An Appalling Start in the Mile High

     Offensive turnovers, especially on their own side of the field, and the lack of impact plays on defence by Broncos among many other things are big factors in their ugly 0-3 start. This is the first time since 1999, the year after their back-to-back Super Bowl wins, that the Broncos have started 0-3.

     Denver boasts a defensive-minded bench boss in Vic Fangio, two dominant edge rushers in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, a good inside pass rush and a mid-tier secondary; yet has still found themselves playing from behind in all three games so far this season. This in turn has prevented the pass rush from getting going, which is why the Broncos have zero sacks and zero interceptions through three games, dead last in the league. Playing from behind has also caused the Broncos to move away from the run and rely more on the pass game, which explains Flacco’s many touches. But Lindsay and Freeman still had a great game in week 3.

     It can be argued that all three the Broncos’ games were very winnable. They were one drive short in Oakland but multiple penalties, holding in particular, took them out of field goal range several times and red-zone struggles kept them out of the endzone on multiple occasions. They were outplayed on special teams as well, getting a better average field position to start each drive and they two good kick returns on special teams that led to points. The Raiders’ defence also caused more quarterback pressure than the Broncos’ defence. 

     In Chicago, Denver again struggled to really move the ball effectively until the last few minutes of the game when they took the lead 14-13. Penalties continued to taunt the Broncos, a lack of pass protection from the injured offensive line disrupted Flacco’s rhythm and led to several key sacks that took points off the board for Denver. Playing from behind again, the Broncos moved away from the run game to try to get big pass plays downfield. Good coverage by the Bears secondary allowed their pass rushers to unleash fury on Flacco. Flacco has not been the problem for the Broncos but has not been excellent either, throwing only two touchdowns and two interceptions this season, being sacked 11 times. Of course, after the Broncos took the lead, there was a controversial ‘roughing the passer’ call on Bradley Chubb that gave Chicago a first down close to midfield. On fourth down with seconds left, they got a completion downfield and were able to call a timeout with 1 second left despite the clock clearly hitting 0:00. However, the Broncos shouldn’t have left the receiver wide open. 

     The Broncos played their best defensive game against Green Bay at Lambeau. However, turnovers killed the Broncos. Turnovers, especially on your own side of the field goes against Vic Fangio’s ‘death by inches’ mantra. The Broncos had a fumble inside their own 5 yard line and inside their own 40 yard line, both lead to Green Bay touchdowns. Both of these fumbles happened on consecutive drives, right before and after half time. This would give the Packers a two score lead early in the third quarter. Another terrible holding call against Denver, this time on Emmanuel Sanders, prevented a touchdown and quite possibly a 14-10 halftime lead for Denver. Instead it was 24-10 for Green Bay midway through the third quarter. The Broncos’ offence moved the ball very well up and down the field all game long, unlike in their first two games; and their defence did a great job containing the run and limiting Aaron Rodgers to only one TD and 235 passing yards but the two fumbles, Green Bay’s six sacks and an interception from Flacco on a poorly thrown ball when Denver was driving late in the third quarter with a chance to tie the game 24-24 sealed Green Bay’s victory. You can’t expect a defence to stop a good offence when they start at your own 5 yard line. The Broncos shot themselves in the foot again and again and the refs made some questionable calls (holding on Sanders) which resulted in them falling to 0-3 and the Packers improving to 3-0.

     Since 1980, a team that has started 0-3 has only a 3.4 percent chance to make the postseason. Only 6 of 176 teams since 1980 have rallied to make the playoffs after starting 0-3, including the 2018 Houston Texans who started 0-3 and won 9 straight games to finish 11-5. So the Broncos’ playoff chances seem dull but it is not impossible. 

     To start their comeback, they will have to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and their star rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew, the leader of ‘mustache mania’. This is a daunting task because Minshew has posted a 73.8% completion percentage and a QBR of 110.6 the best performance of any rookie’s first three games in the Super Bowl era. He has 5 TDs, 1 INT and nearly 700 pass yards but he doesn’t make mistakes or cause turnovers. He puts his offence in a position to score and lets his defence take care of everything else. They had nine sacks in their week three win over the Titans and won the line of scrimmage which is a bit intimidating for a Denver offensive line that has been much better at run than pass protection and that is short a few starters in particular, right tackle Ja’Wuan James. The Broncos will have to hold off the Jaguars’ edge rushers and strong inside rush from players like Calais Campbell, an ex Bronco. Hopefully, the Broncos generate some pressure on Minshew and force him to make a mistake as that could be the difference between a 1-3 vs a 0-4 season. As well as generating pressure on Minshew (which might be a little difficult on the inside with Jewell and Wolfe questionable), the secondary needs to keep playing well even with injuries to safety Kareem Jackson who his questionable and Bryce Callahan who is listed as out for this game. As they say, ‘next man up’. Hopefully Bausby and Yiadom can be the next men up. Not to mention Denver needs to have a balanced attack between the run and the pass and Flacco needs to get the ball out quickly so the offensive line doesn’t have to block all day. It will be a tough task, but Denver can get the job done if they make no mistakes. Essentially it is a must win game for the Broncos. 

Offensive Ineptitude

By: Adamo Marinelli

August 25th, 2019

     Ottawa, Ontario: Dominique Davis proves once again, he is incapable of leading an offence at the starting QB role for the Ottawa Redblacks. He threw three interceptions; two of which occurred inside his own 15-yard line, both leading to touchdowns for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. 

     So far this season, he has thrown for 1846 yards, completing 169/271 passes but only has five passing TDs compared to 14 INTs. He also has five rushing TDs. He leads the league in picks, being three ahead of BC Lions QB Mike Rielly who has nine INTs and 11 TDs in a subpar season for the Lions where everyone is struggling and five ahead of Toronto Argonauts QB McLeod Bethel Thompson who has nine interceptions but also 14 TD passes, one less than Matt Nichols for best in the league. No other QB has more than seven INTs. 

     Recurrent turnovers by the offence told the story of this game, like several others and the Roughriders took advantage of the Redblacks’ five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles lost), scoring 24 points off turnovers directly. This helped the Roughriders cruise to a comfortable 40-18 victory after they started the game with a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Turnovers killed Ottawa in this game and have in several others, always losing the turnover battle and gibving up too many points off of turnovers. 

     Not only do these turnovers help the Roughriders score points, but they eliminate potential scoring drives for the Redblacks and they take all the momentum away from the offence. Too many turnovers will also put the defence out on the field for too long, which isn’t good either.

