Take a look at the picture on the right. [guysgirl]

Did you ever think you would see the day that a Zamboni is driving along side the Green Monster? Only in the wildest parts of my imagination my dear.

Hockey is not something that is represented on GG as much as it should be. Why? In all honestly, my fiance played in various minor pro hockey leagues and I have been to hundreds of games but as great as a live game is, I just can't get into the watching the action of watching hockey on TV unless its the playoffs.

Except for the Winter Classic.

For many casual sports fans New Years Day will come with recovering from a long night out and watching the numerous bowl games on TV. But I invite you to partake in something unique by watching a game played in nature's elements; a game that can capture the attention of any sports fan on News Years Day.

Reasons Why You Should Absolutely Watch the Winter Classic...

Tradition of the Winter Classic---already?!

Even though the annual outdoor game is only 3 years old, the game is made special each year by usually pairing fierce competitors that have been enemies long before any of the players on the current roster were even born. Though the Winter Classic is still young in its tradition, there is no denying this game brings hockey back to where it started for many players of today and the past; it brings the game back outside.

And what better stage than the immortalized grounds of Fenway park where on the same day as the Winter Classic, just a mile away is the Matthews Arena, formerly the Boston Arena, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on the footsteps of where American hockey history traces its roots.

When asked about the impact of this year's Winter Classic Richard Johnson, the curator of the Boston Sports Museum, was quoted as saying "In Boston, hockey is the sport closest to every one's heart. Everyone in New England is probably two degrees separation from knowing someone who played in college, the Beanpot, the pros and even the NHL."

Mixing the admiration for hockey with perhaps a greater love, Fenway park, will be as one blogger put it "hockey at Fenway is like the Pope visiting The Cathedral of the Holy Cross."

Teams Playing--Great Franchises but Could Be a Better Matchup

Over the summer when the announcement came as to what teams would be playing in the Winter Classic, the choices made seemed to be a stellar pick. Old rivals, teams with hard-core fan bases and both franchises made great off season moves and clearly looked to be very competitive.

Until the regular season started where neither team has lived up to expectations. The Bruins are fifth in the East; the Flyers are 11th. Which is hardly the matchup we saw in last year's Winter Classic with Chicago and Detroit.

Philly fired its coach earlier in the season but seems to be making strides coming into this week as both the Bruins and Flyers are on a 3 game winning streak coming into this week.

I give the edge to the Bruins only because they are more consistent than the Flyers and will probably be more energized by the stage lights than Philly.

How The Rink Is Made

If you could care less about the traditions and players one thing you should care about is how a damn ice rink is built onto a baseball field!

On December 10th, NHL facilities operations manager Dan Craig broke ground on the construction of the rink and is the man in charge of making sure the rink fits into Fenway's motif as well as a smooth, safe place for the players to play. Craig along with a 200 man crew will use a state of the art Refrigeration truck to create the ice and build the rink from the ground up; all while maintaining the field's integrity.

“Not a whole lot of sleep goes into it,’’ said Craig. “There’s a whole lot of stress going into this one. But we’ve got a great crew together.’’

Check out the following illustrations from Boston.com that shows how the rink is being constructed from the ground up.

Fenway's Winter Classic

The game will air on New Years Day at 1pm on NBC. [guysgirl2]

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Team Russia - Be afraid, be very afraid...

Today, Team Russia announced their official 23-man roster for their Olympic Hockey Team for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.  The announcement came from Russia's head coach, Vyacheslav Bykov.  Looking at the list of names on for this team, I would be showing signs of cognitive dissonance if I didn't admit to mixed feelings.  First, I certainly feel a certain amount of consternation reading the list of names including Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Semin, and Pavel Datsyuk.  Yet at the same time, reading that list of high-flying Russian offensive talent inpsires a sense of awe and wonder.  Though it could be a matter for debate, the Russians just might have the edge on Team Canada in terms of raw, offensive talent up front. [lowonoil]

Given that 8 players who made the list are playing in the KHL, one has to assume that this is somewhat of a political effort to promote their hockey league rather than necessarily choosing the best squad.  Of note, Dennis Grebeshkov of the Edmonton Oilers was also named to the team.  For the Oilers defenseman, it will be quite an honor to represent his country in theses Olympics.

