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Hejduk got hosed Red-hot Avs winger tops list of All-Star snubsPosted: Saturday January 18, 2003 11:34 AMUpdated: Sunday January 19, 2003 12:30 AM
Milan Hejduk must be wondering what else he needed to do to impress the selection committee for the 2003 All-Star Game. Would they have preferred if he tossed in a triple Lutz? Because apparently 14 goals in the past 19 games wasn't enough to get the NHL's hottest player a free trip to South Florida. Hejduk and Joe Sakic were among the two most questionable omissions from the Western Conference squad, especially when you consider that lackluster Jarome Iginla was selected. Maybe Iggy is being rewarded for his remarkable 2001-02 season, but his struggles this year don't merit all-star status. Dallas' Jere Lehtinen, Vancouver's Brendan Morrison, Chicago's Alexei Zhamnov, St. Louis' Cory Stillman, Columbus' Geoff Sanderson and Edmonton's Ryan Smyth are among the forwards who have numbers that were worthy of consideration, too. And on the Western blueline, Colorado's Adam Foote and the Dallas duo of Derian Hatcher and Sergei Zubov could justify complaining about being left home. These three all have exceptional plus-minus ratings and should have been selected ahead of Edmonton's Eric Brewer. In the East, Patrick Lalime and Kevin Weekes are both enjoying excellent seasons, but you knew there would be more deserving netminders left home when Nikolai Khabibulin was selected as the starter. The Bulin Wall did have a memorable period in nets during last year's game, stopping all 20 shots he faced in the third period, before being robbed of the MVP award (which went to Eric Daze) by an early voting deadline. Toronto's Alexander Mogilny, Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson, Florida's Olli Jokinen, Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Tampa Bay's Brad Richards can form a support group for shunned Eastern Conference forwards. Alfredsson is a steady, but rarely flashy player who has been overshadowed by teammate Marian Hossa's great one-on-one moves. Jokinen hit a two-week slump before scoring twice Wednesday. Kovalchuk and Richards will have many more chances to make the big game, and they probably lost out to their teammates Heatley and Martin St. Louis for the last two forward spots. Tom Poti, Dan Boyle, Tomas Kaberle and Dick Tarnstrom may have impressive offensive numbers, but defensive-zone play was obviously a criteria by the as evidenced by the inclusion of Zdeno Chara, Roman Hamrlik and Scott Stevens. There are always going to be complaints -- especially when those who missed out have incentive clauses in their contract for All-Star Game appearances -- but the exclusion of the red-hot Hejduk from the West roster seems to be one of the most puzzling snubs in recent memory. Better start working on your triple Salchow, Milan, because apparently that is one tough bunch to impress. Laughable complaintPanthers owner Alan Cohen didn't have a good night Saturday. After watching his team lose 12-2 to the Capitals, he fired off an e-mail to The Sun-Sentinel of South Florida, complaining about Washington running up the score. "You can be sure that if we were ever able to get a 6-0 lead, the Panthers will act with more class than has been shown by the Capitals and their coach," Cohen wrote. "Most of these Florida players will be around a long time. It doesn't matter who wears a Washington uniform. We'll never forget." Jagr terrorized the Panthers for three goals and four assists, but the Caps should be credited for being sportsmanlike, despite Cohen's sour-grapes rant. "That's sports," Jagr said Thursday in a league conference call. "I played only 14 minutes. And I didn't play in the third period. When we got up 8-0, I didn't play at all. I don't think it should be any big deal about it." Jagr sat for most of the third period, despite having a chance at Darryl Sittler's record of 10 points in a game. Maybe Cohen should be more worried about his team's porous defense than about other teams running up the score. If the Panthers would've done a better job marking No. 68, Cohen wouldn't have felt compelled to send out a whiny e-mail. All in a week's workWinning the Calder Trophy last season was surely among the highlights of Dany Heatley's life, but he'll be hard pressed to ever have a week like this one again. Heatley scored his first career hat trick on Monday in Philadelphia, took the penalty that led to Marc Savard's game-winner on Wednesday in Bob Hartley's debut, was selected to his first All-Star Game on Thursday, was named as a Thrashers' assistant captain on Friday morning and was honored with a bobblehead night (a likeness of Heatley holding the Calder Trophy). It won't be going downhill anytime soon since his 22nd birthday is Tuesday. Geez, I hope you bought some lottery tickets, too, Dany. I imagine you could always make room for another Porsche. Worth notingPatrick Roy will become the first goalie to play 1,000 games when the Avs play host to the Stars on Monday. ... Joe Nieuwendyk is the 32nd player in NHL history to score 500 goals, and was the 20th fastest of that elite group to reach the milestone. ... Bruising Gary Roberts is about three weeks away from returning to the Leafs. If his shoulders can remain healthy, Toronto could be a threat in the East in the postseason. ... The Mighty Ducks have 46 points after 44 games this season, putting them nine points ahead of last year's team. ... The Canadiens are winless in their past nine road games (0-6-1-2), including five straight losses. ... Brian Rolston's first-period power play goal ended an 0-for-21 slump for the Bruins with the man advantage. ... The Capitals jumped from fourth to first in the Southeast Division during their 14-game unbeaten streak which ended Friday. ... Canucks head coach Marc Crawford broke Harry Neale's franchise record for coaching wins on Friday by tallying his 143rd win. ... Before Friday, the Penguins hadn't won in Tampa since March 17, 1999, going 0-5-1-1 during that stretch. ... The Wild may be the fastest skating team in the league, and Wes Walz is officially their fastest player after clocking a lap of 13.657 seconds at the skills competition this week. ... An NHL Alumni team including Lanny McDonald and Joel Otto will face off with a team of Calgary media personalities in downtown Calgary on Sunday. While Eric Francis and Scott Fisher do a fine job at the Calgary Sun, the only way they beat MacDonald and Co. is if Lanny trips on his mustache and hurts himself. Rumor millHurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford could trade left wing Sami Kapanen in an attempt to shake up his lineup. The disappointing Finnish forward has just six goals in 33 games this season. ... The Bruins called up young goaltender Andrew Raycroft from Providence for the time being, but they have reportedly made calls about pry Sean Burke, Jeff Hackett and Evgeni Nabokov. ... If Lindy Ruff is fired by the Sabres or isn't retained when his contract expires after the season, it is thought Doug MacLean will try to lure him behind the Blue Jackets' bench for next year. ... With Anson Carter enjoying another solid season, the Oilers may have to trade him before the deadline because they probably won't be able to keep him as a restricted free agent. ... The Avalanche are apparently among the Western Conference teams interested in underachieving Devils center Scott Gomez, who has only six goals and 19 assists in 41 games. ... If the Penguins opt to trade Kovalev rather than let him hit restricted free agency this summer, they may have to accept a package of prospects similar to what they got from the Capitals for Jagr in the summer of 2001. Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for CNNSI.com. Got a comment, question or scoop for Jon? Click here. |
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