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NHL BROADCASTERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 27, 2007

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Good morning to those of you on the west coast. Thank you for joining us today on this call.
As the NHL prepares to launch its 90th anniversary season at 12:00 noon eastern time on Saturday when Anaheim and LA hook up at the O2 arena in London, we are pleased you have joined us to discuss the upcoming season with broadcast talent from each of the League's national rightsholders.
First, Versus will feature 57 regular season games this season, including the September 30th match-up from London, and we're really pleased to have Ed Olczyk join us today.
NBC NHL Game of the Week has a new twist this season to ensure fans are provided the match-up available. The NHL will offer flexible scheduling for NBC's regular season dates. They will also do the outdoor game on January 1 from Buffalo, the AMP Energy Winter Classic, and we're really pleased that Mike Milbury has joined us this afternoon.
CBC's hockey night in Canada kicks off Saturday at noon eastern with life coverage of the Ducks and Kings from London. The remainder of their 87-game schedule includes 18 regional match-ups, 23 all-Canadian match-ups, and we're really pleased that Kelly Hrudey has joined us from Hockey Night in Canada.
The NHL on TSN features a 70-game national broadcast package with increased coverage of the six Canadian clubs. Coverage gets underway October 3rd with the battle of Ontario featuring Ottawa and Toronto, and we're really pleased that Pierre McGuire has joined the call today.
RDS, the French language telecast partner of the NHL, enters its fifth year televising wall-to-wall coverage of the Montreal Canadiens as well as other select games, and we're really pleased that Benoit Brunet from RDS has joined us.
As well as the NHL on HDNet this season will continue offering fans a flexible schedule of games airing on Thursday and Saturday nights. Judd Sirott is with us today, and we're really pleased to have Judd.
The NHL Network I should also mention has more live hockey than ever before this season, with 40 nationally televised games, including exclusive coverage in Canada, the September 30th game from London, England, the nightly flagship show NHL On the Fly returns.
We're really pleased, as I said, we have a who's-who of hockey talent with us today. As former NHL players, this group has a combined 3,283 games of experience, 520 goals, 865 assists, 1,385 points, and 2,963 penalty minutes to go along with it, and a goaltender with 307 career wins. There's only one of those on the call today, Kelly. More combined Stanley Cups as players and coaches and a wealth of NHL coaching and management experience. We're really pleased that these gentlemen have taken the time to answer your questions today.
And we will ask in order to get into the queue that you press *1 on your touch-tone phones to ask a question. We would ask that you direct that question as much as possible to the individual you'd like to answer it. If it's a general question I will help facilitate who gets the question.

Q. My first question is for Eddie. With all your ties to the city of Chicago, can you reflect on the loss of Mr. Wirtz?
ED OLCZYK: Yeah, certainly people around the Blackhawk family had heard that Mr. Wirtz had been in the hospital for a period of time and were hoping against hope that he'd be able to rebound, but unfortunately we've lost a giant in Chicago and just that big of a person. Mr. Wirtz for me working for him as a player and then indirectly now doing the games in Chicago for the Blackhawks, you know, I think the thing that most people don't know Mr. Wirtz on a personal level, but he did a lot of things for a lot of people for a lot of different charitable events that most people would never have found out about, and that's the way that Mr. Wirtz wanted it; he didn't want to have the TV cameras and the radio people and the print people there reporting on his hourless and tireless amount of money and time that he's given to charitable groups and giving millions of dollars to amateur hockey in Illinois.
He was just a tremendous person to work for and to call a friend. He's certainly -- he's surely going to be missed by many, many people that had a chance to know him personally.
I think you look at it and a lot of people look at it in a couple of different ways. You have the fans, you have the media that looks at it, but then you have the people that worked for Mr. Wirtz in the Blackhawk organization. He took care of so many people, he paid for so many funerals of former employees, whether they be players or people that work for the Wirtz Corporation, for the United Center or the Blackhawks. Mr. Wirtz was just that type of person. It's a real sad time in the Blackhawk family.
MIKE MILBURY: This is one question I wanted the chance to talk about today. From 1966 until this year, I don't think Bill Wirtz missed a meeting of the Board of Governors. Hockey always came first. This guy was responsible for the '72 summit series between Canada and Russia. It was a series that wasn't looked upon favorably by Clarence Campbell, but Bill Wirtz wanted it, and usually what Bill Wirtz wanted for the NHL, it got done.
He was instrumental in the WHA/NHL merger, no small feat when the NHL was getting bled to death by the WHA. He made that happen.
He was instrumental in the ABA/NBA merger. He and Dave DeBusschere stayed up until the wee hours of the morning from what I told, and he wouldn't let DeBusschere leave, and DeBusschere's quote is "I've never met a tougher or fairer man."
Believe it or not, he was instrumental in the formation or the acceptance of the NHLPA. The first meeting of the PA was between Al Eagleson and Bill Wirtz, and Bill said if you've got the support, you're going to get cooperation from us.
And he was really -- in many ways, he was a players' owner. He was instrumental in getting general managers' attention.
And on a different note, this guy, Damon Runyon couldn't make this guy up, the bill barrel chest, the gravelly voice. The guy was in his youth an amateur boxer, and I'll tell you a quick story that I got from a good friend of his. He was in Jack Dempsey's bar in Manhattan as a young man where boxers used to hang out, and as luck would have it he got into a bit of a beef with another patron. He took a few, gave a few and finally wound up rocked out on the floor of Jack Dempsey's saloon.
He got the guy's name, called Jim Norris in Toronto and said, you've got to sign this guy to a contract, this is the toughest right I've ever had. The guy's name was Rocky Marciano.
I'll leave you with that bit of memories of Bill Wirtz. He was a terrific guy. We're all going to miss him.