Alexander Ovechkin - The Most Dangerous Man in Hockey

For the Russian team, it's pretty clear that their strengths will include top-end talent along with three very solid options in net.  It's likely that Team Canada will probably have the edge in terms of blue line talent.

Russia's 23 man roster:

Goaltenders: Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix), Semen Varlamov (Washington), Evgeny Nabokov (San Jose).

Forwards: Maksim Afinogenov, Ilya Kovalchuk (both – Atlanta), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Danis Zaripov, Alexey Morozov (both – Ak Bars, KHL), Sergei Zinoviev, Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Radulov (all – Salavat Yulaev, KHL), Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin (both – Washington), Sergey Fedorov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk, KHL).

Defensemen: Anton Volchenkov (Ottawa), Sergey Gonchar (Pittsburgh), Denis Grebeshkov (Edmonton), Dmitry Kalinin (Salavat Yulaev, KHL), Konstantin Korneev (CSKA Moscow, KHL), Andrey Markov (Montreal), Ilya Nikulin (Ak Bars, KHL), Fedor Tyutin (Columbus).

Team Russia Goaltenders:

Player	Team	GP	W	L	OT	GAA	SV%
Ilya Bryzgalov	PHX	33	21	10	2	2.02	0.926
Semyon Varlamov	WSH	16	12	1	2	2.21	0.924
Evgeni Nabokov	SJS	32	19	5	7	2.33	0.924
Martin Brodeur	NJD	33	23	8	1	2.1	0.921

By the numbers, Team Russia has three very solid options in net for the 2010 Olympics.  In fact, all three of the goaltenders that they've chosen for these Olympics currently have slightly better save percentages (SV%) than Canada's current best, Martin Brodeur.  If you're wondering how on earth the Phoenix Coyotes are having such a good season, look no further than Ilya Bryzgalov who has a 21-10-2 record along with a 2.02 goals against average (GAA) and a .926 SV%.

 

Team Russia Forward Skaters:

 

Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	P	+/-	S%	PPG
Alex Ovechkin	WSH	L	29	24	20	44	18	15.5	1.52
Ilya Kovalchuk	ATL	L	30	21	18	39	-2	20.6	1.30
Evgeni Malkin	PIT	C	31	13	24	37	13	9.8	1.19
Maxim Afinogenov	ATL	R	36	13	21	34	-2	15.9	0.94
Alexander Semin	WSH	L	28	14	17	31	10	12.5	1.11
Pavel Datsyuk	DET	C	35	8	20	28	5	8.5	0.80
Joe Thornton	SJS	C	37	10	41	51	13	13.5	1.38
Sidney Crosby	PIT	C	37	22	24	46	14	16.3	1.24

Again, by these above numbers, Alexander Ovechkin's currently on a 1.52 points-per-game pace which is quite impressive.  There's little doubt in my mind that Joe Thornton's numbers are somewhat inflated by playing in San Jose on a $22 million dollar line including Dany Heatley, and Patrick Marleau.  However, there's few that would question that players such as Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, and Malkin are among the best offensive players in the league.  Well, I'm looking forward to hearing Team Canada's announcement of their 23 man roster on December 30th, 2009. [lowonoil2]

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With the Christmas break upon us, and the Winter Classic at Boston's Fenway Park just barely over a week away, I decided now was as good a time as any to publish my proposal for the 2011 Winter Classic. There are rumors swirling around various media outlets, claiming that the NHL is considering having two outdoor games on New Years 2011. I see absolutely no reason why my proposal, that is being unveiled today, should not be one of those two games. [theother6seconds]

At this point, you're likely asking why a Stars blog would be discussing Winter Classic possibilities. After all, it was 70 degrees yesterday (though it is supposed to drop back down to normal winter temperature for the holidays, supposedly). Next week, it's Boston/Philly at Fenway. The times before, the Blackhawks hosted the Red Wings and the Sabres hosted the Pens. It all started with the "Heritage Classic" in Edmonton, with the Oilers and Canadiens, in 2003... Why's it always got to be northern teams having all the fun?

