2008–09 Montreal Canadiens Season
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2008–09 Montreal Canadiens Season
The 2008–09 Montreal Canadiens season was their 100th season and 92nd in the National Hockey League (NHL). While it was widely believed that the 2008–09 season marked the team's centennial, this would not be until the following season with the Canadiens' 100th anniversary taking place on December 4, 2009. The 2008 NHL Entry Draft took place in Ottawa on June 20–21 and the free agency period began on July 1. Off-season Throughout much of the off-season, Canadiens' general manager Bob Gainey pursued a possible contract with unrestricted free agent Mats Sundin, formerly the captain of Montreal's historic rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The signing efforts started prior to July 1, 2008, and continued into August, as Gainey was still actively pursuing Sundin. This, despite the fact that Sundin's agent mentioned his player "wasn't close" to making a decision on his future, and was strongly considering retirement. The chase ended with the acquisition of forward Robert Lang ...
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Eastern Conference (NHL)
The Eastern Conference (french: Conférence de l'Est) is one of two conferences in the National Hockey League (NHL) used to divide teams. Its counterpart is the Western Conference. History Originally named the Prince of Wales Conference, it was created in 1974 when the NHL realigned its teams into two conferences and four divisions. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were removed. The Prince of Wales Trophy dates back to 1925, when it was donated to the League by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII and then the Duke of Windsor. It was originally given to the NHL's playoff champion. (Until 1926, the Stanley Cup was presented to the winner of a post-season playoff between the NHL and Western Hockey League champions.) Since 1926–27, the Stanley Cup has gone to the NHL's playoff champion. During the years when the NHL had no divisions, (i.e., 1925–26; 1938 to 1967), the Prin ...
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Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in August 2012 for $175 million. In March 2018, Bleacher Report and Turner Sports launched B/R Live, a subscription video streaming service featuring live broadcasts of several major sports events. History Founding: 2005–2011 Bleacher Report was formed in 2005 by David Finocchio, Alexander Freund, Bryan Goldberg, and Dave Nemetz—four friends and sports fans who were high school classmates at Menlo School in Atherton, California. Inspired by Ken Griffey Jr, they wanted to start writing about sports. With the help of two old friends, J. B. Long and Ryan Alberti, the company's nucleus took up residence in a Menlo Park office space, in the spring of 2007, for $650 a month. Bleacher Report announced the completion of a round of Series A f ...
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Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the Calgary Tigers (1921–1927) and Calgary Cowboys (1975–1977). The Flames are one of two NHL franchises based in Alberta, the other being the Edmonton Oilers. The cities' proximity has led to a rivalry known as the "Battle of Alberta". The team was founded in 1972–73 NHL season, 1972 in Atlanta as the Atlanta Flames before Relocation of professional sports teams, relocating to Calgary in 1980–81 NHL season, 1980. The Flames played their first three seasons in Calgary at the Stampede Corral before moving into the Scotiabank Saddledome (originally the Olympic Saddledome) in 1983–84 Calgary Flames season, 1983. In 1985–86 Calgary Flames ...
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CBC Sports
CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-language Radio-Canada network also produces sports programming.) Once the country's dominant sports broadcaster, in recent years it has lost many of its past signature properties – such as the Canadian Football League, Toronto Blue Jays baseball, Canadian Curling Association championships, the Olympic Games for a period, the FIFA World Cup, and the National Hockey League – to the cable specialty channels TSN and Sportsnet. CBC has maintained partial rights to the NHL as part of a sub-licensing agreement with current rightsholder Rogers Sports & Media, Rogers Media (maintaining the Saturday-night ''Hockey Night in Canada'' and playoff coverage), although this coverage is produced by Sportsnet, as opposed to the CBC itself as was the case in ...
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Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and have won six Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926. They are one of the "Original Six" NHL teams, along with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers. Since , the team has played their home games at the United Center, which they share with the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls; both teams previously played at the now-demolished Chicago Stadium. The Blackhawks' original owner was Frederic McLaughlin, a "hands-on" owner who fired many coaches during his ownership and led the team to win two Stanley Cup titles in 1934 and 1938, respectively. After McLaughlin's death in 1944, the team came under the ownership of the N ...
