Canucks Fans Rally For Terminally Ill Legend Gino Odjick

Here's the full story.

Gino Odjick Diagnosed With Terminal Illness

When you are a kid, hockey goons are kind of like superheroes or professional wrestlers. You know fighting is a bad thing, but your favorite team's tough guy is fighting the good fight, sticking up for his teammates and everything that you believe is right on the ice (at least at that impressionable age), and as such we are instantly drawn to them.

My favorite tough guy growing up (there were a few of them - far more favorites then than now) was Gino Odjick. Not only was he my on-ice Hulk Hogan, but he was entertaining as heck, even if all the nonsense represented the ugly side of this great game.

For all his bluster and muster, you knew Gino Odjick was a genuine person who truly cared for his teammates and for his fans. It made for a special relationship with an entire generation of Canucks fans that is very rare. And because of that he will forever go down as one of the most popular hockey players in Vancouver history. Our generation of fans will always cherish chanting his name over and over again.

So it saddened me terribly - like so many others in the hockey world - when I learned that mighty Gino has been diagnosed with a rare terminal illness and he may only have weeks to live.

Odjick disclosed his condition in an open letter posted Thursday night on Canucks.com.

“We have shared many great moments together over the years but today I need to share the most difficult news of my life,” Odjick says in the letter addressed to friends, teammates and fans. “About two months ago I was diagnosed with a rare terminal disease called AL amyloidosis. It’s causing abnormal protein to be produced and deposits are being formed on my heart. It’s hardening my heart and my doctors aren’t sure how long I have to live. Initially they thought years, but now they think it could be a lot less. I could be down to months or even weeks.”

Gino has his fare share of challenges in life - alcohol, poverty, racism. He fought all those with the same valiant zest as he fought Dave Manson or Stu Grimson on the ice. He didn't always win, but he gave it everything he had in trying.

So it must be a terrible shock for Gino right now. He is a man who has always known how to fight, but he now battles a fight he knows he can not win.

The outpouring of support from hockey fans on Twitter and hockey colleagues via media has been a heartening and enjoyable read. I don't think I will ever get the chance to meet Gino Odjick in person, but if he by any chance reads this, I want to say "keep fighting, Gino," and more importantly, "Thank you."

Playing To Lose: The Drafting of Mario Lemieux

Seven Calder Trophies Exist

The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual NHL award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.

The award is in honour of former NHL president Frank Calder. But the award started in 1937, six years prior to Calder's death. In fact Calder himself would buy a new trophy each year as the winner was to keep the trophy forever.

The NHL changed that practice after Calder's passing in 1943. The NHL keeps the "real" Calder Trophy in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but somewhere out there exist six more Calder Trophies - given to Syl Apps (1937), Cully Dahlstrom (1938), Frank Brimsek (1939), Kilby MacDonald (1940), John Quilty (1941) and Grant Warwick (1942).

Hockey Hall of Fame Disappoints: Lindros, Women Should Be Honoured

Blake, Forsberg, Hasek, Modano, Burns and McCreary elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. http://t.co/fLoPmeu2RP pic.twitter.com/Ky1nteCyD5
— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 23, 2014

Congratulations to the newest inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. All are worthy enshrines and there should be no debate about any of their inclusion.

There is no doubt about Dominik Hasek's immediate inclusion. I truly believe there is a great argument to be made that he was the greatest goalie ever. And I also know he had a higher peak of his career than Patrick Roy had.

Rob Blake was a dominating defender. Mike Modano was an excellent all around player who was destined to get in the Hall, though his status as the highest scoring American born player in history really cemented his immediate inclusion.

And Bill McCreary was my favorite referee. Like most fans, I don't usually pay much attention to who the referee is, but McCreary was not only a welcome and recognizable official. When he wore the stripes you knew he would allow for a fair and well played contest.

Pat Burns is nice and all, though they could have had the heart to do it while he was alive. Coaches are oddly honoured by the Hall. It seems to me there are a number of historical coaches who never got honoured, so it's good to see that wrong is being righted.

And then there's Peter Forsberg. We will get to him in just a second, but first I want to say how flabbergasted I am that yet again no female player is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. If the bar for the men's game was as high as it apparently is for the women's game, we'd have a whole lot fewer enshrinees. Maybe that's the way it should be, but in reality surely the HHOF could have found someone to honour. France St. Louis? Cassie Campbell? Danielle Goyette? Karen Bye? C'mon!

Now back to Forsberg. Absolutely Peter Forsberg belongs in the Hall of Fame, and I have no problem with his immediate inclusion. It is hockey's highest honour, and Peter Forsberg deserves it.

But really did not like was that the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Forsberg while continuing to make Eric Lindros wait.

Lindros and Forsberg's careers are forever interconnected, of course. But Lindros, who is now made to wait for at least a 6th year of eligibility, is not only a Forsberg's ultimate comparable but arguably better.

 Here's the tale of the tape:

	Forsberg	Lindros
GP	708	760
G	249	372
A	636	493
Pts	885	865
PIM	690	1398
Hart Trophy	1	1
Pearson Trophy	0	1
Art Ross Trophy	1	1
All Star	3	2
Stanley Cup	2	0
Olympic Gold	2	1

There really isn't a whole lot of difference between the two. There was just 20 points difference between them. Both missed a ton of time due to their immense physical style of play which resulted deteriorating bodies betraying each of them.

And, most importantly, both flirted with being the game's most dominant player for periods of time.

The comparisons were inevitable of course. Lindros, the NHL's favorite villain, refused to report to the Quebec Nordiques and forced a trade. A trade with Philadelphia was eventually completed, headlining Forsberg, who was drafted 6 spots behind Lindros in 1991, as part of a huge package going to Quebec. From that moment on, the two men were inexorably linked.

The biggest differing point between the two is Stanley Cup championships. Forsberg and transplanted Nordiques won two while in Colorado. Lindros never did win a title, despite all of his efforts.

I think the Stanley Cup argument is a bit overblown. Yes, Forsberg was one of the greatest players in Stanley Cup history. But his three championships were aided by Joe Sakic, who some say is better than Forsberg. And then there was Patrick Roy, hailed as the greatest playoff goalie of all time. Lindros never had the supporting cast that Forsberg had.

