Welcome to the world, new baby. Lucky you, you won your first race. And even luckier for you, you have two loving parents, ones that just happen to love the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes, the team that hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 45 years. Man, news travels fast these days. Well, don't you worry, because any parent who truly loves their child is going to brainwash them into loving the Leafs regardless.

Plus, there are plenty of reasons why the Leafs will win a Stanley Cup in your lifetime. Here, I wrote them down.

Building a team capable of winning the Stanley Cup is hard; building a team capable of doing it year after year is even harder.

The model franchise in the regard is the Detroit Red Wings, a team that won four Stanley Cups in the past 20 years, not to mention to other appearances in the Final. They’ve built a team about as close to a dynasty as you can get and are the type of organization that others try to emulate.

This year’s Stanley Cup Final pits two teams that could head in different directions after Gary Bettman hands over the silver mug. One, the LA Kings, have all the necessary ingredients to stay atop the NHL for the foreseeable future, whereas the other, the New Jersey Devils, may wind up being a one-and-done contender.

Check out yesterday’s post at The Good Point to read more.

The league's hottest team just got back the league's best player. The Pittsburgh Penguins have won 10 games in a row, 13 of their last 15, and now have Sidney Crosby back in the lineup to go alongside MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin.

One seventh-round pick was used in the making of this photo.

A few weeks ago I wrote an article comparing the rebuilding efforts in Edmonton and Toronto, with the basis being that there are many ways to build a team, and the traditional tank hard and draft high method isn't always a guarantee for success.

I've thought a lot about how teams go about building a contender, mainly because the Maple Leafs are so routinely whipped for Brian Burke's current rebuild, and that led me to examine the league's top two teams, the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings.

The last time either team had a lottery pick was in 1999, which is the year New York selected Pavel Brendl fourth overall. You have to go all the way back to 1990 for the last time the Red Wings selected in the top-5; that year they took Keith Primeau third overall.

Clearly, neither team has undergone the prototypical rebuilding method, which most fans view as the only true way to create a legitimate Stanley Cup threat.

Today's article at The Good Point looks at just how the Rangers and Red Wings came to sit at the top of the standings.

Following an almost unbearable break after the Conference Finals, the Stanley Cup will finally begin tonight. I hope at this point you trust my predictions. I nailed both Conference Finals, which matches my performance last season. I'm 11-3 on the season and 22-7 over the past two. However, I refuse to accept responsibility if you lose your kid’s college fund gambling.

Athletes are a strange breed. Routine and superstition bordering on OCD rules many. Some routines are as innocuous as eating the same meal every game day, while others are as odorous and disgusting as peeing on your own hands (yes, I’m talking about you Jorge Posada). Allegedly, Jorge pees on his hands to toughen them up and that's why he doesn't need to wear batting gloves.

During the playoffs, when a player’s season is on the line, superstitions and rituals often become more rigid. No one wants to lose the Stanley Cup because they didn’t wear their lucky underwear.

The most widespread playoff tradition in hockey is the playoff beard. Players stop shaving when their teams enter the playoffs and don’t shave until it's all over - whether that be elimination or Stanley Cup victory.

Some players, like Henrik Zetterberg, grow their beard and keep it year round, deciding to emulate their Viking ancestors with a magnificent mane. I’m going to say that Zetterberg does this because he plays like every game is a playoff game. Go with it.

The originators of the playoff beard are widely credited as being the New York Islanders in the 1980s. Although, the tradition might be a little older than that. Dave Lewis said the tradition actually started during the Islanders’ playoff run in 1975, which was the first time the team made the post-season.

"I recall that playoff beards were an important part of every playoff we were in," Lewis said. "Part of the rationale was that it was a symbol that this was a different time, separate from the regular season. It was the championship season. It was also part of the unity of our team and I think we thought we probably looked a little more rugged with beards. (via NHL.com)

The Islanders grew out their beards and won four consecutive Stanley Cups. Was it the power of the beards or was it just the product of having multiple future Hall of Famers like Bryan Trottier? I'll go with beards.

However, the playoff beard tradition did not catch on until the 90s. The Edmonton Oilers did not grow out beards as a team, nor did the Montreal Canadiens or Calgary Flames (the other Stanley Cup winners of the 80s).

The 1994 New York Rangers notably refused to grow playoff beards because it was started by the rival Islanders. You can’t support your rivals, even if it means looking like a badass.

The tradition seemed to resume with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and teams have embraced it on a wider scale ever since.

