Mystery: Who broke Daniel Sedin’s Ted Lindsay Award in Vegas?

When Vancouver Canucks star Daniel Sedin and his lovely wife Marinette Sedin posed with his Ted Lindsay Award for outstanding player Wednesday night at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, something seemed a little … crooked.

For comparison's sake, take a look at Alex Ovechkin with the Lindsay Award last season ? specifically the stick.

No bend. No black tape wrapped around the shaft.

Someone broke Ted Lindsay!

Sedin was eventually made aware of this fact, so he covered up the busted stick with his hand during post-NHL Awards photos.

So what happened? Norm Clarke of Vegas Confidential theorized the following:

Media members were first told that country music star Dierks Bentley may have accidentally bumped into the trophy backstage but an event rep later said the award was damaged in transit to Las Vegas, or while being transported after it arrived here.

Broken in transit? Did the NHL run out of funds for bubble wrap and Styrofoam packing peanuts? This is what happens when you meet Criss Angel's appearance fee.

So, in summary: Should have been you, Lady Byng.

s/t to Larry Brown Sports for the Vegas news.

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Landeskog’s NHL Draft Diary: Touched by the hand of Don Cherry

(Ed. Note: Gabriel Landeskog is a winger for the Kitchener Rangers and is expected to be a Top 3 pick in the 2011 NHL draft. He's agreed to write a few Draft Diaries for Puck Daddy before and after the first round. Here's the first entry.)

By Gabriel Landeskog

I am Gabriel Landeskog and here is a little recap of the past few weeks in my life leading into the NHL draft this weekend.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy.

We started out a few weeks ago with the scouting combine. We had a bunch of interviews and some pretty intense fitness testing. It was a great experience all that week.

After the combine, I did extra testing with the New Jersey Devils. It was one of the craziest fitness tests I've ever done. They had me and few other guys running on treadmills for as long as you could with the incline getting steeper and steeper, I didn't have a shirt on and had electrodes all over my body ? I ran for 16 minutes with a huge increasing incline ? which was the longest of anyone there.

Afterwards, the NHL hosted me, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau and Dougie Hamilton at Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. I got stuck in customs and missed my flight to Boston. They said there was a problem with my visa and it looked like I was in Canada for too long (I wasn't). I got another flight and got to Boston after a few hours.

During the game I was kind of rooting for Vancouver but not loudly ... because we were sitting in the stands and Boston fans are crazy.

It was still a great experience. We got to meet the Sedins after the pregame skate in the locker room. My dad was in the background during the meet-and-greet and he said afterwards that I went from being a hockey prospect to a little boy ? being a fan.

I'm Swedish and the Sedins are something like national heroes there. It's something that you can't control, but you get excited when you get to meet guys like this.

They told me to just enjoy the whole draft process and take it all in (and said it in Swedish). We also got to meet Tyler Seguin. All I could think about was that he was in our shoes last year and now he's playing for a chance to win the Stanley Cup.

Also, while I was there I was on hockey night in Canada… there was one moment where Don Cherry was touching my shoulder and I was thinking, "Don Cherry is touching my shoulder, this is pretty cool."

After the game, I got some down time. I flew back to Sweden where my twin sister, Beatrice, and some other friends were graduating high school. My flight from Boston was a bit delayed, so I went straight from the airport in Stockholm to the graduation. Seeing my sister's graduation was really important because my family did a lot for me over the years, so this was something I had to do.

Last Thursday, I went to Miami with four of my closest friends from back home (Erik, Fredrik, Johan and Jesper), just laying on the beach for a few days. We rented a couple of scooters and went around town, saw the Miami Heat's arena and hung out on South Beach. My buddies are really into cars, and it was ridiculous how nice the cars are there, and because of my friends being car lovers I consider myself being a car expert now.

There are a lot of good-looking people there. It was great to kind of get my mind off the draft a little bit and relax a little bit. I had a tank top on the first day and got burnt and after the first day it looked like I had a tank top on even though I was shirtless, which was very embarrassing.

While my schedule has been insane, I wasn't nervous; I'm surprisingly calm about the whole thing. I wonder when I'm going to start getting anxious and nervous. I'm just really excited about the whole thing since the season ended. Even when I was in Miami, I knew it was four or five days days away but you can't really worry about it.

