Puck Amok

Forget San Jose, here are the real All-Stars

Joe Thornton wasn't even on the ballot for the All-Star Game but is second in the league in scoring. Dave Sandford/Allsport

By Dave Wallace, Special to CNNSI.com

Wait a damn minute here. Vincent Damphousse is a starting center in the NHL All-Star Game Feb. 2? Vincent Damphousse? When the All-Star Game rolls around, commentators invariably point out the shortcomings of fan voting. That’s certainly the case this year, where the fans got it right with Red Wings and wrong with Sharks. Sure, the Sharks are a top team this year, but the NHL All-Star Game is about individual accomplishment. Fantasy hockey is too, so let’s correct the NHL All-Star starters with the All-Fantasy team for North America and the World.

Center

NHL North America: He’s a very good player and a favorite of mine since his Toronto days, but Damphousse has no business being here. At this writing, his 33 points put him 57th in the league, behind centers such as Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Jeremy Roenick and Mike Modano. In many leagues, Damphousse probably sits on waivers. To the 34-year-old’s credit though, for most of his career he’s kept his final points totals near, at or above a point per game. He’ll have to work hard to do that this year.

NHL World: Sergei Fedorov is similar to Damphousse. He’s a very good player, but not a great one this year. At 36, his point total passes muster if you add his plus-13 rating. That keeps him pretty useful from a fantasy standpoint.

Fantasy North America: Joe Thornton starts at center without question. Second in the league in points, the 6-foot-4 Thornton doesn’t shy from physical play, with 83 penalty minutes to prove it. Thus far, Thornton made significant contributions to every statistical category except shorthanded goals, but one or two should come with time. Get used to Thornton as a first-round pick in your fantasy league drafts for the next 10 years.

Fantasy World: As I mentioned last week, Mats Sundin provides everything the Toronto Maple Leafs and fantasy owners could ask, and he even has a shorthanded goal. So he has to start. Alexei Yashin has one more point, but his horrible minus-10 makes him the third choice at center behind Alex Zhamnov, whose Windy City career underwent perestroika this year.

Wings

NHL North America: Brendan Shanahan registered his 1,000th NHL point on Saturday, and 47 of his career 1,002 points came in this season’s first 45 games. You could argue he belongs here more than Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, the NHL points leader. A narrow margin separates Shanahan from Iginla in most categories, but Shanahan has a big advantage in penalty minutes, 91-51, and in shorthanded goals, 3-0. Owen Nolan’s disappointing 35 points are not enough for consideration as a starter, and his 11 goals are a drop from last year’s pace.

NHL World: Quick, who has better numbers: Jaromir Jagr or Marian Gaborik? Wrong. Gaborik. Quick, how many defensemen have better numbers than Teemu Selanne? Seven counting Al MacInnis, who has the same point total but significant advantages in plus/minus and shots.

Fantasy North America: Shanahan and Iginla, hands down.

Fantasy World: We’ll trade Finns and get Sami Kapanen for Selanne. This is Kapanen’s star-making year, with 46 points in as many games. Every time it’s looked like he might drop below a point per game, Kapanen’s come up big. His minus-one is unfortunate, however, and he doesn’t contribute many penalty minutes. We’ll also trade one oft-injured star for another and take Daniel Alfredsson for Jagr. Alfredsson’s plus-18 is 26 points higher than Jagr’s, and most of Alfredsson’s other numbers are superior too.

Defensemen

NHL North America: Rob Blake is having his typical season when healthy, which means his 11 goals and 20 assists right now are totals for which most NHL defensemen would kill, or at least take a five-minute major. He’ll have 55 points in April. Chris Pronger is also having an excellent season, and while he might have slightly fewer goals and assists than some rivals, like Blake he contributes more penalty minutes, and unlike Blake, he has a good plus/minus.

NHL World: Nicklas Lidstrom always goes among the first defensemen taken in drafts, and he continues to reward owners. His production is steady across the board every year, and he’s currently tied for third in points among defensmen. A spike in points after the All-Star Game would be nice; after all, he plays with the Detroit branch of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Playing for Carolina, Sandis Ozolinsh is a surprise selection. I guess Colorado fans must remember him. His 26 points passes my rule that fantasy defensemen register half as many points as games played, but his minus-five is bad.

Fantasy North America: Blake and Pronger are good choices. Brian Leetch has a great plus-18, but his 16 penalty minutes are low and his lack of a single power-play goal defies explanation. You’ve got to get PPGs from your defense. That puts New Jersey’s Brian Rafalski in the same boat, and he takes significantly fewer shots than Leetch.

Fantasy World: Sergei Gonchar of the Washington Capitals scored a stunning 39 points as of this writing, more than both starting centers voted onto the NHL team. The guy’s on pace for 70 points. That excuses his minus-four. (What is it with Washington players and minus ratings? That is horrible defense in Washington.) Lidstrom is the other deserving defenseman. Kim Johnsson’s 18 more penalty minutes do not make up for his 44-shot deficit to Lidstrom. But credit Johnsson for a great season.

Goalie

NHL North America: Patrick Roy is the greatest goalie in the league this year, during which he proved himself the greatest goalie of all time with 500 wins. He has a 1.86 GAA and a .927 save percentage. To quote the immortal Stan Lee, ‘Nuff said.

NHL World: Dominik Hasek has 24 wins, so you can’t knock the pick. Plus, Dominator historically fares better in the second half of the season. Scary.

Fantasy North America: Roy, duh.

Fantasy World: Hasek’s wins are too many to overcome, but Nikolai Khabibulin’s astounding .934 save percentage and 2.02 GAA while playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning make him a close second.

Dave Wallace worries that with this many sharks feeling under-appreciated, he's going to need a bigger boat.

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