It's odd that the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing the Minnesota Wild tonight, because it seems like both teams could really help each other out (and I thought of this silly idea without knowing they're squaring off tonight).

You see, even though Evgeni Malkin is on pace to put up good-for-almost-any-other-player numbers, people are freaking out over his underwhelming goal scoring totals. No doubt, these aren't problems that are coming out of thin air, but I find it humorous how selective these stats can be when a player puts up decent assist stats.

Anyway, Ron Cook went as far as to compare Malkin to a dying alive Jagr and openly wondered what the ESL scoring machine would do once Sergei Gonchar departed for Russia or bigger money.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Petr Sykora is pouting about a lack of ice time and being an occasional healthy scratch.

Now, I know that Sykora didn't necessarily leave Pittsburgh on great terms but let's not forget that Mark Recchi once left Pittsburgh after badmouthing Sidney Crosby only to return to Sid's line the next season. So what if the Wild - a team that clearly doesn't want to "deal" with Sykora - were to simply trade Sykora back to Pittsburgh for a late round draft pick (or a Penguins prospect of middling impact?).

Think about it: the Wild wouldn't have to deal with Allan Walsh's emo tweets and Malkin would get his old running mate back. Everyone wins or at least people lose less.

Keep in mind that I don't have any inside information ... at all. But it is kind of interesting to ponder, right?

Right?

Maybe?

Yes, I know as a Blues fan I'm biased, but if I didn't say that this article on Cam Janssen from the St. Louis Globe Democrat is a must read, I wouldn't be a hockey fan. This is the best piece of hockey writing I've read in a loooong time.

Matthew Dirt at Second City Hockey is taking a look at the Blackhawks' forwards, and how they're shaping up midseason.  Chances are, they're doing pretty well.

The always excellent Paint it Blackhawks looks at ten questions they had for the team during September, and what the answers are.  Jim also takes a look at the mid-season report card for the team.

Aaron Portzline takes a look at the Blue Jackets' mid-season report card. Here's a hint: the Blackhawks are the validictorian. The BJs are kind of that kid who sits in the last row at graduation picking their nose - other than Nash.  He's ok.  But hey - they had a good game yesterday, so the problems are done!  Uhh, what?

Continuing the trend of mid-season grades, Babcock's Death Stare breaks it down player by player.  It's pretty darn honest, and I would be remiss if I didn't say that seeing Kirk Maltby get an F doesn't warm the cockels of my cold, cold heart.  Draper and his A- better watch out - I sense relationship issues on the horizon.

In the 10+ years I've lived in the DFW metroplex, I've been in an odd position hockey-wise. I came in as a Pittsburgh Penguins fan largely because of a childhood affliation and an admiration for their typically offensive minded play. Needless to say, the Dallas Stars' often trap-happy style of play never did much to tempt me to jump ship.

That being said, the team certainly has its admirable qualities and - if nothing else - I've become a proponent for Mike Modano's legacy as one of the best American hockey players ever. Really, Mike Mo is the red-white-and-blue's answer to Steve Yzerman. Despite being offensively gifted, Modano eventually listened to Ken Hitchcock and became a suitable two-way player. He stuck with the same team for ages and won a Cup. In a more hockey-mad market, he'd receive more than his fair share of Stevie Y comparisons.

Anyway, this is a long winded way of saying that, in the grand scheme of things, I'm a fan of Modano ... but that doesn't change the fact that Brian Burke made the right choice in leaving him off of Team USA's roster. Allow me to attempt to systematically deconstruct why Modano is better off spending February boinking Willa Ford* than representing his country in Vancouver.

* - Just in case you start to feel sorry for Mike Modano, remember that he's lived just about the most spectacularly awesome life possible.

1. Being old doesn't automatically make you a great leader (and leadership is somewhere between being a myth and overrated, anyway)

As I grow older and more cynical, I cannot help but feel like "veteran leadership" is just another lazy crutch for lazy sports journalists. Some say that Bill Guerin's tomfoolery loosened up the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room and helped them win a Cup, but I point to Guerin's superior right handed shot and solid grit as bigger assets than his salt and pepper beard. Sure, the last Detroit Red Wings Cup-winning team was full of veterans, but they won because they're ridiculously skilled. Not because of "experience."

But even if you can convince me that leadership DOES matter, I'm not convinced that Modano is the right fit for the American locker room.

The first sign is how things ended in the last Olympics. Modano was so ineffective that he was benched in the final period of the last game and responded by criticizing USA hockey and the coaching staff. Let's also remember that Modano is one of the rare NHL captains to be stripped of the "C", a gesture that says everything (although Willa had plenty to say about it too).

2. He's lost his scoring touch

Still, all that leadership talk would be easy to ignore if Modano was still a prolific point producer but that phase of his career is clearly over.

As much as Stars fans and media representatives would like to think he still has it, Modano's post-Turin peak was a mediocre 57 points.

3. Want the "little things"? Look elsewhere

This isn't saying that points are all that matters. Simply study the career of Manny Malhotra and you'll realize that there are many ways to skin that hockey cat. But aside from still-impressive skating ability, you're hard pressed to find an area in which Modano gives his team a great advantage.

He's the definition of average in the faceoff circle (50.6 percent), he's registered a paltry 10 hits this season and registered under four minutes of PK time this season.