Now that I'm here and seeing the signs for the draft, it's becoming real. I have a dozen family and friends here so that's certainly helping.

I'll be back later with some more stories from draft week in Minnesota.

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Vital tips, potential pitfalls for blogging the NHL Entry Draft

Oh, young blogging grasshopper, you have officially hit the big leagues. Your application for credentials has been stamped, your room at the Red Roof Inn is booked, and your ass is heading to the NHL Entry Draft for the very first time.

Excited? Of course you are. But keep it in your pants, kiddo … you have a lot to learn … and I'm here to help. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your experience worthy of tales at the pub when you get home.

Tip #1: STFU and don't act like a jackass (Degree of Difficulty: Mild to moderate)

So you're finally here, and you want to network like an emeffer. I get it. The Entry Draft is the biggest media event of the season, and it's a great place to finally meet some of the players in the business. That said, your anonymity is one of the most powerful tools you have. One of my favourite things to do at Drafts is to flip over my credentials so no one could see who I was (assuming they didn't know me) and just casually wander around, eavesdropping on conversations. There are a million different places to do this: The lobby of the media hotel, luncheons, interview rooms … you never know what you might overhear. Don't try and add your two cents, and at least try to be inconspicuous (this would involve not hovering and/or sporting any kind of fanboy team gear like a tool).

Tip #2: Go to the media luncheon (Degree of Difficulty: Easy)

This is always my favourite event, even moreso than the Draft itself. All the elements are there: Media, insane amounts of food (and the subsequent observation of watching previously mentioned media scarf down said food) and the players projected to go in the top 20. Watch in amusement as Pat Hickey demolishes the poutine station!* Wait for a break in the action to ask Gabriel Landeskog if IKEA allen keys could potentially double as mini-sticks! (In all seriousness, it's one of the best times to network, and get in some one-on-one time with the prospects. Go.)

Tip #3: Work the fence (Degree of difficulty: Moderate to difficult)

Day 2 can get a bit restless, and it usually begins to hit around the fourth round. Nearly everyone's a little hungover/bored, and this includes the team representatives. Eventually they will begin wandering around, and will venture up towards the fence that separates the team tables from the media risers. This is one of the greatest opportunities you will ever get to have some one-on-one casual conversations with team GM's. I worked one Draft alongside my dear friend and AHL savant Patrick Williams when we noticed Brian Burke hovering along the fence. Patrick engaged Burke in a conversation about his days with the Maine Mariners (while I invoked Tip #1). Burke's typically gruff demeanour fell away like a mask; it was amazing to watch him recall the old days, as if he were just having a conversation with a buddy in a bar. This isn't the time to ask, "What do you think about _______ trade?" Use this rare chance to ask someone a really offbeat question; don't fawn or provoke … just talk. You never know where the discussion may lead.

The Entry Draft is an overwhelming and amazing event to attend. Above all, have fun, be yourself, try not to drink too much and for the love of God, dress properly. Your Vikingstad T-shirt does not belong on-air during the first round. Good luck, sweet neophytes. I look forward to your posts.

* This may or may not have occurred during the Draft held in Montreal in 2009. Ahem.

Erin Nicks is a writer for Puck Daddy and blogs at The Universal Cynic.

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LOOKING FOR LOVE AT MLS CUP
Ratings for MLS Cup plunged 44 percent from last year and grabbed just 748,000 viewers, a near record low. It’s almost as if ESPN knew what was coming–the game, the crowd, the referee, the weather, the ratings. Why else would they not promo the game during their international friendly double-header [...]

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D.C. United acquires MLS star Dwayne De Rosario from New York Red Bulls for Dax McCarty

D.C. United has acquired Dwayne De Rosario from the New York Red Bulls for midfielder Dax McCarty, a blockbuster trade that drastically alters United?s attack heading into the second half of the MLS season.

?Dwayne is a proven champion in our league and will add significant firepower to our attack,? General Manager Dave Kasper said.

De Rosario, a Canadian national team midfielder-forward, is a five-time MLS all-star and five-time all-league Best XI selection. He has won four MLS Cup titles and twice was named MVP of the championship game.

