Playful Penguins

I love when you see interviews and the Pens are laughing and joking around or when some of the lighter moments of practice/games/etc are caught on camera. I compiled a few of my faves!!

Talbot manages to break the monotony of Crosby's endless media scrum questions

I love Fleury spinning like a ballerina and Max making fun of Staalsy for dropping the soup at the Skates and Plates dinner.



Basically, I just love when Sid the Kid laughs

Best Team Videos - Movie Time!

Who doesn't love movies? Quite a few of the all access features are on movies so here is a collection of some good ones:



Who doesn't love Disney movies?

Best Team Videos - Montreal's Hot Seat

As a Toronto fan, I think it's pretty much the law that I hate the Habs but my rivalry hatred is moreso against the Senators. I, of course, would never cheer for these guys against one of my favourite teams and don't forgive them for eliminating the Pens last season only to let Philly win (another rivalry hatred), but I was right on their bandwagon in their series against the Caps and was just a happy little bee when they eliminated them. Outstanding.

The Habs have done a bunch of "hot seat" questions for their player all access-ness. They've done a few general questions but a few fun ones as well (one thing that I like about this is that some of the players answer in French)

Player of the Week: Roberto Luongo

There's been a lot of speculation all summer about whether or not Luongo would be returning as Captain Canuck this season. After making himself unavailable to the media during the series against the Blackhawks in order to focus (which I feel is understandable), a lot of people thought he should be replaced. But the decision up to him and he made it yesterday and has stepped down as captain. He said that being a captain "...in a Canadian city for a team with such passionate fans is a privilege and an experience I will always take pride in. I will continue to be a leader on this team and support my teammates the same way I always have while focusing on our ultimate goal."

He has gotten a reputation as choking in big moments but he showed this past February that he can come up huge when it counts. In the (what would be first) huge game against the States, Brodeur came up short in net and Canada lost 3-5 against Team USA. Although Brodeur isn't solely to blame for the loss, he was replaced as starting goalie by Luongo, who stayed in net for the rest of the tournament and ultimately led the team to a gold medal.

 

I think he made the right move. He was a great captain but obviously couldn't do any of the on-ice responsibilities and then would be flooded with interviews after the game. I can see how that would break a goalie's concentration, especially during the playoffs.

He had a brutal second half of the season this past year but hopefully, without the pressure and responsibility of the captaincy, he can bounce back and focus on being a top goaltender - sorry to his backup... We all remember Florida...

He remembers too..

Somehow, Not At All Surprising

Seriously, is there anything that this guy can't do??

Player of the Week: Dion Phaneuf

In June, Dion Phaneuf was named the 18th captain in history of the Toronto Maple Leafs. As the start of the pre-season approaches and with it, the start of his captaincy, its his time to be Player of the Week!

Phaneuf played for the Flames for four and a half seasons before being traded to the Leafs this past February. His production dropped dramatically in his last season with the Flames, which may have been a factor in the Flames decision to involve him in the trade, but hopes are high for him to bounce back this season. Maybe some of that famous swagger of his will help

The Leafs and Leafs Nation have high hopes for this upcoming season - diehard fans that can see a Stanley Cup Parade in Toronto this June may be setting their standards a bit too high but hey, anything's possible. Suffice to say, Phaneuf has a lot of pressure sitting on his shoulders.




Whether or not Phaneuf will really "give us wings" remains to be seen, but the main question I have is... who drinks a Red Bull after working out?

Best Team Videos - Mascots

A huge part of every team is the mascot, am I right? What would the Penguins be without Chilly Willy and Iceburgh? What would the Leafs be without Carlton running about? Here is a collection of some outstanding mascot team videos

Well, this one isn't so much one team's specific mascot, but moreso the mascot in general - and how he should be treated!



I love all these Boston Bruins Hockey Rules commercials, espesh this one. "It's a Rolex (with little self-satisfied smile)"



Bottle break fail...



I don't approve of this lack of respect for the Leafs here but I will give credit where credit is due - pretty clever, a bit humourous...



(Sorry, this one isn't great quality but I love Steagle. Hey, I never specified the mascots had to be from the NHL)