Q. Ed, does it compound the emotion of the week because here it seems that the Chicago Blackhawks are finally on the verge of being a team to watch?
ED OLCZYK: Well, I mean, I think that the Blackhawks have a lot of really strong young players. You know, they come off of having the first pick overall for the first time in franchise history in taking Patrick Kane. I think they've had a lot of changes in different people at the helm, whether it be behind the bench or in the general manager's chair right now in Dale Tallon.
You know, I think with Mike touching on it, Mr. Wirtz loved hockey and loved the Blackhawks I think more than anything else.
I think for him knowing the situation of the team and knowing that they do have a lot of strong young players, he left us knowing that the future certainly looks bright with a lot of the young players. But again, as everybody on this call knows, you can project all you want because once the players get to the best league in the world they've got to produce. Certainly I think the Blackhawks have a plan, they're sticking to it, and I think for the city of Chicago and the Blackhawks, they need to bounce back quickly to revise and revive the franchise in Chicago, not only for Blackhawk fans but nationally, as well.

Q. Being with the scene of the young players, Pierre, this is going to be Sidney Crosby's first year in Pittsburgh wearing the captain's C. He's a young guy. What sort of obstacles do you think face a young captain?
PIERRE McGUIRE: Well, I think if Sidney didn't have this good supporting cast in Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts I think it would be a more arduous task for Sidney. But knowing Sidney as long as I have and knowing the maturity level that he has, I don't think it's going to be an issue at all for Sidney Crosby.
As a matter of fact, I think when you have a young team, and Mike and Ed could speak to this along with Kelly, when you've got a young team that's grown together, usually guys gravitate to the best player and probably the best guy that handles himself with the media, and in history clearly that's Sidney Crosby. I don't think you're going to find many young guys, whether it be in the NBA, the NHL, the National Football League or Major League Baseball that's got the maturity, the athleticism and the focus of Sidney Crosby. So I don't think there's going to be that difficult a time for Sidney being the captain. As a matter of fact I've talked to him about it and I'm really excited for him. I'm thrilled for the League and I'm really happy for the fans in Pittsburgh.

Q. Mike, the second go-around in the TV booth here. How much of a change of gears is it for you getting into TV here?
MIKE MILBURY: It's definitely different. There's no I've got to get to the rink, I've got to get to the office. The pressures of the daily grind aren't there. But I know from hanging around with Pierre and the guys at TSN and NBC, they do their homework. They know the league as well as the managers do, and it's been a matter of me having more unstructured time but no less time to go to work, and I'm looking forward to the season, looking forward to getting started. I think the League has got some great partners here.
I didn't realize the level of passion that people in the broadcasting end carried for the sport. I guess I saw it on ESPN a little, but it's been redoubled with NBC and with TSN.

Q. Kelly, are you in London?
KELLY HRUDEY: Unfortunately I'm not. I ended up taking a charity event just over a year ago, and unbeknownst to me I didn't recognize that this game was on the schedule. So I took a rain check. But we will have our crew out there.

