It's a Canadian Game

Ever since Monday the talk around the league has been the devastating injury to Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos. Monday in their matinee game against the Boston Bruins Stamkos crashed heavily into his own net and in doing so broke his right tibia. The Stamkos injury means that he will be out of commission indefinitely. Now despite just being out of the Lightning lineup for the foreseeable future the injury also could mean that Stamkos’ participation for team Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi could be in jeopardy, a big blow to Canada’s offense. Besides Stamkos and his injury there may also be some other players who were expected to make it that may have played themselves off the team with their poor starts to the season. Two names that immediately come to mind are Flyer’s captain Claude Giroux and Hurricanes’’ captain Eric Staal. When team Canada held their orientation camp in the summer these two were penciled in by many to already have a spot on the roster. However, through the first 18 games Giroux has just one goal and 10 points and has the second worst plus/minus rating on the Flyers with an unimpressive -8. Meanwhile Staal’s numbers are similar, having only amassed 9 points and a team worst -9 in Carolina’s first 18 games. TSN insider Darren Dreger reports that Team Canada management still feels very strong about Giroux and believes he can be a very important part to the team, but with his terrible start this season it’s hard to think he deserves a spot over players who have excelled this year. Another name that could be on the bubble is Rangers’ Rick Nash. Nash is coming off a concussion that has kept him out of the lineup since the Rangers’ third game of the season. Now Nash started practicing with the team this week and is expected to be in the lineup very soon, but if Nash’s injury prevents him from competing at 100% his spot on the team may be up in the air as well. Luckily for Canada there have been others who have started the season with stellar performances and if given the chance may very well be able to provide the void left by injuries and under performers. With his team off to an incredible 14-3 start and having put up 19 points in those games, Matt Duchene is a name that would be very hard for the team to overlook. He like Stamkos is a centre, but if he makes the team may be looked upon to play the wing due to a plethora of talented centres at Canada’s disposal. Duchene could prove to be a very valuable piece as he can play all situations, has incredible speed, and through 17 games this year has yet to take a single penalty meaning he plays a very smart game. Another name that should get some consideration despite failing to receive an invitation to the team’s orientation camp is Dallas Stars’ left winger Jamie Benn. Benn has 16 points in the Stars’ first 18 games. This is good enough for second on the Stars behind Tyler Seguin. Benn is also a +6 which also leads the team. Benn is a big body who can play physical, can dominate offensively, and like Duchene can be very versatile. Benn could be a great replacement for big bodies such as Nash or Staal. In fact TSN’s Darren Dreger ran through an updated guess of who he thought the roster might include this past Tuesday, including Jamie Benn. With their hot start a number of San Jose Sharks may also get a strong look as well. Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Thornton have all put up substantial numbers this season and could push for a roster spots as well. Thornton has 19 points in 18 games, while both Couture and Maleau have 18. The Sharks trio also have a combined +17 rating and 8 powerplay goals between them. Thornton and Marleau would also bring a great veteran presence to the team as both were part of the 2010 squad that won gold in Vancouver. The two were also part of the team’s most consistent offensive lines along with former Shark Dany Heatley. Team Canada’s Management staff met in Toronto to strongly discuss the core of their roster on Tuesday. Ideas of what names exactly were discussed are unsure, but one can assume the players above were part of these discussions among others. So, as we inch closer and closer to January when the roster will be named, once can only assume that these names will be discussed a lot more thoroughly. Follow me on Twitter @Craig_Hagerman

I agree 100% and what I was trying to say.. It's one thing to be an enforcer its another to be a dirty good like Scott!

Thanks. As for Reimer, I wouldn't get rid of him just yet though I agree if you're going to trade him anywhere Edmonton is obviously the place. As for Edmonton I think Brian Elliot could be another name to look at.

The Toronto Maple Leafs finished off their west coast road trip last Saturday with arguably their worst effort of the season, losing 4-0 to the Vancouver Canucks . However, despite this loss the Leafs looked great picking up solid wins against the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames. These two wins can largely be credited to the outstanding play of both James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier and that is why there may be some cause for concern. In their three games each tender was forced to make over 40 saves. Against Edmonton Reimer recorded a 43 save shutout, in Calgary Bernier made 41 saves on 43 shots, and on Saturday Reimer made 43 saves on 47 shots. In these same three games the Leafs registered shot totals of 26, 22, and 21. Meaning during this road trip the Leafs were outshot 127-69. This is a problem that the Leafs have been plagued by all season. Through their first 15 games the Maple Leafs been outshot in 13 of those games. In fact the Leafs currently have allowed the second most shots against in the league, giving up an average of over 36 shots a game. Besides just being a lot of pressure on the goaltenders what this drastic shot differential means is so much more. What this plethora of shots against implies is that more of the game has been played in the Maple Leafs’ end of the rink instead of the opposition. This means that the Leafs are not providing themselves with opportunity to produce offense. This also means that there is extra pressure put on the defensemen, this suggests that the Leafs are being caught running around in their own end. This usually is what leads to penalties taken, leading to once again, more shots and more scoring opportunities for the opposition. Simply put, the Maple Leafs need to start controlling the play and relying less on their goaltenders. The Leafs have been very fortunate that they are able to make the most of their opportunities and that their goaltenders have risen to the occasion. However, Saturday was a perfect example that no matter how well your goaltenders play, they can’t produce offense. The Maple Leafs should take the 4-0 loss to Vancouver as a lesson learned and look to take some of the burden off of their goaltenders. On Saturday the Leafs were dealt another big blow as they lost centreman David Bolland to an injury after in a hit into the boards he suffered a cut tendon in his right foot. This injury comes after Tyler Bozak had missed the last three games and was placed on the long term injured reserve, likely not back until late November. Bolland had successful surgery to repair the cut, but will be out indefinitely and though his timetable for a return is not known for sure, it is expected to be a couple months. So, with this the Maple Leafs may now be in the market for a new centreman to fill the gap. TSN’s hockey insider Darren Dreger, believes the Leafs are looking around for a new centreman, but that availability may be slim. He also added that the Maple Leafs may use this injury to look for another top 6 forward believing that they have a lot of assets to offer in defensemen such as John-Michael Liles and young prospects. In the meantime the Leafs have temporarily put winger James van Riemsdyk back at centre between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Although van Reimsdyk has never played centre as a pro he played the position back in college and both him and head coach Randy Carlyle believe that the transition won’t be that hard. In fact fans may have noticed the trio paired together a few times on the powerplay Saturday in Vancouver. The Maple Leafs don’t play again until Friday when they take on the New Jersey Devils which should give the Maple Leafs a lot of time to either gel van Reimsdyk or find someone else to help fill in the gap. Follow me on Twitter @Craig_Hagerman