The next big name in the Boston sport world might just be Tyler Seguin. The 18-year-old was drafted #2 in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins. The Canadian top prospect has been compared to Detroit Red Wings great Steve Yzerman, and has proved himself as dynamic goal scorer for Team Canada at the youth level. In his second season playing for the Plymouth Whalers, Seguin was named the Most Outstanding Player of the OHL last season. It was evident that Seguin’s legend is already growing in Boston at the team’s development camp, when 1,000+ fans turned up to cheer on the Bruins’ new rookie. The Bruins are looking to rebound in the 2010-11 season after falling to bitter rival Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 NHL postseason. Tyler Seguin, however, could be a huge difference maker for the Bruins.

Beloved NHL tough guy Bob Probert left this world on Monday after collapsing while working on his boat. The 45-year-old’s legacy will live on with Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks fans. People loved Probert for his bruising physicality, and fearless bravado. Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman (who will give the eulogy at Probert’s funeral today) never would have been as successful in the Red Wings’ 90’s run if he didn’t have Probie making sure no one took a shot at him without paying the consequences. People love hockey for the fighting, and Probert delivered night after night. Racking up over 3,000 penalty minutes in his 17-year-career. Not only was Probert retire with pretty impressive stats in terms of goals (162), assists (221), and games played (935), but also has a record like a heavyweight prizefighter. Probie had classic on-ice bouts with Craig Coxe, Tie Domi, Stu Grimson, and former Red Wings teammate Joey Kocur. Rarely, if ever, do you see athletes today with that same crazy killer attitude that Bob Probert had. The wide world of sports is a little less cool now that Bob Probert is gone. If you find yourself in a dirty bar or on your couch with a cold one in your hand this weekend, raise your beverage to the sky for a second and pay tribute to one of hockey’s true bad asses. R.I.P. Bob Probert.

It’s been a busy day in NHL front offices with a flood of deals hitting the books in the first day of free agency. The signing spree today was headlined by the Ottawa Senators acquisition of Pittsburgh defender Sergei Gonchar. The 36-year-old is widely considered as one of the top defensmen in the NHL and will make $16.5 million over three years. The Pittsburgh Penguins were quick to move on from Gonchar by signing defenders Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek for a combinded sum of $45 million. Enterprising right winger Colby Armstrong moved on from the Atlanta Thrashers to the Toronto Mapleleafs for $9 million. Edmonton picked up Tampa Bay defensemen Kurtis Foster while the Lighting signed goalie Dan Ellis from Nashville. NY Rangers center Olli Jokinen bolted for Calgary while their East Coast rival New Jersy Devils splashed $25 million for Anton Volchenkov (formerly of the Ottawa Senators). The coming days should bring more moves so pay close attention to news coming out of your NHL team’s front office.

When two teams step out on the ice anything can happen, regardless of what pundits and fans  prophesize before any given game. Wednesday night the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs got off to a surprising start with four upsets. The San Jose Sharks, the top seed in the Western Conference, were shocked by the Colorado when 40-year-old Rob Blake scored a goal with fifty seconds remaining to give the Avalanche a victory in the first game of the series. The Avalanche had to fight their way to get into the playoffs, so perhaps that win-or-go-home mindset will be advantage in the postseason. The Ottawa Senators finished the season just one spot behind the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins, but most people didn’t expect them to come out of the Mellon arena with a win last night. The Senators showed their goal scoring prowess, out-gunning the Penguins 5-4, featuring five different goal scorers. In an old school Eastern Conference match-up, the Philadelphia Flyers took down the second seed New Jersey Devils in game one in Newark in a goaltender duel won by Philly’s Brian Boucher. Finally, in a game that really wasn’t a true upset, but even though the Phoenix Coyotes had a better regular season than the Detroit Red Wings this year, many expected the Wings to prevail due to their extensive playoff experience. Hockeytown met a harsh reality in the desert last night falling 3-2 and giving the Coyotes their first playoff win in eight years. We shall see if the unexpected will continue with three games tonight.

The barrage of hits to the head in the NHL this season has prompted the league to enact a new rule disallowing hits of that nature. The controversy picked up steam following the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke blindsided the Boston Bruins’ Marc Savard on March 7th giving the 11-year-pro a Grade 2 concussion. The ruling will allow the league to deem head hits illegal and fine players accordingly. In conjunction with the NHL player’s union the NHL is exploring possible on-ice penalties for hits to the head. Both sides hope that the rule will discourage such hits from taking place in the NHL and lowering the amount of concussions on the ice. Anaheim Duck James Wisniewski was suspended for eight games after hitting a defenseless Brent Seabrook of the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this month. Head coach Joel Quenneville called the hit “the most dangerous hit in the history of the game” and argued for the league to take serious action against Wisniewski. The NHL says the new ruling will not take anything away from the physicality of the game, but only help protect players from possible career-ending injuries.

