The Week That Was

It's been a crazy week in the NHL; Crosby got cleared for contact, the Leafs lost a key component, a legend was honoured in Pittsburgh, the Bruins sign an insurance goalie and much more. Crazy week so I'll wrap it up for you!

The big news Sidney Crosby was cleared for contact!!!
This is big news for the Penguins and the NHL, especially with the fact that Crosby could play as soon as Sunday! Not only was he cleared for contact, he participated in a full practice on Tuesday and another one Wednesday. Crosby has been out since his concussion symptoms resurfaced back in December but will hopefully be back in the Pens lineup before the playoffs in start. One thing for sure with Crosby, he takes his time; he doesn't rush things, he makes sure he is healthy and more than ready to return. This time it's especially crucial for Crosby and the Pens to take this slowly, Crosby can ill afford to take another hit to the head. Oddly enough it will be tough to find a fit for Crosby in the lineup, with Malkin and his linemates playing extremely well you don't want to break up chemistry. Crosby will likely find himself on the 2nd line when he returns! (What an awesome problem to have, huh!)

Joffrey Lupul out 3-4 weeks with separated shoulder!
This is major blow to the Leafs playoff hopes, as their "2nd" best player goes down with an injury! This injury will likely be the end to Lupul's and the Leafs season. Lupul was 2nd in scoring with the Leafs with 25 goals and 42 assists and was a big part in elevating Phil Kessel's game.
Carter Ashton (remember him, he was picked up on trade deadline day) was called up to fill the void.

Sean Avery is done in New York

Sean Avery the guy everyone loves to hate, you sure as heck hated to play against him but at one point or another you've wanted him on your squad. He's a pesky little player know for getting under peoples skin, and it would appear he pushed it a little far in New York with coach John Tortorella. It's never a good thing when your head coach is asking management to send you to the minors, but that was the case with Avery. Avery received the message on Tuesday and was told that he was no longer expected or needed to show up to games and practices with the Rangers AHL team as he was cut from their postseason roster.

It had been a rough season for Sean Avery with New York; he was waived twice by the Rangers then sent down permanently to the Whalers, he's been a healthy scratch since January 27th.

One thing is still for sure though, wherever Sean Avery goes controversy will not be far behind!

The Bruins have signed veteran goaltender Marty Turco

Bruins fans held their breath when Tuuka Rask went down and did not get back up in a game earlier this week. Unfortunatetly for Rask he will be out 4 to 6 weeks with a grown strain, good news for Bruins fans is Rask will be back for the playoffs. So to fill the void until then the Bruins went and got Marty Turco as some insurance. However, because Turco was acquired post trade deadline he will not be eligible for the playoffs with the Bruins. The Bruins ultimately had no choice to make this move as they are coming up to a stretch of 18 games in 33 days and were expecting Rask to bear a lot of that workload so they could rest Thomas. Turco is a solid veteran who has played 11 seasons between the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks. This was a smart necessary move by the Bruins.

Grabovski gets his new contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Mikhail Grabovski have come to terms with a 5 year $27.5 million dollar contract, which breaks down to a cap hit of $5.5 million a year! The deal also includes a modified no trade clause, Grabovski can choose 10 teams every year that he would except a trade to. Despite not playing on the first line, he is easily the Leafs best centre, due to the lack of cheap first line centres that will be on the market this summer Brian Burke had to over pay to keep Grabovski in Toronto. Oddly enough the Leafs have no cap space left to resign UFA's and RFA's at the end of the season nor to go out and get a veteran netminder, look for Burke to be busy this offseason.

Mario Lemieux is honored with a bronze statue of ..... Mario Lemieux

The Pittsburgh legend and Pens owner had the great honor of watching his former team unveil a statue in remembrance of his outstanding career. Lemieux was famous for always finding a way to squeeze by defenders, and now that skill is showcased forever standing outside the Penguins arena.
Lemieux was and is a huge part of the Pittsburgh organization; he spent 17 years as a player, scoring 650 goals and winning consecutive Stanley Cups (1971-1972) as well as being a 3 time MVP. Now he is the owner, and really savior of hockey in the "Burg", of his beloved Pittsburgh Penguins, it is evident Mario has a special place for Pittsburgh in his heart and Pittsburgh has a special place for Lemieux.

Grabovski gets his new contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Mikhail Grabovski have come to terms with a 5 year $27.5 million dollar contract, which breaks down to a cap hit of $5.5 million a year! The deal also includes a modified no trade clause, Grabovski can choose 10 teams every year that he would except a trade to. Despite not playing on the first line, he is easily the Leafs best centre, due to the lack of cheap first line centres that will be on the market this summer Brian Burke had to over pay to keep Grabovski in Toronto. Oddly enough the Leafs have no cap space left to resign UFA's and RFA's at the end of the season nor to go out and get a veteran netminder, look for Burke to be busy this offseason.

Brian Burkes other son starts: If you can play, you can play.
It's been 2 years since Brian Burke's son Brendan Burke was killed in a car accident. A couple of years before the accident the elder Burke found out Brendan was gay. Now in memory of Brendan, younger brother Patrick came up with an equality project for hockey: If you can play, you can play. Getting people to relize it doesn't matter what or who the person is, if you can lace up the skates, skate around the ice and score goals you can play hockey. The YOU CAN PLAY project was announced Sunday during the first intermission of Bruins vs. Rangers and has several hockey players promoting it; Rick Nash, Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf, Duncan Keith, Claude Giroux, Daniel Alfredsson, Scott Hartnell, Corey Perry and Henrik Lundqvist.
Patrick Burke, a scout for the Flyers, said "If he can win a Stanley Cup with 22 gay guys than so be it" Right now 20 players have joined up with the You Can Play project but not all have been unveiled yet.
This is a big step for the NHL, and professional sports in general, Ultimately the right one, the NHL needs equality, if you can play you can play.

Steve Yzerman to head up the 2014 team Canada Olympic project


Ryan Miller was the first star this week, after recording back to back shutouts and single handily getting the Sabres back in the playoff hunt!


That's the kind of week it was around the NHL folks, this will be an exciting next 30 days as the playoff races heat up and teams start to get eliminated from the race. We'll see which teams are contenders and which are pretenders, see players rise to the occasion and teams put it all on the line for the holy grail of sports---- the Stanley Cup!