Q. Even if you won't be there, just talk about growing the game on a global level and opening the season in Europe.
KELLY HRUDEY: Well, even though I'm on Hockey Night in Canada and we cater mainly to the Canadian hockey audience, and I recognize how important they are, I think that a lot of us, and I am sure I can speak to everybody on this conference call, but we recognize how important it is to grow the game.
You guys probably remember going back to 1991, I believe it was, when the LA Kings played the New York Rangers in the parking lot at Caesar's Palace, and I think a lot of people thought that was stupid. I was really thrilled to be a part of it. In fact, that happens to be one of my most memorable occasions.
When I think of how progressive of a game people are trying to make it, thinking about new markets, I'm a big believer in expanding the game overseas. It was told to me by Bob Nicholson a few -- about two, three years ago, at lunch we were talking about the Stanley Cup Finals on Hockey Night in Canada and what our viewership might look like, and I told Bob depending on the night and which two teams are playing, we can probably expect between 4 and 5 million viewers. And he reminded me that for the World Hockey Championships, of which we give virtually no coverage unfortunately, their viewership can be as much as 200 million for a game.
So I think that I'm a big proponent of expanding our markets, and if that means going overseas, I'm all for it, and I congratulate both teams for participating.

Q. Benoit, your view from Montreal. Carey Price has come into camp with a lot of fanfare after winning the Calder Cup last year, MVP in the Playoffs, just the goaltending situation in Montreal and maybe an overview of the Canadiens in terms of trying to get back into the playoffs this year.
BENOIT BRUNET: I think it's going to be tough to win the playoffs again. The same things are there to put the goals and more points on the board, so I think that's going to be a problem for the Canadiens. They had a bad year last year at five on five, they had a great player in Sheldon Souray and he's in Edmonton right now. I think the team is going to struggle a little bit this year. It's going to be tough for the team.
The same guys have to put the points on the board. Kovalev has to have a better year, Saku, Higgins, Ryder, and hopefully there are some young guys that are going to produce. Andrei Kostitsyn had a good (indiscernible) and is playing not that bad, but they put a lot of depth on the team this year with guys like Hamrlik, Smolinski, Kostopoulos, but scoring is going to be a big, big problem.
I think the defense is pretty good. There's a lot of competition back there right now, and the big question in Montreal is always about the goalies, and Cristobal Huet hasn't been bad the last few years, but he hasn't proved to I think the fans in Montreal and everybody in the media that he can play a full season, and I think that's a big problem right now for the team.
Carbonneau talked about the decision maybe to send Price in Edmonton to start the season, but it seems that maybe Bob Gainey wants to keep him around. So I think he should stay around, be the backup, play maybe once every two games, and that could be a solution. But I don't think we should put too much pressure on a young guy to make sure that the Canadiens are going to make the playoffs.
But if you come down to Edmonton in the next few days or next few weeks, I think he's going to be back in Montreal before Christmas.

Q. Let's maybe hear from Judd. 191 days from now in the regular season end, Judd, what do you see as the surprises and maybe the disappointments in terms of team performance and qualifying for the Playoffs?
JUDD SIROTT: It's a tough question. I think when you talk about one disappointment, the Dallas Stars did not really do anything this summer I think to improve their team. The way Marty Turco performed last year during the Playoffs and finally shook free from some of the demons that he has had in the post-season, you would think that the Stars would maybe want to add and see what they could do.
The one thing that I will say works in their favor, they have a lot of kids in defense that are prospects, some that will play with the NHL club this year and others who will be in the minors. I suppose there's a chance if there's an opportunity there that they could maybe parlay that into some offensive production and try and give Brenden Morrow and Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen some help.
In the east we're going to be in New York for opening night to see the Florida Panthers and the Rangers, and I think everybody is anxious to see how that group is going to play together with only one puck on the ice. But they are going to be formidable and I think Henrik Lundqvist is the best young goaltender in the game.

