It's that time of year again...

The Stanley Cup

In 2 days time, on April 16, the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

It is the only time of year where I find myself 'glued' to the 'tube.

The time of year when hopes and dreams unite, and where crushing defeats mean you switch to golf (that right Leafs?)

Yes, for the 8th time in 9 years my beloved Maple Leafs will be golfing instead of playing for The Cup. They have yet to make the playoffs after a full 82 game schedule (since the '05 lockout (the only team, by the way.)

They are among a group of 6 Canadian franchises that did not make the playoffs.

They are the only Original Six team to not have made the grade.

Oh woe is me...

Where are Wendel and Dougie when you need them?

We had scoring, we had goaltending (well, at least one of them), and we had a power play.

What we didn't have (again) was the ability to keep the puck out of our net, heck, we couldn't even get the puck out of our zone.

Want an idea of just how badly we played?

Read one of many end of season report cards on the players/coaches/management. This one from the Toronto Sun's Lance Hornsby.

Pathetic, no?

"Defensive liability", "not hard on the forecheck", "weak in own end", "mistake prone"... these are the common thread that 'unites' my team.

And one of the many reasons why they will not partake in the '14 playoffs.

Funny I should be writing this today, as it is also the day of the arrival of our latest saviour.

Brendan Shanahan has been named as Team President (and Alternate Governer) of The Leafs. Today is the team pressser introducing him to the masses. And there will be masses in this hockey mad city.

Good luck Shanny, you're going to need it.

That being said, I am looking forward to the playoffs. I've not made up my mind (as yet) to cheer for the only Canadian team to make the playoffs... that being the Hated Habs. Yes, the Montreal Canadiens are the only Canadian team to have what it takes to play for the hardest trophy to win. I'm not convinced they can win it, but as a Canadian I have to cheer for them, don't I?

I just don't know.

Here are the first round matchups for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Round 1 matchups

Philly and the Rangers should be a good show, as should the Sharks/Kings.

I'd like to say Chicago and the Blues would be a good series, but with the Black Hawks having lost their top to players to injury, I can't see them making it out of the first round. You never know though with the Blues entering the playoffs on a six-game losing streak.

Perhaps I'll watch Detroit/Boston... in the hopes of the Red Wings (23 straight playoff appearances) can take down the dreaded Bruins (sorry guys.)

About the Stanley Cup, did you know that the Stanley Cup is two feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 34.5 pounds?

Or that the first team to win the silver trophy was the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, who won Lord Stanley's Cup in 1893?

Here then are some fun facts, trivia and history on The Cup, and the NHL in general.

* The Stanley Cup was purchased in 1892 by the Governor General of Canada, Lord Frederick Stanley, who wanted a challenge cup that the best hockey teams in Canada could compete for.
* It has been around the NHL longer than any other team, player or coach.
* The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times - more than any other team in NHL history.
* Henri Richard, of the Montreal Canadiens, won a record 11 Stanley Cup titles.
* In 1988, Wayne Gretzky set a Stanley Cup Finals record by scoring 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) against the Boston Bruins.
* Patrick Roy has been named the Stanley Cup Playoff MVP three times, more than any other player.
* During the 1905 Stanley Cup Finals, Frank McGee of the Ottawa Silver Seven scored 14 goals in one game.
* In 1905, a team from Dawson City, Yukon traveled for 23 days by dogsled, boat and train to Ottawa to play for the Stanley Cup against the Ottawa Silver Seven. After finally arriving in Ottawa, the team from Dawson City got smoked in both games: 9-2 and 22-3.
* When the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in 2003, goaltender, Martin Brodeur took the Cup to a movie theatre and ate popcorn out of it.
* In 1996, Sylvain Lefebvre of the Colorado Avalanche had his first child baptized in the Stanley Cup.
* The Stanley Cup has travelled to several different coutries including the Czech Republic, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Japan, Switzerland and the Bahamas.
* The Stanley Cup is now accompanied by a body guard on all its adventures.
* The Stanley Cup is two feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 34.5 pounds.
* There are more than 2,200 different names engraved on the Stanley Cup, including players, coaches and owners of the Cup-winning teams.
* Every 13 years, a new ring is added to the bottom of the Stanley Cup to add more names of the Cup's winners.
* The original Stanley Cup was just seven inches high. The names of every player from each winning team is engraved on the base of the Cup. The cup and base now stands 35 inches high.
* The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups, a total of 23. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second on the list with 13.
* Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieuxare the only players to be named MVP of three NHL All-Star games.
* Superstar Wayne Gretzky has won the NHL scoring title a record 10 times.
* Bernie Geoffrion is credited with bringing the slapshot to the NHL in 1951. He was given the nickname “Boom Boom” because his shot was so hard and fast.
* The first goaltender to regularly wear a face mask during a game was Montreal's Jacques Plante . A shot broke his nose in 1959 and he decided to wear one ever since. He was made fun of at first, but now every goaltender wears a mask. Thanks to him, many broken bones and stitches have been avoided.
* The first player who accumulate more than 300 penalty minutes in a single season was Philadelphia Flyer Dave Schultz, who had 348 penalty minuted in 1974. The next year, he broke his record with 472 penalty minutes, still the record.
* In the 1985-86 season, Edmonton Oilers center Wayne Gretzky scored 215 points, breaking his own record that he set four years earlier. Of the top 10 best-scoring seasons of all-time, “The Great One” has eight of them.
* Michigan has won the most Division I College Hockey Championships with nine, the last one in 1998.
* Toronto Maple Leaf Darryl Sittler scored 10 points in one game (six goals, four assists) against the Boston Bruins in 1976.
* Quebec's Joe Malone holds the record for most goals scored in a game with seven against Toronto in 1920.
* The World Hockey Association was a rival hockey league from 1973 to 1979. Hockey legends Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, and Wayne Gretzky played in the league, but it couldn't compete with the NHL. Four current NHL teams came from the WHA. The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche), and Winnipeg Jets (now Phoenix Coyotes). The Jets made a triumphant return to Winnipeg just a few seasons ago.
* Canada is widely considered to be the birthplace of hockey. The Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto, Canada. There is also a U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame for the players, coaches, etc. who are American born.

Not too shabby for a trophy that has been played/bled/fought for over 100 years.

Here is a slideshow on some more history, and a compendium of facts.

Finally, here is a complete list of past Cup winners.

April 16... two days from now, the hunt for the 2014 Stanley Cup Champion begins.

I'll be watching.