Thoughts on the Vanek trade: The addition of Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadians roster just adds to the intensity of hockey's greatest rivalry

In the 8 years since he made his NHL debut as a rookie phenom for Buffalo in 2005-2006, Thomas Vanek has played better against the Bruins than any other player in hockey. In 8 years he has scored 31 goals against the Big Bad Bruins, 6 times scoring 2 in a game and once netting a hat trick. No matter what sweater he is wearing, this hard hitting, speed skating, sick skilled left winger has a way of getting up and getting out for these Bruins games that nobody else in hockey has. And he did that when he was playing for the Sabers and Islanders, teams who have never been in a place for major intensity mainly because they have never been good enough to compete with their Boston foes.

But after he was traded to the Montreal Canadians last week, this motivation that has always made Vanek great will be even higher because now these games will be between Montreal and Boston rather than Buffalo and Boston.

The addition of this kind of player only makes the Bruins vs. Canadians rivalry just that much more intense. But it is not like it needs it.

After the fight charged atmosphere that defined the games between these two teams in the late 20th century was slowly made to be impossible to continue via various player safety rules, it was replaced by a simple obsession with scoreing and statistical excellence. While they have played just 1 game against the Canadians this season, the 4 games last season treated fans to 24 goals scored by the two teams, one stunning 6-5 OT game and an overall feeling of being on the edge of your seat that served as a constant prelude to those games. 

Thomas Vanek who has scored 21 times this season with 32 assists and a total of 53 points will come to Montreal as the number one offensive talent on the team. History shows that before long he might also be a person as hated in Boston as say PK Subban or Max Paccoretty. 

Nevertheless, being in Montreal will most surely raise the level of Vanek's play not only because of the players he will be playing with but also because Buffalo is nothing like Montreal when it comes to the intensity of their games.  

"When you think of a hockey mecca, Montreal is it," Vanek said to ESPN after the trade. "I played many times for Buffalo in Montreal, and it's so electric. I'm super excited." 

Yeah, actually contending for the Stanley Cup ought to be pretty exciting but even with that, Vanek is not decided as to whether or not he would accept a contract extension to stay in Montreal when his contract ends at the end of the year. 

"It's been a tough year for me and my family," he said. "I knew there was a chance we'd move again. Now it's over and I'm a Montreal Canadian and I can just focus on hockey and helping that team win a lot of games."

It will be interesting to check in with Vanek after he has a Montreal/Boston game under his belt. 

All and all, the addition of not only a pure scorer but a pure scorer with a history of pulverizing the Bruins on a game by game basis to the Montreal Canadians only makes the greatest rivalry in hockey that much more awesome. 

Read More

The 4th line frame of mind: A look at Gregory Campbell's recent hot streak and how it has reguvinated the Bruins 4th line

Gregory Campbell is 30 years old, he has played 9 NHL seasons and yet, he has never before scored 4 goals in 4 games. Until now.

In the first four games the Bruins have played in March, Campbell has been a force to be reckoned with, taking 10 shots, and of course scoring on 4 of them. For him and his line-mates, this 4 game explosion has been one of great power and one that has helped right the ship for the Bruins who struggled immediately out of the Olympic break.

Prior to the Bruin's March 1st game against Washington, Gregory Campbell had scored just 2 goals in the entire season and had not scored since January 14th or a total of 12 games. Altogether, this Bruins 4th line that has been one of the best 4th lines in hockey for at least 3 years now was once again being asked to deliver the 30-40 goals it had in seasons like 2012 and unfortunately, that simply was not happening. This line had lost its identity ever so slightly in the early parts of this season. In games like that infamous December 7th clash with Pittsburgh that saw Shawn Thornton KO Brooks Orpik and earn a 15 game suspension, they crossed that line separating rough play and dirty play and therefore committed penalties that gave their team no emotional boost. In other games, they tried to get too flashy, trying to out maneuver defenders rather than going straight through them as they had in years past.

While that style of play did pay off at times, namely on Thursday, January 28th when Shawn Thornton deaked 2 Florida defenders to backhand in one of the best goals of his career, overall it resulted in far more turnovers by the Merlot line and the fewest goals total by a Bruin fourth line through the first 58 games of a full season in the 4 years this group has been together. Just 14 goals.

