NHL Surprises-The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Time is flying by in the NHL season. It is already December and the 2014-2015 season feels like it just started. As we take a look back at least week, we concentrate on individual performers with a sprinkle of a team spotlight in this edition.

The Good

St. Louis Blues- Martin Brodeur

The all-time winningest goal tender in NHL history made his Blues debut in Nashville against the Predators. It was the first time in his 20-seasons career that he has started for another franchise other than the New Jersey Devils. Brodeur made 20 of 24 shots faced in a 4-3 loss last Thursday. Originally signed as a backup goaltender to Jake Allen, Brodeur might have crept his way past him for number two behind the injured Brian Elliot. In a relief effort, Brodeur took over for Allen at the start of the second period in Saturday night’s contest with the red-hot New York Islanders team. Stopping 14 of 15 shots faced, Brodeur earned his first win as a Blues and added to his future Hall of Fame resume by getting to 689 wins. Time will tell if Father Time will be kind to Brodeur. He is 42-years old and hasn’t played in the NHL since April.

The Bad

Anaheim Ducks-Corey Perry

The Ducks all-star forward cannot seem to catch a break. Perry had been dealing with an illness, prior to his start against the Minnesota Wild on Friday Night. Perry was diagnosed with the mumps and was quarantined from the team. This season, he has 22 points good for second on the team behind Ryan Getzlaf. Also, he is the team’s leading goal scorer with 14.

The Ugly

Edmonton Oilers

This has to be the weirdest, most disappointing team in recent memory. Forget the previous New York Islanders teams or Nashville Predators woes. No, I’m talking just confused chaos. The Oilers are team who have had the first round, overall pick in the NHL draft from 2010-2012. With those picks, they were used to select Nail Yakupov, Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, and Taylor Hall. The past two seasons, they have had the third and seventh overall pick. And where has that gotten them, the bottom of the barrel again. The NHL has been doing them a favor and giving them the tools needed to restock their talent and rise again and become contenders. But in Edmonton, it does not seem the case. It just seems dysfunctional. Then came the comments from general manager Craig MacTavish’s press conference on Friday. Without going into detail, he is looking at the glass half full, as opposed to half empty. He didn’t blame on one specific part of the team, but did say the players need to be held accountable. In a Yahoo.com article, Greg Wyshynski quoted MacTavish as saying:

“We’re going to continue making rational, responsible decisions based on the situation that we’re in.”

Probably, he means to remain at the bottom and hope for another high, first round draft pick. Maybe the Toronto media should stop ripping the Maple Leafs apart and compare their situation to the Oilers. Things might be shiny on your side of the ice.

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