Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Heading into Trade Deadline day many prognosticators lamented that they felt the biggest deals had already happened. Of course they were talking about the likes of goaltender J.S. Giguere and defenseman Dion Phaneuf being traded to the  Toronto Maple Leafs and Ilya Kovalchuk moving on to New Jersey to join the Devils. While there may not have been any bog name players traded on this, deadline day, there were a number of deals consummated today that, going forward, will impact the playoff races in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. With that in mind, with a little over tow hours to go before the trade deadline expires, let’s take a look at the deals that will most impact the playoff picture and which teams emerged as improved. Teams That Improved: Anaheim Ducks: Acquired

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter With a little over 18 hours until the NHL trade deadline expires, there are a lot of names being bandied around as possible trade bait. If you listened to all the idiotic comments from all the Sidney Crosby haters after Team Canada won the Olympic gold medal, you’d think he was on his way out of Pittsburgh. After all, he’s a “whiner”, “has no heart”, “ is not a  leader”, “not a clutch player”, “hasn’t accomplished anything”, “can’t accomplish anything without Malkin” “didn’t show up at the Olympics” and, in one readers opinion, “ is gay”… Am I the only one who thinks these so-called “analysts” ought to check themselves into a psyche ward? Don’t worry Penguin fans, Crosby isn’t going anywhere, neither are his gold medals or Stanley Cup ring…his equipment is

Heading into the 2010 Olympic tournament Canada’s hockey team was the prohibitive favorite to win the gold medal. As fate would have it, Canada fulfilled the “experts” predictions, capturing the gold medal Sunday afternoon at the expense of the surprisingly strong American team. It’s easy to say, “Canada won because they were expected to win,” but given their trials and tribulations throughout the Olympics, Canada earned the gold and were full value for their 3-2 win over Team USA. At the other end, the American squad looked every bit as good as Canada for most of the game and, in some people’s eyes—namely USA head coach Ron Wilson’s—USA Hockey deserved a better result. So, how is it a team/nation that was not supposed to even compete for a medal was playing Canada for gold on Sunday afternoon? Just how did

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Just hours after Canada celebrated their gold medal victory over the United States, The Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins pulled the trigger on the first trade since the Olympic break. In what many perceive as a depth move, the Penguins have acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold form the Panthers in return for the Penguins 2010 second round draft choice. Leopold, who registered seven goals and 18 assists in 61 games with the Panthers, gives the Penguins another decent shot on the power play and a guy who, on most night’s, plays a solid NHL game. The trade may very well set in motion a ton of movement. It is believed that, while unable to pull the trigger on any deals that NHL GM’s were busy during the Olympic break, making phone calls and inquiring

Canada came into today’s game with a record of 10-3-3 against the United States. That said, none of that mattered today. Today’s game would not only decide which country would earn a gold medal, but also which country would have bragging rights for the next four years. Americans and Canadians from coast-to-coast eagerly tuned in to Sunday’s game en masse for what would amount to one of the greatest games ever played on Olympic ice. Canada got off to a slow start—something that was all too familiar for those that have watched Canada in these games. Both Canada and the United States traded chances, but neither team really established any real scoring chances until Canada’s Mike Richards dug a puck out from behind the net, pulled it out in front, shot the puck at American goaltender Ryan Miller and then

With Canada and the United States just a few hours away from dropping the puck in what can only be called an epic battle on the ice, fans from coast to coast wait with great anticipation and a little nervousness. Both Canada and Team USA will have to bring their “A” game if they are to be successful in today’s gold medal game. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five keys to success form both teams and my final prediction of today’s outcome. Team USA: 1. Must try to keep Canada off the scoreboard during the first ten minutes of the game. While the crowd is bound to be littered with both American and Canadian fans, Team USA does not want to allow the crowd to be a factor, a quick goal would allow that to happen