Thank you, Peter

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Hundreds of mourners packed a Toronto-area church Friday for the funeral service of former NHL player Peter Zezel.

Zezel, who played several seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, died Tuesday at the age of 44 after suffering from a rare blood disorder for the last 10 years.

Some of those in attendance included former Leafs teammates Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark, and former team GM Cliff Fletcher.

Outside the mass at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Clark called Zezel an "ambassador for the game, an ambassador for how to love life and have fun."

The Toronto native played in the NHL for 15 seasons, including three-plus seasons with the Leafs in the early 1990s.

Over his 873-game NHL career, Zezel scored 219 goals and collected 389 assists for 608 points.


I happened to know him. Well, not too close... Peter was really nice person.

Tickets price - Detroit vs. Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Penguins at Detroit Red Wings
Sat, May 30 2009 8:00 PM
Joe Louis Arena - Detroit, MI

294 tickets available from $161 to $1343 each.

Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins
Tue, Jun 02 2009 8:00 PM
Mellon Arena - Pittsburgh, PA

314 tickets available from $255 to $3745 each

I don't know about you but I am impressed with $3745 one-ticket-price. Who told our economy is down and Pittsburgh is dying city?

Ultimate Glory--Stanley Cup Preview

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh. Playoffs Finals...but 2008

lovecrosby87

The stage is set. The ice is solid. The players are ready to fight for Lord Stanley. For the second straight year, the Detroit Red Wings will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. My two favourite teams. Never would I have thought I would get to see my two favourite teams square off two years in a row…in fact, if you asked me this back in November, i would have laughed and said the Pens will be lucky if they even make the playoffs. Both teams are ready to go and no one wants to go home a loser.

Stanley Cup Finals

Detroit Red Wings versus Pittsburgh Penguins— Reigning Champs versus Reigning Runner-ups. At this point last year, the Wings held a 2 game lead over the “Final Freshmen” Penguins. The Penguins are determined to not let that happen again. Both teams have improved considerably since the last time they fought for Lord Stanley’s glory. Most notably, the Wings acquired Marian Hossa from..the Penguins. Hossa infamously said “I want to go on a team that has a chance of winning the Cup.” The Penguins were struck by his relatively harsh words and are determined to make him realize that the Penguins can win a Cup…without his help. Ty Conklin is also playing for the Wings this year..although, unless Osgood is injured, it is doubtful he will see any action versus his former team. Assuming Datsyk and Lidsrom are healthy, the Wings will be hard to beat. Every single line can score…even the defense. Also, it is very tough to get the puck to the net, if all deffensemen are healthy.

The Penguins have improved as well. With the acquistion of Kunitz and Guerin, the Pens now have a seasoned verteran who knows how to win the Cup..and a tough and gritty player who is not afraid to hit anyone..who also has a Stanley Cup to his name. Crosby is playing the best hockey he has ever played. He already has scored more goals than he did in last years playoffs…and there is still one round left. Malkin has also been on a tear, since being criticized for his lack of production in the first round. Staal has also improved his game since last year. This yound 20 year old is very tough to get by…he isn’t afraid to hit, has a plus rating, and when needed, he can score. He is blossoming into the ultimate defensive forward.

The Wings desperatly want to win back to back Stanley Cups. Another Cup win would be perfect for the struggling city of Detroit. On the other side, Crosby is so determined to win a Cup after suffering defeat last year..it is scary. You can bet, that if the game (or series) is on the line..Crosby will make magic happen.

This series is going to come down to defense and goaltending. Both teams can score. The Wings have strong defence but will it be strong enough to shut down the Crosby-Malkin duo (and with the help of Guerin it is that much tougher to shut out Sid)…something no team has been able to do successfully this playoffs? Penguins don’t have as good defense as the Wings…but there defensive pairings are still solid. If Datsyuk is healthy (and hey, even if he isn’t), the Wings can score from every angle and maintain puck control throughout the game.

Goaltending will be the critical factor in this series. Fleury saved the Pens quite a few times in last years Finals. So far this playoffs, he has been very good, with a few soft moments. Osgood has been the same way for the Wings. Fleury is the better goalie in the long run but Osgood has a mission to prove to his critics that he is not the Wing’s weakest link. Fleury doesn’t tend to crack under pressure or after letting in a weak goal. If Fleury stands on his head this round, the Pens are going to be damn near impossible to beat. However, Osgood is a playoff goalie. Put him in a Cup sitation, and he morphs into something incredible. If he stays healthy (along with the Wings D)…look out.

