Entry 30: Top 25 Left Wingers Heading into the 2011 Season.

Left Wing is not a position as well defined as center and right wing for whatever reason.  This is true throughout the history of hockey.  You might say because left handed people aren't as common as right handed people, however playing either wing is not dependent on your handedness.  For example, Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks is right handed and plays on the left side, so why this is is anyone's answer.  But, here is my rendition of the NHL's top 25 Left Wingers going into 2011.

And thusly, it's that time again:

25. James Neal

James Neal was a dynamic, gritty young winger out of Dallas before he was traded to Pittsburgh this past season.  With Pittsburgh, his production dried up.  However, it's the hope of Penguins fans that with the inevitable return of Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, that he'll compliment one of them well.  So here he sits  at twenty five.

24.  Erik Cole

Montreal signed a well known veteren out of Carolina this summer, and with Cole, they hope to add a 20 goal, gritty, 2 way player to compliment their offensively dismal club.  Cole's leadership, scoring ability, and physical presence put him at 24.

23. Alex Tanguay

Tanguay has had some up and down seasons lately, but since returning to Calgary, he's certainly found his form as Iginla's left winger, posting almost 70 points this season.  If Calgary can find an answer to put down the middle, it'll be a formidable scoring line.  But Alex Tanguay has proven to be a reliable scorer in Calgary.

22. Jeff Hartnell

Hartnell has been a reliable twenty goal scorer for the Flyers playing flexibly on their top 3 lines since being there, and is a strong physical presence.  When he's not in the penalty box, Hartnell is generally very reliable for posting timely goals.

21. Ville Leino

During the Flyers cup run 2 years ago, Ville Leino truly found his niche in the NHL, and it carried over through last year putting up 53 points.  Leino found his payday with the Sabres this off season, and Sabres fans hope that this Slick Finnish winger can put up similar numbers with them this season.

20. Evander Kane

Tomorrow's a momentous day for Evander Kane's new team up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as they finally unveil their new jerseys for the season.  Kane's entering his third NHL season. and will likely improve on already good numbers on a rather mediocre team.  Gritty, young, and passionate, look for a possible breakout year from the former 4th overall pick.
19. Brandon Dubinsky

Dubinsky's also coming off a strong regular season campaign posting 54 points, and as an integral core of the New York Rangers along with Michael Callahan, the Rangers hope to have the stability, along with the firepower(Gaborik/Richards) to win their first division since 1994.  Dubinsky's a reliable two way player, and strong on the puck and a fan favorite in New York.
18. Alexandre Burrows

Alexandre Burrows is coming off a rather low regular season for him, but had a strong display in the post season.  Burrows put up two consecutive 30 goal seasons before this past year however, and is a really reliable scoring line winger for Vancouver.

17. Taylor Hall

Hall's coming off an impressive 40 point rookie season that was cut short by a season ending injury, expect Hall to be back this season with an improving display.  Taylor Hall is a winner, and the attitude should rub off on the Oilers as they mature on the heels a very young, prolific goal scorer.

16. Nikolai Kulemin

Kulemin is coming off his best season ever with Toronto, putting up almost 60 points on the left side of Macarthur and Grabovski, expect an improvement this season, as Toronto now has some chemistry to build off of.

15. James Van Riemsdyk

The Flyers handled the development of former 2nd overall pick, Jeff Van Riemsdyk very well, coming off an impressive playoffs.  "JVR", as he's be-lovingly known as, fits the power forward bill that's so hard to come by.  Coming off a 20 goal season, expect a stronger display this season.

14. Andrew Ladd

The former 4th overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes took some time bouncing around teams before finding his home in Atlanta...I mean Winnipeg.  Ladd's proven to be quite the leader, and in doing so, posted almost 60 points this season to mark his best season yet.  Expect bigger and better things going forward.

13. Patrik Elias

Elias is a fan favorite in New Jersey, and a career Devil being described as the "Statesman".  Elias is just coming off a 60 point season himself, and is put at 13 because of his role for his franchise, and the work ethic he puts forward.

12. Simon Gagne

Gagne has had a nagging injury problem that's prohibited him from putting up 40+ goal seasons that he's experienced in the past, but he's still a reliable 2nd line scoring center who's not far removed from posting a 30 goal season, and was very reliable for Tampa's deep playoff run last season.  Gagne moves to LA where he hopes to have some chemistry with former linemate Mike Richards.
11. Brenden Morrow

The captain of the stars is coming off a fresh 56 point season, where he showed the same grit and leadership that's expected out of him in Dallas.  Morrow is a reliable point producer, a gritty two way player, and a true captain.  He's going to have to be even more prevalent this season without Richards in Dallas.

