Hockey Night In Canada

Hockey Night In Canada

Ron and Don will talk about featured match-ups that are strictly revolved around Canadian teams. They will have coverage all year round including your home for Canadian teams during the playoffs. On occasion Ron and Don will talk about American teams, but odds are they will be making fun of them mostly! Don't touch that dial!

Ron: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Ron Maclean and this beside me is Don Cherry.

Don: How come I am always introduced second? I ain’t important to you? I played for the Boston Bruins once. I am surprised you’re still doing the show beside me.

Ron: What is wrong with me?

Don: Just thought you would get fired by now. Surprised you lasted one season.

Ron: Well...

Don: Anyways, how do you like my new tie?

Ron: Pretty nice. Got it at Goodwill?

Don: You’re a funny guy but I ain’t laughing. That was disrespecting the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ron: Sorry, Sorry.

Don: It’s a Toronto Maple Leafs tie with blue and white colours. It has all the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey greats like Frank Mahovlich, Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming, Johnny Bower and so on. I hope I am not missing any one.

Ron: Lets talk some hockey, now as like always we are running out of time. What do you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Don: Honestly, they were better on paper last year. Lets hope they can play good together.

Ron: Yes, I agree, they lost players like Tommy Salo, who was one of the best goalies last year. They also lost their #1 centre in Pierre Turgeon, and one of the best offensive defenseman in the league in Sandis Ozolinsh.

Don: I love Mike Peca, one of my favourites, but he will see a lot of ice in Toronto as he may be the 1st or 2nd line centre. He is a great banger but doesn’t have the offence to be a 1st line centre.

Ron: The only player I see who will have a great inpact on this team is Keith Tkachuk.

Don: Tkachuk is a great player. Definitely will help the Leafs and should be a great line if he is paired with Adam Deadmarsh and Mike Peca.

Ron: Good checking line with scoring power.

Don: For once I agree with you. Al Macinnis should also help on the point but he is aging quickly. He cant play that many minutes anymore.

Ron: On the ice they look even worse than on paper if that’s not bad enough. They lost 8-2 in the 1st game of preseason to Anaheim. Anaheim doesn’t have as much depth as Toronto but the Ducks stars like Teemu and Paul showed up.

Don: Well, I think we will see a turn around during the season as Art Middleton, the new gm. He is a great general manager and he won’t stand for this storied franchise to lose like this. Expect the Leafs do bounce back and make the playoffs at the end of the season, but not that easily as they will battle for one of the last spots.

Ron: Well that’s all the time we have for today, and we will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC. Next week we will feature another Canadian team and their progress.

--- Saturday, September 15, 2001

Hockey Night In Canada

Ron: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Ron Maclean and this beside me is Don Cherry.

Don: How is every one at home. Lets get to the dirty stuff. Kids do not do this.

Ron: Are you talking about the Sean Brown incident?

Don: Of course. You are slow. Kids do not do what Sean Brown did. He was playing really dirty in that game against Calgary.

Ron: It is a good rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary but that was uncalled for.

Don: First this guy puts a vicious cross-check on Jarome Iginla and only gets a minor in the first period. In the 2nd period he puts a big hook on Vincent Lecavalier and knocks him down. He gets a minor hooking penalty and starts mouthing of to the referee. He gets a misconduct.

Ron: Ya, you never mouth of to the ref.

Don: Do not interrupt me. Anyways, he comes out the next period all fired up and crazed and does something unthinkable. He sucker punches Chris Pronger in the back of the head when Pronger is not looking. Pronger went down but quickly got up and boy the refs should have let him go.

Ron: Chris was really angered and could have really hurt Brown.

Don: Well Brown got tossed from the game and received a 2 game suspension which should have been more. Edmonton and Calgary tied the game at 3-3. Kids do not punch anyone in the back of the head when they are not looking. That could permanently injure the other player.

Ron: Speaking of the Calgary Flames, they are our featured Canadian team for this week.

Don: This team has improved a lot and has a chance to go deep in to the playoffs this season.

Ron: Yes, indeed they can. In the off season they picked up one of the best goalies in the league in Olaf Kolzig. It was a crazy offer but you have to do whatever it takes. The bonuses and and incentives totaled over 20 million making him get the most bonus of any player in the league.

Don: Not only Kolzig, but they got Chris Pronger one of the best defenseman in the whole CTCHL. Do not forget rising star Vincent Lecavalier. He is gonna be a good player very soon. I always said he will be a good player even before he was drafted. I was impressed with that kid. I love that kid.

Ron: Their defense is very solid defensively as they have 2 great defensive defensemen in Daneyko and Pronger. Mclaren is also sound defensively.

Don: They don’t have bad young guys either with Iginla, Lecavalier, Gaborik, Lydman, Mclaren, Balej, Tkachuk and Connolly.

Ron: Nice combination of young talent.

Don: I still think that the Flames management totally overpaid for Olaf. If they don’t win it will be very sad.

Ron: Indeed it will, blowing that kind of money.

Don: Well, I think that they will make the playoffs at least, but no one is sure about that.

Ron: Well that’s all the time we have for today, and we will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC. Next week we will feature another Canadian team.

--- Saturday, September 29, 2001

Hockey Night In Canada

Ron: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Ron Maclean and with me is Don Cherry.

Don: Well this weeks featured team was supposed to be the Edmonton Oilers but we are going to post pone this.

Ron: Instead we are going to look at how the Canadian teams faired in the preseason. We promise next week we will feature Edmonton and take a look at their young guns.

Don: Well the preseason has finished and we have some surprises indeed.

Ron: Yes most of the Canadian teams did poorly in the preseason except for Calgary which did not do great, but they were pretty good.

Don: That makes me quite mad to see these Canadian teams not trying at all.

Ron: Yep, major disappointment. If this was the regular season, only 3 Canadian teams would have made the playoffs Ottawa in the 8th seed, Vancouver in the 7th and Calgary in the 5th seed of their respected conferences.

Don: Yes, even the beloved Stanley Cup Contenders the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t do well in the preseason.

Ron: It is only preseason after all, so teams are just trying out new line combos and the Leafs should be able to bounce back.

Don: Once a good rivalry between Toronto and Montreal, maybe the best in hockey wont be a rivalry any more as Montreal is considerably weak and Leafs should dominate most of the games against Montreal but Toronto usually brings out the best out of Montreal.

Ron: O well the Habs aren’t as bad as lets say New York Islanders and Tampa Bay who lost 11 games straight and Tampa Bay who lost 9 games straight.

Don: Ya, haha only American teams can be that bad. No Canadian team should be at the bottom. Ya some good teams like the Avalanche are basically a Canadian team but an American city bought their rights. They were better when they were the Quebec Nordiques.

Ron: We finally agree on something.

Don: Yes, this is a first.

Ron: Now back to the Canadian teams and their struggles.

Don: Well let us hope that the Canadian teams are not playing to their best ability and they are holding it all for the regular season and preseason.

Ron: Can’t wait until this Wednesday so that the betting can start.

Don: Yup the season is about to start and we as well as you viewers at home are all happy.

Ron: Well we only have a couple of seconds left.

Don: Go Leafs Go!!!

--- Saturday, October 6, 2001

Hockey Night In Canada

Ron: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Ron Maclean and with me is Don Cherry.

Don: Well just like we promised you last week, this weeks featured team is the Edmonton Oilers.

Ron: We apologize for changing the program around last week, when we did a look at all Canadian teams and how they faired in the playoffs.

Don: Would you be quiet and stop apologizing. It was a good show and the fans enjoyed it. Now lets talk about Edmonton.

Ron: Well, the Edmonton Oilers were once built for speed, grit and fore checking where they were able to beat opponents by their quick speed and hungry fore checking. Now they are lucky to beat any opponents at all.

Don: These Oilers were always fast, hard checking and young. Now they are just young but without as much skill. Who is supposed to lead that club? Roman Turek? He would let a beach ball go through his five hole which is bigger than the black hole.

Ron: Haha, yes that is funny because it is true. If Ohlund can find his game than they would have one quality defender on the team. Jochen Hecht and Brendan Morrison will have to lead this team offensively but they aren’t exactly 1st line players although Hecht has some decent potential.

Don: Currently I think their farm team can beat their pro team. On the farm they have great solid prospects like Mike Comrie, and I always said he will be a star.

Ron: Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Semenov, Michel Riesen, Jani Rita are very good prospects.

Don: You know that Spezza is better than Kovalchuk. You know why? Because he is Canadian. Kovalchuk has no heart and Spezza does. Did you see how he cried when he was sent down to Tampa Bay’s farm roster. Poor kid, he was one of the better players on Tampa and will have a bright future.

