The scoring system is similar to that of the NHL award's voting system. However, because I didn't want to have to make everyone fill in a full ballot, I went with three nominees for each award. Rather than using the 10-7-5-3-1 system for most awards, i'm using the 5-3-1 system the NHL uses for the Vezina trophy, as each GM can only choose three nominees anways. Tiebreakers are based on first place votes.

Calder Trophy: Gabriel Landeskog (19 points)

Runners Up: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2nd place, 9 points), Adam Henrique (3rd place, 8 points)

Kevin:  Gabriel Landeskog

Runners Up- Adam Henrique (2nd), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (3rd)

Landeskog's a rookie and the argument could be made that he's the Avs best player in general- despite being a rookie he's playing tough minutes and coming out on top. Unlike Henrique, Landeskog didn't have the luxury of playing with the 5th and 24th best scorers in the league (his team's best scoring forward, Matt Duchene missed a lot of the season) like Henrique did, while Nugent-Hopkins faced easy minutes and minimal PK work. Those two have better scoring rates (due to injuries), but Landeskog's the best rookie right now. The Avs have a star in the making, and he's quieted down a lot of his critics who harped on his lack of "high end scoring ability".

Laura: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Runners up: Gabriel Landeskog (2nd), Matt Read (3rd)

Matt: Adam Henrique

Runners up: Matt Read (2nd), Gabriel Landeskog (3rd place)

Matt Read scored 24 goals to lead all rookies, but Adam Henrique scored 4 SH goals to Read's 2 and had 49 takeaways to only 25 giveaways. Henrique's solid 2-way play was also evidenced by a 2.0 Corsi Rel despite starting only 47.4% of shifts in the Offensive Zone. Both Read and Landeskog had more sheltered EV minutes. In fact, it was sheltered minutes (54.8% O-zone start) that dropped Landeskog to third on my ballot. Henrique put up almost equal numbers in terms of points, and he did it playing the toughest minutes of the 3

Corey: Gabriel Landeskog

Runners up: 2nd place: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 3rd place: Justin Faulk

Landeskog is only 19 and he has already established himself as a terrific possession forward. He has been taking on the toughest competition among Colorado forwards and is passing this test with shining colors as he always seems to be able to drive play in the right direction. To add to that, he is the Avs leading goal scorer with 22 goals and their third highest point getter with 52 points. He also has 270 shots on goal, which is amazing for a kid that is fresh out of the OHL.

Gray: Logan Couture  Gabriel Landeskog

Runners up: Matt Read (2nd), Cody Hodgson (3rd)

To be fair, I haven't been paying attention since Couture didn't win last year. Can I say Couture again anyway? Couture.

Lady Byng Trophy: Matt Moulson (13 points)

Runners Up: Jordan Eberle (2nd place, 10 points), Patrik Elias (3rd place, 6 points)

Kevin: Winner- Matt Moulson

Runners Up- Patrik Elias (2nd), Jordan Eberle (3rd)

As someone who occasionally has to watch the Islanders (6 Devils games against them helps), I get to watch one of the best goal scorers in the NHL. Moulson's quietly put up 36 goals and 69 points- and he's only taken 6 penalty minutes. He doesn't get enough credit for how good he's been. Considering how bad everything's gone for the Isles, I'm giving this to him as a consolation prize for the Islanders not having a great season. As for Elias and Eberle- Elias is the only top 10 scorer with less than 20 PIMs and Eberle has been just as good as Moulson on a bad team. 

Laura: Matt Moulson

Runners up: Jordan Eberle (2nd), Martin St. Louis (3rd)

Matt: Matt Cooke

Runners up: Matt Moulson (2nd), Jordan Eberle (3rd)

Matt Cooke wins the award for proving that anyone can reform. From being arguably the dirtiest player in the NHL, Cooke has transformed himself into the poster child of clean this season. As for Eberle, he had a 76 point season with only 10 PIMs, that's the definition of a clean player. Matt Moulson had 69 points and only 6PIMs, these are 2 guys who know how to score and play clean while doing it. In another year, I'd nod one of them for the award, but Cooke really deserves it.

Corey: Jordan Eberle

Runners Up: 2nd place: Loui Eriksson, 3rd place: Brian Campbell

I'm not going to pretend that I watch either of these players enough to know what kind of conduct they have on the ice. I just know that Eberle has only 10 penalty minutes in over 70 games played and that's impressive enough to get him the Lady Byng in my books. 

Gray: Nicklas Lidstrom

Runners Up: Patrik Elias (2nd), Martin St. Louis (3rd)

This is an award I always want to nominate Marleau for because he seems like he'd be SO HAPPY to get it. In terms of "real" candidates, 1) Lidstrom 2) Elias 3) St. Louis

Vezina Trophy: Henrik Lundqvist (1st place, 17 points)

Runners Up: Jonathan Quick (2nd place, 16 points), Mike Smith (3rd place, 6 points)

Kevin: Winner- Jonathan Quick 

Runners Up- Henrik Lundqvist (2nd), Mike Smith (3rd)

Quick has been more consistent than Lundqvist- who more or less unbeatable until around mid February, where his inevitable regression from "Damn, I'm good" back  to "elite goaltender" began. Quick's also hasn't had the benefit of not having a stifling defensive system like the Rangers or any help from his offense (the Kings didn't score a lot of goals because their offense sucks) and also played a majority of his games with Jack Johnson on his team (Jack Johnson is terrible). It's pretty close, but Quick's recieved the least support of the three goalies. 

