It was quite the summer... and fall... and winter...

WHY THE RADIO SILENCE?
PART 1

Yes the summer was off to a great start.

The Kings were the deserved Stanley Cup champs, proving that any team in the big dance at season's end has a chance if they get on a roll. Clutch scoring throughout the lineup combined with great goaltending is usually a recipe for success.

Oh man and when the Caps beat the Bruins in OT to win that series -- man that was good.
Finally the long nightmare was over.

Teams made some big-time signings, the biggest fish being Rick Nash who was nabbed by the Rangers. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter both signed with Minnesota. Guillaume Latendresse signed with the Sens. He'll be an impact player there, for sure. Uh huh.

On the Habs front, much news. We know Bergevin came in as GM then hired Michel Therrien for his second go-round as Habs head coach. Although I have to say I'm not a huge Therrien fan, he is much more experienced this time around and he did take the Pens to the finals. So let's hope for the best.

Then shortly thereafter the draft came along and the Habs picked Alex Galchenyuk as the third pick overall. Big, gifted scorer whom everyone says that if he was healthy, he would've gone number one instead of Yakupov. Well we'll see. But he looks promising for sure and hopefully this one pans out. The last thing we need is another Doug Wickenheiser.

Therrien already has an improved team to work with. Price was signed, Darche was not. Brandon Prust was signed, Brad Staubitz -- not. What about Campoli!? You're out. Francis "the bulldog" Bouillon? You're back baby!! Add Colby Armstrong who has much to prove and you have a team with a lot more sandpaper.

And then there's Andrei "keep away from my knees" Markov, who made his return thankfully at the end of the season -- but who can honestly say that was the "real" Markov!?

Smiling "Mike" Therrien, new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Let's hope the smiling continues.

He looked like he was playing shinny out there, and he should be thankful there is a note of compassion with players in this league, who stayed away from him like he was Wayne Gretzky circa 1982, where if you breathed on him you got a face full of Dave Semenko.

This could be the biggest ? for the Habs this shortened-season. Will Andrei Markov return to his pre-injury form and be the man for the powerplay? Big question... soon to be answered, thankfully. The man has been playing in the KHL so at least he's game shape.

Captain Brian Gionta looks to put last year's injury-riddled debacle behind him and have a bounce back year. He definitely has it in him. He's a battler.

Then there's P.K. Subban. Man this guy has been everywhere during the lockout. I'm almost sick of seeing him. Now's the time to shut that big yapper and play. And play well my friend. The Habs will sign him probably over the next few days.

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And what about me? I was taking a nice writing-free hockey vacation, enjoying the summer and playing lots of sports which included hockey, softball and golf mostly, when just before the Canada Day weekend -- I PARTIALLY TORE AN ACHILLES TENDON!!!

Yes, go on and say it. "Ooohhh." Man if I had a buck for all the times I heard "Ooohh" over the last six months, I could maybe afford to go see a Leafs game. Not that I'm going to any games this year, nor should you...

But here's what happened: playing softball, I hit a clutch two-out single to drive in a run. The next batter hit a solid single into short right field and I exploded off of first base, took two strides then suddenly BAM! The first sensation was the feeling of getting hit in the leg, like the ball hit me. But then I saw the ball in right field. I've read the sensation is akin to getting shot. Now, I don't know what that's like, but you should know this: the sound was audible. Then the next sensation was as if I stepped into a pothole. Just nothing down there.

This is what happens when a forty-year-old man still tries to play sports like he's twenty.

HabsFan in Leafland with Mr. Teddy recouping from the torn achilles. Good thing this dog doesn't know how to mix drinks...yet!

Still, I somehow "legged" it out and got myself down to second base, safely, before dropping to the ground.

Before I was carried off the field, I already had the diagnosis -- my teammate had the same thing happen a few years back. "Torn achilles, see?" He pointed to a 4 inch scar at the back of his ankle. "Get the surgery." "How long?" I asked. "Well, maybe 4 months."

Waahh!

I couldn't drive, I couldn't walk, I couldn't do much except for sit. So I sat. I ate, I drank, I self-medicated, I watched a lot of movies and worked from home. I cursed my house, which has wayyyyy too many stairs. AND THIS WAS ONLY A PARTIAL TEAR. Luckily for me, I supposedly had one of the good tears. Yeah, whatever. I HAD TO SIT DOWN TO TAKE A SHOWER!! That freaking shower chair was a symbol for my predicament, for sure. Hard cast for four weeks, walking cast for another four. Physio for months. Fear of not walking properly and being known as the gimp hereafter. Even my girlfriend at the time laughed at me -- which I didn't appreciate very much, she's a goner. Worse, maybe never playing golf and hockey again, my two passions. Softball!? Stupid game, probably never going to play it again. Just not worth it.  And here I was thinking I would write, write, write. But I became very demoralized and unmotivated to do much of anything to be honest.