When it comes right down to it, I say there is little to choose between Eric Lindros and Peter Forsberg. Lindros was always easy to dislike, which helps to stain his legacy. Forsberg's legacy is, in my opinion, a bit overrated if only due to the great supporting cast he enjoyed.

In reality, they had pretty equal careers, though history will suggest otherwise. Why is that? Peter Forsberg was very likeable. Eric Lindros was thoroughly disliked. But that really should not be a determining factor .

Instead, the Holier-Than-Though Hockey  Hall of Fame has missed the perfect opportunity to right and wrong and induct Eric Lindros - right along side his old nemesis Peter Forsberg.

Hockey Hall of Fame 2014?

The Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee meets on Monday to decide the honoured class of 2014.

Let's take a look at the first year eligible players:

Dominik Hasek
Peter Forsberg
Mike Modano
Mark Recchi
Chris Osgood
Doug Weight
Brian Rafalski
Owen Nolan
Pavol Dimetra
Sandis Ozolinsh

As seemingly always, that is quite the first year class in 2014. Hasek and Forsberg have to be considered locks, though if you think about it Forsberg's career is eerily similar to Eric Lindros'. If Lindros keeps waiting, maybe Forsberg should wait, too? Mike Modano is another serious contender in year one.

Mark Recchi is also a serious contender, though I must admit I'm far from convinced he should be included. I don't think he ever really the top player in his position, and often wasn't the top player on his own team.

Chris Osgood is an interesting case. His resume is pretty damn amazing, though he never really was recognized as one of the best players of his time. With the bar set very high for goaltenders (and appropriately so, I might add) Ozzie will likely never get in, but his championships and numbers are strong.

There is a lengthy list of holdovers who will also garner consideration, led strongly by Rob Blake who was overlooked in 2013. Others include the aforementioned Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, Theo Fleury, Paul Kariya, Phil Housley, John Leclair, Jeremy Roenick, Alexander Mogilny, Markus Naslund and my favorite, Sergei Makarov.

A maximum of four skaters can be inducted in any given year, so you can see the HHOF Selection Committee has some tough choices again this year. If I had a say I would put my voting support behind Hasek, Forsberg, Lindros and Modano.

Also I hope to see another female player inducted. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Angela Ruggeiro is eligible this year. If so, she's an obvious shoo-in.

Guy Trottier Passes Away

Former NHL/WHA player Guy Trottier has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 73.

Trottier, dubbed "The Mouse" because of his tiny 5'8" 170lb frame, played 115 games in the NHL in the early 1970s. He played mostly with the Toronto Maple Leafs and briefly with the New York Rangers. He scored 28 goals and 45 points before jumping to the WHA for three seasons.

Prior to his time in the big leagues Trottier spent a lot of time in the minor leagues, most notably in Dayton, Ohio with the IHL Gems. He retired in Dayton and lived there until his death. He worked for a freighting company there for 20 years.

Guy was not related to New York Islanders superstar Bryan Trottier.

2014 NHL Draft: Rising Sons

Every NHL Draft seems to feature several prospects with notable family relations. The 2014 NHL Draft features a deep pool of NHL bloodlines.

Sam Reinhart will be a top draft pick in 2014. His father was former Calgary Flames standout Paul Reinhart, while his brothers Max and Griffin have already been drafted by Calgary and NY Islanders, respectively.

Dominic Turgeon's father is Pierre Turgeon - the first overall draft pick in the 1987 NHL draft. His uncle - Sylvain - was the 2nd overall draft pick in 1983, selected directly ahead of Pat Lafontaine, Steve Yzerman and Tom Barrasso.  Dominic is ranked as the 94th best prospect by The Hockey News.

Ryan MacInnis mastered his heavy shot from the man with perhaps the most famous slap shot of all time - Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman/father Al MacInnis.

Brendan Lemieux brings some more of the famous and pesty grit that dad Claude and uncle Jocelyn provided in ample amounts.

Kasperi Kapanen is the son of former NHL standout Sami Kapanen, while top prospect William Nylander is the son of Michael Nylander, a Swede so talented that they dubbed him the Swedish Gretzky when he first came to the NHL.

Josh Wesley is a stay-at-home defender more comparable to his uncle Blake than his father Glen. Either way, Josh has great lineage to rely on for a long NHL career.

John Quenneville is a second cousin of Chicago coach/former NHL defenseman Joel Quenneville. He is also a nephew via marriage of Johnny Boychuk.

Daniel Audette faces the same NHL criticisms as did his father Donald Audette - nifty goal scorer but too small to play in the NHL. It didn't stop Dad though. Some NHL team will be hoping for "like father, like son."

Ryan Donato not only counts former NHL forward Ted Donato as his father but as his coach at Harvard.

Top prospect Nikolaj Ehlers' father Heinz never played in the NHL. But the Danish star was drafted by the New York Rangers back in 1984 and starred in Sweden and Germany for many years. He now coaches in Switzerland.

Brendan Perlini is the son of Fred Perlini, who briefly played with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early 1980s. Brother Brett was drafted by Anaheim four years ago.

Dman Alex Peters is the brother of Carolina Hurricanes' Justin Peters.

Alex Gudbranson is the brother of Florida Panthers' dman Erik Gudbranson.

Defenseman Tyler Nanne is the grandson of NHL legend Lou Nanne.

Defenseman Luc Snuggerud counts former NHL forward Dave Snuggerud as his uncle.

Hunter Smith is the nephew of "Motor City Smitty" Brad Smith.

Ryan Mantha is the son of former NHL defenseman Moe Mantha, who was once traded for Paul Coffey.

Former NHL star Bobby Carpenter's daughter Alex made headlines at the Olympics this year. Now his son Robert looks to begin his NHL career. 

Nick Schmaltz is the brother of Jordan Schmalt, a 2012 first round pick of the St. Louis Blues.

Remembering Larry "The Rock" Zeidel

Larry Zeidel was hockey's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

On the ice he was the evil Mr. Hyde and off the ice he was the nice Dr. Jekyll. He received the tag of "The fastest stick in the Midwest" and it wasn't because of his slick stickhandling. Larry had a reputation of using his stick as a spear whenever he felt it necessary, which was quite often.