Ron: Well back to the Oilers, they also have a great goalie prospect in Noronen but that’s only one. And Andrew Ference has a lot of skill to show. Especially offensive skill. He can become a very good offensive defenseman if Edmonton develops him properly. No need to rush him.

Don: Yes indeed. Ference played for the World Junior Championships. I told you he will be great. I scouted him.

Ron: Yup, you scouted everyone.

Don: What does that mean?

Ron: Just saying you’re a good scout.

Don: Ya exactly and I only scout Canadian kids because they are the best players. No one can lead a team like a Canadian. How many players like Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, Ray Bourque has Europe developed. None what so ever. All these Euros play for money not to win. Players like Stevie are hard to find where they would do anything for the team, and lead the team.

Ron: Yes, indeed. The only player who may be able to do this in Edmonton can be Mike Comrie and he still doesn’t play in the CTCHL regularly.

Don: One player who I like on this team is Jamal Mayers.

Ron: Yes straight from Toronto, Canada.

Don: He is a warrior and he tries his butt off every night. He is a great 3rd liner, but he can contribute offensively. Very solid and great fore checker some thing the old Oilers used to be but aren’t anymore.

Ron: Well we only have a few seconds so we would like to say goodnight and thank you for watching. Tune in next week to take a look at another Canadian team. We will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC.

--- Saturday, October 20, 2001

Hockey Night In Canada

Ron: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Ron Maclean and with me is Don Cherry.

Don: How about I introduce the show for once.

Ron: Go right ahead.

Don: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and this idiot beside me is Ron Maclean.

Ron: Hey!!!

Don: Shut your mouth!!!

Ron: Lets talk some hockey now.

Don: Afraid of me aren’t ya!!!

Ron: You have about 500 lbs on me (whispered). This weeks feature is on the pathetic Montreal Canadiens.

Don: What did you say!!! I can bench press you!!! Well the Montreal Canadiens are indeed pathetic. All of the Montreal Canadiens Alumni are spinning in their graves. They had over 10 general managers but I think they finally found a good one.

Ron: Yup, a good gm doesn’t always mean a good team. The team is last place for goodness sakes.

Don: The team is not respected as it used to be. Only 3 wins this whole entire season.

Ron: The only bright spot on the whole team is young up and coming goaltender Jose Theodore, who is a potential all-star.

Don: Well the Montreal Canadiens are trying to turn things around as they just hired new coach Craig MacTavish.

Ron: He was probably the last player in NHL history not to wear a helmet in a hockey game when he suited up for Edmonton a few seasons back.

Don: I think he will make a good coach, but not with the Montreal Canadiens. HAHA!!!

Ron: Well the team isn’t all that bad. They have some up and coming players like and prospects like Brendl, Hainsey, Buturlin, Chouinard and Ribeiro but they wont be a good team for a long while.

Don: All the players mentioned haven’t proven s#%t!!! The Montreal Canadiens are doomed!!!

--- Saturday, November 10, 2001

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. From now on I will start to introduce this show.

Ron: Ya we switched because of the little argument we had last week.

Don: This weeks feature on Hockey Night in Canada is on the Ottawa Senators.

Ron: Yes indeed.

Don: Now here is a Canadian team that I finally like.

Ron: Yes the team has a lot of good Canadian talent.

Don: Lets start with Burnaby Joe. This guy is a star in the league and may be the best player on any Canadian team. He was already named Captain of Team Poland for the Olympics. Yes that’s how good he is. Once again Canada gets robbed of this great talent.

Ron: Yup, Joe is a rare talent. Last year he lead the CTCHL in points with 120. 49 goals and 71 assists and brought home some hardware like the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy.

Don: They also have another good Canadian in Sean Burke. Yes a big goalie who will be picked in the CTCHL Olympics for sure as he is a very good goalie.

Ron: They have a couple of other good Canadians like Brendan Morrow, Sean Burke, Adam Deadmarsh, Brad Isbister, Denis Gauthier, Eric Desjardins and Mike Peca. Other good players on the team are Brian Leetch, Teppo Numminen and Arturs Irbe, but they are not Canadian.

Don: This team has all the ingredients of a good team except maybe depth on the 3rd and 4th lines which may be the killer for this team.

Ron: Right now they have picked up their game and are playing great as they are currently in 3rd place but 5 points behind Buffalo for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. If they keep this pace up the Ottawa Senators will have home ice advantage in the playoffs. Their 11 game win streak was just snapped also by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim losing 6-0.

Ron: Well that’s all the time we have so we would like to say goodnight and thank you for watching. Tune in next week to take a look at another Canadian team. We will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC.

--- Saturday, December 22, 2001

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. Again I am introducing the show.

Ron: Yes he’s Don Cherry and I am Ron Maclean.

Don: Shut up you schmuck.

Ron: You’re the boss.

Don: The last team we take a look at during the Canadian special is the Vancouver Canucks.

Ron: Well this team is sort of a surprise. They are keeping their own with not much depth but they are in playoff contention.

Don: Well they do have a couple of superstars like Peter Bondra, Pierre Turgeon, and Ed Belfour. They also have a couple of good players like Sandis Ozolinsh, and Sami Kapanen but the rest of the team is weak except for the Sedins.

Ron: Yes, the Vancouver Canucks need more depth on lines 2,3 and 4.

Don: Well Pierre Turgeon is certainly leading this team as he is the teams leading scorer by a wide margin. Peter Bondra is not playing up to expectations as he should also be leading this team but he isn’t. The other superstar Ed Belfour is playing ok. He is not playing great but he also isnt playing bad.

Ron: The team started off really great but are slipping right now but still will most likely get a playoff spot and represent Canada in the playoffs along with Ottawa and Calgary.

Don: The team is playing well because of production from unlikely sources like the Sedin twins Henrik and Daniel. They look like they are coming into their own and Henrik is 2nd in points for rookies. Trent Klatt and Sami are also contributing offensively.

Ron: This team certainly has a good defense squad. Belfour is currently tied for 3rd place for shutouts in the CTCHL and it is not for Belfour’s play but for the play of the Vancouver Canucks’ defense but it certainly got weaker dealing Ed Jovanovski and Bryan McCabe.

Don: Yes they have tough defensive defensemen like, Lance Pitlick, Murray Baron, Todd Simpson, David Harlock and Frantisek Kaberle and they added maybe one of the worst defensive dman in Sandis Ozolinsh.

Ron: Well that’s all the time we have so we would like to say goodnight and thank you for watching. We are done the Canadian specials on each Canadian team. Next we will look at the Canadian teams and their shot at the playoffs and predictions. We will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC.

--- Saturday, January 19, 2002

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean.

Ron: Today we will look at the Canadian teams after the trade deadline, their trades they made and how they stack up now.

Don: Let’s start with the good old Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ron: Yes the old gm receives Keith Tkachuk, Chris Simon and a 5th for the league clown Theo Fleury which I think is an amazing deal for Toronto. He then trades Donald Audette for more garbage in Krivokrassov which is a horrible trade.

Don: Then they trade a player who gives a 110% in Lowry for a marginal prospect, showing us the white flag. This wasn’t a bad deal but with it the gm shows that they aren’t making a run at the cup.

Ron: Then he decides to quit the CTCHL as he wasn’t man enough to be part of the best league in the world. Their new gm is hired and he does no trades at the deadline to help this team.

Don: Looks like for the first time in a while the Leafs are not going to the post season unless a miracle happens, which I don’t see happening.

Ron: The Canadian team that did the most trades are the Calgary Flames. I think this team has a chance to go far in the playoffs but I do not see them winning the Cup but a top 4 finish is possible.

Don: Some dead weight was lifted 1st when Andreychuk got traded for $750,000 to help the struggling franchise with money problems.

Ron: The reason they have problems is that they spend $20 million for signing bonuses on 1 player. That’s insane. The Flames werent done as they traded similar players in Marty Lapointe and Glen Murray. Since the Flames traded the better player in Lapointe they also received a pick and more money.

Don: Then to add depth the Flames added Benoit Brunet, a hard working 3rd liner for Rem Murray and a pick and prospect to even the deal out. Next the Flames were the ones trading money as they send $250,000 for Joaquin Cage.

Ron: A big deal that may have helped the Flames the most is Kyle Mclaren and a 3rd round pick for Jan Hlavac and Dimitri Kalinin. They got a 2nd line scoring forward Hlavac and a defenseman with lots of potential in Kalinin for a young solid defenseman that can contribute now.

Don: The next deal sent cast off Andrei Nazarov for a farm goalie and a 2nd round pick. This was a huge deal as Nazarov is a piece of dog shit and a waste of a roster spot and a 2nd round pick is really overpaying. Nazarov basically does nothing including backing off from top fighters afraid he will get knocked out.

