Trick or Treat

31 Oct 2008 by Craig in National Hockey League

In the spirit of Halloween lets take a look t some things that are tricks and treats in the National Hockey League. By this I mean, its early in the year and some teams and players might be tricking there fans to thinking they better then they are. The treats are the best the league has to offer, treats make the NHL what it is. Hockey fans tend to get ahead of themselves early in years, and I would tell all fans to wait until the 25 – 30 game mark to truly make assumptions about the season.

The Tricks

Toronto Maple Leafs - Sorry Leaf fans, but your team just isn’t very talented. Yes, your teams plays hard and you have a great goaltender, but its not likely this team has a chance at a playoff spot. Look at it this way, if you play at the pace you are playing at right now you will end up fighting it out for the 8th and final playoff spot. Currently the Maple Leafs are in a three way tie for 8th in the East and they have scored 7 less goals then they have allowed. For the Maple Leafs franchise the worst thing that could happen is if they once again finish in 9th or 10th in the East and once again don’t get a lottery pick next year.

Mats Sundin - Here we go again, is he coming back for real this time? All summer long rumors of where Mats would end up were everywhere and now it looks like we are back to where we started. Mats is a great hockey player and most teams would love to have him. The way this ends up will be up to Mats, he can sign for big money with a team with cap space or take a smaller contract to join a Cup contender. I assume if Mats is coming back it is to be a winner and he will sign with the Rangers or Canadiens. Both those teams are up against the cap and I would like Mats to sign with a younger up and coming team that he could lead, Vancouver, Phoenix, Chicago and what about Mats in Pittsburgh. The rumors will continue to swirl until Mats makes a decision about his future, don’t get tricked, take these rumors with a grain of salt.

Tim Thomas - The Bruins goaltender continues to surprise everyone by playing excellent Vezina like net. Thomas is a fine goalie, but he is not this good, and his numbers will come back down to earth. Currently he has a goals against average under 2 and a save percentage of .939, those numbers are Vezina like and Thomas is good, but not that good.

Old Guys, Big Numbers – I love this, there are some old grizzled veterans off to great starts this year and look to be the players of old. Most of these guys cannot keep this pace up, but if they do it will be a great story all year. 34 year old Paul Kariya has 12 points in 9 games for St Louis, he is on pace for 100 points a mark he hasn’t reached since 1999. Markus Naslund (35), Mike Modano (38), Joe Sakic (39) and Keith Tkachuk (36) are all at or near a point a game so far. All these guys are proving they can still play this game, and I for one hope they keep it up, but it is unlikely.

The Treats

Martin Brodeur - Brodeur is a legend, and by the end of this year this might end up being the season of Brodeur. He is getting close to breaking two all time goalie records, wins and shutouts. Its not if its when he breaks those records he will get serious consideration as the best net minder in National Hockey League history. This generation has been treated to a lot of great NHL players, and Martin is definitely one of those guys that will never be forgotten. The 35 year old net minder is off to a great start posting 5 wins, 2 shutouts and a save percentage of .914. Brodeur cannot play forever and we should enjoy his skill, while we can.

Fast Starts - Pre season predications are usually a crap shoot, but his year some of those highly predicted teams are off to great starts. The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks are all living up to the hype. These are the top four teams in the league and have been fun to watch on a night to night basis. I look for these teams to keep it up all year they have the talent, coaching and structure to compete for the Stanley Cup. Without injuries these might end up being the top 4 teams at years end.

Dynamic Duos – All hockey love watching skill play with skill, and this year we have found some new duos to excite us. At the top of this list Pittsburgh has put there stars Malkin and Crosby together and it has been great to watch ever since. The two have combined for 29 points in 11 games and are leading there team to wins. The Red Wings new duo of Hossa and Datsyuk have been great to watch combining for 26 points and Heatley and Spezza are still good in Ottawa with 11 goals.

Thomas Vanek – The highly paid and very talented winger in Buffalo has come in to his own early this year. The Sabres have to be extremely happy that Vanek has scored 9 goals in 10 games and has recorded 12 points. Vanek and the rest of the Buffalo team is exciting to watch, they are fast and highly talented. He may not score at this pace all year, but I think he will keep his points up and lead the Sabres all year.

The year has been full of treats thus far, fights are up goals are up and there is a lot of good young talent in the league. Happy Halloween and enjoy the action this weekend