No other professional player was involved in more stick swinging incidents than Larry. His most famous one came in the NHL against Bruins Eddie Shack. Both combatants tried to scalp each other after Shack had made racial remarks against Larry, who was Jewish. In another stick swinging incident that happened in the WHL it was Larry and Willie O'Ree (the first black player in the NHL) who tried to chop off each others heads. WHL's league president Al Leader almost expelled Larry from the league.

So how come that Larry became such a rough player? Larry had two explanations for this.

"I guess there are a couple of reasons. First, I played some senior hockey in Quebec City and we could play well and win, but the fans would rather have us involved in a real brawl and lose the game. There were a lot of rugged guys in the league at that time, too, so maybe it was partly a matter of survival. The other thing is that there's the big thing of being young and having stars in your eyes. The clubs themselves are as much or more to blame. They play up the tough guys. Guts, guts, guts is all you hear from a lot of coaches and managers, even as early as junior. I was playing for some coaches and managers who would tell me ' go get him ' ,so I did "

To Larry's defense it has to be said that he tried to clean up his "bad boy" image late in his career, but it was tough to convince the referees and opponents about that. Late in his career Larry explained how hard it was to get "straight".

" I feel my past is haunting me now, even though I'm trying very hard to avoid penalties. After you're regarded as a tough guy, every rough kid who comes along wants to make a name for himself, too, and because you've got that reputation, you're the target."

Larry Zeidel passed away on Tuesday, June 17th, 2014. He was 86 years old. Here's his full biography.

Thomas Gradin: Summertime Garbage Man

Thomas Gradin was a beautiful hockey player, exhibiting skill and grace. He was tougher than anyone gave any Swedish player credit for back in the 1980s, but he was not exactly noted as physical player.

And he certainly was not a "garbage goal" guy.

But, for one summer anyway, he was a garbage man.

That's right. While most NHLers spend their summers on golf courses or at the lake cabin, Gradin spent the summer of 1981 going to work every weekday at 6 am to collect garbage in a Stockholm suburb.

" I always hated weight training and running," explained Gradin. "So I thought this would be an interesting experiment. It's tough, but picking up 400 garbage sacks daily is good for your body."

It must have been. The following season Gradin responded with a career high 37 goals and 86 points, and led the Canucks with 19 points as they advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final.

The Mysterious Death of Jack Leswick

The summer after a hard earned Stanley Cup victory is supposed to be a time of celebration.

Unfortunately for the 1934 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Black Hawks, it was a time of tragedy.

Most notably their star goalie, NHL All Star Chuck Gardiner, passed away weeks after leading the team to the Cup. Gardiner had ignored a nasty tonsil infection and valiantly played through it. But the virus spread through his whole body and cause a brain hemorrhage which immediately put him into a coma and later claimed his life.

Though that was a long time ago, Gardiner's tragedy is somewhat well known to this day. But the Hawks suffered a second tragedy that summer, as rookie forward Jack Leswick mysteriously passed away as well.

Jack - known by the nickname Newsy - was a rookie with the 1933-34 Hawks. He was a noted minor league goal scorer though he didn't play too much that season in Chicago. In 37 games with the Blackhawks he chipped in 1 goal and 7 assists. But it was enough to earn him another contract for the next season.

Jack headed home for the summer, travelling all over Canada. Late on August evening in St. Catherines, Ontario Jack headed out for a walk.

He never came back. His lifeless body was pulled from the Assiniboine River several days later.

Signs pointed to foul-play, as his gold watch from the Chicago Blackhawks that he always wore was nowhere to be found. His car also had disappeared. But the police dismissed the case as a suicide, something those close to Jack knew could never have been the case.

To this day his death remains a mystery.

End Of An Era: Hockey Night In Canada As We Know It

The crowning of the Los Angeles Kings as Stanley Cup champions not only ended the NHL season, but it also marked the end of a long era of CBC's Hockey Night In Canada.

Rogers takes control of Hockey Night in Canada next season. Though it will remain on CBC for next season, changes are certain to be plentiful. Rogers is in full control in terms of presentation, storylines, on-air talent and even advertising revenue.

Hockey Night in Canada, the home of Saturday night hockey, has long set the bar for broadcasting excellence in hockey. TV broadcasts date back to 1952, though radio broadcasts go back even further to 1931.

The gang at CBC signed off their final broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada with their annual recap montage of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They set it to Queen's song "The Show Must Go On," and they allowed themselves, and deservedly so, to sneak in some quick hints of Hockey Night in Canada's lengthy history as well.

Here's the video:



It should be noted that in Hockey Night in Canada's long history there have been many changes. While Rogers' takeover promises to see a drastically different show, we should remember that change is not always a bad thing.

Hollywood Ending: Kings Win 2014 Stanley Cup!

Congratulations to the 2014 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

Alec Martinez scored 14:43 into double overtime of Game 5 to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 victory against the New York Rangers at Staples Center.

The game, the longest game in Kings' history, was cautiously play and almost dull through regulation. The Rangers held a 2-1 lead after two periods and left it up goalie Henrik Lundqvist to make countless spectacular saves in the third period and throughout out over time. Lundqvist made 48 saves, proving to be the King of Kings. But with the relentless pressure by the Kings it was only a matter of time.

The Kings dominated the third period and much of the overtime. Marian Gaborik forced overtime before Martinez finally beat Lundqvist.

Kings forward Justin Williams, who scored the first goal in Game 5, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs. "Mr. Game Seven" was "Justin Credible" all spring. He finished with 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points in the playoffs - tying him with teammate Jeff Carter with the 2nd most points in these playoffs. (Teammate Anze Kopitar finished with 26.) Williams led all players with seven points in the finals, including a dramatic overtime goal in the series opener last week. He had three assists in the Kings' double-overtime win in Game 2, and he added another assist in Game 3.

This is the second time in three years that Los Angeles has been crowned as Stanley Cup champions. They had to work harder for it this time around.

Los Angeles became the first team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after playing the maximum 21 games in the first three rounds. The Kings are the first team to win the Stanley Cup after playing as many as 26 games in the playoffs.

The Kings unthinkably erased a 3-0 series deficit to beat the San Jose Sharks in the first round. They won Games 6 and 7 against the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, and held on against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final to win Game 7 in overtime, when Martinez scored the winning goal there, too.

The Kings needed five games to defeat the Rangers but had to win coming from behind in three of them, all at home, all in overtime. They erased four two-goal deficits to win Games 1 and 2, and came back from a one-goal deficit to clinch the Cup in Game 5.

