Don't Give Phil Kessel a Hard Time

When you make the NHL All-Star like a lot of premier players did, then you have that reputation of being a part of a great game in the world of hockey. At least in terms of American and Canadien hockey.

Well, for this year, as most of the puckheads might know, instead of the Eastern and Western conference teams, two players selected NHL players to be on their teams. Nicklas Lidstrom and Eric Staal were those captains, hence they were the captains.

Only one player would be picked last. That was Toronto Maple Leaf's Phil Kessel. He is now known this season as 'Mr. Irrelevant.' I'm sure that name will fly with him for a while. Only he got something good.

He was able to get rewarded with a new car. Hey, being picked last isn't a bad thing, right? No, it isn't a bad thing. The player is as valuable and hard-working as everyone else, maybe even better. But sometimes there comes a time when you are picked the last player. In this case, it was Phil Kessel.

Hey, he got a new car to drive off with. So let's not give him a hard time. Sure, he is 'Mr. Irrelevant,' but I respect him well enough as I do with everybody else who works in the NHL All-Star Game. Plus, he is a good player and especially one that the Toronto Maple Leafs need in order to rebuild.

I don't think we should worry too much about Phil Kessel being last. After all, he got a new car and he got to play in the All-Star game, right? There are two positives out of there. So why don't we die down these critics and let it just slide? After all, who knows what might happen when the regular season resumes? Maybe Phil Kessel will just be all that valuable.

Hope you enjoyed the All-Star game and see you next time, puckheads!

The Return of Wednesday Toss-Up

After a long hiatus and a bunch of things that were much, much more important than this, I have finally decided to bring back the Wednesday Toss-Up. More debates, more choices to make, and more ranting about why I chose one pick over another. I hope you know where I'm going with this. Let's go. What's on the list?

Sidney Crosby missing the All-Star Game? Important or no problem?
Okay, I'm going to say this loud and clear. Sidney Crosby is the best player in the game right now. He had that long point-scoring streak and he has helped the Penguins so far. Now with this injury and all this stuff, this is a big deal. Without Sidney in the All-Star game, it's pretty much just nothing. You need Crosby to make it a big deal. Ovechkin won't be able to make this important by himself. This is important and now he's missing because he injured somehing.

More important number for Wayne Gretzky? 50 or 99?
Wayne Gretzky turns 50 today and I haven't heard any news out of hockey players lately that have turned 50. But 99 is a really important number because it is retired across the entire hockey kingdom. I'm glad that he turned 50 because now he can be wiser than all the other players. Maybe he can be a general manager. Maybe he'll go back and be the GM of the Oilers. But 99's a big number. I don't see 50 retired everywhere. Number 99 more important.

Important for the Devils going forward? Keeping Jacques Lemaire as coach or keeping the GM?
I think they should both go, but the GM of the Devils, Lou L., is a really, really smart guy and he knows how to go out and get good coaches. Unfortunately, you can't say that this year because they are already at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Jacques Lemaire already said he is not returning as coach. What does that mean? Lou's going to call him up again and ask him to come back if they fall? No, he's not returning next year, so I think keeping the GM is more important for this weak Devils team.

More impressive rookie right now? Cam Fowler or Taylor Hall?
Taylor Hall is doing nothing right now because his team isn't winning and they're falling down the cliff. Cam Fowler is on a winning team and he is skating and scoring goals like Scott Niedermayer did. You need to give me a few more months and a lot of convincing if you think Taylor Hall is a better player. Cam's a Duck and I like the Ducks. So I will pick Cam Fowler.

Car salesman getting fired for wearing a Packers tie in Chicago? Fair or foul?
This is nothing to do with hockey, but it has created a lot of debate. The guy gets asked several times to remove his Packer tie and when he doesn't, he gets fired. He says he is wearing it in honor of his grandmother. Well, guess what? This isn't Packer country. This is Bear country, and even though the Packers lost to the Bears, you shouldn't be wearing that right after the Packers smack them cause I think he'll be chased down. So this is totally fair. Get a grip and think about what you're doing before you even do it.

That'll do it for this week's Wednesday Toss-Up. Check in next Wednesday for another toss-up, and I'll be back now and again to give you some posts about news in the NHL.

The Ducks Need to Start Winning on the Road

As always, there are teams in the National Hockey League that somehow have trouble on the road then they do at home. You could probably say that for all teams in the NHL, in particular Edmonton, New Jersey, and the NY Islanders.

But there is one team in the Western Conference that is in the playoff picture but are struggling to win road games of late.

They are the team of the Anaheim Ducks.

Yes, this team has had trouble winning road games from opening day and have had trouble with scoring and defense on the road, especially when they travel on long road trips. But after a long homestand where they have done exceptionally well, only losing one of those home games, the Ducks head out on a four-game road trip that takes them to Eastern Canada and Ohio.

So it looks like if they want to stay within the playoff picture, they'll need to start winning on the road. The defense of Cam Fowler, Lubomir Visnovsky, and plenty of other defensemen will need to step up on this road trip if they are going to make it. Also, the offense will need to provide Jonas Hiller with decent enough goals so that he can hold the fort.

Playing against Ottawa tonight should not be big of a problem, since they are below 500 and out of the playoff picture. Toronto and Montreal will be really tough matchups as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Ducks will really need to use their game against Montreal, since that is the most hockey-frenzied environment in the entire National Hockey League. Also, Toronto will be a match-up too as the team is doing exceptionally well both on the road and at home at this portion of the season.