I propose that the Dallas Stars become the first southern NHL team to participate in a Winter Classic. Understanding that freezing weather isn't always a given for North Texas on New Years Day, and taking into account the 26 years of history this franchise enjoyed before moving to the Lone Star State 16 years ago, it only makes sense for the Stars to play their outdoor game in the great state of Minnesota, with the Wild acting as the host franchise. A Winter Classic matchup between the Stars and the Wild in Minnesota would be a celebration of the sport in one of the most historic regions for American hockey as a whole. (Plus, it's really the only natural answer to the question, "Which northern team can I pick, so the Stars have a chance to play in a Winter Classic before the novelty completely wears off?")

Once I had the teams and location chosen, it was time to select a venue. Minnesota, interestingly enough, will have two brand new open-air stadiums in time for the Winter Classic in 2011. MLB's Minnesota Twins will be opening Target Field this season, while the Golden Gophers' football team have the brand new TCF Bank Stadium. Both venues have their pros and cons. TCF Bank Stadium has much larger capacity, but is located on a college campus with a trickier parking situation. Target Field has a smaller capacity, a less natural shape, but a much more manageable location with ample parking. I chose Target Field, putting the Winter Classic in a baseball stadium for the third season in a row.

With the venue all squared away, it was time for me to create a logo for the event. With both teams having such strong ties to the State of Minnesota, my inspiration was obvious. I started out with an outline of the state, and added imagery from the logosets of the home team Wild. Being a winter game, I decided it would be clever to change the trees to a snow white... The logo is nothing special or overly innovative, but I think it fits the event rather well, and I'm proud of how it turned out.

With the logo all squared away, it was time to move on to everyone's favorite part of the Winter Classic. The uniforms. Traditionally, teams have worn throwbacks (or in Boston's case, throwback-inspired hybrid uniforms). For Dallas, it was obvious that North Stars uniforms were a must. Then it struck me. The Minnesota Wild are 9 years old. They really don't have much of a history to draw from, and they already wear "vintage inspired" uniforms as their regular get-up. Luckily, while the Wild don't have much of their own history, the Twin Cities are rich in hockey history. It was with this in mind that I decided to base the Minnesota Wild's uniforms loosely on the St. Paul Saints of the 1930's. After seeing the backlash from the barberpole throwbacks that Montreal has graced us with, I knew a straight adaptation wouldn't go over very well. I took the liberty of taking the best parts of the Saints sweaters and bringing them up to date with a few simplifications. I hope you enjoy them, as I did about 50 versions of this sweater, trying to get something that worked.

With the Wild properly outfitted in historically appropriate duds, it was time to decide what our Stars should be wearing. The North Stars had several memorable and popular uniforms for me to choose from, but I decided to take this rare opportunity to play revisionist history, like the Bruins, who took aspects from multiple uniforms in their past when designing their Winter Classic uniforms. I took the basic late 60's expansion uniforms and merged them with the Gund-era uniforms with the outlined shoulder yoke. (Check my Uniform History Project on the menu bar above, if you want a refresher course on this stuff.) What I ended up with was arguably the sexiest looking uniform in Winter Classic history. They'd sell like hot cakes.

Tell me that doesn't look good and I'll punch you in the mouth for lying. At this point in my design process, I felt comfortable posting the entire proposal on this site. I finished this much over a week ago, but didn't want to post it all too early. That gave me a little extra time to mess around with stuff, and I ended up messing around with the rink graphic that I used in the Target Field seating chart above. Definitely not an important addition to this proposal, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to throw it in too.

