It looks like John Ferguson Jr. has risen from the grave and stabbed the hearts of Leaf fans yet again. By giving captain Mats Sundin transcendental ability to veto any and all trade offers the former general manager handed the new one a shroud knot that proved securely fastened. Yes, Mats will remain…    Continue reading here….Cheers, Derek from Cloud9 Sports.

Contains a chart to help review the potential landing spots for the great Maple Leafs Captain, Mats Sundin. Includes potential bargaining chips, value of the deal and likelihood it all goes down. Must see for Leafs fans.  Check it out here.

Cheers, and thanks for reading.  Derek from Cloud9 Sports Blog.

This man was the best player in the NHL, is one of three members of the double Triple Gold Club, and recently turned down numerous NHL contracts that would have enhanced his wealth and protected his family (financially) for decades just to protect his integrity. Men who care this passionately about their reputation and legacy are few and far between in North America, so perhaps Peter Forsberg owes these qualities to his modest Swedish upbringing. In any case, todays news from his Nordic stomping ground will surprise you. Continue reading here…

Listen here to why neckguards and visors will never be mandatory, a detailed breakdown of who is getting traded and where, and why we need to embrace hockey and stop endlessly chirping the best indoor game in the world.

Enjoy the View from Cloud9.  Cheers, Derek.

Talk about a polarizing subject in sports and fighting in hockey emerges like a sneaky right cross from George Parros. The volume of opinions on the matter diminish the vastness of the Milky Way while overemphasizing what amounts to a single snap, or pitch in football and baseball respectively. Does punching a man in the groin, or throwing at someones’ head not glaringly eclipse the inherent danger in a good on-ice tussle?  Continue reading here.

Here is a link to the most recent auditory submission from Cloud9 Sports.

Check out how the Peter Forseberg sweepstakes changes the NHL landscape and the best piece I’ve done yet: Ray Emery is the TO of the NHL. (Note: initial portion deals with NBA, feel free to skip that for non-fans)

NHL: To absolutely no ones surprise Teemu Selanne is back with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Following the path of former captain Scott Neidermayer whose return has marked a notable turn-around for the Ducks, Selanne brings his back-to-back 40+ goal, 90+ point campaigns into an already formidable offensive attack.

Continue reading at Cloud9 Sports.

General Managers all over the league have been outspoken with their steadfast disapproval of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainments’ lack of professional etiquette and disrespectful conduct. Most prominently this furor is directed at the ‘debacle’ (to quote Leafs’ Coach Paul Maurice) characterized by the effectively labeled Lame Duck GM John Ferguson Jr., who thanks to MLSE’s procedural malfeasance is presently handcuffed to the radiator staring at the Trade Hotlines off in the distance.

According to hardliner, and fellow GM Brian Burke, JFJ doesn’t have a leg to stand on when he reaches out in the trade market. Burke draws from his experience as a lame Duck in Vancouver when he alludes to the near impossibility of making a deal considered equitable on both sides.  Continue Reading here

Cheers. — Derek from Cloud9 Sports.

Hockey purest continue to deny changes are necessary, but reality dictates otherwise. The NHL needs needs to stop looking in the wrong places to improve (see: enlarged nets) and listen to these recommendations.  Continue reading here.

–Derek from Cloud9 Sports

Anticipated by notable sports personalities to be an inevitable disaster, the pleasantly robust entertainment value provided by contest between the Pens and Sabres lowered the collective blood pressure of the events’ anxiety-ridden organizers. While slightly compromised by the uncontrollable flurries which plagued visibility and puck handling throughout the latter portions of the ‘Ice Bowl’, the viewing public was treated to a event of exceeding quality.

What was billed as a vital showcase for the great winter game, The  Winter Classic in Buffalo on New Years Day left few of the 73,000 fans disappointed.  Continue Reading here.

- Derek from Cloud9 Sports.