Chicago Blackhawks Summary: The Stanley Cup hangover doesn't seem to want to go away. The Hawks were 21-17-3 through their opening 41 games, a halfway-point record that wasn't predicted by most even with all the offseason, cap-induced changes. Injuries to Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane had their effect, but the Cup champs just haven't put together long enough periods of consistent hockey. GM Stan Bowman is on the lookout for defensive help ahead of the Feb. 28 trade deadline. They're right in the middle of that ridiculous 4-12 race in the West. Look for the champs to show what they're made of in the second half. Grade: C-minus. Trending: Neutral.
San Jose Sharks Summary: We grade the teams with the highest expectations the harshest when they don't meet those lofty standards. The Sharks were 21-15-5 through 41 games and maddeningly inconsistent throughout the first half, enough for winger Ryane Clowe to blow his lid on his teammates last week. Good for him; the Sharks need more of that. Logan Couture has been the lone bright spot, positioning himself as the Calder Trophy front-runner. Injuries have hit hard, but the team that beat Detroit in last season's playoffs en route to a Final Four appearance doesn't look like itself. The pressure will be on GM Doug Wilson to get help, mostly notably on defense, before the trade deadline. Grade: D. Trending: Down.
Columbus Blue Jackets Summary: A Nov. 24 victory over the New York Islanders improved the then-surprising Jackets to 14-6-0 on the season, which it turned out to be the high-water mark so far this season. Columbus next went 6-12-3 to enter the halfway mark as a team definitely back to its old ways. Third-year goalie Steve Mason has been a disappointment and veteran backup Mathieu Garon, who was terrific in the opening two months, had come back down to earth. Plus, Mike Commodore asked for a trade. It's getting ugly in Columbus. Grade: D. Trending: Down.
Edmonton Oilers Summary: Well, as long as the lessons are learned, right? That was the plan all along. Another lottery pick is in the offing, which is perfect for a team whose future looks so bright. Let's see what impressive first overall pick Taylor Hall can bring us in the second half. His chase for the Calder Trophy is the only real thing of interest for Oilers fans this season. Grade: D. Trending: Down.
Calgary Flames Summary: GM Darryl Sutter finally got the boot, but it appears the kind of change the Flames really need isn't in the offing. Interim GM Jay Feaster recently announced on "Hockey Night in Canada" that he would not trade captain and franchise player Jarome Iginla. From this vantage point, that doesn't make sense. If you're going to properly rebuild this squad, you begin by trading away your most valuable asset to kick-start the process. Iginla is still a bona-fide star and teams would line up for him. Markus Naslund, Mats Sundin, Saku Koivu and Ryan Smyth were all icons in their respective Canadian NHL cities, but all moved on. It can be done. If the Flames aren't willing to move Iginla and star goalie Miikka Kiprusoff in order to properly rebuild the team, Flames fans are in for more suffering. Grade D-minus. Trending: Down.
You tell him George! We so good, we could only beat Chicago twice in the finals >: O WOOOOOOOOOO! FUCK YOU MARC! STARZ ARE FUCKING GAY CAUSE THEY GLITTER AND SHINE AND SHIT >: O
cool, lets all root for the pens then we can talk about how much we love crosby and how crosby scores so many goals and how he's in on every play and crosbys point streak they they'r goal, wait, whats his name again?
I havent heard the Dallas Stars win anything in over ten years, Wait, when they won the cup, thats when you prolly became a fan... makes sense now why you like a shitty team such as Dallas, you jumped on their wagon back in the day when they won the cup. Bust now that they wont go anywhere, go Pens right Marc...
I saw the Red Wing logo and thought it was the same guy posting over and over again. didn't realize it was 2 different people with the same avatar. Guess I have to catch up around here
Comments
Summary: The Stanley Cup hangover doesn't seem to want to go away. The Hawks were 21-17-3 through their opening 41 games, a halfway-point record that wasn't predicted by most even with all the offseason, cap-induced changes. Injuries to Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane had their effect, but the Cup champs just haven't put together long enough periods of consistent hockey. GM Stan Bowman is on the lookout for defensive help ahead of the Feb. 28 trade deadline. They're right in the middle of that ridiculous 4-12 race in the West. Look for the champs to show what they're made of in the second half. Grade: C-minus. Trending: Neutral.
San Jose Sharks
Summary: We grade the teams with the highest expectations the harshest when they don't meet those lofty standards. The Sharks were 21-15-5 through 41 games and maddeningly inconsistent throughout the first half, enough for winger Ryane Clowe to blow his lid on his teammates last week. Good for him; the Sharks need more of that. Logan Couture has been the lone bright spot, positioning himself as the Calder Trophy front-runner. Injuries have hit hard, but the team that beat Detroit in last season's playoffs en route to a Final Four appearance doesn't look like itself. The pressure will be on GM Doug Wilson to get help, mostly notably on defense, before the trade deadline. Grade: D. Trending: Down.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Summary: A Nov. 24 victory over the New York Islanders improved the then-surprising Jackets to 14-6-0 on the season, which it turned out to be the high-water mark so far this season. Columbus next went 6-12-3 to enter the halfway mark as a team definitely back to its old ways. Third-year goalie Steve Mason has been a disappointment and veteran backup Mathieu Garon, who was terrific in the opening two months, had come back down to earth. Plus, Mike Commodore asked for a trade. It's getting ugly in Columbus. Grade: D. Trending: Down.
Edmonton Oilers
Summary: Well, as long as the lessons are learned, right? That was the plan all along. Another lottery pick is in the offing, which is perfect for a team whose future looks so bright. Let's see what impressive first overall pick Taylor Hall can bring us in the second half. His chase for the Calder Trophy is the only real thing of interest for Oilers fans this season. Grade: D. Trending: Down.
Calgary Flames
Summary: GM Darryl Sutter finally got the boot, but it appears the kind of change the Flames really need isn't in the offing. Interim GM Jay Feaster recently announced on "Hockey Night in Canada" that he would not trade captain and franchise player Jarome Iginla. From this vantage point, that doesn't make sense. If you're going to properly rebuild this squad, you begin by trading away your most valuable asset to kick-start the process. Iginla is still a bona-fide star and teams would line up for him. Markus Naslund, Mats Sundin, Saku Koivu and Ryan Smyth were all icons in their respective Canadian NHL cities, but all moved on. It can be done. If the Flames aren't willing to move Iginla and star goalie Miikka Kiprusoff in order to properly rebuild the team, Flames fans are in for more suffering. Grade D-minus. Trending: Down.
FLYERS 4 LYFE >: O