Back in February, when Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik were traded to the Boston Bruins for Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart, it was greeted with shock. Sure, it was a solid trade, bringing a third of the Thrashers' last top line over and adding a defenseman not scared to drop the gloves and stick up for our team. Peverley was languishing on the fourth line, having a team worst plus-minus rating, and also having cooled off his scoring streak significantly. Pevs was having problems fitting into Craig Ramsay's system, so GM Rick Dudley wanted to give him a chance where he could thrive.
↵Boy, did he ever these playoffs. The first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs led to a Stanley Cup in the end for Peverley, who had four goals and eight assists, and who finished a plus six for the playoffs. The former waiver wire claim from way back in January of 2009 battled his way through the playoffs with an outstanding 53.5% face off percentage... including one over 71% in game six.
↵The quiet, mild mannered former Thrasher was almost unrecognizable in interviews, his big bushy beard blocking the way, but he was more than recognizable on the ice in this outstanding seven game series. Congrats to Stanley Cup of Chowder and the Boston Bruins for their first win since 1974. Of course, congrats are in order to the Vancouver Canucks and our friends at Nucks Misconduct as well. What an outstanding season for the Canucks, taking home the Presidents' Trophy for best league record and the Western Conference championship.
↵Thank you goes to both teams on an immensely entertaining final series, and best of luck next year as you both defend your conference championships.
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