The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins will meet for the sixth and final time in what should be an entertaining tilt in Boston. The Canadiens currently sit three points behind the hated Bruins in the Eastern Conference’s Northeast Division standings where the “Big Bad Bruins” currently sit in first place. With Boston holding two games in hand, finishing first overall in the Northeast looks to be a bit of a pipe dream for the Canadiens, but you just know that the Canadiens are going to put as much heat as they possibly can on the Bruins, especially in light of what happened in the last meeting between these two clubs at Montreal’s Bell Centre. For those of you that do not remember (as if that’s really possible), coming off a previous game in which both teams had engaged in a

By now we have all seen the Matt Cooke hit on New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh. The NHL responded by handing out a minimum 14-game suspension (10 regular season games followed by up to seven games in the first round of the playoffs) to Cooke for what is widely regarded as one of the ugliest hits in all of hockey—the head shot. Cooke intentionally caught McDonagh in the head with an elbow. Try as he might to excuse his actions or suggest that the incident was an accident, the video shows Cooke intentionally targeted McDonagh’s head. Cooke’s undisciplined actions could have cost McDonagh his career or worse yet, his mobility or even his life. While the suspension seems to be to the liking of many hockey fans, players and management types, there are still questions as to why it

With the 2010-11 NHL season winding down and with the Toronto Maple Leafs looking like they will once again miss the playoffs, Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has some tough decisions to make with regards to the roster he wants to send over the boards for the 2011-12 season. While it is tough to speculate on which players Burke will bring into the fold via free agency this summer, there are more than a few players within the organization that appear to be on their way out. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Seven players that will not be wearing the Blue and White of the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. J.S. Giguere, Goaltender, Toronto Maple Leafs: When Brian Burke traded for J.S. Giguere it was thought that he could help bring along goaltending prospect Jonas

Signed as a free agent out of the U.S. College ranks in 2009 by Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, Christian Hanson has struggled to make an impact with the Maple Leafs organization. Known as a gritty, yet disciplined player, Hanson has seen little NHL action this season, spending most of his time developing with the Maple Leafs American Hockey League Affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Hanson has amassed a total of 13 goals and 30 points through 50 games with the Marlies, while contunuing to improve his two-way play and develop his offensive game. While defensively competent and physically strong, Hanson struggles to find the net, especially at the NHL level where has registered a total of three goals in 42 career NHL games. To be fair, outside of the 2009-10 season where he played in 31 NHL games (netting

NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell issued a statement today saying:  “Mr. Cooke, a repeat offender, directly and unnecessarily targeted the head of an opponent who was in an unsuspecting and vulnerable position. This isn’t the first time this season that we have had to address dangerous behavior on the ice by Mr. Cooke, and his conduct requires an appropriately harsh response.” Campbell was referring to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke’s suspension for his dangerous hit on New York Rangers forward Ryan McDonagh for which Cooke will be suspended for the rest of the regular season and the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What it amounts to is a suspension that will last at least 14 games (ten regular season, four or more playoff games).  This latest suspension marks the second time Cooke has

When Brian Burke was hired to be the Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager in November of 2008, there were a lot of Maple Leaf fans who were ecstatic that the franchise had finally delivered on bringing in one of the top men in hockey. While nobody is taking anything away from Cliff Fletcher (the man Burke replaced), there is no question that when you consider Burke’s education, league experience, draft record, personal awards and Stanley Cup Championship, Burke was “the man” for the job. When Burke arrived in Toronto, he promised to bring in players who were ready and able to drop the gloves while bringing a compete level that would be the envy of the NHL. “We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence. That’s how our teams play,” said Burke. “I