Sabres Add Ehrhoff To Defense For Next 10 Seasons

Under the reign of new owner Terry Pegula, the Buffalo Sabres have become extraordinarily active this offseason with little mind paid to financial restrictions that previously hindered the organization's ability to make high-valued additions. The Sabres recently pulled off a deal with the Calgary Flames that enabled them to acquire veteran defenseman and Tyler Myers soon-to-be mentor Robyn Regehr, as well as return Ales Kotalik to the city where he was once a consistent 20-goal scorer.

One day ahead of the opening of the unrestricted free agent market, the Sabres plunked a whole lot of money down for another defensive addition. TSN's Bob McKenzie broke the news that Buffalo signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a whopping 10-year deal worth $40 million. The Sabres acquired Ehrhoff's negotiation rights from the New York Islanders for a fourth round pick Wednesday after the Islanders failed to reach an agreement following the acquisition of his rights from the Vancouver Canucks for their own fourth rounder.

This contract will count as a $4 million annual cap hit and, according to McKenzie, includes a modified no-trade clause and breaks down year-by-year as follows:

2011-12: $2 million in salary with an $8 million signing bonus
2012-13: $3 million in salary with a $5 million signing bonus
***note, Ehrhoff will see $18 million in his first two years with the Sabres***
2013-14: $4 million in salary
2014-15: $4 million in salary
2015-16: $4 million in salary
2016-17: $4 million in salary
2017-18: $3 million in salary
2018-19: $1 million in salary
2019-20: $1 million in salary
2020-21: $1 million in salary

So, two things seem certain from this deal - the Ilya Kovalchuk situation from last year taught general managers absolutely nothing and that it's a good bet we can plan Ehrhoff's retirement party for June 2018, which would be a bit early at right around 36 years of age.

At a $4 million cap hit, Ehrhoff certainly does provide the Sabres a good deal of value. He has proven over the past two seasons with the Canucks that he is a real offensive threat from the blue line and is especially effective on the man advantage. He posted 14 goals in each of the past two seasons and scored a career-high 29 points on the power play last year.

But a 10-year deal is a heavy committment, especially for a player that is not even remotely a superstar talent in the NHL. And while they will hope to reap the benefits from his scoring potential, they will need to deal with a defensive liability for the next decade, as well, as witnessed by a minus-13 effort in the recent postseason.

Buffalo may be happy that they now have an owner willing to spend, but it's rough to applaud an addition that could at least partially doom the future financial flexibility of the franchise. Not only are there players the team won't be able to get because of his cap hit, but also imagine just how much Tyler Myers' asking price just went up when he's ready to start hitting the bargaining table for a new deal!

Drury's Final Year Bought Out By Rangers

When the New York Rangers dealt Scott Gomez to the Montreal Canadiens two years ago, general manager Glen Sather was able to rid the organization of one of the two disastrous contracts he saddled the team with during the summer of 2007. On Wednesday, he was finally able to get rid of the other.

Chris Drury will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 following the Rangers' buyout of the final year of his five-year, $35.25 million contract. He was slated to earn $5 million in salary next season, but would have counted as a $7.05 million cap hit against New York's payroll. Bought out contracts still count against a team's cap, but at two-thirds of the remaining money owed divided over double the amount of years remaining. The Rangers will therefore owe Drury $3.77 million at a rate of $1.66 million against the team's cap in each of the next two seasons.

“Chris is a consummate professional, a tremendous competitor and an even better person,” stated Sather. “He gave his heart and soul to the Rangers organization in his time here and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

The need to end Drury's tenure with the Rangers was esssentially two-fold. First, he had failed to live up to his expectations since signing with the team four years ago. He came from Buffalo known as a 30-goal scorer with tremendous leadership qualities and a knack for coming up in the clutch. While the leadership part enabled him to be a captain during his entire tenure with the organization, he never scored more than 25 goals in a season with New York and barely ever came up big in the heat of the moment.

With the free agent market set to open at noon on July 1, there was also a need for more financially flexibility to sign somebody like Brad Richards and start throwing out offers to pending RFAs Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan. The $5.39 million saved in cap space by dropping the largely ineffective Drury will go a long way in accomplishing those tasks.

Drury, to his credit, handled the matter with the class and dignity he has exhibited during his entire 12-year career in the NHL.

"It was a great honor and privilege to be a New York Ranger for the past four years, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to fulfill that childhood dream," Drury told The New York Post. "The Rangers are a first-class organization with great people in the hockey, public relations, team services and community relations departments."