     Despite losing 40-18, the Redblacks' defence played a decent game. Ottawa’s defence did not fail to make a few key plays to keep themselves in the game and give their offence opportunities to score some points. They didn’t cause any turnovers or get any sacks but they did keep the game close enough for a long stretch in the first half, but the offence was unable to generate a comeback. The QB switch from Davis to Jonathan Jennings which led to a 75-yard strike to Dominique Rhymes gave some momentum but it wasn’t enough to amount to a comeback. 

     As a result, most of the points the Redblacks gave up cannot be directly pinned on the defence. All of the turnovers gave the Roughriders excellent field position -- multiple times they started drives in the red-zone too -- which gave them several chances to take and maintain a lead thanks to easy, close-yardage touchdowns. Also, due to the inefficiency on offence, the Redblacks’ defence has been on the field for the majority of the past five or six games; in this game they were on the field for 33 minutes, less than some other games but still more than half.

     However, at some points, the Redblacks’ missed or didn’t finish key tackles or weren’t able to bring down a scrambling QB which led to many points for the Roughriders. A key moment that came to mind was a missed sack which led to Cody Fajardo spinning around a Redblacks’ defender before scrambling and throwing a TD pass to veteran receiver Emmanuel Arcenneaux. 

    Despite losing a lot of talent on offence in free agency at the end of last season like Greg Ellingson, William Powell, Trevor Harris and Sir Vincent Rogers amongst others, there is still a lot of young talent on the roster, both on offence and defence, such as: Dominique Rhymes, Devonte Dedmon, John Crockett, J.C Beaulieu, Brad Sinopoli and R.J Harris on offence, Lewis Ward and Richie Leone on special teams and Antoine Pruneau, Anthony Cioffi, J.R Tavai, Avery Williams and Jonathan Rose on defence, to name a few. The defence and special teams have a lot of talent and it shows week in and week out. On the other hand, offensively, the Redblacks have loads of youth and talent, they just need to have a competent QB at the helm who doesn’t turn the ball over a lot to lead this offence to success, to be able to keep drives alive and to be able to score TDs, not just field goals. Whether that QB be Jonathan Jennings, William Arndt or another free agent QB, it doesn’t matter. Davis simply doesn’t cut it as a starter. He definitely hasn’t shown that he is this season.

What happened to the Redblacks and will they improve?

August 8th, 2019

     After starting the season 2-0 with incredible wins over the Calgary Stampeders, the defending Grey Cup Champions, on the road and against the red-hot Saskatchewan Roughriders - in both games their offence and defence proved to be excellent despite the fact that both games were settled by four points or fewer - the Ottawa Redblacks have proceeded to lose four consecutive games. In all of those games, they’ve showed many signs of offensive incompetence, particularly not being able to string together more than a few first downs, let alone a drive down the field to score a touchdown. Also, in this string of losses, the Redblacks have demonstrated a lack of aggressiveness on defence, especially in their secondary. This was evident in all four games, particularly in their blowout 31-1 loss to the Blue Bombers in which Matt Nichols threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns, completing 25/29 passes. The majority of their yards came because the opposition always had at least one open receiver downfield. 

     In this article, I will take a closer look at all four games in the Redblacks losing streak and figure out how the Redblacks went from a potential Grey Cup contender to possibly not even making the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural 2014 season. 

     In their 29-14 loss against the Blue Bombers, their offence really started to show signs of struggling in which they were able to hide in the first two weeks of the season; by putting up 76 points. Their QB, Dominique Davis completed 21-36 of his passes for 234 yards, zero TDs, and two interceptions. It wasn’t all Davis’ fault, however. Granted, some of his throws were off target but the young receiving core, led by veteran Brad Sinopoli made some mistakes while running their routes and there was no shortage of miscommunication between QB and WR too. Their running game wasn’t able to get anything going either, totalling only 24 yards on the ground with three backs. The Bombers shut down the passing game with their talented secondary - Davis’ two picks helped speed up that process - and then when Ottawa tried to establish a run, the Bombers’ defensive line were ready for it. On the defensive side of the ball, the Blue Bombers had two sacks compared to Ottawa’s one and they took advantage of the Redblacks’ young offensive line, getting more QB pressures than the Redblacks’ defensive line could produce. The Bombers also won the turnover battle, having only one interception from their back up QB late in the third quarter compared to Davis’ two. Two bright spots in this game were kicker Lewis Ward who made both of his kicks to remain perfect on the season and Jonathan Rose who had a pick six. Of Ottawa’s 14 points, seven came from Lewis Ward, six from the defence and one rouge. Not a single touchdown was registered; that is always a problem. Matt Nichols had a spectacular game under center for the Bombers, throwing for nearly 262 yards and one touchdown, completing 16/20 passes with no interceptions. It always seemed like they had at least one open receiver downfield and they simply outplayed Ottawa’s secondary, who had lost Jonathan Rose to injury and many new faces at training camp. Even RB Andrew Harris had a good game with 80 yards on 18 carries and a few receptions. To put it simply, the Redblacks were outmatched offensively getting beaten in total yards by a score of 443 to 240 and their defence wasn’t tight enough to prevent all of those yards. As fans, we all hoped this game would just be a hiccup, but it proved to be much more. 

     In their 36-19 pounding at the hands of the Alouettes, it was evident that the Redblacks’ offence wasn’t just dealing with a minor hiccup in their production and the defence got progressively worse when a mobile QB like Vernon Adams Jr. was added into the equation. The Redblacks’ secondary also took another hit with CB Antoine Pruneau leaving the field with an injury to his left arm and hand during the game and did not return. Both Rose and Pruneau are on the six game injured list and the absence of those two veteran leaders will be a huge blow for the secondary for the near future. To make matters worse, RB Moses Madu wouldn’t be playing after an injury sustained in the loss to Winnipeg meaning rookie John Crockett would be tasked with leading the ground force in his first CFL start. The game started offly quiet, as both teams were notched up 9-9 at the half. There weren’t very many turnovers, Davis only threw one interception. Turnovers would sadly only get worse as the weeks went on for the Redblacks. Again, for the second consecutive game, the Redblacks’ were unable to get a passing touchdown, however, they were still able to use their running game -the anchor of their offence- to put touchdowns on the board. Dominique Davis, who isn’t having the best season in terms of passing yards is lighting up the CFL in rushing and is very mobile. He rushed four times for 21 yards and two touchdowns. He doesn’t necessarily rack up yards on the ground, but he racks up TDs. That’s what counts. He had a better statistical game on the ground than in the air, where he completed 23-37 passes for 268 yards and one interception which led to a short field and an Alouettes touchdown. The Redblacks defence still was the glue that held the team together, keeping the game close and giving the Redblacks in it for the first half until it blew open in the third quarter. They made some key stops and gave the offence many chances. They didn’t cause any turnovers but there was one interception that Rose dropped and a fumble that a Redblacks’ defensive lineman should’ve fell on. Lewis Ward, the kicker had another perfect game hitting both of his field goals, his longest from 50 yards. However, it was the Alouettes offence, particularly their new QB Vernon Adams Jr. Montreal’s defence did a good job shutting down Ottawa’s pass game for the most part, forcing many two-and-outs, giving their offence many chances with the ball. Adams, who is currently 6-2 as the starter, completed 23-30 passes for 327 yards, two TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for 41 yards, scoring two more TDs on top of Stanback’s 100 yard game. The fact that the run game made such a presence opened up the pass game with play action and the Alouettes offence, for the most part, was always one step ahead of the injured Redblacks’ defence.