As far as the festivities surrounding the game, I'm sure the NHL, the Wild, the Twins, and the Stars could all come up with some great ideas. Maybe an alumni game with old North Stars and old Team USA veterans, or possibly former Stars against former Gophers in an old-timers game. The possibilities are endless when a match-up makes as much sense as the Stars versus the Wild in Minnesota.

I originally had hoped to post a second "joke" proposal for a Stars Winter Classic... this one hosted in Dallas, but I ran out of time and with my work schedule around the Holidays, I don't know when or if I'll ever finish it up. It revolved around the idea of the Stars hosting the Phoenix Coyotes in an outdoor roller hockey game, on the spot where Reunion Arena used to stand (if they ever finish cleaning it up). I even toyed with the idea of giving Phoenix some sublimated blood stains on the front of their uniforms, as an homage to Jeremy Roenick... but alas, that's another idea for another day.

Hope you enjoyed this... and I hope you have a Merry Christmas, everyone. Go Stars.

(To Gary Bettman, and the NHL higher-ups: Make this happen. The Stars and Wild may not have the star power of a Crosby or an Ovechkin, but we deserve an outdoor game too!) [theother6seconds2]

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Today, rumors and speculation about Nikolai Khabibulin's back injury have been flying around the internet.  It sounds like a someone within the Edmonton Oilers organization, possibly even a player, may have leaked news that Nikolai Khabibulin is out for the season and headed for surgery on a herniated disc in his back.  It's possible that this rumor is just a hoax, but given that Khabibulin's now missed nine games with what was initially described as, "back spasms," it's certainly fueling speculation about his actual injury. [lowonoil]

There's certainly a discrepancy between this recent rumor and Pat Quinn's quote on the Oilers website today:

"Apparently he had a good day two days ago in his workouts, although he's still not ready to step on the ice at this point."

If there's any validity to this rumor about Khabibulin having a herniated disc, it does raise a number of questions.  Given that Khabibulin signed his contract when he was over the age of 35, it certainly complicates the salary cap situation.  From what I understand, when players are signed over the age of 35, their contracts are not eligible for a buyout and if they retire, their contract stays on the salary cap for its duration.  Further, if you try to send the player down to the minors, their contract minus $100k still stays on the team's salary cap.

Apparently, one potential loophole in this contract situation is if the player is placed on the Injured-Reserve list.  I'm certainly not a capologist or even an attorney.  The actual wording of the CBA is sufficiently vague for a layperson.  Article 50.5 of the 2005 CBA suggests the following with respect to calculating a team's cap space:

All Player Salary and Bonuses earned in a League
Year by a Player who is in the second or later year
of a multi-year SPC which was signed when the
Player was age 35 or older (as of June 30 prior to
the League Year in which the SPC is to be
effective), but which Player is not on the Club's
Active Roster, Injured Reserve, Injured Non Roster
or Non Roster, and regardless of whether, or where,
the Player is playing, except to the extent the Player
is playing under his SPC in the minor leagues, in
which case only the Player Salary and Bonuses in
excess of $100,000 shall count towards the
calculation of Averaged Club Salary; plus

From reading this article, some have interpreted the language as suggesting that an over 35 player contract won't count against the salary cap if they are on the injured reserve.  Again, I'm no attorney, but this article at least suggest to me that this is a possibly.  I would strongly question whether or not this language is sufficient to make this definitive.  Others have cited the Alexander Mogilny example as another possible loophole.  However, my previous understanding was that there was no cap relief for players signed over the age of 35 who incur injuries.  Either way, there's still the matter of actually paying Khabibulin $3.75 million dollars for the next three years whether or not he actually plays again.

