First off, as you may have noticed (unless you’re using a feed reader), there’s been a little bit of a facelift around these parts this week.  I’m a designer in the real world and find myself incapable of sticking with one design on my personal websites for more than about 6 months.  I hope you like the new look!

I had planned on posting about the newly-released All-Star rosters (and the endless debate surrounding them) a few days ago, but after a few in-depth discussions with some of the more hockey-inclined people in my life (stick taps to my father and my good friend Candida), the post sort of took on a mind of its own.

For starters, let’s take a look at the rosters:

Eastern Conference

Forwards: Sidney Crosby*, Evgeni Malkin*, Alexei Kovalev*, Jeff Carter, Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavlier, Alex Ovechkin, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Thomas Vanek, Marc Savard
Defense: Andrei Markov*, Mike Komisarek*, Zdeno Chara, Jay Bouwmeester, Tomas Kaberle, Mark Streit
Goalies: Carey Price*, Henrik Lundqvist, Tim Thomas

*indicates starter

Western Conference:

Forwards: Jonathan Toews*, Patrick Kane*, Ryan Getzlaf*, Keith Tkachuk, Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, Mike Modano, Jarome Iginla, Milan Hejduk, Shane Doan, Pavel Datsyuk, Dustin Brown
Defense: Brian Campbell*, Scott Niedermayer*, Dan Boyle, Shea Weber, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sheldon Souray,
Goalies: Jean-Sebastian Giguere*, Niklas Backstrom, Roberto Luongo

*indicates starter

The first big problem here is obviously the starting lineup, as voted on by the fans.  I’ve mentioned the flaws in the system here in passing, but the results say it all – representatives from a grand total of 4 teams, and arguably only 6 players actually deserving of spots on the all-star team, let alone the in the starting lineup (Malkin and Crosby clearly deserving of spots as starters; Kane, Getzlaf, Markov, Price likely all-star candidates but not necessarily starters).

So coming into this week, we had the starting-lineup, and the league had to round out the team with at least one player from each of the remaining NHL squads.  At that point, with 4 Canadiens and 3 Blackhawks already in the Eastern and Western Conference lineups, it was clear there would be some snubs.  All of the Bruins who deserved to be at the game couldn’t make it.  Detroit and San Jose cannot be properly represented, despite both teams’ remarkable talent level.

My question is this – is the fan involvement in determining the lineups worth it?  I think the issues with the voting this year should (but probably won’t) push the NHL to change up the system.  From what I’ve read around the internet (check the comments), the general consensus from the fans is that the game is a joke this year – it seems in their efforts to include the fans, the NHL has instead alienated many of them. If they insist on keeping fan voting as a part of all-star weekend, I think they need to consider making fan vote only a percentage of what determines the lineup.  The other change the NHL could make to the fan voting process that I think would prevent a repeat of this year’s debacle is changing the ballot.  This year (and in past years), the ballot appeared to be based on the best players at the end of the previous season.  Come the all-star voting period, many of these players many not be relevant – whether it be due to injury or a bad start to the season. If the ballot were compiled based on player statistics at the 15 game mark, I think we’d see a much less skewed vote – for instance, Sergei Gonchar would not have been the 3rd place defenseman in the Eastern Conference voting this year despite the fact that he has yet to play a game.  This would ensure players like Tim Thomas, Thomas Vanek, and Jeff Carter, who were not key players last season but have been at the top of the NHL this year, would make the ballot.

Another thing I would consider changing, and I seriously doubt the NHL would do this, is the requirement for representation from every team.  Honestly, do any of the Senators deserve to be All-Stars this year? I don’t particularly think so.  I’m not saying there aren’t certain cases of all-star caliber players on terrible teams (see: Ilya Kovalchuk, although he hasn’t been very good this season), but that doesn’t happen often and shouldn’t be forced.  Let the real talent have the spots, and the quality of the game will improve.  Send one player from each team to the skills competition instead.  That’s always the more fun event, anyway.

I, for one, have always enjoyed the skills competition and watching the players goof off and enjoy themselves for the weekend.  The game itself may not be a typical hard fought game, but the pure skill level of those involved always leads to some astounding plays.  The way things have gone down the past season or two, I think the potential showcase of the game has been ruined.  Unlike many in both the hockey blogosphere and the mainstream media, I don’t want to see the game done away with or all-star weekend combined with the Winter Classic.  The NHL has one great event in the Winter Classic that can appeal to both hockey fans and non-fans.  The All-Star Game has the potential to be a great event for fans if the NHL takes the time to work with the game and the way teams are picked.