     In the rematch against the Blue Bombers, where the Redblacks lost 31-1, to put it quite simply the game wasn’t even close. Ottawa’s offence couldn’t get anything on the board with the run or pass game and again, the Redblacks lost the turnover battle throwing two picks compared to Matt Nichols who threw no picks. These costly turnovers continue to cut down the Redblacks’ scoring chances and giving extra chances to a potent Bombers offence to put points on the board. Redblacks’ QB Jonathan Jennings who was an MVP caliber talent in the CFL a few mere seasons ago tried to begin rebuilding his career in a Redblacks jersey tonight and didn’t succeed. He completed only 6-15 passes for 45 yards and one interception before getting pulled for the third string QB who didn’t perform much better throwing for 57 yards and one interception only completing 4-13 passes. The Redblacks had 205 total yards, 88 of which came from John Crockett on the ground compared to the red-hot Bombers offence which manifested 448 total yards. It was complete domination by the Bombers just like the score suggested. Another note, the Redblacks couldn’t get a drive going and first downs were hard to come by. They only got 12 first downs the entire game, the Bombers nearly doubled that and six game on the ground, six from the air. Furthermore, the Bombers led won the possession battle also, controlling the ball for 36:40 minutes compared to Ottawa’s 23:20 minutes. The very talented Blue Bombers’ defence that’s been firing on all cylinders clearly took advantage of a struggling Redblacks’ offence - due to the youth on the roster from the massive free agency overhaul - and the numbers show it. However, the game wasn’t a blowout from the opening kickoff. The game was scoreless for about nine minutes and both teams had chances to get a lead. In the opening drives, Ottawa’s offence was already struggling, going three and out the first two opportunities they got the ball, but their defence limited the Blue Bombers to only a few first downs here and there and kept Ottawa in the game. But, with just over six minutes to go in the first quarter, a badly underthrown pass by Jennings was picked off and returned 71 yards for a touchdown by CB Winston Rose. From there, the game was burst wide open. The slight glimmer of hope Ottawa had to win this game disappeared and as their offence kept stuttering, the Bombers offence kept scoring and the Redblacks kept digging themselves deeper and deeper into an inescapable hole. Winnipeg’s defence played a perfect game, with two interceptions, including a pick six midway through the first quarter to turn the tide in Winnipeg’s favour, winning the sack battle 3-1 and limiting the Redblacks to 205 total yards. The Redblacks’ only point came from a single after a 75 yard Richie Leone punt on special teams. The Bombers shut down the Redblacks’ offence, which couldn’t really do anything and their stellar defence gave their offence many possessions and chances to thrive which it did. It wore down Ottawa’s defence that has been on the field so long with the run game and then lit them up in the pass game. Matt Nichols had an amazing game, setting another record for consecutive completions, completing 25 of 29 of his passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns. He also set a record for 19 consecutive completed passes. RB Andrew Harris rushed for 63 yards on the ground but had 68 receiving yards and a TD. WR Kenny Lawler Jr. had a 54 yard receiving TD and even the Bombers’ backup QB rushed for a score. It was a statement win for the Bombers, cementing them as one of the best, if not the best team in the west division and the league. 

     Their best game of their four losing streak, was a 17-16 loss against the Stampeders at home, where they lost a very close game on a last second field goal attempt. For the first time in a while, I can say the Redblacks were in this game and had a chance to win it until the very end. This is definitely progress despite the tough loss to fall to 2-4 on the year after starting 2-0. QB Jonathan Jennings improved from last week, completing 15-18 passes for 125 yards and a TD but he did still throw two interceptions which killed Ottawa’s momentum on some drives. Moreover, for the first time in four games, the Redblacks were able to get a passing touchdown, thanks to Dominique Davis and Brad Sinopoli. Improved QB play aided the receivers get out of their shell. Finally, the ball was being spread around the field getting thrown to places were Ottawa’s receivers had a chance to catch the ball and turn upfield. Also, the Redblacks’ defence: despite giving up 370 passing yards and another 127 yards on the ground, losing the possession battle 37 minutes to 23 and giving up more first downs than Calgary’s defence, they still limited a very strong Stampeders’ offence - even with Nick Arbuckle at QB with Bo Levi Mitchell injured - to no touchdowns - on offence or on defence. The game was tied 9-9 at the half, with each kicker hitting three field goals. Rene Paredes hit a fourth field goal to give the Stampeders a 12-9 lead. In the fourth, Davis threw a beautiful TD pass to Sinopoli for the lead. Lewis Ward remained perfect on the night and hit the PAT. Late in the fourth quarter, with a 16-12 lead, the Redblacks went two and out deep in their own territory and instead of punting the ball away and letting their dominant defence get a stop, HC Rick Campbell decided to give up a safety instead of letting Leone punt the ball. The Stampeders pulled within two points and drove down the field to hit a game winning field goal as time expired. This would be the fourth straight loss for the Redblacks. It is a frustrating game to lose, especially after your defence and QB played so well, and no-one knows why Campbell didn’t just punt the ball away and let his defence takeover but a loss is a loss.

