Offseason Report for Washington Capitals

The offseason has been a busy one for the Washington Capitals, who made many changes to their roster following a brutal playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in which they went out with a whisper in Game 7 of the second round. 

The Capitals entered the offseason with 14 free agents that needed to be re-signed, and it was inevitable that some of them would have to go. In addition to this, the expansion draft was coming up and the Capitals would lose a player. With all of this adding up, many experts have said that the Capitals had the worst offseason in the NHL and that they would be much diminished from their outstanding regular season last year.

Here is how it all started:

During the expansion draft, the two best players that the Capitals left unprotected were defenseman Nate Schmidt and backup goaltender Philip Grubauer. They figured that the Vegas Golden Knights would want to take a goaltender; however, they failed to realize that Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury as well as several other elite goaltenders were available. Because of that, the Golden Knights picked Schmidt, leaving the Capitals with one less defenseman, who would have been the team's future on the blue line.

The Capitals already had a depleted blue line, with Brooks Orpik being older and slower, as well as Karl Alzner and Kevin Shattenkirk sure to leave via free agency. 

Next, the Capitals resigned TJ Oshie to a huge, eight-year deal, and ended up signing (and overpaying) Evgeny Kuznetsov because he had apparently made a deal with a KHL team. He also had to re-sign Dmitri Orlov, which led to him having to trade Marcus Johansson, who scored the series-clinching goal again Toronto in the first round. In addition, Justin Williams, a solid player for the Washington Capitals, was gone.

Although this was just a report of the offseason, expect an opinion piece on this offseason coming soon.

Martin St. Louis Becomes First Lightning Player to Have Jersey # Retired

"There's one sound that gets me fired up. The voice of every person, who said I was too small to make it." - Martin St. Louis

Martin St. Louis. A fine player on the ice, an even finer person off. The story of a person who made it to the top league in hockey against all odds, playing in a league for big people when he was small, and excelling at a level that most players don't. 

He is the record holder on the Lightning with most assists- 588- and with most points- 953, and he scored the game-winning goal against the Calgary Flames in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, allowing the Lightning to win the Cup in the next game. 

Not only that, but his passion for hockey exceeded everything else. In the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, St. Louis got the news that his mother had died suddenly. She was his biggest fan, and his heart and soul. St. Louis, who had gotten traded to the New York Rangers by then, resolved to win the Stanley Cup for his mother, taking the Rangers to the Final that year.

A story such as St. Louis's shows that with enough passion and hard work, the impossible becomes possible. He is an inspiration to all, and a classy player on and off the ice. 

Evgeny Kuznetsov Just Scored - And His Goal was Dazzling

Evgeny Kuznetsov has been quiet this season- at least speaking in goals, and he's finally broken through. He went past two defenders using an amazing toe drag to put the puck in the net using a solid shot. He put the Capitals up 3-1. 

If Kuznetsov keeps going at it like this, sooner or later he'll be one of the NHL's elite players.

Jonathan Toews Loses Bet to Patrick Kane

Every year, many hockey players and people who cheer for rival national teams who meet in the gold medal game make bets with their friends about who won. And this year, with Canada and USA meeting in the gold-medal game of the World Junior Championship, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane made a bet over who would win. The loser of the bet had to wear the other team's sweater for a day. Here is the result of the bet:

Boy am I glad I didn't make bets with anyone. And I know that these are the types of quality posts everyone loves to see on my blog 😉.

P.S. All Johnny Toews had to do was ask Pat Kane how his team did in the World Cup 😎

Canada is headed to the World Junior Gold-Medal Game!!

Canada won over Sweden 5-2 yesterday night in a crazy game. Connor Ingram, the starter goaltender for Canada, let in two goals on three shots, prompting Dominique Ducharme to pull him and put in Carter Hart. He kept out all the shots he faced while his team scored five times to take the game easily. 

On the other hand, USA downed Russia in a shootout, but just barely, to advance to the gold-medal game, making USA and Canada meet in the World Juniors gold-medal game for the first time since 2010.

Who has the better odds, many have asked? Canada, host to this tournament, has won five times out of eleven playing at home. And while Canada's defence is deeper than the USA's, their offenses are pretty evenly matched and Canada needs to figure out their goaltending dilemma. So, who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments below.

The nation's eyes, both nation's, will be on these young players tonight at 8 pm when the puck drops. The team that wants it more will get it. “Having the whole nation behind you, it’s going to be pretty cool. We’re excited for tomorrow,” Anthony Cirelli said.

Can Canada Win the World Junior Championship?

Gold-medal winners in 2015, but an eighth place finish in 2016; the ride for Canada's junior team has been a bumpy one, in the least. But can they prove themselves this year?

After winning against the Czechs in the quarterfinal, Canada looks to finish off Sweden in the semifinal today and advance to playing the winner of the USA-Russia semifinal in the gold-medal game. However, they have played against weak teams for the majority of the tournament. And the one good team they faced, USA, ended up winning 3-1 and going undefeated for the whole tournament. 

Sweden is a team that is unproven past the first stage of the World Junior tournament. They usually go undefeated, only to lose early in the knockout stage. This time, it is Canada they are playing. Many people are nervous about this game on both sides, because neither team has faced much adversity and both teams are unproven in the World Juniors. 

Once they get past Sweden, Canada faces either USA, whom they lost to 3-1, or Russia, both of which will be tough opponents. Historically, Canada and Russia are almost evenly matched when they face each other in the final; however, Canada does have a few games in hand. On the other hand, it has been rare when Canada and USA face each other in the finals, although it will be an exciting game for both Canadian and USA fans, as the teams are big rivals.

Who do you expect to win the semifinal? How about the gold medal? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

Top 5 Moments of the World Cup of Hockey

Check out my new YouTube video about the top 5 moments of the World Cup of Hockey. I hope you enjoy it!

Yes, all the goals are from Team Canada (WCH Champions!!!) and Team NA because these are the games I watched and the goals i thought were the best,

Just a quick note - numbers 1 and 2 are not based on skill. I made them the top 2 because they were the most exciting. Team Europe was leading Canada 1-0 until the last 2 minutes of the game, when Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand scored two quick goals to tie it and win the game in regulation. If you missed that game, you missed one of the most exciting hockey games you will ever see.