This morning
Hockey Canada announced their roster that will be representing the Great White
North in Sochi next month. After looking
at the roster, it’s unbelievable how stacked it is. Damn, it’s good. Even so, much like last week when the United
States announced their roster, there’s plenty of debate on who made the team
and who was snubbed (for lack of a better word).
OFFENSE – Jamie Benn – Dallas Stars,
Patrice Bergeron – Boston Bruins, Jeff Carter – Los Angeles Kings, Sidney
Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins, Matt Duchene – Colorado Avalanche, Ryan Getzlaf –
Anaheim Ducks, Chris Kunitz – Pittsburgh Penguins, Patrick Marleau – San Jose
Sharks, Rick Nash – New York Rangers, Correy Perry Anaheim Ducks, Patrick Sharp
– Chicago Blackhawks, Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning, John Tavares – New York
Islanders, Jonathan Toews – Chicago Blackhawks
This is a
highly-skilled offense heading to Sochi, but it could be better. Jeff Carter is a good player, but I don’t see
him as an NHL elite forward; at least not anymore. He’s not the same player he was when he was in Philadelphia. The same goes for Nash.
He has been unable to stay healthy this season and is no longer considered a
guaranteed 30-goal scorer. There are
more deserving players than Nash who deserve to represent Canada.
Snubs
– Given the depth Canada has, it’s hard to pick out a snub most will
agree upon but it doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. I know Claude Giroux struggled coming out of
the gate, but the Flyers as a franchise struggled and he was coming
off hand surgery. He’s still regarded as
one of the best players in the league. He
not representing Canada is absolute nonsense.
Call me a
homer here, but its bullshit Taylor Hall was left off the roster. Statistically he’s third amongst Canadian
left-wingers, only behind Sharp and Kunitz, but I’ll argue all day he’s better
than both of those. Both Kunitz and
Sharp play on Stanley Cup contenders and have a cast of all-stars surrounding
them. Hall plays on a dysfunctional team
(if you don’t know the Oilers are a dysfunctional team you’re an idiot), where
he might have different linemates on any given night. He’s averaging over a point a game over the
past two seasons and at only 22 is a veteran leader on the Oil.
Other
overlooks are Joe Thornton (extensive international experience and is 5th
in the league in scoring), and James Neal (averaging 1.42 points a game). I’d take them over Nash and Carter. Logan Couture is another player who should
have received more consideration but he’s on the shelf for a month with hand surgery.
DEFENSE – Jay Bouwmeester – St. Louis
Blues, Drew Doughy – Los Angeles Kings, Dan Hamhuis – Vancouver Canucks, Duncan
Keith – Chicago Blackhawks, Alex Pietrangelo – St. Louis Blues, PK Subban –
Montreal Canadiens, Marc-Edouard Vlasic – San Jose Sharks, Shea Weber –
Nashville Predators
Looking at
the defensive selections, there’s no better group in the World heading to
Sochi. It’s so deep the only US
defenseman who could crack this roster would be Ryan Suter. Yzerman selected a squad of two-way defenseman
who are going to make life hell for their opponents. It sucks when I can’t find something to bitch
about. Thanks Stevie-Y…
Snubs
– Brent Seabrook is having a career season. He’s a plus-22, which leads all Canadian
defenseman and his 31 points are only behind Keith and Subban. I probably would take him over Hamhuis, but I
can see the reasoning why Hamhuis was selected to the team.
GOALTENDING – Roberto Luongo – Vancouver Canucks, Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens,
Mike Smith – Phoenix Coyotes
Overall this
is a good group of netminders, but it could have been better. I personally think Price is the best goalie
in the NHL right now. Luongo also adds a
lot of international experience and leadership.
Then there’s Smith. Unless he has
naked photos of Steve Yzerman’s wife or some dirt on Mike Babcock, what the
hell is he doing on the roster? Outside
of one good season, that was two years ago, he’s a mediocre goalie with career
stats similar to Devan Dubnyk. There’s
nothing impressive about a 2.89 GAA.
Snubs
– Given the fact Smith made the roster, about 90% of Canadian goalies
should feel snubbed but a couple come to mind. Marc-Andre Fleury might be a dog
in the playoffs but he has had an outstanding season in Pittsburgh. His 24 wins are first among Canadian goalies
and his 2.23 GAA ranks him third among Canadian starters.
Steve Mason
has done a hell of a job for the Flyers, especially considering their offense was
non-existent the first two months of the season. His line of 17-10-4/2.39/.922 is the reason
the Flyers have gone from a team in the basement to a playoff contender. He’s not the sexiest name in the Canadian
goalie pool, and I’m sure he wasn’t given any consideration, but he’s still
better than Smith.
PREDICTION – On paper there’s
not a better roster in the world. From
top to bottom each player representing Canada can do damage. In saying that what’s on paper doesn’t always
transpire to what happens on the ice as Russia, Sweden, Finland, and the United
States are strong in their own right. Canada is still the best. They’re going to beat the United States and
win the Gold.
What didn’t
you like about the Canadian roster?
Email me at gimmeasign@gmail.com
and let your voice be heard. Follow me
on Twitter @JayPlatt. I’m full of
surprises.
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