10. Milan Lucic

Milan Lucic is a big, bruising fan favorite of Bean Town who just had his best season thus far potting 60 points, and 30 goals.  Lucic is a menacing physical presence who rightly sits at 10 on this list.

9. Thomas Vanek

The best Austrian hockey player in the world had a strong rebound year last year posting nearly at a PPG clip, and being one of the sole goal providers in the Sabres post season run.  His contract is a bit steep, but for a team that's offensively starved, Vanek's worth every penny.

8. Michael Cammalleri

Surely Lucic is more physical imposing and better in his own end, and surely Vanek's a more prolific goal scorer.  Cammalleri's spot on this list is defined by his timely, and impeccable post season points that he produces.  His production the last two post seasons has been over a PPG total in a 28 game sample size.  That's more than we can say for the other two.  While posting respectable regular season numbers despite having nagging injury concerns.

7. Bobby Ryan

The consolation prize for the Sydney Crosby draft has improved every year since joining the league, putting up nearly a PPG this most season, and putting up 4 points in 4 games in the post season.  The left winger on perhaps the best line in the NHL of Getzlaf and Perry, Ryan is the lowest of the three on their respective lists, but he's also the youngest, expect an even better season from Ryan this season which'll likely see him rise.

6. Patrick Marleau

Marleau experienced a lot of criticism in the post season this year for not being a big time player, disappearing in the entire round against Detroit.  Marleau put up over a PPG 2 years ago, and almost a PPG this past season.  Marleau is a dominant regular season player, and if it translated to the post season, you'd see him higher.
5. Zach Parise

Parise would also possibly be higher had he played more than 13 games this past season, the two seasons prior two, he finished over a PPG, and in addition to that, is a good two way player, and is the heart and soul of the New Jersey Devils.  Devils hope he's 100% ready to go, because without him, the playoffs are unlikely.

4. Ilya Kovalchuk

Kovalchuk could also be higher if he didn't have such a slumping season last year...By his standards.  He a strong second half, but still finished below a PPG pace, which is unusual for the offensive dynamo.  However, if the second half of the season is any indication, this should be a bounce back year for Kovie.
 
3. Rick Nash

Nash has finished under a PPG pace the last two seasons, but the reason he's higher than Kovalchuk, Parise, and Marleau is because Nash has been on his own in Columbus.  He has very little offensive support, and is the heart and soul for this franchise.  He does it all, defensive play, offensive generation, and leadership.  Nash is perfect for spot 3.
2. Daniel Sedin

Daniel Sedin has finished at least at a PPG place for the last 3 straight years, putting up 104 points in 82 games this past season.  He made the first team All Star team, and won the Ted Lindsay and Art Ross trophies.  The problem is.  Sedin is rather one dimensional and receives criticism of only being able to produce with Henrik.  However, I see him as the indisputable number 2 best left wing in the NHL, at the moment.
1. Alexander Ovechkin

Let's put it this way, Alexander the Great had a down season this year....A down season for the most prolific goal scorer in the NHL still involved over a PPG pace.  Ovechkin is the heart, the soul, the leader of this team.  Ovechkin hits like a freight train, and has become more responsible in his own end.  Expect a rebound year from Ovechkin.

Entry 29: Superman

People who read comic books read them for a plethora of reasons.  They read comics because they love page long fisticuffs where an entire city, planet, or perhaps more lay in the balance.  Maybe they read comics because they like the brilliant visualizations.   But I think that most life long comic book fans read comics because they like relating to a character or a story.  A lot of people relate to Peter Parker, aka the Amazing Spiderman.  A lot of readers like reading about bad asses like Wolverine, Punisher, Venom, and Batman. But today's blog is about someone who receives a lot of criticism from modern American readers.  A character I've admired since I was five years old.  Today's entry is about the Man of Steel and the Man of Tomorrow.  Superman.

