Super Mario

Mario Lemieux in a game against the St. Louis Blues

 I just finished watching a documentary on Mario Lemieux and it never ceases to amaze me how good this guy was. Wayne Gretzky, by most people considered to be the greatest hockey player ever, holds no less than 61 individual NHL records and most of them will never be beaten. His stats speak for themselves. But when I look at those unbelievable records, I see a glimps of what Mario could have achieved had he only been healthy. Though he battled through cancer and back problems, just two of many ailments he faced in his career, he still managed to win the scoring title 6 times and guide the Pittsburgh Penguins to 2 Stanley Cups. The fact is, Mario Lemieux probably never played a single game at 100% after 1989.

As great as he was, we probably never saw him reach his full potential. If he had been able to play his whole career free from major injuries and illness, he would have destroyed every single one of Gretzky's records, just like he shattered Guy Lafleur's Quebec Major Junior Hockey League record with his 282 point season. He not only broke the record, he also anounced he would do it when he was drafted by Laval Voisins. He was 15 at the time.

If you ask me, Mario Lemieux is the greatest hockey player ever to play in the NHL.

Classic Jerseys

Speaking of ugly jerseys... Yes, I've noticed that I keep coming back to this topic, but who doesn't enjoy watching the game being played in a great looking jersey? Here are some of my favorite jerseys from the past.

The classic Flyers jersey of the 70's. The fact that it's worn by Bobby Clarke and is covered in blood only makes it that much cooler.

This one, sported by Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series against the Russians, is one of my favorites. It didn't have the players names on the back, just Canada.

This 90's Vancouver Canucks jersey is a classic. Why they didn't stick with that one is a complete mystery to me.

Who can argue with this one? The Whalers may not have been the greatest of teams, but few could match the way they looked.

Mike Bossy has just scored again. And he did it wearing what I think is the ultimate hockey jersey, the 80's Islanders.

Did I leave out any obvious ones?

The Ugliest Jersey Ever!

Toronto 5 - Islanders 3

That'll teach the Isles to wear thoose hideous 3:rd jerseys. And the inexplainable blue helmet? No, it doesn't help.

Suspended? So what?

Brendan Shanahan is a busy man these days. Every other hockey article on ESPN or TSN is about some player who is about to have a phone conference with Shanahan. I personally think he's doing a great job, though a very thankless one. He may seem like the bad guy to some, but in the long run I'm sure his work will be much appreciated, if it will have a significant impact, that is.

All these two- to three-game suspensions could of course lead to a decline in head shots and other unsportsmanlike conduct. But, is it possible it won't? Sure. What if getting a two-game suspension becomes normal around the league? It used to be a huge deal when someone got a suspension, but now it doesn't seem like a big deal.

What Shanahan is doing is undoubtedly good for hockey, but more importantly is that we start teaching the kids that this kind of play has no place in hockey. It's a slow process.

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All Star Laugh

The All-Star voting is such a joke. Phil Kessel leads all players and I'm not arguing with that. He's had a great start to the season, ending an eight game scoring slump last night. But how on earth can James Reimer lead all goaltenders in the voting? Because most voters are of course Toronto fans. It's kind of sad to see how little they know about hockey. On the other hand, who cares about the All-Stars?

Catch me if you can

Dustin Penner, Scottie Upshall, Shawn Thornton, Benoit Pouliot, Erik Christensen, Matt Stajan, Scott Gomez, Darren Helm, Niklas Hagman, Jeff Halpern, Samuel Pahlsson, Nick Palmieri, Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, Chuck Kobasew, Matthew Lombardi, Raffi Torres, Derek MacKenzie, Michal Handzus, Todd Bertuzzi, Brian Rolston, Ville Leino, Sam Gagner, Brian Boyle, RJ Umberger, Manny Malhotra, Dan Cleary, Eric Belanger, Arron Asham, Mike Knuble, Wayne Simmonds, Lars Eller, Guillaume Latendresse, Rene Bourque, Tyler Kennedy, Mark Giordano, Maxim Lapierre, Jeff Carter, Brad Boyes, Jamie Langenbrunner, David Clarkson, Jordin Tootoo, Joel Ward, Ruslan Fedetenko, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Brenden Morrow, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt D'Agostini, Andrew Cogliano, David Booth, Dave Bolland, Lee Stepniak, Josh Gorges, Frans Nielsen, Alexander Semin, Ales Hemsky, Travis Moen, Martin Havlat, Nikolai Kulemin, Michael Grabner, Patric Hornqvist, Sergei Kostitsyn.

These are all players whom Sidney Crosby have passed in the scoring race just seven games after his return. In how many games from now will he crack the top 30?

Meet The New Boss..

..same as the old boss. Bruce Boudreau is the new head coach of the not so mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Remains to be seen if the Ducks are better at listening than the underachieving Caps were. Question is, what's going to happen to Randy Carlisle?