Read full article >>

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US U-17 National Team Faces Stiff Germany Test

-Ben McCormick



After a promising start, the US U-17 National Team is in a tough spot.  The Americans opened the 2011 U-17 World Cup with a satisfying 3-0 win against the Czech Republic before it was wiped out by an embarrassing 2-1 loss to Uzbekistan.  On June 25, the Americans squared off against New Zealand, needing a win to clinch the group earning themselves a date with Australia, a manageable task in pursuit of returning to the quarterfinals for the first time since...

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Puck Daddy’s Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011 forecast

The Hockey Hall of Fame's selections for the Class of 2011 will be announced at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, broadcast live on NHL Network and TSN rather than shared first with a bunch of crusty writers on a conference call as in years past. (The crusty ones get their Q&A session with inductees a half hour later).

Dino Ciccarelli was the only NHL player elected to the Hall last year, a selection that was frankly overshadowed by the snub of Pat Burns as a builder. (Hopefully rectified, posthumously, this year.)

Will the Hall of Fame selection committee go solo again? Will it be two players, perhaps even three or four?

Coming up, our filtering out of Hall-eligible players to reduce the field down to the essential candidates.

Who makes the cut this year … and will Eric Lindros be one of them?

Check out our Hall of Fame odds from 2010 for plenty of debates about the candidates that are still in the mix this season. But before we can get to the key candidates, we have to filter out a few runners-up and also-rans. (Keep in mind these aren't the total group of eligible players, but just some prominent and recent names.)

The No-Chance-In-Hell Club

Jocelyn Thibault, Mattias Norstrom, Richard Matvichuk, Eric Weinrich, Mariusz Czerkawski, Andrew Cassels, Dallas Drake, Travis Green, Claude Lapointe, Martin Lapointe, Yanic Perreault, Geoff Sanderson, Scott Thornton.

These players are among the first-year candidates for the Hall of Fame who really stretch the accepted definition of "eligibility" to its breaking point. You know, with all due respect to the Mariusz Czerkawski fans out there. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Obviously Mariusz Czerkawski's Cousin.

The Better Than Average Club

Glen Wesley, Glen Murray, Derian Hatcher, Trevor Linden, Sean Burke

These are first-year eligible players (save for Burke, a carryover from last season) who are a better cut of steak than the ones in the NCIH Club, but still fall short of the Hall of Fame. These guys are always players that are elevated higher than their accomplishments by local fans who adore them. They've got impressive numbers and international hockey glory in some cases. But they're not great players in the context of the Hall.

The Stu Barnes Club

Because Stu Barnes is eligible for the Hall this year. And even if he doesn't get in, he deserves his own club. Because he's Stu Barnes.

The Flashy Stats Club

Tom Barrasso, Pierre Turgeon, Sergei Makarov, Steve Larmer, Bernie Nicholls, Peter Bondra, Alexander Mogilny, John Leclair, Pat Verbeek, Mike Vernon, Mike Richter, Phil Housley, Theo Fleury

The numbers here are mind-blowing: 1,327 points for Turgeon; 503 career goals for Bondra; a 70-goal season for Nicholls. These are players who have the numbers to be considered close to immortality but either lack the trophies or the impact that's required for the Hall of Fame in most cases. (Or in Barrasso's case, he was really mean to people. Boo-hoo.)

(Note: Makarov deserves to be among the group in the next heading, but we can't imagine the Hall would give him his due.)

Which brings us to ...

The Hall of Fame Pool

Dave Andreychuk, LW

He's 13th all-time in goals with 640 and fifth in games played, playing a vital role in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup championship. He's the best power-play goal scorer in NHL history with 274, better than Brett Hull or Mario Lemieux. As with others on this list, he name means something: He's the immovable object with great hands in front of the net, a connoisseur of garbage goals and a consummate professional.

Ed Belfour, G

The only first-year eligible player with a prayer of making the cut. Two Vezina Trophies, four Jennings Trophies, the Calder for rookie of the year and a Stanley Cup championship to his credit. He's third in wins for his career (484) and fourth in career saves (22,434). The knocks on Eddie are that he wasn't as dominant a goalie as some of his peers, posting a career .906 save percentage despite playing during the trap years; and his off-the-ice troubles may have him Ciccarelli'd out of a first-year induction.

