May 16 The Weekly Backcheck 05/16/11

• As the Predators were making their playoff run, people were talking about how devoted and passionate the Nashville fans were for their team. Meeting those claims with skepticism and knowing that any city can support a team during the playoffs, I decided to see how Nashville attendance was during the regular season. According to ESPN, their building was at 94% capacity during the season. Not bad at all. Great to see a southern market working.

• Without getting too deep into Todd Reynolds' comments opposing same-sex marriage, it's flat out stupid for an NHL agent to come out so strongly with his personal views on the subject. I have no doubt it will affect business and make lives difficult for his clients, at least those who choose to stay with Reynolds. I'm curious to know how Brian Burke would handle his dealings with Uptown Sports from here on out.

• Jeremy Roenick was admittedly a bit too forceful calling Patrick Marleau's game five performance "gutless" but I applaud his criticism. If Roenick wants to make a career out of being an analyst, he's going to have to speak his mind even if it means criticizing former teammates when frankly, they deserve it.

• I won't pretend like I've seen him play but the potential signing of Alexei Yemelin (finally) could be huge for the Habs. He gives the team another good skater on the blue line and adds a physical edge to the team which you can never have enough of. I'm excited at finally seeing the 2004 second round pick play in North America. As for the potential of an Alexander Radulov-type situation befalling the Habs? I always have to give the player the benefit of the doubt in regards to his professionalism until proven otherwise.

• It's being said by many Habs writers smarter than myself that the signing of Yemelin all but guarantees the return of Andrei Markov. I think it helps but I can also see the two sides coming nowhere close on the amount of money Markov will make for the next few years. Time will tell, I suppose.

• A 22-year-old guy on summer vacation went to a nightclub and went home with a girl. Just because that 22-year-old guy happens to be Patrick Kane doesn't mean it's any sort of issue for people to label a scandal.

• It's somewhat fitting that the Western Conference Final involves the two teams with the most nay-sayers out there considering their past playoff performances. Both Vancouver and San Jose have clearly figured out what it takes to win in the playoffs and it should make for a tremendous series. I'll take the Canucks in six. These teams are so evenly matched that to me, the difference will be the rest the Canucks were able to get prior to the series as opposed to the Sharks' grinding series victory over the Red Wings.

• The signing of Rafael Diaz looks like little more than depth for Hamilton. In many ways, he's a clone of Yannick Weber in terms of position, size, nationality and right-handed shot. In an interesting note, Diaz played for Zug of the Swiss-A league, Glen Metropolit's team.

• I really like the Michael Grabner deal both for the Islanders and Grabner. From the Islanders perspective, they lock up one of their young franchise cornerstones at a fairly modest price and send a message to fans that he'll be around for awhile. From Grabner's end, he'll make decent money and have financial security not too long after his NHL career was in doubt.

• I can't agree with Bob Nicholson and his frustration regarding players who turned down Hockey Canada's invitation to play at the World Championships. For my money, the NHL schedule is the most grueling of any professional sports and if guys say they are banged up after seven months of hockey, who is anyone to criticize or question them?

• I join the rest of the hockey world in expressing shock and sadness over the death of Derek Boogaard. The thoughts and well-wishes the entire hockey community expressed over his passing was reflective of the respect Boogaard had around the league despite his role as an enforcer. I'd also like to say how much respect and admiration I have for his family who have decided to donate his brain towards science in an attempt to learn more about brain disease caused by repeated head trauma. Couldn't have been an easy decision, especially so soon as Derek's sudden passing.

• As for the Tampa-Boston series, I've got Tampa in six. Tampa's speed and skill will cause Boston similar fits that Montreal did but seeing as Tampa's front-line forwards are just better, that'll be too much for Boston to overcome.

• I would love to hear anonymously from a few experienced general managers about just how much money Tomas Kaberle has cost himself this off-season with his putrid playoff performance.

About Will Martinez

Will Martinez runs the 'Hey, My Name is Will' blog and is a contributor for TheFranchise.ca. You can follow Will on Twitter @heymynameiswill

Tags: Alexei Yemelin \ Bob Nicholson \ Derek Boogaard \ Jeremy Roenick \ Michael Grabner \ NHL \ Patrick Kane \ Patrick Marleau \ playoffs \ Rafael Diaz \ Todd Reynolds \ Tomas Kaberle