In short, signing a player over the age of 35 who has a history of back and groin problems was a risky endeavor. [lowonoil2]

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One of Bill Simmons’ running gags is to identify players whose value increases because their enormous, once-albatross contracts are on the verge of expiration. In particular, he loved to refer to “Theo Ratliff’s Expiring Contract" rather than Ratliff himself.

After making a few dopey fake trade ideas with the guys at Hockee Night, it dawned on me that there might be a lot of Theo Ratliffs in the NHL. [cyclelikesedins]

So, after the jump, let’s take a look at whether or not your team employs a Ratliff (or two).

***

Please note: Theo Ratliff wasn’t an elite player so keep in mind this isn’t a comprehensive list of expiring contracts. Instead, it’s a list of guys who would normally not have much trade value but do because their cap hits will evaporate after this season.

Cap hits in parenthesis

Anaheim

Saku Koivu ($3,250,000)

Atlanta

Slava Kozlov ($3,666,666)
Pavel Kubina ($5,000,000)
Kari Lehtonen ($3,000,000)

Boston

Derek Morris ($3,300,000)

Buffalo

No one expiring above Toni Lydman ($2,875,000)

Calgary

Olli Jokinen ($5,250,000)

You’d assume he wouldn’t make this list, but the Calgary bloggers hate him enough (and his cap hit’s large enough) that he might be appropriate.

Chicago

This is a team desperate to receive expiring contracts, not get rid of them.

Colorado

Brett Clark ($3,500,000)
Ruslan Salei ($3,025,000)
Adam Foote ($3,000,000)

Basically, half the Avs’ defense is dead weight waiting to be moved. Maybe they should be called the Ratliff-lanche?

Columbus

Fredrik “Matthew” Modin ($3,250,000)

Dallas

Mike Modano ($3,450,000)
Marty Turco ($5,700,000)

Trading team hero Modano might be out of the question, but Turco? It’s unclear if the Stars consider him their goalie of the future …

Detroit

Nope.

Edmonton

Not really.

Florida

No.

Los Angeles

Alex Frolov ($2,900,000)

You’d think he wouldn’t make sense here, but he might.

Minnesota

Kim Johnsson ($4,850,000)

Can you really be disappointed in a guy named Kim?

Montreal

No.

Nashville

Nope.

New Jersey

Not quite.

New York Islanders

Andy Sutton ($3,000,000)

Good luck trading him. Too bad Alexei Yashin’s buyout won’t expire until 2015 …

New York Rangers

Hahahaha.

Ottawa

No.

Philadelphia

Mike Rathje ($3,500,000) edit: It's quite possible that Rathje's expiring contract cannot even be traded since he's been on the long term IR. (thanks to Joe of Gross Misconduct for pointing that out)

Phoenix

Nope.

Pittsburgh

There are none.

San Jose

Not unless you think very little of Rob Blake ($4,000,0000).

St. Louis

Paul Kariya ($6,000,000)

Kariya never gets any consideration for being the league’s most overpaid player, but maybe he should.

Tampa Bay

No.

Toronto

Vesa Toskala ($4,000,000)
Mike Van Ryn ($2,900,000)

In Brian Burke’s dreams (when he’s not imaging Kevin Lowe’s fiery death and drafting Brayden Schenn).

Vancouver

Pavol Demitra ($4,000,000)

Washington

Jose Theodore ($4,500,000)

Sorry, George McPhee, no matter how much you wish Nylander’s contract would expire this year, it won’t. [cyclelikesedins2]

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F

Team Canada Olympic Hockey - 2010 Olympics - Evaluation of Forward Skaters.

The date for Team Canada to make a final decision for it's 2010 Olympic Hockey Roster is fast approaching.  In fact, Team Canada's set December 31st of this year as the deadline.  Like many things, it's going to be a numbers game in terms of who makes the final roster.  By the numbers, there are 13 spots for the forward skaters.  Previously, there were 26 forward skaters invited to Team Canada's Olympic Hockey Camp this summer.  Additionally, six other players are under consideration for the team including Dustin Penner of the Edmonton Oilers.

