Saturday, 10 December 2011

Top 5 Disappointments This Season...So Far

5. James Wisniewski, D,  Columbus Blue Jackets
GP: 20 G: 1 A: 12 +/-: -15
James Wisniewski is another case of a player having a great contract year, signing a long term deal for a lot of money, and not producing the following year. Wisniewski, who had a career high 51 points with the Islanders and Canadians last season signed a 6 year deal at $5.5 million a year. The Jackets thought they had a centerpiece on their blue line but a -15 just doesn't cut it. Columbus will be disappointed for the next 6 years in this nearly immovable contract.

4. Scott Gomez, C , Montreal Canadiens
GP: 13 G: 0 A: 4 +/-: -3
Where do we start with Scott Gomez? Is it the ridiculous contract he is commanding, making $7.3 million for the next four years, or is it that he has not scored a single goal in the last 47 games. With his horrible play and maybe even worse contract, there are rumblings now that Gomez could be getting the Wade Redden treatment and be sent down to the AHL.




3. Eric Staal, C, Carolina Hurricanes
GP: 31 G: 7 A: 12 +/-: -18
The Hurricanes franchise player is just having a flat out horrible season. -18 puts him worst in the NHL in the +/- category and his 19 points isn't nearly good enough. The usually dependable Staal could possibly blame his on ice troubles with an incident that happened last year when he hit New York Rangers defenseman and brother Marc Staal. Marc suffered a concussion and has not returned since. Maybe having seen the effects of concussion so close to home, he's lost his competitive edge.


2. Alex Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitals
GP: 28 G: 9 A: 12 +/-: -8
The well publicized struggles that Ovechkin has been dealing with may be turning around, but still the season so far has been a disappointment. Ovie has been struggling to find his offensive prowess ever since former coach Bruce Boudreau tried to implement a more defensive style of play. Maybe with new coach Dale Hunter, The Great 8 can return to form and lead the Capitals to a Stanley Cup.



1. Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
GP: 8 G: 2 A: 10 +/-: 7
Crosby's play on the ice has in no way disappointed. The disappointment comes when you think back to January 2011 and you can't imagine the world's best player missing the rest of the season and a month and a half of the next. Coming off the concussion, Crosby looked like he never missed a shift, and colliding in the neutral zone with teammate Chris Kunitz caused him to miss two games for "precautionary reasons".    A great man once said "Where there's smoke, there's fire".  I hate to draw this comparison, but could we be seeing an Eric Lindros career start to unfold here? I sure hope not.  


Monday, 5 December 2011

Kessel's Comeback Season




At the all-star break last season, Phil Kessel was coming off a stretch of 16 games without a goal, one of the biggest slumps of his career; a rarity for the sniper who, at the age of 24, already has three 30 goal seasons under his belt.  At the 2011 all-star game, Kessel, the lone Leaf, was picked last in the fantasy draft the NHL held for the first time. This embarrassment was capped off by Alex Ovechkin snapping a picture with his phone of Kessel, sitting alone, grinning but probably not feeling all that great.  The car was probably not enough to make him feel much better.
            Coming out of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, Kessel was seen as a talented player with very high potential. The Boston Bruins saw that and drafted him with the number 5 pick of the 2006 NHL entry draft.  His career with the Bruins started out rocky, on December 11th, 2006 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, but just five days later on December 16th Kessel was declared cancer free.  Only missing eleven games he went on to have a solid 29 points in his rookie season with a team that didn't give him alot of ice time. After playing the rest of his rookie contract, the Bruins traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in an offer Boston couldn't refuse, 2 first round picks and a second went the other way which turned out to be 2nd overall pick Tyler Seguin, 9th overall pick Dougie Hamilton, and London Knight standout, Jared Knight taken in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. That was a hefty price to pay for a player who was considered to be unmotivated, disinterested and selfish.  Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, with his affinity for players that played in the NCAA, saw the potential still to be had in the young sniper.
            This year, Kessel has finally blossomed into an all around player both with his stats and also making his teammates around him better. Right now leading the league in goals (16) and points (33), and with linemate and a comeback story of his own Joffrey Lupul not far behind him, Kessel has become the player Leaf Nation expected him to be. This season has also brought karma to the Great 8 struggling with only 85 points last year and 19 points in 25 games this year.  Some say this season’s success is due to the motivation given to him by Ovechkin embarrassing him in front of the league, others say it's because he trained harder in the offseason. But for now Phil Kessel is no longer the goat in Toronto, but rather the centerpiece to the Leafs offence and NHL’s leading scorer. 
So answer me this, when Phil is captain of Team Kessel at this year’s all star break in Ottawa, think he’ll pick Ovie at all or just last?  I know what I’d do.

