The 23-year-old center had to have surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back.  In 13 games this season, he had two goals and four assists.  He wasn’t exactly on fire but you never know how someone’s game is going to progress through a season and now we just won’t know.

image: TSN

I’m surprised he waited this long, though, since he’s complained with back issues for a couple years and has been taking cortisone injections in order to keep playing.  This is one of those things that could have been planned for over the summer months so that he wouldn’t miss too much of the season.  He also rested during the preseason so he could have started the surgical process at that point as well.  It’s not only bad for the team but it’s also just a bad idea to let an injury linger and get worse.

Hopefully, this will resolve the issue and he’ll be back in the expected amount of time but it’s likely that he will be rejoining his team during their final push for the playoffs, and I completely expect them to make it.

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During his apology (which he delivered at the start of the three-day orientation camp for the U.S. Olympic hockey team), he said:  “I know everyone wants to talk about what happened in Buffalo.  As you know, the legal proceedings are pending and I cannot discuss the events at this time.  Because I’ve put myself in being in the wrong position at the wrong time, I’ve caused a lot of pain for my family, my home town of Buffalo, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks and obviously, the great fans we have here in Chicago. And for that part, I sincerely apologize.”

Kane was supposed to appear in court yesterday but it was delayed so that he could go to the orientation camp.  He has pleaded not guilty and even the cabbie’s lawyer said the whole thing was “blown out of proportion.”

Team USA’s GM, Brian Burke, had some understanding words for the situation: “It’s possible for a young man to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and make a poor decision,” he said.  “I know when I was Patrick Kane’s age, I did a couple of things I wouldn’t want to talk about up here… [the incident] does not affect my opinion of Patrick Kane or his ability to contribute to this team.”

While Kane is excited to “get back to the ice and represent the Chicago Blackhawks and the United States Olympic hockey team” he did talk a little bit about how tough this situation has been, saying the hardest was “probably being in handcuffs and them [his family] seeing me in handcuffs.  They said it’s something they never want to see again.  My family didn’t raise me that way, so it’s tough letting them down.”

While he got a lot of support from all the Kane jerseys he did see a Dallas fan booing him.  He said that he expects to see more of that in the coming years.  It’s really too bad.  He had a pretty perfect start to his career and this is just a really unfortunate situation.  Hockey players aren’t above the law so, if he did attack the cabbie, he deserves to be punished in the same way as everyone else.

image: TSN

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Here’s the story (and it’s very lame).  Kane (20) and his cousin James (21) punched a cabbie who didn’t have proper change – they gave him $15 and wanted the change on a $13.80 fare.  I’m guessing these two geniuses never heard of tipping people in the service industry???

The cabbie offered to give them $1 but they wanted the other $0.20 so they allegedly grabbed their money and punched him in the face and head (he had cuts and bruises on his face and his glasses were broken).  The whole thing went down around 5am.

Both Kanes have been charged with second-degree robbery, fourth-degree criminal mischief and theft of services.  They have entered a plea of not guilty.  Of course, the NHL is involved and they are trying to get more details as they work with the Buffalo police department. 

This is sad because Kane is a real hero in his hometown and was even with the mayor last night at a press conference about funding for a local rink.  I hope this isn’t true because Kane is one of my favorite young players but something tells me that it is.

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image: TSN

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m starting to think that Hossa is a bad luck charm after each of the last teams he played on fell just short of winning the Stanley Cup – twice in two years!

Anyway, the NHL is saying that the deal could circumvent the collective bargain agreement and the club could be fined as much as $5 million and might lose draft picks.  Pretty serious…  Apparently, the Blackhawks and Hossa had an understanding that the player would retire before his contract is up so that it could lessen the cap hit on the team.  This was possible because Hossa was set to receive the largest sums during the early part of the deal ($7.9 million for each of the first seven seasons, $4 million for the eighth year and then $3.5 million for the remainder).

Yes, Hossa is great and I know he’s been an All-Star four times but I’m growing really tired of him.  Part of me would like to see him just sign with the KHL and get it over with.  That’s what all the greedy guys are doing these days…

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I think that general manager, Dale Tallon, was excellent and I really admired the relationship he had with the team.  I believe that he had a lot to do with them making the Western Conference Finals and I think that it was foolish to get rid of him (and to let Martin Havlat slip away) when they came so close last season. 

If you follow Havlat on Twitter, you probably saw some of his cryptic messages.

• I guess everyone saw what happened to Dale….yes, the story is starting to come out but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
• Lot’s of people are telling me to stay quiet but shouldn’t the fans know the truth? It’s your loyalty, season ticket money and emotions here.
• Just so everyone begins to understand, Dale was like a 2nd father to me.
• By telling truth, don’t want people to think I’m bitter. Everyone in Minn has been awesome, they believe in me and I won’t let them down.

Havlat hints at the fact that fans don’t really know what happened with Tallon and feels that they deserve to know.  I’m not surprised, therefore, that he spoke to TSN’s Darren Dreger about it.  He said: "My negotiation with Chicago was not between Dale and my agent, it was between Dale and McDonough," Havlat said "Why? Because McDonough couldn’t stand that Dale was so successful and getting the credit for building the Hawks from a last place team to making the Conference Final in three short years. Remember, we were also the youngest team in the NHL last year" (read more on the TSN website).

