Bye, Guys!

I haven't posted anything here in a long time. If you're reading this and you're looking for good hockey coverage then you should go http://thehockeywriters.com/author/jrobin/ for, erm, subpar hockey coverage. That's where I write now. It's pretty neat, huh?
Continue following me on my Twitter, which could be found at https://twitter.com/thewall85.
K cool bye.

The Human Side of NHL Players

Through all the heroism, skill, and celebrity-status of modern day NHLers, it's hard to remember that they're human. They play through a grueling schedule of games, take unimaginable physical beatings, and have to remain professional in front of media and fans. Sometimes it's easy to just view these individuals as robot-like creatures, having no other purpose but to go onto stage to perform a show for you almost every night. But sometimes we receive harsh reminders that they go through the same struggles and emotional battles that we do.

Last season, when Martin St. Louis' mother passed away in the middle of the playoffs, we saw a New York Rangers team turn a sad situation into a rallying cry and St. Louis himself tallied 7 points in 9 games after her passing to lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final.

But that isn't human. Most people don't go straight from the funeral of a parent into the heat of battle in the NHL playoffs.

As hockey fans, we were spoiled. I understand that the majority of players tend to try to get right back on the ice after the loss of a loved one. But as we found out this year, for Martin St. Louis to strive under such strenuous circumstances must have taken some of that super-human capabilities we referred to earlier.

As Boston Bruins forward Simon Gagne noted earlier this month, "To play in the NHL, you have to be 100% mentally, emotionally, and physically committed to the game." Gagne's father passed away on January 12th. "At this time, I know that I cannot be close to those levels."

The New Jersey Devils Eerie Success Without Jaromir Jagr

Jaromir Jagr currently leads the New Jersey Devils in points. He did it last year too.

And while logic would dictate that the Devils would be a better team with him in the lineup, recent evidence appears that this isn't the case.

Last week I wrote about how the 42 year old (he'll be 43 in February) has actually hurt the team in some ways, with his deteriorating speed in a very fast game. He's been turning the puck over every night and takes costly penalties. I briefly wondered if the Devils were better off without him on the team.

Well we got a chance to see the Devils without Jagr on Wednesday night as the aging forward stayed home because of sickness during the team's West Coast road trip.

The result? A nice win against the defending champion Los Angeles Kings. The Devils looked pretty good at times during the contest and even scored 3 goals in the span of 1:08 en route to a 4 goal second period.

Final score?

Whaddya know? A Jagr-less Devils squad went on the road and beat a dangerous LA club.

That got me thinking. This was the second game that Jagr missed this season, the first absence occurring at the beginning of December.

Just out of pure curiosity, I decided to look up the results of that contest and-WAIT A MINUTE WHAT IS THIS?!?

Same.
Exact.
Score.

The Devils must really love playing without what many (blindly) believe to be their best player. Outside of the first two games of the season, which we all just assume were imaginary at this point, the Devils only have one other 5 goal game in their schedule.

Okay, true the Devils shot 25% against the Kings and 19% against the Maple Leafs and that just doesn't usually happen (the Devils shooting percentage on the season is an average 8.85%). The Devils, in addition to being outshot in each game, also were out possessed in the respective matchups.

What I'm basically saying is that these results won't continue with Jagr, a player who actually has the best possession stats on the team (and it's not really close). But this is a fun coincidence.

Devils who have flourished in these games without Jagr though? Well Mike Cammalleri has 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist), Jon Merrill has 3 points (all assist), Michael Ryder has 4 points (1g, 3a) and Steve Bernier has 4 points (3g, 1a).

Again, this is nothing more than coincidence and that will be confirmed when the Devils visit the Ducks (winners of 6 of their last 7 games) and will probably lose by 4.

The Curious Case of Jaromir Jagr

In a season where things haven't gone exactly, erm, as planned for the New Jersey Devils, many have pointed to Jaromir Jagr's production as one of the few bright spots. And it's true, to some extent. Jagr leads the team in points for the second season in a row. Sure, "leading the team" isn't saying much for a team with just 1 other player who's amassed more than 20 points, but in a year after tallying 67 points (the highest total since Ilya Kovalchuk's 83 points in 2012) people are more than satisfied with Jagr's contributions.

