Ritter's Rant: A Look Into The NHL

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

Reports suggest that Ottawa Senators disgruntled forward Dany “It’s all about me” Heatley still wants out of Ottawa. I got news for you Dany, Senators General Manager Bryan Murray would pull the trigger on a deal in a second, trouble is, you’ve been such a black cloud over the Atlanta Thrashers and Senators that, quite frankly, many NHL teams have identified you as a coach killer and a pain in the you know what.

Simply put Dany, you are not as valuable as you think you are and that’s pretty hard to write about a potential 50-goal scorer. It seems, attitude and character does mean something in the NHL these days, after all...

After analyzing a few hockey pool draft rankings I have noted that many of the so-called "experts" are predicting San Jose Sharks veteran defenseman Rob Blake will have a modest drop in his stats. It says here that will not be the case, look for Blake to score 50-55 points this year and be well over 100 penalty minutes to boot.

Seems to be a lot of talk about how good Los Angeles Kings starting goaltender Jonathan Quick is going to be this season. Quick has great potential and his numbers were decent last season, but for the life of me I cannot remember one “Great” attribute of Quick’s, he doesn’t stand out...That makes me nervous...

Say what you will about the Edmonton Oilers hiring of Pat Quinn to be their new head coach, one thing is for sure, if Quinn let’s the youngsters on the Oilers get away with what the players in Toronto got away with the season is already over. Quinn will need to lead his troops with a heavy hand, something I suspect he is more than capable of, but will he do it?

One player I think is underrated heading into the 2009-10 NHL season is the Pittsburgh Penguins Tyler Kennedy. Considering all the defects, a 20 goal season and 55 points is a real possibility.

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke has come out and suggested that the Leafs will not employ a captain this season. I will end all the speculation, Luke Schenn will be the Leafs next captain, end of story.

You have to think Vesa Toskala is headed for a rebound season, question is, what if he flops for the second year in a row? Is an unproven goalie from Sweden and a journeyman goalie good enough insurance for a team that clearly wants to make the playoffs this season?

You decide - you can ice the Toronto Maple Leafs roster or the Montreal Canadiens roster- which one do you like? Please let your opinion be known in the comment box...

Until next time,

Peace!