South-Beast Division Representing in Conference Finals

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Of the four teams still left in the NHL Playoffs– three of them at some point played in the Southeast Division.

Let that sink in. Let the worst division in all of hockey; a division that angered so many because they got a top-seed when many times they were undeserving, a division you could say set off these new divisions because of how inferior it was to the others. That division accounts for 75% of the Final Four.

Of course, the Winnipeg Jets only played two seasons after moving from Atlanta because the NHL powers that be didn’t own a map that could have given a better option from the Central Division at the time to move to the Southeast– but whatever. The representation of this often horrid division is finally coming to light.

For the Capitals, they were seven-time Southeast Division champions, while the Lightning had only two division titles to their name– one of which led to a Stanley Cup in 2004. In the 14 seasons that the Southeast Division was in existence, eight times did more than one team get into the playoffs. The biggest margin of victory for a year in the Southeast was that 2003-04 season, where Tampa Bay had 106 points, which was 28 points better than the 2nd place Atlanta Thrashers.

Granted, with all the turnover in the league since the last time there were six divisions only four years ago, it’s hard to compare what would happen now since they’re all spread out in different divisions; but I’d like to believe that the cornerstones to these teams had major ties to the Southeast Era (or Error depending on who you ask). Alex Ovechkin, Dustin Byfuglien, Steven Stamkos– all of those guys were in the midst of the Southeastern heyday. The fact all three came out of their division is pretty fantastic, not only that– but we could see an all former-Southeast Division Stanley Cup Final if Winnipeg beats out Vegas to face one of their former foes.

For my money, however, I see it as a media member’s dream of Vegas beating Winnipeg in six games, while Tampa takes out Washington in seven to make it a very sunny, very warm Stanley Cup Final.

Welcome the Black Bears

After weeks of waiting, the new Maryland NAHL has names and colors. As mentioned prior, the colors are the Maryland flag colors, but the name is a bit odd to the idea of Maryland.

The Black Bears will be the new identity, named after the main holding of the ownership, Black Bear Sports Group. The black bear population in Maryland is primarily in the Western part of the state, very rarely going into the suburbs. The logo and website for the Maryland Black Bears was revealed today.

The logo itself incorporates the Black Bear Sports Group logo with a wilderness scene, much akin to the Minnesota Wild motif. The colors are black, red, yellow, and white.

While it’s not the Crabs or anything of that sort, it’s a solid name and solid logo. This is the first of many things to come for this new team.

Caps By The Numbers: Caps Get Past the Penguins, Second Round

For the first time in 20 years, the Washington Capitals will go to the Conference Final with a 2-1 win in overtime from an Evgeny Kuznetsov winner to defeat the Penguins in six games. Kuznetsov got a semi-breakaway feed from Alex Ovechkin and went five-hole on Matt Murray for the game-winner. Alex Chiasson had the other goal on an assist from Aussie Nathan Walker. The Caps will now take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.

With that eighth win– a famous number eight from the Caps yesteryear.

While Alex Ovechkin will always be synonymous with #8, there’s one other guy who is notable for that number, but not for the right reasons. Despite that, he’s a Hall of Famer, a four-time Cup winner, and had quite the resume, though it’s at time not enough for the Caps’ faithful. It’s Larry Murphy.

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Seriously, though….it’s a number so nice, he wore it twice and that was Dmitri Khristich. For a guy who had two tours of duty with the Capitals, he was able to go ahead and get the #8 twice in his career. While he did wear #29 when he came up to the NHL in 1990-91, #8 is the one that people remember him most for.

While he played 40 games in 1990-91, Khristich came to form in his first full season in 1991-92, where the Ukranian forward potted 36 goals and 73 points, which put him second and fourth respectively in team scoring, while also providing a little bit of defensive touch to his game and create a little (very little) Selke buzz for best defensive forward. Despite Khristich was a better than point-per-game player (66 points in 64 games) in his second season. While leading the team in goals in 1993-94 with 29 goals on the season. However, Khristich only had nine goals in 42 playoff games with the Caps in his first tenure in DC.

After some time in LA, Boston, and Toronto, Khristich came back to the Caps in the middle of the 2000-01 season, while contributing solidly in his 43 games with 10 goals and 29 points when coming back, while his last season with the Caps and in the NHL was a dud with nine goals in 61 games before going to the Russian Superleague.

Though he did have some declining numbers, Khristich was one of the more popular #8s in the Caps history and is very well remembered for his tenured. Not only that, but he was sort of a mentor to some of the young European players– most notably with a young Peter Bondra and his family when Bondra was coming over. Khristich and his family helped the transition to a new life in hockey and make Bondra comfortable and we know what Bondra did for the Caps after that.

Caps By The Numbers: Four Unanswered in Third Lift Caps

In what could be one of the most sloppily played defensive game, the Caps used Jakub Vrana bumping up to the first line to help propel them to four unanswered goals (including two empty netters) in the third and gave the Caps a 3-2 series lead. Evgeny Kuznetsov had the game-tying goal and two assists, but the rest star was Braden Holtby. Holtby kept the Caps in the game after a barrage of Penguins chances and shut the door on them in key moments to keep the Caps alive and ahead.

That’s win seven in the playoffs, which means we look at the ONLY #7.

In the 43 seasons the Capitals have operated, there has only been one player to wear #7 and it’s the man who has ties to the organization and area– that’s Yvon Labre. While he only played 334 of his 371 games with the Capitals, he kept himself involved with the team after his retirement in 1981.

