Rocks that Move

In order to get myself at the blogging table, I decided I needed to cook up something easy to write about. I had also been thinking about the NHL MVP hype that has been going around, because I have been amazed at how short-sighted it has been this year. Winning the scoring title never used to guarantee you a shot at the Hart Trophy, and there have been years where that person has not been considered at all. But this year, only two names are consistently being thrown around: Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin. Fine players, both of them, but I am simply not convinced it should just come down to those two guys. So here is my top 10 list of the most valuable hockey players in the league right now, with my #1 being my choice for this year's Hart Trophy.

10. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks

This guy may be a stretch, but he is slowly turning into the heart and soul of the Ducks. He is young and gritty and leads the team in scoring. He just needs to shoot more! He falls down the list because of the likes of Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, but I could see Getzlaf challenging for the prize some day. Mike Richards of Philly almost made the list here, too, another young guy with great leadership skills.

9. Marian Gaborik, Minnesota Wild

The Wild have quietly had a really great season this year and are poised to have a good playoff run. They couldn't do it without their big spark plug, Mr. Gaborik. Not only is he a skilled and prolific scorer, he is also an energy player that really gives his team a lift. Without him, the Chicago Blackhawks would have a better chance of making the playoffs this year.

8. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

Defensemen do not get enough attention for the MVP award this year. When Zdeno Chara got hurt in February, the Boston Bruins tanked and now they are on the bubble for the Eastern Conference playoffs. With Zdeno, this is a bad team, and I mean "bad" in the sense of big and mean and tough to play against. Chara can score, check, pass, lead, and beat the living crap out of anyone. He really stepped up this year. If not for his suspension and the fact he plays for a better team, I might have put Chris Pronger on this list for the same reason.

7. Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators

Alfredsson was the talk of the town half way through the season and was a big contender for the MVP award, but all that went down the toilet when his linemate Dany Heatley got hurt, then he got hurt, then the Senators started to twirl down the drain. I suspect that had Alfredsson stayed healthy, he'd still be the talk of the town, and the Senators would still be there, too. As it stands, they will still make the playoffs under Alfredsson's leadership.

6. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

I am always reluctant to give goalies the MVP. Most valuable player to their team? Well, duh. In a way, the Vezina trophy for best goalie IS an MVP trophy. But Brodeur is exceptional. No Brodeur, no New Jersey Devils. It's as simple as that. He's been human the past couple of games, but the fact is he is the best of the game and is one of the most valuable players in the entire league.

5. Alexei Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens

Kovalev? MVP? HA HA HA HA H- oh, wait. He HAS been that good this year, hasn't he? Not only does he lead the best team in the East right now in scoring, but he has also been their leader in locker room presence this year. It took him over a decade to do it, but he has finally matured, and it is no coincidence that his resurgence and the Canadiens' resurgence has occurred simultaneously. And he really hasn't gotten all the attention and credit he deserves for it.

4. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Yes, Malkin deserves a lot of credit and consideration for the Hart Trophy this year. If he wins, I don't think it is a big travesty of justice. That said, I still think he is getting some residual credit because of Crosby's absence and the fact he plays for a high-profile team. BUT- he has REALLY stepped it up, and with Crosby out, the Pens have hardly skipped a beat. He is the main reason for this. Only in his second year, Malkin is already one of the best players in the league.

3. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

Again, defensemen do not get considered enough for this award. Detroit is first place in the league and is a Stanley Cup contender every year. Why? Nick Lidstrom, who is slowly but surely making an argument for being one of the three or four best defensemen ever. Bobby Orr. Check. Doug Harvey. Check. Who besides those two was better than Lidstrom? He captains the team, leads their power play, scores, plays flawless defense, and never ever takes a bad penalty. The Wings were not even close to the same when he was out.

2. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

If the Caps make the playoffs, I think Ovechkin will win the Hart Trophy. That is not my choice for MVP, but rather my prediction. Ovechkin IS the Washington Capitals, and he is the most exciting player in the league to watch. He is the first person since Lemieux and Jagr over ten years ago to score 60 goals in a season, and without him the Capitols would be a minor-league team, not on the doorstep of their first playoff appearance since, when was it, 1645? Ah, but who is MY choice?

1. Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames

Like defensemen, Western Conference players in remote areas (like Calgary) never get enough attention or credit. In 2001-2002 Jarome Iginla got ROBBED of the Hart Trophy in one of the NHL's biggest award gaffes for this very reason. The same thing will happen to him this year. He is third behind Malkin and Ovechkin in scoring and will probably come up a little short of 100 points, but this guy brings leadership skills to the table that Malkin and Ovechkin can only dream about at this stage of their careers. Iginla does everything. Scores goals, passes, hits, plays good defense (do Malkin and Ovechkin even know their goalies' names?), leads the team on and off the ice, fights, helps old ladies cross the street, flies, cures cancer- you name it. Ovechkin and Malkin are contenders for the Hart Trophy crown, and should be, but in my mind it is Iginla's trophy this year, just like it was in 2002. He is the most valuable player to his team.

I have two more amusing things regarding teaching.

First, last week I was teaching my students about Imperialism during the latter half of the nineteenth century up until 1914, and one of the things we discussed as a causal factor in the acceleration of Imperial actions in Asia was organized religion. Wanting to spread their faith, Christian missionaries began to pour into the East, some of them with good intentions, and others not so much. The result was two-fold. First, it increased Western military activities in the East as Imperial powers were urged to protect these missionaries, as well as the huge influx of scientists, biologists, anthropologists, botanists, journalists, and writers that also went East to make a name for themselves. Second, the arrival of missionaries resulted in cultural changes that fueled Eastern fears of the West, as many felt that their culture was endangered. Early in the discussion I had put up on the board a photograph of a Baptist family from America that was dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, and I brought that image up again when I discussed one of the results of Imperialism in China, the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxers targeted Christian missionaries for spreading foreign ideas and culture, and the family I showed had actually been killed in the rebellion.

Today something interesting happened. I live in the South, at the foot of the Bible belt. As I was walking to class today, I was approached by a Chinese man with a clipboard and a book. The book was a study Bible, which he was giving away if I was willing to fill in an information sheet for his church. Over one hundred years ago missionaries from America and other Western nations began spreading the Christian faith in China, and today a Chinese missionary was in America in the south trying to spread Christianity to us. I don't know if this is a Hoyle-book definition of irony or not, but I definitely found it an interesting coincidence! Of course he was likely working for a local church, but the irony still was there.

The other thing I ran into today are History Channel students. Today we began discussing World War I, and I got a taste of what I have to look forward to in the next few weeks. I had a World War I buff in my class who kept raising his hand and asking really specific, technical questions about World War I, and it quickly became evident that he already knew the answers to the questions. He wanted to test my knowledge and show everyone how smart he is. I successfully answered some of his questions, but he got me on two. I did not know the name of the telegram that was sent to Mexico by Germany trying to convince them to join the war against America, and I was not certain why Russia was allied with Serbia, though I was not surprised to find out it was an ethnic relationship. I appreciated the information, frankly, but at the same time I was up there trying to explain a very large and complex topic to a beginner crowd in one day. His questions did not help. I may as well get used to it. It will get even worse next week when I discuss the Russian Revolution and especially the week after when I discuss World War II. I am doing World War II in a week- one day to discuss Hitler and Germany, one day for the war itself, and a day for the Holocaust. I just don't have time to go into more depth than that, but the end result is going to be a lot of unhappy World War II buffs who will want to tell me about the documentary they saw about how Roosevelt knew about Pearl Harbor or how Hitler was a big fan of Charlie Chaplin. God forbid I get anyone who wants to publicly deny the Holocaust! That is the one thing that might provoke me to acts of violence. Hopefully I will get around that. It is the only day all semester that I am showing a movie. I have a little documentary from the Schindler's List dvd with actual interviews with Holocaust survivors. I figured they could tell their story better than I can, and it eliminates me having to answer questions all lecture.

In any case, from here on out I think the History Channel is going to be the bane of my existence.

