With the NHL enjoying its all-star break, fans have a chance to reflect upon the first half of the season. Without further adieu, the following are my 10 revelations directly from the cheap seats:

 

Most surprising team: Definitely Boston! The Bruins are running away with the East. Sheer dominance as Boston leads the Conference in goals for and goals against.

 

Most disappointing team: No, despite a six game losing streak, it’s not the Canucks, or even the Maple Leafs, but rather another Canadian entry; the Ottawa Senators. How can a team with high priced forwards like Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza tread water, at the bottom of the Northeast Division, well behind a playoff spot? Not even our Senators in Parliament are this bad. Okay, maybe that is stretching it a bit.

 

Best team on the rise: The Chicago Blackhawks! The jokes about the Blackhawks have certainly stopped. They have a well coached team, solid goaltending, and several exciting young forwards, including Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and rookie Kris Versteeg. Led by Brian Campbell and Duncan Keith the Hawks are also solid on the blue-line. Even former-Cougar blue-liner, Dustin Byfuglien, is contributing. They may not win the Cup this season, but the Hawks certainly boast a line-up poised to compete for Lord Stanley's mug in years to come.

 

Best ex-Cougar: A very close two-man race between Zdeno Chara and sniper Devon Setoguchi. They only played in PG a season each and both are making an impact in the NHL. I give the nod to Chara, a candidate for the Norris (best defenceman) trophy although Setoguchi (with his point per game average) has more flash.

 

Best Canuck: Mats Sundin! Come on, can't you take a joke? (3 points in 7 games). If you insist, it's a very consistent Daniel Sedin, who leads the club in goals, points and in the plus-minus category.

 

MVP: He's not necessarily the best player, but Alexander Ovechkin means more to the Washington Capitals than anyone else.

 

surprise surprise!: Where did he come from? Wow, 20 year old Steve Mason, of Columbus is having such a dominant rookie season that he may be a candidate for the Canadian 2010 Olympic team. Mason leads the league in shutouts to go along with a sparkling goals against average.

 

Goalie on the decline: No doubt about it; Marty Turco of Dallas who is struggling with a goals against average over three and a save percentage below .900. Isn't this the same guy that backstopped the Stars to the 2008 Stanley Cup semi-finals?

 

Most over-hyped story: Brian Burke leaving the Anaheim Ducks to become the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Was it really necessary to get the play-by-play account of the transaction, weeks in advance? The Toronto media let us know everything about this man including breakfast choices and his bedtime. Burke is a good hockey man, but not at the level that he is portrayed by many hockey writers and commentators.

 

Most sensationalized trade rumor: Vincent Lecavalier (possibly) going from Tampa Bay to Montreal. I'm not certain how this speculation started but it certainly developed a life of its own. Of course, anybody anytime can start a rumor with little or no credence.

 

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The Vancouver Canucks are 1-6 in shootouts. In other words they aren't very good at shootouts. When a team is struggling in one area, doesn't it make sense to address the situation in practice? Forward Kyle Wellwood admits the Canucks don't spend a lot of quality time on the shootout: "You get your chances at practice, but it's hard to take time out of practice, I guess, and really take it seriously and we just haven't done that yet as a team and I think that is something we should look into.” Traditional coaches like Alain Vigneault may have more on their mind than shootouts, but it is an area the Canucks need to address immediately because too many of those so-called free points are slipping away.

 

 

“Finally, an achievement of which the Leafs are capable.”Drew Curtis of fark.com, after ex Toronto coach and current Carolina Hurricanes coach, Paul Maurice, stated he hoped the Maple Leafs lose every game for the next 10 years.

“The CFL has held the salary cap at $4.2 million saying it would be reckless to have players make a living wage when so many are out of work.The original plan was to raise the cap and then McDonalds reduced the extra value meal.”

Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgary (http://smacksport.blogspot.com/)

“Major League Baseball owners have decided to eliminate coin flips for tie breakers in the off season. Apparently before the coin would ever hit the ground it was grabbed by an agent.”Comedy writer Jim Barach of WCHS-TV in Charleston, W.Va (http://jokesbyjim.blogspot.com/)

 

“Two photographs of a nude Madonna set to appear in a Christie's auction next month will probably sell for $10,000.00 each, according to estimates. Boy, that must be some lens on A-Rod's cell phone.”Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

  

“Michael Irvin calmly chatted with a gunman in another vehicle that turned out to be a Dallas Cowboys fan. After Michael promised to try and get him a tryout, Plaxico Burress drove off.”Bill Littlejohn

“After eight years President Bush still didn't seem to get it. When he was told at first he would need to give a farewell address, his first response was “Well, until Tuesday it’s still 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California (www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com)

 

 “So what’s rarer now - an actual Cardinal in Arizona, or a steelworker in Pittsburgh?”Janice Hough

 

 

“We are who we thought we were.”

Sign held by an Arizona Cardinals fan during the 32-25 NFC Championship game victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.