What do you think?  Should Havlat keep quiet?  Do you believe his explanations for why Tallon was fired?

image: TSN

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The Chicago Blackhawks have given Hossa a 12-year deal worth about $59.3 million which averages out to $5.2 per season for the first eight years and then drops down to $3.5 million for the last four.

The Blackhawks had a great season and I think that they have a real chance to not only make it to the playoffs again next season but, now that they’ve got experience in the postseason, I think they could go all the way to the Finals.

If they happen to make it that far and they lose with Hossa in the lineup, it will be the third year in a row that he’s been with a team that has narrowly lost the Stanley Cup.  If that happens, the superstition about not touching the conference trophy might pale in comparison with the bad luck associated with having Hossa in the lineup.

image: TSN

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Meanwhile, Alexander Ovechkin has been chosen to front the NHL 2K10 game. 

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image: Zuma Press

Detroit showed their strength as a team when they pulled together to compensate for the absence of star players, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.  They played a patient, determined game and in the end it paid off.

I have to say that I was impressed with Blackhawks backup goalie, Cristobal Huet, tonight despite his team’s loss.  He looked a lot better than he did during the last game.  Unfortunately, he had just made an incredible save when Darren Helm scored for Detroit at 3:58 into overtime (Dan Cleary scored the other goal in the team’s 2-1 victory).

Now, of course, we know for sure that the defending Stanley Cup champions will face their rivals from last year in a rematch between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I didn’t think that I would be but I’m actually pretty excited.  It’s pretty rare to see the same two teams heading to the Stanley Cup finals and then there’s the fact that Marion Hossa has changed sides and this year will put on a Red Wings jersey as he takes on his former Penguin teammates.  He left the team (and turned down the lucrative contract that they offered him) because he thought he had a better chance of winning the Cup with the Red Wings.

I’d like to mention that the last time this sort of thing happened, the Edmonton Oilers ended up beating the New York Islanders in 1984 after losing to them the previous year.  If history repeats itself, there’s a chance that the Penguins will be hoisting Lord Stanley over their heads in the next week or two.

I just thought I’d also point out that Sidney Crosby went ahead and grabbed the trophy after winning the Eastern Conference Finals but Henrik Zetterberg refused to touch it.  Sid had a good point, though.  He didn’t touch it last year and it didn’t seem to change his luck.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

image: TSN

Amazingly, the schedule is already available and it begins this Saturday.  Fortunately, that means that both teams will have gotten roughly the same amount of rest (just a day difference).

• Game 1 – Saturday, May 30, 8pm ET Penguins at Red Wings
• Game 2 – Sunday, May 31, TBA Penguins at Red Wings
• Game 3 – Tuesday, June 2, 8pm ET Red Wings at Penguins
• Game 4 – Thursday, June 4, 8pm ET Red Wings at Penguins
• Game 5* – Saturday, June 6, 8pm ET Penguins at Red Wings
• Game 6* – Tuesday, June 9, 8pm ET Red Wings at Penguins
• Game 7* – Friday, June 12, 8pm ET Penguins at Red Wings

* If Necessary

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His offence?  After a roughing call against defenceman Matt Walker as the first period ended, Detroit scored and extended their lead to 3-0 (they ended up winning the game with a final score of 6-1 and have taken a 3-1 series lead). 

After the game, coach Quenneville said: "I think we witnessed probably the worst call in the history of sports there. Nothing play.  You know, they scored, it’s 3-0.  They ruined a good hockey game and absolutely destroyed what was going on the ice. … Never seen anything like it."

I have to agree with him.  I did not agree with that call and I think it really changed the dynamics of the game.  It’s too bad.  The Blackhawks will try to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday in Detroit.

image: TSN

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image: Zuma Press

Things looked a little promising for the Blackhawks at the start of the game.  Sure, I was concerned when Cristobal Huet was announced as the starting goalie but I was encouraged by the fact that Martin Havlat was in the lineup despite the fact that he took a crushing hit this past week and failed to practice with the team.  I had no idea but those few moments of hope for Chicago were about to fade – quickly.

First of all, Havlat, who commentators claim forced his way on the ice and dared management to stop him, only played for seven minutes and 59 seconds.  Then, of course, there were all those goals that Detroit scored against them.

It started with a short-handed goal by Marian Hossa.  During the remainder of the game, Hossa scored a second time along with Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg, who also scored twice.  The lone goal tallied for Chicago was scored by captain, Jonathan Toews.

The Red Wings barely seemed bothered by the absence of star players Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom, who was a last-minute scratch (no reason was given).  “We heard this morning during the pre-game meal he (Lidstrom) was not playing. We just had to deal with it,” Zetterberg said. “Everybody had to step up and play.”  I think it goes without saying that the team definitely pulled it together.

I can’t say the same for Huet, who was a hot mess between the pipes for Chicago.  He allowed five goals in 26 shots on net and, at one point, was replaced by third goalie, Corey Crawford for the last 15:55 of the second period.  When Huet returned in the third, I figured the slaughter was over but he ended up allowing one more goal by Zetterberg on a power-play.

Game 5 takes place on Wednesday, May 27 at 7:30pm (ET) in Detroit.  If they win the game, they will take the Western Conference title.

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