I’ll get off my soapbox now. 

Just for shits and giggles, here are my all-star rosters, going by the changes I just laid out!

Eastern Conference

Forwards: Sidney Crosby*, Evgeni Malkin*, Alexander Ovechkin*, Jeff Carter, Phil Kessel, Mike Richards, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, Zach Parise, Simon Gagne, Thomas Vanek, Marc Savard
Defense: Mike Green*, Zdeno Chara*, Andrei Markov, Jay Bouwmeester, Dennis Wideman, Kimmo Timmonen
Goalies: Tim Thomas*, Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price

*indicates starter

Honorable Mentions: Patrik Elias, Ryan Miller, Alex Semin, Martin St. Louis, Mark Streit

Western Conference:

Forwards: Patrick Marleau*, Joe Thornton*, Pavel Datysuk*, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Daniel Sedin, Devin Setoguchi, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Getzlaf, Shane Doan, Henrik Zetterberg, Rick Nash
Defense: Dan Boyle*, Nick Lidstrom*, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber, Brian Rafalski, Sheldon Souray
Goalies: Niklas Backstrom*, Evgeni Nabokov, Nikolai Khabibulin

*indicates starter

Honarable mentions: Steve Mason (I wanted to pick him, I really did, but I have trouble putting a kid who’s only played for 2 months in the game), Henrik Sedin, Rob Blake

How would you fix the all-star game?

So, ideally, I would be sitting down right now getting ready to live blog the Detroit/San Jose game, but the NHL marketing department didn’t have the foresight to put that game on national TV, and I am not fortunate enough to have a Center Ice package.  Tonight is one of those sad evenings in the tri-state area that none of the New York area teams are playing (I don’t get Philly coverage) and Versus doesn’t have a game on, and so I am hockey-less.

Your sympathy is appreciated.

I’ve been slacking a bit here recently — first work sucked then I realized that whole Christmas thing was happening and I couldn’t postpone it just by pretending it wasn’t, so I went into “panicked shopping mode” — suprisingly effective for once in my life — and then I slept.  A lot.  I don’t do enough of that, really.  But in theory I can now dedicate a proper portion of my life to hockey-related things.  And really, what fun is life if I can’t?

Moving on.

I’d be lying if I said I could give any sort of proper recap of goings on in the NHL recently – I’ve fallen a bit behind.  So instead of a recap this week, I’m going to give you my “end of 2008″ power rankings.  In parenthesis after each I’ve put my preseason rankings.  Should be good for a laugh.

1. San Jose Sharks (2nd, West) – It went without saying that the Sharks would be good this year.  I don’t think anyone expected the sheer dominance the Sharks have had over most opponents thus far this season.  25-3-3.  53 points.  The numbers speak for themselves – this team is good.

2. Boston Bruins (7th, East) – Tim Thomas and the Bruins gave the NHL a taste of how good they could be in the stretch run last year but couldn’t complete their upset of the Canadiens.  They’ve proven this year that they were for real, with some great additions, key players back from injuries, and Tim Thomas’ spectacular play between the pipes.

3. Detroit Red Wings (1st, West) – Coming into the season Detroit was the odds-on favorite to repeat as champs.  They’ve hit some stumbling blocks early on, giving up more goals than we’re used to seeing from their strong defense, but they’re still only 9 points behind San Jose in the Western Conference.  I’d take that kind of “struggling” any day.

4. Philadelphia Flyers (2nd, East) – Despite going winless in their first 6 games, the Flyers have powered their way to 2nd place in the Atlantic and 4th in the Conference, and haven’t lost in regulation since late November.  Their defense is on the verge of getting healthy, which will make the team even more dangerous.

5. Washington Capitals (3rd, East) – The Caps have been hit hard by injuries, and still find themselves in 3rd place in the Eastern conference (hey, I got one right!).  As Alexander Semin, Sergei Federov, Mike Green, and others battled back from injuries, the Caps contined to win games, backstopped by Brent Johnson, who has outplayed Jose Theodore for much of the season.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (4th, East) – The Penguins were also hit by the injury bug, as top defenseman Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney have yet to play a game, and Marc-Andre Fleury missed a month of action with a groin injury.  The stellar play of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has continued to carry the team through most of the season.

7. New Jersey Devils (5th, East) – Martin Brodeur’s first long-term injury seemed to spell disaster for the Devils, but the team has found ways to win without the top goalie.  Scott Clemmenson is making the most of his opportunity and the Devils, thanks to the fantastic play of Zach Parise and Patrik Elias, are putting the puck in the net on a consistent basis for the first time in two seasons.

