FanHouse GlenMetropolit

The Atlanta Thrashers, currently occupying their familiar spot at the bottom of the NHL's standings, are headed for their ninth non-playoff season in their 10-year existence. The team's best player -- and captain -- Ilya Kovalchuk is an unrestricted free agent following next season, while starting netminder Kari Lehtonen is eligible for restricted free agency. Pretty bleak picture.

That said, Thrashers co-owner Bruce Levenson took part in a Q & A session with beat writer Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal Constitution this week, and acknowledges the team has made some big mistakes in the past, but is committed to turning this thing around.

In hindsight, the Philadelphia Flyers decision to sign Daniel Briere to an eight-year, $52 million contract is looking to be a rather poor investment. That is, if you ignore the original insanity of giving a player that type of contract when he's topped 75 points only once in his career. And that's when he's actually on the ice.

After missing 51 games this season with a groin injury, Briere returned to the Flyers lineup on March 1, and lasted just two full games. In his third game back, Thursday's 5-1 loss to Calgary, the 31-year-old forward left the contest after aggravating the same groin injury, and general manager Paul Holmgren didn't exactly sound optimistic when talking about his status.

Things are getting ugly in New York as the Rangers continued their recent slide with a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon, their seventh loss in the past eight games, putting them in the quagmire that is the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Aside from getting booed much of the afternoon (the only emotion the Madison Square Garden faithful showed) the Rangers were also getting crushed by NBC analysts Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury for their lack of effort and intensity.

Few ever associate Canadian cities and low class "projects" in the same breath, but Canada, like any other country, has its share of communities where people barely scrape by on welfare and minimum wage jobs.

Regent Park, an area of Toronto, is the picture of a typical "American" inner city: Drug dealers, prostitutes, public housing, and rampant crime. Not the type of place you expect NHL players, who generally come from Middle Class background, to have grown up in.

Glen Metropolit was one such person, having endured a rough childhood as an oft moved around foster child.

Knowing what a challenge living in such conditions can be, Metropolit, together with the NHLPA, decided to bring some sunshine to the lives of the kids in Regent Park with a large donation of $45,000 worth of hockey equipment.

"It's rewarding to help children in my home town participate in the sport of hockey," said newly signed Philadelphia Flyers' centre Glen Metropolit, who attended the event this morning on behalf of NHLPA Goals & Dreams. "Players are proud of their Goals & Dreams fund and pleased to be making a difference in the lives of young children here in Toronto and around the world."

I know the story is a bit sappy, but I live to post about stuff like this. All too often, us hockey fans vilify the NHLPA and its members for being greedy shills. This story isn't unique by any means, but it's the type of thing that gets very little press compared to some player's contract holdout.