HockeyRhetoric

Last Monday, Crosby played his fist hockey game in about 10 months — two goals and two assists in 15:54 of ice-time for 87. Not that a single regular season game against the New York Islanders settles anything, but Crosby is the best player in the NHL. I think a lot of people, like for instance the completely insufferable Pierre McGuire, get a little too hyperbolic when talking about Crosby’s talent and greatness. I’m always impressed with Crosby and I appreciate what he can do with the puck but I don’t think the difference between he and some of the other elite forwards in the game is as great as many believe. Crosby is the best, but not by very much. » Read the rest of this entry «

I’ve been thinking lately about superstars. It started the other day when I noticed just how laughable the Sabres’ scoring depth has been. Some players have missed time. But their production has been modest in the time they’ve actually been in the line-up. Just to be clear, I’m talking about players like Tim Connolly, Jason Pominville, and Drew Stafford. Their replacements have failed to really contribute with any kind of regularity too. Included in that group would be Jochen Hecht, Nate Gerbe, Rob Neidermayer, Mike Grier, Paul Gaustad — even Tyler Ennis and Luke Adam to a lesser extent. No one expects greatness from that group of forwards but reliability, some production, is that too much to ask for? Hecht, Gerbe, Neidermayer, Grier, and Gaustad have combined for eight goals and tonight will be the 30^th game the Sabres have played. The point is, Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy have been carrying the offense for the most part this season and neither are superstars. » Read the rest of this entry «

In sports like hockey, winning is what observers use to measure success. Similar to most other competitive endeavors, winning in hockey is relative to its environment and every year the competition changes; players switch teams and grow older; managers and coaches get replaced. But the most volatile aspect of this business – not to mention the one that has perhaps has the greatest influence on success – is in the collective motivation of the players that make up individual teams. The sports industry is about as pure of a meritocracy as there is. Each team is saturated with talent and strong coaching. Eventually what separates the teams that win from the teams that lose is how motivated they are to win. It’s not that the losers don’t care so much as the winners want it so bad, they can’t even finish a bowl of Fruity Pebbles without thinking at least twenty times of their names being engraved on the hardware. » Read the rest of this entry «