Ron: The next deal also added depth but more important a proven sniper on the right side in Val Bure. Although it was a very high price to pay, I think the Flames needed this deal. They sent Steve Begin, defender on the rise Toni Lydman, top prospect from the QMJHL Yanick Lehoux and a 2nd round pick for Valeri, a 2nd and 4th picks. Although this deal favours Columbus, Calgary filled a hole here so it makes them stronger too. Look out for the Flames down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Don: Edmonton is happy with their roster I would guess as they stacked on youngsters at the beginning of the season and havent made a move since. You need at least one veteran to help guide the kids. O well the Oilers arent climbing up from the bottom any time soon and with out leadership, this team may go down the drain and spoil these kids potentials.

Ron: I like the moves Montreal made trading away old stiff Larionov who is the oldest in the league. They traded Cross (the defenseman that could gave heart attacks to Hab fans when he touched the puck) and Larionov for Odjick and Barrie Moore. Odjick could provide some leadership help. Was a good move for 2 big piles of crap. Montreal and Calgary were good trading partners as Montreal sent Gage for $250,000 and then Benoit Brunet for Rem Murray, Micki Dupont and a 3rd round pick. The Canadians added even more younger players and have some good leadership too. May be a team on the rise quite soon.

Don: Ottawa also made a couple moves before the deadline. Nothing much to change the impact of their team but they sent Sean Burke for ex Senator Irbe and Kev Hatcher. The Senators havent gotten solid goaltending the whole season and hope Ironman Irbe is the answer. Ottawa also picked up some veteran leadership in Don Sweeney along with a 2nd round pick for Brisebois and 2 5th round picks. If Irbe is the answer expect Ottawa to climb a little bit in the standings but don’t expect them to fall. My guess is they stay where they are and will be a solid team come playoff time.

Ron: The last Canadian team is the Vancouver Canucks. This team just got a new manager and he didn’t pull a trigger on any deal. I do not know what to make of this team.

Don: That’s because you’re stupid Ron. Vancouver is a team with no depth at all riding on 3 players all the way through the season. They will have to battle it out near the end for a playoff spot and they may not even get it.

Ron: Well that was the trade deadline special where we took a look at the Canadian teams and what they did during the trade deadline. We looked at their deals, evaluated them and said where the team stacks up now. We would like to say goodnight and thank you for watching. We will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC.

--- Saturday, February 9, 2002

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean.

Ron: Today we have a special edition for all of you at home watching. It will be the Hockey Night in Canada Playoff Edition on CBC.

Don: Let’s look at the Canadian teams first. There is only 3 Canadian teams in the playoffs out of a possible 6 but no one expected the Oilers nor the Habs to make the playoffs. The top Canadian team is the Ottawa Senators who are the Eastern Conference’s best team with 110 points. This is good enough to win the President’s Trophy as the league’s best team in the regular season. The 3 Canadian teams are Calgary, Vancouver and of course Ottawa.

Ron: The Ottawa Senators will face New Jersey in the opening round while Vancouver will be facing San Jose. Calgary will have their hands full with Detroit. My prediction is that the Detroit Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup while New York Rangers Pavel Bure is the leading scorer but the Conn Smythe will be awarded to Stevie Y. I see the Rangers coming out of the Eastern Conference so we have an original 6 match-up. I also see Olaf Kolzig being the best goalie in the playoffs.

Don: I agree about the Rangers and Detroit in the finals but I see New York winning the CTCHL Cup. I see Kolzig being the best goalie and Bure being the top forward but the Art Ross is going to Kolzig.

Ron: Here are our predictions. We will each say one match up and state our predictions.

Don: First we will start off with Ottawa against New Jersey in the Eastern Conference. This is the Stanley Cup finalists of last year against the President’s Trophy winners of this year. This is sort of like the past and the present. The Devils have had trouble this year and they will have trouble again with Ottawa. We compare the depth of the two teams and Ottawa is just so much deeper. I do not think New Jersey will be able to match Ottawa’s play hence a 4-2 series win for Ottawa.

Ron: Philadelphia and New York Rangers should be a piece of cake for the Rangers. A 4-1 victory for NY in this year as Philly wins a surprising one game. Look for Pavel Bure to dominate this weak Flyers defence. Bure will be able to rack up a lot of points in round one. This is our pick of the round. We guarantee a New York win here. There is teams that are better than Philly playing golf at the moment but the Flyers put in their heart and soul into their play and got rewarded.

Don: The 3rd match-up will be the rivalry of Boston and Buffalo. With Mario the magnificent One out for a week the Bruins will capitalize and start off great against the Sabres but the Sabres should prevail if Mario comes back into the line up. If Mario does not return, then all bets are off. Both teams have a chance to win but if Mario does not return for this round I will pick Boston. If Mario returns in time for at least 2 games than Buffalo wins this series 4-3. Expect this series to go to 7 games no matter what team wins it. Look for Joe Thornton to step it up in the playoffs for Boston. My pick is Mario does not return and Boston wins the series 4-3.

Ron: The last series in the Eastern Conference is Pittsburgh and Washington. Pittsburgh should be a powerhouse in the playoffs as they are on a tear being the hottest team in the NHL since slightly past mid season. They have only lost about 3 or 4 games in about 35 games. Now that is some streak but the team is packed with superstars from Blake, Gonchar, and Cujo to Nolan, Mogilny, Modano and Sundin. This tandem should win over Washington’s tandem of Jagr, Palffy, Salo, Weight and Forsberg. The series should end up being 4-2 for the Penguins.

Don: Now onto the Western Conference. This should be an easy series to predict but the playoffs are so unpredictable. Having said that I think the Detroit Red Wings will sweep this series like there was dust under the couch. 4-0 will be the series and if Calgary is lucky they may win a game. Look for the Wings to play really solid all around. They can be the strong favourites if they great hockey and if there legs keep up. Detroit should come out on top in the Western Conference and win the Clarence Campbell trophy.

Ron: The next match-up is St. Louis and Colorado and this may be the most even match-up so far in the playoffs. My prediction may be a surprise but the defending Cup champions the Colorado Avalanche get knocked off in the 1st round of the playoffs in a grueling series that ends 4-3. Patrick Roy then decides to sign elsewhere and the Colorado Avalanche are set back and start some kind of rebuilding process. Meanwhile the Blues look like a good team with a great goalie in the Dominator. Teams most noticeable weaknesses are the #3 defenseman spot as who will grab it Malakhov, Hedican or Lefebvre. Norstrom and Jovanovski are the lock for the 1-2 punch on defense. The other weakness is on the left side with only Bertuzzi, but the right side boasts great right wingers in Alfredsson, Kovalev and Fleury. Certainly the best set of right wingers in the league.

Don: Columbus and Anaheim is the next match. My prediction is that the Anaheim Mighty Duck win this series 4-2. The top line of Kariya, Selanne and Francis will be too much for Columbus to handle. Anaheim has also depth on the 2nd line while Columbus doesn’t. Manny Fernandez will have to play great to keep this series close for Columbus, and I see Manny doing just that.

Ron: The last series of round 1 is San Jose and Vancouver and this series should be a breeze for San Jose. Having one of the best goalies in the league certainly favours San Jose. San Jose’s depth is also far superior to that of Vancouver. What hurts most is Pierre Turgeon is out indefinately and will not comeback until next year so Vancouver’s depth at centre is awful. San Jose wins this series quite easily in a 4-1 fashion.

Don: The teams that move onto the next round are Ottawa, New York Rangers, Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis, Anaheim and San Jose. The first series of the 2nd round will be Ottawa and the New York Rangers. This will be a long and gruesome series, all games being very even but I predict the Rangers barely winning this series 4-3. Rangers have the leading goal scorer and back to back scoring champion and Ottawa’s goaltending is suspect while Kolzig appears solid in goal for New York. Ottawa is still unsure who is going to be the starter.

Ron: Pittsburgh and Boston also should battle it out in the 2nd round. Here Boston get out played because of the far superior depth of the Penguins. The series final looks to be 4-2 for the birds defeating the bears. Look for this series to be really ugly. The games get tougher and tougher in the later rounds.

Don: We predicted that Detroit and New York make the finals so we have to stick with Detroit over St. Louis but expect this series to be relatively close. St. Louis will battle goal for goal and shot for shot against the Wings but the Wings will prevail with their leadership and experience. This series may be the best series to watch as it should be most entertaining.

Ron: Round 2 will end with San Jose and Anaheim as the last series. The Sharks will eat the Ducks alive. 4-2 series for San Jose as the team with the most depth and better goaltending wins this series. Brodeur gives the edge to the Sharks.

Don: The four teams left standing after the 2nd round are New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, Detroit and San Jose. These are the teams that will be battling it out for the chance to go on to the finals. New York against Pittsburgh and Detroit against San Jose.

