Things have gone to hell in a handbasket for the Ottawa Senators. They were still the favorites to win the Eastern Conference at press time, checking in at 11-4, but that’s a very slim lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins at 3-1. Ottawa is 3-6-2 in its last 11 games, firing head coach John Paddock in the process. The Penguins added former Senator star Marian Hossa at the trade deadline, and Sidney Crosby returned Tuesday night from his ankle injury. The Pens were 11-6-4 without the league’s reigning MVP.

The mighty Detroit Red Wings are in a tailspin, too. Although they remain 11-8 favorites to take the West, the Wings are 2-8-2 since Feb. 5. That gives the Dallas Stars a chance to grab the green at 5-1; the Stars are just five points behind Detroit in the standings after winning 13 of 15. The Brad Richards trade might even earn Dallas the Stanley Cup at 10-1.

Mats Sundin may be staying in Toronto for a while longer, but Tuesday’s frenzy at the NHL trade deadline made up for that disappointing non-event.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were 12-1 to win the Stanley Cup at press time; they might be the new best team in the East after shipping Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 2008 first-rounder to Atlanta for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. It’s an excellent trade down the road for the Thrashers, but it’s go time right now in Pittsburgh.

Tuesday’s other blockbuster saw the Tampa Bay Lightning finally move one of their many scorers for a reliable goaltender. Tampa Bay dealt Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist to Dallas for Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, and a fourth-round pick. The Stars may have been better off trading Marty Turco, but getting Richards on board makes Dallas a strong Stanley Cup value pick at 15-1.

We’re going to have to rethink this whole Sidney Crosby thing. The Pittsburgh Penguins are 6-2-2 since Crosby went on the shelf with a sprained ankle. The Pens are still on top of the Atlantic Division and in the thick of the Stanley Cup hunt at what could prove to be a bargain price on the NHL futures market.

The Dallas Stars, however, are the hottest team in the league at 9-2 and are already established as one of the second tier of Cup favorites. They have the fourth-best goal differential at plus-0.41, and they’re doing it through yet another pedestrian post-lockout season by Marty Turco (.910 save percentage).

On the flip side, the New York Islanders are plummeting down the Cup odds list after seven straight losses, six in regulation. The Isles were outscored 27-11 and dropped 7.29 units during that span, and that blockbuster Matt Keith-Darryl Bootland trade with Anaheim doesn’t seem destined to change things.

If you were given the responsibility of putting together the greatest NHL hockey team of all time what would the roster look like? The players would be their fresh, young selves, at the peak of their careers, and for those that are now dead and gone…well, they’d be alive again.
Think about it. In the meantime here’s our list:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Bobby Orr
4. Maurice Richard
5. Gordie Howe
6. Dominik Hasek
7. Doug Harvey
8. Guy Lafleur
9. Scott Stevens
10. Mark Messier
11. Patrick Roy
12. Bobby Hull

It’s been over years since the Toronto Maple Leafs hoisted the Stanley Cup, and it looks like it’ll be a while yet before that streak comes to an end. Toronto (19-21-8) was tied for 12th place in the Eastern Conference at press time.

The sword of Damocles is hanging over the head of GM John Ferguson, Jr. Barring a reversal of fortune, it appears Ferguson will lose his job to former GM Cliff Fletcher. A rebuilding phase would follow; captain Mats Sundin, who leads the Leafs with 20 goals and 52 points, is one of the assets likely to be moved before the trade deadline.

Trading Sundin while he still has high value would be a smart way to create a better tomorrow for the Leafs. But the organization’s commitment to winning (as opposed to shareholders) has been in question for most of these past 40 years. More than just Sundin has to go.

With the second half of the regular season under way here then is a preview of which teams will be separating themselves from the rest of the pack:

1. Detroit: Having already set a franchise record for points in the first half of the season the Red Wings are strong Stanley Cup contenders.
2. Pittsburgh: Crosby and Conklin continue to work wonders with their team.
3. Calgary: Iginla continues to show why he should win this years MVP.
4. San Jose: Boring to watch, but tough to beat.
5. Philadelphia: Are the Broad Street Bullies back?
6. Ottawa: On par with last season’s run.
7. New Jersey: Contenders but they need to pick up their pace.
8. Vancouver: Luongo continues to inspire this team towards the finish line.
9. Montreal: No regulation losses since Christmas.
10. Nashville: Strong play against teams in the superior Western Conference.

