Much more than a big hitter

I fully admit it -- one of the things I'm most looking forward to during All-Star Weekend is Al MacInnis teeing up his vaunted slap shot in the Skills Competition on Saturday.

MacInnis has long since shed his image as a one-dimensional power play specialist -- a one-trick pony with a booming shot from the point. Maybe the misconception is that anyone viewed him in that manner in the first place. After all, he tied Bobby Orr's OHL goal-scoring record for defensemen with 38 goals way back in 1982-83, playing only 51 games that season for the Kitchener Rangers because the Calgary Flames calling him up for a 14-game stint.

All of that is ancient history in the storied career of MacInnis. This selection marks his 12th All-Star selection. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1989 as the playoff MVP when the Flames won the Stanley Cup. Moreover, MacInnis garnered the Norris Trophy in 1999 as the NHL's best defenseman as a member of the St. Louis Blues. Obviously, with all the accolades, MacInnis is hardly a candidate for underrated status. Despite his omnipresent shot, he has managed to grow and define himself well beyond that prominent trait, thank you very much.

So why do I feel compelled to wonder if Al MacInnis is still under-appreciated? Maybe because at age 39, he is having possibly his best season -- a campaign that deserves legitimate Hart Trophy consideration. The award goes annually to the player "adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." I can think of no player who has had such a profound effect on his team thus far than MacInnis, including Mario Lemieux. A recent bout with injury and the fact that Lemieux's dominance is primarily a function of power play time puts MacInnis ahead in my mind right now.

Certainly, there are others having Hart Trophy-type seasons. Yet I keep coming back to MacInnis and his importance to the Blues' fine showing, especially given the context of his contributions. Wearing the "C" in the absence of Chris Pronger -- himself the 2000 recipient of both the Norris and the Hart Trophies -- MacInnis has elevated his already high standard of play.

He is fifth in the NHL in total ice time and no player in the NHL logs more power play minutes than MacInnis. Talk about time well-spent; he is second in defensemen in scoring and more critically, the Blues' power play is converting at just over 21 percent efficiency -- third-best in the league. Telltale as well is the fact that with Pronger out all season, MacInnis has increased his point production to its highest level in nine years.

Factor in Doug Weight's inexplicable 20-plus game scoring drought and Keith Tkachuk's 13-game injury absence, and MacInnis's impact as the offensive catalyst in St. Louis becomes clear. Yet his role on defense may be even more valuable. In Pronger's absence, coach Joel Quenneville has rookie Barret Jackman playing alongside MacInnis at even strength on the penalty kill.

Paired with MacInnis, Jackman's development has been revelatory. He leads all Blues blueliners in plus/minus and penalty minutes, logging nearly 19 minutes a night -- an impressive workload for a rookie rearguard. MacInnis' overall influence on Jackman's transition is hard to quantify, but suffice it to say that he has made him a better player -- one now worthy of Calder Trophy consideration as the league's top rookie.

The backdrop for MacInnis's complete contribution saw the Blues perform in front of no less than six netminders in the first two months of the season. Before starter Brent Johnson returned in mid-December from a high ankle sprain, MacInnis supplied the only continuity in their own end of the rink. All he has done this year is increase his offensive output out of necessity, make those around him better -- namely the youngster Jackman -- and provide consistent leadership amid swirling personnel changes due to injuries in goal and elsewhere on the roster.

Truly, Al MacInnis is more than just a big shot in the Blues lineup. He is their MVP.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNNSI.com.

 

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