By the numbers, let's take a look at how these players have performed in this NHL season. [lowonoil]

Already, Kevin Lowe has suggested that Team Canada will look to find players who already have chemistry playing together.  For this reason and based upon their season start, it's likely that Patrick Marleau, Joe Thorton, and Dany Heatley will make the squad.  As well, Kevin Lowe suggested that because Dustin Penner's played with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, that this might work in his favor.  Depending on injuries, other players might end up getting substituted into the roster.

 

Player	Team	GP	G	A	P	(+/-)	PPG	5v5/60
Joe Thornton	SJS	38	7	36	42	7	1.11	2.82
Sidney Crosby	PIT	31	20	17	37	12	1.19	3.48
Dustin Penner	EDM	32	18	18	36	13	1.13	3.46
Dany Heatley	SJS	33	20	16	36	7	1.09	2.26
Corey Perry	ANA	31	15	21	36	5	1.16	2.64
Ryan Getzlaf	ANA	31	6	30	36	4	1.16	2.8
Martin St-Louis	TBL	31	6	27	33	-3	1.06	2.18
Rick Nash	CBJ	31	16	16	32	-9	1.03	2.12
Jarome Iginla	CAL	31	15	15	32	4	1.03	2.52
Steve Stamkos	TBL	31	17	13	30	-3	0.97	1.98
Vincent Lecavalier	TBL	31	6	29	26	1	0.84	2.18
Jeff Carter	PHI	29	11	14	25	-3	0.86	1.81
Michael Richards	PHI	28	13	12	25	1	0.89	1.65
Patrick Marleau	SJS	33	20	14	24	9	0.73	2.83
Ryan Smyth	LAK	22	9	14	23	5	1.05	2.59
Patrick Sharp	CHI	30	9	14	23	8	0.77	1.91
Derek Roy	BUF	29	6	17	23	1	0.79	2.01
Brenden Morrow	DAL	31	12	9	21	1	0.68	1.69
Shane Doan	PHX	31	7	12	19	-7	0.61	1.11
Jordan Staal	PIT	32	8	11	19	5	0.59	2.35
Jonathan Toews	CHI	24	8	10	18	11	0.75	1.54
Jason Spezza	OTT	28	3	14	17	-4	0.61	1.49
Dan Cleary	DET	30	7	9	16	-8	0.53	1.67
Andy McDonald	STL	28	6	9	15	-4	0.54	1.52
Eric Staal	CAR	21	4	10	14	-5	0.67	1.96
Simon Gagné	PHI	9	1	4	6	2	0.67
Milan Lucic	BOS	10	2	3	5	3	0.50

 

 

Dustin Penner

• 4rth in Goals scored 
  
• 6th in total assists
• 5th overall in points / 4rth in points-per-game (PPG)
• #1 based on his plus/minus stat
• 2nd in even-strength points per 60 minutes time on ice (5v5/60) to Sidney Crosby.

Currently, Dustin Penner is well-situated in terms of his boxcar numbers along with his even-strength point production relative to the other potential players.  Six additional names were put into consideration for Team Canada and his name is one of them.  I would imagine that Steve Stamkos is as well, which leaves four other players under consideration for the team.  Of note, there are nine players on the above list who're currently averaging over a point-per-game.  If you figure that the eight players listed below are locks on a roster spot, that leaves just five more openings.

When looking at these numbers, I myself think that it's important to consider that Dustin Penner, unlike Dany Heately, isn't playing on a $21 million dollar cap hit line (Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley).  The fact that he's maintained over a point-per-game pace while playing on the mediocre Oilers squad largely with middling linemates is pretty impressive.  There's only eight Oilers games left before Team Canada makes it's final roster decision.  If Dustin Penner manages just 4 points over the next 8 games, he'll still be at a PPG pace.  This season, Penner's been an absolute monster at even-strength point production and is second only to Sidney Crosby at this point.

