Nicklas Lidstrom is a 7-time Norris Trophy winner,  scorer of 1,142 points in 1,564 games, winner of 4 Stanley Cups, Olympic gold medalist, member of the Triple Gold Club, 11-time All-Star and became the first Euro-born captain to win the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Today, he became a former member of the Detroit Red Wings.

When the announcement of a press conference came yesterday, I knew it was about his retirement. It’s one of those things that you know is inevitable, but you don’t want to see it happen.

He explained his reason for leaving: for the last three years, he’d waited till after the season to assess whether he would return; this year it was clear that he couldn’t because “my drive and motivation are not where they need to be.” He said that he can’t believe that he’d been with the Wings for 20 years.

Ever the gentleman and overall classy guy, he thanked everyone, starting with his coaches over the years in both Sweden and in Detroit. He particularly said that Scotty Bowman pushed him to another level of play.

Although he didn’t have the time to thank every teammate he’s had over his career, he mentioned former teammates Brendan Shanahan, Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman, Dominik Hasek, and Chris Chelios. He then thanked everyone behind the scenes, even the ushers, caterers and others at Joe Louis Arena and with the Red Wings organization.

Here was the best quote of the presser: “I take a lot of pride in what I’ve done here over the past 20 years…retiring today allows me to walk away from the game with pride, rather than have the game walk away from me.”

(Question: why the hell has this man never won a Lady Byng Trophy?)

General Manager Ken Holland spoke briefly, saying that Nick was no-maintenance, and that the only time he was in the office was when they called him in. “Nick’s been an incredible role model to our team and our city.”

Then it was time for Q&A from the press, and we go this info:

• His fondest memory: winning his first Stanley Cup on home ice.
• The family plans to move back to Sweden, and he’d like to stay in touch with the Red Wings organization in some manner.
• The advice he’s given younger players: “If you work hard and do what’s right, good things will happen to you.”
• He sees guys like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk as leaders for the team. He declined to say who he’d like to see as captain.
• His late-season injury slowed him down but wasn’t a factor in his decision; “If I cheat myself and don’t play at the level I want to, that’s on me.”
• He hasn’t thought about pulling a Peter Forsberg (coming back during the season), nor has he been approached about playing in the Winter Classic alumni game. He said the WC wasn’t big enough to sway him to stay another season.

I think Dustin Penner said it best (though I suspect Anze Kopitar helped with the Swedish):

Congratulations to Nick Lidstrom on a first ballot hall of fame career. It was an honor to chase you around the ice and never catch you

Tack för allt, Nick. Thanks for everything.

- Krista

The impending Stanley Cup Final between the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings might not feature our favorite teams, but it still is rife for potential Things of Interest, including and especially the teams’ starting goalies. Let’s do a little comparison between the two and see how they got to the place they are now.

Martin Brodeur

May 6, 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (though was naturalized in 2009 and is a dual citizen)

Drafted 20th overall by New Jersey in 1990

Has All of the Awards: Vezina (x4), Jennings (x5), Calder, All-Star (x10), Olympic gold medal (x2), Worlds silver medal (x2)

Holds All of the Records: All-time leader in regular-season wins, losses, shutouts, games played, et al

Is the reason the trapezoid exists

Is also part of the reason the unsportsmanlike conduct rule was revised

2011-12 record: 31-21-4, 3 shutouts, 2.41 GAA, .908%

Jonathan Quick

January 21, 1986 in Milford, Connecticut, USA

Drafted 72nd overall by Los Angeles in 2005

Vezina finalist, Olympic silver medal (x1)

Led University of Massachusetts Amherst to first NCAA championship

Is a big part of the reason the Kings even made the playoffs

Brother-in-law of Matt Moulson

2011-12 record: 35-21-23, 10 shutouts, 1.95 GAA, .929%

Let’s not discount the two backup goalies for each team, Johan Hedberg and Jonathan Bernier. Hedberg put together a 17-7-0 record this year and is one of three Atlanta alumni on the Devils. Bernier got a 5-6-2 record and once dealt with seeing a reporter naked as part of an ESPN The Magazine story. Neither goalie has played a single game in this postseason and I don’t expect either of them to do so in the Final unless something very odd happens.

Win or lose, I think there’s a compelling case for Quick to win the Conn Smythe. Like I said, his strong play during the regular season, when it felt like LA could not buy a goal, kept them in the playoff hunt. A losing team member last won the Conn Smythe when J.S. Giguere got it in 2003. But it would also mean the second American goalie in a row would win the Conn Smythe!