Some see the playoff beard as a silly superstition that operates at a minimal 6.25% efficiency (only 1 of 16 playoff teams will lift Lord Stanley’s mug), but I like to think of it more as an act of solidarity and camaraderie. These are the men you’re going to battle with every night and it’s an easy way to feel connected to each other.

In 2003, J.S. Giguere stated that both he and his wife hated his playoff beard, which was thicker than a Northern Ontario forest, but he did it for the team.

Of course, not all beards are created equal. For every J.S. Giguere, there is a Sidney Crosby. Poor Sid grew a wispy moustache envied by every 12-year-old male across the country. But you have to give credit to Crosby for sticking with his teammates, despite looking like a Quebecois smut peddler.

In honour of the best playoff beards this post-season I present the first annual Wendel Clark All-Stars.

For the third year in a row the Stanley Cup Final is an excellent match-up for the NHL (Gary Bettman is secretly mad). Two major American cities that have young and exciting teams.

This is actually a much closer matchup than the seedings suggest. While Philadelphia finished the regular season as the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed with 88 points, 24 behind the Hawks, they shouldn't be considered heavy underdogs.

At this point Philadelphia is playing like the team everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season, rather than the one that limped into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season.

Philadelphia is sort of like the Eastern Conference version of the Blackhawks, just a little older and maybe a little shallower on the blueline.

The Chicago Blackhawks are who we thought they were.

Let’s break this sucker down.

Leaf fans may be conflicted about who to cheer for during this Stanley Cup Final. There are factors that could make seeing either Mike Richards or Jonathan Toews lift the Stanley Cup unsettling for Leafs Nation.

The Leafs and Flyers have a pretty heated rivalry that dates back to the 1970s when both teams took gooning to a whole new level. The rivalry was rekindled in the late 90s and early 2000s with a couple hard-fought playoff series. It’s because of the Flyers that instead of remembering this about the 2004 playoffs, I remember this.

While Leaf and Flyer fans do not like each other there is the complicating matter of Chicago’s last Stanley Cup victory – which happened a long time ago. Their last Stanley Cup happened so long ago that they actually own the longest drought in all of hockey. The team with the inglorious distinction of owning the second longest drought is the Toronto Maple Leafs. My math skills are lacking, but even I know that if Chicago wins the Stanley Cup then the Leafs will have the longest Stanley Cup drought in the NHL.

This factor is so compelling that one Leafs fan (who shall remain nameless for his safety) said he would cheer for the Canadiens against the Blackhawks if that was the Stanley Cup Final. That’s obscene, but I think it shows how strongly some fans feel about this disgraceful record.

Even though it means that Chicago will erase their Stanley Cup famine, I am firmly cheering for them to win the Stanley Cup.

The Eastern Conference finals take place tonight as the Philadelphia Flyers take on the Montreal Canadiens. It’s truly crazy to think that two teams who made it into the playoffs on their last game are now vying for a spot in the Stanley Cup final.

Philadelphia needed a shoot-out victory over the New York Rangers on the last day of the season to secure their playoff berth, while the Canadiens received a single point in an over-time loss to the Maple Leafs to squeak in the night before.

If the Maple Leafs just took care of business in regulation we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Maybe things will change when I get my hands on a Delorean.

Until then, here’s the breakdown of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Conference Finals begin tomorrow and in the infinite wisdom of Gary Bettman and the NHL they will both start on the same day. Stupid. This is definitely to placate NBC who tend to bear with slotting the NHL on Sunday afternoons.

The Western Conference Finals begin at 2:30 pm and feature the (1) Sharks and the (2) Blackhawks. The Eastern Conference Finals start at 7:00 pm and feature the (7) Flyers and the (8) Canadiens. The seedings immediately jump out. The playoffs are a wacky time.

To get everyone ready for the big match-ups I have prepared a comprehensive breakdown of both Conference Finals. I’ll post the Eastern Conference breakdown sometime tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I’ll be nursing a hang-over and will fill it with plenty of bitter jabs at the Habs.

But for now here’s the Western Conference breakdown.

So, what just happened in that first round? The top three seeds were eliminated in the East and both Detroit and Chicago had a much harder time with their first round opponents than I thought possible.

I did pretty well with my predictions, being betrayed by only Washington and Buffalo. I’m actually happy that my Buffalo prediction was wrong because I hate Buffalo. That’s a positive.

I will take the blame for Montreal’s upset. I said that Washington will win the series if the Earth doesn’t implode before game 4. I didn’t take my prediction seriously and the Hockey Gods chose to punish me. Yup, that’s why the Canadiens won, not because they blocked 1324324 shots and saved 2314463465 more.