The early buzz for the Hart Trophy is on Sidney Crosby and Roberto Luongo, with Nicklas Lidstrom thrown in for good measure. But there’s a guy out there named Vinny Lecavalier who just can’t seem to get his due.

In 2006-07, Lecavalier led the Tampa Bay Lightning and the league with 52 goals. But Crosby won the Hart after winning the Art Ross Trophy with 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists). Alan Ryder’s Player Contribution rankings had Lecavalier first at 135, while Crosby was in sixth place at 123.

Lecavalier is having yet another brilliant season in Tampa. At press time, he was two points ahead of Crosby for first place in scoring at 63 – that’s after just 45 games. But the Lightning are buried on the back pages and desperate for some goaltending. Crosby is getting the star treatment; he should eventually eclipse Lecavalier on the ice, but for now, don’t believe the hype.

Games played at indoor venues don’t have nearly as many environment-based variables (weather, park configuration and so on) to bring to the betting table as outdoor games. The Winter Classic gave ample proof of that, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres inched through the snow at Ralph Wilson Stadium. But some of the ice surfaces in the NHL make Buffalo look pristine by comparison.

Warmth comes at a price. The ice in most of the Sun Belt arenas looks like it came out of a Slurpee machine. The Staples Center in Los Angeles deserves extra scorn because the Kings share the venue with not one, but two NBA tenants: the Lakers and Clippers.

Or you could go to Edmonton, where the average daytime temperature in January is 11 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where you’ll find Rexall Place and what is widely considered the best ice surface in the NHL. Maybe the league should expand to Nunavut.

Maybe now that Alex Ovechkin is making the big bucks he can buy some decent clothes. $124 million will buy a guy a lot of t-shirts.

Alex Ovechkin today signed a 13-year $124 million-dollar deal with the Washington Capitals. Not only will make him the highest-paid player in the NHL (he’ll average $9.54 million starting next year), but it also has to make him one of the richest 22-year-olds that has ever played the game of hockey before. Pittsburgh Penguin super-kid Sidney Crosby doesn’t even make that much…he rakes in a paltry $8.7 million a year (once his extension kicks in the summer).

Ovechkin was picked first overall in the 2004 NHL draft and currently makes $4 million/year. He leads the Capitals in goals and points in 43 games. Overall, he’s played 206 career games — 130 goals and 250 points.

But $124 million? The dude is only twenty-two. I’m still trying to fathom what that kind of coin even looks like… (sigh).

Did the NHL’s Winter Classic boost it’s profile with the U.S. sports-viewing market? That’s debatable. While the 2.6 rating NBC pulled for the “Snow Show” in Buffalo was a pleasant surprise- in fact it was a 12-year high for a sport that has long resided in T.V.’s outback in the U.S.- it was perhaps, more than anything, seen as a spectacle or curiosity by the casual American viewer. Certainly not enough of an attraction to get people fully on the band-wagon. But maybe enough to persuade them to watch the occasional indoor ice-rink game.
Personally I could use an outdoor classic once a year as opposed to every other year- and forget about staging the games in Canada, which has a long and venerable tradition of outdoor hockey- let’s keep the spectacle going in the U.S., which needs to be exposed more to the greatest game in sports. That being said, here are our picks for the best venues, with seating capacity, for staging the next outdoor classic:

1. Yankee Stadium, New York (57,545)
2. Fenway Park, Boston (39,195)
3. Wrigley Field, Chicago (41,118)
4. Comerica Park, Detroit (41,070)
5. Coors Field, Denver (50,445)
6. Texas Stadium, Irving, TX (65,812)
7. Heinz Field, Pittsburgh (65,050)
8. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, (56,000)
9. Lincoln Field, Philadelphia (68,532)
10. an outdoor stadium somewhere in Europe- perhaps Sweden.