The LA Kings are in the Stanley Cup Finals - I've never been so happy to be wrong!

As the title indicates, I've truly never been so happy to be completely wrong in my entire life. Here is what I wrote on March 15th...

2011-2012 was supposed to be the year the L.A. Kings made the "big jump" into the elite of Western Conference teams of the NHL. Suffice to say, that hasn't happened, AT ALL! If it wasn't for the over-hyped Washington Capitals and the all-of-a-sudden stumbling San Jose Sharks, the Los Angeles Kings would be the NHL's most disappointing team.

If the Kings can't scramble to make the playoffs, I don't see how they retain Sutter as Head Coach. Subsequently, that would end the Lombardi experiment. For your sake Dean, I hope the Kings can turn it around. However, you may want to peak at the schedule, it doesn't look likely.

In my defence, at that time, the Kings WERE miserable. They COULDN'T score! I suppose the switch turned on after the playoffs officially began. Two months later, they are the favourites to win the Stanley Cup! If the Kings, beating the #1, #2 and #3 seeds consecutively wasn't a surprise enough, the upstart New Jersey Devils also found their way to Lord Stanley's Dance. Few had the Devils making the playoffs in 2012 let alone the Cup Finals. Yet, tonight starts what should be a physical and exciting series; even if it's one that doesn't meet the NHL's "sexy series" quota, blame the Devils for that!

While the NHL would have preferred having their two biggest markets in Los Angeles and New York face off to hoist the Stanley Cup, the New York Rangers couldn't make it happen. However, despite the "unsexiness" of the match up, there are intriguing storylines to be discussed.

Despite Their Party Animal Ways, Jeff Carter & Mike Richards May Soon Party with Lord Stanley

1. Martin Brodeur's Final Cup appearance - Theoretically, this may not be true, he may come back for one more season and the Devils MAY make the Cup Finals again, just don't bet money on that. This will be Brodeur's fifth appearance in the Stanley Cup and if the Devils win it, all Patrick Roy advocates may have to concede that Martin is the greatest of all-time.
2. Redemption for Jeff Carter & Mike Richards - Nearly a year to the date the two cornerstones of the Philadelphia Flyers franchise were exiled from Philly, Jeff Carter & Mike Richards will vie to lift Lord Stanley's grail; a feat they could not accomplish two years earlier with the Flyers. The two party animals were shipped from Philadelphia because they were thought to be toxic in that Flyers dressing room. Richards was dealt to the Kings in July and Carter made his way to the Kings in February after a brief layover in Columbus. Richards has been fantastic these playoffs and Carter has had his moments. However, if Carter displays a little more consistency in his scoring, the Kings could sweep the series.
3. Vindication for Iyla Kovalchuk - Despite being an automatic 40-goal scorer throughout his 12 year career, the script written on Kovalchuk centres around his willingness to play defence (or lack thereof) and his hot dog and selfish behaviour. Well, Kovalchuk has been exceptional for majority of these playoffs and that includes in the defensive zone. He's done whatever Coach DeBoer has asked of him and he's shown that uncanny ability to score. If the Devils win the cup, there will be some serious rewrites done to Iyla's career script.
4. Oh Captain my Captain! - Dustin Brown has been a throwback to some of the great captains of a previous generation. As usual, he's thrown his body around with reckless abandon and has scored some significantly timely goals. While no one in the world could question the value of Jonathan Quick to the LA Kings run to the Stanley Cup, Los Angeles Kings's captain, Dustin Brown, would be my vote for the Conn Smythe winner.

LA Kings Captain Dustin Brown Refusing To Touch the Clarence Campbell Trophy

Not so much a storyline, but Anze Kopitar continues to show he's one of the top 5-10 players in the league and maybe the most underrated player in the league. If it ended today, I'd have Brown slightly over Kopitar for the Conn Smythe trophy but the way Kopitar finished the Coyotes series, I wouldn't be surprised if Kopitar ended up as Conn Smythe winner, if the Kings are to win it of course!


Since my last blog, the Miami Dolphins did select Texas A&M Quarterback, Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the NFL Draft. That was the right decision. Anytime you can draft a potential franchise QB, you go ahead and do it. If the Dolphins front office believes he can mature into said franchise QB, then it's a great pick. What makes the pick better is that the Tannehill family was drafted into the Dolphins franchise and that includes his lovely wife Laura!

The Lovely Lauren Tannehill

The Dolphins are going to be part of HBO's Hard Knocks series in August. Hard Knocks is a program that takes an inside look into the Training Camp of one NFL franchise. Why the Dolphins?

I have a feeling Owner Stephen Ross jumped all over the opportunity to have his team finally receive some national attention. To be honest, football operations in South Beach have been stale and boring for the last six years. This opportunity presents a chance for hoopla and grandeur to come back to Miami Dolphins football. I believe Jeff Ireland can't be thrilled with this decision however. It should be a fun program to watch regardless and it may present the only thing to look forward to with the Miami Dolphins in all of 2012!