The 2011-2012 NHL season is nearly a month old. By my count, that mean it’s time to start planning parade routes, engraving trophies, trading slackers, torching cities and filing Sidney Crosby’s retirement papers. Too soon?
Regardless, the first 30 days of the best nine months of the year have already given analysts, writers and fans alike plenty to dissect, write about, criticize and cheer. Attempted comebacks, scary injuries, streaks, slumps, surprises and the predictable.
So, here are my biggest surprises and the not-so-surprising moments of the first 10 games of the NHL season:
1. Surprise: Phil Kessel and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Trivia question: “Thank you Kessel” is a) a chant usually heard at Leafs games, b) a chant usually heard at Bruins games or c) the sounds of whoever has Kessel in the Rocky View Publishing fantasy pool taunting the rest of us. This year, a case can be made for either a) or b). Kessel has been the scapegoat for the Maple Leafs franchise’s troubles over the past few seasons and it didn’t help that the second overall draft pick turned out to be Tyler Seguin, who now has his name on the Stanley Cup after only one year in the league. This year, Kessel has tallied 15 points in eight games, and he’s currently leading the league in points and goals. He’s resurrected hope in the Leafs’ fan base that this might be the year the Leafs’ seven-year playoff drought ends. That is, until Kessel and the Leafs hit a losing skid and the fans all jump back on their pessimism wagons and call for Ron Wilson to be fired.
2. Non-surprise: Winnipeg Thrashers -, I mean Jets. Really, Winnipeg? 2012 Stanley Cup winner predictions? You can take the team out of Atlanta, but you can’t take the Atlanta out of the team. A new jersey does not a winning team make. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. Winnipeg had good players, but not great players. I’m not saying they will never win the Cup. They have a general manager that knows what it takes to put together a Cup winning team, but it won’t happen overnight. Put away the parade maps, folks.
3. Surprise: Colorado Avalanche. I have to admit, it warms my heart to see Colorado back on top of the Northwest Division. Having been an Avs fan since 2001, I’ve seen them reach the top and then slowly plummet to the bottom of the standings. The only thing that pacified me was that at least they weren’t as bad as Edmonton. A lack of star draft picks, a lack of solid goaltending and some horrible trades has rendered the team’s playoff record inconsistent over the past six years. Now, it seems that the team has finally seen the light, on the ice and off. Coach Joe Sacco is holding his top players accountable, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog are leading a charge of talented, young players and they finally have a dependable, starting goaltender who’s surprised everyone with how well he’s been playing. They’ve started strong before, but Sacco’s been quoted saying that going 6-2 to start the season is even a surprise to him.
4. Non-surprise: Vancouver Canuck fans. Ten games in and Vancouver Canucks fans are calling for Roberto Luongo to be traded. Congratulations, Canucks fans. You’re now in contention for the most bipolar, volatile fan base in the NHL. The only reason Montreal still holds the title is that they’ve been around longer. To some degree, I sympathize with Canuck fans. For a goalie is one of the highest paid in the league, he is terribly inconsistent. Fine, that’s fair. I really don’t want to defend Luongo, but calling for your goaltender to be demoted to the minors after 10 games? A) that’s extreme and b) the guy did just lead your team to the Stanley Cup finals. Give him a break.
5. Surprise: Chicago Blackhawks predicted to win the Cup. This shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. The Hawks are one of the other teams I follow. I watched them win the Cup, watched as their team was dismantled, watched as they filled the holes in a blasé fashion and then watched as they took control and got what they needed to contend again. The Hawks have an unbelievable core of guys. Toews, Kane, Hossa, Seabrook, Sharp and Keith are all locked up for at least three more years. What they needed was gritty, third line guys who could protect the stars, disturb the peace and inject some personality into the team. They have a core that will be able to win them a few more Cups, but I didn’t have them pegged to win it so soon after winning it in 2010.