8. Calgary Flames (3rd, West) – Iwillnotmakeasloppysecondsjoke.  Iwillnotmakeasloppysecondsjoke.  Calgary has a tendency to be streaky (much like its starting netminder), but still sits in third place in the conference (I got another one right!).  Any team led by Jerome Iginla is going to do things right.

9. New York Rangers (6th, East) – The Rangers started off the season on quite a tear.  Over the last several weeks, it’s all seemed to come unraveled for them.  They can’t seem to put the puck in the net, they’ve only managed wins in OT and the shootout, their defense has been weak, and they’ve given up a league-high 10 shorthanded goals.  The team was hoping to land Sundin, but lost out to the Canucks today.  The Blueshirts still sit at the top of the conference as of today, but could quickly fall a few spots in the standings with a few losses and some Flyer/Bruin victories.

10. Montreal Canadiens (1st, East) – The popular pick for a Finals matchup this year was Detroit/Montreal.  The Habs started strong but have struggled since November.  Despite being a top vote-getter for the all-star game, Alexei Kovalev has been a non-presence for the Habs, and the team hasn’t been able to recapture the potency of their power play from last season.

11. Chicago Blackhawks (7th, West) – Kane, Toews, Versteeg, Sharp.  There are so many talented kids on this team, it’s unreal.  After a slow start and a coaching change, the ‘Hawks have been living up to the hype surrounding the season, playing their way to 4th place in the conference.  I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited to check these kids out during the Winter Classic.

12. Anaheim Ducks (5th, West) – Anaheim got off to a sluggish start as well, but the Ducks now sit comfortably in 6th in the conference.  This year’s Ducks look remarkably similar to last year’s version, despite the differences in personnel.  They’ll be a contender.

13. Vancouver Canucks (13th, West) – Vancouver has a been a surprise (to me, at least).  Pavol Demitra is enjoying his new-found offensive freedom playing with the Sedin twins and his production has been fantastic. The team suffered a huge blow when it lost Roberto Luongo to a bad groin injury, but Curtis Sanford has managed to keep the team competitive.

14. Buffalo Sabres (10th, East) – Possibily the biggest surprise at the beginning of the season with their quick start out of th gate, the Sabres continue to play solid hockey.  They’ve fallen off a bit and struggled in November, but backed by the terrific play of NHL-leader Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller, I think the Sabres will make a bid to be back in the playoffs come springtime.

15. Nashville Predators (10th, West) – I think I know why this team is in constant fear of relocation – I never hear ANYTHING about them.  They’re playing decent hockey, and currently sit in playoff position, and Shea Weber is having a Norris-worthy season.  But will anyone outside of Nashville notice?

16. Florida Panthers (13th, West) – The Panthers have been playing some pretty good hockey lately, with backup goaltender Craig Anderson giving Tomas Vokoun a run for his money in the starting spot.  Will the fact that the Panthers are playing competitive(ish) hockey be enough to convince Jay Bouwmeester to stick around?

17. Carolina Hurricanes (8th, East) – The ‘Canes recently fired head coach Peter Laviolette, bringing in former coach Paul Maurice.  The team is just over .500, but for the first time in 2 seasons, relatively healthy. In a division that’s otherwise not very competitive (Capitals excluded), the ‘Canes could squeeze into the bottom seed.

18. Minnesota Wild (8th, West) – After starting the season strongly, the Wild have tapered off over the past few weeks and now sit in the last playoff spot in the West (score!).  Jacques Lemaire’s troops are the same low-scoring, defense-first team they always have been, now with the added perk of Marian Gaborik trade rumors every other day.  Expect the forward to be moved before the deadline.

19. Phoenix Coyotes (12th, West) – The Great One’s team has been the source of several “will they make it financially?” discussions this season, but that doesn’t take away from the young, increasingly successful team he’s building in the desert.  The addition of Olie Jokinen has really sparked their offense.

20. Toronto Maple Leafs (12th, East) – No one expected Toronto to come out and beat the Red Wings the first night of the season.  Everyone expected Brian Burke to take over, and what moves follow will surely be under a microscope.  The team has performed better than expected, but still needs work, mainly between the pipes.

21. Ottawa Senators (9th, East) – Where to begin? This team has no secondary scoring beyond the top line of Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson.  Their defense is so-so, and despite a remarkable effort from backup goaltender Alex Auld, they really don’t have any consistency to their roster.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big trade involving the Sens before the season is out.