Laura: Brian Elliott

Runners up- Henrik Lundqvist (2nd), Jon Quick (3rd)

Matt: Henrik Lundqvist

Runners up- Mike Smith (2nd), Pekka Rinne (3rd)

Three goalies, 3 guys with amazing numbers. I give the nod to Lundqvist over Smith because at EV-SV% Smith's .936 and Lundqvist's .933 both tower over Rinne's .928. However, Lundqvist posted the .933 with a defense corps that saw only 3 players play more than 60 games. That rotating defense meant that Lundqvist had to shoulder more pressure for the Rangers and he did it against the toughest division in hockey, the Atlantic. Lundqvist shut down the Flyers who had the top offense in the league en route to sweeping the season series vs PHI.

Corey: Jonathan Quick

2nd place: Henrik Lundqvist, 3rd place: Mike Smith

Quick and Lundqvist have the same even strength save percentage (.933) but there's a few factors that make me go with Sir Jonathan over King Henrik. First off, Quick has played in seven more games than Lundqvist and he has one of the best save percentages on the penalty kill at .908. Quick also receives less goal-support than Lundqvist (1.92 G/G vs. 2.41) and I think that has gone a long way to the Kings making the playoffs this year. Los Angeles' offense went through various dry spells this season and it was Quick keeping them in the race during that time, which is why I think he was the best goaltender in the league this season. 

Gray: Jonathan Quick

2nd place: Henrik Lundqvist, 3rd place: Mike Smith

Norris Trophy: Shea Weber (16 points)

Runners Up: Alex Pietrangelo (2nd place, 12 points), Zdeno Chara (3rd place, 9 points) 

Kevin: Shea Weber

Runners Up- Erik Karlsson (2nd), Alex Pietrangelo (3rd)

Weber might have the benefit of having an equally good partner in Ryan Suter, but he's pretty much been the man on defense this year. He's not a good possession team, meaning that there's a greater emphasis on defense beacuse the Preds aren't always attacking. Weber's able to keep his head above water facing the best of the best in the NHL- which is important. Karlsson's lack of shorthanded minutes isn't much a problem with me- he's been solid at evens on a bad defensive team, while Pietrangelo's had a very good year and been a factor on the ice. (Sorry Chara, don't kill me)

Laura: Alex Pietrangelo

Runners up: Erik Karlsson (2nd), Zdeno Chara (3rd)

Matt: Shea Weber

Runners up- Alex Pietrangelo (2nd), Erik Karlsson (3rd)

Shea Weber. There really is a lot to say but I'll start by making the case against Erik Karlsson then proving why the other two players are better. I came very close to putting Zdeno Chara as a nominee, but Karlsson actually made a better case when I crunched the traditional numbers. So, why not Karlsson? Well, 84Gv-67Tk is not a good ratio at all. He turns the puck over more than he takes it away from defenders and for me, since a Defenseman's primary job is to play defense, a D-man should be solid in his own zone BEFORE thinking of offense. Karlsson is an average defender who scores a lot. Does his scoring make up his lapses for the team, yes, but just because he's a positive influence on his team does not make him worthy of being the best defensemen in the game. 

So, we're down to a 2 horse race, Shea Weber and Alex Pietrangelo. Weber blocked 140 shots, had a GV-TK ratio of 46-51 while Pietrangelo had 133 blocks and a 37-47 GV-TK ratio. For the record, Zdeno Chara was a 68-28 GV-TK, hence why I can't in any type of good conscience nominate him for this.

Weber had 19G 30A for 49 points compared to Pietrangelo's 12-39-51 line. This for me was the tiebreaker- goals are harder to come by than assists and Weber out scored Pietrangelo. So, Shea Weber has my Norris vote.

Corey: Shea Weber

2nd place: Zdeno Chara 3rd place: Erik Karlsson

Weber has been one of the few players on Nashville that has been driving play in the right direction and one of the main reasons why they have home ice advantage in the playoffs right now. He is always matched up against opposing team's top lines, plays close to 20 minutes per night at even strength and has been one of the Preds' best producers on the powerplay. The same can be said for Karlsson & Chara, but Weber has been playing with a worse team in front of him and is still managing to drive possession. To me, that's extremely impressive and I think he is the best defenseman in the league right now. 

Gray: Zdeno Chara

Runners up- Alex Pietrangelo (2nd), Shea Weber (3rd)

Jack Adams: Ken Hitchcock (20 points)

Runners Up: Paul MacLean (2nd Place, 8 points), Dave Tippett (3rd place, 7 points)

Kevin: Winner- Ken Hitchcock

Runners Up- Paul MacLean, Peter Laviolette

To be honest, I didn't think Hitchcock was going to succeed at the NHL level again. He proved us wrong simply by taking a team without much of an identity and giving it an identity as a hard nosed defensive team that's ridiculously hard to play again. The Blues succeeded despite missing David Perron, Alex Steen and Andy McDonald for a lot of the season- and those are three of their most important offensive players. He's managed to use two sophomore defensemen in high pressure situations very effectively. He basically took a team a lot of us didn't think was going to be a good team this year and made them the 3rd best team in the league. MacLean brought respectability to the Sens, while Laviolette deserves some credit for keeping his team together despite inconsistent goaltending and Chris Pronger's potentially career ending injury. 

Laura: Ken Hitchcock

Runners Up- John Tortorella, Dan Bylsma

Matt: Ken Hitchcock

Runners Up: Barry Trotz (2nd), Dave Tippett (3rd)

Hitch came in and turned Brian Elliot into a legitimate goaltending threat. Trotz and Tippett perennially turn teams with low budgets into playoff contenders. I give the nod to Hitchcock over Trotz and Tippett solely on the grounds of Hitch turning the Blues around completely. Hitch's system turned Elliot from a sub-average career ~.905SV% goalie to a league leading and NHL Record Breaking .940SV%. Sure Tippett got a lot out of the oft-injured Mike Smith and Trotz has the always reliable Pekka Rinne, but the effect of Hitchcock on Elliot is just astonishing and should be rewarded.