Due to my continued inability to manage my time this semester, I was up until 5 in the morning grading essays about "Imperialism." But I learned some interesting things. Here are six, one for each hour past my bedtime that I was awake...

1. Imperialism in China was just like Orwell's "1984," while Imperialism in India was more like Huxley's "Brave New World."

How? Well, I sure wish I knew. The student did not tell me.

2. By observing a marriage precession in Delhi, you can change the face of history. All you have to do is write an essay saying how strange it all was, and people all over the world will instantly want to conquer India.

Well, this is almost true. It just didn't happen from the particular essay we read in class.

3. Robert Fortune hated/loved the Chinese who widely accepted/rejected British Influence. Meanwhile, Emma Roberts absolutely loved/despised the Indians and their culture, while Helen Mackenzie totally hated the Indians and despised their culture, except when she praised them for how great they are.

Make up your mind, dammit!!!!!

4. The ability to describe a parade in detail is a quality of the female gender, while the ability to disguise yourself as a Chinese merchant and observe opium smokers is a characteristic of the male gender.

No wonder I always want to dress up in costumes and look for hippies.

5. The fact that the Indians liked to have big, fancy parades with elephants and horses and bright and vivid colors and grandeur demonstrated how the Indians were an inferior nation than the Chinese, who were so much more calm and reserved... as was evident from their smoking of opium and using chopsticks.

Logic.

6. My favorite: The British stretched their power over all the world with a big, elastic hand! But it was not just any elastic hand, it was a big, STICKY elastic hand that reached out and snatched culture, but culture stuck to the elastic sticky hand, bringing foreign culture back to Britain, where the elastic hand was replaced by New Imperialism.

Then, I presume, the big elastic hand moved on to do Foo Fighter videos.

How the heck did the Western Conference end up with pretty much ALL the good defensemen in the league? We have Lidstrom, Rafalski, Zubov, Niedermayer, Pronger, Schnieder, Campbell, Foote, Blake, Chelios, Phaneuf, Boucher, Jovonovski, Visnovsky, Erik and Jack Johnson... and the East has Dan Boyle and Zdeno Chara. That's about it. Anyhoo, I have no clue who will win the Cup this year, but I'd put my money on a Western Conference team. Here's how they did with the trade thingy...

Anaheim: The Ducks stunned me. They just signed "retired" Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer, so how in hell is it possible that they have any cap room? And yet they managed to pick up Jean-Sebastian Aubin as a backup goalie to give them the best "Jean-Sebastian" goalie pair in hockey history, along with Marc-Andre Bergeron on defense. All they gave up was Brandon Bochenski. I don't know how they do it, but they have to be the Cup favorite right now.

A-

Calgary: Calgary has been allegedly a Cup contender the past few years... but I am not so convinced anymore. They have not been THAT great this year, despite the heroic efforts of Iginla and Kipprusoff. So what did they do to boost their chances at the trade deadline? Nothing. Hmm...

D

Chicago: Ok. This year turned out not to be their year. But I thought they would be bigger sellers than they were. Frankly, I am surprised the injury-prone Martin Havlat is still wearing the Chief on his chest. They did unload Martin Lapointe for a late draft pick and traded the enigmatic Tuomo for Andrew Ladd, a trade that I think they'll be glad about. But the fact is they are waiting this season out. Next year will be better! We hope.

C

Colorado: Picked up Ruslan Salei and Adam Foote to help on defense. They needed that, especially in the West, but what these two bring in grit and defense they give up in speed. Whether or not this is a good deal depends on how the refs call the playoffs. They also signed free agent Peter Forsberg. Now if they can only get Ray Bourque to come out of retirement...

B-

Columbus: Columbus is a team on the rise, and they know it. They also know that this year is not the year. They got rid of the overpriced Fedorov for a prospect and old and slow Adam Foote for a 1st round pick, a steal I think. Kudos to them for looking forward when they need to.

B+

Dallas: Frick. Dallas got Brad Richards from Tampa, as well as a decent backup to replace Mike Smith. This was one of those trades that was great for both sides. This addresses a specific need for Dallas, scoring depth, and Richards will be a great fit for them. He's also playoff proven... albeit overpaid. He's one of those "better than the boxscore" players, but one that can still make the boxscore sometimes, too. Being a Wings fan, I don't like this trade.