The reasoning behind the disliking of Superman usually falls under the same categories:  He's boring; he's too powerful; He's not relatable; he's too much of a boyscout.  Etc. Etc. Etc.  But frankly, readers are missing the point.  And I think the disliking of Superman in the modern era is much more of a commentary on modern day America than it is on the character himself.  It's a little sad that kids grow up idolizing nihilistic, selfish, and fake role models when they could be idolizing a selfless man who does nothing less than to try to do the right thing and nothing but the right thing. Superman is a character with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.  The character can fly, move at remarkable speeds, has unyielding strength, is as indestructible as they come, has heat ray vision, x-ray vision, super hearing, and can freeze things with his breath.  Superman can do a lot of things.  However, despite having all of those powers he doesn't use them to harm people.  Superman can easily take over the entire planet if he wanted to, but he doesn't.  It's really interesting, from an early age Bruce Wayne aka Batman was taught the worst humanity had to offer, but with Superman it was different.  The last son of Krypton was raised by loving adoptive parents in Smallville, and Superman was raised with the complete opposite.  He learned of the good in people.  And that's what separates Superman from genuinely every other hero.  He constantly looks for the good in everyone.  And that's something most of us do.  People are so hesitant to trust others, and are quick to think of other people as someone who's selfish and with no regard for others.  And you know what?  Maybe people aren't wrong for doing so, but Kal-El never loses faith in the people of his adopted home world.  Superman wrestles with an unbelievable burdon night in and night out of saving 7 billion people a day for no reward and for no gain.  Superman doesn't get a thing for this.  He's just a modest farm boy, who tries to do the right thing.  He always tries to do the right thing.

People talk about Superman being cocky perhaps?  I hardly think so.  As Clark Kent, the woman he loves is more in love with the man with the red cape, and his boss is a real hard ass.  In fact, the only people who seem to actually understand him are his very own parents.  Clark can have anything in the world he wants, but he struggles with keeping everyone away so he doesn't hurt them.  He lives a modest life as journalist exposing Lex Luthor in the papers, while foiling him in a bright iconic costume that brings hope to an entire planet of people.  The story about Superman is not about a God protecting the Earth from giant threats who are more powerful than him.  The story of Superman is about a man that we should all aspire to be like.  A selfless, modest, man who never strays from the line.   I understand people have a hard time relating to reading about a man who can do anything, but is struggling to find his place in the world, but that's not the point.  Superman is someone we should all aspire to be like.  Because even though we fool ourselves into believing that we have limitations in life, all we really need to do is reach for the skies and believe.

Fax About Me #IV: Summer Songs

As this Summer comes to a close, I realize that it has been the most eventful Summer I have ever had. In Past Summers, I find myself sitting around my house until I turn to mush. I did not do that this Summer. Instead I was out either working or gallivanting on one of many adventures with my friends. My friends are what kept me sane as my personal life started to crumble a little. Even though emotionally I was bending, I did not break. Because of this, I was able to keep a smile on my face.

What I noticed with this Summer, along with every other Summer, is that there were songs that defined the times I had. I strongly associate the Summer of 2006 with songs such as "Hair" by the Early November and bands such as Panic! at the Disco. The Summer of 2009 was defined by the song "Oscar Wilde" by Company of Thieves and bands like Motion City Soundtrack. So how could I not put my most eventful Summer into song? This is a list of the five songs that have defined this Summer.

5) Set Guitars to Kill - And So I Watch You From Afar (Late August)

So I just heard this song last week and I am completely hooked on this band. I am completely digging Post-Rock, especially when it gets a little harder like this. I have listened to this cd about 3 times in the past week. It is so good!



4) The Wrong Way - Bayside (June)

Both Incubus and Bayside, my two favorite bands, released CDs this Summer and they were both great. The song that stuck with me from Bayside's new album was called "The Wrong Way." It is not just for the great lyrics that all Bayside songs have, but the crazy guitar solo that I feel no one sees coming.



3) Promises, Promises - Incubus (July)

I am glad to say that a lot of my co-workers also love the band Incubus. They may not be as crazy as me about them, but still they love them. With that being said, there is no surprise that we listened to songs from this cd over and over again at work. I'm pretty sure the girls weren't as happy with it as we were.



2) I Got - Young the Giant (Beginning of July)

There was a moment in this Summer where I just sung this song over and over. The funny thing is, all the words I knew at the time were "I Got." This happened after me and a few friends saw Young the Giant at a free show in Philly. Luckily for the mediocre bands that opened for them, Young the Giant put on a spectacular show. I will be looking forward to seeing them open for my favorite band Incubus on September 10th.



1) Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO (Late July - Present)

I work at a day camp, and every time we had a chance to dance we would blast this song and go crazy dancing. Once work ended, I went to Delaware for a week and we just listened to LMFAO non-stop. Yes, all their songs are the same chord progression, but they are worth a shot because you might just get crazy. I learned the basic moves of the dance, so if you want to see me move, you know what song to play.

Entry 28: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers

Finally after 10,000 years I am free!  And it's time to conquer Earth!

The immortal words that Rita Repulsa spewed as she entered our hearts as the vile immortal nemesis of 5 teenagers with attitude back in 1993!  Of course, I speak of:  The Power Rangers!  When the world is under attack from Rita Repulsa and her fiendish monsters, who better to defend us all, than the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers!

The Power Rangers were a group of teenagers from Angel Grove, California who were granted with amazing powers channeled through their mechanical zords, who fought the good fight every day against some fiendish ghouls whipped up on the moon by Rita.  Yeah.

Anyway, today's entry is about the original 5(6) Rangers of season one, the only good season, of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Series, and what better to get this blog kickin' than with this!

(I would have used an actual introduction, like from the show, but none of the ones I found could be embedded...Wut?)


Anyway, before we get to all the fun puttie-kicking goodness, let's just discuss a few....FUN FACTS!

EFF YEAH CLIP ART!

-The Power Rangers were based off the Super Sentai series, which was in it's 16th season at the time, and borrowed it's costumes, giant robots, villains, and quite a bit of it's footage too.

- Austin St. John and Jason Frank (The original Red and Green Rangers) were the only adept Martial Artists on the show.

-Thuy Trang, the original Yellow Ranger, died in a car accident in 2001.

-Yeah, Power Rangers is pretty stereotypical in the first season, for sure.

-That's about it, now let's get to the commentary.

Okay, so if you remember anything about the three seasons of the original series, it's that their zords changed in all three seasons.  The reason for that is because of the fact that the Super Sentai Series changes every year with different "rangers" and different "zords."  Hence why there's a new Power Ranger series every year since MMPR's popularity waned.  But because the original Power Rangers were so popular in this country, they kept the same rangers and costumes, and just changed the robots and stuff.  In fact, the White Ranger was created strictly for the American version of the show. 

Anyway, let's re-introduce the cast, shall we?  IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!

Billy, Trini, Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, and Zach...

 Everyone had a favorite ranger.  Mine was the cliche'....The Red Ranger.  I mean, red has always been my favorite color, so that's what inspired the five year old in me, but I always liked the alphas as a kid too....(Not this Alpha)

Alpha 5

But when I watch Power Rangers today, I look beyond all the plot holes, and bad acting, and bad dubbing in some cases, and I see some rad 90's teenagers who stick it to Rita Repulsa.  Is there anything wrong with that?  Beside, the Megazord was pretty Bad Ass.

And so was the Dragon Zord:

And so was the way the Green Ranger called the Dragon Zord.

He played a dagger like a flute, without having visible flips to put on said flute.... Choice.

Power Rangers were your marquee 90's kid show, I mean they had awesome action, and in between battles, encouraged kids to go out and do stuff.  Like all 90's shows did.  But instead, because it was so awesome, kids didn't go out and exercise and just stayed in and got fat.  And that's how we got to where we are today.  In other words, my hypothesis is that the Power Rangers were so cool that they're why a generation of people are obese.  Yeah.

Anyway, I hoped you liked this blog, and found it :Morphinomenal" than any of my others. 


Until next time, MORPHIN' OUT! (It's a GIF, click it...)

Entry 27: Top 25 Centers Heading into the 2011-2012 Season

I decided to dedicate this entry to the top 25 centers going into the league next season.  I have a lot of ideas for blogs that I have been meaning to write and am planning to write.  The Power Rangers one is about half way done, A Face in the Macabre Part II, Top 25 for the other positions of the NHL, Season Predictions, and an Entry on the new Thunder Cats cartoon.  The ideas are all there, it's just having the time to write them.  Anyway, today is a:

I looked for the most generic picture of Hockey I could possibly find.  Anyway, here's the list, counting down:

HM's: Roy, Plekanec, Riberio, Briere, Zajac, and Pavelski.
Briere missed the list because I'm not sure how he'll peform as a center the entire season, Riberio missed the list because he's TOO one dimensional, Zajac, Plekanec, and Roy were all very close.

