay, the team that helped shovel the dirt on the end of the previous season’s playoff hopes. Then we lost some more. Somehow we shutout the Blackhawks at home, but then the giant sucking sound came back. The line shuffling got so ridiculous that fans on the Twitters used an #EveryDayImShufflin hash tag on game days. Jim Rutherford finally took his balls out of his purse and fired Paul Maurice (again) in November. It had to happen but after a 4-0 spanking in Montreal the writing was on the wall. (I can say without question that is the most embarrassing hockey game I have ever seen. Carey Price could have knit himself some chaps in his free time during that spectacle.)

After the firing of Mo, Kirk “Kirk is Work” Muller was placed at the helm with Assistant Coach John McLean at his side. We finally had a reliable back up for Cam Ward in Brian Boucher. That is until he got hurt in practice in Calgary at the beginning of December and spent the majority of the season on Injured Reserve. The normally Zen-like Ward was once again carrying the team and had what could only be characterized as a “meltdown” in Winnipeg after being pulled. It was big trouble in little China my friends. Mike Murphy, called up from the Charlotte Checkers, was put in the game where he went on to get in the NHL record books by being the first goalie to record a loss without giving up a goal. I told you last season was weird.


December and January ended up basically being training camp and a giant hockey science experiment. What was good about last season? Joni Pitkanen had a great season quarterbacking the power play! Oh wait. That’s not true. He got a concussion and missed a large part of the season. Tim Brent became the PP quarterback instead. Wunderkind Jeff Skinner? Still finished 2nd in goals and 3rd in points for the team but he was severely concussed on a “clean” hit by Andy Sutton of the Oilers and missed 16 games. (I may have been leading a posse of people in a windowless van up to Alberta after that hit.) That was no big deal though. It’s not like anyone else got hurt. It’s not like Chad LaRose hit his head in practice and missed games or got his leg cut by a skate in a contest against Winnipeg. I mean it’s not like Patrick Dwyer got hurt and was out of the lineup or Jaro Spacek got hit in the face, missed some games and had to wear a cage (John Forslund nicknamed him “the Beekeeper.”) And it’s really not like Jerome Samson who had been called up from Charlotte to fill in for someone who got hurt, got hurt as well and missed some games. Or like Tuomo Ruutu got hit in the chest where you could see him in pain while taking deep breaths and missed multiple games or Jussi Jokinen hurt his leg in November or blueliner Jay Harrison got a concussion. These are just things in your imagination! I mean how bad could the season have been? It’s not like you had a defenseman playing forward because so many guys got hurt! You had a defenseman playing forward? Why yes. Yes we did.

Things that didn’t suck - Beating the Bruins four times last season! That was super fun. Getting Coach Kirk Muller aka Coach Foxy on board. The former Habs player, assistant coach, and former coach of the Milwaukee Admirals is very active in practice and takes no prisoners in games. You don’t work; you sit. Coach also has a Stanley Cup under his belt and is a relatable mentor for Eric Staal. He is also ridiculously good looking.


I am hoping that Eric Staal will not start slowly this season and will go directly into beast mode with Jordan at his side. Let’s hope Alexander Semin shows up as a player rather than an enigma and helps fill the Erik Cole-shaped hole that STILL exists on the top line. Let’s also pray to the Baby Jesus that Joe Corvo shows up as Joe Scorvo and not Emo Joe. Jeffrey Skinner needs to dial back the sassy and stay out of hockey jail. We still have 576.3 d-men and a Swiss cheese defense. Our power play is still a work in progress. But I am optimistic with our Staal bookends and the leadership of a coach players respond to. Goals would be nice too. Let’s score some of those! They sound nifty!

Hot or Not Semi-Finals Results

Here are the results of the latest round in the Hot or Not Playoffs:

Gabriel Landeskog over Patrick Sharp
121 total votes and 60% of the vote

Erik Gudbranson over Sidney Crosby
140 votes and 58% of the vote


Thoughts:

We are shocked that Patrick Sharp did not make it to the Finals. We thought that he surely would have. Maybe Landeskog's face is just too much. Or you guys are taking our personal motto 'When in doubt, pick the Swede' a little too far.

We're not too sure.

The fact that the Finals is being fought between two bbs kind of surprises us. Not that we don't think they're worthy but they're young guys and normally they get passed over for the tried and true hotties.

We're thrilled that Hot!Erik and Gabe the Babe are the last two standing. Makes us happy.