Johnny Bower Reflects On His Life

Some amazing quotes here from Johnny Bower, speaking to the Prince Albert Daily Herald about growing up in PA and his life in hockey and World War II:

"Johnny would listen to the Foster Hewitt on the radio every Saturday night so he was as in touch with the NHL as everyone else was. There was no internet or television of course back then so listening to the radio or reading the newspaper was all you had to keep you updated.

"Johnny's talks about his childhood idol, "I loved Boston and their goalie Frank Brimsek growing up. They called him Mr. Zero and I said someday I'm going to be like him and people will call me Mr. Zero!"

"But before his hockey even had even begun, Johnny fought in World War II and was very lucky not to have lost his life overseas.

"He was 15 when he lied about his age to fight for his country. And at the age of 18, he was supposed to be involved in the 1942 invasion of Normandy at the port of Dieppe. A mission that proved to be disastrous as 3400 of the 6000 person infantry were killed or seriously wounded and the rest were taken prisoner.

"I'd been all set to go but a day or two before the raid, nine guys in my company, including myself, got sick with a respiratory infection. They had to take use of the boat and put us in the hospital - we could hardly breathe. I guess if I'd gone, I probably would have lost my life. Most of my friends did."

Here's the full story.

Still Hope For These Lone Rangers

This is how close the New York Rangers came to being eliminated from the Stanley Cup final:

Yes hockey very much is a game of inches. Twice the Rangers were lucky as the puck stubbornly and inexplicably sat on the goal line behind Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist. An extra inch or so literally preventing the Los Angeles Kings from hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup on Wednesday night.

Instead now the Rangers narrowly escape with a 2-1 victory in game 4 and finally get a win in this series. The teams fly back to Los Angeles for game 5 on Friday.

The Kings are still very much sitting pretty, and even the most pessimistic Kings fan has to feel pretty confident that it is just a matter of a time before their team closes out the Rangers and the Stanley Cup party can get underway.

But the hard-luck Rangers still have other ideas. With the victory the Rangers have sparked some hope back into their game. The 25 players/coaches in blue may be the only ones who have that hope, as the comeback task ahead of them is seemingly enormous. But with hope - fragile as it may be at this early stage - the task is not impossible.

These Rangers may be a lone in this belief, but it starts with hope found in the snow on the goal line.

Bob Barlow

Bob Barlow grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and would one day become property of the Toronto Maple Leafs. But make no mistake, his hockey idol was the Leafs most respected enemy.

Barlow grew up idolizing Montreal's Rocket Richard.

"He loved scoring goals, and so did I," reasoned Barlow. "That's why I was a winger. I was infatuated with seeing the puck go in the net."

Barlow made that happen a lot of his lengthy hockey career. In 23 seasons of junior, senior and professional hockey he played nearly 1400 games and scored 600 goals.

Barlow turned pro in 1958 but because he was buried in the deep Leafs organization in the 1960s - the last decade of the Original Six - Barlow had no hope of ever making it to the NHL. He absolutely lit up the old professional Western Hockey League, regularly turning in 40 goal seasons. But the Leafs never gave him a look.

Barlow probably gave up much hope he'd ever play in the big leagues but then the NHL expanded from six to twelve teams in 1967, opening up jobs for many long time minor leaguers. Barlow caught on with the Minnesota North Stars.

Barlow even scored on his first shift - just six seconds in, apparently!

"We had a power play against Philadelphia and (coach) Wren Blair put me on the point. I took a slap shot and the puck had eyes and got past Bernie Parent. I'm 31 years old and I get my first NHL goal six seconds into my very first shift. When I got back to the bench I asked if it was always this easy," Barlow remembers.

The answer was no. Barlow played 70 NHL games that season but scored just 16 goals - quite the drop from his WHL. The following season he only played 7 more NHL games before he was sent back to the WHL for a few more years.

Barlow did re-appear in the big leagues when he 51 games for Phoenix of the WHA in 1974-75 in what was essentially his last season of hockey.

Barlow's family has quite the history in sports. His father, Hugh, won the Allan Cup in 1947 with the Montreal Royals. Bob's daughter Wendy was a world class tennis pro who competed at Wimbledon. And his granddaughter, Hillary Pattenden, is a goalie at Mercyhurst college with hopes of representing Canada at the Olympics one day.

Fred Hucul

This is Fred Hucul, a puck rushing defenseman who enjoyed some great years in the old professional Western Hockey League. He often teamed with his brother, Sandy, most notably with the Calgary Stampeders.

"We complimented each other," said Sandy. "Fred was a great puck carrier, had really good moves and a great shot. I'd to into the corner or along the boards and the puck for him. I got a lot of my assists on goals Fred scored."

While Sandy, the more stay-at-home defender, never made it to the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks gave Fred a good look with 127 games over 4 seasons in the early 1950s.

Described a good puck moving defenseman, Hucul saw his fair share of power play time. It did not translate to a lot of offense in the NHL - scoring 11 goals and 41 points in his career. But in the WHL he enjoyed seasons with 21, 19, 18 and 16 goals and was often pushing the 60 point mark in an era where that was nothing short of fantastic.

Despite all those years in the minor leagues - 13 to be exact - Fred Hucul never got another sniff in the NHL until the league expanded from six to twelve teams in 1967. He spent the bulk of the 1967-68 season with the first year St. Louis Blues, scoring 2 goals and 15 points.

Hucul's 13 years between NHL games ties a record for the longest such drought. Larry Zeidel, once Hucul's teammate in Chicago, found himself in very similar circumstances.

Slippery Sid Finney

Sid Finney may have been born in Banbridge, Ireland but he was a Calgary boy through and through. He is a junior, senior a professional hockey legend in the Alberta city. From 1953 through 1962 he entertained audiences with the Calgary Stampeders of the old professional Western Hockey League.

Despite lighting up the slower WHL, Finney never really stuck in the NHL. The Stamps were a Chicago Blackhawks farm team, and Finney did get a chance to play in 59 games with the Hawks over 3 seasons, including 35 games in the 1951-52 season.

Finney's most memorable game in the NHL was the final game of that 1952 season. In a wild 7-6 win over the New York Rangers, Finney set up the opening goal and scored the tying and winning goals late in the third period!

