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.

The city of Chicago has been unquestionably turned into a hockey town as two million fans celebrated with the Chicago Blackhawks after winning the Stanley Cup. Only a few years ago the Blackhawks were voted the worst franchise in professional sports and now they are the toast of the town. The majority of fans probably couldn’t even remember the last time the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 1961. The Hawks are set up to be title contenders for years to come with young stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, so fans in Chicago could expect a lot more success. Toews shaved his raggedy beard for the parade, but Kane kept his curly hockey mullet for all the festivities. When a city like Chicago becomes re-energized about hockey it’s good for the NHL. Rivals like Detroit and St. Louis will want to beat the Blackhawks even more now that their Stanley Cup champs. Although some may be sore over their team not winning the cup this year, in the end, Chicago finally bringing home a Stanley Cup is good for the NHL and hockey in the US.

It’s hard to say who has more momentum heading into game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. The Blackhawks were a much superior team during the regular season, having finished in second place in the Western Conference. The Flyers had to win the last game of their regular season to even make it into the playoffs. The Broad Street Bullies went on to surprise the top seeded New Jersey Devils in just five games, made hockey history coming from behind 3-0 to defeat the Boston Bruins in 7, and dispatch fellow Cinderalla-story Montreal Canadiens without breaking a sweat. In the Western Conference, the Nashville gave the Hawks all they could handle in their first series of the postseason, but Jonathan Toews and company were able to edge out the Predators in six. Since then, the Hawks have looked unstoppable. Youngsters Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Dustin Byfuglien will be hoping to bring the first Stanley Cup to Chicago since 1961.

People still are having trouble taking the men in deep Pacific teal seriously. Ok, so maybe its hard to take anyone who wears that color seriously, but the San Jose Sharks deserve more respect. Though they finished the season atop the Western Conference many of the experts have looked to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. On Thursday night in San Jose, the Sharks raced out to a 3-0 lead and withheld a inspired comeback from the Wings to hold for a 4-3 win in game one. The Sharks dispatched a hot Colorado Avalanche team in the first round of the playoffs with ease. They have a in-form goalie in Evengi Nabokov, a first-rate goal scorer in Patrick Marleau, and a veteran assist machine in Joe Thornton. The Wings will try to even up the series this Sunday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

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.

It’s hard to rag on a team that’s sitting second in the Western Conference and has one of the best records in the NHL. Nevertheless, the truth is the Blackhawks haven’t looked like title contenders since the team came back from the Olympic break. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook all played in the Winter Olympics and upon their return the team seemed to lose some of their bite. Most of the blame went on the goalie tandem of Antti Niemi and Cristobal Huey, but writers have been blaming the rest of the team for the Hawks three consecutive losses. The Hawks were the darlings of the Windy City and the NHL last year when they made a surprise run the the Western Conference Finals. Head coach Joel Quenneville will have to find a way to rejuvenate the Hawks’ spirit going into the final stretch of the regular season if they want to improve upon their accomplishments of last year.

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.