Corey: Paul Maclean

Runners Up: 2nd place: Dave Tippet 3rd place: Dan Bylsma

Many people (myself included) had the Ottawa Senators finishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference but here they are in the playoffs right now. It isn't just smoke and mirrors either as the Sens have been a solid possession team this season and aren't benefiting from luck as much as others. MacLean's done a great job at making due with the hand helping Ottawa get back to the playoffs. Erik Karlsson's monstrous season has helped a lot but I think Maclean deserves a lot of credit, too. 

Gray: Ken Hitchcock  

Runners Up: Dave Tippett (2nd place), No vote (3rd place)

I'm not sure who'd I'd put [in 3rd place]. I am sure there are candidates, but Hitchcock and Tippet seem to be the two main contenders as far as I am concerned.

Selke Trophy: David Backes (16 points)

Runners Up: Patrice Bergeron (2nd place, 6 points), Patrik Elias (3rd place, 5 points)

Kevin: Patrik Elias

Runners Up- Jordan Staal (2nd), David Backes (3rd)

I might be a bit biased here, but Elias' defensive ability is very underrated- people might discredit him because of his bad +/- rating, but that's less indicative of his own defensive ability. Simply, he's been the Devils best defensive player. He's not buried in the defensive zone (51.5% OzS), but Elias is effective at shutting down elite forwards (0.054 Qoc, 1.404 CorsiRelQoC, 22.6 SA/60) considering his team's lack of an elite defenseman (Backes has Pietrangelo, Staal has Letang, Bergeron has Chara, Elias has... err *Crickets*). He's also the key cog in the Devils' penalty kill, better known as the most successful penalty kill in the history of the NHL. He's also 10th in NHL scoring despite having to take the tough defensive assignments for the Devils. All three of my finalists are excellent at even strength, but Elias' dominant performance on the penalty kill seals the deal for me. 

Laura: 

David Backes

Runners Up: Patrick Sharp (2nd), Alex Burrows (3rd)

Matt: Dave Bolland

Runners Up- Manny Malhotra (2nd), Brian Boyle (3rd)

The best defensive forward in the game this season was Dave Bolland. Bolland only started 32.5% of his shifts in the O-zone, compared to ~29% for Boyle and ~13% for Malholtra which meant of the 3, Bolland had the easiest minutes. But, Bolland faces the toughest the toughest opponents of the 3 (1.27 Corsi QoC) and he handled them (1.386 Corsi Rel QoC) as opposed to Malholtra who had tough zone minutes (low O-zone start) but easy opponents -0.57 Corsi QoC. And Boyle played similar minutes to Bolland, only about a 3 percentage point differential in Zone Starts but Boyle's 0.446 Corsi Rel QoC is not even close to what Bolland delivered. There are no points for style and Bolland got the job done.

Corey: David Backes

Runners up- 2nd place: Patrice Bergeron, 3rd place: Joe Pavelski

One of the great things about the Blues team is that their best players do not need to be protected from tough competition, David Backes is a great example of that. He is usually matched up against opposing team's top lines and starts a good majority of shifts in the defensive zone. Despite that, he has performed great territorially and also leads the Blues in points. He has been a very underrated two-way center for awhile but I think his play this season should earn him some recognition now that the Blues are a playoff team again.

Gray: David Backes

Runners up- Patrice Bergeron (2nd Place), Joe Pavelski (3rd place)

He's Inglorious

Hart Trophy: Evgeni Malkin (16 points)

Runners Up: Claude Giroux (10 points), Jonathan Quick (9 points)

Kevin: Evgeni Malkin

Runners Up- Claude Giroux (2nd), Ilya Kovalchuk (3rd)

I personally thought I'd be giving this award to Giroux. He's just such a good all around player. Malkin on the other hand has been ridculously good despite the Pens being gutted by various injuries- namely Crosby and Letang's injuries and Marc-Andre Fleury being below average (well, unless you're Darren Dreger). He's scored 50 goals this year- which would be impressive if this Steven Stamkos guy didn't score 60 goals. He's also had 59 assists- good enough for 3rd in the league behind Giroux and Sedin. He's raised the levels of guys like James Neal, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz significantly. He also leads the leagues in shots on goal (339). As for Giroux, it's somewhat self explanataory considering that he was Malkin's main competition, and carried his team without the benefit of another elite scorer. Kovalchuk gets my 3rd place vote because he's not only been a force for the Devils (37 goals, 84 points, 310 SOG) but has averaged the most ice time amongst NHL forwards by a wide margin (24:22, nearly two minutes more than the next best player).

Laura: Evgeni Malkin  

Runners Up: 2 - Jonathan Quick, 3 - Claude Giroux

Matt: Erik Karlsson

Runners up- Steven Stamkos (2nd), Evgeni Malkin (3rd)

Steven Stamkos scored 60 goals with a bum shoulder on a team that sucked. End of story. Malkin may have won the scoring race, but he did on a team that had offense even without that Crosby guy around. The Penguins are a loaded team that can succeed without Crosby or Malkin. Stamkos was the Bolts, and while he may not have carried them to the playoffs, he was the most valuable in the sense that he is the reason Tampa isn't picking 1st overall.

