Are there any wild card teams in the NHL that went on to win the Stanley Cup?
There have been only four or so chances for such a thing to happen, since there was no wild card in the NHL until 2013. Before that though, the league used a system foreign to pretty much all other North American sports. The first three seeds in each conference belonged to the winners of each division, in order of each team’s points. Points worked then the same as they do now: a win (regulation or overtime) is 2, an overtime loss is 1, and a loss is 0. From there, the teams with the most points in the conference were seeded 4–8. The division winners did not get a bye like in football or baseball, nor was it a straight 1–8 seeding like in basketball, but a sort of hybrid of the two systems.In any case, in 2012, the Los Angeles Kings squeaked into the playoffs as the 8th seed. They eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in the first round (and they’ve struggled to contend ever since), swept the St. Louis Blues in the second, and sent the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes packing in the Western Conference Finals. The New Jersey Devils posed little challenge for the red-hot Kings, and became the only 8th seed team in major North American sports to win their league’s championship. Not quite a wild card, but close.Now, if I had my way as a Nashville Predators fan, I’d have a much more straightforward answer for you. This past Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Nashville Predators came into the playoffs on fire, following a slow start to the season. They swept the Chicago Blackhawks, the closest thing in this day and age to a dynasty in the NHL, immediately bringing them the hockey world’s attention. They beat the St. Louis Blues in the second (a common fate for the Blues, who haven’t made the Stanley Cup Finals since 1970, and remain the only extant Original Twelve team to be without a Cup), and the Anaheim Ducks in the WCF. And then the Penguins happened. Point is, because of the way that the NHL’s playoffs are seeded (I personally enjoy this system, but it infuriates many hockey fans), it is far more comprehensible for a wild card or low-seeded team to win than in, say, the NBA.
Which team had the greatest comeback in the history of the NHL playoffs?
This is my take from a different point of view. May 13, 2013. The 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, the Bruins led the series 3 - 1 and Toronto was able to come back and force a game 7 in Boston. Although Boston scored the first goal of the game, the Maple Leafs led that game 4-1 about halfway through the 3rd period. Visions of a comeback danced in their heads. Many Bruins fans had left the building already as impending doom surely awaited their team.Mind you, Toronto has not had the best playoff track record, missing the playoffs for roughly a decade, and Toronto fans were primed to move on to the next round and continue on the path to winning the Stanley Cup that has eluded them since 1967.Then, the unthinkable happened.At 10:42 of the 3rd period, Nathan Horton buries a feed from Milan Lucic, 2-4. Then Lucic finds a Zdeno Chara rebound and buries it top shelf, 3-4. With 50.2 seconds left in the game and an empty net in the Bruins zone, the man who many think will be the next Bruins captain, Patrice Bergeron takes a David Krejci pass at the Leafs blue line and buries it past Leafs goaltender James Reimer from about 55 feet out, 4-4.Overtime. Close calls came at each end of the ice, then with a little over 6 minutes gone in overtime, Brad Marchand sends a pass that Bergeron slaps hard from the high slot, his rebound bouncing off of players bodies, feet, and sticks, then the Leafs defense tried to clear the puck from the crease, firing it right back to Bergeron, who was following up his original shot and made no mistake burying it in the net as Reimer laid helplessly on the ice, 5-4 Final.The TD Garden was shaking as if the Bruins had just won the cup on home ice. The Bruins had set a comeback record of sorts. It was the first time a team has overcome a three-goal deficit in the third period of a Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history. Here is a complete game video recap.
Who is the best goaltender in the NHL?
If we're talking about active goaltenders, then currently, Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers) is probably the best goaltender in the world. He puts up consistent numbers playing for a fairly weak defensive team in the more offensive-minded of the two conferences. He steals more games for his team than any other goaltender in the league.Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings) is probably a close second. Unlike Lundqvist, Quick has won 2 Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe trophy (Playoff MVP). However, he plays for one of the best defensive teams in the league in a conference that focuses more on defense and physicality than pure offense.Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins) is pretty close to jumping over Quick for the second spot. He has only 1 full season as a starter under his belt, but his numbers are unreal. He also plays for arguably the strongest defensive team in the Eastern Conference. One or two more full seasons putting up similar numbers, and he'll move up the list.If we're talking about best goalies ever, then IMO it comes down to three. There's too many arguments to make for one over the others, so I'll let you make the call.Dominik Hasek (The Dominator) - Played most of his career for the Buffalo Sabres, an average team, and IMO stole more games than any goaltender who ever played. Won the Vezina trophy for best goaltender 6 times, and almost singlehandedly brought his team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999, where they finally succumbed to the Dallas Stars with the most controversial cup-winning goal in NHL history.Patrick Roy (Saint Patrick) - The only player in the history of the NHL to win 3 Conn Smythe players as playoff MVP. Won the Stanley Cup 4 times. 11-time NHL All-Star. All-around badass.Martin Brodeur - He doesn't have a nickname, but he holds more goaltending records than any other goaltender in the history of the game, and he has done it all with one team (although that might change very soon). He holds records for most games played, most wins (and most losses), most shutouts, most 40-win seasons, most goals scored by a goaltender (3, in case you were wondering), and many more.Martin Brodeur Official Site - See here for a list of all his records.