Ron: New York Rangers will win the first series. Again going the distance and winning it in seven games 4-3. This is the series where the Penguins choke but not on a fish, more like the Rangers. Russian Rocket again dominates the series and will not be stopped by Pittsburgh’s offence. He will school the Penguins like a peewee team. While Pittsburgh’s offence will be solid in the round the defense will collapse in front of Curtis Joseph.

Don: Contrary to the other semi final series, this one should be light and not as much good hockey. San Jose will not be able to challenge the Detroit Red Wings and will get out muscled, out played, and out chanced by the superior Wings. 4-2 series win for the Wings. Even though the series looks close, Brodeur will steal some games but the series is not close.

Ron: Now for the CTCHL Cup, the 2 teams battling it out look to be the Rangers and the Wings. This should be a great match-up and the whole HNIC crew voting for the winner we predict Detroit to take the Cup to the motor city with a close series ending at 4-3. Of course these are just predictions so these outcomes may not all necessarily come true. This series will be the hardest to predict both teams have a legitimate chance to take the Cup home. The series can go both ways.

Don: Well that was the playoff preview special where we took a look at all playoff teams and their match ups and stated our predictions. We would like to say goodnight and thank you for watching. Catch all the playoff hockey action right here on CBC. We will see you next week Saturday, for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC. For all you kids out there, keep your head up.

--- Saturday, March 9, 2002

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another season of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. Glad you and CBC worked everything out. Wow I never knew you had so much fan support. Glad to have you back. You make so much now. Want to buy me lunch?

Ron: Thank you Don. Glad to be back and be part of the greatest team in broadcasting. This week’s edition is all about predictions as the season is just underway. Lets start with the Stanley Cup prediction.

Don: Personally I would have taken either Boston or Toronto. Since Toronto is no power, so I am going with Boston, where I played my NHL hockey. Call me biased if you will, but this can very well happen. Detroit is so old they drink prune juice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They take mid day naps! Patty Roy in Colorado is 38 and the top 2 centres in Colorado are suspect. Phoenix has to gel and St. Louis is strong. Boston’s Joe Thornton has shown he is an elite player but will it hurt the team that he is not captain and that Guerin is. Thornton and Allison provide one of the best 1-2 punches at centre and their 3rd line may be the best in the CTCHL.

Ron: I have trouble deciding between St. Louis and Calgary but I will say St. Louis. They have the top line in the CTCHL with Bertuzzi, Yashin and Kovalev. Scary line!

Don: Teams making the playoffs: West: Colorado, Detroit, Calgary, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Jose, Chicago, Dallas. East: Ottawa, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Boston, New Jersey, Atlanta, Washington and not necessarily in that order.

Ron: I agree with your list except I would put Vancouver instead of Dallas and Philadelphia instead of Atlanta.

Don: Now for the individual awards. I think that the Hart will go to Joe Sakic and so will the Art Ross. Can’t go wron with Joe, the CTCHL 1st Hart trophy winner and arguably the best centre in the CTCHL.

Ron: I disagree with you. I predict Kovalev getting the Art Ross and Brodeur the Hart. Kovalev is on the leagues top line and Brodeur is a All Star goalie with very strong defense.

Don: Very well solid picks from both sides.

Ron: For the Vezina, I stay with my pick Martin Brodeur. Last years winner Arturs Irbe is on a team with weaker defence and with the reasons above Martin will win it.

Don: Although I hate Russians, I will go out on a limb here with this prediction. You can not deny this man’s goaltending ability. I pick Nikolai Khabibulin. He is one of the elite goalies in the CTCHL and well I just have a hunch.

Ron: The next award is the Rocket Trophy. Bure!!! Need I say more?

Don: Three in a row for this Russian Rocket. Has a nickname just like the award. Magnificent talent.

Ron: The Norris will be fought for only by a handful of defenseman. Lidstrom, Blake, Pronger, Gonchar, Leetch and Jovanovski come to mind. I will pick Blake though as he is partnered with another top defender in Gonchar and those two will run the CTCHL. Blake has all the tools and is the ideal defenseman.

Don: Although I agree with you, I usually take Canadians, but I will pick Lidstrom because I do not want to agree with you too much today. Solid defenseman who scores and plays solid defense, but doesn’t take penalties. Impressive!

Ron: The Calder will be a great match up. The front runner early on looks like it will be Dany Heatley but anything can happen. My pick is Heatley with Huselius 2nd and Datsyuk 3rd. The 4th leading scorer will be Rick Nash as he had a tremendous preseason. St. Louis wants to win now so Nash will either play in the minors or on the 3rd or 4th lines.

Don: I agree. I told you before about both Heatley. Watched Heatley a lot in the NCAA. Hard to argue against Heatley as in his regular season debut he had a goal and an assist. Way to go Dany. Personally I like to pick players who played Junior in North America. My picks are 1. Heatley 2. Huselius 3. Nash 4. Datsyuk 5. Chistov.

Ron: The Selke is too unpredictable so we’ll skip that award. Honourable mention goes to Ricci, Handzus, Peca, Bonk, and Marchant.

Don: I also would like to add players who I like the way they play. Tucker and Corson.

Ron: The last award is the Jack Adams trophy. The top coach for this year will be Pat Burns. The highest paid coach will make Calgary realize that hes really worth it.

Don: I think Bowman will win it in his last year of coaching. He will go out in style although without a Stanley Cup ring, although he got it last year.

Ron: Now thanks for watching this season’s first Hockey Night In Canada. There will be a lot more. Enjoy the night as we have a double-header for you.

Don: See all of you next week. All you kids, keep your stick on the ice!!!

--- Saturday, October 26, 2002

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. Great to be back. I look forward to this each week.

Ron: Yes me too. After all it is the best hockey show in Canada. We usually focus on the play of Canadian teams, but we also look at American teams too for those watching south of the border.

Don: After 13 games in to the fresh season, we have some shockers and some let downs.

Ron: Lets start with the bad and the ugly first and you know who’s ugly Don?

Don: Who?

Ron: The Pittsburgh Penguins!!! They are uglier than your wife!!!

Don: Take that back you son of a (beep). I’ll strangle you, you piece of (beep).

Ron: Now, now Don. Calm down. We both know that nothing is uglier than the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are like the Rangers of the old NHL. Incredibly high payroll, but couldn’t win a game.

Don: I agree. Having a superstar team, a chimp can coach the team and win the chimp, but everything points that Larry Robinson is dumber than one although he was a hell of a defenseman back in the day. Talk about a drunk for a coach. He cant take advantage of players like Sundin, Modano, Blake, Bertuzzi, Bondra, McCabe, Nolan and Potvin. Let me in. I want another shot at coaching, becuause we all know I can do a better job.

Ron: Also stinking it up are the Calgary Flames. They smell worse then a horse’s behind.

Don: OUCH!!! How can a team that has such great defense with guys like Pronger, Jonsson, Redden, and Kasparaitis have the most goals allowed in the league. Martin Biron is truly stinking it up. Biron is the worst smell coming out of the prairies.

Ron: Well Buffalo is also not looking good. If a guy like Mario Lemieux can not turn this team around then there is no hope for it. Come on give Mario a hand. He has back problems. Buffalo looks like they are going no where but down.

Don: As said before by a great hockey fan, naming Bill Guerin captain instead of Joe Thornton is making the Bruins suffer. There is much inner turmoil, and Guerin just blows and blows, sucks and sucks. Surely he doesn’t know that the Bruins have to defend to as he is a –7 on the year in only 15 games. Ouch. 6 points in that span doesn’t make you a superstar. Thornton on the other hand is playing well not the form he was 2 years back, but very well. He is playing physically and is more than defensively responsible. Now who was the first one to say that Joe will be a franchise player?

Ron: If I remember correctly, I believe it was you.

Don: Now I coached the Bruins and played for them and let me tell you this: LET THE FRANCHISE PLAYER BE THE CAPTAIN!!!!

Ron: Now we go to the surprises and the biggest surprise is the Philadelphia Flyers. With no superstar on the team, Philadelphia looks like a team that should struggle and fight for one of the last play off spots, but no, they are the best team in the league. Michael Peca is tearing it up offensively and defensively and he is already a +15.

Don: Another surprising team is the Atlanta Thrashers. They are allowing lots of shots but Arturs Irbe shows why he won the Vezina last year. If you look at goalies who played at least 7 games, Irbe has the best save percentage, 3rd best record in the league, 2nd best goals against average. He is showing the league off again. I do not like many Russians, but I do like Arturs as he is only 5 foot 8 inches tall.

