What do these three names have in common?  Absolutely nothing outside of the fact that I am going to write about all of them in this missive.

After watching game 7 of the Stanley Cup final , I concluded that New Jersey looked old and tired in games 6 and 7.   The better team definitely won.  However, I have taken the last few days to reflect on a few things the NHL needs to do to improve.

The first one comes with the guys who are naming the Conn Smyth Trophy (playoff MVP) winner.  They should not be allowed to consume a whole 18 pack of Labatts Blue before making their choice, no matter which Stanley Cup replica they pull out of the box.  Patrick Roy over Joe Sakic?  Roy was terrible in the first round against Vancouver, even worse against LA , picked up his game substantially against St. Louis and only looked brilliant in three of the seven games against the Devils.  Sakic on the other hand came to play every night.  He lead the playoffs in scoring with 26 points and was the heart, blood and guts of this team.  But no, the codgers who make these sorts of decisions chose Roy.  The NHL has a penchant for promoting players based on past reputations more than for what they are doing at the present time.  They did the same with Grant Fuhr, Mike Vernon and Mark Messier just to name a few.

Everyone was so happy for Ray Bourque.  Everyone except this armchair sportsfan.  If Ray had stuck it out with the same team all these years and finally won the Cup it would be something to celebrate.  Stevie Yzerman did it in Detroit.  But no, poor little Ray didn’t have a Cup so poor little Ray wanted a trade to a contender.  Hey Ray, there’s no rule in the NHL books that says just because you play 20 + years in the league that you are somehow guaranteed a Cup win.  No one cared about all the stellar years Tony Esposito put in the league in the 70’s and 80’s without ever having a sip out of Lord Stanley’s Cup.  Today’s athlete seems to think it is his right to have a Championship ring.  Sakic should have carried that Cup first but by letting Bourque hoist it, he once again displayed why he is the best hockey player in the world today. 

The Jack Adams award is given to the NHL coach of the year.  The problem is that this award does not take the playoffs into account.  The playoffs are when real coaching takes place.  Now that is not to say that the Stanley Cup winning coach should automatically get the Jack Adams award.  It should go to the coach who took his team deeper than was expected mixed with a solid regular season.  This year’s winner…  Andy Murray of the Los Angeles Kings.  Scotty Bowman is up for this award this year.  Based on his teams playoff performance the only thing he should be awarded is an all expenses paid trip to the retirement home.

And finally, the NHL Draft has got to change.  Notice the teams winning the Cup nowadays?  New Jersey, Colorado and Dallas.  New Jersey were the joke of the league for years but were able to build through the draft using the high picks the league awarded them each year.  Colorado were the sad sack Nordiques.  Three last place finishes in a row meaning three first round draft picks.  Not to difficult to build a winner with those types of rookies joining your team.  Dallas used to be Minnesota.  Another garbage team cashing in on great picks.  What about a team that finishes tenth each year?  They are guaranteed mediocre draft picks and will never improve.  Nope I say go back to the old lottery system where everyone has an even shot at the top picks.  Currently there is too much reward for mediocre performance.

Agree or disagree, either way, I’m off the goalpost.