Q. I was wondering if I could ask Pierre his thoughts on defenseman Shea Weber, what expectations you might have for him this year, and there a chance we're seeing an all-star in the making in Shea Weber?
PIERRE McGUIRE: I think Shea Weber is the southern version or the Dixie version of Dion Phaneuf. He's every bit as good as Dion Phaneuf. He's got the same mobility as Dion Phaneuf, he's got the same mean streak as Dion Phaneuf. He probably doesn't shoot the puck as hard as Dion, but he makes as good a first pass as Dion. They were partners together in the World Junior when it was held in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Brent Sutter couldn't play them enough together. I do think he's an all-star in the making, and the thing is he can log big minutes.
Everybody is kind of pooh-poohing the Nashville Predators and all the losses they had because of obviously dumping some salaries. But if you look at Chris Mason, I think he's going to stand tall. I had a chance to visit with him in July out in Alberta. I think he's ready for it, and Kelly knows him I think pretty well. And I think also when you look at the defense, the core of that team is all great young defensemen, whether it be Shea Weber or Ryan Suter, potentially Teemu Laakso, they've got a lot of good stuff going on there, so I think they're going to be a real tough team to play against and there are not going to be many free points against the Nashville Predators. But Weber to me is an all-star type player, absolutely.

Q. I wonder if both Ed and Pierre maybe able to weigh in on this. With all that's gone on surrounding the Predators on the ice and off the ice over the last several months, I'm interested in your perceptions as to what the status of this franchise is. Are we seeing potentially -- nearing the end potentially of the Nashville Predators, or is there a chance of a resurgence if there's new ownership down here?
ED OLCZYK: I think more than anything else, they've created momentum. Now it's being able to sustain it, and even though being out the last couple years of the Playoffs, now I think the overall feel is people aren't really thinking about the Nashville Predators as much as they were the last couple years, and this is where a team could rally around each other. And yeah, they've had some players go out. The injury to Stevie Sullivan certainly is a tough one to overcome to start. But you have some guys there.
And with Timonen out, and you guys talking about Shea Weber and there's going to be more ice time for him, so I would expect for those fantasy players out there, a guy like that would get a little more ice man and a little more opportunity offensively.
But they have to get over the hump, they've got to get out of the first round. They need to really become one of those teams that people talk about, and maybe this year most people aren't talking about them because of all the changes and what's surrounding. But when you have those outside distractions with ownership and whether the team is going to be here and is the team being supported, sometimes that's what a team needs. Sometimes the safest place in the world is at the rink and all you worry about is playing hockey.
I wouldn't call him a dark horse, but I certainly would expect the Nashville Predators to be one of the teams that certainly needs to be reckoned with. But I think this is a gigantic year for the franchise. I don't think there's any doubt about that.
PIERRE McGUIRE: John, the one thing, Ed talked about change, the most important change wasn't made. The general manager, David Poile, who's director of scouting, Paul Fenton stayed, that's huge for that organization because it gives them structure from above. Mike can speak to you about that. But the other big thing is that coaching staff has remained intact. And outside of Glen Hanlon in Washington, who I think is the most underrated coach in the staff, the most underrated staff in the League, Barry Trotz has never been give enough credit or respect around the league in terms of his coaching acumen.
I talked to Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach in the history of the League who has coached against him, he can't say enough good things when it comes to competing against Barry Trotz. I think the fact that you maintain organizational stability with management and also with the coaching staff is huge for that group.

Q. With Mike Modano set to become the all-time American scoring leader, I wonder what the networks, especially those here in the states, have planned for Mike.
JUDD SIROTT: Well, I think at this point -- and we were actually in Nashville when he broke the goal-scoring record, which was a terrific experience, and he was kind enough to sit down with us. You know, at this point our schedule is mapped out through October and November, but depending on when he's going to break that, Mr. Cuban, who runs the network, has either added games or changed games, so if he feels like that game is important, I would bet that we will be there. And if not, we will somehow be able to cover that as best as we can.
ED OLCZYK: I would say from our standpoint at Versus, that would be the same. I think last year we did a game against St. Louis after Mike had scored his 500th goal, and we did our whole opening strictly on Mike Modano and getting to the 500-goal plateau. He's been such a consistent player, and I would expect, again, if it's on one of our nights and we get that opportunity, that it would be warranted if we get to that stage, whenever that does come, and we are doing a game.
Last year we did a night little thing to open up one of the games. It was the first national broadcast after he had scored his 500th, and we would expect those numbers to rise quickly this coming year for Mike Modano and for many years to come.