Erik Karlsson's offense is the reason the Senators are in the playoffs. Take away him and the Sens are an average offense with league average goaltending. The odds they hold off Buffalo for the 8th spot are slim to none. Karlsson won the scoring race among D-men with his assists alone (59). No other D-man had more than 55 points. 59 Assists was near the top of the whole NHL. Karlsson's offense is impressive, and he was the definition of value to his team. Erik Karlsson for that should win the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP.

Corey: Evgeni Malkin

Runners up- 2nd place: Claude Giroux, 3rd place: Jonathan Quick

I was very, very close to picking Giroux for this because he has shined as an all-around player this year and has scored at a high rate despite not needing protection. At the same time, I can't ignore the season Malkin has had this year and not be impressed. Yes, he starts a lot in the offensive zone but he has been straight up dominant this year at even strength and on the powerplay. Malkin scores over 3 points per 60 minutes at even strength, something only one other player has done this year, and has been a wrecking force this season with 50 goals and 109 points in 75 games. I value Giroux more as an all-around player, but I think Malkin had the best season of any player in the NHL. 

Gray: Jonathan Quick

Runners up- Claude Giroux (2nd place), Henrik Lunqdvist (3rd place)

The Norris Trophy debate is quite interesting this year because there's quite a few good candidates. Zdeno Chara and Nick Lidstrom are both going to be in the running based off their reputation, while guys like Shea Weber, Alex Pietrangelo and Ryan Suter are drumming up their own hype because of their excellent all around games. The most interesting (and controversial cases) happens to be that of Erik Karlsson- who isn't relying on his all around game but rather his offensive abilities. 

Of course, when we all think about elite offensive defensemen winning the Norris trophy, we always think about Mike Green- amazing with the puck, terrible without it. Which was perhaps the reason why he never won the Norris- because his peers were better in terms of defensive ability (Duncan Keith was 2nd in scoring by a defenseman, but he was actually good at defending). Karlsson's point totals are impressive- he holds a 25 point lead in scoring over the next best defenseman, Zdeno Chara (52 points). He's one of only two defensemen who have a legitimate chance of scoring 20 goals (Jason Garrison isn't scoring 4 goals in 2 games). 

Because Karlsson is good at offense and plays on a bad defensive team, there has been the whole notion that Karlsson can't play defense. He's been one of the better defenders on the Sens. The only defender who I'd say is better on the Senators is his defensive partner, Filip Kuba who, you know... plays with him at even strength- and their numbers are pretty similar (mainly because they play together). In general, the Senators defense isn't very good. 

What I want to know is if Karlsson is as bad as the stereotypical "offensive defenseman"- also known as Mike Green. Is Karlsson as bad defensively as everyone thinks?

Ice Time Distribution

The obvious observation is that Green is recieving more ice time on special teams than Karlsson does. Of course, this has more to do with the amount of penalties being called back then- 339 penalties was the 14th least minor penalties in the league, while 335 minors (in 80 games) is the 3rd worst in the league. Considering that 4 minor penalties= at least 8 minutes of powerplay, Karlsson's probably only recieving a good shift or two of shorthanded ice time. With the number of penalties decreasing, there is less special teams ice time. Green's 17:54 average of ES ice time in 08-09 was tops on the Caps. 

Even Strength Defensive Performance

In terms of their performance at even strength, I'd say Karlsson's better. The Capitals' defensive abilities those years are pretty similar to that of the Sens' defensive abilities. While Karlsson does have a higher GA/60, keep min mind Karlssons playing almost 3 minutes more of even strength ice time a game. What needs to be stressed is the QoC and CorsiRELQoC of Karlsson's- ihe's facing significantly tougher competition than Green does and is putting up similar defensive numbers. Green's 09-10 is very similar to Karlsson's season this year- the difference is that Karlsson's beating on good players like Phil Kessel and Patrice Bergeron, while Green was most likely facing 2nd/3rd liners. 

Karlsson isn't probably the best defender out there. However, it's pretty apparent that he's not the worst defender out there either. He's capable of standing his own against good competiton on a bad defensive team. While everyone will harp on Karlsson for not playing on the penalty kill alot, I think the whole argument about his so called "terrible" defensive ability is a bit overblown.

Phil Kessel

Reading the Toronto Sports Media's thoughts on him are facepalm inducing. He's having a career year and yet somehow, you have guys like Jeff Blair asking him to do more, like not be "milquetoast". The kid can't catch a break. I mean, it's not like there are other players out there who are talented but don't offer much in personality. I'd love to hear what the Toronto Sports Media would have to say about Jonathan Toews if he was a Leaf- it would be much more different than all the compliments he gets for being the clutch leader of the Blackhawks. That and the trade rumors are pretty laughable too. The Leafs have a 23 year old star forward. All they need to do is acquire a goaltender and maybe upgrade their defense- they have a pretty good prospect pool to do that with, so they could do that without having to move their best player. Their goal is to get better, right?

Some more thoughts after the jump

Duncan Keith and MSG Goonfests

The NHL has a chance to send a very big message today, with Duncan Keith's suspension. As James O'Brien points out, this case features two of the NHL's most prominent players- Daniel Sedin is an Art Ross trophy winner and one of the best forwards in the league, while Duncan Keith is a former Norris Trophy winner and is considered an elite defenseman. While there have been other incidents with star players (Shane Doan's elbow on Jamie Benn being the most recent). Keith has a phone hearing, which means he can be suspended for at least 5 games. If Keith is suspended for 5 games, it's a good suspension. Shanahan has missed the mark with several easy suspensions (examples being Erik Cole's headshot on Adam Larsson or Tom Sestito's hit on Nathan Horton) and suspending Keith could show that Shanahan is at least willing to throw the hammer down when it counts.

