Clark Deserving of Honor

If the Toronto Maple Leafs were trying to outdo the Montreal Canadiens on Patrick Roy night, they succeeded. While fans of Les Habitant were getting teary-eyed welcoming back their prodigal son, Buds fans were giving the standing-O to a man whose night in the spotlight was long overdue. Unfortunately, the number of hockey fans who are blinded to Wendel Clark's greatness by their own hatred of the Leafs rivals the number of stars in the universe. Take it from a guy who dislikes almost everything about the Leafs, Clark was a once in a lifetime gem.
True, the man never played a game in the Stanley Cup Finals, much less won a cup. Clark never had a 50 goal season, and never one a major award, but Clark possessed all the hockey intangibles that can't be quantified in the NHL guide and record book.
First, he was tough to play against. That's not tough in the Mario Lemieux way, but in a Mark Messier kind of way. Guys like Lemieux and Gretzky would make you look foolish on route to pumping your net full of pucks. Clark, on the other hand, would slam you into the boards, beat the stuffing out of your tough guy, then score the game winner. When teams lost to Clark's Leafs, they were, beaten on the scoreboard and on the ice. Second he couldn't be intimidated, ever. Not just in the physical sense, but mentally as well. Clark was at his best in the play-offs, when the competition was at its peak, scoring big goals at big times. And Third, Clark conducted himself with class and professionalism, which is something the prodigal son in Montreal still hasn't mastered.
Clark never had the skill or the leadership qualities of a Mark Messier, but he did more with less than any other player in NHL history. He's not a Hall-of-Famer, not by any stretch, but his number deserves to be hanging from the rafters of the ACC, and it doesn't look out of place.

Darryl Sydor vs. Philippe Boucher

On Sunday news came out of a trade as Pittsburgh and Dallas swapped defenseman.

Dallas gets Darryl Sydor in this deal where as Pittsburgh gets Philippe Boucher.

This trade would not have been made a couple of years ago, since just two seasons ago Boucher was a 19 goal man and Sydor has been a 5th or 6th d-man for the last few seasons but injuries to Boucher have made this deal possible. Darryl Sydor has barely been playing for Pittsburgh, and with the injuries to Boucher, this deal is taking two defenseman who haven't been contributing much to their respective teams and seeing if a new face in the locker room can inject some life into each team respectively.

Pittsburgh really appears to be the winner of this deal even if Boucher becomes injured again. For a defense that hasn't been using Sydor, it's not as if they will miss him. Though there is some suggestion that Sydor's veteran leadership and presence in the locker room will be missed, Pittsburgh is a team with enough drive, determination, and experience from last years playoff run, that the need for veteran leadership appears to be less than their need for a a powerful shot from the right handed point. Pittsburgh's power play has been alright this year, but with the offensive talent that they possess, it appears that Ray Shero is expecting more from them. Pittsburgh did lose some significant players during the off-season (Hossa and Malone) and from injuries (Whitney and Gonchar) and so it makes sense that the power play would take a hit but Shero seems to expect more of them than their currently 11th ranked power play is showing. As such, Boucher seems to fill a significant hole in Pittsburgh's game. A top power play unit of Crosby, Satan, Sykora, with Malkin and Boucher on the point seems to really make sense, and though Alex Goligoski has done a good job, he's not an all star yet, nor a real power play quarterback like Gonchar or Boucher.

As for Darryl Sydor, perhaps he will be able to right some of the problems in the Dallas Stars locker room but I would not be surprised if we see more moves from Les Jackson and Brett Hull, the co-GM's of the Dallas Stars. Sydor seems only to be a 5th or 6th defenseman at this point in his career and so his impact will probably come in the locker room or as a mentor to a young Stars defensive corps. Dallas was expected to contend for the division lead with Anaheim and San Jose, but currenly has only 15 points in 17 games, where as San Jose is leading the division with 31 points in 19 games. Dallas is already 16 points behind with only two games at hand. You can't usually win your division in the first quarter of the year but Dallas may have already lost it. Consequently I foresee more changes to come in Dallas, and they will be more signicant than picking up Darryl Sydor. There have been rumors of Dave Tippett losing his job as head coach and that could easily happen, or we could see other significant deals taking place.

Either way, this seems like a desperate move by a Stars' team needing to kickstart their players and I for one don't expect it to be successful. By trading away one of there better defenseman and getting less in return, it seems as if they are moving further from elite in the Western Conference rather than further. We shall just have to wait and see.

Aidan.

Welcome

Welcome to Hockey Talk Central. 

Here is a place where a few of us will post our insights and analysis on the stories that come from the world of Hockey.  Mostly this will be devoted to the NHL but I'm sure aspects of junior hockey and the International scene will also emerge. You will see a few different authors on here regularly and hopefully we'll have some guest authors as well, sharing their thoughts and insights as well. 

Though none of us are journalists, some of us aspire to be so, and others are just opinionated and need an opportunity to share. Enjoy, and feel free to offer your thoughts and feedback.

Aidan.