Monday, 28 November 2011

Flames Future





To rebuild or not to rebuild, that’s the big question floating around the Calgary Flames right now. Currently sitting at 13th in the Western Conference with another bad start, and the team missing the playoffs the past two years, this version of the Flames doesn't look like it’s playoff bound. The line-up that GM Jay Feaster is putting out there is old and just not good enough to compete in the tough Western Conference. Do they really think they can beat Chicago or San Jose in a 7 games series? Or that Matt Stajan can shut down Henrik Zetterberg? The answer is flat out NO.
            Much of the debate of whether to rebuild or not (to which the clear answer is YES) is centered on right winger Jarome Iginla.  At 34-years-old the veteran of 15 NHL seasons has seen his game steadily decline in the past couple of years as to be expected for a player past his prime.  I'm not saying that Iginla is not a productive player, scoring 43 goals and 86 points last season he can still put the puck in the net.  Iginla has won 2 Olympic gold medals, a world championship, a world junior championship, the Maurice Richard trophy twice, and an Art Ross trophy. The only major trophy eluding the Flames captain is the Stanley Cup where he and the Flames came so close, losing out to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 7 games back in 2004.
            Iginla is struggling to find his game with only 11 points and -8 in 22 games this season, but a move to a team that is in playoff contention could spark the 6'1'' 210lbs sniper. He is making $7 million for the next two seasons, it's a high number but for what he brings to a team on and off the ice, the reward heavily outweighs the risk. A team that could potentially vie for Iginla's services is the Carolina Hurricanes.
            The Canes currently have $14.2 million to play around with desperately needing an offensive boost and more importantly helping Eric Staal who is having a miserable season so far. The Hurricanes are only 5 points out of a playoff spot right now and in the tight Eastern Conference, they could be in the top 8 by next week.  Another team that would benefit greatly from the addition of Iginla would be the St. Louis Blues.  At 5th in the West and with $8.7 million to spend, Iggy would fit nicely in the Blues top 6, adding veteran leadership to a group of young talented players who I think are ready to take the next step. The Flames have a good prospect pool to choose from filled with high draft picks such as Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, and Jake Allen. Whatever the Flames get for Iginla, it will likely be a package of high picks and/or blue-chip prospects. Calgary may not want to trade Iggy, but Iggy might want a trade out of Calgary to get that elusive ring. 

Saturday, 26 November 2011

Big Benn







With all the attention on big named young players in the NHL right now such as Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, etc., one player is flying under the radar, and understandably so. That player is Dallas Stars Center Jamie Benn. Benn, 22 from Victoria, BC was drafted in the 5th round, 129th overall, by the Stars. He played his first junior year for the Victoria Grizzlies of the Junior A British Columbia Hockey League putting up 65 points in 52 games.  He then went on to play 2 years with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL racking up 137 points in 107 games in the combined 2 seasons he played there, also playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in 2009 scoring 4 goals and 2 assists in 6 games.  At 6'2'' and 205 lbs Benn is one of the most dangerous and smart young power forwards in the game today with great hockey sense.  With the combination of speed and grit, Benn, in his 3rd full season in Dallas is leading his team in points (23) and assists (17) in 22 games.  He also boasts a strong 2-way game going +10 so far this season. This comes as a surprise to many, but when I first saw him in the 2009 WJHC I saw the potential that Benn possessed.           
            In Big D, Benn is averaging 18:00 minutes a game centering the top line alongside Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder and even though he doesn't wear an "A" or a "C" on his jersey, the big man is defiantly taking on a leadership role in the Stars locker room. This was very evident last year when star forward Brad Richards missed 10 games due to a concussion, Benn picked up the slack potting 6 goals and 10 points. Benn then went on a tear contributing 23 points in the last 23 games of the Star's season just missing the playoffs by 2 points. Jamie Benn has all the tools to be an elite power forward in the NHL for years to come. If the Dallas Stars want to compete in the near future Jamie Benn is a great piece to build their team around.