"I would also like to thank Ranger fans. They always inspired me to do the best I could in whatever role I was asked to play. Playing before them in the Garden was a thrill of a lifetime. I wish all the fans and the entire Ranger organization the best of luck in the future."

With a relatively weak free agent class this summer, Drury should not find it too difficult to find work - albeit at a much lower pricetag than the past four years. Drury still possesses strong leadership skills and remains a good two-way player, face-off specialist and penalty killing asset. For a team in need of a third line center, Drury could be a welcomed, cost-efficient option.

Flames Trade Regehr to Buffalo, Re-Sign Tanguay

After a bit of a delay, the Calgary Flames were able to complete a deal Saturday with the Buffalo Sabres that sent longtime Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr, forward Ales Kotalik and a 2012 second round draft pick to the Sabres in exchange for defenseman Chris Butler and center Paul Byron. Regehr needed to waive his no-movement clause in order for this deal to be completed, which is what held up the process as Regehr wanted to find out what other options were available. Apparently, there were none.

This is a tremendous acquisition for the Sabres, who gave up some decent talent to acquire Regehr but nobody that can't be replaced. Regehr is a 31-year old veteran of the game who has long been one of the better defensive talents in the NHL. He will bring a great deal of experience and leadership to a squad that could certainly use him for a boost at the backend - and somebody to influence youngsters like Tyler Myers. In fact, it was exactly Regehr's size and experience that general manager Darcy Regier had in mind when making this deal.

“Not just veteran leadership, but the added size as well. With the history that he has and the age he’s at, with years ahead to play, I think he can really do a lot for our younger defensemen,” Regier said. “We think that he can help and do a lot for someone like Tyler Myers. That combination of the youth and experience, that blend will do well for us.”     
This trade also marks a return to Buffalo for Kotalik, who has failed to be the same kind of offensive asset that he was before leaving the Sabres. Kotalik started his career in Buffalo and spent seven seasons with there, posting multiple 20-goal campaigns. But he was traded to Edmonton at the deadline in 2009 and signed with the New York Rangers via free agency that summer. He was then moved to Calgary in the Olli Jokinen trade and split times last year between the Flames and its AHL affiliate, Abbotsford. Perhaps a return to the team that drafted him in the sixth round (164th overall) back in 1998 will boost his performance.

Regehr is still owed a pretty penny money-wise, set to earn $8 million over the course of the next two seasons with an annual cap hit of $4.02 million. Kotalik will also earn $3 million in the final year of his current deal.



And the ability to dump that salary was a big reason why the Flames elected to deal both players. With the cap relief the Flames gained from the trade, they were able to re-sign winger Alex Tanguay to a five-year deal worth $17.5 million - or $3.5 million in salary and cap hit each season. This represents a $1.8 million raise from what he made on a one year deal with the Flames last year.

"As we looked at the potential [unrestricted free agent] market, we didn't see a player that was going to replace [Tanguay] and be as productive as we believe he can and will be," Flames general manager Jay Feaster told the press during the NHL Entry Draft weekend. "So, we're happy to have him back."

Tanguay, 31, made an impact in his return trip to the Flames last season, scoring 22 goals and 69 points in 79 games. It's production like that which made captain Jarome Iginla push very hard, according to Feaster, for his stay in Calgary to be extended.

"I think that the guy with the biggest smile today in Calgary isn't Alex, it's Jarome Iglina," Feaster said. "That's one guy that Jarome has made very clear that he very much wants back and wants to be able to play. And certaintly our entire organization is thrilled to have him back."

Setoguchi Shipped Off To Minnesota A Day After Signing New Deal

Apparently, the San Jose Sharks took a day to think about it and decided they had no interest in paying Devin Setoguchi the $9 million owed to him over the next three years, as per the terms of the new deal agreed upon between the two parties just one day ago. On the night of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Sharks shipped Setoguchi and his new contract, as well as a this year's first round (28th overall) draft pick and last year's first round (28th overall) selection Charlie Coyle, to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Brent Burns and a second round selection in 2012.

"Brent is an elite first-pairing defenceman that is just coming into his prime," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a press release. "We feel that he gives our blue line tremendous depth and versatility and will augment our existing core. He combines a dangerous offensive prowess with an abrasive presence in the defensive zone."



