Ted's Take

We haven’t won a Cup yet but that is what we all play for. That is what we rebuilt our team for. It has been a very painful process: one season of dismantling the team; one season of a lockout where our young prospects won a championship in Hershey; two seasons with Alex playing for us where we finished last in the division; and now from last to first and onto the playoffs with a division championship in hand. Thank you for coming along on the ride with us. Our work is by no means done but that first phase of the rebuild is over. Checkmark on it. Boom. Done. 

Here is my rant, my one and only set of comments on individual awards as we are all about “TEAM”:

Here is my rant, my one and only set of comments on individual awards as we are all about "TEAM": MVP: Alex Ovechkin should win out on all major awards. We went from last to first in our division. We qualified for the playoffs. He had a historic season: most goals in the league; most points in league; great plus/minus turnaround year over year; and most goals for a player in his position in NHL history. The team garners 94 points up from 70 the year before. End of story. Must be unanimous. Coach of the Year: Bruce Boudreau took this team from last to first in the division, from 9th seed to 3rd seed and 20 games over .500 record. We made NHL history. Who had a better run? Rookie of the Year: Nicklas Backstrom broke the team record for assists and was second in the league in scoring for first year players. He had the best plus/minus at plus 13 of the major rookie candidates; helped Alex Ovechkin have a historic season; and emerged as a # 1 center. The team made the playoffs while other players did not make playoffs. Same rationale regarding MVP discussions, right? That is my take. Now back to talking about the TEAM.

Great point of view - reasoned and smart.

Big milestones were reached by Alex Ovechkin this season but, most importantly for us, we are in the playoffs. So let us celebrate for a minute a job well done and some milestones achieved by our great young player.

Kudos to Mr. Abe Pollin and to both of our franchises. Two playoff teams in the same building at the same time. What could be more fun?

I am honored and flattered.

Check it out here.

Check out these standings. It is amazing to see us at the third spot ready to take on the Flyers in round one of the playoffs.

Check out these standings. It is amazing to see us at the third spot ready to take on the Flyers in round one of the playoffs. It is fitting we are playing Philly. We are the two teams that improved the most over last season in terms of wins and points. We have a long storied rivalry with the Flyers in the playoffs. They finished one point ahead of us in the standings and my son goes to school in Philly so he can join me on the road games. It is equally amazing that we finished with the same amount of points as Ottawa. They started the season on a 15 and 2 run proving that it is not how you start…it is how you finish.