He admitted that he's going to miss the theme music that's been with Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years when the show returns in the Fall, but hastened to add that he was disappointed that the composer of the song, Dolores Claman, didn't show more loyalty to the program;
Defended Maple Leaf veterans Bryan McCabe and Darcy Tucker, dismissing calls for either player to be bought out of the remainder of their contracts; and
Complained bitterly that Hockey Hall of Fame voters had passed over Ontario-native and Cherry favorite Doug Gilmour in the latest round of balloting earlier this week. Said Cherry: "That's ridiculous ... I'm not knocking the guys who were in there now but they couldn't carry his jockstrap."
One question I would have liked to ask Cherry: What did he think of the contention of Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy that the Lakers lost the NBA title to the Celtics because they had too many Europeans on the roster?
Every Thursday, Earl Sleek will conspire with his pen and scanner to bring you another installment of PuckToons. Hopefully you will find these amusing, relevant, well-drawn, or you're a person who is tolerant towards mediocrity. This week's cartoon addresses two items related to GM Brian Burke of the Anaheim Ducks. First, he has given superstars Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne until tomorrow to commit to training camp, refusing to repeat last year's set of semi-retirement distractions. I wrote a post at Battle of California that talked about the impact of each player's return to the roster, and I hope that both decide to play another year in a Ducks uniform.
Burke also has been connected with rumors that once he has finished this season with the Ducks, he will take over the GM duties for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I can't say that this idea pleases me as a Ducks fan, but I'll save judgement until his decision has been made. At this point, Burke has at least created a lot of flexibility with next year's roster, which I certainly can appreciate.
Predictions on the futures of Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, or Brian Burke are all welcome in the comments.
About the only way the 2007-08 NHL season could have ended better for Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin would have been with the Stanley Cup. But with that goal temporarily out of reach, Ovechkin seemed more than pleased to add the Hart and Lester Pearson Trophies to a collection that already included this year's version of the Art Ross and the Richard as well as the 2006 Calder as the league's Rookie of the Year.
But as much as the night belonged to Ovechkin -- the rest of the day in Washington, D.C. will belong to him too with plenty of public celebrations and a dinner-hour party and press event at one of the town's swankiest eateries -- there was plenty of other star power in the audience last night in Toronto for the NHL Awards. One who admitted plenty of surprise at being in the room was Ovechkin's head coach, Bruce Boudreau, who took top honors as winner of the Jack Adams as coach of the year. As it would turn out, the Caps would miss a clean sweep for their nominees when Chicago's Patrick Kane edged out Nicklas Backstrom for the Calder.
Just when I thought the season was over, they keep pulling me back in!
Ok, enough of channeling Al Pacino in a movie all serious fans of cinema would like to forget. The NHL is back, if only for a night, with its annual awards presentation. From what we've heard so far, it's looking like a huge night for Alex Ovechkin, who is fully expected to walk away with both the Hart and Pearson Trophies.
Still curious? Well, be sure to tune in to Versus/CBC tonight at 7:00 p.m. U.S. EDT. In the meantime, we convened a short FanHouse roundtable to discuss the big four awards: The Hart, the Norris, the Vezina and the Calder.
Who has Hart? Can anyone beat Lidstrom? And will it be a sweep for the Washington Capitals in the MVP, rookie of the year and coach of the year awards?
The red carpet's being rolled out here in Toronto as we speak (type), and with hockey royalty set to stroll down Yonge Street, we've got a raucous live chat setup to take your questions on the NHL's annual awards gala.
Please feel free to join me and our special guests, offer your thoughts, vote on our polls and weigh in on the discussion, which begins at 1 p.m. ET.
Who wins the Vezina, Norris, Calder, Byng, Selke, Hart, Adams, Masterton and Pearson?
Like it or not, it seems as if the careers of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are going to be intertwined for the forseeable future. One year ago at the 2007 NHL Awards, Crosby took home the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, and tonight at the 2008 edition, most folks expect Ovechkin to go home with that same award.
CCM by Roger Edwards and Alex Ovechkin are pleased to announce the launch of the new Ovechkin Designer Street Wear Collection for men. Created by designer Roger Edwards in conjunction with CCM and Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin, the collection will be available exclusively at Pro Hockey Life and Sports Gilbert Rousseau June 12, 2008.