The Bruins have made another acquisition, signing Niklas Svedberg to an entry-level contract. Svedberg (22) is the goalie for Brynas IF Havle, part of the Swedish Elite League and SEL champions for 2011-12. I’d seen some speculation about Svedberg becoming a Bruin recently, but it was all very sparse, unattributed and partially in Swedish. But now it’s official, so game on.

Svedberg might be part of an attempt to beef up the P-Bruins, along with new Bruin Chris Bourque. That would be a good thing as the Peebs have done rather poorly in the AHL recently, having been away from the playoffs since 2009. Sure, there are some guys on Providence who stand out and do good things in Boston call-ups, but as a whole, the crop from the farm team isn’t as great as it can be. (In fact, for the Bruins, it seems like some of the choicest produce is still in juniors right now: see also Hamilton, Dougie.)

Did I tire out that farm comparison yet?

Anyway, this is really going to rouse a new round of people who are convinced that Tim Thomas played his last game back in April (and comforted a crying little girl not long thereafter, an event that delighted my Thomas-loving stepmother), regardless of what Peter Chiarelli has said on the record about not wanting to move a goalie. I keep seeing folks argue that yep, that was it, he’s done, hang up the skates, but I don’t think so. Heck, if Martin Brodeur is still going strong, and Dominik Hasek is thinking of coming back, who’s to say Timmy can’t go for at least another year? (Also, how awesome would a game between Hasek and Thomas be? Many people compare the styles of the two netminders and it would be amazing to see them duke it out in the same arena.) Plus, Tuukka Rask has expressed his interest in staying in Boston. Although it would be funny to see Rask and Svedberg meet since Finland and Sweden aren’t always the best of friends.

I digress.

This is the part where I point out that Svedberg meets the definition of an attractive male to me.

After winning the SEL championship.

Also after winning, although I’m not sure exactly which shirtless slightly-gold-tinged Swede is him…

This is the part where I find some videos on the youtubes so I can Better Know a Baby Goalie (if by ‘baby’ you mean someone born nine months after me).

That one reminds me of when Party–I mean Marty Turco did the same thing. Hehe. Mischievous door-duty goalies.

Anyway, welcome, Niklas, to a team with pretty much no Swedish representation. I hope you enjoy being a Bruin.

PS: You will find your nearest IKEA in Stoughton, Massachusetts.

Please read that headline in the style of the Dixie Chicks in their song “Goodbye, Earl.”

The Bruins made their first trade of this long offseason today, although it certainly will not be the last (there’s plenty left to do), by sending Zach Hamill off to the Capitals. Thus the team has rid themselves of one of the few “not so shrewd” post-lockout draft picks, according to The Hockey News. That’s just the polite Canadian way of saying that he hasn’t been the greatest cog in the Bruins machine since he was drafted eighth overall in 2007 in a first round stacked with talent (Patrick Kane! Sam Gagner! Max Pacioretty! David Perron!). That’s not to say he’s been completely useless, but in his best year, 2009-10, he put up 44 points with the P-Bruins and just one with the B-Bruins, though he had just one appearance there. This year, he played 16 games with Boston and had a brief appearance in NHL 36: Patrice Bergeron, sitting on the bench watching pregame video. But he put up just two points total in that 16-game stint. (Meanwhile, with the Peebs, he put up 43 points, most of them assists.)

But Hamill really ruffled feathers when he recently tweeted about “girl hockey fans”–he’s locked his account now, which is of course his prerogative, but screencaps are forever:

The obvious retort: “like you would know? The Peebs haven’t gone to the playoffs since 2009.” The other obvious retort: “Well, you didn’t seem to know it by the way you played those 16 games this season.” Other retorts from some of my older friends pointed out that they’d personally been watching the Bruins since before he was born, so yes, they know there is a season.

Welp, he’s Washington or Hershey’s problem now and we’ve got the son of Raymond Jean Bourque in the organization now, suckas! Like Hamill, Bourque has mostly been playing with the AHL club of the team that drafted him. Unlike Hamill, he contributed 93 points and the Bears made an admittedly-short lived playoff run. He’s probably going to spend much of his time in Providence–maybe trying to make the Peebs into a playoff team again?–but here’s hoping he does get a call-up to Boston just for the spectacle of seeing a Bourque on Boston ice.

Vicky said that Bourque the younger played for Boston University for a while and showed me a picture–he’s number 19 in white and red:

(Also note the “sieve” sign pointing down to the visiting goaltender–an idea started by Vicky’s sorority! It was their duty to flip the sign over to say “goalie” when they switched sides and the Terriers goalie was there instead.)