I LOST MY MOJO.

And then this stupid lockout happened and so I figured, I'll just write this blog again when it ends. I took the fall/winter off from sports, did my physio, worked hard to get better and now I think I'm about 90%. Ready to start working out and getting back to where I was at when I was standing on first base back in June.

And today the lockout is over. So here I am. Who would've thought it would have taken so long!? Well, sort of predictable when you get two stubborn, egotistical SOBs like Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr facing off against each other. As Lindy Ruff so aptly said last season with what I will continue to use whenever and wherever it's appropriate: "It's A JOKE!!"

One word of wisdom from my injury: drinking while on crutches might sound like a good idea, but it's really not...

Anyhow, it's good to be back. Wish it was to a million dollar salary like those players but whatever... so long as the beer's cold, right?

PART 2: THOUGHTS on the LOCKOUT, HOW THE NEW DEAL AFFECTS PLAY ON THE ICE, THE SHORTENED SEASON, and what it all means.

THE ALFRED E. NEUMAN OF HOCKEY: Yesterday on Yahoo! sports there was a story outlining the top 10 Sports Illustrated NHL playoff covers of all-time. While I didn't agree with all of Puck Daddy's selections, there were two Canadiens-related covers: Larry Robinson barging through a Flyers player during the Canadiens' '75-76 run to the Cup; the other showing Mathieu Schneider upending Tomas Sandstrom during the '93 finals.

"What, me worry!?" Keith Magnuson's SI cover captures that era of NHL hockey perfectly. He is the Alfred E. Neuman of hockey, 1970. Pic: Sports Ilustrated

But ultimately the list made me think of my all-time fav SI NHL cover, that of the late Keith Magnuson in 1970, all sweaty and toothless and grinning looking like the Alfred E. Neuman of hockey. Really captures the era. So I posted a comment stating exactly that. And it was nice to see that other readers agreed -- which is nice.

I got the coveted "5 thumbs up" -- which is actually now 6. I'll take it.

<>   The 10 best Sports Illustrated Stanley Cup Playoff covers You said: "The best all-time SI NHL cover has to be the one with Keith Magnusson when he played for the Blackhawks, cheshire cat grinnned toothless smile makes him look like Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman. Totally captures the... more" 5

Then again, even if it's not hockey related, this one of a young Terry Bradshaw might even be better.

L.A. KINGS TRAIN KEEPS ON CHOOGLIN': 10-1 in the playoffs? Undefeated on the road going seven straight without a loss? Waah? The L.A. Kings are two wins away from the first finals appearance since '93 when they lost to the Habs. This time, they have a better unit and much, much better goaltending. Kelly Hrudey -- you're no Jonathan Quick.

Man I like this team and they've totally befuddled the 'Yotes and their frustrations are getting the better of them, as symbolized in the Doan and Hanzal hits, the latter getting a one-game suspension on his hit from behind to Conn Smythe candidate Dustin Brown.

Let's also keep in mind, no eighth seed has ever gone on to win the Stanley Cup. Or should we say, not yet!?

Game 3 is tonight in Los Angeles.

RANGERS AREN'T PLAYING LIKE A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM: Everyone pretty much picked the Rangers to beat the Devils, but really -- are they playing the kind of game that wins championships? John Torterella can mope and yell all he wants, but this team is playing like it's already in the bag, and even if they squeak it out and get to the finals, I can't see them beating the Kings the way that team is playing.

Last night's 3-2 loss to the Devils handed New Jersey home ice advantage. Can the Devils take it to them? They were able to get pucks by Lundqvist through tips and top shelf. That's the way to do it. And even if I picked the Rangers to win, I'm rooting for the Devils. After all, Marty Brodeur, he's doing it for Gary. Gary Carter that is :)

The Kings are Different

The L.A. Kings... in the Stanley Cup Western final?

Yes you're reading correctly. I didn't even have this team making the playoffs, let alone going 8-1 in two playoff rounds so far, calmly and collectively knocking out the #1 and #2 seeds in the Western Conference -- the first time that has ever been done.

