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By now, everyone is aware of the NHL being the biggest and the best professional hockey league in the world. But it has come in spite of the selfish attitudes of the owners, and their repeated mistreatment of the players who make the game as great as it is. Between the years of 1942 and 1967 there were only 6 teams, meaning only 120 players got roster spots in the big league, and the owners had a vise grip on player negotiations. There were some very high quality players that stayed in the minors for long periods of time as a result of limited jobs, such as Hall of Fame goalie Johnny Bower. Though it made for quality hockey back then, the players had no power at the negotiating table, because the owners forbade the discussion of salaries between players, and when players like Fern Flaman, Jim Thomson, and Ted Lindsay tried to organize a union, it failed. All 3 players and other sympathizers were either traded or forced out of the league regardless of on-ice performance. However, an up-and-coming lawyer named Robert Alan Eagleson made his way into NHL circles as legal representation for many Maple Leafs players, and formed the Blue and White group with many of them. Bobby Orr is pictured on the left with his now former agent, Alan Eagleson. They had once been close friends, with Orr being one of his strongest supporters, but soon discovered that he had been misled by Eagleson, who left him bankrupt, and withheld the opportunity for him to own 18.5 % of the Boston Bruins. He wound up in Chicago due to Eagleson's strong friendship with Bill Wirtz, Chicago's owner. His arrival on the scene was only a couple years before the NHL announced the expansion of 6 more teams into the NHL: Oakland, Minnesota, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and LA. During the same year that the NHL doubled in size, the NHLPA was established as a union for the players. However, Eagleson was a player agent at the time, and because of that players that weren't represented by him didn't receive adequate help when they asked for it, and the owners knew they had him in their back pockets. The owners contributed to the NHLPA's funding, but Eagleson convinced the players to play in international tournaments to earn extra money for the association, not knowing that he did that to offset owner expenses. Between 1970 and 1975, 6 new teams bought in for a combined total of 36 million US $, and Eagleson did not stand up for revenue sharing. He also encouraged the NHL players to support the merger between them and the WHA on behalf of the owners, knowing it would kill the competition for the best players by eliminating an equally competitive league and reduce player salaries to what they were 10 years before. The merger also brought in 30 million US $ from the 4 WHA teams that bought in with expansion fees, of which the players received 0 $. As the 80s wore on, many players, past and present, grew dissatisfied with Eagleson's leadership, and his conflicts of interest as player agent, union president, international hockey promoter, and aspiring team owner. He survived a brief investigation in 1989 led by Ed Garvey, Ritch Winter, and Ron Salcer, but they still uncovered incriminating information against him. He was working with Peter Karmanos in the 90s to help him secure an NHL team, and the deal was that for every million US $ below market value Eagleson could find a franchise, Karmanos would give him 200 000 $. Karmanos eventually purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994 for 38 million US $, but had long severed ties with Eagleson by that point, who had been charged by the FBI for fraud and racketeering. He was quick to point out in his search for a team that John Ziegler, the NHL president at the time, was hurting the league by going for the quick score, pointing out that 4 teams had gone under in the 70s. He established a vision that saw the league expand from 21 to 28 teams between 1990 and 2000. Though he couldn't see it through, due to him stepping down alongside Eagleson, Gary Bettman did, and to this day, many of those teams added during that time have only seen marginal success. It seems the NHL still has yet to learn from its mistakes of the past, and due to their constant PR failures and inability to promote the game, they should cease any discussion of expansion. The league has a long way to go and needs to be a thriving enterprise free of criminals and politicians such as Bettman, Eagleson, or Ziegler to be able to accept another franchise for expansion.

