Norris Nominations

It appears as though its a real changing of the guard for this year's Norris contenders, out with the old and in with the new. No more perennial favorite Nick Lidstrom hogging up all the votes, and Scott Niedermayer's beard is probably going to have a lot more gray in it as those two ride into the sunset known as the Hall. And last year's winner, big Zdeno Chara, has had a small year in terms of offensive production, leaving a new crop of blueliners to claim the top defenseman of the year.

Mike Green was actually a candidate for last year's award but was unceremoniously snubbed (mainly for looking like Rick Vaughn at the awards ceremony), as Boston earned their third trophy of the night. Leading all defensemen in goals (17), assists (53), and therefore points with 70, and is second among defensemen in plus/minus with +30 behind teammate Jeff Schultz (for what its worth). Green is definetely one of the premier offensive defensemen in the League on a very offensively potent team, but his strengths in his own end have been criticized.

Duncan Keith, on the other hand, is gifted on both sides of the puck, second in points (65, 13G, 52A) behind Green, while logging time in all situations. In fact he's second in time on ice with 26:45, with 3 goals on the power play, and one shorthanded, no easy feat. He's solid positionally, and he's known for both his breakout pass, and his shutdown abilities.

Drew Doughty, the second overall draft pick in the 2008 Draft, made the Kings roster in the following season as an 18 year old. He was twice voted the OHL's top offensive defenseman in Juniors, and has continued that success in the NHL ranked third in points with 53 (14G, 39A). He has emerged as a leader from the back end on a very young, and promising Los Angeles team, but may have some time before he earns the Norris.

The Norris Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and will therefore have some bullshit tied to it. The most common inclination is that the award will be handed over to Mike Green, who already earned a nomination last year which exists as a non-spoken formality in the voting.

The better choice in my mind would be Duncan Keith who is a complete player and not a liability in his own end. The award is given to the top defenseman "who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position," not just offensive contribution.

Doughty has a long, successful career in front of him and will no doubt see many more nominations in the future, but will have to put in his time to show consistency in his game.

I'd also like to point out that both Keith and Doughty were selected to play for Team Canada at the Olympics this year by Steve Yzerman et al., while Green was left off. I think that was a smart decision on Canada's part, and I think it may go a long way in determining the winner of top defenseman of the League.

Ohhh, I've Got Notes Alright...

Let's put an end to my regular midseason hiatus shall we? I apologize to all of you who were so bored without your typical dose of sarcastic quips, but I'm sure you all survived just fine. With 80/20 beverages.

Anyway lets get started, first off...

The Winter Classic

• A complete and utter bore. It didn't really get remotely good until the Bruins tied it with two something left to play. It was sloppy play, to say the least, and my brain almost exploded from Darren Pang explaining how visual perception is different when you are outside as opposed to in an arena. Ballfield lighting, painted ceilings, the net looks farther away when you cross the blueline, yadda, yadda, yadda. I don't think a shot hit the net from beyond the circles until the third period.
• Tim Thomas is doing his best to channel Ron Hextall. Countless times I've seen the bear hunter lunge from the crease in order to send a message that he felt his defenseman weren't making. His shot at Jeff Carter was the only reason for the Flyers goal, and stupid play like that is what makes him a perfect fit on Burke's American team.
• This event is really starting to lose its luster to me. Wrigley provided the picturesque setting that Fenway didn't. The Green Monster is not enough of an interesting feature at least for a hockey game to make an impression. Adding two games next year destroys the uniqueness of the idea that everyone has been screaming to the powers-that-be not to change. Just do the next one in Canada to be fair, (I apologize if this is not fair enough, its obvious Americans have been hogging this event). I'm sure there will be plenty of facilities, plazas, event areas created in Vancouver for the Games to provide a nice enough setting.

Andy Murray Shitcanned

• If I had to guess, (which I did), which coaches would be packing their bags this year, it definetely would not have been Andy Murray. This is a mistake, but every pundit will say Davidson had to do it. I disagree. There are times when a team does not respond to a coaches demands/system/threats, and there are times when a team isn't winning. Yes, St. Louis should be doing better than they are, is it Murray's fault? I don't think so. This is an underachieving club with plenty of offensive talent that is not getting it done. The defense is definetely suspect. I don't believe that there are any coaches out there that are better than Andy Murray, and I sure as shit don't think this guy Dayne is either. This is a change for change's sake, and one that will bite them in the ass, or have them hiring him back next season.

Jiggs McDonald is back in town.

• I grew up listening to the Isles (for better or worse) and the voice of the Islanders without question is Jiggs McDonald. His play by play was some of the best I ever heard, and one of the most even-keeled compared with today's brand of homer announcers. Paired up with Isles alum, colorman Eddie Westfall, they made one of the best tandems leaguewide. In any case, Jiggs was back on the Isles broadcast for the last two games, and it was such a joy to hear him back in the booth. Unlike this guy, I think Howie sucks. "Right you are 18."

None of the games really blew my skirt up tonight, but I'll get cranking on some of the other things I've been promising, plus a look at the midseason standings and match those up with some of my shitty predictions, and other uninteresting things.

I said I had notes, I didn't say how many.