Burns, a 26-year old 2011 All Star, scored a whopping 17 goals last year and had 46 points overall. Both were career-highs and something that can only be improved as Burns enters the prime of his career. He will join Dan Boyle as two key blueliners capable of responsible work on both ends of the ice, though Burns brings with him the added benefit of size at 6'5", 219 pounds.

Burns enters the final year of his current contract, making $4 million in salary and counting as a $3.55 million cap hit to San Jose's payroll. It will be a priority for San Jose to get Burns inked long-term or face losing him to unrestricted free agency as early as next summer.

Setoguchi joins a lower pressure situation in Minnesota, where maybe a change of scenery can help him become a more consistent player. The Wild are always yearning for more scoring despite their defense-first mentality and Setoguchi should have little problem offering up top six forward numbers with them.

With the 28th overall pick, the Wild grabbed center Zack Phillips from the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, where he played the pivot alongside third overall selection from the Florida Panthers Jonathan Huberdeau.

Toronto Maple Leafs Add Defenseman John-Michael Liles

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is always active around this time of year. And he was just ahead of the draft by pitching a deal with the Colorado Avalanche to add a weapon along the blue line in the form of 30-year old veteran John-Michael Liles.

It seems like Liles has been a rumor of trade bait for quite a few years already, so it's not entirely shocking that he was eventually dealt by a Colorado organization that he has spent his entire career with but is also trying to get its team somewhat rebuilt. The fact that the Maple Leafs only needed to let go of a second round pick in this weekend's draft is a bit baffling, however.

Liles essentially replaces Tomas Kaberle, who Toronto dealt to Boston near the trade deadline last season. In fact, it was the same second rounder that Burke acquired from the Kaberle deal that he sent right over to Colorado.

Liles could afford to be more consistent in his play, but he remains one of the league's better scoring defenseman with excellent value on the power play. He is coming off a season with six goals and 46 points with 18 total power play points. He boasts career-bests of 14 goals during both of the immediate seasons coming out of the lockout and racked up an impressive eight scores on the man advantage in 2006-07.

He will enter the final year of his contract next season, which pays out $4.5 million but counts as a $4.2 million cap hit to Toronto's payroll.

Oilers Select C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins With First Overall Pick

The first overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft went to the same team that possessed the pick a year ago - the Edmonton Oilers. In 2010, the question presented to them was a simply matter of Taylor (Hall) or Tyler (Seguin). This year, it was a bit more complicated. Did general manager Steve Tambellini want to continue building his team's offense, fill a position that is lacking on defense or perhaps even trade the pick to move down and acquire more assets?

When it came time for him to kick off the selections at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, he went with the centerman from Red Deer, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Hopkins was the consensus top offensive players available and will be paired up soon enough with a couple of Edmonton's other top scoring threats, including last year's first overall pick Taylor Hall and 2011 Goal of the Year Award winner, Jordan Eberle.

In 69 games this past season with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, he posted 31 goals and a league-high 75 assists for 106 points. He added four goals and seven assists in 11 postseason contests.

The Colorado Avalanche followed the Nugent-Hopkins pick with another offensive selection. The Avs grabbed 18-year old Swedish winger Gabriel Landeskog of the Kitchener Rangers. Playing a more North American style game, he netted 36 goals and 66 points in 53 games for the Rangers last season. He was also plus-27 with 61 penalty minutes.

The Florida Panthers grabbed center Jonathan Huberdeau with the third overall pick. A center with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, Huberdeau is coming off winning the Memorial Cup MVP. During the regular season, he had 43 goals and 105 points while adding 16 goals and 30 points during the playoffs.

The New Jersey Devils broke the offensive mentality of the draft by finally grabbing defenseman Adam Larsson out of the Swedish Elite League. The Devils are known for their defense, but it has been lacking in recent years. Larsson was the undoubted top defensive pick in the draft and TSN's Pierre McGuire considered him a steal at the fourth overall spot. The 6'3", 200-pounder is considered a great puck-moving defenseman that can play both ends of the ice well. He isn't an offensive dynamo, but can produce on the score sheet as witnessed by his four-point performance at the World Junior Championships.

Brewer Dealt $16 Million Over Four Years To Avoid Free Agency

Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman has perhaps his biggest task ahead of him in the coming months with the need to ink pending restricted free agent (and NHL 12 cover athlete) Steven Stamkos to a new deal. But he made a little time Friday ahead of the NHL Entry Draft to re-sign an important defenseman from their postseason run. The Lightning and former first round (fifth overall) pick of the New York Islanders from 1997, Eric Brewer, will remain together for at least the next four seasons at the price tag of about $16 million.