     Despite their four game losing streak, there is still a slight glimmer of hope. Last week, in comeback fashion, the Ottawa Redblacks stunned the Montreal Alouettes 30-27 in overtime to improve to 3-4 on the season, a half game back of the Alouettes who still hold second place in the East. Our offence got better as the game progressed, but still struggled, only being able to get into the endzone once thanks to a pass from Davis to Sinopoli and caused several turnovers; momentum killers for numerous Ottawa drives. Davis threw two picks and fumbled the ball twice. Our defence performed admirably considering they were on the field for the majority of the game; the Alouettes dominated in time of position at 36:24 - 23:36. Also, at the end of the game after a three and out, Ottawa’s defence held the Alouettes to a field goal. That made the game 27-21 in favour of Montreal instead of 31-21. The Redblacks’ defences had many Instances like these proving defence is the backbone of the team with a young offence. Despite losing the turnover battle 4-2, the Redblacks’ defence got one turnover in overtime that mattered most, to seal the comeback victory in overtime. As they say, quality over quantity. The highlight of the game was the Redblacks’ special teams. Particularly, kick and punt returner Devonte Dedmon, who had a punt and kickoff return touchdown and 377 total return yards. Not only that but both of his return TDs came in the first half when Ottawa was down big and he helped keep them in the game. Still need to see some major improvements from the Redblacks - especially on offence - if they want to make the playoffs and succeed in the postseason but things are looking up. Let’s see if Ottawa can get back on the winning side of things tomorrow night in Edmonton against some familiar faces.

NBA 2019 Free Agency Recap

July 20th, 2019

    Ever since Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors shocked the world to win their first NBA championship, the NBA an has had an eventful offseason to say the least. In about half a month, the landscape of the NBA has changed drastically and it is safe to say there is no more dynasty in the NBA. However, there are many notable dynamic duos that look to take the league by storm next year.

    The free agency signing madness started on June 30th, when Kevin Durant joined forces with Kyrie Irving to take the Brooklyn Nets out of irrelevance and make them playoff contenders again. Durant signed a 4 year, $164 million deal and Irving signed a 4 year, $141 million deal; both deals are max deals. Despite the fact that Durant will miss almost all of next year due to injury, the Nets are still contenders in the East. The gates were busted open.

    This was only one of several moves that happened in the early weeks of July. Another shocking move was Paul George moving to Los Angeles to play with the Clippers and he was able to recruit two-time NBA champion and reigning finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to play alongside with him. Kawhi signed a three year, $103 million deal with a player option to opt out before the third season. Paul George signed a 4 year, $137 million contract. Both are max deals. Kawhi told the Clippers if they could get Paul George, he would also become a Clipper. The Clippers gave up four unprotected picks in 2022, 2024, 2026 along with Miami’s unprotected first round selection in 2021 acquired in the three team deal that sent Tobias Harris to the 76ers. They also gave up a protected pick in 2023 that was acquired in the four team Jimmy Butler deal and two pick swaps in 2023 and 2025 as well as a pair of young prospects to bring in Paul George and subsequently Kawhi Leonard. All of a sudden, with this move, the Clippers are not the second best team in LA anymore. They might be better than the Lakers. Only time will tell. As unfortunate as it is for the Raptors to lose Kawhi Leonard; they won a championship with him, that was their only goal. The Derozan trade to acquire Leonard and Green was a huge risk because they could both leave after one year, but it paid off in the biggest way possible. The Raptors are hurt by the loss of Kawhi and Green but are 17-5 without him and have lots of young talent on the roster including Siakam, Anunoby, VanVleet, etc. As for the Clippers, acquiring a Paul George, a talented small forward and Kawhi Leonard, a shooting guard who is perhaps the best two-way player in the league, who can move the ball and shoot very well, it makes them championship contenders. Now Kawhi is close to his family and on a pretty talented team.

    This was a very interesting and shocking move that created a ripple effect all across the NBA and was the catalyst for many other blockbuster trade in the NBA.

    Also, the trades in free agency this year were wild before free agency actually even started on June 30th, when unrestricted free agents can sign wherever they want. The Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans were involved in a blockbuster deal in mid-June which sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers to play with Lebron James. In return, the Lakers agreed to send over Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks – including the No. 4 overall in the 2019 draft, which turned into De’Andre Hunter, shooting forward from Virginia who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. In return, the Pelicans got the eighth pick and drafted Jaxson Hayes, a center out of Texas, one of the Pelicans’ biggest needs along with power forward, which is why they drafted Zion Williamson first overall. The Lakers may have overpaid a little to acquire Anthony Davis, however it was necessary for the Lakers to get rid of many players on their roster to free up enough cap space to be able to offer another max contract to Anthony Davis while also still being under the salary cap and the luxury tax. They had a total cap, including dead cap space, is $120,745,716. They are $11,605,716 over the cap space or luxury tax of $109,140,000 but thanks to Larry Bird exception, Davis becomes a “qualifying veteran free agent” or "Bird Free Agent”. To qualify as a Bird free agent, a player must have played three seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. Anthony Davis played the first seven years of his career with New Orleans and resigned with the Pelicans as a free agent multiple times. This allows the Lakers to avoid the luxury tax despite being over the salary cap. This shocking trade benefits both teams. The Lakers have a chance to contend for the title now, even in a talented western conference, with amazing talent like Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, Danny Green amongst others and being in a good financial situation. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have lots of young talent like Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Jaxson Hayes, three first-round picks and other draft picks in future years that if developed properly will benefit them in the near future.

    As we talked about earlier, because the Thunder traded away Paul George, Russell Westbrook knew he could not win on his own, especially after not being able to win with Paul George by his side. Naturally, Westbrook demanded a trade and was shipped out to Houston to be reunited with James Harden and play alongside him. The Rockets sent Chris Paul, two protected first-round picks (2024 and 2026, both protected No. 1-4) and two pick swaps (2021 and 2025) to the Thunder for Paul George, league sources told ESPN. With their two superstars gone and with a numerous amount of draft picks over the next few years, everyone expects Chris Paul to be flipped from OKC to another destination (originally thought to be Miami but that isn’t happening anymore) because Chris Paul does not want to spend several years on a rebuilding team. Even with all the draft picks and young prospects, there is no guarantee they find another talent to replace the skills of PG and Westbrook, but in sports, nothing stays the same forever. Besides, they have a lot of draft picks, including a multitude of first rounders. There is a decent chance they draft someone good in the next few years but even if they do, he’ll have to develop. OKC will be in a rebuild for the next few seasons, but that’s sports. On the other hand, on paper, the duo of Westbrook and Harden will be amazing. Both can score points, move the ball, make plays, get rebounds and both are okay defenders, although I’d say Russ is better than Harden. The problem is, the Rockets now have two ball hungry guards on the back end of the floor at all times now; but they’ll be fighting over only one ball. This move could work, but it also might not. This will be interesting.