But that's not even why that game was memorable, not even for him. That was the night his teammate Bill Mosienko scored the most famous hat trick of all time - three goals in 21 seconds!

"I couldn't believe it!" remembered Finney years later. "We all just sat there."

By all accounts Sid Finney was a fantastic scorer and smooth operator. He once was billed as "the chief salesman for local chiropractors by tying defensemen in knots."

Though he finished his hockey career by winning the Allan Cup down the road with the Drumheller Miners in 1966, Finney lived the rest of his life in Calgary.

YouTube Find: LA Kings Win 2012 Stanley Cup

YouTube Find: New York Rangers Win 1994 Stanley Cup

Those Were The Days: Alain Vigneault

No matter how you slice it, Alain Vigneault is a pretty successful NHL coach. But did you know he once played in the NHL too? Here's the photographic proof:

The St. Louis Blues drafted young Vigneault 167th overall in the 1981 NHL Amateur Draft. Over the next two seasons he played 42 games with the Blues. He score 2 goals and 7 points and picked up 82 PIMs including a fighting major with Chicago's Grant Mulvey in the first period of his very first game!

But by the end of the 1983-84 season his playing career was done. He returned home to Trois Rivieres and began coaching while earning a business degree at the University of Quebec at Trois Rivieres. Next thing you know he is the hottest hockey coaching prospect in Canadian junior hockey, later coaching in Ottawa as an assistant and then Montreal and Vancouver as the head coach for long tenures, and now, of course, New York.

Vigneault was named as the NHL's coach of the year in 2007.

Vladimir Shadrin Almost Played For Edmonton Oilers?

I found this article in the August 31st, 1978 edition of the Vancouver Province, though it is a Canadian Press article (with no author credited) so it was in several newspapers across the country no doubt.

The article said that the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation was preparing to give permission to several of their older stars in the NHL and WHA as early as the 1979-80 season. No names were linked except for Vladimir Shadrin, who supposedly was going to join the Edmonton Oilers.

Now of course the WHA went extinct by then, but the Edmonton Oilers survived and joined the NHL. But Shadrin, who suffered a serious shoulder injury in 1976 and was all but out of the national team picture by this point, never did come to North America.

"We were extremely serious in negotiations and a deal with Shadrin was so close that talks broke off when we started haggling over money," said Oilers vice president Larry Gordon at the time. "At the last minute, the Soviets told us we were one year away from making a deal."

Try about a decade away. The Soviets were famous for stringing along various NHL folk but never allowing their players to leave.

Still, it is interesting to see Gordon seem to think he was close landing Shadrin. Though I would suggest money was always going to be the biggest stumbling block, and if talks broke off when they just started talking dollars I would think the two sides were never really that close at all.

Former NHL Tough Guy Nathan Perrott Has A New Career

Remember Nathan Perrott? The former NHL tough guy was the 44th overall draft pick of the New Jersey Devils in 1995. He never played for the Devils but he did find a lengthy career bouncing up and down between the minor leagues with stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars. In 89 career NHL games he scored 4 goals and 9 points and accumulated 251 penalty minutes.

He tried to extend his career by playing two seasons with Chekhov Vityaz of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, an experience which he described as "unusual."

After he left the ice he first tried his hands at a career as a professional boxer. After three fights (he lost his first 2 and won his last by knockout) he walked away from a career in the ring. It was actually Chekhov Vityaz's owner Alexander Povetkin, a former Olympic gold medallist in boxing, who got Perrott into the ring to begin with.

So what is he up to now?

The St. John's Telegram tells us "...now he’s part of a paramilitary team paid to defend the world’s second-largest nuclear power plant. He still wears a helmet to work, but he’s traded his shoulder pads and stick for a Kevlar vest and assault rifle." Futhermore, he has been trained in "... use of force, gun training, shooter situations, rapid troop deployment and advanced counterterrorism tactics."

Perrott, who is also a part time coach with the OHL junior team Owen Sound Attack, reminisces about his career in the NHL with the Telegram newspaper.

Former NHLer Kevin Miller Ordered To Pay $1.6 Million For Career Ending Hit

Kevin Miller, a veteran of over 600 NHL contests, has been ordered by a U.S. judge to pay $1.6 million for a devastating hit he delivered while playing in Switzerland 14 years ago.

While playing with HC Davos Miller elbowed Canadian Andrew McKim - a former NHLer himself - causing McKim to fall forward and strike his head on the ice. He was hospitalized for weeks with a severe concussion and other injuries. McKim's career ended that night.

Miller was charged in Switzerland's Canton of Zurich in 2004 and eventually convicted of simple bodily harm, intentional bodily harm and gross negligence. The court found him responsible for McKim's injuries. The ruling called for a three month jail sentence and complete repayment of McKim's lost income - $1.1 million.

Miller did not pay the penalty because he believed it was not a valid. However using something called the Uniform Foreign-Country Judgments Recognition Act McKim's lawyers were able to uphold the ruling in the United States, complete with increases for interest and legal fees.

As I understand it McKim may already have received all monies owed him through insurance companies that all pro hockey players have. It is the insurance company that his gone after Miller in hopes of recouping the money.

Kevin Miller is one of three brothers who all played in the NHL. Kip and Kelly. They are cousins of current NHLers Ryan Miller and Drew Miller.

YouTube Find: The Curse of 1940

Neil Sheehy: Nobody's Zero

In the 1987-88 season Hartford Whalers' defenseman Neil Sheehy became the first skater to wear the number 0.

Why?

"When people asked me why I wore it I had some fun with it. I would tell them it was the furthest number from 99 and talent-wise I'm furthest from Wayne Gretzky, but just remember opposites attract. At the time, the Battle of Alberta was pretty intense and my job was to play against Gretzky a lot of the time.

"I also told people I wanted to get the 'O' back in my name for O'Sheehy, my Irish ancestors. The truth is, in Ireland our name was MacSheehy. I just tried to have some fun with it. Fans used to yell at me, 'Is zero your IQ?' then somebody would say, 'Hey, this guy went to Harvard you know.' It was hilarious."

While Sheehy was the first skater to wear 0, he was not the first player. Way back in 1942-43 Montreal Canadiens goaltender Paul Bibeault became the first to wear the unusual number. Just as unusual - in his 102 NHL game career Bibeault also wore 1, 14, 16 and 21.