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Robert Lang (ice Hockey)
Robert Lang (born December 19, 1970) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round, 133rd overall, at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Lang made his NHL debut with the team in the 1992–93 season. He has also played in the NHL for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes, with whom he retired with in 2010. Lang played internationally for both the Czechoslovak and Czech national teams, competing in four Winter Olympics (winning gold in 1998), three Ice Hockey World Championships and two World Cups. Playing career A native of Czechoslovakia, Lang began his career in the Czechoslovak Extraliga as an eighteen-year-old with HC Litvínov. After scoring 15 points in 32 games in 1989–90, his second season with HC Litvínov, he was drafted 133rd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Lang returned to play another t ...
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The Sports Network
The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by communications conglomerate BCE Inc. (presently through its broadcasting subsidiary Bell Media), with a minority stake held by ESPN Inc. via a 30% share in the Bell Media subsidiary CTV Specialty Television. TSN is the largest specialty channel in Canada in terms of gross revenue, with a total of in revenue in 2013. TSN's networks focus on sports-related programming, including live and recorded event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming. TSN was the first national cable broadcaster of the National Hockey League in Canada. Its stint has been interrupted twice by rival network Sportsnet, most recently as of the 2014–15 season under an exclusive 12-year rights deal. TSN holds regional television rights to four of the ...
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Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The club is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a company that owns several professional sports teams in the city. The Maple Leafs' broadcasting rights are split between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications. For their first 14 seasons, the club played their home games at the Mutual Street Arena, before moving to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931. The Maple Leafs moved to their present home, Scotiabank Arena (originally named Air Canada Centre), in February 1999. The club was founded in 1917, operating simply as Toronto and known then as the Toronto Arenas. Under new ownership, the club was renamed the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919. In 1927, the club was purchased by Conn Smythe and renamed the Maple Leafs. ...
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National Hockey League Rivalries
Rivalries in the National Hockey League have occurred between many teams and cities. Rivalries have arisen among NHL teams for many different reasons, the primary ones including geographic proximity, familiarity with opponents, on-ice incidents, and cultural, linguistic, or national pride. The importance of these various factors has varied widely throughout the history of the league. Early history During the earliest days of the NHL, the league was limited strictly to Central Canada, and all cities in the league were in close proximity, making for bitter rivalries all around. In addition, Montreal had two teams representing its English-French divide. The "French" Canadiens battled the "English" Wanderers (and later the Maroons). Rivalries also existed with other leagues, such as the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. It was not until 1926 that the NHL took sole ownership of the Stanley Cup. By that time, the league began expanding into the United States, and new rivalries were c ...
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Captain (ice Hockey)
In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captain and a number of alternate captains (usually two or three) who speak to the officials when the captain is on the bench. Captains wear a "C" on their sweaters, while alternate captains wear an "A". Officially captains have no other responsibility or authority, although they may, depending on the league or individual team, have various informal duties, such as participation in pre-game ceremonies or other events outside the game. As with most team sports that designate captains, the captain is usually a well-respected player and a ''de facto'' team leader. Responsibilities and importance According to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and National Hockey League (NHL) rules, the only player allowed to speak with referees about rule ...
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Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played his first four seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques. He was then traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1994, where he played the majority of his career, serving 11 seasons as team captain. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Sundin was the longest-serving non-North American-born captain in NHL history. Sundin last played for the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008–09 season before announcing his retirement on 30 September 2009. He appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 10 of his 18 seasons. Excluding his rookie season, the shortened lockout season and his half-season with Vancouver, Sundin scored at least 70 points in every season of his career, played at least 70 games in every season and led the Maple Leafs in points in every yea ...
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Free Agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is allowed to solicit offers from other teams. In some circumstances, the free agent's options are limited by league rules. Types Terms Unrestricted free agent Unrestricted free agents are players without a team. They have either been released from their club, had the term of their contract expire without a renewal, or were not chosen in a league's draft of amateur players. These people, generally speaking, are free to entertain offers from all other teams in the player's most recent league and elsewhere and to decide with whom to sign a contract. Players who have been bought out of league standard contracts may have restrictions within that league, such as not being able to sign with the buy-out club for a period of time in the NHL, b ...
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