Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings. They had a great playoff and deserved the victory. The brand of hockey that they brought to the rink each night was impressive. Detroit is a team of complete players. They have a great deal of talent throughout the lineup, but the difference was their ability to play on each side of the puck and the desire to gain control of it. It takes a special kind of commitment to play such a tight game and still create offense. Henrik Zetterberg exemplifies those characteristics, and I feel it was that style that helped him win the Conn Smythe. He was outstanding every night and a lot of his offense came from capitalizing off turnovers created by hard work.

The Penguins deserve a lot of praise as well. They had a lot of players come of age and show they could not only be an exciting team but also an effective team. I expect many of the young players to be even tougher to play against in the coming season. The experience they gained in the playoffs is immeasurable as it pertains to training great young players. The poise and mental toughness needed to win night in and night out in the playoffs is not something found in many players who haven’t been through it. That is why I have faith in my Sabres team next year; we have some battle-hardened playoff veterans from two seasons going to the conference finals, and on top of that we have a lot to prove to the hockey world after missing out on the postseason.

With the hockey season complete, I feel like I can relax just a little more. It is hard to feel good when hockey is being played at the highest level and I am not on the ice. Not that I am in a state of depression, it is just good to know that everyone is done and it all starts again soon. I was watching the game at my brother’s cabin in western Michigan and we both were talking about how frustrating it can be to watch. I will be at meetings in Toronto next week and then I can tune out hockey for a little while; take a little vacation from watching, playing and thinking about hockey, recharge and try to be at an even higher level for next season.

This will be my last entry for Maxim.com this season. Thanks for reading. It was fun to give blogging a try after reading so many on the Internet. I am thinking about considering the possibility that I may continue blogging on my own website, MillerTime30.com. It may not be updated much this summer, but as hockey starts up again I will see how it goes. Have a great summer!