I’m certainly not happy that Montreal upset Washington, but it’s not the worst thing that could have happened.

Now the Leafs can rope the Capitals into a panic trade for Kaberle where Brian Burke has his pick of primo prospects.

In other fantasy news, Washington losing is really good for my fantasy sports life. I chose late in the first round and was excluded from the best Washington players, which was fortunate since I wasn’t necessarily convinced they could beat Pittsburgh anyways. Now it’s really fortunate considering they couldn’t even beat Montreal! The only Capitals player I chose was Mike Knuble. Most of the other poolies banked pretty hard on Washington. As a result, I am one of two people with nine players remaining, while the rest have six or less. I’m feeling confident with my seven Pittsburgh and Chicago players.

But you’re not reading this to hear me gloat about fantasy hockey. Onto the second round breakdown!

Everybody is making picks and instead of racking my brain for an interesting and unique post to slap up on the site I’m doing the same. The only difference is that I recognize that everyone has a shot at winning, no matter how small (MONTREAL). That being said, I’ve outlined what needs to happen for each team to win and underneath I’ve declared my bold predictions.

They say the only thing stupider than predictions is the person who makes them! I don’t know if they actually say that, but I made it up right now. Feel free to use that if everything I predict fails to come true.

This year’s trade deadline was especially boring despite having a record 31 trades involving 55 players. The most exciting trade was Wojtek Wolski (the next Polish Prince?) for Peter Mueller – not exactly the most riveting trade. However, the lack of intrigue was not totally surprising. The major players (such as Kovalchuk and Phaneuf) moved prior to the deadline, which left only secondary players available. Put it this way, the most sought after player at the deadline was Ray Whitney. Not exactly a sexy name. What did surprise many people was the lack of movement made by two teams considered serious contenders for the Stanley Cup, Chicago and Philadelphia.

It is clear that the weakest point of each team is their goaltending. How weak is up for debate. Both teams were rumoured to be aggressively pursuing a legitimate number one goalie at the deadline and both were unable to land said prize. Is this a bad thing? Does either team truly need a goalie to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup? Let’s look at each team individually.

We here at Five Minutes For Fighting are unapologetic Leafs fans, but I do believe that we try to analyze the team’s strengths and weaknesses in a fairly unbiased manner (…fairly). While we dole out punishment on other teams, cities, GMs, and players, we also spend a great deal of time (or plan to) critically examining everything about the Leafs, both good and bad. So, for fairness’ sake, today we are taking a look at Brian Burke’s first Stanley Cup victory with the Los Angeles Ducks of Anaheim and the luck involved in creating a championship team.

First, Leafs Nation is characterized as being overly effusive over Brian Burke’s hiring as Leafs GM. We allegedly canonize him as the second-coming of Conn Smythe. This isn’t entirely true. Yes, you will find it hard to get a Leafs fan to speak negatively about Brian Burke, but we do not believe he is the greatest GM in the history of the league. A more accurate description would be the best GM available at the time of his hiring, or the best GM in the history of the league compared to JFJ. Either works.

While Burke does have negative qualities, one of which is his poor draft record, he’s viewed as having complete autonomy from the moronic upper-management of MLSE and, more importantly, he has a Stanley Cup ring. But winning a Stanley Cup in the NHL requires more than just talent. It requires a great deal of luck as well. Brian Burke’s first Stanley Cup victory (and we’ll say it won’t be his last, right Leafs fans?) is testament to this. He largely inherited a quality team that only needed a few bold moves to make itself a championship calibre team.

Alexander Ovechkin is undoubtedly the most electric player in the NHL. He is a legitimate 70 goal threat and can score from anywhere on the ice, including his back. He strikes fear in opponents and fans like no other player today. He plays with a reckless abandon and exuberance that resonates with fans. And despite being a sniper he still plays an intense physical game. He’s even funny! There’s nothing to dislike about him.

Sidney Crosby is a more polarizing figure. He is intensely hated by many. He was hated seemingly before he even entered the NHL. I supposed that’s a product of the Canadian hype machine that proclaimed him the next Gretzky before he was 16. Now he’s called a whiner, a cry-baby, soft, over-rated, and robotic. Worst of all, he grows atrocious facial hair. When your beard growing abilities are worse than the rat’s nest on Ovechkin’s face then you are truly in trouble. There are even whispers that Crosby can no longer be compared with Ovechkin. His critics argue Ovechkin has surpassed him by miles.