Anyway, voting begins tomorrow so gear up for three solid days of just spamming of their pictures and videos and a top ten for each. It's on.

One-A-Day: Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets


It was a whirlwind season for the Jets. This was the first season for the team in Winnipeg and they did the best they could. While it wasn't the season that they wanted, they didn't do too bad. And no one would have expected them to be vying for a spot in the playoffs.

Of course they missed making the eighth spot but that doesn't mean they didn't try. It was awesome to see the team play well and respond to the pressure of being in a new city and a Canadian city at that.

And of course the team needs some improvement. It's only expected for them. But they can improve and for some reason, we expect them to not be a joke anymore. There are other teams that can be the butt of the NHL's jokes next season.

We were never fans of the Thrashers but as soon as the team moved to Winnipeg, we kinda liked them more. We can't help it, we're shallow.

But we really enjoyed last season when the Jets were actually playing some hockey and seemed like they cared if they were going to win or not. Maybe it helps that Noel is a pretty good coach and the team has a pretty good captain, right?

Don't Forget...

Voting ends tonight at midnight.

Get them votes in, ladies.


Links are in the sidebar.

One-A-Day: Florida Panthers

Big thanks to RealScarlett01 for doing this write-up for us.

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Team Name: Florida Panthers


General Outline/off-season moves/general ramblings:
For the first time in 12 years, the Panthers made the playoffs! Wohoo! We should all agree to overlook the fact that they did it as the champions of what has recently been the weakest conference in the east, because really, facts, schats. Say it with me, PLAYOFFS! The Panthers played the sixth seeded Devils in the first round, and although they gave it the old college try and took NJ to game seven, they fell in overtime to the team who would make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Pretty good, ya?

Most of the Panthers crazy moves took place last offseason, when they hired a new GM, coach, and went on a shopping spree. And when the bill came in the mail for all those shiny new toys, they were able to pay for them! Woo! (subtle jab to Blackhaws, that one was for Dale) This offseason was a hella lot calmer as they filled out their roster with a few new faces.

An old tradition, the “Rat Trick” was revived, though a bit augmented, this year. Originally, fans celebrated Panther’s goals by throwing plastic(hopefully) rats onto the ice. Although the practice fell out of favor, fans this year brought it back by throwing rats onto the ice after Panther wins. Equally as strange as the Detroit and Nashville traditions of throwing the octopus and catfish (what is it with NHL teams and animals?) , I think it is pretty neat for the Florida fans to have something to call their own. Rat away, Florida fans, just please, plastic is the answer.

Hot or Not Semi-Finals: Sharp vs Landeskog

Uh, uh.

Good luck with this one.

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PATRICK SHARP


- best smile on the Hawks

- best hair as well


OR


GABRIEL LANDESKOG


- hahahahaha stop tweeting pictures of your naked torso

- WE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!


Vote or die!

One-A-Day: Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning



There are a few things we could say about this team. About their ability to infuriate every coach in the Eastern Conference. We could talk about how Dwayne Roloson, the ageless wonder, started to actually play his age. Or we could talk about the myriad of trades and signings that Yzerman concocted throughout the season. We could also just talk about Steve Yzerman and how much we love that silver fox.

But what we really want to talk about, the thing that we find the most important...Steve(n) Stamkos and his amazing 60 goals in 82 games.

He was a force to be reckoned with. And had us screaming from our seats, "DON'T LET STAMKOS HAVE THE ONE-TIMER FROM THE HALF-BOARDS, NOOOO WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" literally every game.

Despite not making the playoffs and really just hanging around the middle of the pack, the Lightning have some things to look forward to. Their (former) AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, won the Calder Cup in grand style, sweeping the Toronto Marlies in the Finals. They have some great defense prospects and goaltending in the pipeline.

We can see the Lightning making some noise in the post-season again in the sometime future. They're run by Yzerman, they can't not be successful.

Hot or Not Semi-Finals: Gudbranson vs Crosby

It feels like we used all of the good Hot!Erik pictures when we did the last round but that's what Curtis's awesome Google-fu is all about.

Also, it's easier to find bad pictures of Crosby than Hot!Erik.

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ERIK GUDBRANSON


- had to be birthed in a lab because his face is too perfect

- never had that awkward puberty-laden stage

- how dare he? who does he think he is with that face?


OR


SIDNEY CROSBY


- was also born in a lab because no one plays hockey like him

- definitely had that awkward stage, it's okay because we all did



So, who you voting for ladies?

