New hockey cards, posters, and plaques are sure to be developed if Sidney Crosby raises the Stanley Cup for the second time in his career Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a single win away from capturing hockey's ultimate prize, fitting as Crosby's first known hockey card has recently surfaced.
The card was included in a magazine called Rookie Review and while it references Shattuck-St. Mary's, it includes a picture from the 2002-03 season where Crosby played for the Dartmouth Subways as a 14-year-old, according to puckjunk.com's Sal Barry.
That season Crosby would go on to score 95 goals and 193 points in 74 games while adding 24 points in seven playoff games, according to Barry. Maybe then it's no surprise he became arguably the best player in the world.
While Dreger doesn't believe that the Blue Jackets are 'even remotely close' to trading away the pick - that is expected to be used to select Finnish forward Jesse Puljujarvi - the fact is nothing is ever absolute.
The right deal can always turn the tide for a diligent franchise and with that, here are three teams that should consider dealing for the pick and the opportunity to draft Puljujarvi.
The latter five players combined for just 40 points this season. So, bringing in a talented and sizeable right winger would be invaluable to the franchise. Heading into this season the Canadiens dressed the third-shortest club in the league, averaging just over 6-feet, according to The Globe and Mail's James Mirtle.
Puljujarvi stands at 6-foot-4 and 203 pounds. He is a towering force whose size hasn't hampered his speed. It wouldn't be easy for management, but coupling in the club's ninth overall pick with assets might be able to secure the right to draft the right-winger the club demands.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes find themselves in the midst of a rebuild and like the Canadiens, find themselves without a bona fide right-winger.
The club is very young and is just beginning to take strides - finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference - and continues to acquire assets, as the Eric Staal trade proved.
While the team's assets in terms of players might not be as alluring as other clubs, what makes the Hurricanes appealing is their copious amount of stocked draft picks.
The team has a combined 20 picks in the next two drafts, 13 of which are in the first three rounds. While the allure of having so many picks is the increased chance of landing a big fish, they could also exercise prudence by nabbing a player who already appears NHL-ready.
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues might not be the most needing of Puljujarvi's services, but acquiring them could also aid the team in other places.
The club's right side has the chance to grow drastically thin with Troy Brouwer and David Backes both hitting unrestricted free agency in less than a month and there are no certainties that either will be returning.
The club is also up towards the cap and as has become expected, rumours surrounding the Kevin Shattenkirk's future have arisen once again. If the Blues could package Shattenkirk in a deal they might be able to acquire the pick and in turn solve their dilemma with his impending free agency while filling a possible void left by Backes and Brouwer.
The Vancouver Canucks are another team that could benefit from the likes of Puljujarvi, but with the fifth overall pick and the chances of drafting either Matthew Tkachuk, Pierre-Luc Dubois, or a big time defender, it seems more likely the club will stand idle.
A trade for a top-three pick would not be easy, but it would certainly be one worth mulling over.
The forward won't be in the San Jose Sharks' Game 5 lineup Thursday, head coach Peter DeBoer announced. Hertl remains day to day.
The forward's status has been the topic of much conversation after the Sharks refuted a report out of the Czech Republic that the 22-year-old is done for the Stanley Cup Final with a lower-body injury.
Hertl has a goal in two games. But if the Sharks prolong the series, they'll do so without him.
The Sharks trail the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Final, and are hoping they're not the only team flying to San Jose late Thursday night.
Burns has two assists through four games, while averaging 26:22 in ice time per game. He sits third in playoff scoring with 22 points in 22 games. He's part of the Sharks' core that needs to get going in order for San Jose to have any hope of climbing out of its hole.
Needing to win four games in a row, the Sharks better be as desperate as ever.
Just ran into Burns in parking lot. Thanked him for good quotes. He replied, "Just texted out PR guy that I dropped some f-bombs. Whoops."
The Detroit Red Wings announced the hiring of John Torchetti as an assistant coach Wednesday, with the 51-year-old agreeing to a two-year deal. He'll work with the club's forwards and oversee the power play, which ranked 13th in the league this past season at 18.8 percent.
Torchetti was interim head coach of the Minnesota Wild in 2016, taking over after Mike Yeo was fired. He went 15-11-1, and his club was eliminated in six games by the Dallas Stars in the first round.
Torchetti's had two other stints as an interim head coach, and has a career 30-30-4-2 record. He won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010.
Sidney Crosby is the talk of the hockey world Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, all-world superstar, and arguably the face of the NHL is on the verge of his second Stanley Cup, his club one win against the San Jose Sharks away. So it's obviously time to reflect, especially since it took seven years and a devastating concussion to get back to the Cup Final.
"In (2009), you felt like it was something that might be an annual thing," Crosby said of his first Cup victory, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Sam Werner. "And it's not that easy."
Crosby was only 21 when he lifted the Cup; he was "Sid the Kid," the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup in NHL history. Then the injuries and playoff defeats - three in the first round and two in the second round - began.
"The concussion was tough," Crosby said Wednesday, writes the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur. "I mean, at (23), when you feel pretty good and you miss a year of hockey, it's not ideal, but everyone goes through different things. I think that’s probably something that has given me more appreciation of certain things after going through that. At the time it’s really tough, trying to get back into things is tough, but once you get over it I think you try to take the positives from it. That’s what I try to do."
Crosby, no longer a kid at 28, says he appreciates the game more today because it was taken away from him.
Back in 2009, Crosby wasn't on the ice in the latter stages of Game 7 against the Detroit Red Wings. A knee injury kept him on the bench, and he watched. While he was reduced to a cheerleader, he lifted the Cup.
"It's not the way you think about it or the way it kind of goes on in your head, but that being said it worked out that way," Crosby said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "I think I look back with just as fond memories as I would if I finished the game."
Crosby's looking to create some new memories Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates left town for a one-day trip to Denver on Wednesday night, and manager Clint Hurdle left a simple message for his squad with respect to their travel attire, writes Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Penguins are looking to win their fourth Stanley Cup on Thursday night, but their first ever on home ice. The Pirates were the last team to win a title in Pittsburgh, way back in 1960. It's been a while.
David Freese could care less, though. He grew up in St. Louis, so his allegiance belongs to the Blues.
"I asked if I could wear a Blues jersey, and I got the look," Freese said.
Gerrit Cole to the rescue. The starter isn't making the trip due to his scheduled start Friday, so he loaned Freese his Ian Cole jersey.
"The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" has been roasting NHL players throughout the playoffs, so it was only right that the program took one last shot before the end of the season.
"The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" has been roasting NHL players throughout the playoffs, so it was only right that the program took one last shot before the end of the season.
Updates on Tyson Barrie, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jacob Trouba and Eric Nystrom, plus the latest on the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets in your NHL rumor mill. Market for Tyson Barrie ESPN.COM: Should the Colorado Avalanche put defenseman Tyson Barrie on the trade block, Matthew Coller recently listed the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Toronto […]