After four long years under the tutelage of “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky, the Coyotes are having their best season in their history this season. Not even when the team was known as the Winnipeg Jets did the team reach 44 wins. Coach Dave Tippett’s team defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Thursday to give the team it’s franchise all-time high in victories. The Coyotes have won seven games in a row and sitting currently in fourth place in the Western Conference. It was the 2001-02 season when the Coyotes last made the playoffs, but the team locks a lock for the postseason this year. Picking up Radim Vrbata from the Tampa Bay Lighting might have been the off season move of the year, because the Czech winger has been a terrific in a Coyotes uniform. Vrbata tied the game at 3 a piece with less than a minute left to go in the game and then won it for Coyotes in the Overtime shoot out. Today should be a proud day for Coyotes fans in the Valley of the Sun.

The Detroit Red Wings made it to the NHL Finals the last two seasons, but are presently sitting in the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with a host of teams nipping at ankles. Injuries have played a big part in the disappointing play in Detroit, but it certainly isn’t crazy to wonder if something is amiss with the Red Wings. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterburg have both been healthy all season, but losing Johan Frazen and Valterri Filppula for long periods of time definitely have hurt them this season. Considering the strength of the Western Conference the Red Wings are in real danger of not being involved in the postseason. The sports fans in Detroit already have to deal with the clueless Lions in the NFL and the slumping Pistons in the NBA, but if their dear Red Wings don’t make the playoffs it will be one dark day in the Motor City. Head coach Mike Babcock might have nabbed a gold for Canada at the Olympics, but if he doesn’t turn the season around for the Red Wings he’ll have a lot of answering to do in Hockeytown.

Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are flying high atop the NHL’s Southeast Division after they made it eight wins in a row Wednesday night with a thrashing of the Anaheim Ducks 5-1. The Caps scored three goals in the opening minutes of the third period to put the game out of reach. Ovechkin, who is second in the NHL in points, scored a goal and had two assists against the Ducks. The Russian has been earning his paycheck ever since he became the highest paid player in the NHL, but he’s had help from his team mates on this win streak. Fellow countryman Alexander Semin has scored six goals and notched eight assists over the last six games. The left winger has scored a total of 25 goals this season which combined with Ovechkin’s 34 goals makes the pair as lethal as any duo in the NHL. The Capitals will try to extend their win streak to nine when they face the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.

The Penguins were struggling until recently. But now they are really on a roll. In the last 11 games they have gone 9-0-2 and look to be on the path to take the second place spot in the Eastern Division. This comes at a time when other strong teams seem to be falling off, from the Boston Bruins to the Chicago Blackhawks and several other teams. These teams have been sustaining losing streaks quite well. But the Penguins, with the leadership of Evgeni Malkin who has scored in 13 of the last 16 games, are on their way back to the level they were at last year at this time. USA Today says that it’s kind of funny that Sidney Crosby hasn’t been discussed much lately and that he seems to be having an off year, despite being the league’s second leading scorer. The Penguins are headed to the playoffs and it will be an exciting spring for them. If they can keep the momentum into next month, they’ll be in great shape.

New Jersey Devils’ general manager Lou Lamoriello isn’t foolin’ around anymore. After last season’s embarrassing fourth-worst goals per game ratio (2.42 per game), Lamoriello has added some much need firepower to the near-absent Devils offense, adding veterans Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik.

Bringing back Rolston, a former Devils player, from the Minnesota Wild should give the Devils incredible goal scoring power. Though Rolston is now 35, age has not slowed him one bit. In his last three seasons he posted 30-plus goals. Holik, too, is no stranger to double-digit goal scoring seasons. In his twenty year career (he is now 37 years old) he has never failed to put up at least 10 goals in the NHL. Often, he scored in the mid twenties.

The addition of these powerful attackers, as well as the retention of defender Bryce Salvador and goalie Martin Brodeur, should propel the Devils into the postseason. Brodeur, the backbone of the Devils, was one of the sole reasons that the Devils were able to stay in the playoff hunt for so long last season. Now that they have some scoring power the Devils can take some of the pressure off of Brodeur.