What Happened?

What in Christ's holy name happened to the Boston Bruins? We, Bruins fans, go away for Christmas break, with visions of Stanley Cup trophies dancing in our heads. None of us can go to sleep anymore without waking up in cold sweats over the team's pathetic and mystifying 3-11-2 record in the last 15 games. Collapses like these are only supposed to be made by the New York Rangers.

To make matters even worse, Boston has given up on the goalie tandem that did so well in the beginning of the year, by trading goalie John Grahame to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a fourth round draft pick. Grahame had gone 1-4 in his last five starts in a Bruins' uniform, and apparently Boston feels that it can get someone better to replace him.

The Bruins are still waiting on defenseman Kyle McLaren, who has been holding out since the beginning of the year. Where McLaren will actually end up is a question not many can answer. With rumors flying, linking him to just about every team in the league, it's looking like he may end up being traded for a backup goalie. But why the Bruins would trade away one backup goalie only to look for a way to trade for another is anyone's guess.

The winner of the Grahame deal looks to be Tampa Bay, if Grahame returns to anything close to the form he played at the beginning of the year, when he and Steve Shields shared the Bruins' goaltending responsibilities. With the addition of a respectable backup goalie in Grahame, Tampa Bay is looking to improve in the second half of the season.

With Boston faltering, the Ottawa Senators have never been better. They have scored the most goals in the league, fourth least against, and lead the Eastern Conference by five points. All this while the team's financial situation is in shambles, as the players did not receive paychecks a few weeks ago, and the team declared bankruptcy protection.

Following in the Senators footsteps, the Buffalo Sabres filed for bankruptcy protection as well. The Sabres are currently owned by the NHL until a new ownership group can be found. However, the group of Buffalo investors are trying to push back the payment deadline as they are having trouble coming up with the money.

Out west, the only thing assured is that no one has a lock on the playoffs. No team is carrying the conference like the Detroit Red Wings did last year, and Colorado did the year before. But the conference has been turned on its head since last year, with the LA Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, and San Jose Sharks all looking like they won't make the playoffs despite all three having great seasons last year.

The interesting thing will be to see what Detroit does with a possible return of team captain Steve Yzerman from a knee injury which he played with all through last year's playoffs. Detroit is doing just fine without him, trailing Dallas for the Conference lead by only a point, so the league should be rightfully worried about what they may do with Yzerman back in the lineup, and in good health.



Weekly making fun of the state of the Rangers

Well, half the year has gone by, and the New York Rangers are out of the playoff picture. Mark Messier is crying about the glory days of 1994, and Glen Sather is probably wishing he was still in Alberta. It is at this point in the year that the hockey elite call for the Rangers to give up, rebuild, and trade away their ridiculously paid, poorly playing, talent.

The result last year was trading for Pavel Bure at the deadline_ who has missed nearly 20 games and only has 21 points _ and signing free agents busts Darius Kasparaitis and Bobby Holik in the summer for bank breaking salaries. The only certainty about the Rangers future is that their payroll will increase and their points won't.