If the Pens can win at least one of the first two games then they will be very hard to beat. If the Wings take a two game lead and then win one in Pittsburgh like they did last year, then the Cup is as good as theirs.

Prediction—6 games..it doesn’t matter to me who wins! I cannot believe I am watching my two favourite teams battle for the Stanley Cup for the second straight year! It was a great birthday present last year to cheer them on in game 3…and it was a great birthday present to wake up this morning knowing one of my teams will be hoisting Lord Stanley this year. Here’s to the 2008-2009 Finals. Here’s to the Ultimate Prize. Here’s to…THE STANLEY CUP.

Red Wings - Key to Win

When rookie Darren Helm showed up at Detroit Red Wings training camp last fall with a Stanley Cup championship on his resume, his plan was to make the parent team.
But that wasn't general manager Ken Holland's plan.

Helm was sent back to the American Hockey League with Holland telling him that he would see him in the playoffs. Now Helm is back with the Red Wings, more confident, quicker off the start and perhaps ready to claim the title as the NHL's fastest forward.

When it comes to prospects, Holland's take is "they are ready when they're ready."

If you look closely at the Detroit Stanley Cup Finals roster, particularly at youngsters like Jonathan Ericsson and Helm, it's clear why this franchise is the envy of most teams around the NHL. They know how to find players, they know how to nurture them, and they know how to handle them once they are ready for market.

This is a team that picks near the bottom of the first round every year and yet they are still probably have the NHL's deepest talent well.

Their three top centers — Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula — are all draft picks and Filppula was the earliest pick at 95th in 2002. Zetterberg was drafted 210th in 1999 and Datsyuk was the 171st pick in 1998.

Johan Franzen was a fourth round pick, and most scouts had him pegged as a role player. Holland told Franzen he believed that he could score more than he showed in his first season. Today, Franzen is one of the NHL's top power forwards

The funny aspect of the Franzen story is that the Red Wings have so much talent that they may not have known how much Franzen had developed had Tomas Holmstrom not been injured last season. With Holmstrom out, his role expanded and he started scoring goals as if he were Gordie Howe.

The other day, Franzen joked that he might still be a checker had Holmstrom not gone on the injury list.

Ericsson, a 6-5 defenseman, was 291st choice in 2002, and he probably was ready to play for most teams in the NHL last season. But he wasn't ready for the Red Wings.

Coach Mike Babcock wanted him earlier than he got him.

But Holland's approach is that the Red Wings are not running apprenticeship programs. When a prospect arrives in Detroit, he wants a finished product with no assembly required.

Helm played well for the team last spring and contributed to their Stanley Cup championship run. But the Red Wings still didn't believe he was ready.

Ericsson played three seasons in the AHL, and when he showed up, he was a model of composure. He performs as if he has been in the NHL for 400 games, not 34 games, counting the playoffs.

Goaltender Thomas McCollum is a highly regarded prospect, but he has already been told he will spend two or three seasons in the AHL. Former first-round pick Jakub Kindl has played two full seasons in the AHL, and he's probably going to spend another one there before he gets his chance to be a Red Wing.

The perception is that the Red Wings draft better than other teams, but their success isn't just about having scouts with sharp eyes for talent.

It's also about the commitment they have to slow-cooking prospects in an era when most GMs seem to want to microwave. Holland believes that coaches all like "new toys" but they become bored easily if the toy doesn't work properly. His belief is that the team's interests are better served if the toys show up performing like they should.

The Red Wings now have a lengthy history as a puck possession team, which began under former coach Scotty Bowman's command. Scouts look for players that fit that game plan. The Red Wings aren't looking for the toughest guy in the Western Hockey League. They are looking for the guy in the WHL who can protect the puck when he's being heavily checked. They are looking for the guy who can make plays at high speed. They are looking for the defenseman who passes as well as he defends. The Red Wings look for "between the whistles" toughness, not "after the whistle" toughness.

They look for the same style of players when they make trades or sign free agents. Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson didn't have noteworthy careers until they were brought into Detroit's system. They became valuable NHL players under the Red Wings' guidance. The Red Wings liked Cleary's ability to play a variety of roles and they liked Samuelsson's big shot and offensive instincts.

Even the players understand that there are benefits to playing in this organization. Veterans take less to play in Detroit. Prospects are willing to wait longer to get there.

No game plan is flawless. And even the best franchises guess wrong on players and have down seasons. But in a salary cap world, it's hard not to look at Detroit's success, and its opportunity to win back-to-back titles, and not view the Red Wings as the NHL's model franchise.

