Blackhawks and Panthers Are Sneaking up on the Wild

The race atop of the NHL standings is really heating up.  The Wild continue their Cinderella run but they are now tied at the top with the Blackhawks.  The Cinderella tag may not be enough for the Wild to stave off all comers.  We think the Blackhawks are the obvious threat to the Wild for first place and we like the Panthers and give them an outside chance of reaching number one.

Both teams are similar in that they have a good veteran core complimented with solid young talent.  The steamroller in Chicago is chugging along led by the usual suspects including Toews, Sharp, Hossa, and Kane.  Toews is playing so well at both ends of the ice that he looks like the favorite for the MVP title in the NHL.  I am sure the Hawks Captain would gladly give that award up for another Stanley Cup ring.  He might yet get his chance.   Joel Quennville has got his boys flying because he knows how to relate to his players.  He has their respect because he took them to the last Cup win and he knows how to win.  It also helps that he was in the NHL for years and which helps him identify the hot points to motivate his team.

The Panthers are also led by an NHL vet in Kevin Dineen.  Just like the Hawks' coach; Dineen can relate to his players and he has the team clicking and threatening for number one. The Panthers made some good moves in the post season and they are paying off. Kris Versteeg is arguably their best acquisition.  Versteeg ,who played for the Hawks when they won the Cup, has a +/- of +17 and he has scored 17 goals.   We think Florida could surprise if Boston cools down and the Wild's Cinderella clock strike midnight.  The Flyers are without Giroux and Pronger now so they are a lame ducks.  Now is the time for Florida to turn it on and start chasing Chicago and the Wild.

A Luda-Kris Trade Revisited Four Months Later

By now, everyone is familiar with Kris Versteeg, his apparent ambitions of becoming the next Vanilla ice, his coming out of nowhere to become a premier two-way forward in the league two years ago, his winning a Stanley Cup last spring with the Chicago Blackhawks, and then his trade this past summer to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But, other than Leafs fans, how many people know Viktor Stalberg?

Stalberg is of course the key piece of the trade from the Hawks’ point of view that went to Chicago, along with prospects Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis. The trade was arguably a win for the Leafs, as Versteeg was seen as an up-and-coming clutch forward with loads of untapped potential (as a top-liner and not a rapper).

Prospect Billy Sweatt also went to the Leafs which was just gravy, seeing as Versteeg was able to score 20 goals in back-to-back seasons with Chicago as a mere role player. It stood to reason that Versteeg was capable of much more in Toronto. While the season is still in the early-going, Versteeg’s actually ended up a huge disappointment, hampered not only by back pain, but a team-wide lack of goal-scoring. Add in the fact that Sweatt eventually signed with the Vancouver Canucks, somehow owning more leverage than all other 22-year-old players who have yet to play a game in the NHL put together en route to testing the free-agent market, and the trade has swung quite handily in the Hawks’ direction. 

Between the two NHLers, Stalberg is the one that has relatively thrived in his new surroundings, with four goals and three assists in 14 games. Thanks to a late generous boxscore change from Wednesday night that gave him a goal and an assist, Versteeg now has five points in 11 games.

It’s hard for me to admit, but at the time I labelled those Leafs fans that considered the deal a disaster (for setting back the team’s rebuilding efforts and youth movement) as ignorant. Of course, the fans that did are still ignorant because both Stalberg and Versteeg are each 24 years old, and Versteeg is actually four months younger. But that doesn’t change the fact that I was wrong too.

"Talk about mixed emotions. I just scored, but I'm also going to Toronto."

Those that applauded the move chose not to consider that Versteeg’s success in Chicago was in part due to the Hawks’ depth and how opponents’ top defensive pairings were forced to pay more attention to the team’s bigger threats. They also conveniently forgot that even if you’re blessed with all the ice time in the world on a bad team, you’re still playing for the Leafs. Phil Kessel can score, but, as he proved last year, he can also do it himself. He doesn’t need a wingman... apparently second-rate number-one-center Tyler Bozak will do.

As such, one of two things is clear: either Versteeg isn’t as good as people thought and Stalberg is better... or Chicago is an environment just more conducive to scoring goals for anyone, and Toronto? Not so much, to the point that even an in-his-prime Mats Sundin would have problems maintaining his usual point-per-game pace right now.

As previously mentioned, it’s still early in the season, but as it stands now Versteeg’s career has taken a turn for the worse and he should concentrate his efforts on a second one... singing the blues.

Why Kris Versteeg's Goal Shouldn't Have Counted

All of a sudden, it would seem that Toronto Maple Leafs fans, no longer satisfied with an unbelievable and unforeseen 4-0 start this season, can't leave well enough alone. Their unbeaten season came to an end last night, as the team lost 2-1 in overtime to the New York Islanders. If you ask a die-hard citizen of Leafs nation, though, the Leafs were robbed of a win in regulation thanks to two waived-off goals.

While Colby Armstrong's marker in the third period never did cross the goal line (as video evidence proved, along with the fact that Islander John Tavares only touched the puck with his glove in the crease and didn't cover or gather it), Kris Versteeg did manage to find the back of the net in the second period. Unfortunately, it was only after he got control of the puck thanks to a high-sticking violation, meaning the goal shouldn't have counted. Many might argue that his stick wasn't higher than the crossbar when he touched the puck, but after watching the video five times and going to the eye doctor four just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me in between views, it's very clear that the referee made the right call.

Again, many Leafs fans may argue correctly that video replay cannot be used to call a high stick, at least not when that high stick is not directly responsible for a goal being scored. In Versteeg's case, the high stick came in the lead-up to the goal. As such, Leafs fans are right here. However, no video replay was used and the goal was called back based on the referee's on-ice decision. And even though the referee's whistle may have come after the puck crossed the goal line, rule 31.2 of the NHL rulebook officially states:

"As there is a human factor involved in blowing the whistle to stop play, the Referee may deem the play to be stopped slightly prior to the whistle actually being blown. The fact that the puck may come loose or cross the goal line prior to the sound of the whistle has no bearing if the Referee has ruled that the play had been stopped prior to this happening."

As a result, you have quite the convenient rule that covers referees' backsides pretty well, but an inconsequential one this time around, seeing as it wasn't a good goal to begin with. Cheer up, Leafs fans. Your team is still unbeaten in regulation time, a fact you will no doubt rub in the face of every other Canadian fan 10 times or so at least until Thursday, when the Leafs face the New York Rangers.