Sid the Hypocrite

Sidney Crosby spent a year away from the NHL because of a concussion. During that time he has spoken out against head shots, stressing the importance of getting rid of them. Well, I guess that was all talk or perhaps he thinks it's ok for him to hand out elbows to the head, like he did to Nick Foligno. It sure wasn't pretty and Crosby should be suspended for it, though he probably won't be.

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Next Class

The class of 2011 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a few days. Mark Howe, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour and Doug Gilmore all deserve this honor.

Here are my picks for the 2012 entry to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

1. Mats Sundin (leads all Maple Leafs in points and goals, tied for most OT-goals (15) in NHL)
2. Brendan Shanahan (11th in career goals with 656)
3. Pavel Bure (5 times a +50 goal scorer)
4. Joe Sakic (Number 8 in points all time, two Stanley Cups with Colorado and numerous other awards)

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Back in the U.S.S.R?

Linus Omark is may be heading back to Russia to play in the KHL. He has had a tough time cracking the roster with an Oilers team full of young, exceptionally talented players. I just hate to see another very gifted Swedish player give up so easily. He says he would prefer to play with Edmonton, but he's not there right now. Is it just me or does it seem like kids born in the 80s and on are more likely to quit? I think they have been pampered too much and things don't go there way they rather fold than fight.

Bring Back the Jets

Winnipeg looks to be a serious contender should the Phoenix Coyotes leave Arizona. I really hope they get their team back. They have a new arena, even though it would be the smallest in the league, it would probably sell out constantly, and a solid economic backing. But most of all I hope, that if they do get a NHL team, they bring back the old Jet's jersey. It's such a classic and anything else would be down right criminal.

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The Vancouver Canucks will retire Markus Naslund's jersey on Dec. 11.

Gillis said the decision to retire Naslund's No. 19 was "a no-brainer."

"We looked at a number of criteria, Contributions to the team, to the community, all sorts of different things. We found that Markus was in the higher categories of all of them. I know he's thrilled about being able to come back here and have his sweater retired."

Well deserved, Markus, well deserved!

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Flamed Out?

TSN POLL:
Who will make a bigger impact with the Calgary Flames?

Olli Jokinen or Alex Tanguay

Who really cares?

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Momentum is a tricky thing

Momentum is what every team in the playoffs strive to get. When you don't have it, you do all you can to get it back, a timely goal, a hit, or even a fight at the right time can do the trick. And that's the thing about momentum, it usually does shifts.The funny thing about the Philadelphia Flyers' historic comeback against the Boston Bruins was that once the Flyers got the momentum back in Game 4 it never shifted back to Boston for the next four games. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means suggesting the Flyers got lucky and managed to win the last four games. No, you have to work hard to get the momentum and even harder to keep it and that is what they did. Not even when Boston were up 3-0 in Game 7 did the Flyers give up. Momentum was starting to sway toward the Bruins, by then tired of all the talk of a historic comeback, but "Broad Street Bullies" dug in even harder and got it right back.

The great former Sweden international football player, Tomas Brolin, once said of a game against Russia in the 1994 World Cup, "We weren't worried because we knew we were going to win." They were down 0-1 but they were totally confident they were going to win. That feeling cannot be overestimated, and I am absolutely convinced this is what the Philadelphia Flyers knew after Game 3. They weren't worried.

CBC uniform?

It used to be rediculous ties, but this..? What the hell is it?