Pavel Bure, RW

Bure has 437 goals in 702 games, placing him sixth all-time (0.623) in the NHL. Of the rest of the top 10, only Alex Ovechkin and Tim Kerr aren't in the Hall of Fame. He has 779 points in 702 games, a points-per-game average that ranks him 24th all-time. He won the Calder and two Richard Trophies, leading the League in goals three times.

The case for Bure as a Hall of Fame player has been made again and again and again and again. The reasons are simple: He has the numbers, despite not having a Hart or a Stanley Cup; and his name means something to a generation of fans and peers. To be compared to Pavel Bure today is to be compared to an offensive star of unparalleled speed and goal-scoring ability. He was a once in a generation player; will he be counted among the immortals?

Guy Carbonneau, C

If membership in the Hockey Hall of Fame was ever dedicated to being the best player at your position during a given era, then Carbonneau would warrant serious consideration. He won three Selke Trophies and three Stanley Cups, ranking 14th all-time in shorthanded goals (32). He was one of the best shutdown centers of all-time, and scored 663 points along with it.

Doug Gilmour, C

"Killer" was thought by many to be tabbed for the Hall in 2010, but as snubbed. He has� 450 goals, 1,414 points, one Stanley Cup and a Selke Trophy, as well as some other impressive intangibles from Joe Pelletier:

Gilmour has reputation as a hockey warrior. He was an imperative piece of the 1989 Stanley Cup championship in Calgary. He willed Toronto to two consecutive final four appearances in the 1990s, not to mention two more in St. Louis a few years before that. He is seventh all time in Stanley Cup playoffs scoring, 5th in terms of assists. His points per game production actually increased in the playoffs. The only other of the NHL's top 50 all time to also be able to make that claim is Mark Messier. So there can be no doubting Gilmour's big game presence.

Pelletier joked last year that he was surprised Gilmour wasn't already in the Hall given its Toronto-centric focus. Perhaps that will be remedied this year.

Eric Lindros, C

Yup, time to fire up this debate for another year.

The case for Lindros isn't necessarily stats-based, although he's 18th all-time with a points per game average of 1.14. It isn't awards-based, despite having both a Hart and a Pearson in the truncated 1994-95 season. It's impact-based: Lindros was one of the dominant, game-changing forces in the NHL during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers in the dead puck era, before concussions cost him his career.

There are great arguments for and against his inclusion in the Hall. But the only arguments that matter are the ones that will occur, again, amongst the selection committee.

Joe Nieuwendyk, C

He's 21st in goals scored with 564 and 11th in power-play goals at 215. He won the Calder in 1988 and the King Clancy in 1995. But the case for Nieuwendyk is based on the prestige: Three Stanley Cups with three different teams, and a Conn Smythe Trophy in 1999 with the Dallas Stars for 21 points in 23 games and six game-winning goals. Never the most dominant NHL player; just one of the most clutch and well-respected ones.

Adam Oates, C

What if we told you a player had 1,420 career points, placing him 16th all-time behind 12 Hall of Famers, two sure-things (Sakic, Jagr) and one probable (Mark Recchi)? What if this player led the League in assists three times, and ranks sixth all-time with 1,079 helpers ? surrounded by nine Hall of Fame players in the Top 10?

Sure-fire Hall of Famer?

OK, but what if this player never one a major NHL award or championship? What if his only claim to postseason fame is a second-team NHL All-Star Team appearance in 1991? What if his greatest claim to fame is as the co-star to a legendary sniper named Brett Hull?

Does he get in the Hall? Because these are the Adam Oates questions.

Predictions

Joe Nieuwendyk and Doug Gilmour, with Ed Belfour spending a year in HOF jail for offering the Dallas police a billion-dollar bribe to stay out of jail in 2000. Both centers have Cup rings and accolades that Oates does not.

Bure deserves the Hall. Lindros is on the cusp, but we'd let him in. If either one is in the Class of 2011, it would be a pleasant surprise. We just don't expect it.

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