The Collection, which includes short and long sleeved tees, fleece and assorted headwear, was designed to capture the passion and style of this year's NHL top scorer. All garments will feature Ovechkin's signature '8' logo embedded in custom graphics, and will be finished with a CCM by Roger Edwards label.
And you thought the only time Crosby and Ovechkin would ever play together was in the NHL All-Star Game. Now they're both working for the same brand. To check out some more stuff from Roger Edwards, click here. To see another shot of Alex in his designer duds, click here. Thanks to my FanHouse colleague, J.P., for the heads up.
Why would Colbert even notice? Perhaps because he's appearing in a Summer movie where he portrays a hockey announcer for, you guessed it, Hockey Night in Canada?
Over the past several years, Richard D'Alessio and a crew of reprobates from Toronto and Los Angeles have been pumping out a set of videos every Spring spoofing the NHL under the Knob Hockey brand name. Now, just in time for what may be the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals, Richard and company have released another fresh set of videos. The format is a tad different this year, with actors interacting with the knob hockey players.
In this clip, Knob Hockey's Duthie Dreger (get it?) interviews famous hockey tough guy Gary Roberts:
Well, the soap opera that has become the Toronto Maple Leafs in recent months continues to churn out new episodes. Earlier this week the team cut coach Paul Maurice loose, adding another position to their search for new employees. Now, they may be looking for some more punch up front. Apparently Jason Blake isn't all that excited about playing for the team next season. The following comes to us from TSN:
According to a report in the Toronto Star, Blake would welcome a trade if one came along.
"I don't know," Blake told the Star when asked if he wanted to return to Toronto.
"It's a long time from now until the beginning of the year. We'll see. It was obviously a frustrating year, the most frustrating year I've had in the NHL."
The Star asked Blake if he would put up a fuss if he were traded, he said: "Oh no, not at all, if that's the route."
I can't blame the guy. He had a frustratingly bad year that came along with a healthy dose of cancer. When you hear the 'C' word, hockey instantly gets put on the back burner. Add to it an organization in turmoil and a team that is lacking both a coach and general manager and it's not hard to see why Blake isn't exuberant about playing in Toronto. Heck, if I was him, I'd be on the next plane out. But that's just me. And heck, that would make for some great daytime TV -- something the Leafs are proficient at.
The history of the short and controversial tenure of former NHLPA Executive Director Ted Saskin came to an ignominious end today, with the Globe and Mail reporting that Saskin accepted a measly $400,000 (and those are dollars, not loonies, ugh) settlement in exchange for walking away without subjecting either party to further litigation.
The settlement has to rank as a final victory of sorts for insurgents like Trent Klaat and Chris Chelios who seized control of the union after Saskin's bizzare rise to the top in the wake of the fall of Bob Goodenow after the resolution of the lockout.
Apparently, according to the paper, Saskin had a $2 million severance clause written into his contract, and had originally sought $6.5 million in walking away money from the NHLPA, this even after it was revealed how his election had violated NHLPA bylaws and that Saskin had worked with union staff to monitor email traffic between players to sniff out who might be working against him.
When you look at it that way, Saskin has to feel lucky leaving Toronto with any money at all. Heck, he should have felt lucky leaving the office without having to explain anything to Chelios face-to-face.
So what's the takeaway here? New NHLPA head Paul Kelly has once again proved he'll do what's in the best interest of his players, in this case squeezing Saskin for a full year before letting him leave for considerably less than what the union would have to pay in legal fees if the case ever came to trial -- a trial that could have proven to be very messy and possibly split a membership that Kelly has been working to bring together since he took office.
If and when ownership decides to take on the players again, my guess is that Kelly is going to prove to be a tough nut to crack. For the first time in a long time, I'd say the players are probably on level ground vis-a-vis ownership for the first time in a long time.
Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry is the gift that keeps on giving to hockey bloggers. Whenever the guy opens his mounts, he's equally likely to say something entertaining, enlightening or outrageous. And when a Canadian Press reporter caught up with him at a racetrack in Toronto on Thursday, he was a little bit of all those things.
Like it or not, it seems as if the careers of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are going to be intertwined for the forseeable future. One year ago at the 2007 NHL Awards, Crosby took home the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, and tonight at the 2008 edition, most folks expect Ovechkin to go home with that same award.
The history of the short and controversial tenure of former NHLPA Executive Director Ted Saskin came to an ignominious end today, with the Globe and Mail reporting that 