Who was the last successful stand up goaltender in the NHL?
Because the butterfly style is so prevalent these days, the tough part about your question is parsing apart the distinction between goalies who used a style other than butterfly and those who were pure stand up goalies in recent hockey history. For instance, much is made of Dominik Hasek's unconventional methods, but was he a standup goalie? I'm not so sure. Martin Brodeur wasn't considered a butterfly goaltender, but he wasn't an old-school standup type either. Journalists referred to his style as a hybrid between them. Tim Thomas is another goalie who was decidedly non-butterfly, but may not be considered a standup goalie.
How do (professional sports) teams choose someone to sing the national anthem?
Usually, the Public Relations, Promotions, Entertainment or Community Relations person handles coordinating the singer of the National Anthem. Players, owners and coaches are almost never involved. For most regular season games, a person who has some affiliation with the area gets chosen. For example, if Miss North Carolina, USA is from Charlotte, NC, and sings, she would likely be asked to sing the National Anthem at a Carolina Panthers football game or Charlotte Bobcats basketball game. Many teams hold open auditions before their regular seasons start. Anyone can audition, but only those who deliver get picked. After all, the pro teams' games are often televised. It's a great way for talent to get discovered. The auditions are usually held at the stadiums and players, cheerleaders, local singers or performers are invited to judge. It's a great promotion for the teams and a chance for the public to interact with some of the team staff. Some teams have full-time singers who sing at every game and some hire professional Anthem singers.If you're a NHL fan (hockey), they have a full-time singer.http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/p...Pro teams often hire other pros:www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6C9BB7F6F772179FI just found out the Panthers aren't having auditions for the 2013-2014 football season. http://www.panthers.com/fanzone/...Charlotte is also home to NASCAR and I'd recently seen this :http://www.charlotteobserver.com...For playoff and bowl games (this is NFL American football), celebrities are paid to sing. It gives them publicity, promotes any albums or singles dropping soon and put them on television. These performances are more like a show. For example, Kelly Clarkson singing the National Anthem at the 2013 Super Bowl. She had singles about to drop and had just sang at the Presidential Inauguration. Hot ticket.
What NBA team do you think will relocate?
Honestly, an expansion is far more likely to happen rather than a relocation. Teams that were real candidates to be relocated are no longer in that picture, the Kings have a new arena, the Pistons are staying in Detroit, and the list goes on.Relocating any other team would make no sense as of now. However, Seattle wants an NBA team back, Las Vegas is all in into major sports now that they got an NHL team and the NBA would love to go international and have a team in Mexico. More teams, more income for the league.
What are some of Sidney Crosby's major accomplishments in the NHL?
Crosby is one of the greatest players in the modern and has many awards.In his career in 826 games played he has 397 goals and 673 assists totaling 1070 points with a career plus/minus of +154.Some of his awards are2006–2007, The Art Ross Trophy, The Ted Lindsey Award, The Lester B. Pearson Award, and The Hart Memorial Trophy.2008–2009 Stanley Cup2009–2010, Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award and Maurice Richard Trophy.2012–2013, The Ted Lindsey Award2013–2014, The Art Ross Trophy, The Ted Lindsey Award, and The Hart Memorial Trophy2014–2015,2015–2016, Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy2016–2017, Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Maurice Richard Award.He has been named an All-Star 200, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2025, and 2017He was named NHL All-Star first team in 2007, 2013, 2014, and 2016Named NHL All-Star Second team in 2010, 2015, and 2017NHL All-Rookie Forst Team in 2006.He was the youngest player to get the Art Ross Trophy in his second season and the only teenager to win a scoring title in the NHL.Outside on the NHL2005, won gold in the World Junior Championship for Team CanadaIn 2010 he won gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics for Team Canada as an alternate captainIn 2014 he was the captain of Team Canada in the 2014 Winter Olympics where he won gold againIn 2015 he led Team Canada to another gold medal at the World Championship in Prague as captainIn 2016 he led Canada to the gold medal in the World Cup of Hockey and was elected MVP unanimouslyHe has 5 gold medalsHe is a member of the Triple Gold Club having a Gold Olympic Medal, a Stanely Cup, and a World Championship gold medal.Team AwardsMichel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy 2006MVP, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017A.T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award, 2010, 2016, 2017The Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award, 2006, 2009, 2010He has some more but my fingers hurt from typing
How good is the SPHL?
The SPHL is among the lower levels of professional hockey. I would disagree that it is a “beer” league. While the players are not as skilled as most of the other professional leagues, it is still a pro league. The league has done a nice job getting supportive ownership and growing their league (and the game) within their footprint.Having been involved with every league you mentioned. It is definitely a lower level than the ECHL and NCAA. It is less skilled than the USHL, but the USHL is a much different style of hockey than the pro leagues and NCAA. The USHL has the fastest gameplay of any league that I have been in. The pro leagues (and NCAA) tend to play a more possession based, methodical style of game. From your list, I would say the NAHL compares most closely to the SPHL.