How much talent would there be in a 6-team NHL?

From the random, whimsical mind of Mark Norman:

I was wondering the other day how high the skill level in the NHL would be if the league still only had six teams. This thought process was somewhat of a continuation from various conversations about the saturation of talent in the 12-team Olympic tournament. So, naturally, I decided to do a research project to satisfy my curiosity.

The results were spectacular. Imagine Sidney Crosby centering Patrick Marleau and Teemu Selanne (a combined 119 goals and 234 points in the 2009-10 season). Or Alex Ovechkin terrorizing opponents with linemates Jonathan Toews and Jarome Iginla (107g, 245p in 09-10). Or a defensive corps that features Zdeno Chara and Brent Seabrook patrolling the blue-line in front of Martin Brodeur. You get the idea.

Before presenting the rosters, I will briefly outline the methodology behind my madness:

1. The top players were ranked at each position to fill out the six rosters (24 centres, 48 wingers, 36 defensemen and 12 goalies). Rankings were mostly based on statistical performance this season, however I subjectively included some players who may not be shining statistically this season for a variety of reasons (injury, off year, excellent player beyond statistics, etc.).

2. Having determined the top performers at each position, I sorted each position alphabetically as a way to randomize the skill level of players.

3. I then assigned players from each position to the six teams in a “draft” format (e.g. Team #1 got centre #1, #7, #13 and #19). Because the players were sorted alphabetically, this should have resulted in a random distribution of talent level to the different teams.

4. Finally, I subjectively sorted each team into four lines (centre and two wingers), three defensive pairings and a goaltending tandem. This process was based on a combination of statistics and my own perception of players’ abilities.

5. Two other points: 1) I am sure that some worthy players were excluded, and this is obviously by no means exhaustive; 2) For the sake of convenience, I used the Original 6 teams. Obviously if I was commissioner of this league, though, the Canucks would be in the league!

Okay, so without further ado, here is this puckhead’s dream-come-true—the line-ups for a modern-day Original 6 NHL:

Boston Bruins

Forward Lines
Ovechkin	Toews	Iginla
Zetterberg	Lecavalier	Perry
Frolov	Spezza	Gionta
Sullivan	Duchene	Stempniak
Defense Pairings
Keith	Green
S. Niedermayer	Brian Campbell
Robidas	Zidlicky
Goalies
Kiprusoff
Ward

Chicago Blackhawks

Forward Lines
Kovalchuk	Stamkos	Semin
Vanek	Carter	Kovalev
Burrows	Kesler	Hejduk
Backes	Mike Richards	Samuelsson
Defense Pairings
Lidstrom	Bouwmeester
Pronger	Johnson, J
Timonen	Edler
Goalies
Miller
Bryzgalov

Detroit Red Wings

Forward Lines
Marleau	Crosby	Selanne
Cammalleri	Savard	Doan
Sharp	Paul Stastny	Hemsky
Ray Whitney	Mikko Koivu	Langenbrunner
Defense Pairings
Boyle	Andrei Markov
Rafalski	Jovanovski
Ehrhoff	Visnovsky
Goalies
Nabokov Fleury

Montreal Canadiens

Forward Lines
Daniel Sedin	Getzlaf	Heatley
Kessel	Brad Richards	Bobby Ryan
Dustin Brown	Jordan Staal	Briere
Holmstrom	Bergeron	Umberger
Defense Pairings
Doughty	Suter
Blake	Erik Johnson
Pitkanen	Letang
Goalies
Luongo
Backstrom

New York Rangers

Forward Lines
Marian Hossa	Datsyuk	Nash
Elias	Henrik Sedin	Gaborik
Morrow	Joe Thornton	St. Louis
Wolski	Kopitar	Smyth
Defense Pairings
Weber	Kaberle
Myers	Gonchar
Regehr	Burns
Goalies
Vokoun
Halak

Toronto Maple Leafs

Forward Lines
Parise	Malkin	Patrick Kane
Havlat	Backstrom	Alfredsson
Tavares	Eric Staal	Gagne
Bourque	Franzen	Pominville
Defense Pairings
Chara	Seabrook
Phaneuf	Hamhuis
Komisarek	Barker
Goalies
Brodeur
Lundqvist

Around the Rink: Post-Olympic euphoria?

Every once in a while 'Nucks and Pucks will offer links to some of the best hockey stories of the past few days. It's a chance for me to share the great hockey sites, blogs, and writers that entertain and inspire me. Enjoy!