They can't outspend anyone, and yet they seem to receive more talent for their dollar.

Red Wings joint Pens in the Finals

NIKALE PHOTOS

Brian Compton NHL.com

If you go by his regular-season numbers, Darren Helm has just 23 games of NHL experience.

If you go by the past two postseasons, you'd think the 22-year-old has been doing this for years.

Helm has yet to score an NHL goal in the regular season. But his third goal of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs came at 3:58 of overtime on Wednesday night, lifting his team to a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a pulsating 2-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals at Joe Louis Arena.

Not bad for a kid who played 55 games in the American Hockey League this season, even though he played a big role in Detroit's run to the championship 12 months ago. Like many of his teammates, there's something about this time of year that clearly brings out the best in the native of St. Andrews, Manitoba.

"Being in Grand Rapids (the Wings' AHL team) gave me a pretty big opportunity to go down there and develop," said Helm, who scored twice for the Wings last spring and went 13-24-37 in the AHL this season. "Coming up here and getting a chance to play, it's been a great experience for me. I try to pride myself on being a key player in playoffs. That's what I tried to do throughout last year's run and this year's run, as well."

With Hart Trophy finalist Pavel Datsyuk out of the lineup with a foot injury, Helm has been one of several players to step up. Skating on a line with Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Holmstrom, the trio kept the puck in deep before Helm found it loose in the crease, where he poked it past Cristobal Huet to create pandemonium at The Joe.

"I thought our line did a good job keeping the puck in," Helm said. "We put a lot of pressure on them. I just saw it sitting there and got a good whack on it just to make sure it went in."
Red Wings center Darren Helm, who had at least eight hits in a game for the second time in this series. He had seven in Game 4 and finished with 12 in Game 5 -- to go along with the OT winner.
"I'm going to remember that one for a while," Helm said.

MY "LAST NIGHT BEST PLAYER" AWARD COMES TO DARREN HELM

---

Russian Veterans Departure.

Florida's Igor Larionov vs. Detroit's Sergei Fedorov

It was Hall of Fame weekend in Toronto and soon-to-be inducted Igor Larionov shared stories from his playing days with the crowd around him. Inevitably the discussion turned to his time in Detroit, where he won three Stanley Cups under Scotty Bowman. In 1997, Larionov and the famed Russian Five helped bring the first Stanley Cup to Detroit since 1955.

It also was Bowman and the Russian Five who implemented the puck-possession style of hockey the Red Wings continue to win with today.

"If you want to control the game, you have to control the puck," Larionov said last November before his induction. "Why should you give the puck away and go and chase? …That game was accepted in Detroit, even now the team is playing so well. I was part of that transition."

When Larionov retired in 2004 after one final season in New Jersey, he was 43 years old. But in those last years, he made a huge impact on an Original Six franchise. And all of hockey.

Now, with Russian players opting to spend their final seasons playing for the KHL, the NHL is being robbed of impact Russian veterans—the Larionovs of this generation.

On Tuesday, news broke that Sergei Fedorov was close to signing with the Russian KHL. His teammate in Washington, Viktor Kozlov, signed a two-year deal with the Russian league, according to an RDS report. Don't be surprised if Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is pursued heavily by the KHL after the playoffs.

In an e-mail to Sporting News Today, agent Pat Brisson said Fedorov does not have a done deal.

"Sergei will be exploring his options on the trip to Russia next week," Brisson wrote. "In the meantime, I will continue to speak with the Capitals."

Fedorov, 39, was a calming influence on the Capitals this season where he was a mentor to young Russians like Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin. Watching Fedorov beat Henrik Lundqvist in the third period of a first-round Game 7 also showed he still has an elite scorer's touch. The Capitals made serious strides this season, and Fedorov was a big part of that.

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood won two Stanley Cups with Fedorov and finds the trend of veteran Russians leaving the NHL early disturbing.

"To lose those guys is huge. We have to figure out a way to keep guys like Sergei and (Jaromir) Jagr and those great older veteran players," Osgood said. "I think it's important to have older guys like that, that younger European players can look up to when they get over here and understand how to handle themselves on and off the ice. That's what guys like Igor Larionov did for him."

But if this is it for Fedorov in the NHL, it's also time for the fans in Detroit to embrace his role in the Red Wings' success—past and present. The same fans who booed Fedorov during every return to Joe Louis Arena after he left for Anaheim in 2003 will be the first to cheer tonight if the Red Wings—and their Russian inspired puck-possession offense—put away the Blackhawks and advance to another Stanley Cup final.

