It's not that the fans are wrong in their choices for all-star starters, it's just that they're not right.
I have no problem with fans voting for their favorites in regards starting positions for the All-Star Game, but I do wonder what it all means.
For instance, Alexander Ovechkin, arguably the best player in the game today and surely the player and media choice from last season given all the hardware he won, didn't make the starting squad. Is that fair, right, just or even the people's real choice?
No one from the front-running Boston Bruins (Eastern Conference) or the San Jose Sharks (Western Conference); who ran this thing, the Florida Secretary of State who crowned George Bush U.S. President after the 2000 election?
In a 30-team league only four teams - Montreal and Pittsburgh in the East and the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks in the West - have players deemed worthy of starting for what used to be a meaningful and prestige event in the NHL?
And what of the League itself, it said last year that it would investigate any irregularities regarding ballot stuffing and improper internet voting procedures. Is this the result of its in-depth work in that regard? If the balloting tells us anything it's that youth is being served in the players selected and, by extension, the people doing the voting. Most every player named to start is young and of the Facebook and My Space era. That's an indication that the masters of text, cell phone and internet voting are not the same folks who might savour the sophistication of reigning Norris Trophy winning defenceman Nik Lidstrom or the brilliant consistency of Jarome Iginla, clever playmaking of Marc Savard or the superb goaltending of Tim Thomas.
Yet if that's the case how does the league explain the absence of Ovechkin, still a boy wonder and only slightly older than Sidney Crosby. Would there not have been at least a moderate nod to Florida's outstanding young netminder Craig Anderson (who just happens to lead the league in save percentage) or Columbus' Steve Mason who is barely out of his teens yet leads the league in goals-against average?
If youth is king here, wouldn't there have been some consideration or even a spot given to goal-scoring leaders Ovechkin and Philadelphia's Jeff Carter (27 each) or Buffalo's Thomas Vanek (26)? All have more goals than years on their lives, let alone their careers.
And what kind of a league is it that on one hand condemns the apparent practice of voting so often one might get a black and blue thumb and at the same time issue a press release noting that Sidney Crosby has received more votes than any other player in the history of fan balloting? Do the totals really matter if even the league makes a tacit admission that the voting might be something less than truly reflective of player performance or overall fan participation?
With that in mind and cognizant of the fact that everyone has a right to an opinion, here are your humble correspondent's picks for the starting nods. Your objections, contributions and or additions are welcome as long as you don't use a paper ballot (those hanging chads have done in too many fine men in the past).
Eastern Conference
Forwards -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Alexei Kovalev (Montreal).
My Picks: While I have no doubt this is a darn good line (two thirds of which can already play together in Pittsburgh), I'm going with players who have a little more going for them.
Center - Mark Savard, Boston, the No. 1 reason the Bruins are in first place. At this point he's only one point behind Crosby, but also has one more assist. He's an outstanding though often overlooked two-way player who, simply put, is having a winner's season.
Wings - Ovechkin and Malkin. Ovechkin is a true winger who though off to a slow start is now on a torrid pace and is, arguably, playing the best hockey of any player in the NHL this season. It's a good bet that before the season is over the numbers will bear that out. Malkin is more a centre than a wing, but he gets the nod because he's too good not to be in a starting slot. My pick for first half MVP.
Fan Defence: Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek (Montreal)
My Picks: While this is a nice pairing and certainly a highlight on a team second in division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, they fall just short of:
Zdeno Chara (Boston) and Mike Green of Washington. Chara, with a nod to teammate Dennis Wideman who happens to be a stunning plus-25, is having a superb first half and is the key to everything that happens (in a positive way) in the Boston end of the ice. Tough, strong, smart, physical and a leader with all-around numbers to make his case. Green has twice as many goals as Markov (10 vs. five) is only one point behind him in overall scoring 27-26 and plays much better overall defence.
Fan Goalie: Carey Price (Montreal)
My Pick: Almost any five before Price. Number One would be Tim Thomas of Boston who is in the top five in save percentage and goals-against average (Price is not). He would also be among the leaders in wins if he got a few more starts. As it is, he has 16 wins and only four losses and the talent for making the big save when the game is on the line. After that it's Anderson. A stunning save percentages (.933) for a team that is far from great in itsown end. Then maybe Joey MacDonald who plays behind arguably the worst team in the NHL, the New York Islanders, and is second choice to the almost always injured Rick DiPietro. He has seen a league-leading 1,084 shots and still has 11 wins and a save percentage of .901. Never mind a starting nod, the kid should get a medal.
Western Conference
Forwards -- Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (Chicago), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim).
My Picks: I like these kids, all of them, but I like these guys better:
Center - Joe Thornton (San Jose) is simply the best playmaking forward in the Western Conference and this year playing like a man possessed or at least intent on getting out of the second round.
Wings - Jarome Iginla (Calgary) is arguably the best all-around forward in the West and maybe in the league. All the talent, skill and dedication you want in a player plus outsized leadership skills. He, along with the Flames goalie, is the reason the club is surging in the standings.
- Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim). Tempted to go with Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, but Getzlaf at this stage of his career has a more complete game, especially on the physical side and that matters when you want to win. Kane gets points as well as does Marian Hossa in Detroit and teammate Pavel Datsyuk, but across the board Getzlaf is a leader in goals, assists, points, plus-minus, the intangibles and physical play. Getzlaf, like Iginla, is the complete package having the complete season.
Fan Defence: Brian Campbell (Chicago) and Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim)
My Picks: Dan Boyle (San Jose) and Shea Weber (Nashville)
We've been telling you since the start of the season that Weber is a Norris Trophy type-player and he's having that kind of season. Strong, tough and smart, savvy beyond his years in his own end and kills penalties as well as he plays the point on the power play. All the numbers are there (12 goals, 16 assists, plus-9, three game-winners) in a physical package (43 penalty minutes) with brains and stamina (nearly 25 minutes per game). What's not to like?
Boyle may be having a revenge season on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the foolish and somewhat crude way in which they cut him loose, but Tampa's loss is San Jose's gain. He's playing better for the Sharks than Campbell did in Campbell's short time there and he's far more responsible and physically strong in his own end. One point off the scoring lead among defencemen from both conferences, but a thousand points of positive light in his overall play. A solid plus player, three game winning goals in regulation and another in overtime. He's earned his spot in the game.
Goalie -- J.S. Giguere (Anaheim)
My Pick: Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary). It's not because he happens to lead the league in wins (23), far from it. It's because he faces more shots than any goalie in the Western Conference and still gets the wins. Goaltending is a position where one player can make a singular difference and you look at where Calgary sits in the standings and the number of wins and the statistical numbers backup goalie Curtis McElhinney has (no wins) and what else can you say? This guy may have started slow, but has earned starting status.
