Turning Over A New “Maple” Leaf?

July 2, 2014 / Rich Sports Talk / Leave a comment

After a standing ovation at the Prudential Center just a few short months ago it looked like Martin Brodeur was ready to head off into the sunset after a Hall of Fame career. However, it seems the greatest goaltender in hockey history must be getting retirement advice from Brett Favre and has decided to keep playing rather than retire.

Brodeur Toronto Bound?

With the New Jersey Devils already stating that they will no longer take Brodeur back, the 42-year-old net minder maybe heading north of the border. Despite his diminishing skills, Brodeur has already stated that he will take a backup role next season.

With the Devils moving on from there best player in their franchise history, Brodeur has been drawing interest from the Toronto Maple Leafs who are reportedly working on a deal. The Leafs have already been looking to deal goaltender James Reimer which makes the speculation about Brodeur even more realistic.

The Leafs have a good young goaltender in Jonathan Bernier coming off of hip flexor surgery. The plan will probably have Brodeur mentor the young net minder this season while also making spot starts. The interesting past could be the playoffs. If the Leafs do make the playoffs, will Brodeur be the starter having been rested the whole season? Or is he a great insurance policy in case Bernier struggles?

Either way, it will be interesting to see if and where Brodeur lands with an NHL team for the 2014-2015 season. For all the latest on the NHL follow us here at Rich Sports Talk for the best NHL coverage.

Curtains? Brodeur’s last game?

April 13, 2014 / Rich Sports Talk / Leave a comment

Was this it for the best
Devil?

In 1990 the New Jersey Devils drafted a goaltender with the 20th pick in the draft. At the time none could have guessed in their wildest dreams the franchise player they had selected. 688 wins later, that goaltender could finally be ready to hang up his pads for the final time. When talking about the greatest net minders that have stood between the pipes in the NHl the conversation must start with number 30. After 3 Stanley Cup Championships and an unprecedented 20 NHL records, Brodeur is a first ballot Hall of Famer. When people ask who the greatest goaltender in NHL history was, it’s hard to argue that Brodeur isn’t the greatest of all time. No matter what he accomplished on the ice in terms of statistics or records, the impact Marty had on the Devils is immeasurable. The Prudential Center should be nicknamed the house that Brodeur Built. Throughout the ups and downs, occasionally relocation threats, and roster changes, the one constant has been Brodeur. He has been the icon of Jersey’s team for almost two decades and has brought the Devils from a relocated franchise, to a perennial NHL power. While we can easily measure Brodeur’s career from his incredible statistics, his influence goes beyond the numbers. He has put the New Jersey Devils on the map and given the Garden State a team that they can be proud of. If this was indeed the last game for the NHL’s greatest goaltender, the Jersey faithful gave him the send off that he rightfully deserved. Marty could come back for one more go, but at this point it might be time for him to hang it up. Either way, when he finals decides to call it a career, the Devils will sadly lose their greatest icon. The next question won’t be if but when he will get the call from the hall and when the Devils will inevitably hang #30 in the rafters of the arena he helped build.

Ranking the NHL’s Stadium Series Jerseys

January 26, 2014 / Rich Sports Talk / Leave a comment

7: Pittsburgh Penguins

Why not bring back the powder blues?

For the Winter Classic the Penguins have been known to wear their old school powder blue uniforms or some combination of the powder blues. It was a surprise when they released a jersey with none of these elements for the Stadium Series game. True it may not be as important as the Winter Classic, but it would have been nice to see the Penguins in their old school blue jerseys. What makes it worse is that they just basically rolled out a watered down version of their current jerseys. The only change is the striping on the jerseys which is boring. If anything, they could have gone with the old black and yellow color palette instead of basically the same exact jersey colors they use all the time. With so many options for the Penguins, it was disappointing that this was the best they could come up with.

6: LA Kings

Grey and boring

Even though black and grey is a great color scheme, the Kings somehow screwed this up. Instead of doing a solid black jersey or bringing back the old Kings logo during the Gretzky era, the Kings just put out a grey jersey that looks like it should be a practice jersey. With weird LA should logos, the old crown logo, there just isn’t much to say about these uniforms. They’d have been better off with more black or going back to the old school purple and gold. The would have been awesome to see the purple and gold on the ice again.

5: New York Rangers

Really? Let’s just rip off the Hartford Wolf Pack

The Rangers Winter Classic is one of my favorite jerseys of all time. I had high hopes for the Stadium Series hoping they would bring back a cream colored jersey or another old school look. Instead, the Rangers created a new look that looks like a combination between their old 90s alternates and the Hartford Wolf Pack. Silver? Really? The silver makes no sense, I’d rather see cream than silver. If they were going in this direction, they should have brought back the old statue of liberty logo instead of the New York script across the chest. With better logos and colors, the Rangers struck out when it came to Stadium Series jerseys.

4 Chicago Blackhawks

Back in Black

The Blackhawks had the best Winter Classic jerseys with their classic logo and design. This year, the jerseys are good, but nothing special. It just feels like a lazy attempt. Just a basic black jersey with the current logo. Sure the black looks great with the red and black, but it would have been nice for the Blackhawks to bring back their old logo or jerseys. While it’s not the worst jersey, it’s by no stretch the best.

3: Anaheim Ducks

Orange is tough to pull off, but the Ducks do it well

These jerseys by the Anaheim Ducks are very good. I love the orange color which both pops, but at the same time isn’t obnoxious like some orange jerseys can be. The burnt orange color is something different that you never see in a uniform and looks great with the black, gold, and white trim. The reason this jersey isn’t higher is the logo. While the Giant webbed D is good, we’ve seen it before. True it’s better than the “Ducks” script jersey, but I would have like to see them use the old Mighty Ducks logo with the mask and interlocking sticks. I have always been begging the Ducks to bring back that logo and think that would have been a great time to bring it back. Had they used that logo, they could have been on the top of the list, but without it they stay at number three.

2: New York Islanders

Old school and new school meet for a great combination

Given the Islanders’ illustrious uniform history which includes some of the worst jersey disasters in hockey history, I was skeptical when it came to their Stadium Series jerseys. However, the Islanders jerseys are incredible and the one jersey in the Stadium Series that should become the team’s third uniform. This would be so much better than those stupid black jerseys the Islanders have. With the classic blue, orange, and white colors, this jerseys looks beautiful. Add in the horizontal stripes on the arms and pants, clean white shoulder stripes and this is an aesthitically pleasing jersey. Then the logo, finally a team that tried something new. I love how the Islanders incorporated the NY part of their logo with a modern twist on the chest. Overall this is a great jersey, and I hope the Islanders keep using these after the Stadium Series.

1: New Jersey Devils

A Classic

The Devils jersey may not be new or innovative, but it’s nice to see at least one team honor their heritage. Sure Christmas colors may not sound like a winning combination on a hockey sweater, but the Devils make it work. The red, white, and green is simple and beautiful. These jerseys pop with their red color scheme and the green and white highlights are crisp and mesh well together. Sure it may look like Christmas on ice, but who doesn’t love Christmas? Finally the Devils have one of the best logos in hockey, so why mess with perfection? Great logo, great jersey, clearly the winner. Do you agree or disagree? Which was the best Stadium Series jersey and which was the worst? Comment and like below!