Goaltenders John Davidson (1978) and Martin Biron (1996) wore the number 00 briefly. Bernie Parent actually did it before them, wearing Double 0 in 1972-73 while playing with the WHA Philadelphia Blazers.

The NHL has banned the use of 0 and 00. The reason - their computer software could not handle that entry into their database! You would think by now they would have upgraded their software, but the numbers remain out of circulation.

Tim Sheehy

Although he was born in Ontario, Tim Sheehy would grow up in International Falls Minnesota and held dual citizenship. He would go on to become a hockey legend in the United States as he was elected into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997. Tim first got acclaim as a high school star in International Falls. He led his team to 59 consecutive wins and 3 straight Minnesota state championships between 1963 and 1966. Needless to say, the team was unbeatable with Sheehy in the lineup.

The Canadian junior leagues were smacking their lips in anticipation of getting Sheehy on their roster, but Sheehy took the unconventional route at the time by bypassing the major junior leagues in order to get an education. He would enroll with Boston College in 1966. Back then it was rare to see a top hockey prospect play college hockey as the juniors were considered to be one step away from the NHL. Sheehy was a star at BC as well. He scored 185 points in 80 games and was an all-American in 1969 and 1970.

While Sheehy had become a hockey legend back home in International Falls and on the campus of Boston College, it wasn't until the 1969 World Championships that he began to make a bigger name for himself. He was invited to play for Team USA in the Worlds. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He returned to Boston College for the 1969-70 season to finish his education, but returned to the national team program in 1970. He played the next two seasons with the United States national team and before long was perhaps the team's best player. He was named captain of the squad prior to the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo Japan. Team USA shocked the world with a surprising silver medal. Sheehy was instrumental in that team's success, scoring 4 goals and 5 points in 6 games.

Following the Olympics Sheehy made the big jump to the professional ranks. Never drafted by an NHL team, he decided to skip the NHL and return to the New England area where he signed as a free agent with the New England Whalers. He played 3 seasons there before being moved to Edmonton and later the Birmingham Bulls.

The Bulls held on to Sheehy for just 50 games before trading him with Vaclav Nedomansky to the NHL's Detroit Red Wings for Steve Durbano and Dave Hanson. The Wings however quickly gave up on him. He played in 15 games with the Wings but his only significant stat was his -13 (he scored no points). The Wings sent him to their minor league affiliate in Kansas City where he continued to struggled.

Sheehy was rescued by his old team the New England Whalers. They bought back his rights from Detroit and Sheehy returned to the Whalers.

When the Whalers merged with the NHL in 1979, Sheehy participated in 12 more NHL games, scoring 2 goals and 1 assist. However he spent most of what proved to be his final season in the minor leagues.

Sheehy is a legend when it comes Minnesota high school hockey, Boston College hockey and Team USA. Sheehy was a good player at the WHA level, scoring 173 career goals and 344 career points in 420 WHA games. Sheehy was never able to do much at the NHL level. It would have been interesting to see him play in the NHL at an earlier age.

YouTube Find: Miracle On Manchester

YouTube Find: The 1928 New York Rangers Win Stanley Cup

YouTube Find: 1933 New York Rangers Stanley Cup Championship

This is truly an amazing YouTube find. It is old-school hockey at it's finest. Lots of video footage with Foster Hewitt interviewing the likes of King Clancy, Baldy Cotton, Ching Johnson and "The Silver Fox" Lester Patrick.

Take 10 minutes to enjoy this fantastic footage

YouTube Find: The History of the Los Angeles Kings

Reg Noble

Reg Noble was one of the NHL's earliest stars. The Hockey Hall of Famer starred both as a forward and defenseman most notably with the Toronto Arenas/St. Patricks (later renamed Maple Leafs) as well as the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Cougars/Falcons/Red Wings.

Noble, one of 10 children of Charles and Ellen Noble, grew up in Collingwood Ontario. A 1920s newspaper article by writer Sam Mcguire recalled his earliest hockey days.

"Reg can't remember when he first grabbed a hockey stick, but it must have been a few years after he was born, because he can remember (playing) when he was five years old. And he was a star in his grammar school days," McGuire wrote. "When only 14, he was selected to play with the (area league) championship team of his hometown. He was tried out at centre, and his play was so exceptional he attracted the attention of critics in the larger cities."

The following season he would play for the now-legendary St. Michael's College in Toronto, although he would only play their briefly. Attracted by the money he would jump to the semi-pro Toronto Riversides of the OHA senior circuit.

By 1916 Noble would be a full-fledged pro hockey player, playing with Toronto of the National Hockey Association. By 1917-18 the NHA was reborn as the NHL, and Toronto was the NHL's first Stanley Cup champion.

Noble was a big part of Toronto's hockey success in the 1920s. He was a fan favorite - so much so that legend has it one fan would blare a siren whenever Noble started one of his patented rushes, sending the fans into a frenzy. But he was a complete player, too, known for his rugged play as well as his stick checking. His strong play led Toronto to another Stanley Cup title in 1922.

Noble would leave Toronto in 1924, largely because the team felt he was too independent for their liking. Known as a bit of a free spirit, he began missing curfews and team training events. The team moved him to the Montreal Maroons where he would win a third Stanley Cup championship in 1926.

Noble was such a good defensive player that he increasingly played on the blue line as his career progressed. There was no Norris Trophy for top defenseman back in those days, but this All Star forward would have been a contender for such an award.

His wizardry as a poke-check artist was applauded, as well as his rugged bodychecking. Check out this quote about a Noble hip check on January 25th, 1925.

(Noble) desperately swung his hip into the hurtling Morenz, sending him flying through the air. Morenz landed on his knees, knelt for a few moments, then collapsed. He was carried off the ice, dazed and winded. Noble was sent off for charging."

Running into financial problems the Maroons moved Noble to Detroit in 1927 where he would star for 5 more years before a brief return to Montreal.

Noble retired in 1934, though he would later return to the NHL as a referee. He would leave the NHL to pursue construction contracts with the Canadian military starting in World War II, and continuing until his death from a sudden heart attack in 1962.