Then of course, some people, like The Globe and Mail's David Ebner wonder if the NHL's suspension process is rather inconsistent- the league wants to get rid of hits like Keith's elbow to Sedin, but is willing to promote a massive staged line brawl on the front page of NHL.com. Oddly enough, it would actually be unfair to suspend every player involved in the line brawl, because the Rangers would be getting the short end of the stick. Lets say all 6 players- Eric Boulton, Cam Janssen, Ryan Carter, Stu Bickel, Brandon Prust and Mike Rupp are suspended for 5 games each- the Rangers would suffer more. Why? They lose a bottom pairing defenseman, one of their top penalty killers and a good 4th liner. The Devils on the other hand, don't lose much. Ryan Carter is the best player the Devils are losing- Janssen contributes very little to the team on the ice, and Boulton's easily the worst player in the NHL. One team suffers relatively significant losses while the other basically gets better because they aren't allowed to employ a player who's detrimental to the team. Can you tell me who's the winner here?

Comparing those two events is really apples and oranges. One player went out of his way to hurt a star player and another player. Another was a goonfest between grinders and plugs.

The Best Wrestler in the World Plays Hockey

Peter Evans of Up the Pucks found this video of WWE star CM Punk shooting pucks during the intermission of a Blackhawks game. It's awesome.

Editor's note: sorry about the lack of posts here- i've been busy with school and i've been sick (i'm currently getting doped up on Anti-biotics right now, YAAAAAY) over the last couple of weeks. So yeah...

Coming into the season, the Capitals were expected to do great things. They spent quite a bit making some significant moves to shore up the team's depth, adding Troy Brower, Joel Ward, Roman Hamrlik, Jeff Halpern and Tomas Vokoun (and re-signing Brooks Laich as well). Basically, the Caps were primed to dominate the regular season and make a splash in the post-season, rather than the whimpers they've recently made. Instead, the Caps have been far from dominant. They've been horrendous. They're currently 3 points out of a playoff spot and 4 points behind the Jets (yes, those Jets) for the division lead. Yes, they do have a chance. However, with the way they've been playing... it doesn't look like they've got much of a chance.

The most obvious factor has to be the loss of Nicklas Backstrom to injury- he hasn't played since suffering a concussion on January 4th, and despite that he's currently 2nd on the team in scoring with 42 points. The Caps are significantly better with Backstrom in the lineup- with him in, they're 21-15-2, while they're 8-11-3 without him. Backstrom's ability to drive play forward also seems to be missed- the Caps aren't a very good possession team, and Backstrom has been one of the few forwards who can drive play forward. Matthieu Perrault has done as much as he could to make up for Backstrom's absence in terms of driving play forward, but he's not nearly as gifted offensively as Backstrom. The Caps have also been suffering from a lack of secondary scoring recently- and secondary scoring is pretty huge.

Another factor-potentially the biggest factor involving the Caps' shortcomings happens to be their current coach, Dale Hunter. Ironically, here's what I had to say about the Caps potentially failing in August.

"Are the Caps a playoff team? Barring Bruce Boudreau is fired and they replace him with John MacLean, they should be a playoff team- although with the southeast slowly improving, their division crown won't be a guarantee."

In a twist of irony, the Capitals fired Bruce Boudreau only to replace Boudreau with someone just as incompetent as MacLame. Hunter isn't a very smart coach when it comes to decisions. He decided to bench Mike Knuble because of his +/- (lol) and he's continued to bench Jeff Schultz, one of the Capitals' better defensemen in favour of a career AHLer. Defenseman Roman Hamrlik isn't too happy with Hunter, and recently called him out for benching him. While it's not like benching players is going to make the team better, benching players, especially important players for stupid reasons makes no sense. And when you don't have better options, it's not like the team is getting better when these players are benched.

Of course, there's also Alex Ovechkin- the same guy who's won 2 Hart Trophies, scored 60 goals and was widely regarded as one of the best players in the league. Instead, he's not dominating, but looking more like a neutered beast. It's not like he's a dominating force anymore. Perhaps the biggest reason has to be that he's shooting way less- in his glory days he'd have around 400 shots. This year, he's on pace for only 293 shots on goal. He's on pace for 33 goals, which would be the second lowest in his career, but regardless he can do better. If he can get back into form, that would be huge for the Caps.

Right now, the Caps are a mess. The good news is that it's not too late for them- while they're digging their own grave, they can still climb out of it. A big winning streak could help them catch up to the Panthers and Jets in the southeast. Unfortunately, if they keep playing like this and losing games they should win... say goodbye to the playoffs, Capitals (and unfortunately for George McPhee, his job).

Ville Leino has been the butt-end of every overpaid free agent joke that doesn't involve Scott Gomez. He had one good season and he got $27 million. One reason for this would be that Leino benefitted from lots of offensive zone starts against weak competition. This year it's more of the same, but it's been pretty apparent that he was being carried by his linemates- namely Danny Briere.

That got me to thinking about Leino's former linemate, Scott Hartnell. Last year he played with Briere and Leino and put up some pretty respectable numbers (24 G, 25 A)and did pretty well for himself at even strength. This year, he's playing on a line with Claude Giroux, which is a bit of a 180 from his role last year with the Flyers- less protection and tougher competition on the other team (i.e. tough minute forwards like Patrik Elias and top defensemen like Zdeno Chara vs 3rd liners and bottom pairing D). Hartnell's managed to succed in this role, even improving his scoring rate at evens this year. He's also on pace for career highs in goals, assists, points and falls. And earning every penny of his salary.

