NHL News and Notes

THE HORROR
The first batch of Red Wings logos is up and running. Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Joey Kocur, Bob Probert, and Chris Osgood are all featured. More will be added to the rotation throughout the summer. Gambling sucks.

WHO CANCELED?
Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Osgood will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tuesday night. Just when you thought Leno couldn't get any lamer...

Dominik Hasek

DING, DONG, HASEK'S DONE!
Every dark cloud has a gin lining.

Detroit's Stanley Cup victory was enough to convince Dominik Hasek to retire. Yeehaw! Beat it, creep! Please let the door hit you on the way out.

Saying he no longer had the motivation necessary to compete at the highest level, the Flopinator decided to hang up his lucky charms. When reporters fired a few questions at him during the press conference, Hasek instinctively dropped his blocker, rolled over on his back, and kicked his legs in the air.

Hasek is one of my least favorite hockey players ever. Yeah, he was great, but he was a terrible teammate. I mean, how big a douche do you have to be to make Ray Emery seem cool? Ottawa is full of the biggest quitters and crybabies in hockey, yet even the Sens couldn't stomach Hasek.

Even though he got his name on the Cup again, at least Hasek left us all with those magical memories from Game Four of the Nashville series. He's still looking for that Jason Arnott slapper. But without doubt, this is my favorite Hasek moment...

PHANEUF PHINDS COVER
Dion Phaneuf will be the cover boy for EA's NHL 09.

“It is an incredible honor to be named to the cover of NHL 09,” said Phaneuf. “I’ve been a really big fan of the franchise for as long as I can remember and am looking forward to being the face of the game this year, particularly because of the significant improvements that have been made to the defensive game and the new checking engine.”

I haven't played any of the new hockey video games. I'm old school. I don't think it gets any better than NHL 94. And if anyone wants to go against me and the Mighty Whale in some online NHL 94 action, just let me know.

But NHL 08 supposedly won all sorts of awards and honors and whatnot, so maybe the franchise has experienced a renaissance. This year's version will feature all sorts of new features, including a revolutionary Skill Stick System to provide players with unparalleled control on defense. You'll now be able to sweep check to block passing lanes and lift your opponent's stick to prevent one-timers. So right there the game is already better than Brian Campbell.

NHL 09 will also boast expanded online play, allowing up to 12 players from around the world to compete in the same game, each controlling an individual player. That would be wicked nice. Hmm ha. Maybe I'll have to get in on this.

HOCKEYTOWN
One year after nearly leaving town, the Pittsburgh Penguins set a new attendance record, welcoming 888,653 fans into the Igloo through 52 regular-season and playoff games. Even though capacity at Mellon Arena is just 16,940, the Penguins averaged 17,089 fans per contest. That would seem like a fire hazard to me. I'm afraid I'm going to have to shut the place down.

AWARDS TIME
The NHL Awards Show will be held this Thursday, June 12, at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. All the customary awkwardness and terrible Canadian music will kick off at 7PM EST. Here are the nominees, with the expected winner in bold...

VEZINA: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils; Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers; Evgeny Nabokov, San Jose Sharks.

NORRIS: Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins; Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames.

CALDER:  Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals; Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks; Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks.

LADY BYNG: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning.

SELKE: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; John Madden, New Jersey Devils; Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings.

HART: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals.

ADAMS: Mike Babcock, Detroit Red Wings; Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals; Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens.

DRAFT TIME
The 2008 Entry Draft will begin Friday, June 20, at 7PM EST at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. The first round will be Friday night, with rounds two through seven rolling on Saturday starting at 10AM.

As part of the Draft festivities, Upper Deck will be presenting the 2008 NHL Entry Draft Trading Card and Memorabilia Show. Nick Foligno will be on hand to sign autographs. The show will also be at Scotiabank Place, running from 4-6:30 PM on Friday and 9AM-1PM on Saturday.

HOCKEY PLAYER FOR LIFE
One of our loyal readers, Howard Shapiro, has written a new book called "Hockey Player for Life." The 88-page book is geared towards kids 11 to 15 years old, helping them realize the perseverance, determination, and teamwork required to succeed in hockey and life. Keith Primeau wrote the forward for the book.

Please do what you can to support Howard and "Hockey Player for Life." Us LCS folk have to stick together. And we're always happy to help our readers however we can. They really are 12 of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.

For more information about the book, please visit Howard's web site at http://www.howardshapiro.net/.

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