Another name for this NHL campaign --The Swede Season.
It is entirely plausible that Swedish hockey players will sweep the three major awards in the National Hockey League this season for the very first time.
Peter Forsberg would be my choice for the Hart Trophy, as most valuable player.
Niklas Lidstrom should repeat for the third straight year as Norris Trophy winner, for best defenceman.
And Markus Naslund has to be favored to hold on and win the Art Ross Trophy for leading scorer.
What makes this possibility so unique is that aside from Lidstrom winning, no Swedish player has ever been named MVP or led the NHL in scoring points.
The trio of victories, if they become true, would represent a huge breakthrough for Swedish hockey in North America. Maybe then -- and only then -- with Forsberg the top player in the game and Lidstrom the top defenceman, the stereotype by the hockey neanderthals will somehow disappear.
THIS AND THAT: The letters the Maple Leafs were hoping for from Doug Gilmour were MVP not MRI ... If Gilmour, Phil Housley, Alex Mogilny and Tomas Kaberle wound up in the same Leafs lineup, the team could brag about having four of the best passers in hockey today ... Five days since Tuesday and still haven't heard Kevin Lowe explain how he traded away his best defenceman and his leading scorer and got nothing more in return than somebody else's laundry ... This isn't a second guess, but I would have given up a fifth round pick for Stumpy Thomas: The guy scored 18 playoff goals in three Toronto post-seasons ... No wonder Jaromir Jagr wound up owing millions in unpaid taxes, what with all those internet gambling bills and all ... And for the record, Jagr is in favor of Pete Rose's bid to be reinstated in baseball ... Talk about unfair: How come Dean McAmmond gets benched for the rest of the season when he's the only one who did nothing wrong in the trade that sent him from Colorado to Calgary?
HERE AND THERE: Doug Weight, Joe Nieuwendyk, Pierre Turgeon, John LeClair and Tony Amonte -- combined salary $40.2 million US -- each has scored fewer goals than Tie Domi this season ... Was this really worth the long distance charges: Matt Bradley for Wayne Primeau ... And there was Dean Lombardi, general manager of the San Jose Sharks, emulating his team's season. Just when the public wanted to hear from Lombardi, he went to sleep.
SCENE AND HEARD: Bryan Smolinski will fit in perfectly with the Ottawa Senators for all the wrong reasons. The guy has three goals in his last 24 Stanley Cup games, which should make him quite comfortable alongside Radek Bonk (3-for-36) and Marian Hossa (5 for 26) .... This is why inductions to the Hall of Fame should happen at the end of careers, not in the middle. How else do you put Craig Patrick in the Hall now after trading away Jagr, Alexei Kovalev and Markus Naslund -- three of the five best offensive players in hockey -- and not getting back a single third-liner in exchange? ... Say this for Bryan Marchment: He is the one player traded at the deadline who is capable of coming back and hurting his former teammates."... The first thing Tom Golisano should do now that he owns the Buffalo Sabres is fire general manager Darcy Regier. The second thing he should do is hire Neil Smith to take his place ... And the award for worst GM work in the NHL this season goes to Don Waddell of the Atlanta Thrashers, who has managed to be last overall with two of the absolute best young players to come to the NHL in years. Which isn't an easy thing to accomplish ... New definition of overpaying: Giving up future considerations for Rob Ray ... The best reason, other than drumming monkeys, to watch the NHL trade deadline shows on television: Where else can you get analysis of the Micki Dupont deal?
!
It is entirely plausible that Swedish hockey players will sweep the three major awards in the National Hockey League this season for the very first time.
Peter Forsberg would be my choice for the Hart Trophy, as most valuable player.
Niklas Lidstrom should repeat for the third straight year as Norris Trophy winner, for best defenceman.
And Markus Naslund has to be favored to hold on and win the Art Ross Trophy for leading scorer.
What makes this possibility so unique is that aside from Lidstrom winning, no Swedish player has ever been named MVP or led the NHL in scoring points.
The trio of victories, if they become true, would represent a huge breakthrough for Swedish hockey in North America. Maybe then -- and only then -- with Forsberg the top player in the game and Lidstrom the top defenceman, the stereotype by the hockey neanderthals will somehow disappear.
THIS AND THAT: The letters the Maple Leafs were hoping for from Doug Gilmour were MVP not MRI ... If Gilmour, Phil Housley, Alex Mogilny and Tomas Kaberle wound up in the same Leafs lineup, the team could brag about having four of the best passers in hockey today ... Five days since Tuesday and still haven't heard Kevin Lowe explain how he traded away his best defenceman and his leading scorer and got nothing more in return than somebody else's laundry ... This isn't a second guess, but I would have given up a fifth round pick for Stumpy Thomas: The guy scored 18 playoff goals in three Toronto post-seasons ... No wonder Jaromir Jagr wound up owing millions in unpaid taxes, what with all those internet gambling bills and all ... And for the record, Jagr is in favor of Pete Rose's bid to be reinstated in baseball ... Talk about unfair: How come Dean McAmmond gets benched for the rest of the season when he's the only one who did nothing wrong in the trade that sent him from Colorado to Calgary?
HERE AND THERE: Doug Weight, Joe Nieuwendyk, Pierre Turgeon, John LeClair and Tony Amonte -- combined salary $40.2 million US -- each has scored fewer goals than Tie Domi this season ... Was this really worth the long distance charges: Matt Bradley for Wayne Primeau ... And there was Dean Lombardi, general manager of the San Jose Sharks, emulating his team's season. Just when the public wanted to hear from Lombardi, he went to sleep.
SCENE AND HEARD: Bryan Smolinski will fit in perfectly with the Ottawa Senators for all the wrong reasons. The guy has three goals in his last 24 Stanley Cup games, which should make him quite comfortable alongside Radek Bonk (3-for-36) and Marian Hossa (5 for 26) .... This is why inductions to the Hall of Fame should happen at the end of careers, not in the middle. How else do you put Craig Patrick in the Hall now after trading away Jagr, Alexei Kovalev and Markus Naslund -- three of the five best offensive players in hockey -- and not getting back a single third-liner in exchange? ... Say this for Bryan Marchment: He is the one player traded at the deadline who is capable of coming back and hurting his former teammates."... The first thing Tom Golisano should do now that he owns the Buffalo Sabres is fire general manager Darcy Regier. The second thing he should do is hire Neil Smith to take his place ... And the award for worst GM work in the NHL this season goes to Don Waddell of the Atlanta Thrashers, who has managed to be last overall with two of the absolute best young players to come to the NHL in years. Which isn't an easy thing to accomplish ... New definition of overpaying: Giving up future considerations for Rob Ray ... The best reason, other than drumming monkeys, to watch the NHL trade deadline shows on television: Where else can you get analysis of the Micki Dupont deal?
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