John Tavares has yet to step on the ice for the New York Islanders, but he's already making an impact for the once-proud franchise that has been aimlessly stumbling along a path of mediocrity for the past decade-and-a-half. This is, after all, a franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since David Volek beat Tom Barrasso in double-overtime way back in 1993.
Can Tavares, an 18-year-old phenom, change all of that? Well, he certainly can't hurt. Heading into Friday's NHL Entry Draft, there were rumors that the Islanders might be leaning toward either Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman or Brampton center Matt Duchene with the top pick. In the end, the team selected Tavares, and already Islanders fans are roaring their approval in the form of cold hard cash.
I think it would be fair to say that Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft, has been somewhat of a disappointment for the Tampa Bay Lightning during his rookie season.
After Lightning management hyped the stuffing out of him before he was even a member of the organization, the 18-year-old has registered just four goals and 10 assists through his first 40 games. Probably not what Oren Koules and Len Barrie had in mind when they plastered his name all over billboards this summer.
What an incredible night of hockey. Let's get right to it.
The last time the Lightning and Rangers met, way back on November 6, Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith went crazy on Rangers forward Aaron Voros, giving him a few subtle hacks to the leg, shots to the head, and various other random acts of violence. As a result, the two had a "fight" that led to Voros trying to punch Smith through his mask, and Rangers coach Tom Renney calling for the Tampa goalie to face some sort of suspension.
This time around, there was another fight involving two unlikely participants, as Rangers forward Nikolai Zherdev squared off against No. 1 overall pick, Steve Stamkos. And it was actually a pretty good showing.
It's hard to believe sometimes that it's only been four years since the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.
The years since then have been rough on the Lightning and their fans. First off, it was anything but fair for the faithful in Tampa to have to wait a whole extra year before they got to scream their lungs out as the championship banner was raised to the rafters after the lockout.
But it's been all downhill since then, with salary cap considerations forcing painful changes to the lineup as the team fell in the standings. The coup de grace came just a few weeks ago as the team was forced to deal former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
But help is on the way now that the Lightning have won the draft lottery and won the right to pick first in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. But while everyone in the hockey world has known that Steve Stamkos was the presumptive #1 pick for some time now, getting that message out to a non-traditional market like Tampa can be something of a challenge.
The NHL Draft Lottery isn't usually a big television spectacle. Unlike the NBA's draft, which is completely nonsensical and has every team switching places, the NHL's lottery has just one team selected. That team can move up only four spots, so only the bottom five teams have a shot at the 1st overall pick. Kinda hard to make a production out of that, right?
Back in 2005, Sidney Crosby was set to enter the draft, and every GM within smelling distance of the #1 pick was drooling on themselves so much, that their clothes could not possibly absorb any more moisture. No prospect had generated such anticipation, and the league was looking for something to distract the fans from the labor issues. Thus, it made sense to televise the bouncing ping pong balls.
James Duthie hosts the live, 30-minute event from the TSN Studios, marking the second time in the 13-year history of the conventional lottery the event will be televised, and the first time since 2005.
Billed as the 'Stamkos Sweepstakes', the TSN original production features NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who will reveal the lottery results in reverse order, and representatives from each of the five teams who could win the No. 1 pick.
Joining the show via satellite will be Steven Stamkos, the highly-touted Sarnia Sting centre and World Junior Championship gold medal winner.
Why Bill Daly, and not Gary Bettman? I'd never think Bettman could possibly give up the spotlight. Will he be in the bowels of NHL Headquarters, ensuring the 'right' team wins the ball drop?
What happens if Steve Stamkos isn't selected #1 overall? That would be funny, in a slightly-cruel way.
Mad Mike Milbury will be providing analysis. I assume he'll be there to let us know how long to keep Stamkos before trading him away for pennies on the dollar. If we want analysis, can't we get somebody who wasn't known as the worst GM in NHL history?
Although it seems quite silly to televise one little ball drop, it's a good excuse to do a short draft-themed show to showcase some of the best prospects heading into this summer's draft. Any excuse to give the league publicity is a good thing, and speaks to how hockey-mad Canadians can be.
As for Edmonton ... well, let's just say Oilers fans are treating this game and the balance of the team's schedule like a 30-game visit to the proctologist's office. Today's sunshine and rainbows came in the announcement that Shawn Horcoff will have season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday, sucking the team's leading scorer (50 points) off the roster. Pleasure Motors at Covered in Oil reacts, and reminds fellow Oilers fans of their ultimate insult to injury, which is that there isn't even a potential No. 1 overall draft pick in the silver lining:
Yep: Horcoff is done for the season. Here's hoping Cogliano or Gagner mounts a late-season bid for the Calder, because failing that, we're going to need the draft lottery to keep Steve Stamkos out of the hands of the Ducks. You people like curling? Because there's no way I'm paying attention to the Oilers for 30 more games.
John Tavares has yet to step on the ice for the New York Islanders, but he's already making an impact for the once-proud franchise that has been aimlessly stumbling along a path of mediocrity for the past decade-and-a-half. This is, after all, a franchise that hasn't won a playoff series since David Volek beat Tom Barrasso in double-overtime way back in 1993. 
I think it would be fair to say that 
The NHL Draft Lottery isn't usually a big television spectacle. Unlike the NBA's draft, which is completely nonsensical and has every team switching places, the NHL's lottery has just one team selected. That team can move up only four spots, so only the bottom five teams have a shot at the 1st overall pick. Kinda hard to make a production out of that, right?
Tonight is yet another edition of that heralded smackdown of provincial neighbors, 