***

Let's face it, it's clear that Modano is still in the NHL because of his name and all of the things he's done for the Dallas Stars. That's great. But Modano is one of those classic David Robinson type athletes. He looks the same as he gets older so it makes people think that he's still an effective player. Modano urged Team USA to inject some new blood and they certainly did by getting rid of players like him.

Again, this isn't meant to beat up on the no-doubt Hall of Fame center. Hell, the guy even understands the move. This is merely a statement of approval for a wise move by Brian Burke.

Now if Burke could just get past the media's goofy love affair with Chris Drury ...

This is your first 2010 NW Division links on CLS. Late as usual, but my excuse was watching Avatar last night...and wow, what a movie.

The Canucks Hockey Blog looks Shane O'Brien, who after getting some press box time this year, improved his game, but does this now make him perfect to trade away?

An Oilers Refinery asks Where are the Oilers? And the comment about his post just says it all.

And if this is any indication as to how much hope the Wild fans have in making the post season, Wild Nation looks at the off season already, here's Part I and Part II

Jibblescribbits decides that upon further review: Darcy Tucker still sucks

And after posting my mid-season review of the Canucks, Burrows acted on my suggestion of a short handed goal right away, like in the next game against the 7-4 romp against CBJ

I know that this is a complete and total cop-out, but Tuesday is the first day of school and I'm all a-wiggin (darn children coming back - bah!), so I've only got one link for you, but it's one you absolutely have to read - so good, it was cross-posted at Second City Hockey and St. Louis Game Time.  No, this isn't a sign of the apocolypse, but if you haven't seen this (and how in the heck Puck Daddy hasn't caught a hold of this one I'll have no clue), please, please - go read it.  I won't spoil it for you here, but it made me cry like Ed Belfour.

Whether or not it made me cry like him circa 1994 or 2010 when he realized he's the Blues goalie coach for the time being, well... that distinction is up to you.

Edit: Conference Standings have been added to the bottom of the post.

So, it's taken a while, but it's time to begin the EA NHL 10 Re-Draft simulation. After the jump, we'll reveal the division-by-division standings along with player and goalie stats leaders.

To show that life doesn't always imitate art, though, we'll start with the NHL 10 scoring leader through the fake month of October:

Whhhhhaaaaaaat?

Chris Higgins, scoring superstar, provided this fake stat-line:

GP: 14; Goals: 13(!); Assists: 7; Points: 20

So that's why he was coveted by such GMs as Glen Sather and ... Glen Sather this summer. Well.

(Click read more to see other October results)

I've thought about how I'd construct Team USA and Team Canada (the two national rosters with the most choices ... say what you want about Russia, the pickings get pretty slim for them once you get past the superstars) on and off since the summer. Since my opinion is that it's wrong to simply assemble All-Star teams, it's a little more difficult than to simply throw the best talent in 23 and call it a day.

You need guys who are willing to play the PK, players who can win face-offs/board battles and (in my opinion) players who have some familiarity with each other. On some level, I still don't know if this is a "perfect" list ... but here's what I would do with Team Canada:

(after the jump)

I keep reading that Versus randomly decided to cover New Year's Eve(????) with an extra year-end segment. This is great news for people ... wait, what? Who would watch Brian Engblom, Keith Jones and Bland Straight Man without hockey being involved?

Why would you EVER want to see them for their merit alone?

How about this idea, for New Years and beyond: fire your entire "team" of voices. They do nothing but make people change the channel (OK, to be fair, maybe people leave the room and wash dishes while Versus fails at being ESPN).

Look, I'm a big hockey fan. I read blogs daily. I write a blog close-to daily. Despite all these damning factors, I will NOT watch this telecast. There's no way I'll be that bored.

So, instead of bland analysis and might-as-well-be-canned laughter, why not steal TNT's formula? Get former players who just need a little coaxing to say something interesting. Jeremy Roenick has been profoundly boring in his little broadcasting tryouts, but maybe that's because he's surrounded by a boring cast of characters.

What if you put a camera in front of, say, John Buccigross, Don Cherry, Roenick and Brett Hull? Honestly, you don't think one of those last three wouldn't say something buzz-worthy? Why wouldn't the instinct of competition make them say something bold and refreshing?

Oh well, asking Versus to improve is akin to asking Alexei Yashin to earn his paycheck.

Let's see what's going around the Central Division.

Of course, the most notable thing that happened was the trade with Washington sending Milan Jurcina and Chris Clark to Columbus in exchange for Jason Chimera.

The Blackhawks are trying to convince themselves that Brian Campbell was worth that contract.  Good luck. If all else fails, just start selling your kidneys to help pay for it.

Dirk over on On the Forecheck wants to know what the top Preds moment of 2009 was, and he's got quite a list to choose from.

Kyle on Babcock's Death Stare has a scary, scary stat regarding the Wings last 8 games.  You've been warned.

The Blues are looking to "get cooking" at home against the Preds.  As long as they don't start dying their hair bleach blonde and saying everything's "money," I could care less how they cook.

For all the negativity about Team USA's talent base, I found it stunning just how much talent came through the ranks since America bombed out of the '06 Olympics. Both USA and Canada made some awful decisions last time around (No Crosby? No Miller?), so hopefully the real-life programs will learn from past mistakes.

Check out my (still somewhat odd) picks for the American hockey team.

You might not like this if you're a one-dimensional player for the Montreal Canadiens ...

(jump!)