Brewer was acquired late last season by the Lightning from the St. Louis Blues for propect Brock Beukeboom and a third round selection in tonights draft. He went on to player 22 regular season games for Tampa Bay, putting one goal and an assists with a plus-5 rating en route to the playoffs. In his first postseason showing since 2003 with the Edmonton Oilers, Brewer added a goal and six assists while remaining a steady defensive presence for Tampa Bay.

The two concerns that come along with the 32-year old veteran are his health and his consistency. This is not the first big-money deal he has come across, as he is coming off a four-year, $17 million that he signed as a member of the Blues. He was a great leader, but questions did arrise as to whether he played his best hockey on a nightly basis. He's also been a bit limited due to injuries over the last few seasons. The 76 games he played between Tampa Bay and St. Louis last year were the most since he suited up for 77 back in 2007-08. Otherwise, he played just 54 games in 2009-10 and 28 in 2008-09.

In Tampa Bay, he won't carry as much of the workload as he did a lot of the time in St. Louis and can afford to remain more of a defensive presence than force an offensive push thanks to the many scoring threats the Lightning have on their roster. Staying healthy and working off the upswing in his game that came during the playoffs last year could make him a valubale asset to the Lightning for the duration of the deal.

Brewer's contract will count as a $4 million annual cap hit, which may be a bit less than he actually would have seen had he hit the free agent market. And it helps the Lightning work toward at least hitting the minimum allowable payroll of $48.3 million, as they currently sit at about $41 million. Of course, Stamkos' eventual deal will likely do more than enough to make them cap complient.

Steven Stamkos Graces Cover Of NHL 12

During the 2011 NHL Awards Wednesday night in Las Vegas, the announcement was made that the cover athlete for EA Sports' NHL 12 video game is none other than Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos. The 2008 first overall draft pick has notched an amazing 96 goals over the past two seasons, scoring 51 in just his sophomore campaign in 2009-10 to take claim to the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. He breaks the two-year streak of Chicago Blackhawks players - Patrick Kane in 2010 and Jonathan Toews in 2011 - adorning the cover of what is a constantly improving franchise under the EA Sports umbrella.

NHL 12 will be available for Playstation 3 and XBox 360 on September 13.

Setoguchi, Markov Get Three-Year Deals to Stay Put

The blockbuster news of the day is naturally Philadelphia dealing away their top players for the ability to sign goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. But the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens were also busy in this pre-draft phase of the NHL offseason, tendering three-year deals to particular pending free agents.

The Sharks inked right wing Devin Setoguchi, who was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, to a three-year deal worth $9 million. He will count as an annual $3 million cap hit, but will make $2.75 million next season, $3 million in 2012-13 and $3.25 million in 2013-14. Setoguchi earned $1.8 million on a one-year deal with the Sharks last season.

He is coming off a 22-goal campaign that saw him heat up in the second half of the season after leaving a bit to be desired in the early goings. He added an impressive sevel goals in the playoffs, including two overtime game winners. The Sharks would love to see the 24-year old put up more of a consistent effort over the course of an 82-game schedule. But what he is able to produce when on his game makes him worth the extension, which could even be deemed a nice little discount if he gets back to his 2008-09 form.

The Sharks now possess a payroll of $55,337,500, leaving them with just under $9 million in cap space to fill up the roster.

Montreal also dished out a three-year contract of their own. Despite racking up injuries that only allowed him to play a total of 52 games over the last two seasons, defenseman Andrei Markov decided to avoid unrestricted free agency and instead re-upped with the team he's played for his entire career for $17.25 million. He will see $5.75 million in each year of the deal, which is equal to what he made in each of the last four seasons and the annual cap hit against the Canadiens' payroll.

Drafted by Montreal in the sixth round (162nd overall), Markov has spent each of his 10 NHL seasons with the organization. Unfortunately, knee injuries have been a detriment to him and have caused the 32-year old, two-time All Star to miss all but seven games last season. He suffered a season-ending injury to his right one back on Nov. 13. Montreal is obviously hoping Markov can avoid the bad luck that has plagued him in the health department recently, as he brings a strong offensive presence from the blue line - especially on the power play - to their lineup. In his last "healthy" year in 2008-09, Markov potted 12 goals and 52 assists for 64 points in 78 games. He notched career-highs of 16 goals and 10 power play markers a season earlier.