Reg Noble scored 181 goals in 536 games in the NHA and NHL. He was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

Perhaps Noble's memory is best captured by writer Sam McGuire, who wrote: "A fractured skull, nose broken three times, elbows dislocated twice, every finger cracked at least once, 100 stitches put into his body, legs bruised and battered, a mass of welts and scars from head to foot - and still one of the most feared defensemen in hockey. Now that's hockey!"

Praying Bennie: Clint Benedict

Many fans today automatically assume Georges Vezina was the first great goaltender, after all his name lives on with the trophy that honours the best goalie in the NHL each year. But many would argue Clint Benedict of the Ottawa Senators and later the Montreal Maroons was the better netminder. And if it were not for Vezina's tragic death, goalies today could very well be dreaming of winning a Benedict Trophy.

Yet you would be hard pressed to find a fan who knows who "Praying Bennie" was.

Clint Benedict greatly influenced goaltending as we know it. He was responsible for a significant rule change that allowed goalies to leave their feet to stop the puck. Originally, and unthinkable to today's fans, goalies would be given a 2 minute penalty for falling on the ice to make a save. But Benedict made an art out of the accidental fall on the puck, admitting that "if you did it a bit sneaky and made it look accidental, you could fall on the puck without being penalized." These comments made NHL rule makers aware of the problem and from that point on goaltenders were allowed to fall to the ice to stop pucks. He spent so much time on the ice he quickly earned the nickname Praying Bennie!

Also influencing the position was his rudimentary mask. Jacques Plante is inaccurately portrayed as the first goalie to wear a mask. While Plante was the first to regularly wear one, Clint Benedict was the first to wear a mask in a game. Benedict was hit in the nose by a rifle-like shot by Howie Morenz. Benedict wore a tailor made mask in an attempt to protect the wound, but after just one game, a 2-1 loss against Chicago, with the leather mask he decided not to wear as he felt it obstructed his vision and would lead to more losses.

Born in Ottawa in 1892, he played for 17 seasons, four of which were on Stanley Cup winning teams -- three with the Ottawa Senators and one with the Montreal Maroons.

Born in Ottawa in 1892, Clint Benedict would star with the original Senators. He apprenticed for 5 seasons with the Sens in the National Hockey Association, the forerunner to the NHL, guiding his team to an unsuccessful Stanley Cup appearance in 1915. An equally notable lacrosse player, Benedict was a solid goaltender on the verge of stardom. Wearing his trademark cricket-style leg pads that he would wear beyond Pop Kenesky's creation of the modern goalie pads, the ill tempered Benedict was already establishing himself with opponents as an unfriendly and combative foe.

Benedict reached his prime as the Senators joined the newly minted National Hockey League. Led by the goaltending of Benedict, superstars Cy Denneny and Frank Nighbor, and the clutch playoff scoring of Jack Darragh, the Senators were the NHL's first dynasty, winning three Stanley Cups in the four seasons between 1920 and 1923.

Based on the rudimentary statistics of the era, Benedict was undisputedly the NHL's top goalie. He led the NHL in wins in 6 of the 7 seasons with Senators, and lead or shared the lead in shutouts and GAA in each of those 7 seasons. In fact, in his most impressive season (in 1919-20) his 2.66 goals-against mark was 2.13 goals better than the league average. However there was no such thing as a Vezina trophy back then to honour the best goalie each season. Under the original Vezina trophy rules of best GAA, Benedict would have had owned the trophy.

In October 1924, the cash-strapped Senators sold off Benedict and scoring ace Punch Broadbent to the Montreal Maroons in exchange solely for cash. His six seasons with the weaker Maroons were not quite as dominant statistically, yet he was honoured as Montreal's best player upon his arrival. A year later in 1926, Benedict, with a puny 0.75 GAA, led the Maroons to the Stanley Cup, giving him the the distinction of being the first netminder to backstop two different NHL teams to Stanley Cup championships.

Clint Benedict was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965, two decades after Georges Vezina and Charlie Gardner, the two goalies among the original 12 inductees. Benedict himself suggested this was a blatant example of how political the hockey world can be, for some reason the powers that be kept Benedict out of the Hall, instead inducting the very worthy Hugh Lehman, Percy LeSueur and George Hainsworth as Hall of Fame goaltenders before finally inducting Benedict.

Pucks On The Net: 2014 Stanley Cup Final Preview

Here are some interesting stats and notes about the upcoming 2014 Stanley Cup final between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings:

The New York Rangers are 225-241-8 all-time in 474 Stanley Cup playoff contests (126-93-2 at home; 99-148-6 on road). This is their 11th Stanley Cup final. They have won 4 times.

Los Angeles is 106-135 in 241 career Stanley Cup playoff games (59-55 at home,  47-80 on road, 25-27 all-time in overtime). This is their 3rd Stanley Cup final. They won in 2012.

The New York Rangers have played the Los Angeles Kings twice before in Stanley Cup playoffs history.

In 1979 the Rangers won a best of 3 quarterfinal 2 games to 0. Two years later the Rangers won a best of 5 series 3 games to 1.

Even though these two teams have been in the league together since 1967, they have only played 127 regular season games in nearly 50 years. The Rangers hold the all time series advantage at 66-44-17.

The Rangers and Kings played twice in the 2013-14 season, splitting the series at 1-1. The road team won each time. The Rangers held the Kings to one goal in each of the two games. Brad Richards led all skaters with two goals, while Rick Nash led the team with two assists. Henrik Lundqvist posted a 1-1-0 record with a 1.01 GAA and a .966 SV% in the two contests.

Historically Henrik Lundqvist has not dominated Los Angeles. In 8 career regular season games vs the Kings he is just 3-4-1 with a 2.47 GAA.

Rick Nash leads all Rangers shooters with career numbers of 15-16-31 in 35 regular games vs the Kings. Brad Richards is next 9-20-29 in 29 games. Martin St. Louis is 6-9-16 in 15 career games.

Jonathan Quick has only played the Rangers three times in his career. He's 2-1 with a 1.97 GAA and .920 save percentage

Mike Richards is 13-14-27 in 40 games to lead all Kings players in career scoring vs. NYR. Jeff Carter is 7-11-18 in 42 games.

In seven games against NYR Drew Doughty has never scored a point and is -6.

Anze Kopitar is 3-5-8 in 9 career games vs NYR.