22. Colorado Avalanche (9th, West) – The Avs lost Joe Sakic early on, which was obviously a big blow to the team (watch out for those snowblowers).  Peter Budaj has been surprisingly effective in goal, which was the big question coming into the season.  Now the even bigger question — will we have a Peter Forsberg appearance in March again?

23. Columbus Blue Jackets (11th, West) – Beat San Jose last night! Ken Hitchcock’s team are hanging tight around the 8th playoff spot and will certainly make a push for the playoffs – Rick Nash is always a force to be reckoned with – but in such a competitive conference, can they really expect to make it?

24. Los Angeles Kings (14th, West) – Despite having “bad” and “less bad” to choose from in goal, the Kings and their relatively young core of players are scraping along pretty well.  This is a team that had very low expectations and is clearly in a rebuilding year.

25. Edmonton Oilers (6th, West) – The Oil had high hopes for this season, and the kids on the team just haven’t lived up to their expectations.  They’ve had a revolving door of goaltenders (none of which have been spectacular), and just haven’t quite gotten things figured out yet.  They could still make a push for the playoffs if they go on a hot streak.

26. Dallas Stars (4th, West) – Avery, Turco, blah blah, let’s move on.

27. Atlanta Thrashers (15th, East) – The Thrashers are probably used to the basement by now.  They’ve been playing streaky hockey this year, winning and losing over long stretches of time.  A lot of rumors surrounding Kovulchuk, who still has another year on his contract.  The season is pretty much a loss for the Thrash.

28. St. Louis Blues (15th, West) – Are there still guys playing for this team?  Jay McKee, Erik Johnson, Andy McDonald, and Manny Legace are all on the IR right now.  Tough break for the Blues, who could have at least been competitive this year and had a good rebuilding season.  With each new injury the team seems to struggle a little more.

29. New York Islanders (14th, East)- All the credit in the world to Joey McDonald for coming in and playing as well as he has in place of the injured DiPietro, who is rumored to return this week.  New head coach Scott Gordon has gotten a remarkable amount out of this team, but they’ve blown an unbelievable amount of  third period leads, and unless they learn to buckle down in the third the team is going to keep slipping down the standings.

30. Tampa Bay Lightning (11th, East) – What can you even say about the Bolts? Melrose is out (probably a good move) Tocchet is in, but the team still can’t find a way to win.  The defense is terrible, the forwards are nowhere near as good as they should be, and I sure haven’t Seen Stamkos.  Sorry Len and Oren – better luck next year.

Not as bad as I thought it would be!

…well, I’m a day late, but better late than never, right?

Paul Kukla over at Kukla’s Korner declared yesterday Happy Hockey Talk Day.  He encouraged fans to write only positive things about the game for the day – to put aside the usual bickering about our favorite teams and the state of the league and instead focus on the things that made us fans in the first place.

Reading some of the posts yesterday and today was a lot of fun, so I decided it was time to join in!  Here’s my “Happy Hockey” story:

One of my favorite hockey-related memories is of the Devils’ first Cup win in 1995.  I was 9 years old at the time.  My entire family (about 90% Devils fans with the exception of two cousins who are Rangers fans) was at my house that night for my uncle’s “bachelor party”.  As the game started, we all piled into our living room for the game, the anticipation nearly unbearable.  I don’t remember the details of the first two periods all that well – but I do remember my two Ranger-fan cousins looking increasingly unhappy as the third period ticked away.  And I will never forget watching Mike Peluso, the biggest guy on the Crash Line, bawling his eyes out before the game had even ended, completely incapable of taking his last few shifts.  There was mayhem in my house as the clock ran out, hugs and high fives all around as the team tackled Marty.  It was pretty unbelievable.

I promise this isn’t turning into a Devils blog.  The injury situation has just gotten too absurd to not talk about.

I know what you’re thinking — isn’t just over a month into the season a little early to be talking about recaps?  Shouldn’t I wait until at least mid-season, or even the playoffs?  Well, in a normal season, I would agree with you.  But this season has been anything but normal for the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils began the season with a lot of promise — Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik were brought on board to help the team in many of the areas they struggled in last year (power play, face offs, etc.).  The young defensemen had a season of experience under their belt.  Martin Brodeur was poised to break the career wins and career shutout records.  Perhaps this would be a different team than the team that struggled mightily to score all season last year.

Things looked okay for the first 2 games — the Devils opened up the season with wins against the Islanders and Penguins, then dropped a game against the Rangers.  But it would be a 1-0 shutout win against the Thrashers on October 16th that would become indicative of the Devils season.