The Canadiens still have just under $15 million left to play around with under the salary cap.

Flyers Dump Richards, Carter To Sign Bryzgalov

To say the Philadelphia Flyers went through a massive overhaul on Thursday would be an understatement. General manager Paul Holmgren was certainly busy just one day ahead of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, dealing away two of his franchise's key players while signing their long-awaited savior in net to a long-term, high money contract.

Former 40-goal scorer Jeff Carter was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for winger Jakub Voracek, a first round draft pick (8th overall) and a third rounder. The Flyers followed this move up by dealing captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for forwards Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, as well as the Kings' second round selection. With the money saved by dealing those two, Holmgren was able to sign Ilya Bryzgalov - whose rights were acquired by Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago from Phoenix in exchange for a third round pick, Matt Clackson and future considerations - to a whopping nine-year, $51 million contract that will see him donning the black and orange into his 40s.



There are certainly two schools of thought to this for Philadelphia. On the one hand, they were able to develop enough cap space to sign a top-level talent at the position that has been their downfall for numerous seasons. And in dumping salary, they were also able to acquire a good deal of young talent that could surely help the Flyers down the line. On the other hand, the Flyers just dealt away a combined 59 goals and 132 points from last season - not to mention Richards' strong leadership and two-play, as well as Carter's legitimate 40-goal ability.

The big issue at hand for Philadelpia was to gain enough flexibility under the salary cap to sign Bryzgalov. He was reportedly seeking a long-term deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $6-7 million a year. And even with cap going up to around $64 million for the upcoming 2011-12 season, that would still require Holmgren to shed some salary off the team's $59,626,551 payroll. While it was assumed Richards and Carter were made available based upon their contracts - Richards entering the fourth year of a 12-season deal at a $5.75 million annual cap hit and Carter about to start his 11-year extension that would provide a $5,272,727 cap hit annually, it was never figured that Holmgren would actually deal both of his team's 2003 first round draft picks.

Niklas Lidstrom Returning To Captain Red Wings Another Season



After another disappointing second round exit from the playoffs this past May, the Detroit Red Wings developed a laundry list of priorities that needed to be taken care of by general manager Ken Holland before the puck drops on the 2011-12 campaign. None of those tasks, however, were more important than learning of their captain's decision on whether to return for his 20th season in the NHL and with the team.

Detroit found out Monday that Lidstrom, 41, will give it at least one more go. He will do so on a one year deal at a pricetag of $6.2 million, according to The Associated Press.

Lidstrom is coming off another tremendous campaign in which he posted a league ranked second best among defenseman of 62 points while playing a full 82-game schedule. Lidstrom's 32 helpers on the power play ranked No. 1 among his position. Contribution like that are reasons why the Red Wings are thrilled to have him back. It's also why he is up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy on Wednesday for the 11th time over the past 13 years.

Lidstrom's decision was motivated by both his ability to still play at a high level and to help remove the bitter taste of departing the playoffs in the second round for the second straight season. Whatever the reason, however, Holland is just thrilled to have him back.

"I don't even want to think about the Detroit Red Wings without Nick Lidstrom," he said.

Already without Brian Rafalski due to his retirement following Detroit's elimination, losing Lidstrom would have created another huge void among an NHL defesensive corps that would have seen Niklas Kronwall and Brad Staurt carry the load in front of goaltender Jimmy Howard. Now, Holland only needs to immediately concerns himself with using the $6 million left by Rafalski's retirement to acquire just one big name asset. He does not need to panic at the moment about having to replace two key cogs.

But despite his reluctancy to envision a team without Lidstrom, it will happen at some point. And Holland should be thinking forward about what the team will be like without the franchise's best defenseman. For a team constantly saying it needs to get younger but not entirely following that credo, perhaps planning a course of action for when Lidstrom does finally decide to hang them up might not be the worst idea.

For now, though, Holland can rest a little easier and look forward to the draft and free agency - and decide whether 39-year old Jaromir Jagr is that young stud forward they desire to fill a top six spot alongside Pavel Datsyuk next year.

NHL's Salary Cap Set To Rise Again To $64 Million

It seems almost baffling now that we lost the entire 2004-05 season because players and owners could not agree on the financial state of the league. While players obviously wanted their share of the pie, owners relentlessly contended that the league could not continue in its then-situation of economic peril if player costs were not reduced. And thus, a much debated salary cap was instituted that called for team payrolls to not exceed $39 million for the 2005-06 campaign.

