- All reports seem to indicate that the 2013 NHL Winter Classic will pit the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in an Original Six match up that will be held at either Michigan Stadium or Comerica Park. Having had the opportunity to visit both those venues, my vote would be Comerica Park.
- It will be interesting to see if the Leafs and Wings will take part in ESPN's 24/7 in the same way as the Capitals, Penguins, Flyers, and Rangers have done in the past. Not sure that these two franchises would be willing to throw their doors open to the cameras in quite the same uncensored way as has been done in the past.
- Just as we've past the halfway point of the NHL seasons, there are already six teams which are out of the playoff race. Edmonton, Anaheim, Columbus in the West. Tampa, Carolina, and the Islanders in the East. Of that group, you have to think the future is brightest in Edmonton.
- What a difference a few months make... As the Boston Bruins began the regular season by stumbling out of the gate, many fans were calling for coach Claude Julien to be fired. Fast forward to mid-January and the B's are one point out of first place in the East, and all seems well. The fickle world of hockey.
- A team heading in the opposite direction is the Minnesota Wild. It seems like just a few weeks ago they were atop the standings in the Western Conference and were the toast of the hockey world. Now they are 2-7-1 in their last ten games. With Dallas, Colorado, Calgary and Phoenix nipping at their heels in the race for the 8th and final playoff spot, I wouldn't be willing to bet on their chances of making the post season.
- It's a little early to be talking about coach of the year candidates, but you have to think that Ottawa Senators bench boss Paul MacLean will get some consideration for the Jack Adams Award should his team continue their surprisingly good play down the stretch.
- Another obvious candidate is St-Louis coach Ken Hitchcock. The Blues' turnaround has been nothing short of spectacular, although with Hitchcock's coaching resume, it was certainly not unexpected.
- "Small players have to prove they can play, big players have to prove they can't.'' Every time I read about Dustin Penner, that Theoren Fleury quote comes to mind. The 6'4" 245lbs Penner, has one assist in his last five games and just two goals this season for the Los Angeles Kings.
- I don't usually follow soccer, but I found it interesting to not Patrice Bernier, a player that was recently signed by the Montreal Impact, is the same Patrice Bernier who played for the Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL in the late 1990's. It's a team that featured many future NHLers, J-P Dumont, Steve Begin and Roberto Luongo among them.
- Last week Teemu Selanne became just the 13th player in NHL history to score 650 goals. Another milestone is well within reach for the future Hall of Famer. The 41 year old sits just 15 points behind Jari Kurri and surpassing him would make Selanne the highest scoring Finnish born player in NHL history.
- Let's finish this off with a little trivia. Who is the NHL's career leader in shots on goal? A piece of pie for you if you knew that Ray Bourque, with 6206 career SOG is the leader in that category. In fact, it's not even close. Bourque sits 840 shots ahead of the runner up, Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne who finished his career with 5366 SOG.
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