Hi everyone! Well… Yes, that was a surprise. You know what I’m talking about. To quote the great Clark W. Griswold Jr., “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.” I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER would have expected to read the following words: Montreal Canadiens, Campbell Conference Champions. Not only would I never have expected my fave team to win what is normally a Western-based trophy, but to see my team pose for photos wearing hats that said “Stanley Cup Final” blows my freakin’ mind. I mean, who here predicted Montreal, the lowest-ranked team in the playoffs, to not only beat Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vegas, but qualify for the final round? Who would have picked Montreal to have killed off every single shorthanded situation in, what, 13 straight games? Certainly not me. Sorry Habs, but no. Last night, when Artturi Lehkonen scored the game 6 OT winner, I just leaned back in my seat, looked up at the ceiling and said out loud, “I can’t believe they did it.” I still can’t believe they did it after the dumpster fire last month of the regular season. As I write this, Tampa is leading the Islanders 1-0 about mid-way through the second period, so we’ll see how things shape up. All I know is that I ain’t missing a minute of the next 4-7 games.

Anyway, I had to get those thoughts off my chest, so sorry about that. I know this is a site dedicated to the California Seals, but I got to look elsewhere once in a while for some inspiration, right? This week, I’ve added the second article from the Goal magazine I received a few weeks ago. This one is about the “Pocket Wrecker” (you read that right) Dennis Maruk, who just one month into his NHL career, was already making a major impact with his first pro team. You can read John Porter’s excellent article right here.

This is also the last week for all of you to cast your votes for this year’s inductions into the Seals Hall of Fame, so if you haven’t done so already, you can vote here. This year’s vote has been very exciting. More ballots have been cast this year than in any previous year, so thank you to all of you who have participated, and all of you who plan on participating this week. The new inductees will be announced Friday, July 16, so be sure to check out the site on that day!

Until next time, stay gold!