Ron: Other surprising teams are all from the East as Toronto, Tampa Bay and Montreal are all quite a surprise. Tampa Bay has never been able to play .500 hockey but now they are one game above .500. I do not want to jinx them so I will shut up about them. Montreal is also playing well as they 13 points for seventh in the East. Remember last year this was a team that was fighting for the 1st overall pick.

Don: And the last surprise is my favourite team the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS.

Ron: They do not have a great team but they are playing well with what they have as they are 3rd in the East behind Philadelphia and Atlanta. Whats sticks out on this team? It’s the chemistry between Andrew Cassels and Keith Tkachuk.

Don: Tkachuk is a great scorer and one of the best power forwards in the game and Cassels is just a suberb passer. It is not rocket science to figure out that they will play great together.

Ron: Well that is all the time we have for today. Thank you for watching and see you next time on CBC. Now lets head back to the double header as Toronto won again and the Vancouver Canucks are ready to play. The Canadian double header.

Don: See all of you next week. GO LEAFS GO!!! GO BRUINS GO.

--- Saturday, November 16, 2002

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. Great to be back.

Ron: I hope everyone is havin a great time at home as are we, have seen great hockey games thus far.

Don: Well yesterday, the league’s head office phoned me about last week’s Hockey Night In Canada, that I was coaching indeed. I have been appointed the New York Islanders head coach. Now when in the hell did that happened? I have been getting cheques from the New York oranization, but I never knew what they were for. Apparently I make $1.5 million per year. And I thought your contract was huge Ron.

Ron: So are you leaving Hockey Night In Canada to concentrate fully on the Islanders?

Don: Hell NO!

Ron: Damn!!! Another year with this idiot.

Don: What did you say?

Ron: Wasn’t talking to you. My thoughts just slipped.

Don: I can’t possibly help that team. Look at them. They have crap on their team like Brashear, Helmer, Moran and washed up players like Lowry, Valk, Manderville, Richer, and more. I am probably missing some. Then we have these European players that only play on the perimeter like the Sedins and Novoseltsev.

Ron: There’s no much going for the team except for Hedberg and Sedins.

Don: Sedin’s can become some good players but need to go in the corners and play physically. I as their coach will have to teach them that. And whats a good goalie if the defense sucks and can’t stop the opposition’s forwards. The only players I like on that team is Hedberg, Simpson, Corson, Wiemer and Daneyko. Now why the hell did the Islanders hire me?

Ron: They probably needed your expertise. (sarcastically)

Don: Were you being sarcastic?

Ron: Do you know what sarcastic means?

Don: Well lets talk about the big deal that one of the Canadian teams made.

Ron: Yes!!! Calgary traded Chris Pronger, and Sami Kapanen for Ed Jovanovski, Mike York, Oleg Kvasha and a first round pick. Pronger, the ex-Flames captain and new St.Louis captain goes back to his original team. Pronger was playing horribly so it was a great move to trade the captain to St. Louis because of the package Calgary got back.

Don: Certainly a great deal for both teams. Jovanovski will for sure fill in great for Calgary. Mike York is also a welcome addition.

Ron: Yes, I agree.

Don: Guess what else happened? This is very exciting news.

Ron: What? You don’t have to wear depends anymore.

Don: No you idiot!!!! That great Canadian kid was finally named captain of the Boston Bruins. They must have heard this episode last week. I guess I got through to their management as they sent Bill Guerin to Pittsburgh for Owen Nolan. Great trade for both teams again.

Ron: Well we are running out of time.

Don: One more thing. The Leafs better pick up their play as they may not even make the playoffs. Now one of the best teams in hockey history not making the playoffs. Very sad.

Don: Keep your stick on the ice boys.

--- Saturday, December 7, 2002

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. Great to be back.

Ron: We had a nice long break during the All Star game, and we had a lot of fun in Florida. It is more than just hockey in Florida. Its all about the beaches here in Florida.

Don: We had a fun filled weekend watching the young stars game, the skills competition and the all star game itself.

Ron: This is the first year ever the CTCHL had a young stars game and boy did some youngsters impress me. Kovalchuk was amazing with 7 points in the game.

Don: He is still Russian, and you know they do not go in the corners. Kovalchuk especially. And the goalies were terrible, as was defensive play.

Ron: For sure. It was like there was 5 forwards out there all the time. 12-9 the final score for the East. A total of 11 players scored 3 points or more. Let me get the book to remind all of us. We know Kovalchuk and Henrik Sedin dominated.

Don: Both soft players but I am coaching Sedin to play tough. Vaananen, Nash, Heatley, Kolanos and Connolly.

Ron: How much is that? 7. We also have Gaborik, Kalinin, Klesla and Havlat. Wow that’s a lot.

Don: Most of these guys are sure future superstars in this league but some of the selections were a little how you iffy. More tough guys next year I hope. May some defensive plays and some nice saves and better yet some hitting.

Ron: There skills competition was great. All I have to say is wow. Can Al Macinnis really wire it and can Pavel Bure really skate. Both of these players have won this event before and show why they are the best at what they do. Macinnis at shooting, and Bure at skating. The west won the skills 4-2.

Don: East won the young stars, and the west won the skills. 1-1 tie and the All star game was next on our schedule.

Ron: Well the west won this game 7-5 to take the series lead 2-1 in All star game play.

Don: Robert Svehla, the hard working defenseman finally got his due as he won the All Star most valuable player and won a very sexy Jeep Grand Cherokee. Great game and a great car. All the Stars in the NHL certainly shined. Daniel Sedin also showed what I have been coaching him, how to play a tough game and he showed that at the All Star game. He will be a good player in the CTCHL some day.

Ron: This was a entertaining game and certainly great for the young hockey fans of the game. I personally like the normal NHL action but its nice to have a break mid way through the season to have some fun.

Don: Yes I agree with you for once.

Ron: Another great aspect around the all star game is the general managers coming together to talk trades. With the trade deadline nearing, everyone knows who are buyers and who are sellers and there will be some trades for sure. My inside sources tell me that there have been as much as 8 trades made during this break.

Don: Yes that is what I am hearing from my sources also.

Ron: Well we will have to see.

Don: Hope you all enjoyed the all star special from Hockey Night in Canada and we will see you next week with regular programming.

Ron: Thank you for watching and take care.

--- Saturday, February 8, 2003

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean. Great to be back.

Ron: Well the CTCHL playoffs have started and like always CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation) will be airing all the games. We will be looking at all the playoff teams especially the Canadian teams.

Don: Well there is only 2, so this year we will have to cover a lot of the American teams also. Calgary and Ottawa are the only Canadian teams that made the post season while teams like Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Montreal are all golfing at the moment in the big hockey golf tournament sponsored by our good friends from Pittsburgh (also a non-playoff team).

Ron: Lets start with Ottawa first as they are the top team in their respective Conference. With 102 points in the regular season, second best in the CTCHL, that has to be all forgotten as it is a new season. Ottawa is a big powerhouse but New Jersey is a surprising team, that can pull off the series win.

Don: I believe in the Canadian teams but this can be the biggest upset in the first round. If there was to be a huge upset, this would be it, although New Jersey is a tough team. Both teams are solid teams all around but it has not been going great for New Jersey until nearing the end of the regular season.

Ron: Also Ottawa chokes in the playoffs. For the second straight year they came first in the Conference in the CTCHL and last year they got beaten in the second round. In CTCHL’s first year, in the Conference Finals, New Jersey beat Ottawa 4-2 to go on to the Stanley Cup finals. HNIC predicts a hard fought series with New Jersey taking it in 7 games. This Canadian team is not going on.

Don: The second Canadian team is Calgary and they will be facing Dallas, which is another tough team. This time we predict the Canadian team winning the series. Should be another hard fought series, but Calgary should win this series in 6 games.

Ron: This is a match-up of experience versus depth. The 6th seed in the Western Conference, Calgary has the depth while Dallas has the experience. Calgary has 3 potent scoring lines, and a defense to dream about. The Calgary defense will be the thin that puts them over Dallas. Calgary’s goaltending is very suspect though. I mean very, very suspect. I do not think Chechmanek is worthy of carrying Sean Burke’s jockstrap.

Don: I agree with the Chechmanek comment. Indeed, if Burke steals games for Dallas, then Calgary is in for a long series, because Roman is not able to steal a game, only capable to lose a game for the team. With Hull slumping, it will be up to Burke and Zubov to carry the team. I do not think they will be able to against a really strong Calgary team. You never know with a gutsy old team like Dallas though. It looks though as if the regular season might have taken its toll on Dallas, as they may not be able to battle through the first round, with the brittle bones and all.

Ron: Now since we covered the Canadian teams lets move on to the other series.

Don: Now how much time do we have?

Ron: We have a few more minutes.