• Hockey on the cover of Sports Illustrated! As you can see in the above image, Sidney Crosby graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. This is actually a big deal, as hockey does not feature this prominently in SI very often - even the Stanley Cup champions rarely make it to the cover of America's biggest sports publication anymore. Clearly the US making the Gold Medal game generated some serious hype south of the 49th, which is great to see. [Sports Illustrated]
  

• Eyeballs glued to TV screens: That serious hype translated into amazing ratings for the game both in Canada and (more importantly for the NHL) in the US. Roughly one in three American TVs was tuned in to the hockey game last Sunday, making it the second most-watched non-NFL sporting event of the year. Furthermore, the game beat out all World Series games since 2004 and every NBA and NCAA basketball final games since 1998. Awesome news for hockey interest in the States. [Puck the Media]

• But let's keep it in perspective... As Puck Daddy points out, many of these viewers are casual sports fans who will not automatically start following the NHL. Nonetheless, the momentum may generate interest in the sport amongst young athletes and hopefully help grom the game at a grassroots level. [Puck Daddy]
  

• Sid's celebration: Speaking of Puck Daddy, the blog launched an impromptu Photoshop competition in honour of Sidney Crosby's epic "golden roar" celebration pose. The first gallery is up here. My (weak) Microsoft Paint submission is below - it celebrates Crosby's maturation and ownership of Alex Ovechkin in major competitions, as well as Ovechkin's unfortunate freak-out following Russia's elimination at the tournament. [Puck Daddy]

• Meanwhile, From the Rink is bully on the mainstream publicity that Crosby is receiving - despite him not ranking as one of the game's all-time greats. [From the Rink]

• And finally, in case you missed it, Canada's Gold Medal victory touched off celebrations across the country. I posted three galleries of photos from the Toronto celebrations at Dundas Square, and posted some photos and video at Nucks Misconduct. Please do check it out! [Nucks Misconduct]
  

2009 Playoffs: Round Two Predictions

Well the conference semi-finals are underway, and there some brilliant match-ups - most notably, what should be an amazing Pittsburgh-Washington series. So without further ado, here are my picks for the NHL Playoffs' Round Two:

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6) - Bruins in 6

The Bruins manhandled the Canadiens in the opening round, but that isn't saying much given the fact that the Habs were essentially The Titanic on ice this season. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have all the momentum in the world after their spectacular comeback against the Devils in Game 7. However, the 'Canes are not good enough to stand up to this deep and tough Bruins squad, though I think they will steal a couple games. Oh yeah, and if you haven't seen the Game 7 comeback yet then check this out, it is amazing stuff:



Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (4) - Penguins in 6

Superstar Ovechkin vs. superstar Crosby. Hart Trophy candidate Ovechkin vs. Hart Trophy candidate Malkin. A Russian rookie between the pipes for the Caps. Two of the most exciting teams in the NHL, each of them with a huge hate-on for the other. This should be an amazing series with all kinds of storylines and subplots. The Caps are a great team, and if Sergei Fedorov continues to play like it's 1994 then they could take it. But I think the Pens will get to Simeon Varlamov and rattle his confidence, and I think they are a deeper and better team. And if you need any more reasons to watch, just think how awesome it will be if Crosby and Ovechkin get in a fight.

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs. Anaheim Ducks (8) - Red Wings in 7

Anaheim is a scary opponent (hands up Canucks fans who are stoked not to be playing the Ducks in this series). Just two seasons removed from winning the Cup, and with a roster stocked with the likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Pronger, Scott Neidermayer, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan, the Ducks are well-placed to score another upset. However Detroit is still Detroit. They have the deepest roster in the league, a handful of superstars (headlined by Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom) and are the defending champions. I think the Ducks will give them a good run, but am picking the Wings to prevail.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (4) - Canucks in 5

I am counting on the 'Hawks to win one on home ice, but I do not like their chances in this series. Luongo is on fire, despite allowing three goals last game, and the depth players are stepping up huge for the Canucks. I would like to see the 'Nucks defencemen throw their weight around more against the skilled Blackhawks players, and I expect that we will see Mitchell, Ohlund, Bieksa et al. do just that against Kane and Toews in the coming games. The 'Hawks are a good team, but the Canucks are that much better and more experienced. Sock it to 'em boys!

Random thoughts on Round One

• What is up with the San Jose Sharks? I'm not saying this series is over 'til it's over, but still it does not look good for the boys in teal against a tough Ducks squad. If they cannot win three straight they will go down as bigger teases than the Canucks. This is a team that has never made it to the Stanley Cup Finals despite some great teams, and despite this year seeming like the year they change that trend. It now looks like it will be another disappointing spring for Sharks fans.

• If you have not yet seen this goal by Alex Ovechkin from last night's game, well, just watch:

• Rough end to the season for the Montreal Canadiens. I feel badly for Carey Price, who is only 21 but already getting blamed for the Habs' problems. I appreciate the passion of Habs fans, but booing your team and your goalie as they get swept does not show a lot of class in my opinion.
  

• Columbus Blue Jackets, fans on the other hand, were apparently amazing even as their team got swept by the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings. I was really hoping for a strong showing from the Jackets (let's ignore, for a moment, that I picked them to win this series) because their fans have waited a long time for the team's first post-season berth and have been apparently very rabid all year. Still, they gave the team a classy send off last night and the players returned the favour with a salute to the fans:
  

• Right now I am very impressed by the Boston Bruins, who outmuscled and outscored the Habs to totally dominate the series. And man, do I wish that Milan Lucic was on the Canucks! I'm thinking that right now the Bruins look like a very good bet to come out of the East.
  

• What are your thoughts on the playoffs thus far? Feel free to chip in under the comments section.