NHL Player Websites

Watching the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL playoffs, I was reminded of my visit to Joe Louis Arena during the second year of my annual hockey road trip. Specifically, the Red Wings encouraged attendees to visit Henrik Zetterberg’s website. With the Red Wings advancing to the Western Conference finals, I thought I would revisit Zetterberg’s website to see what he thought about yesterday’s game against Chicago as well as the exciting game 7 victory over Anaheim. Here’s what "Hank" has to say:

We did it! Mission accomplished

It was trully a team effort and now that we have it, we arent ready to give it up. Stanley is just going to have to stay in Detroit! Of course, a great thanks to all of my fans that gave me the energy to go all the way last season. I hope that you will be there to support me and the team again.

I hope that you will enjoy both my website and webshop as well as follow me and the Red Wings this season!

This headline and message have remained unchanged for months. Plus, apparently that is how truly is spelled in Sweden.

Fortunately, the top of the page (and the top left of the page for every NHL team page – such as the Pittsburgh Penguins) shows three drop down options: Team Sites, Affiliate Sites and NHL Player Sites. Let's see what other NHL players are doing.

For example, what does Rick Nash think about the Columbus Blue Jackets reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history?

The page cannot be found.

Amazing insight!

San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo must be disappointed about the team's early playoff departure. Here's the picture from his website:



Cheechoo is more attractive than I remember. The rest of the website includes the headline "Welcome to jonathancheechoo14.com." and contains related searches for jerseys, games, cars, Calgary Flames Hockey and more. Basically, it appears that someone didn’t renew their website, and this possibly evil woman took it over. This same woman is also prominently featured on Boston's Michael Ryder’s website.

Although the websites of Martin Brodeur, Mike Modano and Ryan Miller and several other players look legit, even if they aren’t regularly updated, the NHL should be embarrassed. While I am sure that they do not administer these websites, they do promote them on every team page. Does anyone at NHL Headquarters ever look at their website?

Penguins Should Acquire Stillman and Nash

The National Hockey League’s trade deadline is tomorrow (Wednesday) at 3:00pm Eastern Time. The Pens have already traded Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi. I encourage you to read Empty Netters, The Pens Blog and the other Penguins blogs for analysis of this trade if you haven't done so already. Meanwhile, I have a few ideas of what else the Pittsburgh Penguins should do.

1. Acquire LW Cory Stillman. Stillman, currently a member of the Florida Panthers, is the type of veteran with Stanley Cup experience that the Pens could use. Stillman won Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-2004 and Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-2006 where he had 26 points in 25 playoff games. Stillman has scored 20+ goals in 9 of the past 11 seasons and although he only has 12 goals this season and is currently injured, he has been a key part of the Panthers’ resurgence. When he gets healthy, Stillman would be great for the Pens down the stretch.



2. Acquire LW Rick Nash. Nash, the #1 overall pick in the 2002 NHL draft, is the franchise player for the Columbus Blue Jackets, poised to make it to the postseason for the first time in the team’s existence. If the Blue Jackets make the playoffs, think about all the pressure Nash will be under. With the Penguins, he will be part of a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season and won’t have to deal with the same expectations of Malkin and Crosby. Nash is a sniper who would fit perfectly with Sidney Crosby. Even in plastic form as shown here, Nash could still score 25 goals.



So my proposal is to have a line of Crosby, Stillman and Nash. I realize that Stillman and Nash both play left-wing, but the Pens could move Stillman to right-wing. This line could take Pittsburgh on the Marrakesh Express to the Stanley Cup. They could Teach Your Children to play beautiful hockey. Before you disregard what I am writing and decide to Carry On to another website, just remember that this line could bring the Stanley Cup to Our House. They’ll even celebrate the Penguins winning the Cup in Ohio!

I really hope that Crosby, Stillman and Nash have the opportunity to be coached by former Penguins goalie Wendell Young or even Scott Young. Think of all the magic Crosby, Stillman, Nash & Young (or Youngs) could produce!

Trivia Tuesday will return next week. Voting in the Final Four round of the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament continues through 8:00pm tonight in the post below.

Athletes Websites

Have you ever wondered what your favorite athletes do when off the playing field? Well, many of them have websites that provide small glimpses into their lives. While most sports fans know about the blogs/websites of the Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, here are a few sites that you may not have discovered:

On Dolphins’ running back Ronnie Brown’s website, you can take a poll to see which team will win Super Bowl XLII: the New York Giants or New England Patriots. The Patriots are huge favorites, so I don’t see how they could lose.

Although he’s not a current player or manager, Tommy Lasorda writes frequently on his website, including an entry last week in which he proudly writes about earning Best in Class at the 2008 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition's inaugural Wine World of Sports, which pitted sports celebrities' vintages against each other. Lasorda’s Pinot Grigio (I never thought I would write those three words together) defeated wines by John Daly, Greg Norman, Wayne Gretzky, and the Andretti Winery.

In the latest news on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Rick Nash’s website, Nash won the gold and tournament MVP at the World Championships. Um, the 2007 World Championships.

Did you know that former Steeler Kendrell Bell was still a Kansas City Chief? According to his website he is; however, according to the Kansas City Chiefs’ website, not so much.

Face Me Ike, better known as Steeler cornerback Ike Taylor, is hosting his fourth annual football camp this Friday in his hometown of New Orleans. There is no punch line here; just thought you would like to know.

The top of Adam Archuleta’s website features pictures of him as a St. Louis Ram. This would be fine except he hasn’t been a member of that team since 2005. I guess the header “safety for the Chicago Bears” is supposed to clear everything up.

I have a new (OK, my first ever) favorite LGPA golfer, Erica Blasberg.



Just in time for Wimbledon, Andy Roddick provides, well nothing on either his website of Facebook page.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the blogs and websites of professional athletes. If you know of other websites of professional athletes, please feel free to share them in the comments below.