The off season is not over yet there are already names listed on the potential trade parade that could imminently happen as each team looks forward to entering the next season with a heftier roster. April did not prove to be the best month for many hockey teams. It proved that lashing the ice rink may not be enough to push their way to the Cup. There are lots of rumored trades going on right now and everybody is just hoping that somebody will break the ice. Coaches may have to adjust their plans next season and work with different guys. If you are an avid fan of your home team, you may not want to see any of these names:
• Ilya Kovalchuk
• Vinny Lecavalier
• Rick Nash
• John Tavares
• Joe Thorton
They are not lining up to form an all new hockey team (they can’t in the first place). They are waiting for whatever fate may fall upon them as there are rumors of trade going on all around the sidelines and the press. As of now, nobody can be certain whether they would still be wearing the colors we are most accustomed to seeing them. Teams are not even fully decided yet as to the next steps. There are managers who want to keep their guy. But there are other people on the administrative side who wish otherwise. The battle now shifts from the ice rink to the corporate table.
No conclusion could be made yet, but one thing is sure: their potential trade does not diminish their talent. If any one of them is your hero, let him be still. They might have a better place in other teams. Their talent might be more fitting to other systems. Traded or not, they still got the game.

Rumors have been swirling around that the NHL is now in the front seat and controlling the Phoenix Coyotes – now an impecunious team. But of course, the head honcho himself, Doug Moss, was quick to refute this story. He issued a statement saying that the real deal was that the NHL is NOT the one in control of the whole franchise and everything is going as usual.
According to Moss, it is highly unlikely for the league to be running the franchise and insists that the team officials are still the ones managing the Phoenix Coyotes. So where did the rumors of the now supposedly impoverished Phoenix Coyotes come from? Well, it turns out that a Mr. Ed Beasley – the Glendale City Manager – was the one who stated in a very simple, straight to the point manner that the league is the one managing the Phoenix Coyotes. He even implied that the Phoenix Coyotes are unable to pay for the necessary stuff like the city rent, parking fees and even the security costs. Some reports can even testify that the statement made by Ed Beasley is true.

With the help of a little digging up by some newspapers, the Coyotes really are impoverished and have been for quite a long time now. A few records prove that since August of last year, most of the necessary fees were left unpaid. So when the NHL stepped in and made all the necessary steps in order to remedy the situation, it was also assumed that they were now in control. The NHL even paid the rent around February and is now asking for the cooperation of the city in order to do some damage control. No matter what Moss might say, it sure looks like the league is in control of things now.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Preceded in Ohio’s capital by the Columbus Chill of the ECHL, the Blue Jackets were founded as an expansion team in 2000. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 2009.

The Blue Jackets’ name and logos are rooted in Ohio’s rich Civil War history. Rick Nash, David Vyborny, Ray Whitney, Fredrik Modin, Steve Mason, Geoff Sanderson, R. J. Umberger and Sergei Fedorov are some of the prominent NHL figures to have donned a Columbus sweater. Ken Hitchcock has been their coach since late 2006, and current general manager Scott Howson started in 2007. The Blue Jackets play their home games in downtown Columbus at Nationwide Arena, which opened in 2000.

Team name
See also: Ohio in the American Civil War

The name “Blue Jackets” was chosen to celebrate “patriotism, pride, and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus.” When President Abraham Lincoln requested that Ohio raise ten regiments at the outbreak of the Civil War, the state responded by raising a total of 23 volunteer infantry regiments for three months of service. Ohio also produced a number of great Civil War figures, including William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, Philip Sheridan, and George Custer. Columbus itself was host to large military bases, Camp Chase and Camp Thomas, which saw hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers and thousands of Confederate prisoners during the Civil War.

Jerseys

The team logo is a stylized version of the flag of Ohio. Previously used as an alternate logo, it became the primary logo as part of a Reebok-sponsored redesign for the 2007–08 season. The team’s sweaters feature an alternate logo, a Civil War cap with crossed hockey sticks, on the shoulders.

“The Cannon”

Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, at the behest of fans, the Blue Jackets organization brought a hand-made replica 1857 Napoleon cannon into Nationwide Arena. The cannon is “fired” at home games whenever:

* the Jackets take the ice at the start of the game
* the Jackets score a goal
* the Jackets win the game

The cannon itself is loaded with smoke flash charges; the loud “boom” accompanying is done with a .75oz concussion explosive above the rink. It was fired 164 times in its inaugural season (41 home games, 20 home victories, 103 goals scored at home).

Broadcasters

On FSN Ohio, Jeff Rimer serves as the television play-by-play announcer alongside analyst Danny Gare, a former NHL player who had his number retired by the Buffalo Sabres. On radio stations WWCD, WBNS, and 29 other affiliates in Ohio, George Matthews and Bill Davidge provide audio coverage. Matthews has been calling Blue Jackets games since the team’s inception in 2000. Rimer started calling games on television in 2005, and Gare joined him in 2006.

FSN Ohio, which broadcasts 75 games per season, airs pre-game and post-game shows for each game, hosted by Jim Day, Bill Davidge, and Jeff Hogan. The host of the radio pre- and post-game shows is Mark Wyant. Fans can interact by e-mail and phone with the radio personalties during and after the game.

The Rangers had never worked so hard to win the games that they play. They did their part in order to get their 3 wins. But it wasn’t the case in game 7.
During the game, the Rangers had it on their first ten minutes, where they scored even with their opponent. In the first period of the game, there was so much excitement. The Rangers scored 8 against 2 of the Capitals. Every goal was not easy; it was a product of hard work in the first six minutes of the game.
However the Capitals learned their lesson, they worked hard to get even with the Rangers, watching their strategies in game five and six, they out shot the Rangers with a 13-1 score in the third period. Nobody from the Rangers wanted to take a chance on the consequences they might face of getting the pucks into the net and nobody seems to be in control of the puck. The strategy of the Rangers play was in no way bringing the team into a win.
Overtime would have given the Rangers time to recover but then the game that Wade Redden played when he did not to step up on Sergei Fedorov led to the victory of the Capital Team. It was one wrong move that ended the game with the frustration on the Rangers fans.
However this is not the end of the Rangers career. They believe in two steps forward and a step backward in dealing with their play offs. And this was one step backward. They will try to fix whatever went wrong this season but they are determined to have a big comeback on the next play offs.
Will the Rangers learn from the result of games seven and be back with a winning strategy? Would they be able to solve the problem that they had this season to win their future battles? It is for us to find out as we wait for their comeback on September 2009.