With most teams in the NHL having played 33 games the season is almost half over. I haven't really written anything about the NHL in awhile and I figured it was time for me to express some of my opinions on what has transpired so far this season.
So here is what everyone has been waiting for, my 2/5 NHL season review:
Surprise Teams
33 games into the season and there are a few teams that are proving their hot starts were not a fluke. The LA Kings currently sit atop the Western Conference with 46 points and are playing some unreal hockey as of late going 8-1-1 in their last 10. I thought they would fizzle quickly after 10 games as I assumed there was no way John Quick could continue to play at such a high level. Well Quick has managed to be a rock between the pipes and has benefited from a breakout season from Anze Kopitar. I still don't have a lot of faith in the team due to their youth and inexperience but they are fun to watch and are proving that if you suck for long enough eventually you will be good.
The Colorado Avalanche are another surprise team as they currently sit 2nd in the Western Conference with 45 points. They lead the leagues toughest division and are getting production from all kinds of nobodies. Miraculously Craig Anderson turned into a legit goalie and rookie Matt Duchene didn't need time to develop as he already has 19 points and is proving to be a great 2 way player. I saw them play live in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago and I wasn't very impressed but I guess winning with style doesn't matter just as long as you put up Ws.
The last surprise team I want to talk about is the Phoenix Coyotes. They are currently 6th in the West with 40 points and are 8 games over the .500 mark. Considering that their coach quit just weeks before the season and the whole off-season was spent discussing whether or not the team would be moved to Hamilton you have to be impressed. Team Captain Shane Doan and head coach Dave Tippett deserve a tonne of credit as they have managed to keep the players focused and not let the headlines interfere with what happens on the ice. Also Ilya Bryzgalov continues to be one of the best waiver wire pick ups of the decade.
The Basement Dwellers
The Anaheim Ducks are last place in the West? Who saw this coming? I understand the team is very top heavy in talent but they still have some solid players in place and should be much more competitive than they are. The fact that they have lost 7 games in overtime doesn't help matters nor does the fact that Jonas Hiller has a GAA of 3.01. This team needs to be blown up and rebuilt if they want to get back to the playoffs anytime soon.
If people are surprised the Ducks are bad then they must be losing their shit that the Flyers are awful. How can a team with Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Chris Pronger, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell, Daniel Briere, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and Kimmo Timonen be so terrible? It defies all logic. I didn't pick them to make the Stanley Cup Finals because I wasn't a fan of the Ray Emery signing but I at least expected them to make the Eastern Conference Finals. Right now they have as many points as the Leafs and having gone 2-8 in their last 10 it seems like they are going to continue to go down.
A New #1?
Usually when people debate the best goalies in the NHL they talk about Luongo, Brodeur and Kipprusoff. Now there is a new name that needs to be tossed into the mix because of his unreal play this season, Ryan Miller. Miller currently leads all goalies in Save % (.939), GAA (1.83), Shutouts (4) and is 3rd in wins with 18. He is the main reason that the Sabres are 3rd in the East and he is looking like a runaway winner for the Vezina.
Realizing Potential
It's not as if anyone thought Marian Gaborik was a bad player. It is just that people often didn't get to see him play because he was always hurt. Gaborik has been in the league for 9 years and has never played 82 games. His career high was 81 back in 2002 and he has only ever surpassed 75 games 3 times. He is an unreal talent but he is made of glass.
So far this year he has managed to stay healthy and is showing the league that he is an offensive force. Many people scoffed at the Rangers when they gave the Slovakian a five year $37.5 million deal in the off-season but so far he has earned every penny.
He currently leads the league in goals (22) and is tied for 2nd in points (41). The only question now is will he stay healthy? He has always been one of my favorite players but his inability to play a full season always hurt him. This may well be his year to prove his critics wrong and finally live up to his potential and cement himself as an elite player in the NHL.
It's About Time
I have never been a fan of Alexander Ovechkin. I don't like his stupid smile or the way he overreacts when he scores a goal. The guy has no class and is one of the dirtiest players in the league. Now other people are starting to wake up to these facts and I am no longer standing alone as a hater.
The guy is a dirty player. He always tries to go after guys knees and he always gets away with interference calls and slew foots. The sad thing is that the refs let it go because he is Alexander Ovechkin and players never retaliated against him because he is Alexander Ovechkin. He got a free pass from everyone for 4 years but now that has all changed.
He was suspended 2 games earlier this season for a dirty knee shot on Tim Gleason and that seems to have opened peoples eyes to the way Ovechkin plays. Now people are starting to get on him about his dirty play and aren't letting it slide. This trend needs to continue.
I am just waiting for the day when he takes out the knee of a superstar player and then gets killed for it. let's see him try that bullshit on Crosby so that Eric Goddard can rip his arm off and beat him with it. One day it will happen and that day can't come soon enough.
Kessel Deal Improves With Each Win
He may have missed a few games but Phil Kessel was well worth the wait. So far he has 19 points in 20 games and turned the Leafs season around the second he hit the ice. He gives the team a legitimate offensive threat and a true goal scorer. He is a dynamic player that creates chances for himself and allows other players on the team to maneuver more as he usually draws multiple defenders to his location.
At first this deal looked awful for the Leafs as they had given up two 1st round picks and were tanking bad. It looked as though they might finish in last place and therefore would have traded away the 1st overall pick.
Luckily for Leaf fans the team has turned it around. They are 7-3 in their last 10 and currently sit only 4 points out of 8th place in the East. As it stands now the Leafs would have the 2nd overall pick in the draft but as they continue to win and pass teams on the standing that pick becomes lower and lower making the trade easier to swallow for Leaf fans.
The way I look at it is like this: Kessel is 21 years old and a proven 30 goal man in the NHL. Unless the Leafs got the 1st overall pick and took Taylor Hall they more than likely wouldn't get a player of Kessel's quality anyway. Therefore the 1st round pick in 2010 basically becomes Kessel meaning that they really only traded away one 1st round pick.
There is however one major concern for Leaf fans, Brian Burke. Burke has made it clear he wants to overhaul the roster. There are a bunch of guys on the team right now he wants to trade. If the team continues to play well then the stock of the players will rise and therefore make them easier to trade. Burke might be inclined to pull the trigger on a trade even if the team is playing well. As of right now the players have a 3 week grace period where Burke has promised not to do anything. If the team continues to play well then Burke might have his hands tied come trade deadline day. But my money would be on a lot of people leaving Toronto come deadline day.
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