A-

Detroit: Detroit's Achilles' heal is the same as what Dallas and Vancouver's is: lack of scoring depth. Dallas addressed the problem. Vancouver (see below) did not. Neither did Detroit. They picked up Brad Stuart as insurance for the injuries woes they have on defense, but their problem remains the same: who is going to score if Zetterberg and Datsyuk are shut down? Hell, who will score if they are not? I am glad we did not sell the future like we used to, but I am not convinced this is a Cup team with no real second scoring line.

D+

Edmonton: Didn't buy. Didn't sell. Truth is that no one wants to play there and no one wants the junk they are peddling. GMs may still be pissed off about the Dustin Penner thing, too, though they have no right to be. Regardless, it is beginning to look like the Oilers should just go ahead and move to Houston now and stop wasting our time.

F

Los Angeles: They get my award for most disappointing team. I thought they were going to break out. I really did. Instead, they parted with Brad Stuart and Aubin for draft picks. Not much else they could do. Stupid Rob Blake refused to go anywhere unless it was Colorado. Who does he think he is, Mats Sundin?

C-

Minnesota: Wow! They got Chris Simon! Now they have TWO of the gooniest players in the league! Let's see, what else did they get... Nothing! May as well give them the Cup now, eh?

D-

Nashville: Getting Jan Hlavac and Brandon Bochenski for draft picks is a small attempt to pretend like they could go somewhere in the playoffs. I don't think it was worth the draft picks for either of them, even if they were low picks. Yawn. At least they are not pretending like they are big contenders and selling the farm.

C+

Phoenix: And this is this year's surprise team in a positive way. Doesn't quite look like they'll make the playoffs, but they are a team to watch. So they sent off some prospects to New York for Marcel Hossa and former Wolverine Al Montoya as a potential future goalie. It's an iffy move, but not one that will hurt all that much. Mostly they are just waiting to see how their young guns develop for next year.

C

San Jose: Gave up talented Bernier and a first round pick for Brian Campbell. Campbell will be a great fit for San Jose, but I am not sure he was worth what they gave up. Being a defenseman, though, maybe he was. They needed that more than scoring depth at forward anyway. That said, they were rumored to be getting Hossa. Maybe they were smart not to!

B

St. Louis: Gave up young Christian Backman for a 4th round pick and Bryce Salvador for Cam Janssen. Eh. Probably won't hurt OR help them. At least they were smart enough not to pretend to be Cup favorites and sell all their youth away.

B-

Vancouver: Gave up scrappy Matt Cooke for a younger Matt Pettinger who will score a little more. Vancouver needs MUCH better scoring depth than this if they want to be more than the Vancouver Luongos. Like Detroit they are a one-line team... but one without the great defense.

C-

Well, I really don't have anything to say about the Oscars, which is a shame. I simply have not seen enough of the movies to comment, although I am happy to see Daniel Day Lewis win another one, because he may be my all-time favorite actor. Maybe. He's up there. I do, however, have something to say about another exciting thing that happened this week: the NHL trade deadline! It was an exciting year for trades. Here is what I think about how everyone did, beginning with the Eastern Conference:

Atlanta: Atlanta had to cough up star Marian Hossa, which is a shame, but he was an unrestricted free agent and was going to leave them. So they made the right move, and came out pretty good, I think. They got two young talents in Colby Armstrong and Erik Christenson who will not make them Cup champs, but are solid bodies who can play. They also got a first round pick and prospect Angelo Esposito, who is one of those high-risk, high-reward players.

B

Boston: These guys didn't really do anything at the deadline. Yawn.

D

Buffalo: Well, Brian Campbell didn't sign with them, so they had to cough him up. Got Steve Bernier and a 1st round pick for him, which is not shabby under the circumstances. But Buffalo's inability to keep their stars is going to come back and bite them pretty badly in the next few years.