Don: Ok then, let us do the Eastern Conference first. You predict a series and then you predict a series. Buffalo against New York. This has all the ingredients of a sweep here. We predict a 4-0 sweep for the New York Rangers. Look for the offense of New York to awake and the best goal scorer in the CTCHL will step it up to the next level. Pavel Bure will carry the team, and Kolzig will be very solid in goal. Weight will always find Bure as he is one of the best passers in the game. If the defense plays just solid then Kolzig can do the rest. Buffalo does not look like a playoff team and Potvin’s luck has nw run out as he will face Bure. We call a sweep.

Ron: A line of Thornton, Jagr, and Allison is very scary. But so is Forsberg, Palffy and Bondra. The depth of Washington is more scary though as it boasts players like Lecavalier, Cassels and Brewer. Touted as the next great goalie, Luongo is still not experience but we predict he will get a playoff series win this year. After all he has to start winning some time. The series will be 4-2 for Washington and the series will be very high scoring. Dafoe stood tall all season but this is a different season now. This series will be decided by the offence. Washington should win as they have more shutdown defensemen, as Jagr and Thornton will be seeing a lot of Stevens.

Don: Next series is Florida against Philadelphia. Let me start off by saying that there are better teams golfing at the moment than Florida. With that said this we predict as another sweep. Philadelphia will have a long rest after this series. With Thibault having a great season, Johnson will have to step it up. Yashin and Koivu look like a great one-two punch, while Florida has a one-two punch of career 3rd liners. Philly wins in every category but goaltending.

Ron: Now to the Western Conference. Colorado versus San Jose should be great. The two best goalies square off. We give this series to Colorado in 7 games only because of Brodeur who is the best goalie in hockey. San Jose’s depth does not match Colorado’s, but San Jose has the superior goaltending. Colorado’s superstars will contribute a lot and that will be the deciding factor in the series.

Don: Francis, Kariya and Satan had phenomenal years but they will not be so fortunate against St. Louis who has the best team on paper. Anaheim’s defense is paper thin and Lemieux, Kovalev, Zhamnov, Gonchar, Straka, Alfreddson, Smyth will expose that. Hasek is looking for a cup and St. Louis’s back up goalie looks to be better than Anaheim’s starting goalie. This will be a 4-1 rout for St. Louis. We also predict the St. Louis Blues winning the CTCHL cup.

Ron: Phoenix and Detroit is the last series in the first round. The defending champions will have a hard time with Phoenix and we predict Phoenix winning it this time. With 2 new general managers in like the past week, Detroit is very disoriented. Detroit will not be as fortunate as last year, and this year they will be outsed in the first round. Free agency has made Phoenix a very strong club. It is the Phoenix water that draws all the unrestricted free agents. Players to watch will be Lidstrom and Blake two of the best defenseman in the CTCHL. The right side threat of Mogilny, Amonte and Fleury will be very deadly while Roberts is a true playoff warrior.

Don: Now a recap of our predictions for all you gamblers. Philly in 4, St. Louis in 5, Colorado in 7, New Jersey in 7, Calgary in 6, Phoenix in 7, Washington in 6, New York in 4. See you next week.

Ron: Thank you for watching and take care. See you next week.

--- Saturday, April 26, 2003

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean.

Ron: Well it is the play off edition and we now start off with round two coverage.

Don: Well last round we made predictions and this week we will see where we went wrong and where we were right.

Ron: Our predictions for the last round were: Philly in 4, St. Louis in 5, Colorado in 7, New Jersey in 7, Calgary in 6, Phoenix in 7, Washington in 6, New York in 4. See you next week.

Don: Well we were right on about Philadelphia sweeping. And give us credit. Predicting a sweep is the hardest thing to do. Kudos to us. We predicted Colorado in 7 but they won in 6. We were right about that except the number of games. We also predicted New Jersey in 7. Well Ottawa won in 7. We got the team wrong but we did get the amount of games correct. Game 7s are the hardest to predict. We blew on the New York prediction. The team just did not show up. Pavel Bure was totally shut down and Buffalo won the series 4 games to 2, while we predicted a New York sweep.

Ron: Anaheim also surprised us. We predicted St. Louis to win in 5 but Anaheim’s depth managed to beat St. Louis who had an outside shot at the Cup. We were correct about Calgary beating Dallas, but they needed 7 games instead of the 6 that we predicted. Last year’s champions Detroit also prevailed, beating a very tough squad in Phoenix. We knew the series would be 7 games, but we got the winner mixed up. Boston and Washington played a tough series and Boston certainly earned our respect. We predicted Washington in 6 but Boston won in 7. Forsberg was limited to 1 goal in 7 games while Boston’s big guns showed up as Allison, Thornton and Jagr all averaged over a point per game and 4 other players who averaged exactly a point per game.

Don: Round 2 of the CTCHL 2003 playoffs features such match-ups as Buffalo versus Ottawa, and Boston against Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference we have Anaheim against Colorado, and Calgary playing Detroit.

Ron: Let us first look at the Eastern Conference. O yes, almost forgot. For all of you, who bet on sporting events, well we are very confident about predicting 3 of the 4 series correctly. 1 of the series is quite hard to predict, but remember it is the playoffs and anything can happen.

Don: Let us look at the Ottawa and Buffalo series. This is a true David and Goliath match-up and this time the giant will prevail. We predict this series to be a breeze for the Ottawa Senators. Something like Ottawa in 5 games. We do not know how Buffalo managed to beat New York, but facing Ottawa their luck has just ran out. Ottawa has always been a top team, but the CTCHL Cup has always eluded them. Keys to victory for Ottawa are to play like they did so far, as that wins them games. Another key to victory is for Sakic to step it up a notch and assert himself as the team leader. If Sakic gets hot than Buffalo will not find a way to stop him, as the defense has become quite thin. Buffalo’s keys to victory are for Potvin to continue his spectacular play, and do whatever they did against New York as that seemed to work.

Ron: We move on to the Philadelphia and Boston series. We predict this series to be a one sided affair for Boston. Our prediction is a 4-2 series win for Boston. Philadelphia has some very solid depth but so does Boston. Boston also has superstars to show off with. Boston’s keys to victory are for all the big guns to show up, and to limit the amount of shots Dafoe has to face. Philadelphia’s keys to victory are a couple of Hail Mary’s and Our Father’s hoping that Jagr, Thornton and Allison get the flu. Florida is not in the same class as Boston and Philadelphia is about to find that out first hand.

Don: Let us move on to the Eastern Conference now and Ron, you can start this time.

Ron: Thank you Don. We will first look at the Colorado and Anaheim series. During the regular season, Anaheim had the 1st, 2nd and 7th leading scorers in the league in Francis, Kariya and Satan. During the playoffs they have not done much but the secondary lines have stepped it up, while the first line not producing to their potential. Reinprecht and Leclerc have indeed excelled in the playoffs. We do not think that the first line will get going and thus the Colorado Avalanche will prevail. Colorado has two very good scoring lines and good depth and that should be enough for the Avalanche to win. Patrick Roy is also an added bonus as he is far superior to Roman Turek. We predict that this series will be a 4-2 win for Colorado.

Don: The last series of Detroit and Calgary s the toughest one to predict. Anything can happen in this series. Both teams shocked us in the first round. Detroit for beating Phoenix, and Calgary for having so much trouble with a team like Dallas. We predicted a tough match-up, but we did not expect Calgary to lose the first three games of the series. We will predict a Calgary win over Detroit, since Calgary is on a roll winning 4 straight games. Calgary may have the best defense in the CTCHL and the defense must step it up for Calgary, as Chechmanek has a less than stellar save percentage at .892. Osgood on the other hand has been spectacular with a .924 save percentage. Calgary’s forwards are also superior to that of Detroit and Calgary must pepper Osgood with shots to be successful, but at the same time must limit the shots that Chechmanek faces.

Don: Now a recap of our predictions for all you gamblers. Ottawa in 5, Colorado in 6, Calgary in 7, and Boston in 6. See you next week.

Ron: Thank you for watching and take care. See you next week.

--- Saturday, May 10, 2003

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another edition of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean.

Ron: Well it is the play off edition and we now it is time for the Stanley Cup finals.

Don: The two teams in the finals are the Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins. If you did not know that, then go back to Mars!!!

Ron: Colorado is always a contender for the CTCHL Stanley Cup while the Bruins always had a great squad, they never went this far in the playoffs.

Don: Of course we are cheering for Boston. After all I played for them. Some of the greatest players played in Boston: Orr, Esposito, Bourque, Neely. Who played for Colorado? Only Bourque. A place like Colorado does not deserve a hockey team. They should go back to Quebec.

Ron: Now Don do not say something that might put us in trouble.