2023-24 season: 43-33-6, 5th in Central Division, 9th in Western Conference, 16th in league. A 4-game losing streak brought Craig Berube's tenure with the St. Louis Blues to an end. I thought the end of 2022-23 was a good time to do it, but Doug Armstrong was patient enough, thinking that the right roster would work. But the losses were embarrassing, having never lost by less than 2 goals until Berube was fired. This trend continued, as they only lost 9 games by 1 goal, which could be looked in 2 different ways: It could be looked at that they won a lot of close games, which is an asset needed for playoff time, or it could be looked at that their losses decreased the value of their victories that way. They were a team that finished 10 games above .500, but finished with a -11 goal differential. Doug Armstrong was very smart and calculated this season and offseason, not wasting away the season in the final 20 games with impulsive seller trades, but by firing Berube when he did in December and replacing him with Drew Bannister, he proved that he believed they had a shot until the very end, and Vegas throwing the regular season nearly worked for them. I doubt they would've beaten Dallas, but a playoff spot would've looked better on Armstrong's resume, as I believe he will be a GM on the hot seat this year. The Blues had 6 20-goal scorers this year, but none of their offense came from the blue line, which is an area they sought out to improve on this offseason. The offseason is a much better time to make moves, and I couldn't go forever without mentioning the offer sheet that I was happy to see screw over Edmonton. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg have great potential to thrive with the St. Louis Blues, as Edmonton's lack of prospect developing was holding up their development. Broberg will likely be a no. 1 power play defenseman if they don't find anyone better and with Torey Krug being injured, and Holloway should be able to earn 2nd line ice time as a left wing on a team that doesn't have many scoring wingers. With a new coach and a large roster turnover, I expect a little more out of St. Louis this year. I believe they are capable of increasing their offense, and with a reliable backup in Joel Hofer behind Jordan Binnington, they will still be well off in net. Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Ryan Suter should provide some stability on the blue line, and Doug Armstrong's attitude towards this offseason was that of someone who still believes his team is competitive enough. They are by no means the best there is, but they're a playoff team, and in a Central Division that got a little tougher, they will find their window. I'm predicting they will finish 46-29-7, 5th in the Central Division, 8th in the Western Conference, and 16th in the league, with the 2WC spot, and that they will be swept in the 1st Round due to a lack of star power.

2023-24 season: 45-29-8, 4th in Atlantic Division, 6th in Eastern Conference, 13th in league, lost Eastern Conference Round 1 to Florida 4-1. The Tampa Bay Lightning are in strange territory this season that they haven't been in ever before. They're good enough to be barely hanging on, but they missed the 2nd Round in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2012-13 and 2013-14. Steve Yzerman constructed a masterpiece of a dynastic team throughout the 2010s, one that made the Eastern Conference Finals 6 times out of 8 seasons, and won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back season and came 2 wins short of a dynasty. But he left the team in 2019, and therefore was never able to legally take credit for the Stanley Cup teams he built. Julien BriseBois has succeeded Yzerman in that position, and he has managed horribly. Even though Jim Benning was still managing the Canucks until 2022, I haven't seen any GM with worse asset management skills than him in the last 5 years. He traded a 1st, a 3rd, and a 4th round pick for David Savard, an obvious overpayment for a depth option on defense who had a -8 in 14 games and didn't do anything until the playoffs before leaving for Montreal in the offseason. They also gave up 2 1st round picks and Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk for Brandon Hagel and 2 4th round picks. They gave up Barclay Goodrow for a 7th round pick after having used a 1st round pick to acquire him, and that season they also gave up a 2nd round pick and Tyler Johnson to Chicago for Brent Seabrook's contract, and traded Ryan McDonagh to Nashville for Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash. They also gave up Cal Foote and 5 draft picks for Tanner Jeannot before flipping him to LA 1 year later for a 2nd and a 4th. This offseason they also reacquired Ryan McDonagh and Edmonton's 4th round pick for a 2nd and a 7th, and they traded Mikhail Sergachev to Utah for J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, a 7th round pick, and a 2nd round pick. It can be easy as a GM to get caught up in the moment when you have a winning team by giving up everything that you have when you know you can win now, but the Lightning can't win now, or in the future, now that all of their assets are gone and that they let everyone go. They've also let go some very valuable members of their Cup team that they haven't been able to replace every year, as Blake Coleman left in 2021, Ondrej Palat left in 2022, Alex Killorn in 2023, and worst of all, they let Steven Stamkos leave this summer. No man has done more for the franchise than he has, and Julien BriseBois lowballed him this offseason by offering him 3 million $, after he put up an 81 point season for the team. In the summer of 2016 it was rumored that he would leave for Buffalo or Toronto, but on opening day in free agency, he signed for 8 million $, which was far less than they offered him elsewhere. He wanted them to maintain his salary, because every year he either played up to his salary or outplayed it. He's the same captain who brought them to 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals, and I was sure that at 8 million $ that was still less than what he could've asked for. BriseBois defended his offer, saying it was in the team's best interest to look at options to help them win by giving him a salary like that. But it was offensive for him as a representative of the team Stamkos cared about for so long to discard him like he was useless, and to then say those things to the media to defend his terrible decision. And for what's in Tampa Bay's "best interest to win" they need to fire BriseBois, because he has strip-mined their future while driving away the present, and if not for him, Tampa Bay could still be a Cup contender. I don't see goaltending holding up well for the Lightning, because Vasilevskiy is past his best days, but Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point should be able to drag them to the final spot in the East. I think the Lightning will finish 43-26-13, 4th in the Atlantic Division, 8th in the Eastern Conference, and 15th in the league, and they will lose in Round 1 in 5 games.

