First Half Thoughts

January 23, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

The Zach Attack deserves Hart consideration says BONY's Derek Felix.

It’s the All-Star Break and that means no games until after the big weekend in Montreal as part of their Centennial season.

With some time off, here are a few observations on the 2008-09 first half:

-Zach Parise has eclipsed Martin Brodeur as the Devils’ most valuable player. This isn’t to take away from the future Hall of Fame netminder but when he went down, the Devils could’ve sunk. Instead, led by Parise they played remarkable hockey leaping into first place without their franchise goalie getting inspired puckstopping from journeyman Scott Clemmensen.

Parise ranks in the top seven in goals (28) and points (55) while being tied with a resurgent Patrik Elias for the team lead in deciding markers (5). The bright 24 year-old All-Star who the Devils stole back in 2003 placed first in four different categories including power play goals (7) and plus/minus (+20). If you count shots, his 193 are 35 better than Elias. So, it’s really five.

While Elias’ turnaround along with Travis Zajac and Brian Gionta’s reemergence has turned the Devs into one of the most potent offenses in the East, it’s Parise who’s been the most consistent bringing it every night. While league leading scorer Evgeni Malkin and rating Hart winner Alex Ovechkin receive all the accolades, perhaps it’s time to include the Zach Attack in the MVP discussion.

There are other candidates like Marc Savard, Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter and Pavel Datsyuk. So, the competition promises to be stiff just for Parise to make the cut. But tell us why he doesn’t fit the criteria. When you look at Brodeur’s loss along with all the Devils injuries, No.9 is the biggest reason they’re still on top.

Remember all that talk about “Parise’s Better” than Sidney Crosby? It’s not so far fetched anymore. Not taking away from how great he is but who would you rather have to score a big goal? I’ll take the gritty American kid from Minnesota.

-If Brent Sutter isn’t up for the Jack Adams as fellow Devil blogger Hasan alluded to, something’s seriously wrong.

-The Rangers are a point behind the Devs in the standings despite lowscoring and inconsistent play. Yet they’ve managed to stay afloat despite Nikolai Zherdev’s MIA act along with overpaid Scott Gomez doing little to justify his salary. Wade Redden anyone? They’re still right there with 60 points thanks to sole All-Star Henrik Lundqvist along with the reemergence of Chris Drury and Michal Rozsival, who found his game after a brutal start.

The play of second-year forwards Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan along with the steady penalty killing from overlooked tandem Blair Betts and Freddy Sjostrom has kept the Blueshirts in games. Marc Staal’s growth along with Paul Mara’s influence have been vital on the blueline along with Dan Girardi.

Despite boasting a strong tandem in net with King Henrik and valuable backup Stephen Valiquette, the Rangers have grinded it out due to inconsistent scoring. It hasn’t helped that Tom Renney and Glen Sather continue to play Aaron Voros while screwing over Petr Prucha.

If they are to seriously contend, Brandon Dubinsky must continue his recent improvement and veteran Swede Markus Naslund needs to bury opportunities.

-It’s become ridiculous how much disdain Larry Brooks has for this Ranger club. They had come off one of their better efforts sweeping the Ducks to finish the break on a positive and instead of making that the focal point, this pile of dirt instead continued his theme of how miraculous the team’s record is.

There are things we don’t agree with when it comes to this version either but come on already. Enough is enough! The guy is a complete jackass and deserves to cover a last place club.

It’s probably true they won’t go far this Spring with a younger roster than the past ones that included Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Brooks favorite Brendan Shanahan. However, it’s also true that that’s not how they were built even if Sather foolishly gave Redden  big money and handicapped the roster due to the Patrick Rissmiller gaffe.

Anybody who looked at this team realistically felt it would take a step back and be lucky to see the postseason. That they’re in decent position is a credit to the players.

The real future should include Bobby Sanguinetti, Corey Potter on D along with Russians Artem Anisimov and Evgeny Grachev up front with former second rounder Michael Sauer a question mark.

Just imagine how much brighter it could’ve looked if former top pick Alexei Cherepanov were still around. Sadly, we’ll never know.

-Nice to see the Islanders finally get a win in the new calendar year thanks to third stringer Yann Danis, who continued to play well in net making 39 saves in a 2-1 home triumph over Anaheim. Had they not gotten it, maybe they don’t get a ‘W’ for the month with the All-Star Weekend coming up.