One time Bourque the older came over to see his son play too:

So, g’bye Zach! Hello Chris!

PS: Per Krista, Bourque is on Twitter. Yay!

After six weeks of heartbreak, overtime (23 of them!) and amazing moments, it’s finally down to two teams:

vs.

The Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils kick off the Stanley Cup Finals on May 30th, and the entire seven game series will stretch to June 13th. Because the Devils had more points in the regular season, they’ll host the first two games.

May 30, 8 p.m. at New Jersey (NBC)

June 2, 8 p.m. at New Jersey (NBC)

June 4, 8 p.m. at Los Angeles (NBC Sports Network)

June 6, 8 p.m. at Los Angeles (NBC Sports Network)

*June 9, 8 p.m. at New Jersey (NBC)

*June 11, 8 p.m. at Los Angeles (NBC)

*June 13, 8 p.m. at New Jersey (NBC)

*If necessary, but who are we kidding, right?

It’s a battle of the 8th seed team who slayed the giants in the West against the 6th seed who fought their way to the top of the East. If you predicted this matchup at the beginning of the season, you should look into picking Powerball/Mega Millions numbers.

Two teams enter, one team leaves. It’s showtime.

- Krista

 

New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils

3-2 Devils (OT), Devils win the series 4-2

Goals: Ryan Carter and Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey), Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Callahan (New York), in overtime Adam Henrique (New Jersey)

Goalies: Martin Brodeur (33/35, .943); Henrik Lundqvist (26/29, .897)

Game Notes

- There was a lot of cycling by the Devils at first, which was very frustrating for the Rangers as usual, but Henrik Lundqvist was very strong in net.

- The Devils scored first with a goal that started as a shot from Steve Bernier to Stephen Gionta, with Ryan Carter getting the rebound.

- On the power play Ilya Kovalchuk sank a slap shot past Hank beautifully to make it 2-0 Devils:

 

- Although the Devils were really taking the fast game to the Rangers, Ryan McDonagh carried the puck behind the net and fed it to Ruslan Fedotenko in front to get the Rangers on the board.

- Dan Girardi sent the puck right through traffic, where it deflected off of Ryan Callahan to tie the game.

- Ryan Carter took a dumb penalty when he shoved Marc Staal into the net and played the “what’d I do” card (my exact words on Twitter were “Carter pls”).

- Martin Brodeur made some wicked incredible saves, like when he stacked the pads against Brad Richards:

 

- Then he pokechecked Artem Anisimov on the breakaway:

- LOL OVERTIME

- Adam Henrique shoveled in the rebound on the scramble after Kovalchuk and Alexei Ponikarovsky tried to do the same. And that was the game and the series.

 

What’s Next

For the Devils, it’s the Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings. That starts on May 30 – we’ll post the complete schedule shortly.

For the Rangers, it was a deep run to be sure, and they had some tough battles with the Senators, Capitals and Devils. They can be proud of the fact that they sat atop the Eastern Conference and boast a Vezina finalist who is arguably one of the best goalies in recent history. Hopefully they can learn from the mistakes they made in the playoffs and come back for another shot at the Cup.

And after all that’s happened in this series, we get this picture:

- Krista

New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers

5-3 Devils, Devils lead the series 3-2

Goals: Stephen Gionta, Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac (New Jersey), Brandon Prust, Ryan Callahan and Marian Gaborik (New York), Ryan Carter and Zach Parise – ENG (New Jersey)

Goalies: Martin Brodeur (25/28, .893); Henrik Lundqvist (12/16, .750)

Game Notes

- The Devils scored three times in the first ten minutes of the game:

• Stephen Gionta backhanded his own rebound past Henrik Lundqvist
• Patrik Elias got the redirect from Adam Henrique (and Artem Anisimov got an own goal)
• Travis Zajac scored with a shot far stick side from the top of the right circle

- By this point, John Tortorella was probably plotting people’s deaths.

- Brandon Prust couldn’t be stopped by Marek Zidlicky or Bryce Salvador and slipped the backhand past Martin Brodeur to make it 3-1 Devils.

- Ryan Callahan got the redirect off Anisimov right in front of Brodeur. For a second it looked like a kick, but it bounced off his leg.

- Oops, a nice ping off the post triggered premature goal lights!

- Prust was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after an Oscar-worthy dive, and I laughed till it hurt.