Should the Phoenix Coyotes defeat the Nashville Predators, the Kings will have the chance to run the table 1-2-3 in the West.

Impressive stuff.

Since the lockout, each year there always seems to be a 7th or 8th seed that makes a deep run, whether it be the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, our beloved Montreal Canadiens and this year, the Los Angeles Kings -- a team that stamped its ticket to the postseason after its 81st game of the season.

The thing is, no matter their terrific playoff runs, ultimately each team fell short. But this year could be different.

Dustin Brown congratulates Jonathan Quick after winning their second round series 4-0 against the St. Blues. Pic: AP

This is a team that looked pathetic at times this season. Aside from goaltender Jonathan Quick, most of the team underwhelmed for the better part of the season. Defensively they were pretty good, but they just couldn't put the puck into the net. The Mike Richards addition made a big splash last summer, but didn't really produce any major results.

Even worse, Wayne Simmonds, who came over to Philadelphia in the deal, emerged as a strong power forward this year and made Holmgren and the Flyers look like the winners in that deal (they still are, in my opinion).

Then Dean Lombardi fired coach Terry Murray, bringing in Darryl Sutter and the team still had trouble finding its identity -- and scoring goals. Dustin Penner was a write-off, getting more publicity for his marital problems and the now infamous "pancake incident;" and Captain Dustin Brown was rumoured to be on the trade block after Lombardi picked up another underachiever with a heavy contract, Jeff Carter.

Looked like the ship was going down.

But Dustin Brown took a long look in the mirror and decided he wanted to be a difference maker from that point on. And he has been. The Kings made the playoffs, and are now 8 wins away from what even the Great One couldn't accomplish, win the Stanley Cup in Los Angeles.

Now it's still a long ways away, but I have to tell you, I'm jumping on that Kings' bandwagon.

Why? Because they're playing the kind of playoff hockey that wins Stanley Cups.

Hey, I'm no expert (so the experts tell me) but I've been watching hockey my entire life. And I'm telling you, this team seems to have the right things in place:

1) Great goaltending: Jonathan Quick had an All-Star year and is playing superb. He makes the key saves at the key moments.
2) Dustin Brown is leading by example: the guy gets under opposition players' skins (and not in the Brad Marchand manner), he plays a gritty, physical game, and is scoring those big goals when needed.
3) Dustin Penner: with the pancakes finally digested, he seems to have shaken off his sleepiness and all of a sudden is the kind of power forward that the Kings thought they were getting when they picked him up from the Oilers last year at the deadline. Remember, this is a guy who I wanted the  Habs to pick up last year. He's large and in charge. He's going to the net. He's making plays. He's skating hard. He's taking the lead from Brown.
4) The Grinders are grinding: you may get to the dance with the big names, but it's the 3rd and 4th liners who need to contribute to go all the way and win the big prize. From Maxime Talbot with Pittsburgh in '09, to Brad Marchand for the Bruins, to Travis Moen who scored the cup clinching goal for the Ducks a few years back, you need depth scoring to win it all. The Kings are getting it. Jordan Nolan scored yesterday's first goal and they're getting contributions throughout their lineup.
5) They play as a unit: Backchecking, sweat, sacrifice, do what needs to be done, from everyone. Anze Kopitar saved the tying goal late in the 3rd yesterday.

Kings / Rangers final? First-ever coast to coast Stanley Cup final? Could be. But much hockey to play. The thing that makes the Kings different from the other magical darkhorse runs from the past is the way they are winning. Take the Habs of 2010. They won both of their series in 7 games. The Kings? They beat the Canucks in 5 and the Blues in 4 straight. They're not eking it out by a goal that could've gone either way -- they're dominating.

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HABS COACHING UPDATE: grumblings around the league. Looks like Rick Dudley is coming in to be Bergevin's assistant GM, especially for his draft knowledge. But Brian Burke, Dudley's current employer, doesn't want to let him go until after the draft. This could get fun.

Meanwhile Elliotte Friedman broke a rumour on the CBC last night that Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is on the outs with Chicago GM Stan Bowman, and might be in line for the Montreal job. I dunno, his french, n'est pas tres good.

Other rumours have Marc Crawford on the short-list. Could be a "what did I tell you!?" moment. I've had his name out there since the fall. He at least speaks French even if it's rusty, and his wife is French.

Both are cup winners at least. I like that.

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AND FINALLY: This just off the boards. Claude Giroux has been suspended one game for his hit to the head on New Jersey's Dainius Zubrus. Oh oh Flyers. Oh oh!!