Other ways NHL teams are going green for Earth Hour

Coincidentally, this is also the Leafs'
defensive zone breakout strategy.

Tonight, people all around the world are being encouraged to dim their lights between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. in recognition of Earth Hour. The international event is meant to raise awareness of environmental issues and climate change.

Many businesses are throwing their support behind the movement, and the NHL has joined them. The league has announced an Earth Hour campaign of their own, with all teams hosting games tonight being asked to scale back energy usage in their arena.

But apparently that's just the beginning. The league has left the door open for teams to find additional ways to promote environmentalism, and according to sources, several teams have decided to do just that.

Here are some of the ways that NHL teams will be going green.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Will ask Rick Nash if he can take a one-hour break from sitting with his face three inches from a computer monitor while frantically hitting refresh on the Google News page for "Rick Nash trade rumors".

Phoenix Coyotes - Have asked the fleet of moving vans that have been circling their arena constantly for four years to pull over and just idle on the side of the road for an hour instead.

Los Angeles Kings - Have instructed all of our offensive players to conserve electricity by making sure our side of the scoreboard never changes and ... Wait, did you say Earth "hour"? Oh man, we could have sworn you said "season".

Ottawa Senators - Have told the guy who works the goal horn to reduce his output by 50% when the Senators score, since they figure 400 blasts will still be enough to get the point home.

Read the rest of this post...

A brief rant on the state of the Brian Burke era

There's been an ongoing conversation on Twitter today about the state of Brian Burke's Maple Leafs. I tried to post a short series of tweets on the topic, but Twitter decided that it wouldn't post them all for some reason. So I'm reposting them here. Back to the usual content tomorrow morning.

(begin rant)

If I could build a time machine and go back to interrupt Brian Burke's introductory press conference bearing news from the future and explained that in almost four years, the Leafs would have:

a.) No playoff appearances;
b.) Four bottom-ten years;
c.) Two bottom-five years;
d.) A 2012 team that was cap-maxed AND worse than JFJ's rock bottom in terms of points;
e.) an above-average farm system (maybe) with no elite prospects...

No Leaf fan would have called that acceptable. Not one. Twist it however you want, but you would have called that a disaster. And you'd be right.

(Drops mic. Stares at confused audience. Sighs heavily, and goes back to making "Roberto Luongo is a choker" jokes.)

The NHL's version of the "Because It's The Cup" ad for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Have you seen the NHL's new ad campaign? Building off last year's popular series of "History Will Be Made" ads, the league has introduced this year's version: "Because it's the Cup".

They're doing one for each team. Here's the Red Wings version:

Pretty cool. You can see more about the campaign here.

But there's one problem: Since the whole ad is about the playoffs, the league will end up excluding teams like the Toronto.

Or so I thought. It turns out the league is way ahead of me, and has already done a Maple Leafs version.

And I have to be honest... I'm not sure I like it:

> Follow Bloge Salming on twitter

> More Bloge/DGB video collaborations

A hockey fan's guide to Wrestlemania

This is the happiest anyone has ever
looked while wearing an Oilers jersey.

This Sunday is one of the biggest days on sports calendar, assuming you're willing to be generous with your definition of "sports". That's because it's time for another installment of Wrestlemania, the annual pay-per-view event that features the very best that the fine folks at World Wrestling Entertainment have to offer.

OK, Wrestlemania may not for everyone. But even if you're not a fan of professional wrestling, the overwhelming hype for each year's production can be hard to avoid. So if you're a hockey fan who's wondering what all the fuss is about, here's a quick guide to get you up to speed on the similarities and differences between Wrestlemania and the NHL.

Wrestlemania: If you see somebody wearing a sparkly silver jacket that spells out their name in bright flashing lights, you'll know that Chris Jericho has arrived for his match.
NHL: If you see somebody wearing a sparkly silver jacket that spells out their name in bright flashing lights, you'll know that Don Cherry has decided to wear something conservative that night.

Wrestlemania: If the crowd yells "What?" every time a person tries to speak, it's because they are using a traditional wrestling chant to attempt to interfere with the villain's train of thought.
NHL: If the crowd yells "What?" every time a person tries to speak, it's because the referee is announcing the results of the instant replay review using one of those microphones the league bought at Radio Shack in 1983.

Wrestlemania: The fans know that the fights are planned out well in advance, although everyone involved makes an effort to pretend that they're spontaneous and real.
NHL: John Tortorella and Peter DeBoer have no idea why everyone is staring at them right now.

Wrestlemania: The athletes can often be heard using catchphrases such as "Do you smell what The Rock is cooking" and "I am the Ayatollah of Rock-and-rollah".
NHL: The athletes can often be heard using catchphrases such as "We just have to take it one game at a time" and "Like I said, we just have to take it one game at a time".

Read the rest of this post...

Who will win the Masterton Trophy?

Clearly, the puck had launched itself into the
stands in an attempt to draw a penalty.

The Masterton Trophy is unique among the NHL's annual awards. For one thing, it's given to the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey", which means it has as much to do with a player's performance off the ice as what he does on it. And for another, it's an award that sees one player from each team nominated instead of the usual three league-wide.

Those 30 nominees are announced at the conclusion of voting by each team's local writers, meaning they're spread out over several weeks in March. We don't yet know the names of every player who's up for the honor this year, but most teams have revealed their nominee. Some have made inspiring recoveries from serious injuries, others are being recognized for their involvement in charity, while others have overcome obstacles that threatened their careers.

But they all have something in common: each is being recognized for facing adversity in some form. Here's a look at some of the players being considered for this year's Masterton Trophy.

Matt Cooke, Pittsburgh Penguins - It's only fair to that he be included, since he was personally responsible for every one of the horrible things that lead to the other 29 guys being nominated.

Johnny Boychuk, Boston Briuns - Has often been described as "not completely insufferable" and "somebody you can watch play one entire game without hating, I guess", making him pretty much a unanimous nomination for the Bruins.

Curtis Sanford, Columbus Blue Jackets - The veteran goaltender is known for spending most of his time working with the underprivileged, in the sense that he plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Joffrey Lupul, Toronto Maple Leafs - Was somehow able to post the best offensive season of his career despite the overwhelming disadvantage of being stuck with a linemate who occasionally doesn't feel like talking to the media.

Read the rest of this post...