    In a follow up of the Nets acquiring Irving and KD, the Warriors acquired D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade with the Nets, who are attempting to make cap space for their two super-stars. The Warriors are likely to trade Russell to the Memphis Grizzlies for a package centered around Robert Covington, an All-Defensive first team player in 2018. He only played 35 games before having surgery on his knee in early January, but in those games averaged 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds. He also makes less than $1 million annually and makes sense financially. The Warriors also traded all star defensive talent Andre Igoudala to the Memphis Grizzlies and got a few young guys in return, one of whom they waived.

    In a four team deal, that involves the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and the Portland Trail Blazers, 76ers shooting guard Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard from the Blazers went to the Heat. Heat center Hassan Whiteside was sent to the Trail Blazers. Josh Richardson, former Heat shooting guard will be a new member of the 76ers along with Al Horford, an ex power forward for the Boston Celtics who the 76ers signed on June 30th. The 76ers also resigned Tobias Harris. The 76ers have a lot of depth with Embiid, Simmons and these guys, expect them to be a force in the west. Although, they do need a bit of help at the point guard position. Simmons can;t shoot and he’s the only known player at the position. Finally, Maurice Harkless, a shooting forward for the Blazers and a future protected first round pick will be sent to Los Angeles to be playing on the Clippers. After all the smoke dissipated, Jimmy Butler signed a 4 year, $142 million dollar max contract the day free agency started on June 30th. Kawhi wanted to team up with Butler for the Clippers, but when he signed with the Heat, it looked like Kawhi would stay with the Raptors, but we all know how that turned out.

    Another interesting and shocking move saw Kemba Walker - a long time Charlotte Hornet and quite possibly one of the best point guards they’ve ever had - leave the Hornets and sign a 4 year, $141 million max contract with the Celtics to replace the loss of Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Terry Rozier who signed a 3 year, $58 million deal in a sign and trade to play for the Hornets. I think Boston despite acquiring an amazing talent like Walker, they got worse from last year, but Irving was having trouble running a team without another superstar like Lebron James in Cleveland, so we’ll see. And last time Walker played for a New England team, he won a championship. And, undoubtedly, the Hornets got worse, especially with the loss of a franchise player like Walker.

    Along with the Nets, the Lakers, Clippers and Pelicans were probably the biggest winners of this free agency. The biggest loser, though, was by far the New York Knicks. The epitome of mediocrity at their best, the Knicks did not earn the first overall pick, meaning Zion would not be playing at the Garden every night. Furthermore, they were late to the party, getting beat by their southern New York rivals in Brooklyn in the sweepstakes for KD and Irving. They haven’t had a first overall pick in the last 10 years despite always being close to - if not, are at - the bottom of the league standings. At least they have R.J Barrett, ex teammate of Zion, all star power forward out of Duke. Not to mention, most of the players the Knicks did acquire this free agency are power forwards. They have five, including Julius Randle, Kevin Knox, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson and Isaiah Hicks, all of whom they overpaid for. Meaning with all the roster spots filled and money spent on power forwards the rest of their positions are less than mediocre, mediocre at best. Have fun dividing minutes. Happy tanking Knicks.

    There are still more trades to go over and talk about, but I believe I’ve talked about the most important ones. In conclusion, this year’s free agency has been one of the most wildest ones we’ve seen in the past few decades. All the trades and free agent signings combined with many players recruiting others to come play with others has been very interesting to watch and has restored balance in the NBA. There are no more super teams, not even the Warriors are a dynasty anymore, however, we do have several dynamic duos on plenty of teams in the Eastern and Western conferences. Not to mention, we have several teams that have been mediocre for the past few years in both conferences to be championship contenders such as the Nets, Clippers, Lakers, Pelicans, etc. I can’t wait for this upcoming NBA season.

NBA: Eastern Conference Finals Recap:Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks

By: Adamo Marinelli

Monday, May 27th

    After a lopsided game two in favour of the Milwaukee Bucks, everybody gave the Raptors no chance heading into game three being down 0-2 in the series. Oh my, did the Raptors ever prove every single hater wrong. They would go onto win four consecutive games to win the series 4-2, knock off the best team in the league and earn the right to have home-court advantage in their first ever NBA Finals appearance against the dynasty which is the Golden State Warriors. In this article, I will analyze the Eastern Conference finals and predict the winner of the NBA finals.

    Home court advantage proved to be huge in this series as the home team won five of the six games. Game one was close, but several missed shots and key turnovers in the fourth quarter by the Raptors proved to be the difference in a 108-100 Bucks’ win.

    Game two was a blowout. The Bucks took the lead early and never looked back. In a 125-103 win to take a 2-0 series lead, the Bucks outbattled the Raptors physically, they outshot them from the field and beyond the arc, outrebounded them, had better ball movement, won more battles for the loose ball and had more energy. They simply wanted the win more and it showed. They led by as much as 20 points twice and the Raptors could only cut it down to 13.

    After game two, many people gave up on the Raptors, including famous sports analysts like Steven A. Smith, Adam Schefter, Max Kellerman and Skip Bayless. They claimed the series was over. That the Bucks would sweep the series. Little did everyone know, the game two win was ultimately the Bucks’ last win of their stellar season.

    The Raptors would eventually end up winning four consecutive games to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, who had a league-best 60 regular season wins, four games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals and advance to their first NBA Finals series in franchise history.

    There are a few things to note about this Raptors’ playoff run. It has been in the making for years. Masai Ujiri, the general manager of the Toronto Raptors has done an incredible job putting the current roster together. The Raptors have had some trouble signing big name free agents, meaning they’ve had to build their roster with trades and through the draft. The Raptors have done a spectacular job at that because most of the big names they have were acquired from lottery picks, and Ujiri was able to use his amazing GM skills to trade irrelevant players to desperate teams for positions, players and picks he is in dire need of.

    Anyways, in essentially a do-or-die, must-win game three, the Raptors came out with plenty of energy.

They played very well on offence, moving the ball and creating scoring chances, hitting open shots and capitalizing on turnovers by the defence with their strong transition game, that does not allow the Bucks’ defence to get set up. They also did a good job on second-chance points, despite getting slightly outrebounded by the Bucks by a tally of 74-68. However, it was their defence that really stepped up and was the difference maker in this game and the entire series. After game two, Nick Nurse regrouped and used Kawhi Leonard as the main defender against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Once that switch occurred, the Raptors were able to limit Giannis’ production in the paint; his area of expertise and were able to slow him down. This helped as Giannis’ strength is on fast break points. They also shut down the Bucks’ three-point shooting for the most part and limited their field goals and points from the paint. The Raptors controlled the momentum for the whole game and of the 58 minutes they played, including both overtimes, they led for 54.5 minutes. Pascal Siakam missed a game-winning free throw at the end of regulation which sent the game to overtime and Raptors fans worried about going down 0-3 in the series. But Kawhi took advantage of Giannis fouling out in double OT, took control and led the Raptors to a win. They now only trailed the series 2-1. It was a great team effort on offence and on defence, but Kawhi’s 36 points helped a lot in a 118-112 win for Toronto.