25: David Krejci:
It's hard to pinpoint the players around here, because from like 20-30 are all pretty close, but Krecji is well deserving of his spot as 25, he was crucial to the Bruins post season run going nearly a PPG, posting almost at a PPG pace during the regular season, being a very good +/- player, being a strong physical presence, and a good defensive center.  Well deserving of this spot.

24.  Paul Statsny:
I find that the legendary Peter Statsny's son goes underrated around the NHL, true he got an all star game nod, but the guy goes silently about his business while racking up really impressive numbers.  Statsny's a responsible two way player, who puts up respectable numbers, who have declined slightly because of playing on such an atrocious Avalanche team, and playing behind Matt Duchene.

23.  Jason Spezza:
With the fall of the Senators, this rather decorated center has falling out of the lime light.  He's overpaid, he's becoming more injury prone, and his defense has a poor reputation.  However, Spezza still posts almost at a PPG clip, his defense has improved significantly, and all this on a very bad Senators team.  He's well deserving of this spot.

22.  Matt Duchene:
The other center of the Aves' 1-2 punch has been very solid the last two seasons, last season finishing well above the rest of his teammates.  He plays a good two way game, he's not Joe Sakic, but he's as close they'll get.

21. John Tavares:
Tavares is the Islanders.  Plain and simple.  He's practically their entire offense, and performs admirably for being such a young player.  Tavares numbers will increase greatly with more offensive support.

Carter's on the left

20.  Jeff Carter:
Carter's an offensively prolific player, being something in the top 5 in goals scored in the last few seasons.  He now has an opportunity to play with one of the beloved, and underrated wingers(how is that possible?) in the game, Rick Nash.  Both players are natural goalscorers, so chemistry is already being called into question, but the duo is highly anticipated.

19. Vincent Lecavalier:
Vinny had a bit of a renaissance this season, as his numbers improved and he wasn't as injury prone.  Leacavlier's numbers dipped in recent seasons due to chronic wrist ailments and such, but he seems to finally be returning to form.

18.  Patrice Bergeron:
Who some people call the true captain of the Bruins, Bergeron is a darn good two way center, one of the best of the game, and was absolutely amazing in the playoffs this season.  He's a consistent point producer, and always has a very good +/-.  If Tim Thomas wasn't as amazing as he was, Bergeron would have been highly considered for the Conn Smythe this year.

17.  Mike Richards:
The former Flyers Captain plots down around number 17, (Carter's old number ironically), where he'll likely anchor the second line in Los Angeles this year.  Richards is a perennial top 5 defensive forward in the league, who also is pretty consistent for about 25-30 goals a season.

16.  Mikko Koivu:
The captain of the Wild is generally pretty underrated, as the Wild really haven't made much noise lately.  He's a good Number 1 center who is almost always about at a PPG clip, and plays a generally solid two way game.

15.  Claude Giroux:
A lot of pressure is being placed on Giroux this season as he is expected to anchor Philadelphia's first line.  But in the past season, Giroux had a really impressive season, performing almost at a PPG pace, playing strong on both sides of the ice, and being a good Special Teams performer.  It'll be a showing season for Giroux.

14.  Brad Richards:
The crown jewel of the Free Agency market, Brad Richards finds himself on Broadway this season, the former Conn Smythe winner just finished a stint in Dallas, and generally performs over a PPG clip.  He has a booming shot, and can be used as a Power Play Quarterback, Richards should perform very well in New York this season.

13.  Nicklas Backstrom:
Backstrom is considered one of the premier play makers in the NHL, however he had a slumping season last year, and generally, people attest his impressive point production to Alex Ovechkin, his Superstar linemate.  But regardless, Backstrom should have a bounce back year and return to more familiar numbers.

12.  Ryan Kesler:
I almost had Kesler at Number 11, but the reason I could not bring myself to do it was because of the fact that he plays behind the Sedins.  He generally plays against less fierce talent as they do, and thusly has more inflated numbers.  However, even with that stated, Kesler is a premier two way forward, who was on a Conn Smythe quest, and won a Selke this season.  I wouldn't be surprised if his stock improves over the next season or two.

11.  Anze Kopitar:
Kopitar really exploded in production in the last two years, and has been probably the most prolific offensive player the Kings have seen since Palffy, or maybe even Robataille.  Kopitar is a good two way player, and the best Slovenian hockey player in the world....(And it's not even close.)  He and Richards promise to be a menacing 1-2 Punch this season.

