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Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Stanley Cup Final

Hello everyone, I hope you all are as excited as I am for the Cup final to begin tonight. In just a little over an hour two teams will go head to head for the chance to hoist the cup. Neither team has one Lord Stanley's hardware in at least thirty five years.

I just wanted to stop in and give my pick for the series. I will admit I didn't do too well in these playoffs, but I hope to make up for it.

After all is said and done, the Chicago Blackhawks will be the 2010 Stanley Cup champions. Not only will they win, but I say that the Hawks will end this series in five. Bold prediction? Maybe, but only time will tell.

I hope everyone enjoys game 1 and the entire series. Check back later this week for another installment of What Really Grinds My Gears followed by a new poll.

If you have any comments or questions please post them on SSH's facebook page or send them to SunStateHockey@hotmail.com

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Time For The AHL To Come To FLA?

The Florida Panthers rocky relationship with their farm club, the Rochester Americans, will most likely be coming to an end after the 2010-2011 season. The main reason for the split, among others, is because the Panthers never forked over some money to help pay for the veteran players on the Amerks after they promised they would.

With the partnership ending that will leave the Panthers prospects without a place to officially play. I am sure the Panthers will fine another farm team out there, but before they go sending the boys off to play in Alaska or some other far off place why not consider staying close to home? Why not give AHL hockey a chance in the sunshine state?

Minor league hockey is nothing new to Florida. The Florida Everblades of the ECHL has a very strong following on the west coast in Fort. Myers. Orlando also had the Solar Bears, an IHL team that won the Turner Cup in 2001, the last year of the league before it folded. The issue with the Solar Bears though was attendance. Even though they had a good product on the ice, the people in Orlando didn't seem that interested.

There are plenty of other places in Florida that an AHL team might work. Let us forget Sunrise and Tampa since both areas already have NHL teams. Some other spots that come to mind would be Jacksonville, Miami, West Palm Beach, or maybe even give Orlando another chance. Of course the Panthers will have to help out and show interest in their farm club, which one has to think that the Panthers will do so and learn from their mistakes they made with the Amerks.

Time to bring back the Bears?

Not only will an AHL team in Florida be a good gauge for the growth of hockey in the sunshine state, but it will also help out with the traveling of prospects called up and sent down. Many times you hear from Panthers staff and players that traveling from Rochester to Florida and Florida to Rochester is taxing on guys, especially when they arrive on the day of the game. If you want a good example, look no further then Shawn Matthias.

So what do you all think? Would you like to see an AHL team in Florida? Do you think that one of the areas listed would be a good choice, or would you pick somewhere else? Or would you just like to see the Cats create a partnership with an already established AHL team?

Leave your feedback on SSH's facebook page or send it to SunStateHockey@hotmail.com.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Dale Tallon The New GM of Panthers

Reports from George Richards of the Miami Heralds "On Frozen Pond" claim that Dale Tallon, former General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, will take over the GM role for the Florida Panthers.

This is a bit surprising to say the least. I for one felt that Sexton was doing a good job, especially with all of the prospect signings this off season.

If such reports are true the press conference to make the announcement will be held tomorrow at 11 A.M.

You can read GR's story here.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Conference Finals, Who Would Have Guessed?

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you all are enjoying this years playoffs, I know I am. Thanks to Montreal and San Jose we are guaranteed a new match up for the cup this year. The playoffs have been wild though to say the least, especially the second round. Who would have guessed, aside from fans of the respected teams, that the Habs would knock off the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the same fashion as the Presidents Trophy winning Washington Capitals? Who would have guessed that the Boston Bruins would lose their series against the Philadelphia Flyers after being up 3-0 in the series, and 3-0 in game seven?

You couldn't write this script even if you tried.

On the western side of the fence things shaped up as they should have based on regular season standings. The #1 and #2 seed will battle for the right to go to the cup final. The Hawks goaltending has held up and Antti Niemi is doing an admirable job, but this is the series that will make or break Chicago's young netminder.

I am not going to recap last round, because well, my predictions were off. Can you blame me though? At least I called the Boston vs Philly series, that counts for something. SSH went 1-

For what it's worth, here are SSH's predictions for the Conference Finals.

Eastern Conference Final

#8 Montreal Canadiens vs #7 Philadelphia Flyers.

Old time hockey makes an appearance in the Eastern finals this year. This series is going to be a good one, but in the end the Habs will walk away the winners. The Canadiens have turned into a shutdown team with a no named defense, and if these no names can shut down Ovechkin and Crosby they should be able to shut down Richards and Co.

Montreal wins the series 4-2.

Western Conference Final

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs #1 San Jose Sharks

The two power houses in the West battle for their shut at the cup. The San Jose Sharks are loaded on offense skill in both their forwards and defense while the Hawks are a more balanced team with the better defense. This series will go the distance, but in the end Antti Niemi will prove he is strong enough to carry his team to the promise land.

Chicago wins the series 4-3.

I hope everyone enjoys the games. If anyone has any comments or questions you can post them on SSH's facebook page or E-mail me at SunStateHockey@hotmail.com