    In game four, it was more or less the same. The Raptors didn’t want to go back to Milwaukee down 3-1 in the series, so it was another must-win game. The Raptors came to play again. So did Drake - who cheered on his team from the sideline, taunted the opposition, massaged Nick Nurse and hyped up the fans all series long. The Raptors defence was again the difference maker in the game, shutting down the Bucks’ offence, not allowing them to have open shots or drive down the floor for easy transition points, which is what the Bucks excel at, causing turnovers and creating transition points for their offence. The Raptors defence, along with Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Fred Van Vleet, were the MVPs of this series. They limited the Bucks - the highest scoring team in the NBA - to under 100 points in two games and under 105 in three. And they limited the two best scorers on the Bucks, Giannis and Middleton to only a combined 55 points. That’s awesome! Also, after Kawhi played 53 minutes in game three, everyone chipped in on offence and the Raptors had a whole team effort result in a dominating 120-102 win to tie the series two games apiece. Leonard still had 19 points, but Lowry had 25, Gasol had 17, Powell had 18, Ibaka had 17 and Van Vleet chipped in with 13 points. Even Siakam had a huge game, especially in the rebound and assist department. After Lowry, Gasol and Powell all fouled out in game three, they all bounced back in massive fashion in a game four blowout win. This was their best team effort and possibly their biggest win of the playoffs beside game seven against Philadelphia and games five and six against Milwaukee.

    Game five and six were in different cities but very similar games. Game five was a crucial game in the series that is tied 2-2 and whoever won this game would be one win away from the NBA Finals. The home team is a perfect 4-0. The Raptors trailed by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter and didn’t take the lead until there was 8:30 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Again, it was the Raptors’ defence that led the way in this game, not allowing the Bucks to get inside the paint and get open dunks, Giannis’ speciality, but their defence controlled the game and got crucial turnovers and blocks that led to transition points for Toronto all game long. Their defence was the catalyst of their offence thanks to their great transition attack and ball movement to open up the floor and spread defenders out. Siakam had three blocks and a steal. It was a huge defensive effort from him and the whole team. Not to mention Kawhi was spectacular with 35 points, for his 11th game of 30+ points and Fred Van Vleet was on another level, shooting 7-9 from three-point range. He is 80% from beyond the arc so far in the series. The Raptors fought back from two huge deficits, 14 points in the first quarter and ten points twice in the fourth quarter and worked around a few bad calls from the officials to take a stranglehold in the series against Milwaukee and hand the Bucks their third straight loss for the first time since March of 2018.

    Game six was probably the biggest game in Raptors history because there was a trip to the NBA finals on the line. And the Raptors have never been there before. It was raining all day before game six and Jurassic Park was closed for a while but fans lined up and still managed to fill the streets of downtown Toronto hours before the game including Jurassic Park. The Scotia Bank arena and the Jurassic park were loud, positive and energetic all series long. Game six was another game where the Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard, the MVP of this series and their defence, came back from several huge deficits. They trailed by as much as 15 points early in the second quarter, 13 points midway through the third quarter and they were down 76-61 with 2:18 left in the third quarter. But a 26-3 run from the Raptors in the next ten minutes, which started with a 10-0 run led by eight points from Kawhi and a Serge Ibaka dunk assisted by Leonard. Kawhi had another huge night with 27 points, including a three-pointer that bounced around the rim before going in - reminiscent of the shot in game seven against Philadelphia - 17 rebounds (on a night where the rest of team was having trouble rebounding) and seven huge assists. Again, it was the Raptors’ defence that led the way in this game, not allowing the Bucks to get inside the paint and get open dunks, Giannis’ speciality, and their defence controlled the game, controlled the momentum, got turnovers and blocks that led to clutch transition points for Toronto. The Raptors also outrebounded the Bucks' defensively and offensively which led to transition points and second-chance points respectively; both are very helpful when a team is trailing big. Their defence also did an excellent job closing the game out in the final minutes by playing physically knowing the Bucks’ were in the bonus, meaning every foul would result in free throws. They also overcame several iffy calls from the referees again like in game four and five. Overall, their defence won the Raptors the series and everyone played fantastic defence. On the offensive side of the ball players like Kawhi, Lowry, Van Vleet, Gasol and Siakam, and the majority of the players on the team had an amazing series and will be awarded an Eastern Conference Finals Championship and a trip to the NBA Finals. Truly, resilience is the word to describe this team. No matter how much they trail by, how bad the refs are, they always united as a team, play their heart out and win.

    Moreover, the referees were pretty evenly matched on both sides; by making and missing calls on both teams, however, there were a several fouls on Toronto that definitely shouldn’t have been called, which gave the Bucks points from the free throw line, keeping them alive in some close games during the series and there were some calls against the Bucks, that should have been called but weren’t. There were also some defensive fouls against Milwaukee that were called as offensive fouls against Toronto and some offensive fouls against the Bucks which were called as defensive fouls against the Raptors. This happened all series long but was most clear in game three when several Raptors fouled out, like Lowry, Gasol and Powell. Also, there were definitely some possessions when a Bucks’ player stepped out of bounds before taking a shot - in most cases to keep the game close - that should have been stopped and times when it should have been Toronto ball, but they ruled it to be Milwaukee’s ball. This happened to occur the most when Milwaukee was trailing and needed some momentum to catch up to the Raptors who have taken the lead. So the officials might have been a little biased in favour of the Bucks, at least that’s what several analysts, including Jack Armstrong, have mentioned.