While many people are blown away by how a 42 year old continues to excel in this sport, it's no secret how Jagr has kept this up. First and foremost, his dedication to staying in shape is unrivalled. The 21 season veteran is often seen staying on the ice after practice working on his skating, shooting, and stickhandling. He's been a leader the past several seasons and younger players have looked up to this sort of dedication. Additionally, the 6'3, 230 lb. forward still has the size that can make it so hard for opponents to defend against. Add that along with his above-average shot and terrific hockey sense, it's no wonder how this clock keeps ticking.

Here's the thing though.

Has Jagr actually been that good this season?

Sure, people can point to the points totals and say "he leads the team in scoring" and it would be case closed. But he's only on pace for 49 points this season, which would be the lowest total in his career. Even when Jagr spent most of a season in Dallas in 2013, a year in which many agreed Jagr looked worse than usual, the aging star still totalled 26 points in 34 games before being shipped to Boston where he picked up his "dominance".

The fact of the matter is, that while Jagr's hands, shot, and hockey IQ are still with him, his speed is not. And that's what is slowly becoming his downfall.

As I noted earlier, many hockey writers and analysts still praise the scoring and character of the older man but they're not looking at the right things. They're looking at the boxscore. They're not every shift. They see the highlights. Maybe they do see a few shifts Jagr takes. But for every goal they see him score, there are another few plays in a game where you question whether the man drafted in 1990 still has much left in the tank.

Recap of Game 5 Between the Kings and Rangers

You know, I still think the goal horn is going off in the Staples Center from that June 13th game.

Who Will Win the 2014-2015 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy?

Since 1968, the NHL has annually awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to the "player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." The Award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and the winner gets $2,500 donated to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund in his name.

It's a great honour to win the award and it's made for some of the best narratives in NHL history. Like when Pittsburgh Penguin great Mario Lemieux won the Trophy in 1993 after he overcame Hodgkin's Lymphoma and totaled 160 points in just 60 games.
Saku Koivu of the Montreal Canadiens won in 2002 after he too over came Lymphoma.
Josh Harding won the award two seasons ago after playing through a season in which he was diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis.

Bryan Berard with the Masterton in 2004, receiving it for continuing his career after a tragic eye injury

It's the feel-good moment of the NHL Awards show every summer.

But before the trophy is given out, there's always that awkward feeling of uncertainty as to which finalist "deserves" the hardware. In 2009, Richard Zednik didn't win in a season when he made his comeback after losing 5 pints of blood (and almost his life) the previous season in an on ice almost-tragedy. But nobody was saying Steve Sullivan didn't deserve the award after coming back from a major back injury that shelved him for two seasons.
Many said Daymond Langkow deserved the award in 2011, the season he came back after his life-threatening neck injury when he was hit in the back of the neck by a teammate's shot. But when Ian Laperriere won for his dedication off the ice (his post-concussion syndrome and eye injury from blocking a shot the season before officially ended his career) nobody could disagree.

So the Masterton is always one of the toughest trophies to predict the winner.

The 2015 season didn't even start yet but we, unfortunately, already have several candidates who seem they can win the Masterson.

Ryan Johansen and the Bridge Contract Debate

The NHL season is rapidly approaching. Fans are printing their team's schedule, others are already scouting for fantasy hockey, and even players are getting ready for the preseason which is just weeks away.

But in Columbus, Ohio, fans are a bit more nervous than most are during this festive time of year.

And that's because the team leader in goals and points from the previous season is still unsigned.

Ryan Johansen reportedly is still in a contract dispute with the Blue Jackets and they haven't been talking the past few weeks, having a distance of about $3 million per year to cover. The team doesn't want to hand over that kind of money so quickly to their young player but he wants the payday he thinks he deserves. It hasn't been pretty between the two camps and with training camp right around the corner, there isn't much time.