By Doug Kennedy
What a finish Winnipeg Jets defenseman, Logan Stanley, had to his first year of NHL playoffs. He scored two goals in the final game, which was a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He got into the lineup about a third into the season and that got him into four games in one week. and he has not looked back since.
Summer camp for kids is a go in Ontario, and even with the Davidson Centre empty this camp will go forward.
There are only three players from the 20 highest paid NHL players still in the playoffs. Carey Price is, at $15 million, in third place as are two players from Las Vegas, Mark Stone ($12 million) and Max Pacioretty ($10.5 million).
The Kincardine Bulldogs had a hockey playoff pool with about 75 people entered and nobody picked a player from the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens.
The PJHL is hoping to start its schedule in October this year. The league is meeting every few weeks to discuss.
Logan Stanley scored more goals against Carey Price in four games than Mitch Marner and Austin Mathews did in seven games.
The biggest Montreal Canadiens fans that I know are Peter Wolfe, Ron Sayles, Brian Royle, Doctor Murray and Doug Holtby.Their team will be facing 18,000 fans in the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, when they open their series this week.
I stand by my statement at the start of the season that the Maple Leafs should have made Mark Hunter the GM and D.J. Smith the coach, two years ago. They would be still playing if Brendon Shanahan had made the right choice.
I picked Winnipeg, Florida, Islanders and Colorado to be in the final four. I also picked Colorado to win the cup when Dale Pollock informed me it would be the Boston Bruins. Well, both picks are out now.
The Buffalo Sabres won the draft lottery. It will be tougher this year to pick out the true top pick because a lot of top prospects did not play many games. There might be some steals available later in the draft because of this.
The Toronto Raptors will be eligible for a lottery pick this summer. Let’s hope they get the luck of the bouncing balls and pick in the top two or three. There could be a very good franchise-changing player available in the top three picks.
The Blue Jays have two of the best young players in baseball. Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are two really good players who look like they will have long, successful careers. The big question is when will the Blue Jays sign the two to long term deals.
The Blue Jays bullpen has been hit hard with injuries this year. They have lost eight potential relievers to injuries in the first two months of the season. The Jays are close to a playoff spot but will need more pitching to get them there. They have a strong minor league system that would allow them to make a trade for more pitching.
Last year, MLB had 16 teams make the playoffs. This year, they are going back to 10 teams with just two wildcard teams playing for a spot in the post season playoffs. It is possible that next year they will go back to 16 when the new players agreement is negotiated this December. Let’s hope so, because that 16-team playoff created lots of excitement.