As someone who doesn't follow the Flyers that much, I'm not sure whether or not to attribute the improvements to Hartnell playing better this year (he's got a lot of praise for his play) or to playing alongside one of the best players in the league. I just find it interesting that Hartnell was able to transition from protected scorer to top line winger so easily.

Hockey Heaven

There's a German drinking song that goes, "In heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here." Well, if there's no beer there, there can't be hockey either. So enjoy watching the NHL while you're still able to.

Rank (Last)	Team	Record	Comment
1 (1)	Boston Bruins	29-12-1	The Bruins continue to do what they're best at - racking up wins, penalty minutes, and suspensions.
2 (2)	New York Rangers	28-11-4	With Martin Biron playing so well in a backup role, the Rangers have the luxury of giving Henrik Lundqvist more rest than he's gotten in past years. That might bode well for their chances in the playoffs.
3 (5)	Detroit Red Wings	29-15-1	The Red Wings are nearly unstoppable at home, with an 18-2-1 record. Goalie Jimmy Howard is having a career year, with a league-leading 27 wins, and a GAA of 1.98.
4 (3)	Vancouver Canucks	28-15-3	Roberto Luongo update - October GAA: 3.54, November-January GAA: 2.09.
5 (8)	St. Louis Blues	27-12-6	Ken Hitchcock has done wonders in St. Louis, putting up a 21-5-6 record and catapulting the Blues to the top spot in the West since taking over as head coach. Jaroslav Halak is back on track, giving Hitchcock no wrong answers when it comes to picking starting goalies.
6 (6)	San Jose Sharks	25-12-5	The Sharks continue to hold off the Kings in the Pacific Division, posting a 10-2-2 record in their last 14 games.
7 (13)	Chicago Blackhawks	27-13-6	Ray Emery held down the fort in net in mid-December, posting a 5-1-0 record, and giving Corey Crawford a chance to get his head back in the game. Crawford's GAA was 3.00 through December 5th, but has been 2.49 since Emery's streak.
8 (9)	Philadelphia Flyers	26-13-4	Despite all their talent, one has to wonder how far the Flyers can go in the playoffs without the services of Chris Pronger.
9 (20)	Nashville Predators	26-15-4	The good Pekka Rinne is back, as he's posted a 14-2 record and a 2.37 GAA since December 8th.
10 (17)	Ottawa Senators	25-16-6	Ottawa is making a run in the Eastern Conference - could Kyle Turris be the key? The Sens are 10-2-2 since the trade with the Coyotes.

Hockey Purgatory

Purgatory - a place of transition, where those who redeem themselves can find their way to Heaven, while those that don’t could go straight to Hell.

Rank (Last)	Team	Record	Comment
11 (4)	Pittsburgh Penguins	23-17-4	The Penguins better have good health insurance, what with the reoccurrence of Crosby's concussion symptoms, Kris Letang's concussion, and the knee injury to Jordan Staal. James Neal must have seen one of those televangelists, who miraculously cured his broken foot by commanding him to "Heal thy heel!"
12 (14)	Los Angeles Kings	22-15-9	The Kings finally seem to be putting things together. With an 8-1-5 record in their last 14 games, they are one of the hottest clubs in the league.
13 (26)	New Jersey Devils	25-17-2	Despite having a negative goal differential, the Devils are getting it done via shootout, with a league-best 8 shootout wins (vs. only one SO loss).
14 (12)	Toronto Maple Leafs	22-17-5	The good news? James Reimer is back. The bad news, at least as far as Reimer is concerned? Jonas Gustavsson isn't ready to give up the #1 goalie spot.
15 (25)	Washington Capitals	24-17-2	It doesn't appear as if things are much different In Washington under coach Dale Hunter. Hunter's record since taking over? 12-8-1. Bruce Boudreau's record before being fired? 12-9-1.
16 (10)	Phoenix Coyotes	21-18-7	The Coyotes have stumbled a bit lately, going 3-5-4 in their last 12 games (although to be fair, their schedule has been pretty tough). With six of their next seven games at home, perhaps they'll be able to get back on track.
17 (21)	Dallas Stars	24-19-1	Dallas was hot to start the season, with an 11-3-0 record. But injuries to defenseman Alex Goligoski, then goalie Kari Lehtonen took their toll, and the Stars have gone 13-16-1 since. Now they'll be without Jamie Benn and Mike Ribiero for a while.
18 (11)	Florida Panthers	21-14-9	Florida still holds down the top spot in the South, but injuries to Jose Theodore and Jakob Markstrom have left the Panthers weak in goal.
19 (18)	Winnipeg Jets	21-19-5	After getting bombarded with seven goals in game against the Red Wings on December 10th, goalie Ondrej Pavelec has posted a 2.28 GAA in 12 starts.
20 (7)	Minnesota Wild	22-16-7	Goaltending can only take you so far. The tandem of Backstrom and Harding are coming down from their insanely good start, and the offense just isn't picking up the slack.

Hockey Hell

Hockey Hell - the place where the truly wretched go. If there’s any question as to whether these teams belong here, just listen to what their fans are saying: "What the hell are they doing out there?", "What in the hell is the coach thinking?" and "Why in the hell am I paying so much for tickets to watch this crap?"