When they lost Shawn Thornton to kick off the month of January, the team also lost some of that grit and ferocity that has done so well to supercharge the atmosphere at these games. During the suspension, their fight totals went down and no one on the 4th line except Danial Pallie scored a goal thus limiting the multi-faceted attack that the Bruins' 4th line give them. Even when he returned they simply were not the same.

But nevertheless, the 2 week Olympic break seemed to get something to click with this trio. None of them represented their countries in Sochi just as none of them were forced to deal with any scrutiny by the fans. While it can be assumed that they did log considerable hours in the gym during the games, they used this time to gain something that especially right out of the break would be something not many teams had. That is, a full line of capable scorers who instead of playing grueling hockey on a big international ice sheet for 2 weeks had taken a little off-season in the middle of the year.

More than any other time in the entire season, the odds were in favor of a big surge by them.

They seized the chance.

After a team wide hiccup in their first game back vs. Buffalo, the 4th line was the highlight of the latter half of their March 1st game against Washington notching a goal that sat much more easily with the kind of game they play. Taking the puck at the blue line, all 3 Bruins 4th liners raced towards the goal. With Danial Pallie skating a line that had him crossing the goal right at the top of the crease, Gregory Campbell following close behind him and Shawn Thornton skating behind and to the left of the two Bruins, a relaxed Washington defense allowed Thornton to toss the puck in the general direction of Campbell.  With Pallie parked right in front of the net with his back towards Campbell, Campbell reached across the body of a defender in order to try to tag the puck and redirect it on goal. As he did so however he was tripped and sent crashing into the ice, Pallie and a bewildered Braden Holtby. The puck trickled in and Campbell sported an ear to ear grin as he untangled himself from the pile of bodies near the left goalpost.

That goal was the perfect Gregory Campbell goal and it provided this 4th line with a powerful boost that has carried them through this week as the best thing going for the B's. The very next day in a game against the New York Rangers, the Bruins overcame an early deficit to beat their Big Apple foe's 6-3. Campbell scored twice in that game marking the first time he has done so in the regular season since April 10th of last season. But that was not the best part of this game for "Soupy" as he is called by the team. With 10 minutes to go in the game and the Rangers nipping at the Bruins' heals Campbell took the puck on a shorthanded breakaway. This time instead of barreling into goalie Henrik Lunquvist however, he threw in a last second forehand/backhand move and tucked the puck in as he passed the right post. His next goal reverted back to the 4th line mold as he tipped a Pallie shot in a physical crossing pattern across the front of the net.

The goal was reviewed to see if the puck was kicked in but in the end it stood. Though he did take a day off from scoring Tuesday against the Panthers, Campebell completed the 4 goals in 4 games domination Thursday against Washington once again, this time tipping in yet another Danial Pallie shot.

Yet much like the rest of the Bruins, Campbell is humble when talking about his success.

“I’m just trying to get our line going here,” Campbell said after Thursday’s 3-0 shutout of the Capitals at TD Garden. “I feel like we’ve been playing a lot better. We’re working hard, we’re working smart and trying to read off of each other and get back to playing with one another. And you know, our lines are playing really well and have been contributing on a nightly basis, and everybody knows that to have four lines cruising into the playoffs is a good recipe.”

Claude Jullian however had to applaud the effort this line has given the team in the last games.

“Obviously, they have been much better,” Julien said after the 6-3 win over New York. “Because, number one, I think their line at one point was doing a lot of duplication. They’d end up with two guys as the first forechecker and they were a little bit all over the place and they didn’t get the results they wanted, and then spent a lot more time in our D zone than they should. They got themselves back in sync. Gregory has kind of turned the page there, and it’s important for him to have a good finish. So it was important to start from scratch, and that line sort of looked at some video and talked about how they needed to play, and they have been a really good line for us. They’ve scored goals - not by fluke - but more by the way they’ve worked together and how hard they’ve worked and how hard they’ve been working at putting pucks at the net."

All and all, adversity is something the 4th liners have come to know very well. At the same time such familiarity has also given them a whole list of ways to overcome that adversity. At the top of that list, score goals the way you are meant to score goals and in these 4 games, at least Gregory Campbell has done just that.

Read More

.21 Goals per Game: Dispute a lack of goals David Krejci is one of the top offensive players in the NHL

When David Krejci scored the 100th goal of his 7 year NHL career back in December, he told CBS Boston that “It’s just a number. Obviously, it’s nice to get 100 goals and hopefully there will be 100 more in my career, but it’s just a number.” 