    With all that being said, it will be the Raptors vs the Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Raptors are trying to win their first NBA championship; the Warriors are trying to win their third consecutive championship and their fourth title in five years. The Raptors are an amazing team, that has talent all over the roster, with a superstar in Kawhi Leonard, an amazing defence, possibly the best one in the NBA, and a great supporting cast filled with many other talented players on both sides of the ball like Lowry, Gasol, Powell, Van Vleet, Siakam, Green and Ibaka. But so are the Warriors. The Warriors are almost unbeatable when they score slightly over 100 points. However, if they are kept to under 100 points, they begin to struggle; they live and die with their offence. The Raptors have the defence to stop the Warriors, they just need to find the right matchups. For sure, I believe Gasol will guard KD when he comes back. Until then, he will probably guard Draymond and Lowry and Leonard will guard Steph and Klay in my opinion. Pascal will take over covering Draymond when KD returns and so on. If the Raptors’ defence can keep the Warriors to under 100 points, they have a great chance, if not, the odds of winning decrease. The Raptors' defence will surely be the X-Factor in this series. Regardless of how many points they score, the Warriors are perhaps the best NBA team in the 21st century and are definitely a dynasty akin to the New England Patriots. Can their offence even be stopped? The Clippers tried to prioritize defence against the Warriors and were manhandled by them. The Raptors are good, but the Warriors are better, at least on paper, as much as it pains me to say it. Despite this, if anyone can pose a challenge to the Warriors, it will be the Raptors who took down the league’s best Milwaukee Bucks in dominating fashion in six games in the ECF. Home court advantage will definitely help the Raptors because they are the loudest fans in the NBA and the fact that Kevin Durant will not play in game one of the finals will help the Raptors because it is one less weapon on offence to defend and one less weapon to prevent the Raptors from scoring. KD is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Apparently, however, the Warriors play better without KD, it allows them to shoot more with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Let’s remember, shooting from the field and beyond the arc - where the Bucks struggled - is where the Warriors excel. It is their bread and butter. Another factor to consider is simply experience. The Raptors have lots of playoff experience but no one on their team has been to the finals before except Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The Warriors have been in the finals five straight years. That’s plenty of experience. This series is going to be excellent and both teams will have their moments, but realistically thinking, I predict the Warriors will win in six games. I want the Raptors to win and hope they do, but I’m just being a realist with my prediction.

How the Toronto Raptors became a Dynasty

By: Adamo Marinelli

May 29th, 2019

    Clearly, on the verge of appearing on their first ever NBA finals against the Warriors' dynasty after beating the Bucks in six games in the ECF, the Raptors are a very talented and strong team, with plenty of talent all around the roster, possibly on the verge of becoming a dynasty.

    However, it hasn't always been this way. The Raptors had several years of losing seasons and playoff failure with older and unproductive players. But, bit by bit, especially with the addition of GM Masai Ujiri, the Raptors' luck would begin to turn around.

    Let's flashback to July 11th, 2012, about a year before the start of Masai Ujiri as general manager, the Raptors acquired Kyle Lowry from the Houston Rockets for Gary Forbes and a 2013 first round pick.

    On May 31st, 2013, Masai Ujiri was named the GM of the Toronto Raptors. Once in office, he had a few things to take care of. The first was Andrea Bargnani, who wasn’t as productive as he was projected and was labelled as a bust to many. Due to the New York Knicks’ desperate need for a power forward, Andrea Bargnani was dealt to the Knicks on July 10th in exchange for: Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, a 2014 2nd round pick (OKC own), a 2016 1st round pick (via NYK), a 2017 2nd round pick (via NYK), and cash considerations.

    Later that year in December, the Raptors had to address an ageing Rudy Gay. Luckily, the Sacramento Kings were right there to help the Raptors rebuild. Quincy Acy, Rudy Gay, and Aaron Gray were acquired by the Sacramento Kings from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez. By the end of 2013, the Raptors were still a team with a losing record but they were seeing a lot of progressions especially the chemistry between Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.

    Ujiri then needed to address the lack of depth on his team especially on the bench, which leads to the 2015 draft. With the 20th pick, the Raptors selected Delon Wright, a 6’5” guard from Utah and Wright would end up filling the role of Vasquez. Later that night, with the 16th pick of the second round, the Milwaukee Bucks selected UCLA shooting guard Norman Powell. Ujiri saw this as an opportunity to pounce and traded Vasquez for Powell and a 2017 first round pick.

    In the 2016 draft, the ninth overall pick from the Nicks materialized into Jakob Poeltl and with their 27th pick, they selected Pascal Siakam, easily the most improved player this season. Looking back at it now, their late first round pick turned out to be better than their lottery pick but Poeltl helped the Raptors out in other ways.

    Later that summer, the Raptors decided to bolster their depth even more by adding undrafted prospect Fred Van Vleet. He became one of the more productive bench players after bouncing in and out of the G-League. This season, he’s become an elite scorer, scoring 48% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. He was extremely clutch in games four, five and six against Milwaukee.

    Before the 2017 trade deadline, Ujiri needed to make improvements to the Raptors’ weakest position, the power forward spot. With the Raptors acquiring many star guards from trades, the draft and even undrafted free agent prospects, the need for Terrence Ross quickly vanished. Like Ujiri normally does, he found a desperate organisation to trade for Ross. The Raptors received power forward Serge Ibaka and in return gave up an ageing Terrence Ross -- who was beginning to be less productive and the Raptors no longer required his services -- and a 2017 first round pick. But for the second straight year, the Raptors fell short to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.

    Which leads us to the 2017 draft. Their other first-round pick in 2017, which came from the deal with the Bucks, became small forward OG Anunoby. He was projected to go a lot higher in the draft, being just a sophomore from Indiana University and already oozing with talent but a knee injury and season-ending surgery deemed him as too much of a risk and dropped him off to the 23rd pick where the Raptors got him. Anunoby played some big minutes in his rookie season and was very good off the bench with his long wingspan and good ball-handling skills. He also played very well alongside Pascal Siakam. However, in the playoffs, he was tasked with guarding all-star LeBron James. As a rookie, that didn't go so well and the Raptors were swept by the Cavaliers falling short to LeBron for the third straight season.

    It wasn't all Anunoby’s fault though. the Raptors despite having lots of talent couldn't make it over the hump; they couldn't get past LeBron James in the playoffs. Due to their playoff struggles, Masai Ujiri had massive decisions to make. In the summer of 2018, he fired coach of the year Dwane Casey after a 59 win season and decided to trade away their franchise player: a longtime and beloved Raptor, Demar DeRozan. When this happened last summer, I was very shocked and intrigued. I was worried Kawhi would be unable to play because of injury and then just walk and that we had given up our star for nothing. And as it turns out, so were many other people. They all hated on Ujiri for getting rid of the coach and the franchise player. But they couldn’t beat the Cavs. They still struggled in the playoffs. Changes were inevitable. I was very sceptical, considering Kawhi threatened to sit the season out. However, looking back at it now, Ujiri’s genius came through again in another transaction win.

