Petr Sykora

Photo Credit: Paint It Blackhawks

Today's NHL world of salary caps, hidden bonuses, and strict roster regulations make it impossible to not understand why even the best players are often relegated to the free agent market.

But when teams dump stars just weeks after they helped the franchise win the NHL's biggest prize, the Stanley Cup, it's clear that a loyalty's broken. However, this has been done by more than a few of just the past 13 Cup Champions (1997-2010), and the most recent titlist, the Chicago Blackhawks, have truly re-opened the wound.

After we previously took a look at the goaltenders in Devils history, it's only right that we tackle the forwards next. Although you would expect him to be very high on this list when it's all said and done, Ilya Kovalchuk is not on the list yet, having only played in 27 regular season games thus far as a Devil.

Again, this is only based on their contributions to the Devils franchise, not their overall NHL contributions, which definitely impacts the potential rankings of players like Doug Gilmour, Peter Stastny, or Dave Andreychuk.

What a busy afternoon it has been! We promise this will be our last report of the day to give my fingers a rest!

The New York Rangers have expressed interest in Saku Koivu to be the team’s number one center. There is no word from my partner Loeb if the two parties have actually contacted each other yet, but there is a mutual interest between the two.

Expect Koivu to come cheap, and on the first of July, the two parties will be in contact.

Koivu to Rangers: HRM 2

$9,165,000 split nine ways, leaves an average of $1,018,333 the newly crowned Stanley Cup champions can spend per player to fill their roster this off-season.

Currently, the Pittsburgh Penguins' roster consists of four center's (as many as five if you count Tyler Kennedy or as little as three if you discount Maxime Talbot.) 

They have three true left-wingers, one right-winger. four defensmen and a goalie under contract for the 2009-10 season at a cap price of $46,835,000.

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in a classic Game 7. 

Almost every sportswriter out there doubted the Penguins would win, especially with the odds against them. Even when the Penguins won, everyone said Detroit will have this in the bag.  

Max Talbot was our unlikely hero, scoring the only two goals for Pittsburgh.  

The media was talking about how Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin would need career games in order to defeat the Red Wings. 

I had some very interesting comments prior to and after game 6 Tuesday night. 

Thanks for the feedback, however, keep the bias off my board! 

Detroit fans, you need to lose the notion that you have a right to the Stanley Cup.

My five reasons the Penguins would win game six were almost spot on.

Miroslav Satan and Philippe Boucher were not supposed to be here.

The Penguins assigned Satan to the AHL on March 4 to make salary cap room for Bill Guerin, whom the Penguins acquired at the trade deadline. With Petr Sykora in the lineup and Guerin and Chris Kunitz in the mix, Satan was the odd man out, and it was unlikely that the winger would play in a Penguins uniform ever again.