The hockey season thus far has certainly had some interesting twists and turns. As always, some teams get off to a running start while others sort of slump out of the gate. Perhaps the offseason was too lengthy or maybe training camp was to short, but whatever the cause, the standings at this point are not entirely what we might have expected.
Now, of course we do have some consistency in teams with experienced depth such as Boston, Pittsburgh or Vancouver, but the reality is these types of lineups are rare given the new salary cap limit. This seems to have created many hockey clubs that follow one of these schemes:
“Star Shooters”: These teams typically have a small group of power players who anchor the team. The idea is that average or sub-par players who get to play with the “stars” will play better. This is true for some teams, however it is often not enough to centre the team around four to five players—the warm bodies around them often don’t contribute enough to put the team in playoffs. The best examples are Buffalo and Washington, both are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and yet have several strong players.
“Beehives”: Also known as ‘a lot of nobody,’ it is interesting that these teams have somehow found a way to win. Joking aside, any group of players that has some talent, decent coaching and a will to win has potential to perform. This structure works primarily because of chemistry within the team. These are often the biggest surprises come playoff time, given that they often don’t have a whole heap of scoring talent or breadth and depth at every position. My favourite example from last year’s playoff race would have to be the Winnipeg Jets. Though they did not make the playoffs, the string of wins they put together near the end of the season was impressive for a brand new (and clearly highly motivated) team. Surprises in the standings this year include the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, though only time will tell if they are for real this time around.
Fortunately, we can’t possibly classify every surprising team into one of the above categories. The most exciting teams are fully loaded, containing a potent mix of talent and beehive work ethic and teamwork. As of now, New Jersey leads the way in the East and Chicago is at the top of the West. Why? This is because both teams have several talented and experienced players along with great coaching.
Chicago has several very talented players in Jonathan Teows, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Duncan Keith. After a disappointing showing in last year’s playoffs, the Hawks look determined not to make the same mistakes this season. They are not much of a surprise.
New Jersey, on the other hand, is quite a different story. One would not have expected them to be strong contenders given that Martin Brodeur (aka The Ageless Wonder) was on the brink of retirement and the departure of high-flying scorer Zac Parise. However, it looks as though Ilya Kovalchuk has finally emerged this season and David Clarkson has found his game. Brodeur has been stellar in net and so has backup Jonas Enroth. The team looks great overall in spite of not necessarily showcasing the talent and experience that other top tier teams offer.
At the end of the day, it is far more interesting to watch playoff teams that we wouldn’t normally expect to be in the playoffs. The shortened season certainly has facilitated this, and every point matters since there will not be as much crunch time at the end to ‘make up’ a bad start. Let’s see who can pull it together and more importantly, keep it together!
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