Just over 2 months later, Tuesday night, when David Krejci scored his 5th career hat trick, he employed the same mindset. Neither 5 nor the 3 goals he scored against the Panthers were anything more than mere numbers. For 7 years now, Krejci has been a man who follows his principles down to the letter. It is no coincidence that he has never played for another team than Boston, no coincidence that whenever trade rumors have come up he has played even better just prove to his GM that he deserves to stay here. He plays a team game, built on passing, a relentless commitment to the game and a quiet command of the entire ice surface. 

Krejci is clutch as well. 2 of his now 5 career hat tricks have come in the playoffs as in both of those playoff tricks, the 3rd and final goal won the game in a sudden death period. Going deeper into the playoff statistics, in a total of 81 playoff games, Krejci has scored 29 goals and assisted on 44 others. That equates to a playoffs points per game average of roughly .900. And yet, once you get to the regular season these same statistics dictate a drop off in Krejci's game. That cannot be more wrong.

On any other stat card, taking 7 years and 464 games to score 100 goals would be anything to be proud of. Many would say a guy who has scored at a .21 goals per game clip does not deserve first line playing time just like they would say he does not deserve anywhere near the salary a top six forward would earn. But those people have not seen David Krejci.  Those people have not delved into the deeper, less "important but still more informative statistics assembled simply to recognize the talent of guys like Krejci. You see things like the raw playoff numbers or those like +/- that prove how much better this team is when Krejci is on the ice with them and begin to realize the true extent of Krejci's talent. 

"You know, some people people give me a hard time that I don't have many goals, but you know, I don't care as long as I'm helping my team and my linemates,"

Looking across the league and taking into account the .21 goals per game the he turns in as an alternate captain and a center, Krejci is unique. Of all the 32 NHL teams, there is just 1 top 2 center that scores less than .3 goals per game - Krejci. Among all NHL players, it is difficult to find other players with statistic's comparable to those of Krejci simply because most players who produce those meager statistics do not last long enough to rack up say 100 goals. 

He is contained within a very small group of NHL players. 

Helping the team, helping line mates, that is all that Krejci does. He has dished out nearly twice as many assists than goals over the course of his career and scored when it counts. But he never celebrates. When he scores hat tricks like the one Tuesday, even a fit pump remains something reserved for playoff success and deemed to unsportsmanlike for a petty regular season 3 pack. Even when he won the Stanley Cup in 2011 there were no booming roars of excitement and no gloves hurled into the air. Krejci does not believe in celebration, does not hoard statistics for his own estate and though his salary suffers because of it, though his league wide recognition is nothing comparable to what is should be, Krejci knows that the team comes first.

For reasons like these, his teammates love him and so they willingly passed up the opportunity for a goal of their own in order to set up Krejci's hat trick. 

"We obviously recognized the situation and he had two at the time with an empty net," said line mate Milan Lucic, who set up Krejci along with Jarome Iginla. "We were just able to turn the puck over high up there and I looked for him and he was open and was able to hit the empty net there from the neutral zone."

"He’s a fun guy to be a winger for," said Iginla. "But he sure had it going tonight. His shot there, quick snappers, a few that just – I thought as a whole, it was a team thing…our last two games now are building in the right direction."

Krejci cares not for his statistics but for those of his team. 

Read More

Thoughts on Patriots not using the franchise tag

Each year, one of the first signs of which teams are contenders and which teams are pretenders can be seen in what each team does in the off season. Good selfless GM's who truly do what is best for their team with the money and privileges they possess ultimately turn out good, committed teams with at least a chance at winning it all come February. 

But money does get in the way, and no matter how rich they may be, cash does not flow into the NFL's individual teams with infinite quantity. In New England, much of the Patriot's financial talks of late have circled around two players - Aqib Talib and Julian Edelman - and more to the point what might happen if either of them escaped to free agency. 

Fact is, even with the deep cash pool that Robert Kraft has accumulated since he took over the Patriots 20 years ago, with both Edelman and Talib coming off spectacular years in which Talib owned the Patriots secondary and Edelman accumulated over 100 catches, they knew that the price for bringing them back in 2014 might be very stiff. However, at least until 3:00PM Monday, there was another option. 

In what has been named as the franchise tag, each NFL team is presented with the opportunity to retain one player, no matter their level of play and no matter another team's interest for one base rate. In Patriots history, they have never been a team in love with the tag but most notably utilized it 2 years ago on Wes Welker.  