    Kawhi was dominant all season long, offensively and defensively, especially in the playoffs with 12 games of more than 30 points already, and he was not overplayed in the regular season, getting 20 games of rest in which the Raptors went 15-5. So the Raptors could win without Kawhi if he leaves but I doubt that he doesn't resign in Toronto, especially because of all the success he has and the team is having this season. Anyways, the Raptors sent over Demar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first round pick for all-star and MVP calibre talent Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Poeltl was received from a lottery pick from the Knicks from the Bargnani trade. Finally, the Raptors decide to strengthen their depth even more and close out any remaining weak spots on their roster by trading CJ Miles, Delon Wright (another late first round pick), Jonas Valanciunas (the Raptors’ final lottery player selected 5th overall in the 2011 draft class who was thought to have so much potential, the Raptors then general manager declined a trade to land James Harden) and a 2024 first round selection, which they got in a trade with Orlando to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marc Gasol, a tall and fast center who can defend and make plays on both sides of the ball. Several years later, Valanciunas is now just part of a package for Gasol. It’s amazing how the Raptors finessed so many teams by offering them lottery players (which they got from trading older and underproductive guys like Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani to gullible and desperate teams) and in return got many amazing players that they have on their roster today like Kawhi, Lowry, Powell, Siakam, Gasol, Green, etc.

    All of this has led to the Raptors appearing in their first ever NBA finals to play the Golden State Warriors after beating the league-best Milwaukee Bucks in six games after beating the 76ers in a seven-game second round series and the Magic in five games in round one. This all simply highlights Ujiri’s genius when acquiring players and building a formidable roster. Obviously, the team and all the players played well all season long and had excellent chemistry, Nick Nurse was an amazing coach all year long -- he's a really excellent coach who develops young talent, mentors players and is phenomenal making offensive and defensive schemes. And don't get me wrong, I loved Dwane Casey but hiring Nurse to be the head coach was the right move -- and LeBron being out of the East helps too, but alas.

    Whoever, doubted Ujiri’s judgement to trade DeRozan and fire Casey, does not doubt it anymore, the Raptors are in the NBA finals and despite being the underdogs; have a great chance to win the championship, after all they beat the Bucks who were the league's best team this season, so what can't they do. Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors and good luck to them against Golden State in the Finals.

NHL: Eastern and Western Conference Finals Analysis and Stanley Cup Final Predictions

By: Adamo Marinelli

May 23rd, 2019

Throughout the 2019 regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes’  young and fast core, veteran leadership, physicality, their playmaking abilities which lead to several scoring chances and their tough defence which causes turnovers has made them a very talented team and granted them a lot of success, especially in the playoffs beating two very well rounded teams: the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders. However, as we witnessed in this series, the Boston Bruins were clearly the better team. The Boston Bruins are arguably the most versatile team in the entire playoffs this year, at the very least they’re the best all-around team left in the playoffs, even topping the San Jose Sharks who are talented on the offence and the defence, with young and veteran players. The Bruins have an excellent offence, topped off by their production line, their first line, consisting of Bergeron, Marchand and Pasternak. The rest of the Bruins offence also has done an amazing job putting pucks in the net while the production line is off. Their defence is also incredible. They don’t sit back. They are physical and always win the majority of the puck battles and they control the clock and the momentum of the game. They have many great defensive players like Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, Zdeno Chara, and rookie Brandon Carlo. Furthermore, just as these defensemen help out with the scoring, the forwards help out with the defence. That’s what makes Boston such a powerhouse on offence and defence. Finally, Tuukka Rask has been playing on another level. He has been stellar all playoffs. In 17 games played, he has 12 wins, a save percentage of .942% and a goals' against average of 1.88, the best of all goalies in the playoffs. Robin Lehner, the Islanders goalie has the next best GAA with 2.19. He also only allowed 32 goals on 549 shots and posted two shutouts. Both of his shutouts came in the series-clinching game. That is clutch. Rask is definitely a candidate with Joe Thornton for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. The Hurricanes played well throughout the playoffs and in this series, but Boston was just too much to handle. Boston outscored Carolina 17-5 in the four-game sweep. The Bruins’ offence was just too much to handle and their defence wouldn’t allow the Hurricanes to get going, which they were never able to. So, Boston will appear in its first Stanley Cup Finals since 2013, when they lost to Chicago. However, the trend in this playoffs is sweep and get swept. The Islanders swept Pittsburgh, got swept by Carolina. Carolina swept New York and got swept by Boston. Boston swept Carolina so it is their turn to get swept by either the Blues, who beat the Sharks in six games.

    If there was one moment that you could pick as a turning point in the Western Conference Finals, it would be the controversial hand pass which wasn’t called that led to Erik Karlsson’s overtime winner in game three to give the Sharks a 2-1 series lead. That missed call infuriated everyone on the Blues and they brought that energy every game for the rest of the series. In the last three games, the Blues completely outmatched the Sharks on both sides of the puck and outscored the Sharks 12-2. Their speed, ability to create chances and their ability to win faceoffs and control the puck led to a productive offence and their physical defence caused a lot of turnovers and controlled the momentum of the game, keeping the puck out of their end. To put it simply, after the Blues started slowly in the first three games of the series -- especially the first game, where they were outsped, outmatched physically, their defence was walked all over and couldn’t get their offence going -- they only trailed 2-1 after three games, but they should have led 2-1 because of the subpar officiating and the missed hand pass that led to the controversial overtime winner in game 3. After that, the Blues dominated the last three games, like aforementioned. Rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington who has 12 wins, 1 being a shutout, a 2.37 goals against average and a .914 save percentage this playoffs, veteran Jay Bouwmeester -- who has played 1,252 NHL games to get to the Stanley Cup Finals, -- the sniper Jaden Schwartz who’s having the best postseason of his career with 12 goals and 4 assists and Vladimir Tarasenko all led the way to eliminate the Sharks, who couldn’t overcome their injuries (Karlsson, Hertl and Pavelski each missed one game with an undisclosed ailment) in six games. Now they will advance to play the red-hot and well rounded Boston Bruins in their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970 when they lost to who else but the Bruins in four games after Bobby Orr scored his famous goal where he flew through the air after someone tripped him as he took a shot. The Bruins are back for the first time since 2013 after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Bruins are favoured to win and are the better team (at least on offence and defence, both goalies are pretty even in my opinion, Rask only has a slight advantage in stats), but St. Louis has had a remarkable season. Being in the Cup Finals after being dead last in the league on January 3rd is an amazing story. Plus, Rask is a great goalie and is a candidate for the Conn Smythe trophy, but Binnington has also played very well this year and is a candidate for the Conn Smythe too. I have the St. Louis Blues winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in seven games against the Bruins. It will be an overtime thriller by Jay Bouwmeester in game seven that wins the cup. Game one of the Stanley Cup Finals is Monday, May 27th, 2019. I can't wait!