Hockey Trade Rumors

With the All-Star game not too far ahead, there will be plenty of offensive excitement and goal scoring to look forward to. The most exciting players in the world will meet in Montreal this weekend to face off and prove themselves as the most dominant, exciting players in the NHL. In honour of the All-Star week I would like to present the 5 most exciting teams (and 5 least exciting teams) in the NHL leading up to the break.I would just like to note that this is what I think of the following 10 teams in my mind. It is not to say that they are necessarily the most or least exciting teams for sure, and I know you will all have your own opinions. So please feel free to share them if you have them. I would really appreciate though if you wouldn’t bash my opinion in the process. Anyways let’s get this started…

5 Most Exciting Teams

Boston Bruins:

This team is just so exciting to watch, much different than the B’s of yesteryear. They’ve really taken the Eastern Conference by storm, currently second in the league with 164 goals scored and just 103 against, the fewest in the league thus far. Two things really stand out that make this team so exciting. One, last year these guys were bottom feeders and not many people really expected this kind of season. All of a sudden they turn it around
completely and now they are the team to watch. The second thing that makes them so exciting is the fact that they are not only getting excitement from
one part of the team, not just 2 or 3 forwards, but the whole team from the goalie up to center ice. I mean how can you not be excited with guys like Savard, Kessel, Chara, Lucic, Bergeron, Thomas, etc.

Chicago Blackhawks:

Where do I start with this team? Another team that has not fared well in recent years, constantly missing the playoffs, seems to be poised to make the
playoffs and could make a run at ending a long cup drought. If it’s excitement you want you will have no problem finding it in Chicago. Look no further
than rookie Kris Versteeg, super sophomores Toews and Kane, Campbell, Bolland, Havlat, the list goes on and on. This team has been an offensive force from the get go (5th in goals for) and have plenty of flashy players for you to feast your eyes on. When you look at this team you are looking at the
future of the league for years to come, and judging by the talent that these guys have, the future is definitely something to get excited about.

Edmonton Oilers:

Just enough grit and a whole lot of speed. This team has a little bit of everything for everyone and I believe they are better than their record would
lead you to believe. They are finally beginning to show that. Doug McLean even compared this squad’s style of play to the Oilers of the 80s on hockeycentral. This is a dynamic hockey club with flashy speedsters like Cogliano and Hemsky, some stud defensemen in Souray and Visnovsky, some toughness in guys like Moreau and Stortini, and a whole lot of youth. Which as we have learned, youthful teams today generate excitement. The only area this team is lacking in is in goal. It will be interesting to see what the second half of the season holds for this team.

San Jose Sharks:

I won’t lie I haven’t seen a ton of SJ games this season. The ones I have seen though, let me just say wow… This team is simply amazing, after
watching this team in Vancouver on Tuesday night I think that this team may have the best forechecking I have seen in a while. They seem to have the
perfect mix of physical play and offensive flair. They know exactly when to be fancy, and when to turn up the physicality and play that gritty game. Top 3 in offensive and defensive statistics, and another team embracing the youth movement. They don’t have any quit in them, and they have the skill to take control of any team in this league. Not much bad you can say about this team.

Washington Capitals:

It seems like there’s nowhere to hide from another young team. When a team has such a dominant player like AO on their bench with youngsters like Semin, Backstrom, and Green to back him up you really can’t help but be excited. This team has the league’s top goal scorer and one of the top groups of young, future stars in the league. Every time Semin and Ovechkin rush up the ice I’m always wondering what will happen next. Both players are so talented and a guy like Semin, with the ability to not only be a great goal scorer, but a young guy with amazing playmaking abilities, you really never know what
you’re gonna get from these guys. This team has really set itself on the right track, they have all the right skaters, plus one of the better coaches in the league. The only thing holding them back from being the number one team is their somewhat average goaltending, which they could easily pick up a great tender by the deadline with their young talent that they possess.