But for the second straight season, the annual deadline for teams to either use or forgo the franchise tag came and passed without action in Foxbourgh and at least for the time being, it appears to be a rather questionable decision.  

In what was surely the best season of his career, Talib in particular made a serious case to get paid the 11.5 million dollar salary for a franchise tagged CB. He made 4 interceptions and defended 13 passes while making 35 tackles.

"[Talib] wasn't on the field a lot of the time since he's been with us," Robert Kraft said at the Super Bowl. "It's a balance, of us balancing all that out and what is he worth. I think he's happy here and would like to be here. We're happy with him and we'd like to have him here. Now it's just about doing business." 

According to ESPN Boston's Matt Reis, one of the biggest reasons the Patriots did not hand Talib those 11 million dollars was his health. Though he played all but 3 games this season and was a key role player in every single one, he has now been knocked out of two straight AFC Championship games. But nevertheless, the latter of those two injures was certainly not his fault. He is no Danny Ammendola. 

So if that does not make sense, what does?

More than any other, a logical explanation for the Patriots' negligence is that that there have been rumors that he and the team are negotiating a contract at a substantially lower annual salary. In a scenario like that, the Patriots are being smart in knowing that by locking down Talib for 2 or 3 years at say 7 or 8 million a year, they would then have the additional 3 or 4 million dollars to add on to a big contract to lock down Julian Edelman who will most likely be a far more sought after name than Talib. 

Read More

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers game preview: Bruins still seek their first win since the Olympic break

Boston Bruins (37-17-5, 79 points) at New York Rangers (33-25-3, 69 points)
7:00PM. March 2nd, 2014. 
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York

Now is the time that Bruins fans, coaches and players all stand up and say 'enough is enough'.

In a month of March that holds more games than off days than the Bruins, losing two straight games at its start, both because of terrible defense by the team, warns of spiraling into a serious problem. In two games now, the Bruins have allowed 9 goals and scored just 6. They have on at least 3 occasions surrendered crippling breakaways that on all 3 occasions resulted in goals for the other team and in several others left the opponent's best players with time and space to blast laser shots past whatever goalie the Bruins decide to dress. Also, the Bruins have struggled to stay out of the penalty box in these games, setting up 12 power plays for the other team and on 3 occasions failing to kill them.

Though two games really is just a small sample size compared to the magnitude of the much larger 82 game season, these Bruins come into their 3rd game since the Sochi Olympics desperate to sustain the 4 point lead on the rest of the Atlantic division that they managed to give themselves in their final few games BEFORE the break. This is a game they really want to win.

But in order to do that they cannot play as a bad defensive games as they have against the Sabers and Capitals respectively. Bruin captain Zdeno Chara who was held accountable for the final goal in Wednesday's OT loss in Buffalo knows this.

"For sure that wasn't our best game," captain Zdeno Chara said. "We could have done a number of things differently and better. We have to learn from games like this."

Claude Jullian spoke more specifically. 

"We're getting caught cheating too much in the offensive side and it's ending up in the back of the net," Claude said. "It's something we need to fix because we're giving up too many goals." 

The Bruins are having no problem scoring goals, it is preventing them that has troubled Boston of late. In this game against the Rangers, it may be safe to predict that against a Rangers offence that bases it's offence mainly off of complicated passing schemes in their own zone and then sneaky plays that float a forward out behind an opponent's defenders the Bruins blue liners stay back a bit more than usual. 

On the other side of things though, it seems that the Rangers may need a win just as much as the Bruins do. Sitting just 2 points secure of a playoff spot in the highly contested Metropolitin division, the Rangers also have struggled in their first two games most recently dropping a 4-2 contest in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.

All and all, this will be a fun game between two big teams with playoff intentions and it will be a game the Bruins want desperately to win.

Read More

Caps outlast Bruins: Another game of so-so defense dooms Boston

That man, yeah the one in the picture might as well be an evil terminator sent from the future to destroy the hopes of every other player and team in the NHL. Alex Ovechkin scoured 2 goals in this game and singlehandedly helped lead his team towards the dominant outcome that the Capitals enjoyed on the first day of March.

Playing in their second game since the Olympic break, the Bruins came in still feeling a bit of the shame of loosing to the lowly Sabers on Wednesday night. With Tuukka Rask back in net however, this seemed like a team who was ready to take out these Capitals and simply snag a win. But unfortunately for Boston, things did not necessarily follow that path. Though the Bruins jumped into a shot heavy offensive set, they did something early in the game that you just cannot get away with when you are playing against the Capitals. They committed penalties.