10.  Joe Thornton:
7-10 Were particularly hard to rank, but the reason why Thornton is 10 and not 7, is because he simply isn't clutch in the playoffs.  This was by far his best post season to date, but the fact is, he still can't lift his Sharks into the finals.  Thornton is a prolific scorer, top 5 since the lock out, but he's simply not clutch.  There's a reason why he's called the Tin Man.

9.  Eric Staal:
Staal has truly become the face of the Hurricanes taking the mantle from Brind'amour and before him, Francis.  He's already got a Stanley Cup ring to his collection, and is one of the most well respected players in the league, while posting at a PPG, or almost at a PPG pace, for the last few seasons.

8.  Jonathan Toews:
The most overrated Hockey player in the game today, bar none.  Toews was ranked the third best player in the game in last year's The Hockey News magazine, and in Puck Daddy's recent top 25 center's ranking, which inspired this one, he was ranked third there too.  I love Toews, he reminds me of Yzerman-lite, but the fact is, the man hasn't reached the PPG mark, nor has he scored more than 40 goals.  Instead, his ranking comes from his intangibles, hence being called "Captain Intangibles."  I think Toews is one of the best young leaders in the NHL, playing Selke caliber hockey, and already has a Conn Smythe to his name (and this is why he's ahead of Thornton and Staal, because he actually is very clutch), but he's very overrated.

7.  Henrik Zetterberg:
Pavel Datsyuk was injured for most of the regular season last year, causing future Red Wings captain, Zetterberg to put the team on his oft-injured back.  The result was finishing 3rd in the conference, and finishing at a PPG clip.  Zetterberg isn't as graceful as he used to be, but he backchecks doggedly, is considered the most clutch player in the league, second only to maybe Daniel Briere, and would have several Selke's to his name if it weren't for Pavel Datsyuk, and already has a Conn Smythe to his name.

6.  Ryan Getzlaf:
Getzlaf is a nasty player, puts up over a PPG pace, consistent +/- player, good on the PK and PP, and is the face of the Anaheim Ducks franchise.  Getzlaf is a damn good hockey player, and he's the perfect center for the best line in the game right now.

5.  Henrik Sedin:
How ironic that I put Jumbo Joe at number 10 for his lack of playoff performance, but am putting Sedin at number 5 for his.  The difference is, when Sedin's brother Daniel was injured in the 2010 season, he put the team on his back and earned the Hart and Art Ross trophies without him, silencing the critics that the Sedin Twins couldn't perform alone.  And unlike Thornton, he puts up better numbers, and has actually made the finals, coming one game away from winning the cup.  Sedin is well deserving of his spot.

4.  Steven Stamkos:
Stamkos has had two very strong seasons, but the reason he's being put at 4 and not 3, when 3 has more reason to be lower on the list is because of two reasons:  For being as a big of Stamkos fan as I am, I feel like his production is greatly inflated by perhaps the best pure play maker in the game, St. Louis.  AND, because his production seriously tapered off in the last half of the season last year.  Stamkos has a lot of growing to do, but within three years has proven that he's a top 5 player in the game, and almost helped his Lightning from being one game away from the Stanley Cup finals last year.

3.  Evgeni Malkin:
Malkin's only had one season where he finished below the PPG mark, and that was last year, and that was because of a lingering injury.  That said, Malkin only played 43 games last year.  But, without having a "what have you done for me lately" mentality, no one takes over a game like Evgeni Malkin does, as evidenced by his playoff perfomance in 2009, Malkin should return to the 11/12 season back to form, and proving why he's a top 3 center in the league.

2. Pavel Datsyuk:
Pavel Datsyuk is the most well rounded player in the world.  Datsyuk was a monster in last year's post season, single handedly man handling the Phoenix Coyotes, making them look like CHL players.  Datsyuk would have probably won his 4th consecutive Selke Trophy last season if it weren't for his wrist injury that caused him to miss 26 games last year.  Fact is, Datsyuk is good for PPG production, while being the best defensive forward in the game leading the league in take aways and having an impressive +/-, while being probably the best deker in the league, bar none.

1.  Sidney Crosby:
Crosby went down early last season to nagging concussions, but before that?  Crosby was on a pace that had been unseen in years, putting up 66 points in 41 games.  Crosby was on a tear, and poised to take home the Art Ross, the Hart, and the Richard trophies.  Crosby is truly the undisputed best player in the world, already having two finals appearances, a Stanley Cup, a bunch of hardware, and improving on all aspects of the game.