Rank (Last)	Team	Record	Comment
21 (15)	Montreal Canadiens	17-20-8	Rather than Bleu Blanc Rouge, les Canadiens are more noire et bleu, after the way opponents are treating them. Of course, new coach Randy Cunneyworth wouldn't understand that, because he doesn't speak French. Perhaps someone should have listened to Michael Cammalleri, instead of trading him. Losers, indeed.
22 (19)	Colorado Avalanche	24-21-2	The Avs have climbed back into playoff contention over the last month, with a 10-4-1 record. That's thanks in large part to the play of J.S. Giguere, who was 6-2-1 with a 2.19 GAA.
23 (24)	Calgary Flames	21-20-5	You would have thought that losing defenseman Mark Giordano would have really hurt the Flames, but they managed to go 11-7-4 without him.
24 (29)	Anaheim Ducks	15-22-7	You knew the Ducks were better than their poor record showed, and finally they're showing some signs of life. They've got a modest 5-0-1 streak going, over which they're scoring more than 4 goals a game and allowing less than 2.
25 (30)	Carolina Hurricanes	16-24-7	As seems to be the case almost every year, it takes a while for the Canes offense to kick it into gear. Over their first 28 games, they averaged just 2.36 goals per game. In their last 19 games, they've averaged 3.00 goals per game.
26 (27)	New York Islanders	16-21-6	The good news? Evgeni Nabokov is starting to look like he did when he played for the Sharks. The better news? Rick DiPietro won't be around the rest of the season to steal starts from him.
27 (16)	Edmonton Oilers	17-23-4	The combination of overachieving goaltending and youthful inexperience were bound to catch up with the Oilers eventually. Injuries to Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins have only accelerated their spiral downward.
28 (23)	Tampa Bay Lightning	17-23-4	Tampa Bay is 6-14-2 in their last 22 games, and have allowed almost 4 goals per game over that span.
29 (22)	Buffalo Sabres	19-21-5	Since starting the year 12-7-0, the Sabres have gone 7-14-5. Sure they've had a lot of injuries, but so have the Penguins, and you don't see them collapsing like this.
30 (28)	Columbus Blue Jackets	12-27-5	Can things get any worse for the Blue Jackets? Jeff Carter and James Wisnewski are both out, and trade rumors are swirling concerning Rick Nash.

Disagree with how your favorite team is ranked? Feel free to leave a comment, which will be promptly ignored.

My problem with the Arniel firing is that he's getting canned for another man's incompetence- Scott Howson's. If anything, Howson should've been fired.

The Jackets aren't a good team for a reason- they have shitty goaltending. In the offseason, Scott Howson went and traded Jakub Voracek and the 8th overall pick (Sean Couturier) for Jeff Carter. He spend $33 million on James Wisnewski and his one good season (split between two teams). Yet he didn't bother to address the goaltending.

The Jackets were the third worst team in goal differential last season. One reason- Steve Mason. He's been the worst goaltender in the league for the last couple of seasons. He's the worst goalie in the league this year. Instead of letting him go, Howson's continued to show faith in his sievey goalie. Instead of trying to get a competent backup like JS Giguere, he went and signed Mark Dekanic (1 game of NHL experience) and Curtis Sanford, who hasn't been in the NHL for a few years.  He's seen Mason sieve in goals repeatedly. He didn't address this problem and look at where the Jackets are now- last in the league largely in part to their league worst goal differential because they can't stop pucks. The Kings and Wild can't score goals, yet their goaltending has been more attuned to their offensive success.

However, turn the knife the other way. What if Howson was hoping that their offense would outperform their mediocre goaltending? It's a possibility- just look at the Leafs, Senators and to a lesser extent the Devils. Howson was hoping Carter and Nash would be a dominant scoring duo like Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul are for the Leafs. However, those teams have offensive depth. Columbus has the illusion of depth. RJ Umberger and Antoine Vermette are good, but they haven't been able to do their job. Kristian Huselius returning from injury helps, but they haven't gotten a consistent effort from their secondary scoring.

Their defense isn't great either. Marc Methot, Aaron Johnson and Grant Clitsome (heheh Clitsome) are regulars. James Wisnewski, who hasn't played a lot of games has been a black hole on possession and horrendous on defense. The other team scores more when Wiz is on the ice then when he's on the ice. This is why I suggested that they draft Ryan Murray instead of Nail Yakupov- having a good defense is half the battle. Having good goaltending is the other half of the defensive battle.

So basically lets recap- Howson grossly failed to assess the team's biggest problem- defense. He instead hoped that the Jackets would succeed because they'd be able to outscore their opponents by adding a defenseman who's had one good season and a 65 point center. Basically he was hoping that what's happening in Ottawa right now would happen with the Jackets. Unfortunately for him, it didn't exactly work out. Howson has the team competing for 1st overall rather than a playoff spot. Scott Arniel was in the wrong place at the wrong time- he didn't do a great job coaching, but he couldn't do much with the worst goalie in the NHL, two top 6 forwards on IR for most of the year, several players underachieving and a mediocre defense. Howson just thought throwing money around was the cure-all to the team's problems. He did just as much as Arniel did to screw this team up. Howson deserves to get fired just as much as Arniel did, if not more.

            In a Maple Leafs season that's been plagued by injuries, a call up from the Marlies has seemed like a weekly occurence. So with that the case, what took so long to bring up Nazem Kadri? Speculation has swirled but the real reason came straight from GM Brian Burke, "We want his next call up to be his last." So when the Leafs finally did recall Kadri prior to their December 22nd game vs Buffalo the discussion began as to just what we would see from the London, Ontario native. After all, most players don’t receive the speculation and critical analysis in a full career that Kadri's seen at the age of 21. The moment Nazem Kadri's name left Brian Burke's mouth at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft the second guessing begun. And it hasn’t stopped since. Joining Luke Schenn as the only players taken in the top 10 by Toronto since 1998 there was never any doubt the pressure that would be thrust upon Kadri, but the Leafs top prospect has become somewhat of a polarizing figure in Toronto.