Alain Vigneault is the 5th coach to lead NYR to the Stanley Cup final in his first full season as coach of the Rangers (1993-94 –Mike Keenan; 1978-79 –Fred Shero; 1939-40 –Frank Boucher; 1949 - Lynn Patrick.)

Vigneault is only the 10th head coach in NHL history to steer two or more different teams to the Stanley Cup final:

• Scotty Bowman (1968-1970 St. Louis; 1976-1979 Montreal; 1992 Pittsburgh; 1995, 1997-98, 2002 Detroit)
• Fred Shero (1974-1975 Philadelphia; 1979 N.Y. Rangers)
• Pat Quinn (1980 Philadelphia; 1994 Vancouver)
• Bob Johnson (1986 Calgary; 1991 Pittsburgh)
• Mike Keenan (1985, 1987 Philadelphia; 1992 Chicago; 1994 N.Y. Rangers)
• Pat Burns (1989 Montreal; 2003 New Jersey)
• Mike Babcock (2003 Anaheim; 2008, 2009 Detroit)
• Darryl Sutter (2004 Calgary; 2012 Los Angeles)
• Peter Laviolette (2006 Carolina; 2010 Philadelphia)
• Alain Vigneault (2011 Vancouver; 2014 N.Y. Rangers)

Kings vs Rangers in 1981 Playoffs Featured Bench Clearing Brawl

The last time the Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs, in 1981, the headlines were all about a wicked Barry Beck sucker punch and a bench clearing brawl. Even the fans get involved.

Torn Allegiances: Marcel Dionne Picks LA To Win Stanley Cup

He started his career in Detroit, but hockey history remembers Marcel Dionne as the King of Kings. The LA Kings that is.

While Wayne Gretzky gets all the accolades, Marcel Dionne is arguably the greatest LA Kings player of all time, if you objectively compared his longer career in California. Sure he played in great anonymity, but he, not #99, is the Kings all time leading scorer. In fact he is the 5th highest scorer in NHL history and the highest scoring French player in hockey history.

But, sadly, hockey history also remembers him finishing his career out of place with the New York Rangers, who eventually demoted the Hockey Hall of Famer to the minor leagues.

So who does Marcel Dionne pick to win the 2014 Stanley Cup? LA, of course, as he tells Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star:

"They are the complete team. Four lines. Darryl Sutter really impresses me, for a guy that can barely talk. They’re very precise. They make adjustments. They’re resilient. Drew Doughty can take over games. You look at guys like Dustin Brown, everybody chips in. Marian Gaborik has been a big addition."

The Kings have invited Dionne to Los Angeles as their honoured guest, but it does not seem that Dionne will attend.

“Nobody calls me for two years, and now everybody calls me. It’s like I rose from the dead,” said Dionne, chuckling. “Even Luc Robitaille called to invite me down for the final. I don’t think they know what we do. Some of us work for a living. I’ll watch on TV. They’ve got good replays. I would like to go, I appreciated the call. But it’s very hectic.”

McGran and Dionne go on to talk about a number of topics, particularly concerning Dionne's amazing yet anonymous career:

"If I had played for the Montreal Canadiens and Guy Lafleur would have played for the Oakland Seals, what happens then? But am I going back in history? No. I’m very thankful for my career. I played a game that I loved to play. When I go to bed at night, I don’t worry about that. I’m a lucky man."

Here's the full interview

Lord Stanley's Cup

Kings vs Rangers: Bizarro World

You know how some players just never look quite right in another team's jersey? You know, like Wayne Gretzky as a St. Louis Blue for a few games. Or Bernie Federko as a Red Wing. Or soon to be Marty Brodeur with whoever he signs with.

Well here's a few gems from the past concerning the 2014 Stanley Cup finalists New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.

Ron Duguay: I'm not sure what is more bizarre about this hockey card. New York's ultimate playboy finishing his NHL career with Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings, or the fact that this is a Smokey The Bear hockey card.

Marcel Dionne: The King of the Kings finished his career with the Rangers before they unceremoniously dumped the NHL's 3rd all time highest scoring player (at the time) to the minor leagues.

Barry Beck - Barry "Bubba" Beck, the proud (and bare-headed) captain of the New York Rangers, not only finished his career with a season in Los Angeles, but he also donned one of Wayne Gretzky's flimsy Jofa helmets.

This is Juha Widing, a key player for the Los Angeles Kings in the 1970s. But he started his career with the New York Rangers, playing 44 games in 1969-70.

Harry Howell - Starting in 1972 Howell was a long time New York Rangers star on defense, winning the Norris Trophy in 1967 and being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. But he finished his career out in California:

Bernie Nicholls - I never got over the fact that the Kings trade long-time scoring star Bernie Nicholls away after a 70 goal, 150 point season. Oh sure the Kings got Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato, but Nicholls was Wayne Gretzky's new right hand man. Did I mention 70 goals and 150 points in one season. Alas Pumper-Nicholl was gone, but Broadway Bernie emerged nicely in Manhattan.

Glenn Healy - The annoying Hockey Night in Canada color commentator is best remembered for playing with the New York Rangers where, as he will tell anyone who is listening, he won a Stanley Cup in 1994. He usually doesn't mention he was the back up to Mike Richter and only played in parts of two different games all spring. But did you know Healy started out as a promising young goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings?

Tom Laidlaw - Laidlaw was a defensive defenseman who did not make many headlines in his NHL career. Except for this magazine:

The fact that the underrated Rangers defensemen finished his career with three unheralded seasons in Los Angeles is a moot point. I just liked this photo.

Justin Williams: Mr. Game Seven

The Stanley Cup playoffs are where hockey legends are made. And if had not already done so, LA Kings forward Justin Williams secured his legendary status for years to come.

There is no bigger game than when two teams face-off in the ultimate winner takes all showdown. And history now says Justin Williams is the player you want most on your team for a game seven.

Williams, an industrious but under-the-radar forward for much of his NHL career, became the all time leading scorer strictly in game sevens of playoff series. He scored a first period goal then set up the overtime game winning goal by Alec Martinez. Williams now has a perfect 7-0 record in game sevens. He has scored 7 goals and 7 assists.

Williams 14 points in game sevens surpasses Doug Gilmour (13) and Trevor Linden (12) on the all time leader board.

With the victory the Los Angeles Kings defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a memorable grudge match. The Kings now advance to the Stanley Cup final where they will play the New York Rangers.