Q. Last year we had a record 202 American-born players in the NHL. That number is surely going to increase this season. We're reaching the point almost where there's as many Americans in the NHL as there are from the big European countries, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden. Just your thoughts generally on what Mike's done to help grow the game and what's gone on at the grass-roots level.
MIKE MILBURY: It's been a pleasure to watch his transformation from just a rangy kid into an all-around player and a champion. He's conducted himself well with a lot of class. He's been a great spokesman for the game. He's the kind of guy you want to have at the top of the heap.
There are bound to be more behind him, and thanks to people like Bobby Carpenter a long time ago who sort of made it big as an American, and even before that, Tommy Williams from Minnesota, who sort of was a big star with the Boston Bruins, there's plenty of room for Americans. And the coaching now, the commitment that kids have to the sport is second to none. Some would argue it's too much; it's almost 12 months of the year. But it's professional coaching, great competition, and I think you're going to see more and more Americans infiltrating.

Q. Kelly, you're going to be spending a lot of time out in the Western Conference. Can you give us just a view of Anaheim and what teams may have stepped up to the challenge of trying to match what the Ducks did, both physically and with talent last season?
KELLY HRUDEY: Well, everybody here knows that the Ducks lost a lot this summer and are still a little bit uncertain with two of their key players, Niedermayer and Selanne. But I'm looking at that same division right now, and I'm thinking that this is probably the biggest year in Sharks' history.
This is a year that I think they have an opportunity to go as far as the Cup finals and even win the Stanley Cup. I think that they're an incredibly deep team. I think their commitment to the top players is important, and I think that they personally believe that they can make that challenge -- you know, I think that what happened last year to Patrick Marleau in the Playoffs might be a good thing. I know Patrick really well, and when you take it on the chin a little bit like that, it's not the best feeling in the world, but ex-players and managers and so on know that. It's a little uncomfortable feeling, but sometimes that drives you to be a better player. Patrick has always been an important part of that team, and I think we're going to see the best from him in the playoffs.
You look around the west, and I think what's important, a lesson that we learned last year, is that you play as a team and everybody buys into that team concept, a very unlikely team can have success. And I think that the Vancouver Canucks, heading into last year, I didn't think on paper they had a very good team and that they were probably going to be near the bottom in the conference. And it took a while and some of the stubborn players like Jan Bulis, even know I'm not the biggest fan, over time he bought into the team concept, and we saw how far Vancouver went with a pretty mediocre team but outstanding goaltending.
So I think that's one of the lessons a lot of teams in the League might have learned.
And I just want to speak a little bit about what Pierre was saying about Shea Weber. I might even go a step further. I agree with what Pierre was saying about Shea, but I think that he will probably overtime be a better player than Dion Phaneuf, and that's not slagging Phaneuf because I like him, also, but I think Weber is going to be a real gem in the League.

Q. Benoit, can we get your view on the Eastern Conference? You're close to Ottawa, you live in Montreal obviously but close to Ottawa, and the Senators in terms of can they get back to where they were and take the next step and then generally in the East in terms of what you see in terms of surprises or disappointments?
BENOIT BRUNET: I think Ottawa still has a good team. With the addition of guys like Donovan, I think we saw them in Montreal about a week ago, four days ago. I think they still have good depth. They've got guys that can score, a guy like Vermette I think can pop up and maybe score 25 to 30 goals. They've got some great goaltending there, so I think the team is going to be really good.
The same thing in Toronto. I think they've made some great additions in Toronto with Blake and Toskala, and then in Boston with Claude Julien being there, I think he's going to play a little bit more defensive style in Boston, and with the addition of a guy like Fernandez, they're going to be a team to watch.
The team that I'm scared for is Atlanta. They have guys that can put the puck in the net. They have great players up front, but they have a defense that is a little weak. So I think that might be the team that is going to lose some position in the standing compared to last year.

Q. Pierre, Calder Trophy winner this season?
PIERRE McGUIRE: Nicklas Backstrom I think will win the Calder Trophy with the Washington Capitals. Last year he was the best player playing outside the National Hockey League. He was absolutely spectacular at the World Junior. He's probably going to play either with Alexander Ovechkin or Alexander Semin. I would expect those guys if Backstrom stays healthy to score way over 100 points, probably closer to 115 points. I really believe that. Backstrom is mature beyond his years, 20 years of age but is magical with the puck. He's got great vision, he can shoot it.
He's already played a few exhibition games where he's been over 23 minutes, which is unheard of for a first year guy coming into the league like that, especially a European player. So I would think that he's got a legitimate chance to be the guy should he stay healthy and not get hurt.
If I can touch on one thing, talking about teams in the league, and Benoit was talking about Ottawa. One player that I've seen during the preseason that's improved, and it's funny to say this, that's improved as much as anybody, has been Jason Spezza. It's because he's finally 100 percent healthy, his back is not bothering him, his speed has improved at least a step and a half, and I think Jason Spezza along with Danny Heatley are going to rip this thing apart and Ottawa is probably the class of the east because of Spezza.