Labre was picked from Pittsburgh in the Expansion Draft of 1974, while being fourth in scoring in the inaugural season with the Caps and top amongst defensemen. Labre was the first player to score a goal at home for the Caps and was captain from 1975-76 until 1977-78 before starting to see some injuries mount up on him and forced him into retirement at only 31 years old.

However, Labre was dedicated to the DC area, taking part in a number of community projects, while also staying with the team as a coach, scout, and community ambassador. His number 7 was the first to be retired by the team, as he continues his time around the community with the Capitals and around area hockey. The Yvon Labre Award is given to the high school senior in the Maryland Student Hockey League based on dedication, work ethic, skill, and leadership.

Labre is always going to be remembered by Caps fans, though it was probably more for his contributions off the ice, as little is remembered from his on-ice days for more.

Closer Look at Maryland’s NAHL Team; Team Name Coming Soon

As you may have seen here, I’m quite excited for the NAHL to come to Maryland. For someone who played in the Maryland hockey system, this is something that was lacking when I was growing up. However, with the wave of players being born in Maryland and not having the chance to play at home, this is the perfect time to keep the players in the area and play a high level of hockey.

“We’ve worked closely with the people who run Team Maryland and we thought an opportunity like this would give local kids a path to college scholarships without having to leave the area,” mentioned Ryan Scott, VP of the Black Bear Sports Group, owners of Piney Orchard– the home of this new Maryland team. “There’s a lot of times where players are developing in Maryland for pee-wees and bantams, but then have to go to the Northeast for prep schools to get really noticed. With this, we can keep the players here and have them develop that way.”

Working with Team Maryland– who has a minority stake in Piney Orchard, as well as seeing the talent in and around the area with high schoolers and club teams, the hope for this NAHL squad is that they’ll have a local flavor that will help out with getting people interested in the team.

“It’s still a couple years away,” Scott stated about the local flavor, “But this will be a great fit for the players who play with Team Maryland. We’ll be able to retain them and have them play locally rather than having them uproot and move away from home.”

There have been past teams who have been in a developmental league, but as Scott told me– they were a pay-for-play situation, which is no different from youth hockey. With the NAHL, the league is tuition-free so the players won’t incur costs while playing. But NCAA Division I wasn’t in mind for this instance.

“If that happens (D1 hockey), it’s a byproduct,” said Scott. “It’s not really our goal to bring in the NCAA. We wanted to make sure the players who grew up in this area could stay in this area. Also, to be able to attract scouts for this players in this area is always a plus for the development of hockey in the state.”

Another note that I had mentioned before is the placement of Piney Orchard as the home base. Black Bear Sports Group has managed Piney Orchard for some time and Scott had said that it wasn’t in the best shape, but it was still the option they wanted.

“Piney needed some love,” mentioned Scott. “We spent $700,000 renovating the lighting, the boards, the front offices– everything we could think of to bring it up to a modern standard. We also have that great facility that the Capitals left behind when they had their facility here, so the players will have a top notch place to train. Also, while Piney is a little more remote, the arena is better situation for what we wanted than Iceworld in Abingdon.”

Also mentioned was the concession, which Scott said will be run by an unnamed local Italian eatery with a liquor license. Therefore, young and old can enjoy the games– maybe with some lovely Natty Boh.

As this is published, there is not an official team name, but one could be announced but the end of the week or early next week. I was reassured that the Maryland flag color scheme will be in use for it. Other front office decisions will be made in the near future as far as coaching, general manager, and the like.

Stay tuned here for all the updated happenings and more as it comes with this new Maryland team in the NAHL.

Caps By The Numbers: Late Captain Heroics Give Caps Series Lead

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a typical Pens/Caps game…but with the Caps getting the better of the Western Pennsylvania foes with Alex Ovechkin tipping in his own rebound with 1:07 left in the game to give the Caps a 4-3 win and 2-1 series lead. Not without controversy, as Tom Wilson became more of a villain for the Penguins for a borderline hit on Zach Aston-Reese. However, on the upside– goals from the blueline was big with John Carlson and Matt Niskanen putting up goals for the Caps, while Chandler Stephenson had the other goal for the Caps. Nicklas Backstrom was a true playmaker with three helpers in the game.

Sixth win of the playoffs means it’s time for a famous– if not THE famous– #6 for the Caps.

When it come to the #6, there’s only one guy to look for and it’s Calle Johansson, who’s longevity leaves him at second all-time with most games played as a Capital at 983 games. Johansson also continued the sturdy defenseman role that was left when Rod Langway retired. Having spent two seasons learning from Langway, Johansson picked up the reigns to anchor the Caps defense for 15 years.

After being acquired from Buffalo in 1989, Johansson fit right into the everyday line-up and never looked back. While there was a drop-off, Johansson was good for between five to 10 goals a year and in the mid-30s in points. A major power play contributor and key in their transition game, Johansson hit the 40-point plateau four times, while being a key part in the Capitals’ only trips past the second round in 1990 and 1998.

Calle Jo was quite sturdy, as well, with a few hiccups here and there– the most notable coming in 2001-02 when he missed the bulk of the season with a rotator cuff injury. Johansson played one more season with the Capitals after the rotator cuff injury before he retired for a time, then came back to play eight games before retiring again. Johansson’s legacy is one of an under appreciated defenseman league-wide, but was a major contributor for the Caps from the blue line and could be one of the finest two-way defensemen of his era.