While most news has been discouraging for the last overall club in the league, at least former No.1 Kyle Okposo is coming around. While the 15 points (7-8-15) aren’t overly impressive, he did miss time with an injury and has been showing off the hands which could make him a future power forward.

The kid’s got talent. Building around him and promising pivot Josh Bailey should make the Islanders fun to follow. Especially if John Tavares lands in Long Island. Could he save the franchise much like Sidney Crosby did for the Penguins?

-If only the Isles had a healthy Rick DiPietro, who shut it down for the rest of the season due to swelling in his knee. The organization has nobody to blame but themselves for twice rushing their franchise goalie back from reconstructive surgery. He was injury prone to begin with and there was really no reason to rush him back given the roster first-year coach Scott Gordon had to work with.

Were they really expecting the playoffs? How out to lunch could you be? It’ll be interesting to see what Garth Snow does with tradeable assets like Mike Comrie, Mike Sillinger, Brendan Witt, Doug Weight and Richard Park. Will captain Bill Guerin give up his no-trade?

If Snow plays it right, he can replenish the Isles roster and speed up the rebuilding process. It sure couldn’t hurt.

-So, Daniel Briere will be out another four weeks for the Flyers meaning he’s only gotten in nine contests this season and will become like a deadline addition. That’s the positive way to view it given that they’ve stayed afloat due to a balanced attack led by Carter and team captain Mike Richards.

The negative is that he’s signed for another six years and isn’t getting any bigger.

-Underrated move of the year. Columbus signing veteran Mike Commodore (4-15-19, +11, 65 PIM) to beef up their blueline along with the acquired Fedor Tyutin (4-15-19) and Christian Backman. Of course, the goalkeeping of Calder/Vezina threat Steve Mason has sure speeded up things with the Jackets sitting 10th two points behind the Ducks for the final spot.

Trivia: Name the last goalie to sweep the Calder and Vezina.

-Calder Race:

1.Steve Mason, CBJ (17 Wins, 2.05 GAA, .926 Save Pct, league best 6 SO)
2.Bobby Ryan, Ana (15-15-30, +11, 7 PPG in 31 GP)

3.Kris Versteeg, Chi (13-23-36, 2 SHG, 43 PIM, +16 in 41 GP)

4.Blake Wheeler, Bos (14-16-30, +27 in 47 GP) 

-Think Wayne Gretzky wishes the Coyotes could’ve retained Wheeler? It was the kid’s decision to leave due to the Group II rule which made him a free agent. One might ask is it fair for a kid that young to be able to leave? It does put more pressure on teams to make decisions.

-He’s played better lately as have the Lightning but six goals in 45 games is atrocious for last year’s No.1 overall pick Steven Stamkos.

-With Crosby asking out of the AS Game to rest his leg, Martin St. Louis replaces him on the Eastern roster. We wonder how league brass feels about the Chosen One passing on such a marquee event in Montreal.

While it’s true he’s doing what’s best for him and his teammates, don’t be surprised if this is received negatively by the Canadian media.

-Norris Race:

1.Zdeno Chara, Bos (11-18-29, 56 PIM, 7 PPG, +22 in 47 GP)

2.Brian Rafalski, Det (7-28-35, 14 PIM, +12 in 46 GP)

3.Mike Green, Wsh (12-21-33, 10 PPG, +17 in 35 GP)

4.Dan Boyle, SJ (13-25-38, +12, 6 PPG, 3 GW in 44 GP)

-Niklas Backstrom might be the most overlooked elite netminder. All he does is give the Wild a chance to win every night. They might not get in but he deserves Vezina consideration.

-Career Milestones Approaching:

Jarome Iginla needs seven more goals for 400.

Nicklas Lidstrom needs 30 more points for 1,000.

-I’m only going to say this once but the All-Star Game needs to be on NBC and not Versus for league sanity.

-How did David Krejci fall all the way down to 63rd overall in 2004?

-Of the teams at the bottom, keep an eye on the Senators, who have begun to play better with Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza heating up. They host the Devils following the break and then hit the road for St. Louis, Columbus and D.C.

If they continue to play well and gain ground, is it possible Bryan Murray won’t sell?

-If he wants his team back in, Eric Staal must be better than 35 points (20-15-35) in the second half. He’s too talented.

-And finally, it’s amazing how similar The Sedin Twins really are throughout their careers:

Daniel Sedin: 608 GP, 170 goals, 258 assists, 428 points, +67

Henrik Sedin: 612 GP, 95 goals, 327 assists, 422 points, +81

Now starring in the real Swedish version of Twins!