B-

Carolina: Attained the talented but enigmatic Tuomo Ruutu for the less talented but more steady Andrew Ladd. This trade could go either way... but probably won't make a lick of difference.

C

Florida: The big rumor was that they would let Olli Jokinen go. Yeah. Right. Instead, they picked up Chad Kilger, Wade Belak, and Karl Skrastins in a few minor trades that won't make a lick of difference to them. Why bother?

C

Montreal: Montreal was supposed to get Marian Hossa, but it fell through. Instead, they took one of the biggest risks in the league and traded Critobal Huet for a draft pick. I can't believe they couldn't do better than that for him, and it is a big risk. That said, they got SOMETHING for him and they do have two really talented, young goalies already. But this team is a contender this year for the Cup, and I am surprised they were willing to roll the dice on two young guys. They really didn't get anything else to help. But they didn't lose anything, either. Honestly, I think THAT is a good move. More teams should think this way.

B+

New Jersey: Got Bryce Salvador for Cam Jansen. Eh. Better hope that Marty Brodeur can stand on his head for four rounds. Otherwise this is a big bust.

C-

NY Islanders: They passed on their headache, Chris Simon, to Minnesota, which was a good move in itself. They also got rid of Marc-Andre Bergeron for a pick. They are not real contenders, so I think these moves more or less made sense. Eh.

C+

NY Rangers: I was proud of the Rangers. In the past they would have traded every young player on their team and all their draft picks for Maurice Richard... and Richard is dead. This time they traded just one pick and a couple of more minor players for a bunch of young guys that will help their team grow slowly, but surely. Good move.

A-

Ottawa: Their big trade was getting Cory Stillman earlier this month, which was a great pickup for them. He's a talented veteran. Today they did not do much aside of getting some toughness in Martin Lapointe, which they needed, but I still can't help but think that as talented as they are, their goaltending is very iffy. That will spell trouble come playoff time.

B

Philly: The Flyers have been the most over-rated team in the league all year. Everyone thought that Timonen and Briere and Biron were going to make them champs, and I never did buy it. Sure enough, they have been rather mediocre. Well, the trade deadline did not change anything. They gave up too much for Vaclav Prospal, and didn't do anything to shore up their defense or goaltending. They MIGHT make the playoffs... but the truth is that they should have acted more like sellers, instead of buyers this year.

D-

Pittsburgh: Everyone is praising the Penguins as the new Cup favorite in the East for getting Marian Hossa, but I just don't buy it. First off, Hossa hasn't really been that good this year, though he will likely bounce back... before leaving for whomever pays him the most this summer. But most importantly, Pittsburgh did not address its biggest need: defense. The Pens didn't need more offense, they needed defense. Defense wins championships. This is the most talented team in the league now, offensively, but they are not really a playoff team. Hal Gill isn't going to cut it.

C+

Tampa: The Lightning had no choice. They were dead ducks this season anyway, and they had cap problems. With that in mind, I think they did the best they could. They lost some stars in Prospal and Richards, but they cut a lot of salary and got some great prospects. Mike Smith, if he pans out to be what he appeared to be becoming in Dallas, could be the difference-maker. Goaltending has been Tampa's problem since 2004 ended, and it is about time they tried to do something about it. Meanwhile, Jeff Halpern is a good character guy and Jussi Jokinen has potential. They also got some draft picks and prospects. Good deal, under the circumstances.

A-

Toronto: Got some draft picks for Hal Gill, Wade Belak, and Chad Kilger. With Sundin refusing to waive his no-trade clause, a bad move in my opinion, there was not a lot more that they could do. Considering that they are the Leafs, however, I have to call this a big failure... although I think they fleeced the Pens getting a 5th AND 2nd round pick for Gill.

D+

Washington: Huh. I can't figure out what the heck was up in the Capitol. They picked up Critobal Huet for a draft pick, which really surprised me. Did they need a goalie? I guess having two can't hurt, and honestly, Kolzig has seen better days. So maybe this was a good move. They also picked up Sergei Fedorov, who was Ovechkin's hero growing up. Maybe that will light a fire under Fedorov's lazy butt. If not, at least the Caps didn't give much up for him.

B