All season long, the combination of Niklas Backstrom and oh so potent Alexander Ovechkin have made it so that the Capitals have scored on close to 1 quarter of their power plays. Ridiculosly, they score these power play goals largely off of an unmatched mantra of shot taking. They average 7 shots per power play opportunity. The Bruins however were taking penalties right from the start of this game and it did not take them long to feel the effects of that Washington power play.

Carl Soderberg was whistled for holding the stick 4 minutes into the game and on the ensuing power play, though they did not score, the Capitals pelted Tuukka Rask with 5 shots and close to a constant presence in the offensive zone for that entire 2 minute advantage. As if that was not good enough, after Boston squandered a 2 minute 5 on 3 advantage later in the period, a Chris Kelly interference penalty put the Capials on the man advantage once again. This time, the league's best power play scorer was up to the task of putting the puck in the back of the net. With under 2 minutes left in the 1st period, Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals up 1-0.

"Well, I mean, if he gets those one-timers with a half-empty net, you're pretty much going to score. You have to recognize that he's out there and I don't think we did a very good job today with that," said Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask,  "He had that shot in the first period before he scored and then he gets that goal and the next one I was almost positive he was going short sided, but he kind of knuckled and he stalled and it went in. But if you keep giving him those one-timers he's going to find the back of the net."
4 minutes later, 2 minutes into the 2nd period, Ovechkin doubled that lead scoring another power play goal, this time off of a tripping penalty charged to Matt Bartowski. When Joel Ward absolutely humiliated the Bruins defense later in the period when he intercepted a D to D pass and roared his way up the middle on his way towards deaking out Tuukka Rask and sealing off a 3-0 lead for Washington.

The Bruins however seemed to get the memo after that goal and started to work to pry that lead away from the Caps. Within minutes of the Ward goal, Dougie Hamilton took a pass from Reilly Smith and slid down through the face off circle. Drawing two defenders too his side, Hamilton selflessly slid a pass of his own towards a completely unchecked Patrice Bergeron. He ripped the one timer past Bradan Holtby igniting, the TD Guarden, his teammates and the never quit spirit that has made Boston such a great team year in and year out.

"They got a little bit of momentum and the crowd got them into it, their fourth line got them into it and then we got to see a little bit of Boston and the way they have played all season long. And it's a tough team to defend against," Capitals defender Carl Alsner said when asked about the goal.

The Bruins fought hard for the remainder of that period, mashing bodies and pounding the Capitals with that annoying kind of skate through the opponent hitting that many of the Bruins forwards excel it. Before the 2nd period drew to a close, a goal that purely exemplified the Bruin's forth line play had turned this into a 3-2 game. That goal was scored when Shawn Thornton grabbed the puck along the left side boards. With Gregory Campbell streaking towards the net, Thornton slammed the puck towards the hash marks. Though the name of the person who actually hit the puck at that part of the ice is still up for debate, Cambell basically threw his body in it's direction, bouncing the puck of of either his or the defending Capital's stick and into the net. As Campbell, Pallie and Thornton all pealed themselves out of the carnage that piled up as Campbell knocked over everyone in his path, there was a kind of exuberant joy in the Garden. All of a sudden, this was a game. 

Before long however, it was all Capitals once again. Halfway through the 3rd period, Eric Fehur scored to put his team up 4-2 effectively sealing the game and sinking the ship on this game for Boston. 

"I think at this point in time the areas that I guess we haven't been as good at need to be addressed, because that's how we want to be as a team. We want to be held accountable to the areas that we didn't do as well tonight as I think we would like to," Bruins center Gregory Campbell said. "I think there were some positives in the game, but I mean it's another loss. We really don't like to lose two games in a row. At this point in time you're going to get the best from every team. That team is fighting for a playoff spot. It's just some details in the game that as a team we make a point to focus on."

A loss is a loss but this being the first time the Bruins have lost back to back games in over a month, this one hurts a little more. 

Read More

The Dynasty of Aweful: Recent Ryan Miller trade is proof that as some markets thrive many others wither

At 7:00PM Friday night, the St Louis Blues announced via twitter what might be their biggest victory all season. At that point on that late week afternoon, the St Louis Blues and the lowly Buffalo Sabers pulled off one of the biggest trades in their history and frankly, one of the bigger trades of the past few years. At that point, they traded backup goalie Jaraslov Halack to the Buffalo Sabers in exchange for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott.

