Montreal netminder Carey Price, not Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, is the NHL’s true MVP, writes Jack Todd in the National Post.
“With 16 regular-season games to play [as of Monday], Price should be a lock for the Vezina Trophy,” writes Todd. “His competition there will come from Pekka Rinne, but with the Predators in free fall (and how much effect does Mike Ribeiro’s off-ice problems have on Nashville?) Price would appear to have the edge.
“Same goes for the Hart Trophy. Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber says Price should have competition from John Tavares as well. I would lean to Alex Ovechkin, whose late-season surge, wide lead in the goal-scoring race and vastly improved two-way play have to make him a candidate.”
As for Crosby, Todd calls him “an ordinary superstar” who is “now more or less on a par with players like [Evgeni] Malkin, Tavares, Nicklas Backstrom, Jakub Voracek, Patrick Kane and Tyler Seguin – and it would have been the direst heresy to say that even a season ago.”
Play Hutch
After battling back from a 4-1 deficit in St. Louis on Tuesday, the Winnipeg Jets lost with a little over a minute to go when a shot from inside centre ice beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec.
Adam Pronteau of the Hockey News had one word to describe the goal: “brutal.”
Adds Pronteau: “That sound you heard after the goal wasn’t just the breaking hearts of Jets fans – it was all of Winnipeg heaving a sigh of relief that 25-year-old rookie netminder Michael Hutchinson has emerged this year to supplant Pavelec as the team’s starter. As the Jets battle to secure a spot in the post-season, it’s clear they’re going to need Hutchinson to get them there.”
Maple Laughs
At the risk of stating the obvious, TSN.ca’s Jonas Siegel writes that Maple Leafs coach Peter Horachek “has had a rough and mostly rocky term” as Toronto’s midseason coaching replacement.
“He’s tried just about every approach to turn a tide that’s seemed to only rise higher and higher,” notes Siegel. “He’s been the teacher. He’s been the positive guiding hand. And he’s been the disciplinarian more and more often; cutting ice-time, benching high-profile players and questioning the ‘give a [expletive] meter’ on more than a couple of occasions.
“It’s been a rough go. Losing. Negativity. A seemingly endless cloud of speculation over his players. Distractions aplenty. None of this could be easy for a coach to endure while equally in the dark about own his future with the organization.”
