Gollum Makes His Move

Did anyone else see that Cyndie Crosby will not play in the NHL Allstar Game Sunday January 25th because of a knee injury? As much as I want to pan Cyndie for being soft, I actually think he is doing the right thing. It's an exhibition game, there is no focus on defense, if he tweaks his knee and misses more of the regular season the Pens may not make the playoffs. So I understand why he's sitting. (Right this date down, you probably won't ever see me back up Crosby ever again.) Although, many Caps' fans might think Crosby is afraid of playing in the game with Alexander Ovechkin since Ovie checked Crosby the other week (the refs didn't call a penalty because they were playing hockey!). There is some bad blood between those two. Who knows.

So, the NHL picked his replacement; none other than Martin "Smeigel" St. Louis! That's right, folks, the Alternate Captain of the All-Shire Team is in! Its about time someone spoke up and made sure the Hobbits were represented well. Makes you wonder if St. Louis had something to do with Crosby sitting out. I can just picture him the whole time, talking to himself and hopping around. "Smeigel knows the way! Yes he does! Smeigel can take you to Cup. You must trust Smeigel." I bet all the other players are looking down on him with pity in their eyes. How the mighty have fallen.

No Longer the South-Least

I have been listening to the talking heads on TV, the Internet and in the newspaper for the past 11 years now as they have weighed in on what NHL division happens to be the weakest. Every year, inevitably, the Western Conference is dubbed superior to the weak Eastern Conference, while most of the votes for the most depressing division go to the Southeast. And when I say most of the votes, I mean about 99.9%. Without fail, all the so called hockey experts poo-poo the Southeast because, and I am paraphrasing here, the competition from top to bottom in the division is by far the weakest out of all 30 NHL teams. I even heard a remark a few years back that the Southeast was a notch above the minors and a notch below the pros, what with usually one good team making the post season and a bunch of garbage filling out the other four meaningless spots in the standings.

So, this year, I decided to look up the statistics from all of the NHL divisions starting in 1999, when the current division alignment began and see for myself if these doofuses were actually telling the truth or just spitting on a division with a collection of historically not-so-great and downright awful franchises. (I mean, Florida and Atlanta? I can see how you would want to ignore a division with teams from the Sun Belt and barely 17 years of history. Plus, Carolina came from Hartford, where the Whalers were down right dismal for 20+ years before finding success and fans in Raleigh.)

The NHL realigned the conferences before the 1998-99 season (2 Conferences- East and West, each with 3 divisions for a total of 6 divisions altogether.) At the end of the season, the division winners are awarded the top three seeds in each conference, with the five remaining spots in each conference being determined in descending order by standings points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 for a loss). 8 teams in each conference make the playoffs for a total of 16 teams vying to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Which division is the worst over those 10 years? Which one was the best? I could go into team records and points-for/points against stats, but I will keep this simple: just appearances in the Finals and championships since 99, (with a look at how the divisions would have faired if they existed in 1994.) You might be surprised to see what I found out.

Let's start in the Western Conference, the so called "superior" conference over the last 15 years.

The Pacific Division: Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks... 2 Cups and 2 finals losses.

The Pacific has been represented in the Finals 4 times since 99 with the Stars twice and the Ducks twice, each winning one Cup. Not exactly lighting it up, but respectable I think.

The Northwest Division: Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks... 1 Cup and 2 Finals Losses

The Northwest has been represented in the Finals 3 times since 99 and have 1 Cup (Colorado in 2001). If you go back to 94, when the Canucks lost to the Messier-led Rangers, the division record is 2 Cups (Colorado in 96 an 01) and 3 losses (Canucks in 94, Calgary in 04 and the Oilers in 06).

The Central Division: Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues... 2 Cups and 0 Losses

The Wings won the 2 Cups mentioned above (the latest last year), as well as 2 others before 99, (97 and 98), while also losing to the Devils in 95. That makes the overall 15 year record for the Central 4 Cups in 5 Finals appearances.

Western Conference - 5 Stanley Cups out of 9 seasons (there was no season in 05)

Now for the Eastern Conference:

The Atlantic Division: New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins... 2 Cups and 2 losses

The Devils dominate here, winning 2 Cups since 99, while losing to the Avs in 01. The Penguins lost in 08 to the Wings. When you go back to 94, the Devils won another Cup in 95, the Rangers won in 94 and the Flyers lost to Detroit in 97. The division has won 4 out of 7 Finals since 94.

The Northeast Division: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs... 0 Cups and 2 Losses

That's right, only two appearances in the Finals since 99, actually since 94! The Sabres lost to Dallas in 99 and Ottawa lost to the Ducks in 07. Other than that, zip, nada, nothing. That may change this year, but I am not strong enough with the Force to foresee that.

The Southeast Division: Altlanta Thrashers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals... 2 Cups and 1 loss

Amazing. The worst division in hockey has won two out of three Stanley Cups Finals appearances since 99; the lose came when the Canes lost to the Wings in 02. If you go back to 94, the Panthers (Scott Mellanby and the plastic Rats) lost to the Avs in 96 and the Caps lost to the Wings in 98. Review the stats from above. The Southeast is not the worst division of the past ten years, or 15 for that matter. You can argue that the Bolts Cup in 04 was a fluke if you want, but they won nonetheless. The Canes have fallen apart since winning in 06, sure. But they won it all almost three years ago. The Northeast looks a whole lot worse when compared, and the Pacific and the Southeast are basically identical divisions in terms of championships, not the best divisions, but certainly not the worst.

Eastern Conference- 4 Stanley Cups out of 9 seasons

So, there you go. The Northeast Division, with the Bruins, Leafs and the mighty Canadians have benefited the least since the realignment, according to the stats. Sure, they have won more Cups than any other division, but that's because the Habs have won it 24 times! Now, with Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps currently first in the Southeast and second in the conference, it is certainly plausible that a few more Cups may find their way south in the next few years.

I am sure many will argue about what the combined regular season records are for each division over that time, how many teams in each made the playoffs in those ten years, etc., etc. But that is a lot more work that I just don't have time for. Maybe next time. All that really matters is what happens in the Finals, and the Southeast Division more than holds its own.