I swore I’d do only one or two of these types of “thinking out loud” columns during the season, so this is No. 1. We’re getting kinda sorta near the midpoint of the NHL season, so it’s time.
Most overachieving Av so far: Kyle Quincey. One point in 21 games last season, 16 points in 29 games this season. He is showing good, strong, physical play and is emerging as one of the locker room leaders.
Most disappointing Av so far: Paul Stastny. Good guy, good heart, but sorry. The numbers just aren’t good enough. Two questions some people ask a lot about him: 1) Did getting a huge contract too soon hurt his drive? And 2) Did the fact his father, Peter, ripped GM Greg Sherman for the Chris Stewart-Erik Johnson trade last season create discomfort for Paul Stastny in the dressing room?
Best overall Av so far: Ryan O’Reilly. Nobody works harder off the ice than this guy, and it’s starting to show on the ice. His third period/ OT/shootout performance against St. Louis last weekend was one to copy and save in the DVD case.
Most surprising NHL team: Florida Panthers. Hey, remember when people around these parts thought Jose Theodore was all washed up and wasn’t worth anything to re-sign? His record since leaving the Avs in 2008 is 88-40-18. His save percentage for Florida after Thursday’s shutout at Boston was .929.
Most disappointing NHL team: Washington Capitals. Goalie Tomas Vokoun referred to himself the other day as a “team employee” when asked his thoughts of not starting against his old team, Florida. Esprit de corps right there. Then the Caps went out and lost 5-4. Alex Ovechkin is on pace for his worst season as a pro, with nine goals in 27 games. And he can’t even blame it on Bruce Boudreau anymore.
Best goalie: Tim Thomas. Do you realize he was once an Avalanche prospect? Don’t cry too much over that, because it was in the early days of Patrick Roy’s tenure here. But last season’s Cup champion goalie has the Bruins on top of the division with a .941 save percentage. That works.
Best position player: Claude Giroux. After Thursday’s games, he led the league in scoring with 37 points. If he wins the scoring title, he’ll become the first Flyer in team history to do it.
Most overachieving NHL player: Milan Michalek. The Ottawa forward had 18 goals in 66 games last season. He has 18 already, best in the NHL, after 29 games.
Most disappointing NHL player: Eric Staal. He has come on a bit of late for Carolina, but still — seven goals through his first 30 games, with a minus-17. Shocking numbers for a guy with his talent.
Thing I’m most worried about: That Rangers coach John Tortorella will be too self-censored for the upcoming HBO Winter Classic specials. If we don’t get one off- the-rails Torts rant, either to his team or the media or both, then I’ll become very sad and quiet.
Thing I’m least worried about: Another NHL lockout. No way the players and owners are going to go through that Andy Dufresne-Shaw- shank escape tunnel one more time. Right?
This recent talk I’m hearing of NHL owners possibly planning to demand the same 50-50 split in revenue, a la the NBA lockout, is faulty economics (NHL players currently get 57 percent of revenue). The talkers realize there is a lot less money in hockey for the owners to get greedy about than the NBA. Right? Right?
Of course they know that. Right?
Adrian Dater covers the NHL. Contact: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
SPOTLIGHT ON
Alex Ovechkin, LW, Capitals
It’s going to be a fun night this coming Saturday, when Ovie comes to the Pepsi Center to try to score goals on his former teammate, Avs goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Ovechkin remains one of the NHL’s biggest draws, a phenomenally talented player. But the lack of any kind of Cup or even Cup Finals pedigree is a monkey on his back that grows with each passing year. It’s starting to look like Mighty Joe Young.
Former Av Dale Hunter is the team’s new coach. He preaches gritty defense and old-school toughness. Maybe it will work out splendidly between Hunter and Ovie, but, well, maybe there will be some problems too.
We’ll make one prediction about Ovechkin and Hunter’s relationship:
It won’t be boring.