Even though Columbus has had a downfall, it can still prove to be a challenge, even at home. After the Ducks lost there 3-1 in the middle of October, they will be looking for revenge in that game.

It's all about the road for these games as they spend their next eight of nine games away from Honda Center. So it's all about winning on the road at this point. It will be time for them to make a statement and see if they can indeed stay within the realms of the playoff picture and prove they're a decent team on the road.

What's Wrong with the Kings?

You might seem to think that nothing can go possibly wrong with the Los Angeles Kings at this point in the season. They were going through a miraculous run in the early portions of October and November. December seemed like an okay month for this team as well.

Unfortunately, this January homestand is not looking great for them. They are now sitting outside the Western Conference playoff picture around losing eight of their last nine games; their only win coming last Saturday in a 6-4 win over the Blue Jackets. They had a potential to lose that game and end up losing nine in a row, but the Kings came away with a victory after the Blue Jackets failing to keep their puck in the eye while retreating their goalie.

But who doesn't beat Columbus these days? The Kings fan are getting scared, especially since their cross-county rivals (and my team) the Anaheim Ducks have won seven of their past eight and have won three straight going into Phoenix tonight. Kings fan are only hoping that they can win tonight after the Edmonton Oilers.

But we know that there are problems with the Kings right now that mostly falls under the category of scoring. The defenses of opposing teams have strictly positioned themselves to give themselves an edge over the Kings in their matchups. Jaroslav Halak did very well in a Blues' 3-1 victory over the Kings two nights ago, providing Kings with questions about how they're going to come back.

Jonathan Quick is definitely not getting the help in offense that he needs in order to have a big game. This is a much similar situation like Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils but the Kings are in panic mode to try and get back in while the Devils seemed to have been lost after trading captain Jamie Langenbrunner.

But back to the Kings. You can't win all the games in an 82-game season (except maybe the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA) but no one expected that the Kings would fall this flat after being at the top of the Western Conference over a month and a half ago.

Where does this team turn to now in order to get back on track? I think they win against the Oilers but then they face the Stars and the Blues, two teams that know how to beat the Kings in recent history. So perhaps a sign of hope would not be coming yet, but they really need to find their groove, because if they don't, they could very well end up like Edmonton.

Jack Johnson's New Contract a Big Deal for the Kings

It looks like Jack Johnson is going to be a Los Angeles Kings for the next seven years, kiddies. That's right. He was given a new contract by the Kings for seven years for a total of $30.5 million. It is currently matches second longest deal in Kings history, right after Anze Kopitar signed a seven-year deal in the 2008-09 season. Wayne Gretzky's eight-year contract was the longest.
But enough about contracts and how long they are and so what. Why did the Kings sign him and what do they think about this guy that was worthy enough to give him a solid seven-year contract? Well, let's look at a few things that might've helped get this contract.
His excellent skill. Whenever he's on the ice, 100% goes into getting that defense up to grade and making it work so that the opposing team doesn't get shots on net.
His offensive play. He's not a really big offensive play but if you give him the chance, he can beat you in that area. He has had some good shots from the point, most of them being goals, but when you look at him in the offensive end, he can be so key to getting those shots right into the point and getting them into goals. He can also have the ability to keep things interesting. He has had some poor plays but I don't think general manager Dean Lombardi really comprises that as a factor. He's a skilled player who gets out of slumps and usually goes on a long point streak.
These are the factors what makes him so good and so far, he's helping the Kings right now stay in a very tight Pacific Division race and a very tight Western Conference race. Hopefully, this contract will help boost his game and be a prime player that he is right now. Look for him on the ice whenever your team is playing against him, because if he gets that chance, he'll be able to beat you.

Keep An Eye on the Country Boys from Nashville

Hey everybody. Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Years because I sure did. There was plenty of Disneyland, hockey, desert, and family that I tended to during this time. Also, it was watching TRON for the third time (that movie is a good movie by the way)

But while there was break, obviously hockey was still going on. They were off for two days during the Christmas and it took me a while to realize how many good times there were coming up. One of these teams were the good ol' boys from the country. That's right. It came straight from Nashville, Tennessee.

While the city has its own sports controversy with the Titans being in the news a lot, some people are not talking about its other teams. It is a team that is on the rise as of late and that team is so-called the Nashville Predators.

What can you say about this team beside the fact that they are fighting for their lives to get into the playoffs after losing to Chicago in the first round last year? Pekka Rinne and Anders Lindback are carrying this team with such passion and heart.

They have a crucial Pacific road trip with stops in Anaheim, LA, and San Jose. They looked like a good team in Anaheim, beating the Ducks 4-1 behind play from Sergei Kostitsyn, David Legwand, and Jarred Smithson. Pekka Rinne did well in net, providing 40 saves en route to win their third straight. It is also their third straight winning by a count of 4-1 after beating the Wild and the Blue Jackets 4-1.

It needs to keep winning if it hopes to be a part of the playoff squads. In LA tonight (where I'll be), look for a close game. I don't expect Nashville to win this game because LA knows how to put them in the back of the bus after beating them by a wide margin their last two meetings, but if Nashville can stay on track, they'll win the game and keep pace.

At 20-13-6 with 46 points, they're starting to make some noise in the Western Conference. But for how long that lasts is undecided. Will the Predators keep track of themselves and be able to make it in or will it all collapse before the March Madness and the playoffs? Watch this team and keep an eye out for how well this team does.