Honourable Mentions: Detroit, Montreal (gasp)

5 Least Exciting Teams:

Dallas Stars:

Average record, average offense, average style of play. They aren’t a particularly young team (average team age is 28 years old). The only area that isn’t average on this squad is their defensive play, which is atrocious! This team just really never seems to be in the games they are playing. Quite
frankly they are boring, I can’t even last 10 seconds of these guys on the TSN highlights without having to flip the channel. Whatever excitement this team could generate at all this season went down the drains when Sean Avery stepped over the line and was told not to return. Avery’s sideshow has been
one of the only interesting events in Dallas this season. Dallas Stars? Yawn…

NY Islanders:

Okay so I know from here on out the rest of these teams come out of the east. But to be honest it is true in a way. The Western Conference seems to have more depth in terms of exciting teams. Even when you hit the teams not in the top 8 in their conference, these teams are still a hell of a lot more exciting than most of their counterparts in the Eastern Conference. But anyways, about the Islanders. What is there to say about the Islanders? Well not much really. The lowly NY Isles, well set in dead last and not looking as if they will crawl out of their whole anytime soon, maybe not for years even. This team ranks in the bottom 5 in goals for and goals against. I don’t know if this team will ever give anyone anything to cheer about as long as they are in Long Island. It’s a shame to see youngsters like Okposo, Bailey, Comeau and others playing with such an embarassment of an organization, and it looks like Tavares will soon be added to that list. Somehow, somebody has to get Charles Wang’s hands off of this city’s team. He really screwed this club over with the whole Smith/Snow fiasco, and it looks like it will be haunting them for years to come.

Ottawa Senators:

A team that’s offensive prowess once drove fear into opposing goalies… now it just makes the goalies start to laugh. The Ottawa Senators have been a goalie’s favourite team this season. We all know that offense creates excitement. Wasn’t that the point of the rule changes that were made for post-lockout hockey? To create excitement? How does a team with stars like Spezza, Heatley, and Alfie (3 guys who have the ability to put up 100 points each in a single season) become the lowest scoring team in the league? Well for starters their top players are not playing like they can Heatley is on pace
for his lowest goals total since playing in Atlanta. Alfredsson is on pace to be below a point per game for just the 5th season of his career, and the first time since the 2001-2002 season where he posted 71 points in 78 games. Jason Spezza is on pace to be below 80 points for the first time since the lockout ended, with a mere 68 point season. Once you get past those 3 what are you left with? Nothing to be impressed with that is for sure. This team has no depth whatsoever.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

If anyone were to mention at the star
t of this season that the team that boasts the rights to players like Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Stamkos would be
one of the most boring teams in hockey, I would have said that they were out of their mind. But Lecavalier has put up below average numbers by his standards, and Stamkos has been pretty much invisible on most nights. Ok I know they’ve crawled slightly upward in the standings, but the only team that
has less wins than them is the last place Islanders (3 less wins). This is yet another team suffering because their offensive potential is not translating to the score sheet, leaving them also in the bottom 5 in goals scored. Management of this team pretty much scrapped last years lineup, and
started from scratch this season, which isn’t so much of a problem for a team that really needed a new look. The only problem is that the expectations of this team were too high. Everyone thought that with all the talent and leadership that they brought in they would at least be a sure bet to make the
playoffs. This is like throwing a bunch of random pieces of a puzzle together and expecting it to build itself perfectly in a matter of minutes. It won’t work. They need time to gel with each other, but they also need the support of the organization and the fans to do this. It’s an old saying I know, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Toronto Maple Leafs:

I would love to sit here and say to you all that the Leafs are playing great, or that even though they are not in contention for the playoffs they are a team that comes out and gives their all, always playing an exciting game. If we were still around the 20 game mark I could have said that, but those days are well behind us now. There is no more surprising top NHL teams, no more big comeback wins. It’s more like losing to the league’s worst and coughing up big leads. This team has lost its energy. They look like a tired, broken team with no confidence at all. I remember being told that this team would be in the bottom of the league but would work hard every night. Well at least they managed to tell half of the truth. The worst defensive team in the league, and it’s really all falling on Toskala most of this season. Not that he should be the scapegoat or anything, but he has played far too many games in which he lets in soft goals, too many early goals, or even often letting in goals on the first few shots taken. This team looks like it may be in store for another drastic change, all I know is something’s got to happen to bring this team out of mediocrity.

Honourable Mentions: St. Louis, Nashville

So there it is, enjoy, discuss, and begin looking forward to the all-star break!