Ritter's Rant: A Look Into the NHL and Early Thoughts

Written By: Mark "The Hard Hitter" Ritter

Is it too early to be calling Joey MacDonald up from the Marlies? Ok, let’s not go too far, Toskala, while unspectacular thus far, needs to work things out and he’s not going to be able to do it sitting on the bench. Bottom line, the Leafs need to stick with Toskala, for better or for worse.

Another option for the Leafs would be to bring in Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson. Trouble is, Gustavsson still requires a bit of seasoning and it would be unfair to ask Gustavsson to step in and be ‘the man’ this soon.

Gainey Could 'Gain' by adding Bergeron

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov is expected to be out for four months and, quite possibly, the entire NHL season. Clearly, it is not possible to replace a player of Markov’s calibre, that said, wouldn’t it be worth the gamble if the Habs took a flyer on free agent defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron?

Bergeron had 14 goals and 18 assists as a member of the Minnesota Wild. He’s not the best defensive defenseman, but he is capable of playing 15 minutes a game and his offensive abilities make him a good candidate to run the Canadiens power play.

It’s still early, but after watching Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi shut out the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon I think Cristobel Huet better watch his back.

200 or bust?

The last player to take a run at posting 200 points was Mario Lemieux, who, in 1988-89 scored 85 goals and 114 assists, good enough for 199 points. It’s still early, but, with two games in the books Washington Capitals enigmatic forward Alex Ovechkin is averaging three points a game, which, if he kept up the pace for the entire 82 game schedule, would amount to over 240 points. Does anyone believe Ovechkin can hit 200?

There are plenty of experts picking John Tavares to win the NHL’s rookie of the year, who do you like? Victor Hedman? Evander Kane? Matt Duchesne? John Tavares? or, is there another player out there that will take home the honor? Me? I am going with Hedman...

Where's Robbie-Lou?

What’s up with the Vancouver Canucks? Specifically, what’s up with Canucks starting goaltender Roberto Luongo? After coming off a horrible game seven loss to end last years playoffs, Robbie-Lou has looked less than spectacular thus far. Sure, it is early, but I think it’s safe to say we all expect more from a player that many Canadians have written in as Canada’s starting goaltender for the 2010 Olympics.

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie forward Victor Stalberg looks like the real deal. His speed is off the hook and his hands and skill around the net are impressive. That said, he still needs a lot of work defensively, which, in the end, may require him to be demoted to the Marlies at some point this season.

A Case For Ray:

On another note, Philadelphia Flyers starting goaltender Ray Emery has looked very solid in his first two games. More importantly, we have yet to hear any indication of any off-ice troubles or squabbles with teammates. If Emery can keep it together he will be an All-Star this season.

Which brings us to this question. We all know there will not be an All-Star game this season, but, If Emery has the numbers to suggest he would have been an All-Star and/or the best goalie in the Eastern Conference, should he get consideration for Team Canada?

Steve Yzerman is on record as saying he will take Canada’s "best players," if that’s true and Emery is amongst the NHL’s best, it says here Yzerman ought to bring him to Vancouver.

One Last Thing...

Nothing for nothing...Both Chris DiFrancesco and Allan Bass formally announced their retirements from the Bleacher Report. Clearly Bleacher Report has lost two of it's better hockey writers, which is a shame. But, I wonder, why do they both still appear in the BR writer rankings?

Hey, I am the first to admit that both of these guys are solid writers, with tremendous resumes, but if they are not going to be writing here, don't you think they should be D-Listed???

On second thought, why not petition BR to create a place to enshrine these two great writers, perhaps a place where like a BR Hall of Fame???

Until next time,

Peace!