Reacting to news of Fedorov's possible departure to the KHL, fans on Detroit sports talk radio discussed the worthiness of retiring Fedorov's No. 91. It shouldn't even be a debate.

Outside the Red Wings' locker room, the all-time award winners are painted on a cinder block wall. Fedorov's name is everywhere - there's a Hart Trophy, a Lester B. Pearson Trophy, a pair of Selkes. There's also three Stanley Cups.

He loved his time in Detroit. Kirk Maltby said Fedorov still spends a lot of the summer in Michigan. Fedorov recently said he looks back at his time in Detroit and playing for Scotty Bowman fondly. He enjoyed both.

"Yeah, I certainly did," Fedorov said.

And playing for Bowman?

"If you played on the top six forwards, you play all the time," Fedorov said. "I personally like that idea very much."

He's not a top six forward anymore. He may not even be an NHL player anymore if the Russian reports are true. But with the Red Wings on the verge of another Stanley Cup final, his influence is still felt in Detroit.

"The Russian Five really changed the whole game in Detroit and then through the league," Chris Chelios told SN Today. "Everybody loves and respects what (Fedorov) did for the organization."

Congratulations to Pittsburgh

MALKIN AND CROSBY. Getty Images

Pittsburgh has won all three of its series this postseason on the road; a good sign for the Stanley Cup Final, where the Penguins will open on the road against the Western Conference champion and will need at least one road win to be crowned champs. Pittsburgh won in three very hostile buildings: Wachovia Center (Philadelphia), Verizon Center (Washington) and the RBC Center

Peter Zezel dies at 44

Peter Zezel, a solid two-way center during 15 seasons in the NHL, died Tuesday at age 44.
Zezel had struggled on and off with a rare and serious blood disease called hemolytic anemia the past 10 years, and had been in critical condition in 2001. CSNPhilly.com reported that Zezel was taken off life support Tuesday after going into a coma last week. He had undergone chemotherapy and suffered a brain hemorrhage after a recent spleen operation.

Zezel was born in Toronto and played junior hockey with the Marlies before the Philadelphia Flyers chose him with their first pick, No. 41, in the 1983 Entry Draft. He made the Flyers the next year and had 15 goals and 61 points as a rookie, helping Philadelphia advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

He scored a career-best 33 goals and 72 points in 1986-87 for the Flyers and recorded a combined 49 assists for Philadelphia and St. Louis in 1988-89 after he was traded to the Blues for Mike Bullard. He matched his career-high with 72 points for the Blues in 1989-90.

Zezel again helped the Flyers advance to the Final in 1987, and was part of the Leafs' teams that made the conference finals in 1993 and 1994. He finished with the Vancouver Canucks in 1998-99.
In 873 NHL games with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington, Toronto, Dallas, New Jersey and Vancouver, he scored 219 goals with 389 assists and was a plus-39.

"On behalf of the Maple Leafs, I want to convey our deepest sympathies to Peter’s family, friends and former teammates," Toronto President and General Manager Brian Burke said in a statement released Tuesday night. "He was the consummate professional and he always carried himself with great class as a human being. Peter will be greatly missed."

Added former teammate Mark Osborne, a member of the Leafs' Alumni Board: "Peter was the ultimate caring friend and teammate. He was so dedicated to his family and friends and he would always freely give of his time and energies to help someone else. He was truly a passionate and loyal friend both on and off the ice. Our hockey family is devastated."

Zezel was also active in charitable work throughout his NHL career.

"What a lot of people don’t know is that Peter never said 'no' to someone wanting his autograph or anything someone wanted," former teammate Rick Tocchet, now coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, told CSNPhilly.com. "'Can you go to a school or a hospital?' He'd do it. He was pretty special when it came to that."

Zezel remained active in hockey during his post-NHL career, running a successful hockey school and coaching in the Greater Toronto Hockey League with the Don Mills Hockey Association. He was also an active member of the NHL Alumni Association and completed countless hours of charitable work during and following his hockey career.

"Peter will forever be remembered as a great teammate and a wonderful individual who touched the lives of many both on and off the ice," the family said in a statement. "In his typical character of generosity, Peter donated his organs through the Trillium Gift of Life Network."

"What a lot of people don’t know is that Peter never said 'no' to someone wanting his autograph or anything someone wanted. Can you go to a school or a hospital?' He'd do it. He was pretty special when it came to that."
-- Rick Tocchet on Peter Zezel