            After putting up 78 points in 56 games with his hometown London Knights of the OHL in 2008-09, Kadri seemed to be a good fit for a Toronto team that was not only in the midst of a rebuild, but also one that struggled mightily putting the puck in the net. The optimism grew when he scored 3 goals and added 2 assists in the following NHL preseason, but was sent back to Junior for another year of conditioning. In that season he put up 93 points in 56 games and added 27 in 12 playoff games. The scoring touch was certainly there, but whether or not he could bring that game to the NHL amidst criticism of his small frame and offensive mindset was the big question mark heading into the 2010-11 season. Things began to spiral downwards for Kadri in that campaign, where after going goalless in 17 games he was sent down to the Marlies just after Christmas. While with the Leafs AHL affiliate he notched 41 points in 44 games but for every person pointing out his nearly point a game pace there were 3 pointing out his lack of defensive awareness and propensity to turn over the puck at the worst possible times. He was recalled in mid-march to play out the remaining 12 games of the Leafs schedule and fared a little better, scoring his first NHL goal, along with two others and finished the year with 3 goals and 9 points with a -3 plus/minus rating. Kadri’s critics suggested he was still much too fragile to play in the NHL and rumours swirled all summer about the youngster being dealt, most notably linking him and Nikolai Kulemin in a deal for Mike Richards that was ultimately beat out by LA’s offer of Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and a 2^nd round pick. Regardless, Kadri seemed determined to work on his game and arguably more importantly his frame, putting on nearly 20 pounds over the summer and heading into training camp ready for a breakout season in 2011-12.

            Due to the Leafs injury problems as alluded to earlier, Kadri was able to start the season in the NHL. As feared, Kadri looked more like his former self, turning the puck over frequently and not being an offensive threat, unlike the new and improved Kadri “Leafs Nation” was hoping to see. After being sent down and recalled a day later in mid October Kadri suffered a torn ligament in his knee and was sent down yet again after playing just three games in a Leafs uniform. Tension around Kadri continued to grow in Toronto, with many calling for a trade. So the AHL project begun yet again. Something seemed to finally click this time though, as Nazem earned AHL player of the month honors in November after tallying 6 goals and 17 points in 12 games. His fine play didn’t warrant a call up though, as Leafs management felt he still had a lot to work on. Kadri would see fellow Marlies forwards Matt Frattin, Joe Colborne, Darryl Boyce and Joey Crabb called up before he was, despite that hot November. As the injuries continued to pile up fans and media alike questioned the decision not to bring up Kadri but Brian Burke and Ron Wilson remained adamant that Kadri had to work on turnovers at the blue line, a better defensive commitment and to harness his creativity. Under the tutelage of Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins Nazem was finally able to shore up his game enough to get the call on December 21^stand after 22 games played with 22 points in the AHL, he got yet another kick at the can. Since then he has certainly shown at least hints of the potential the Leafs have been craving in their lineup for some time now. Kadri scored the game winning goal in his first game the next night against Buffalo and even Ron Wilson was quick to praise the youngster. "He made plays," said Wilson. "He was good along the wall in our zone and that's what he has to do. He sees the ice and skates. He's got confidence and distributes the puck really well." Kadri gave a little more insight into how the coach felt about his play. “He's been pretty supportive and kind of giving me the encouragement to play with the puck," Kadri said. "I think he knows that I've learned how to recognize danger and when to try and make a play and when not to. After I scored that goal, he just came up to me and he told me 'Don't change a thing. You're playing great.” Quite a change of tune from previous stints with the blue and white. It’s now been 6 games since being recalled and that trend has continued. He’s matched his goal total from last season with 3 and added an assist, but the most telling stat may just be his +5 rating, something that has suffered in the past. He’s bounced between the 2^nd and 3^rd lines, mixing in some powerplay time as well.

The Leafs are going to have some major decisions to make in the near future with Colby Armstrong, Mike Brown and Tyler Bozak set to return to the lineup very soon. Brian Burke has already placed Pascal Dupuis and Colton Orr on waivers, both of them clearing and being sent to the Marlies. Once those three key players return the lineup it will be very interesting to see who else will be sent down. One thing is for sure though, if Brian Burke wanted Nazem Kadri’s next call up to be his last he’s certainly making a case for himself and deserves some time to prove that the Kadri we’ve all been waiting for may have finally arrived.  

RJ McCullough

Of course, what really bothers me is what Francis wouldn't have said anything like this if say... Sidney Crosby had done what Kuznetsov did. Would we be hearing about how Crosby's a bad teammate because he wanted to win? Would we be hearing about how he's a punk? No, we'd be hearing about how he had a valiant effort and how he was the decisive factor in the victory. Francis didn't bother to praise Kuznetsov one bit. He keeps glossing over every little action as if it was a dirty play, like Brett Connolly's FALCON PUNCH on a russian defender.

What happened with this article was Francis thought everyone would agree on him because the loss was fresh in everyone's mind and Kuznetsov was the catalyst for it. Unfortunately, everyone was already over the loss and he looked like a butthurt moron.

Seeing as we're ending the year, lets look back at one of the most famous failures in hockey in 2011: Scott Gomez the NHL Guardian Project. Basically, it was expected to be a cool project which involved Marvel Comics and the NHL combining forces to make kids interested in the NHL. Unfortunately, everyone over the age of 14 thought it was incredibly stupid. You had a Canadien who looked like Cobra Commander, a Black Panther wannabe as the Panther and some sap bomb throwing tree dude who was the Maple Leaf.

So what does Marvel comics do to follow this up? Plan something even worse... a Tim Tebow superhero comic.

You know, at times it makes me wonder how Tebow can get a comic yet Ilya Bryzgalov doesn't have his own cartoon. SMH world.