But according to the collective bargaining agreement, that figure could rise each year based on league-wide revenue. And every year since the lockout, that's exactly what has occured. Now, coming off the 2010-11 season in which the cap was at $59.4 million, teams and player agents have been informed that they should expect another $4.6 million addition. According to TSN, the salary cap will be $64 million - a staggering $25 million increase over the course of six years.

The salary floor will move to $48 million.

This will naturally be welcomed news to all high payroll teams that desperately need that extra cushion. The Philadelphia Flyers immediately come to mind as a squad that needs to ink recently acquired goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov before he can go unrestricted on July 1, but will have a hard time squeezing his salary in based on the reported $6-7 million per season he is reportedly seeking. The New York Rangers, who are juggling whether or not they can buy out Chris Drury or wish to do the same with Wojtek Wolski, will also benefit from an extra $5 million their pockets to pursue pending-free agent center Brad Richards.

The Inevitable Vancouver Riot

UPDATE: There is now a Facebook page opened up for folks to post Vancouver Riot Pics. Sgt. Peter DeVries would like posters to include some location information to help investigators.

ORIGINAL: It just wouldn't be a championship moment without the losing team setting things on fire, flipping cars and causing all sorts of other mayhem in the streets. After watching the Vancouver Canucks blow Game 7 and the Stanley Cup, the fans did their damage.
  
As mentioned in the video, this is reminiscent of what happened when the Canucks lost in seven to the New York Rangers back in 1994.

As of right now, there have been no reported injuries as a result of the chaos. However, several arrests have naturally been made.

Be safe, Canada.

Video courtesy of Versus postgame coverage. Check out more video and photos over at Puck Daddy

Boston Bruins Secure 2011 Stanley Cup Championship

This was perhaps one of the most intriguing and awkward Stanley Cup Finals series in recent memory. Two teams that longed to hoist the greatest prize in the games; the Vancouver Canucks having never won one in its two previous tries and the Boston Bruins last declaring itself as champion 39 years ago despite every other sports franchise in its city feeling the glory of title success over the past decade.

For Vancouver, home ice advantage meant everthing. Though doing so narrowly, they took each game on Rogers Center ice prior to Game 7. Contrarily, each game held at TD Garden went Boston's way in convincing fashion. But all bets are off when its left to the do or die Game 7 - and the road team finally snagged a victory when it mattered most.

Courtesy of a two-goal nights from Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, as well as another perfect performance from 37-year old Tim Thomas in between the pipes, the Bruins secured a 4-0 win and snagged the Stanley Cup for the first time since defeating the New York Rangers in 1972.

Bergeron got the scoring going late in the first period when he netted a pass from Brad Marchand that slid just to the right of Roberto Luongo. Marchand added his first goal 7:47 into the second period with a wraparound on an out-of-position Luongo. Bergeron posted his second goal of the game a bit over five minutes later with a drive into the crease that enabled him to slide the puck past Luongo. And finally Marchand popped in his second to put the nail in the coffin on the Canucks with an empty netter with 2:44 left in the game.

A four-goal night put the Vancouver fans in silent mode, but it was undoubtedly another splendid showing in net from Thomas that enabled Boston to come out on top. The Conn Smythe Award recipient for Finals MVP posted his second shutout of the series and fourth overall of this year's playoffs on a 37-save effort - a number matching the age of the Flint, Michigan native likely set to add another Vezina Trophy to his accolades of the 2010-11 season.

Vancouver's downfall was being unable to consistently come up strong against the Bruins. Key players such as Ryan Kesler, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Luongo were all unable to follow through on the key contributions they offered throughout both the regular and postseason prior to the Finals. They were completely flat on the road, surrendering losses of 8-1 (Game 3), 4-0 (Game 4) and 5-2 (Game 6) in Boston. It also didn't help that Vancouver provided plenty of motivation to the Bruins players when Nathan Horton, who had some clutch performances through these playoffs, was knocked out of the series with a concussion courtesy of a late, blindside hit from defenseman Aaron Rome. Rome was subsequently suspended for the remainder of the series.

Canada's drought of playoff success now reaches 18 years, with the Montreal Canadiens being the last squad from up north to take Lord Stanley on the shoulders of goaltender Patrick Roy.

Of note, this was Mark Recchi's third Stanley Cup Championship during his 22 years in the NHL. He previously hoisted the trophy in 1991 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes. The 43-year old forward illuded in post-game interviews that retirement is likely on the horizon.