- I can only describe Marian Gaborik‘s tying Rangers goal thusly: Brodeur accidentally the puck IS THAT BAD? (this is why the Brodeur Rule exists)

- So. Many. Broken sticks. Reminds me of Jack Edwards’ words of wisdom:

- Just as I had yelled at the Devils to bring back the forecheck, Ilya Kovalchuk did so. Ryan Carter took the pass from Gionta and broke the tie.

- Zach Parise scored his second empty netter in as many games. He would later call the game the Devils’ worst performance in the playoffs.

- Tortorella’s presser didn’t last as long as last time – only a minute and a half. I’m fairly certain someone’s giving him drugs that make him actually interact with the press.

Next Game

at New Jersey Devils

May 25

NBC Sports Network

The Devils could wrap up the series at home. Tune in to see if they do!

- Krista

Krista texted me recently to tell me that Andrew Ference, green-minded defenseman supreme, had joined Twitter. I went over to have a look, especially because there were the reasonable questions about whether or not that was him, but as soon as I saw some of his follows, I knew it was so him. His following list is a mess of all the organic green hippie food he eats, the company that makes his electric car, Arsenal soccer players, Tyler Seguin and the National Geographic account for the Beyond the Puck series about–him.

Some of his first tweets detailed a tattoo he was having done at a shop in Cambridge. He got another Haida eagle to match the two flanking his shoulder blades, a process that took seven and a half hours–and is not yet complete! He has to go back to have some color and shading added later!

He’s tweeted some more–he takes Krav Maga (maybe to help him stay in good fightin’ form, like how Shawn Thornton boxes in the offseason), he posted a lovely picture of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and he’s starting to interact with the other tweeting Bruins. There aren’t many on Twitter, but Seguin is on there, as is Torey Krug. Ference has interacted with both.

A play date–they’re so precious! (By the way, Ference demurred on Seguin’s offer by saying he was okay with just Twitter for now.) Also Ference told Seguin that he’s trying to match up with Nathan Horton in terms of having tattoos, and he revealed to a Twitter friend of mine that the nickname “Ferknuckle” was given to him by some snowboarding buddies in Whistler. (Speaking of, he’s following the company that brewed a special Ferknuckle beer for him to sup from the Stanley Cup last summer.)

Seguin has been adorable on Twitter lately too. When he’s not telling his little sister Candace that she’s too young to be in love (Tyler, sweetie, I think Candace is 17–I was in love when I was, like, 15…it didn’t turn out well, but anyway, it’s not out of the question for girls that age, silly old big brother you…also, *you’re), he’s being busy in the offseason. Sounds like he and some friends just saw What to Expect When You’re Expecting. I’m keen on that because that movie was filmed right here in Atlanta–the scene so often seen in commercials where a group of dads take their kids to the park and offer down-to-earth advice about fatherhood (“I caught him eating a cigarette!”) is set in Piedmont Park, which is really a gorgeous place and designed by the same folks behind New York’s Central Park.

Kind of weird that a bunch of early twentysomething straight guys saw a movie about parenthood (they don’t seem like the target demographic), but hey, whatever.

Also recently, he was dogsitting for Brad Marchand‘s dog Harvey. He posted two pictures of Harvey being cute, but eventually deleted one because, if you look carefully in the background of it, you can see a carton of beer perched atop an ironing board that is probably never used for its actual purpose. Naughty Seguin!

This picture stayed, though.

Also on Twitter, Horton’s wife Tammy represents the Horton brood (which recently expanded to welcome baby Zach) and, well–

AWWWWWW.

(Earlier in the month, Mrs. Horton made a discovery that we made in the Harger home in 2006, shortly after moving into our current house. “DirecTV is so much better!” It certainly is.)

This team is so precious and their Twitter insights, as mundane as they may seem, really help humanize them and show a side we don’t usually see on the ice. More Bruins should make a little off-season project of joining their teammates on Twitter. It would be so much fun!

New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils

4-1 Devils, series tied 2-2

Goals: Bryce Salvador, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac (New Jersey), Ruslan Fedotenko (New York), Zach Parise with the ENG (New Jersey)

Goalies: Martin Brodeur (28/29, .966); Henrik Lundqvist (26/29, .897)

Game Notes

- The Devils began with a beautiful offensive rush to keep the Rangers on their toes.

- Bryce Salvador got a slap shot past Henrik Lundqvist to put the Devils on the board.

- Oooh look! Our first fight in this series, starring Ryan McDonagh and Adam Henrique:

- Travis Zajac had a one-timer from Zach Parise which put the Devils up 2-0.

- This is the part of the game where I went on Twitter and asked Devils fan Kevin Smith (he of Jay and Silent Bob fame) to teach me the goal song of his people.