Forward Skaters - Virtual locks on roster position.

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Patrick Marleau
3. Joe Thornton
4. Dany Heatley
5. Jarome Iginla
6. Rick Nash
7. Corry Perry
8. Ryan Getzlaf

Likely to make the team?

1. Dustin Penner
2. Martin St. Louis
3. Michael Richards
   
4. Jeff Carter
5. Ryan Smyth - Captain Canada?  Injuries?

Other Strong Candidates

1. Jordan Staal - role player
   
2. Brenden Morrow - role player
   
3. Vincent Lecavalier - slow season start
   
4. Patrick Sharp
5. Jonathan Toews
6. Steve Stamkos ? recent injury
   
7. Shane Doan - role player - Minus 7, poor even-strength production.

Unlikely to make Team Canada

1. Eric Staal
2. Derek Roy
3. Simon Gagne - injuries
   
4. Milan Lucic -injuries
5. Dan Cleary
6. Andy McDonald
7. Jason Spezza

[lowonoil2] no comments

Team USA Olympic Hockey Team for 2010 Olympics - Player Evaluations

With the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver just around the corner, here's a glimpse at how this NHL season has started off for potential players for Team USA's Olympic hockey team.  Though many are considering this Olympic hockey tournament to be a story of Team Canada vs. Team Russia, there's no question that the Americans should not be underestimated.  Team Russia's isn't known for strength in goal or defense, but will have forward roster loaded with the NHL's top-end superstars including the likes of Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datysuk, among others.  Team Canada is often regarded as having enough depth to field two very competitive teams.  How are things shaping up for team USA's potential roster?

To get a glimpse of who's had a hot start to this NHL season, I've compiled a list of potential players for Team USA including both those officially invited to the summer training camp along with other potential players of interest.

A previous story on ESPN quoted Brian Burke (Team USA's Olympic Hockey GM) in regards to Team USA's selection process and objectives:

"We're going to be an underdog in Vancouver, we know that," Burke said. "There is not going to be a penny bet on us in Las Vegas. We're probably going to be the youngest team in the tournament ... but we are going there to win and we've tried to identify a group that will give us our best chance to do that."

Team USA Olympic Hockey - Forward Skater Evaluation - Sorted by PPG (points per game)

 

Player	Team	POS	GP	G	A	P	PPG	+/-	S%
Zach Parise	NJD	L	24	15	15	30	1.25	19	13.8
Patrick Kane	CHI	R	25	9	16	25	1.00	8	12.9
Ryan Kesler	VAN	C	25	5	19	24	0.96	1	7.7
Ryan Malone	TBl	L	24	15	8	23	0.96	9	21.4
Paul Stastny	COL	C	27	6	19	25	0.93	4	10.9
J. Langenbrunner	NJD	R	24	5	17	22	0.92	8	7.4
Phil Kessel	TOR	C	12	8	3	11	0.92	3	11.9
Tim Connolly	BUF	C	23	6	15	21	0.91	-4	10.7
J Van Riemsdyk	PHI	L	21	6	13	19	0.90	7	10.3
Joe Pavelsky	SJS	C	12	3	7	10	0.83	5	7
Mike Knuble	WAS	R	19	5	10	15	0.79	10	11.9
Bobby Ryan	ANA	R	24	10	7	17	0.71	2	12.7
Dustin Brown	LAK	L	27	6	13	19	0.70	-5	6.4
Mike Modano	DAL	C	13	3	5	8	0.62	-1	10.3
Jason Pominville	BUF	R	23	5	9	14	0.61	-2	8.1
R.J Umberger	CBJ	C	25	6	9	15	0.60	-5	9.8
TJ Oshie	STL	C	20	4	8	12	0.60	2	9.1
Bill Geurin	PIT	R	27	6	10	16	0.59	1	7.1
Kieth Tkachuk	STL	C	23	5	8	13	0.57	-2	12.8
Brandon Dubinsky	NYR	C	18	3	7	10	0.56	7	11.1
Kyle Okposo	NYI	R	26	5	9	14	0.54	-6	6.1
Scott Gomez	MTL	C	22	2	9	11	0.50	2	3.9
Dustin Byfuglien	CHI	R	25	8	2	10	0.40	-3	16.7
David Backes	STL	R	24	4	5	9	0.38	2	6.6
David Booth	FLA	L	9	2	1	3	0.33	-5	5.4
Ryan Callahan	NYR	R	26	4	4	8	0.31	-5	5.7

