Whatever | Kev316's Blog

Since it's the much anticipated (ha ha ha!) NHL all star break, I thought I would make some predictions for the upcoming 2nd half of the season..., they probably won't happen but who knows right?

1) The Detroit Red Wings will rebound after the first half and reclaim the West, beating out the San Jose Sharks for the top seed and eventually beating the Sharks in 7 games of the final, setting up an original six Stanley Cup final. But after losing to the Bruins in 7 (Savard MVP!) Marian Hossa will sign a one year deal with the Bruins, stating that 'Boston has the best team in the league right now and it's my best chance at the Cup.'

2) Marian Gaborik's injury filled year in Minnesota will come to an end but, not at the trade deadline..., no one will give up anything for the 'walking wounded' and he'll head for free agency. After a 'Sundin like' off season, he'll resign in Minnesota by December, stating that 'the Wild drafted me, I give my heart to this city and want to win a Cup here.' He won't.

3) Ilya Kovalchuk will be dealt at the deadline but, not until next season. They gave the sniper the 'C' for a reason..., Atlanta won't trade their captain until the off season or next fall, when they're out of contention yet again.

4) Jay Bouwmeester will be traded at the deadline..., I would love to see this guy in Bruins colors and they'll deal Bergeron, Axelsson and a 2nd rounder for him. Possibly Fernandez as well as Thomas has been playing great between the pipes and Rask is (in my mind) just one shot away from making the Leafs regret trading him! (I still hate that deal! Darn you JFJ!)

5) The Mats Sundin experiment in VCR will, as I thought it would, fail. He'll end up with around 15 goals and once the Canucks miss the playoffs, he'll blame management for not making a 'huge splash' at the deadline. Plus, as an added note, the Vancouver play by play guy will end up with a twisted tongue after saying 'Sedin, to Sundin, back to Sedin, over to Sedin' too many times during a Canuck powerplay.

6) Peter Forsberg will return to the Colorado Avalanche for the last month of the season..., then he will finally hang the skates up

7) The Toronto Maple Leafs will finally rid themselves of Blake and Toskala's contracts..., they'll buy out Blake and deal the goaltender to the Atlanta Thrashers for a late round draft pick. Justin Pogge will be called up soon after and make the fans forget about #35..., wish I could right now!

8) The Hart trophy will remain will in Washington, as will the Pearson, Art Ross and everything else Alex Ovechkin won last season..., he'll beat out Malkin for the Art Ross on the last night, scoring a hat trick in the third period to win by one goal. The Caps will make a splash in the playoffs, going to the semi finals before Boston beats them out.

9) After this season, the NHL All Star game will be no more..., Buttman will replace it with only the skills competition and Young Stars game. I never understood why the all stars named after the season at the awards ceremony, are different from the all stars in the game but, hey. No one knows what goes through 'Mighty Mite's head these days!

10) Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa and the Islanders will all file for relocation..., Nashville citing that no one really cares about hockey in Country Music USA, Atlanta will be overshadowed by the Braves, Hawks and Falcons, Tampa fans will give up on the team completely (if they haven't already) and the Islanders will say that after a long richly founded tradition in Long Island, it's time to make a major change. Wang will say that if the 'top players don't want to play here fine..., we'll move to where they want us to!' Nashville will head north to Winnipeg, Atlanta to Seattle, Tampa will head north to Hamilton and the Islanders will fly out to Vegas.