Don: You are right. I apologize to the fans.

Ron: Let us look at the two teams in the finals and how they match-up against each other. Boston managed to easily beat Buffalo 4-1 in the series and they had a long break heading into the Cup finals. This storied franchise managed to also beat Washington and Philly and now face their greatest challenge in Colorado. It is for all the glory now. Colorado on the other hand beat the defending champs of last year 4-2 in the series. They also managed to sweep Anaheim and beat San Jose. Since the NHL has turned in to CTCHL three years back, Colorado has been to the finals twice winning the Cup in the first CTCHL season. This is Boston’s first CTCHL Cup finals appearance but they have been to the finals a total of 17 times in the old NHL.

Don: Looking on paper, Boston looks to have the better squad but they are certainly the underdogs in this series. Looking at the centre spot, Boston certainly has a great advantage. Thornton – Allison –Ricci – Wiemer is far superior to Primeau – Nedved – Drury – Yelle. Thornton is not only one of the best centers in the league he is one of the best players in the league. You will see a lot of stars in these finals. Roy, Hejduk, Naslund, Jagr, and Thornton to start. Now back to the centers. Another dark horse in this series is Mike Ricci. Ricci is one, if not the best third or checking line centre. If he plays that way he can single handedly shut down any of Colorado’s top players. The left side certainly favours Colorado. Naslund is one of the best left wingers in the game. Daze is great on the second line as well. That is slightly much better than Samsonov and Isbister. The third and fourth line left wingers favour Boston though with Scott Thornton and Ranheim over Keane and Podein. The right wingers also favour Boston. On Boston’s right side we see the most dangerous offensive weapons of the last five years in Jaromir Jagr. Jagr stated that he will test the UFA market, but if Boston keeps rolling like this, he will for sure sign with Boston. Sundstrom, Knuble and Dahlen supply a great supporting cast on the right side. This is superior to Hejduk, Recchi, Hinote and Barnaby. Boston’s offense is superior with far superior depth.

Ron: Now it is my turn to speak. I will focus now on the defense. Let’s look at each team’s top six defensemen. The top two defensemen favour Colorado. Roman Hamrlik is one of the league’s superior all around defenseman, and Kaberle is coming along and will be a future all-star. On the other hand Sandis Ozolinsh is one of the best offensive defensemen in the world. Boy can he generate offense, but sure lacks the defense aspect of the game. Sometimes confused for a forward Sandis is always one of the leading defensemen in scoring. Johnsson is also playing great hockey in the playoffs and is a solid number two defenseman. The last four defensemen is as follows for each team. For Colorado it is: Visnovsky, De Vries, Therien and Messier. For Boston it is Sopel, Witt, Khavanov, Boynton, Richardson. That is 5 secondary defensemen that can contribute in the series. For that the secondary defensemen are better in Boston. The top two are better in Colorado while the rest of the defensemen look to be better in Boston. For this defense looks to be quite even.

Don: Now let us look at the goaltending, which in many cases can win you the Cup all by itself. Colorado certainly has an extremely big advantage here. Although already quite old, Patrick Roy is one of the greatest goaltenders of all time and certainly one of the best goalies in the league at the moment. Byron Dafoe is certainly a step down. He has certainly been solid for Boston for sure but it looks like he may be on the way down.

Ron: To conclude, Colorado has an edge in goaltending while Boston has an edge in forwards while they are quite even in the defense department. We are out of time now.

Don: How much time do we have?

Ron: About 15 seconds.

Don: Ok quick lets predict the series. I say Boston 4-2.

Ron: I will also say Boston but in 7 games. Thank you for watching. Good night.

Don: Remember kids!!! Keep your head up and stick on the ice.

--- Saturday, August 2, 2003

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to for another hockey season as season 4 kicks of in the CTCHL. This means back to hockey in Canada, where hockey is the number 1 sport in the country, unlike in other countries. So I would like to welcome you to another Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron Maclean.

Ron: Thank you all for your sincerity and kindness and thanks to CBC for renewing our contracts. Without the fan support of you guys we would not be here for another season.

Don: Since the season is just under way we will spend this week just making predictions.

Ron: Let us start with the Western Conference first.

Don: Until maybe last week we felt that the Flames and Blues would have been division leaders, therefore getting top spot in the West. Since the Blues have dealt Langkow, Smyth and Pronger we feel that they are significantly weaker. We now predict Chicago as the winners of the Central Division. So with that said we have Calgary at number and Chicago at number 2. After that we have Colorado who are one of the best teams in the league. We just feel that Calgary will have more regular season points. Phoenix comes in to round out the 4.

Ron: Since we have the top 4, the bottom 4 playoff teams are a lot harder to predict. We feel St. Louis is still a strong team and will make it to the fifth seed. Anaheim looks like they may take the sixth seed followed by the veteran team of Dallas and then the most improved team in Nashville. Detroit and Vancouver will make up push for the last playoff spot. With the loss of Lidstrom and Osgood, Detroit may actually miss the playoffs.

Don: So to recap, we got the final standings predictions as 1.) Calgary, 2.) Chicago, 3.) Colorado 4.) Phoenix, 5.) St. Louis, 6.) Anaheim, 7.) Dallas, 8.) Nashville. Of course this is just speculation. We would like to just say that this is a prediction and during the course of the season everything can change. Even though these are our predictions, we know that Detroit will make the playoffs, but it is always nice to have some surprises like Nashville in there. Also there can be a lot of trades for the good and for the worse and there may be some rebuilding teams like St. Louis and Phoenix. If these two teams in fact do rebuild, count them out of the playoff picture and add Detroit and Vancouver. Look out for Colorado, Calgary and Dallas in the playoffs.

Ron: Now we will take a look at the Eastern Conference. We feel that the Ottawa Senators will win the Atlantic division as well as the Presidents Trophy. Looking at the rosters on paper, we feel that New Jersey will win the Northeast division and have second place in the overall standings. Pittsburgh has one of the best teams on paper and finally will win some games. The Capitals round out the teams with home ice advantage. With the addition of Chris Pronger, they are a force.

Don: In the fifth seed will be the team that I played for, the Boston Bruins, although do not expect them to repeat last years Stanley Cup win. In sixth we have the Atlanta Thrashers finally making the playoffs with their first appearance in franchise history. The New York Rangers have always been a strong team and expect them to make the playoffs. We predict a seventh place finish in the East. Rounding out the 8th spot is a bit of a surprise with a pick like the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is a bit of a biased pick but they can pull it off. Just missing the playoffs are Florida and Philly although these 2 teams can sneak into the playoffs as well in one of the later spots.

Ron: So to recap, we got the final East standing predictions as 1.) Ottawa, 2.) New Jersey, 3.) Pittsburgh 4.) Washington, 5.) Boston, 6.) Atlanta, 7.) New York Rangers, 8.) Toronto. Like stated before these are just our predictions based on the rosters on paper. We can not predict chemistry, injuries or trades so the final standings will be different from our predictions. After all we did this for fun.

Don: Now since we got everything in our agenda completed, let us get to something close to my heart. Soft European players. Why do we have them? I mean they just get injured and cost teams money. We have barely started the season and we had injuries to one of the Sedins, Satan, Koivu, Numminen, Nikolishin, Kudroc, Sundstrom, Handzus, Chara, Salo, Bondra twice, Nazarov, Ragnarsson, Kozlov, Samsonov, Afinogenov, and now Pavel Bure is out indefinitely.

Ron: That’s a lot of good players injured. Costs teams money.

Don: Maybe they should make softer pucks? HAHA. That is why Europeans do not go into the corners. HAHA

Ron: There are some good tough European players.

Don: Do not contradict me ever. I am after all Don Cherry. Who am I? I said Who am I dammit? That’s right. I am Don Cherry.

Ron: Well that is all the time we have. So long everyone and see you next week for another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC.

Don: Remember kids!!! Keep your head up and stick on the ice.

--- Saturday, January 24, 2004

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Welcome back to another edition of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC. I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron MacLean.

Ron: Great to be back Don.

Don: I bet it is.

Ron: Well we are approaching the CTCHL All-Star break were it is always a fun filled time of year. We will both be heading to Minnesota and the game will be shown right here on CBC.

Don: Yes this week we will look at the Eastern and Western conference All-Star teams and compare them on paper and how they stack up against each other.

Ron: We will first take a look at the offense and it clearly favours the Eastern Conference. I mean when a guy like Peter Forsberg is playing on the third line, you know it is trouble. The first two lines are pretty even compared to each other. Both teams have superstar forwards on the 1st two lines but what sets the East apart is the 3rd and 4th lines. Advantage in offense goes to the East.