- The Devils’ forechecking was messing with the Rangers AGAIN.

- Parise got the rebound behind Lundqvist after Ilya Kovalchuk got the puck from Henrique, who won the faceoff on the power play.

Mike Rupp shoved Martin Brodeur for no apparent reason and got a double minor and a misconduct.

- Later, coach John Tortorella would call that a legal hit. Tell me, O Wise and Mystical Hockey Coach, how an unprovoked shove is considered legal.

- Ruslan Fedotenko scored long on Brodeur’s stick side to take away the shutout. It was his first playoff goal.

- Parise got the ENG from down the ice to make it 4-1 Devils. Brodeur got an assist, his fourth of the playoffs.

- Hey, Tortorella actually held a decent press conference! Four and a half minutes long, and he talked to reporters! ZOMG!

Next Game

at New York Rangers

May 23

NBC Sports Network

Grab your popcorn, folks, this is getting good.

- Krista

Worlds worlds worlds worlds worlds worlds WORLDS. Worlds? Worlds. Yes. LET’S DO THIS.

‘murricawatch: Because we tote blue passports

America made it all the way to the quarterfinals…where they were then dispatched 3-2 by the Finnish team. Heartbreaker. After a first period notable for nothing–no penalties, no goals–the Finns got on the board first…and then Kyle Palmieri answered less than half a minute later to tie it. Bobby Ryan put up another goal to break the tie, but the Finns fought back: Mikko Koivu tied it and then, just as everyone thought that overtime was imminent, Jesse Joensuu, who had scored the first goal, did it again. The Americans couldn’t answer that and so their World Championship ended early. But it was still a blast to watch them, see all sorts of talent developing (sprinkles to you, Max Pacioretty! And you, Justin Faulk!), enjoy all the games we got to see…Here’s to next year, eh boys?

Other games with folks in them that we like

Canada: Canada was downed 4-3 in the quarterfinals by Slovakia. Slovakia built up a two-goal leading, including one by Miroslav “Miro the Hero” Satan, that was slowly chipped away by Canada. Evander Kane and Jeff Skinner turned the game into a tie (Skinner assisted by Jordan Eberle and Patrick Sharp), Alexandre Burrows got Canada ahead (and caused me to grumble about fingers and such), but then Milan Bartovic retied the game. In another case of late-game heroics, Michal Handzus scored in the first few seconds of a Slovakian power play granted when Ryan Getzlaf brutally kneed a Slovak player and ended his game early. This time, Slovakia held the lead and so both North American teams fell on the same day.

Yes, Sharpie. You are still pretty.

Czech Republic: In another case of late-in-the-quarterfinal-game heroics, the Czechs beat Sweden 4-3. Petr Nedved was among the goal scorers and David Krejci assisted! The late-game tiebreaker here came from the stick of Milan Michalek with 30 seconds left. Then, in the semifinals, they met Slovakia for placing in the medal games and lost 3-1, giving them the chance for bronze. Michael Frolik was the only Czech scorer in that game. In the bronze medal game, the Czechs defeated Finland 3-2 and did all their goal-scoring in the first period. Krejci’s late first period goal stood as the game-winner and the Czech Republic repeated as bronze medalists. Let’s look at some pictures now.

Slovakia: Skipping over the quarterfinal and semifinal games mentioned above…except to mention when Satan scored in the semifinal game, he broke out a new version of his Slovakian goal dance of joy:

BE ABOUT IT.

…let’s focus on Slovakia battling for their first medal since 2002. It was gold that year, but they’ll settle for silver this year after losing 6-2 to Russia. Zdeno Chara basically carried the game atop his giant shoulders, scoring both of Slovakia’s goals, not enough to overcome Russia’s firepower. And while Russia won the game and the gold, Chara came out to receive his medal and awards (he’d also been named Best Player of the Game and selected as Best Defenseman and a member of the all-star lineup) attired in a Pavol Demitra jersey worn backwards so his name and number were visible in pictures. He kissed the name and pointed to the sky before getting his medal. It was such a touching tribute. This is a guy who always seems to know just what to do when it comes to getting awards. (He also inspired Tomas Kopecky to do the same thing!) Oh captain, my captain.

Sweden: As mentioned above, Sweden was thwarted in their attempt to medal, so both cohost countries have no hardware.

Next year, the tournament will be cohosted by Finland and Sweden again, except now Sweden will handle semifinal and medal games. The groups have been mixed up a little bit and Austria and Slovenia have been promoted (see ya Italy and Kazakhstan).

Now to turn my attentions to the Memorial Cup in addition to the Stanley Cup!