Mission Statement Bringing the truth to you, through diverse opinions and brilliant minds Dear fans of mine, Here, at Broken Twigs Sports, I, and anyone affiliated with my website, hold ourselves to a high standard of accountability when it comes to honest writing. Even when writing hit pieces, we strive to maintain the best level of integrity, as we do believe that facts will always present our side very well because of the high standards held here. We will always stand for you the people, the true fans of sports, and for anyone who has been disadvantaged by poor media coverage. Sports bring a lot of great things to society. They bring people together, they make us proud of something, whether that be our country, our favorite NHL team, or our local beer leagues. They also inspire a lot of good in our communities, as so many charities are sponsored by some of the more generous teams. Unfortunately, there are people who will try to exploit sports for the wrong reasons, who coach for the wrong reasons, who treat their teams like play toys, or who simply just don't care enough. We will always use our platform, being this website, to create a voice for the unheard, to be the champions for truth, and we will always understand that we are not bigger than the game or than the sport itself, whatever we happen to be covering. By writing to the public, I am applying for a job, and you are the employers, as you donate your precious time to me for what I provide you with. We not only accept public scrutiny, we welcome it, as a large part of sports is being accountable for both the good and the bad. I believe that philosophy should extend into media as well. We will always apologize for any mistakes we make, and I ask that you put me under a microscope, as I believe I have much to offer, and you all make it possible. Thanks for your kind support, Gabriel Alix Our Story This website was launched in February of 2024 as a side project to school and my podcast. As I started to get frustrated from the lack of results from podcasting, I developed my more creative side in blogging, and as the season came to a close, I wanted to develop my more journalistic side. Over the past couple of months, I have decided that it is just as important to talk about real issues within the game. As I continue to develop the website, honesty and entertainment will always remain the identity of Broken Twigs Sports. Meet The Team Gabriel Alix Founder, CEO, Web designer, Editor, and Writer

Gabriel Alix Who is he? The founder of the blog, Gabriel Alix has always had an eccentric mind, is an outspoken man with a brash style, and is a true student of the game of hockey. His unapologetically authentic attitude is what makes him a formidable storyteller, journalist, and a brilliant speaker. Growing up watching Don Cherry on Coach's Corner, he had dreamed of playing hockey professionally, but because he didn't put in the effort needed to become a pro athlete, he chose the next best thing, creating his own media company to get closer to the game. When he got into the business of media, he swore to keep 2 promises: To advocate to better the game of hockey through honest journalism, and to entertain his audience as a promoter of the game. Work Experience February 2024 May 2024 August 2024 I created the website today known as Broken Twigs Sports I started covering the CHL and Hockey Canada from a legal standpoint. I created the website's first branded item, a T-shirt with the brand logo. My Social Pages

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