Many have said that this trade puts the Central Division leading Blues ahead of every other team in hockey thus making them a surefire Stanley Cup favorite. But just as the Blues rise even higher, this trade serves as proof that the year in and year out dominance of teams like Pittsburgh, Chicago, St Louis and even Boston has and will continue to obliterate the fan bases of teams like Buffalo, Miami, Calgary and Edmonton.

As great as these dynastic runs across all of these major sports many cities and teams have enjoyed, it has been a rough truth that those same strings of victorious seasons have incited other kinds dynasties in other, less fortunate teams. The Buffalo Sabers are one of those other teams and their dynasty is a dynasty of awful. It has lasted for 3 years, the last two of which being seasons that have been absolute train wrecks.

As we begin this story, one must look back to the 1999 season and the draft that followed it. In that draft, the Sabers who were then headed by newly appointed GM Darcy Regier spent their 5th round, 138th overall pick on a 6 foot tall, goaltender named Ryan Miller. Miller was going into Michigan State University that year and had already caught some eyes with his perfect senior season in East Lansing Michigan. More simply, he did not allow a goal that season.

But Reiger was not completely sold on Miller. He went off to Michigan but was watched closely by the Buffalo Sabers team. 4 years after the '99 draft, he was finally called up by the Sabers who were in desperate need of a goaltender following the retirement of Martan Biron and the recent departure of Dominik Hasek. In 2003, they saw the potential that Ryan Miller held. So, in the middle portion of the 2002-2003 they tested him out starting him in 15 games in which he assembled a 6-8-1 record with a GAA of 2.63. After logging just 3 starts in 2003-2004, Miller made great advances to his game during the '05 lockout and came back in 2006 as the face of the Buffalo Sabers. Over the next 3 years, Miller just continued to get better. He won a stunning 40 games in 2006. But even then, Ryan Miller was not yet a superstar.

That all changed however, in and around a competition that had nothing to do with the NHL.

On January 1st 2010, the USOC announced following that day's Winter Classic the 2010, US Olympic Men's Hockey team for the Vancouver Games. Of the three goaltenders sent to those games, Boston fans were focused mainly on their goalie, Tim Thomas. And yet, he was soon overshadowed by Miller himself who took over starting duties as the tournament raged into its thrilling Gold medal game.

After Miller assembled a GAA of 1.35 in those games, his following grew and for the first time in his career, this Buffalo starter was a household name. He recognized this and yet, as his game improved, that of his team worsened. The 2010-2011 Sabers just barely snuck into the playoffs as an 8th seed and 1 year later, they missed the playoffs altogether. In 2013-2014, things bottomed out in Buffalo. They fired Lindy Ruff and replaced him with Ted Nolan then fired the GM who initially drafted Miller, in Reiger.

The team however got no better. After years of mediocre regular seasons and an absence of Stanley Cup banners in their rafters, the Sabers are looking to rebuild their team via the draft. Unfortunately the only way to do that is to dump all the vets and go all out to hit rock bottom in the NHL standings. Friday afternoon, Ryan Miller and gritty, beat 'em up teammate Steve Ott were the last to go.

On this day, there are 5 NHL teams that have not made the playoffs in the past 4 seasons. 3 of those 5 have not made the playoffs in 5 years and one team, the Edmonton Oilers have not logged a playoff appearance in 8 seasons.

Runs of failure like those are never good for a team. When you do not make the playoffs for 8 years, when you are so consistently bad, younger fans give up on the team that never does anything exciting. Ticket sales falter and overall, the entire fan base simply begins to melt away. Years like these have killed franchises before, we look most recently to the small market Atlanta Trashers who never won a playoff series and folded in 2011. Additionally, runs like these turn into a vicious cycle for many teams. The Calgary Flames are an example of that. With just one playoff appearance in over a decade, they lost their most prized possession in Jarome Iginla last year solely because it is not morally fair to keep such a good player in a place that will not win a Stanley Cup before he retires. That was most likely the same frame of mind that the Sabers were in Friday afternoon when the 33 year old Miller was dealt to a cup favorite in the Blues. But the thing that bites these teams in these deals is the fact that in almost every case they are dumping their best player off to another team. So, their years of failure stretch on. 

Read More