From the above list of potential players, Brian Burke will have to narrow this down to just 13 forward skaters.  David Booth has been out with a concussion injury since October--it's expected that he will not play until mid December.  Both Phil Kessel and Mike Modano have recently returned to their own respective teams following injuries.  Overall, there's a pretty good mix of talent on that list for Team USA.

Team USA Olympic Hockey - Evaluation of Defensemen - Sorted by Points

 

Player	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-
Erik Johnson	STL	24	3	14	17	8
Alex Gogligoski	PIT	21	6	10	16	11
Matt Carle	PHI	24	2	12	14	17
James Wisniewski	ANA	19	1	12	13	-2
Ryan Whitney	ANA	24	2	10	12	-1
Brian Rafalski	DET	24	2	10	12	-1
Zach Bogosian	ATL	23	8	4	12	-2
Ryan Suter	NSH	25	2	9	11	3
Kieth Yandle	PHX	26	4	7	11	3
John-Michal Liles	COL	15	2	7	9	-5
Brooks Orpik	PIT	23	0	9	9	-4
Jordan Leopold	FLA	25	3	5	8	0
Matt Niskanen	DAL	24	1	7	8	-9
Tim Gleason	CAR	21	4	4	8	-3
Ron Hainsey	ATL	21	2	4	6	-2
Jack Johnson	LAK	27	2	4	6	-12
Tom Gilbert	EDM	27	1	4	5	-4
Paul Martin	NJD	9	0	2	2	1
Rob Scuderi	LAK	21	0	1	1	0
Mike Komisarek	TOR	16	0	0	0	-9

Again, Brian Burke will have his work cut-out for him in making a selection for the 7 defensemen for Team USA's Olympic hockey team.  Mike Komisarek is currently out indefinitely with a recurrent leg injury.  Paul Martin of the New Jersey Devils has been out with a fracture to his left forearm.  John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche defenseman, has been out since early November with a shoulder injury.  By the numbers, Jack Johnson's -12 really jumps out as a knock against his Olympic aspirations.  Tom Gilbert himself has not had a particularly good year, but as an Oiler, I will still be rooting for him to make the team.

Team USA Olympic Hockey Team - Goalie Evaluation - Sorted by Save percentage (SV%)

 

Player	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%
Ryan Miller	BUF	20	14	4	2	1.93	0.933
C. Anderson	COL	25	13	7	5	2.67	0.918
Tim Tomas	BOS	15	6	6	3	2.36	0.915
John Quick	LAK	25	14	9	2	2.65	0.9

Relative to Team USA's goalie selection, this process will be easier for Brian Burke.  With Craig Anderson's great start to this season for the Colorado Avalanche, it's likely that this won't be the year for Jonathan Quick.

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For all the negativity about Team USA's talent base, I found it stunning just how much talent came through the ranks since America bombed out of the '06 Olympics. Both USA and Canada made some awful decisions last time around (No Crosby? No Miller?), so hopefully the real-life programs will learn from past mistakes. [cyclelikesedins]

Check out my (still somewhat odd) picks for the American hockey team.

You might not like this if you're a one-dimensional player for the Montreal Canadiens ...

(jump!)

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