One-A-Day: St. Louis Blues

St. Louis Blues


Oh, the Blues.

They had a great season after starting out of the gate limping. But then things started looking up after the hiring of Ken Hitchcock. When he came in to helm the young Blues, they got their act together and played some great defense.

Their tandem goalies, Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott, were the talk of the NHL. Alex Piertangelo was a revelation on the blueline. And David Backes was becoming the hard-hitting captain that every team alternately dreaded and loved.

The last month of the season saw the Blues with the #2 record in the league, two stingy goalies and a healthy roster.

Everything looked sunny and bright for this young team. Then the LA Kings happened. We don't think we've ever seen a team just implode like the Blues did when faced with the strangling defense of the Kings. There was nothing they could do really. It was a four-game sweep that had most of the hockey world stunned.

But this isn't the end of the Blues. Their team is young and they're only going to get better. Hitchcock is the real deal and everyone knows that. He will lead this team to do good things and as fans of the awfulness that is TJ Oshie, we couldn't be happier.

Hot or Not Quarterfinals Results

Okay, this is what everyone has been waiting for.

Results day!


In match-up one, Erik Gudbranson won over Henrik Lundqvist in a shocking 63% win and 150 votes.

The second match-up was won by Patrick Sharp over Taylor Pyatt in one of the closer matches we've seen with 56% of the vote and 110 votes.

Third was Sidney Crosby crushing Cam Ward with 65% of the vote and 148 total votes in his favor.

The final match-up was won by Gabriel Landeskog over Jonathan Toews by a measly 7 votes (136-129) and 51%.


We played a little dirty with this round and expect it to only get worse. Curtis was campaigning against blog favorite Toews and it looks like it worked. We like to do what we can to influence the vote in any way possible.


Here are the match-ups for the next round...voting will end Sunday August 19th at midnight.

Erik Gudbranson versus Sidney Crosby

Patrick Sharp versus Gabriel Landeskog


Holy wow. Tomorrow starts the voting on the Semi-Finals.

One-A-Day: Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets


Hot damn, this team. There are so many times in a season that we just feel so bad for this team and their fans. Because despite what people who think they're funny say, the Blue Jackets have fans. In the same way that the Thrashers had fans.

They exist but they're few and far between. Especially after the crappy season after crappy season that they have to endure from this team.

Their luck is so bad that they were the worst team in the league and still couldn't pull out the number one seed. And then they picked a d-man, which we still think is questionable at best. At least Murray will be a stud (if they don't destroy his soul). Whether that's with the Blue Jackets or not remains to be seen.

Also, captain Rick Nash is finally gone. It was turning into the 2012 version of the Mats Sundin saga. In his place is Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov and picks and a skate sharpener and whatever else Sather decided to just throw at the Blue Jackets to get Nash on the Rangers.

Sometimes we think that the Blue Jackets are the hot mess of the league. On the ice at least. They're always failing and losing and the players never look very happy. Just ask Jeff Carter how much he liked living in Ohio.

Will the Blue Jackets make some noise this season? Will they make it to the playoffs? Probably not. We're sorry fans.

The thing that sucks is that the Blue Jackets do not lack talent. They have young kids like Ryan Johansen and John Moore and Ryan Murray who are really good. And Ryan Murray who they drafted in June will definitely be a good defenseman. But will the youngins be pushed into too big of a role too soon? And will that destroy their soul and suddenly you're looking at the second coming of Kris Beech? Those are the questions that keep us up at night.

And it's a real shame because the Blue Jackets could be something. If they had the right general manger and the right scouting system and on and on.

One-A-Day: Chicago Blackhawks

Thanks to Jennifer for this awesome write-up of a team that is beloved by us.

-&-


The Chicago Blackhawks



Two years removed from winning the Cup, itʼs a strange Blackhawks we find standing before us. Gone is the hunger and Eye Of The Tigerness of the 2009-10 squad replaced by a kind of...well...meh. You have your sprinkle of a core here, a smattering of young kids there with a side of misfits and veterans. We all know that these disparate elements can come together in challenging times to create champions but I think the question here in Chi city is will they? And when?

Hot or Not Quarterfinals: Landeskog vs Toews

LKJKLJDKFLJDSKJFSKDNFSDJFKSJDFBOOM

That's the sound of our brains imploding.

No, literally.

-&-

GABRIEL LANDESKOG




OR


JONATHAN TOEWS





Get to voting!