Q. Because of Crosby obviously being in there at the end, Hart Trophy and scoring championships and everything else, any other players that you see kind of stepping out and having breakout years, going to challenge for the scoring lead and MVP consideration? Breakout seasons for guys that you see maybe surprises?
KELLY HRUDEY: I'm not so sure it's breakout seasons, but other big years when I think of guys that had the potential to maybe at least challenge Crosby a little bit because he's at such an extreme level that I think everything is going to have to be in line, but I look at a guy like Joe Thornton with what I said about San Jose earlier, I'm even thinking of Gomez in New York now, in a more offensive system, a lot of explosive players around him and how he's going to do and that sort of thing.
And maybe the other guy that might sort of -- a change in perception a tiny bit was Pavel Datsyuk because I think everybody recognizes how talented he is. But I think it could be safely argued from time to time that because he's not the biggest guy in the world, he'd get beaten up a little bit and maybe didn't challenge himself all the time. But I think with that maturity that we always see from players, and again, another great organization, that could be a guy right up there that it wouldn't surprise me if he challenges Crosby a little bit.

Q. Judd, any closing comments?
JUDD SIROTT: I mean, we're excited about the schedule. We'll see the Penguins five times in the first two months and then we'll see how everything else sorts itself out. We're going to be in Toronto for the Hall of Fame game, which we're looking forward to, and we'll also be in Madison Square Garden for opening night. And obviously we're going to be here in London for the NHL opener. I think everybody is really anxious to see how the Ducks are going to play because it seems like they're going to battle two things this year, everybody in the league and themselves, because they can't quite shake it.
This moment, the fact whether or not Niedermayer and Selanne are going to come back. But in talking to some people on the team and talking to some people around the team, I think the feeling is that Scott Niedermayer will be back. One player told me on the team that they think it's going to be by Christmas.
But at this point Brian Burke will leave it open-ended, despite conversations within the organization to set a date to know whether or not he and Selanne are going to come back or either are going to come back.
But I'll be very anxious to see how they play. They're still going to be a very good team. JS Giguere probably will not play until their home opener when they come back to Anaheim. Same with Sammy Pahlsson, he's about two or three weeks away, even though they're skating here in London.

Q. Maybe we'll give the last word to Ed just in terms of a couple things that you would look to see in this season, either surprises or just story lines that might emerge?
ED OLCZYK: Well, I think for me you look at what teams did, come free agency, and what Benoit was talking about, the Montreal Canadiens, I don't think that there was a team -- and Pierre would be able to elaborate on the draft. But I know the two players that the Montreal Canadiens took in the first round this year, Ryan McDonagh at the University of Wisconsin, and Max Pacioretty who played with the Sioux City Musketeers in the United States Hockey League and I was at Michigan, and I think that those two players from knowing them personally and coaching Ryan McDonagh, I don't think there was a team that had a better draft when you talk about the top two selections, whether it be in the first round or whatever, I think those two guys will be outstanding players. I think Ryan McDonagh has an opportunity to be a top-two defenseman in the National Hockey League for many, many years and a guy like Max Pacioretty has an opportunity to be a guy that can score 25, 30 goals a year, a big, powerful forward.
Just on Montreal, I thought they had an outstanding draft with those two players.
Look at what the Rangers did, you're talking about MVPs, but I think a guy like Jaromir Jagr is going to have a monstrous year, having two guys, whether he's with Gomez or Drury. You never know with injuries and those type of things. I look at him in particular having a monster year with the type of distribution that Glen Sather has brought in up the middle.
I just think with the Rangers, one area of concern for me would be their blue line, are they going to be able to upgrade their blue line. Lundqvist is one of the top goaltenders in the National Hockey League. But I look at Jaromir Jagr to have a gigantic year. Maybe we don't talk about him as much anymore when it comes to MVPs and those type of things, but boy, oh, boy I think he's got a legitimate chance to be right up there with Crosby this year as a finalist.

End of FastScripts

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