Don: We now look at the defense here, and the West defense is a few notches better than the East’s. Each of the West’s 3 pairings is considerably better than that of the East. It is not even close. The East had some players that have been over looked that deserve to have a spot on the team and for that the East will certainly pay.

Ron: I agree with you Don on that one. Now we look at goaltending and what do you know, the West has another advantage there. The West has two very good and experienced goalies in Sean Burke and Ed Belfour while the East has two young goalies in Nabakov and rookie Pasi Nurminen. A rookie playing in the all-star game is a big no. Especially if the rookie is a goalie. This could really ruin Nurminen’s confidence, as he will get no defensive help in the All-Star game. First of all there usually isn’t any defense at All-star games and looking at the East’s defense it will not be pretty. Another aspect in which the West has an advantage in.

Don: Great analysis Ron, because it is so true. Now we go on to the fun part. The predictions. I the great Don Cherry predict an easy West win. I predict a 7-4 win, defense being the East’s Achilles heal.

Ron: I would also like to predict a West win. Though I would like to predict something along the lines of 9-7. It should be an entertaining game that is for sure. Did we mention that you can catch it right here on CBC, along with the skills competition, young stars game and veteran game. It should be a very fun weekend in Minnesota.

Don: Yes. For sure. Now each year there is a player that exceeds expectations, scores a lot of points and makes the All-Star team but in no way, shape or form is an All-Star by any means. This year we have the following nominees: Rico Fata, Fredrik Olausson, Darius Kasparaitis, and Dick Tarnstrom. They are good players putting up solid numbers but no chance that they are All-Stars.

Ron: Well my vote is for Frederik Olausson. He is nearing retirement and frankly he is way passed his prime. He does not have the wheels he used to have before. This looks more like a pity vote to me.

Don: Yes that’s one guy that was an iffy pick, but my vote would go to Rico Fata. Last year he had trouble scoring in the CTCMHL. This year he has been playing with good old Brendan Shanahan and now is suddenly scoring. Kind of seems as if Shanahan is doing all the work.

Ron: Well we have ran out of time. That was our All-Star game special. I hope you viewers enjoyed it at home.

Don: Thank you and tune in to the All-Star game in Minnesota where we will be as well. Damn 7-minute delay wont let me swear anymore.

--- Saturday, March 20, 2004

Hockey Night In Canada

Don: Hi, this hockey night in Canada we will be looking at the upcoming trade deadline, the buyers and the sellers. I am Don Cherry and with me is Ron MacLean.

Ron: We apologize for not airing last week for the All-Star game but the Commissioner cancelled our program and did not air it when we in fact made one.

Don: Well that was last week.

Ron: This week we will look at the deadline.

Don: Lets look at the buyers and the sellers in the East first. Obviously Pittsburgh is a buyer. They do side way moves that put the team in potential danger by ruining their chemistry. They are always looked to first when someone announces a trade. Pittsburgh will be big this upcoming trade deadline making moves that improve the team on paper but hurt the team’s chemistry. Pittsburgh – buyers.

Ron: The next team is Ottawa and they are buyers as well. Ottawa’s needs include a star winger on either side. They have good depth and are a very strong team. A top defenseman in Ottawa is probably #1 priority in Ottawa and Patrick Lalime can always falter. They will look to improve their team but remaining quiet may be an option as well. Ottawa – buyers.

Don: Roloson for Philadelphia has been great since acquired. With that said, the thing that is missing is a top line right wing. A superstar right wing must be found to go deep in the playoffs. A stud defenseman would help too but those are hard to come by. This team rests on Roloson’s shoulders. Philadelphia – buyers.

Ron: The Thrashers are definitely buyers. With the recent acquisition of Gonchar and Karpovtsev, the defense looks good for the playoffs. Depth is need for the team at centre maybe as well as on the right side. Defense is not a concern as is the right side. If Cloutier falters, in comes Hackett. A #2 centre to displace Kozlov would be nice and a top notch right wing would help. This Atlanta team is for real. Atlanta – buyers.

Don: Toronto rides the coat tails of 3 players. This team needs everything to stay where they are. A top centre, depth, defense are all needed. The only non-issue is goaltending. A rebuild maybe the best option as well. Toronto – unknown.

Ron: Florida recently dealt Lang. This move looks like they are selling, as that move was for the future. The standings show that they can make the playoffs but maybe they have packed it in for the future. Florida – unknown.

Don: New Jersey should be higher than they are. They are a very good team underachieving. Only one need for this team and that is complimentary wingers to Paul Kariya. Kariya is the lone superstar winger and all the focus will be on him. He needs help. Turco has to pick up his game as well. New Jersey – buyers.

Ron: Washington also looks solid all around. The missing ingredient looks like a star on the left side. They can trade some of their young talent for that left wing. Washington – buyers.

Don: Tough call on the Rangers. They are still fighting for a playoff spot, but they want to unload some talent to improve the team. Kolzig and Bure are both rumoured to be traded as well. New York Rangers – unknown.

Ron: Carolina is a team that will be good in a few years. They have some missing pieces, so the best move would be to stay put. They have some gems and its best to wait with them. Carolina – unknown.

Don: Tampa has some question marks, and should start a rebuilding process. Quick fixes weren’t the answer. Best move is to rebuild, but will it happen? Tampa Bay – unknown.

Ron: After winning the cup this team is in danger of not making the playoffs. Most glaring need is a top notch goalie. Boston – buyers.

Don: The Islanders should forget about quick fixes and just rebuild. Stack up with prospects and go from there. They have some foundations in the Sedins and the two goalies, and they should rebuild around those assets. Gilmour, Juneau and Andreychuk can be interesting assets. New York Islanders – sellars.

Ron: This underachieving team just needs some help on the wing. The team is cluttered up the middle but need some more scoring of the wing. This team is long out of a playoff spot and best thing would be to retool. Montreal – sellars.

Don: It was evident a while back Buffalo will trade for top notch young talent and have so already. Linden was dealt recently. Turek anyone? Buffalo – sellars.

Ron: We now move on to the Western Conference. We start with Dallas. This team has no true superstars besides Hull and Burke. With that said a top-notch centre would be nice but why do anything if you are winning. This veteran team knows what it takes. Dallas – buyers.

Don: Colorado is good for a few moves a year. The thing lacking is a stud defenseman. Even if they don’t get one, the offense and goaltending is top notch. If they make a move it will be to improve the team. Colorado – buyers.

Ron: Vancouver is winning but they are lacking quite a bit. Defense, winger depth and a first and second line centre is missing. Will Eddie’s back handle the weight of the entire team. Vancouver – buyers.

Don: Solid all around Calgary doesn’t need much. Solid all over the place, this team will be scary come playoff time. Calgary – sellers.

Ron: They are in a playoff spot but the best way is to develop the young team. Denis and Whitney have carried this team and secondary offense from players like Tenkrat has been great. Dealing guys like Johnson and Robitaille may be key to an elite franchise down the road. Minnesota – sellers.

Don: Detroit’s move for Lang has been an impact move that solidified the team down the middle. The team filled one need after adding Lang to Lemieux. The team still needs more scoring support on the wings and help Zubov on the defense. Detroit – buyers.

Ron: With Nolan and Damphousse being free agents this team should rebuild around Brodeur. They have the best goalie in the game and a good idea maybe to retool. San Jose – sellers.

Don: A #2 centre would be Anaheim’s dream as well as a scoring left wing on that second line. Team looks solid. Anaheim - buyers.

Ron: Rebuilding maybe the answer in Los Angeles. Stuart can be a cornerstone of the franchise. This team can turn towards the ugly. Los Angeles – sellers.

Don: This team looks great just can’t get it together. Niedermayer is begging for a good partner. Will he get one or stay with the flat-footed Gill? Chicago – buyers.

Ron: The pieces are there in Edmonton. They just have to get it together. Chechmanek has to play like someone else for this team to go. Roman, pretend you are Brodeur or Roy. Edmonton – buyers.

Don: Dealing Lemieux, Gonchar and placing Alfredsson and Leetch on the block this team is in full rebuild mode. The consolation? They will be constant contenders in the near future. Ovechkin to St. Louis? St. Louis – sellers.

Ron: With a lot of looming free agents this team needs a shake up. Blake, Brind’amour, Fleury may leave. Time for a shake-up. Phoenix – sellers.

Don: Nashville has Federov and Amonte to lead the young guns. They have franchise players in Morrow and Legwand. This team is rebuilding into a great one. This team will look to acquire more top young talent. Nashville – sellers.

Ron: With some good young talent, Columbus will continue to rebuild. They are on the right track and this is the time to pick up some more young assets. Columbus – sellers.

Don: That is it everyone. Hope you enjoyed the deadline special.

Ron: See you next week.

--- Saturday, April 24, 2004