It took until the last games of the 2008 regular NHL season to determine the final playoff spots and for 14 franchises, the message sent is ,"You are not good enough!" The NHL step-children left out of this year's version of the post-season tournament are ( in reverse order of their point standings to date) : Los Angeles ; Tampa Bay ; Atlanta ; St.Louis ; New York Islanders ; Columbus ; Phoenix ; Toronto ; Florida ; Buffalo ; Edmonton ; Vancouver ; Chicago ; and Carolina. It took 81 games for all of these franchises to find out that in the vernacular-" YOU SUCK! " Buffalo suffered the furthest fall from grace as last year they qualified as the NHL's team with the most points (President's Award) and this year came in tied for 18th, and have lost another future star before this year's free agency season even begins. Chicago, as last year's worst team ( who was able to draft Patrick Kane first overall in the process) improved this tear, climbing from 30th to tied for 18th with among other franchises, Buffalo. They, at least were on the way up, not in decline. At that rate, in another three years the Blackhawks will be on top!
For positive moments this season, how could any true hockey fan not have been absorbed into the development of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Carey Price, Patrick Kane and Niklas Backstrom and an assorted cast of stars? These young players made watching hockey fun again, as opposed to the big money free agents who seemed to disappear off the radar for long stretches of the season. Names such as Drury, Briere, Jagr, Spezza, Alfredsson, Forsberg, Heatly and Sundin were MIA for much of the season. Is there any comparison for Briere and Vanek and the $10 million the Flyers and Sabres are paying them this season, and Malkin's $ 984,000 and what he has meant to the Penguins franchise this year ?Does Chris Drury's $7 million plus match the value that Buffalo got from Jason Pominville and his $925,000 ? How do the NHL franchise front offices stay remain in their positions when the Peter Principle seems to reign supreme? Will NHL fans keep seeing incompetent front offices either wave goodbye to their star players on a yearly basis (Buffalo?) or keep incompetently including no trade clauses in contract negotiations ( Toronto and Sundin; Ottawa and Redden?) Will the Price (Carey) stay right in Montreal?
The fantasy owners that had the foresight ( or lost out not being able to draft Crosby) to pick Alex Ovechkin have had their season of fun and dreams to enjoy. To date, "O" has scored a league leading 65 goals and 112 overall points for the league scoring lead. Ovechkin also, by far. leads the league in enthusiastic celebrations every time he is on the ice for a Washington goal. This kids LOVES scoring! He has made it fun to watch.
Malkin, at the time when his franchise's All-World star, Sidney Crosby, was out for a long stretch, picked the Penguins up on his shoulder and skated them home to the Atlantic Division Championship, along with reserve goaltender Ty Conklin, who couldn't seem to get any ice time last season in Buffalo. Watching the Penguins mature from chicks(?) at the season start, to contention as one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams has been true entertainment. Seeing their New Year's Day celebration in one of the few bright spots in the Sabres season as the Penguins and Crosby won the AMP Energy Bowl (better known as the Ice Bowl) in Ralph Wilson Stadium in front of a record NHL crowd was one of my more enjoyable sporting event involvements of a lifetime.
Patrick Kane (Chicago) , Niklas Backstrom (Washington), Carey Price (Montreal), Peter Mueller (Phoenix), Sam Gagner (Edmonton), Tobias Entstrom ( Atlanta), Brandon Dubinsky (New York Rangers), Kris LeTang (Pittsburgh), and Milan Lucic (Boston) are only the tip of the iceberg for the roster of NHL rookie names that will become fixtures in NHL arenas in future seasons. The influx of youngblood has been a revelation to acknowledge that the NHL's pulse seems to be steady for future years. Fantasy owners and rosters will benefit from this list for many points in many drafts to come.
The Anaheim Ducks might be hard pressed to repeat their Stanley Cup Championship of a year ago. The San Jose Sharks are making their presence well known. Possibly, the kiddie corps out of Montreal might provide a good test, should they survive long enough to emerge out of the East. For me, the sternest test and most notable results that will emerge out of this year's Stanley Cup tournament will be the application of the NHL rules. Under Bettman's leadership again, will the rules in place, which have allowed development of an enjoyable product on the ice again, be enforced the way they are written, or will NHL on-ice officials again be guilty of swallowing their collective whistles and allowing the game to get slowed down to the point of the trap and death by boredom? Will Pittsburgh's style reign or will New Jersey be allowed to bore NHL fans to the point of again feeling like they are witnessing a WWE event, rather than a hockey game ? Will San Jose rise to the top in the West or be mugged into submission by a coalition from the Rockies, Calgary or Nashville? Can Hasek stay healthy for the run or will his mysterious groin choose a worst-case time to quit for Detroit?
It is the time of year when all becomes green again and all signifies the beginning of the second-round of the NHL season. May your city and team have a great run in the playoffs. If your franchise, as is the one I love to watch, is left on the outside looking in, my hopes for a change in the leadership of the front offices come your way. After all, you could have Bryan Murray as a coach AND General manager ! It always could get worse!