I wish I could say this was because the Devils stopped giving up goals.  That would be a lot more fun.  But they have not been quite so lucky.  After netting his first goal of the season in the second period of the game, Brian Rolston wiped out and fell awkwardly into the boards, suffering a high ankle sprain.  He has yet to return to action.

Let’s take a look at what’s happened since:

October 18th:  A 4-3 shootout victory against the Capitals.  Bobby Holik is hit in the hand with an Alexander Ovechkin slapshot that obliterates his pinky.  He has surgery the following week.  In the span of 2 games the team is suddenly the exact same team as last year, with the addition of two rookies.  Devils fans grow restless.

October 25th: A 3-2 overtime loss against the Flyers (complete with smoke bomb!).  Rookie enforcer Pierre Luc Leblond had several run-ins with Riley Cote during the game (and the course of the weekend home-and-home).  At some point during the second game, he broke a bone in his face.  Now our replacement players are starting to drop.  Things begin to look grim.

October 29th: A 6-5 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs.  Early in the game, Andy Greene breaks his hand after being hit by a Pavel Kubina slapshot, but continues to play the rest of the game (and put up 3 assists! A career high!  This would be even more exciting if he was still playing today!).  He also required surgery and won’t be back until sometime in December.  I begin to think perhaps I shouldn’t have laughed at the absurd level of the Flyers’ and Penguins’ injury woes earlier in the season.  Bad karma or something like that.

November 1st: A 6-1 victory over the Thrashers.  Halfway through the second period, on a seemingly innocent save, Martin Brodeur is slow getting up, and seems to grab at his arm.  The entire hockey fan community of New Jersey gets nervous.  On the scramble in front, as play heads out of the Devils end, Marty simply does not get up, now clearly holding his arm.  Devils fans begin to hyperventilate.  Vigils are held as 3 very long days pass awaiting news.  Antidepressant prescriptions among hockey fans in the state of New Jersey triple when the Devils announce Brodeur will be out three to four months to have surgery to repair a torn distal biceps tendon.  I try to take comfort in this photo. (H/T 2MA)

November 3rd: As the Devils community reeled over the loss of Brodeur, Paul Martin quietly didn’t show up to practice, due to the annoyingly vague “upper body soreness”.  He, also, hasn’t played since.  But no, this isn’t ridiculous at all.

The Devils lost 2-0 to Buffalo in rather pathetic fashion that evening.  In the first period of the game, Patrik Elias got nailed in the face with a puck.  He, thankfully, returned later in the game.  When he first got hit, I’m fairly certain most Devils fans were ready to forfeit and try again next year.

November 8th: The Lowell Devils visit the defending champs, losing 2-1.  Brian Gionta gets absolutely hammered into the boards, leaving the game with what appeared to be a head/neck/shoulder injury.  Bryce Salvador would leave the game late in the second after taking a John Madden shot off the back of the foot.  I joked about taking bets on who would get hurt next before the game.  I’m so sorry, Brian and Bryce.  Really.

November 9th: Despite both players assuring the media they were going to be ready to play, Gionta and Salvador did not dress for the Devils’ game against the Oilers.  The Devils call up defenseman Jay Leach and left wing Patrick Davis from Lowell.  (All together now Devils fans: WHO?!).  Their top forwards in Lowell, Matt Halischuk and Rod Pelley, are both on the IR as well.

At several points during the game last night, the Devils played a line composed of entirely rookies: Petr Vrana, Nicklas Bergfors, and Davis.  At one point, they had 5 Lowell Devils on the ice at the same time.  It was rather unfortunate to watch.

Additionally, 8 minutes into the game, Mike Mottau got hit in the face with a puck.  WHILE HE WAS ON THE BENCH.  Mike Rupp deflected the puck out of play and right into poor Mottau’s face.  He collapsed and was helped to the locker room, but luckily for the Devils, was back for the second period.

So for those keeping score at home:

Brian Rolston (high ankle sprain)
Bobby Holik (broken pinky)
Pierre Luc Leblond (broken orbital bone)
Andy Greene (broken hand)
Martin Brodeur (torn distal biceps tendon)
Paul Martin (“upper body soreness”)
Brian Gionta (head/neck/shoulder)
Bryce Salvador (foot)

27 man games lost BEFORE this weekend.  That number must be higher by now.  And yes, folks, its only the first week of November.

I have two words for Brent Sutter and the rest of the Devils’ coaching staff:  BUBBLE WRAP.

Pardon the appearance around here….I’m doing some overhauls, as my blogging focus will be undergoing a bit of a shift. I should be up and running soon!