Hope all of you had the greatest New Year's ever and all those shenanigans. However, the Friday Five is the auld acquaintance that'll never leave. Or something....I've got nothing.1. Martin Brodeur has been riding the pine in lieu of Johan Hedberg, and for good reasoning. Are we witness the burnout of Brodeur before our eyes??
It's quite the issue on whether this is just a bad year for Brodeur and the Devils or the ravages of age and overuse catching up to the modern-era's greatest goalie in wins. The Devils aren't doing much to help him out in front of him and it seems that the karma is getting back to the Devils quicker than expected, as all the bounces aren't going their way at all. That said, we are definitely seeing a changing of the guard with the Devils-- which probably won't include Hedberg, but the point is that the goaltending department will have a big shake-up in Jersey and this is the first process rearing its ugly head.
2. While the Islanders were doing well for a while there, their goaltending issues could be their downfall-- was it foolish to get rid of Dwayne Roloson this early??
The Isles are a streaky team this year and could end up with a close to .500 record if they can even out their hot and cold streaks. However, with their tandem of Nathan Lawson and Kevin Poulin until Rick DiPietro gets healthy again; this is not good news. The Isles could have jumped the gun for dumping Roloson, but what other option did they have?? They had to sell high and try to get what they could get-- which isn't much for a 41-year-old goalie. Garth Snow did what he was told, which could have compromised the hot streak they were having heading into their Western swing.
3. The Winter Classic was all the rage and covered a lot during the week. Final thoughts??
It was a classic battle and it was a great boost for the League. Even so, the question is where's the next one and with the weather as it was-- squashes any argument to not have it in one of the Sunbelt cities. Dan Craig is a magician and he can do what's needed in order to put a game in a market that needs a gimmick like this to draw attention to the team would could be struggling otherwise.
4. Back to Jersey, Jamie Langenbrunner has cleaned out his locker and waiting to see where his next destination is. How painful is it to be sitting around like that and how much of a shot to ego is it to just be waiting there for commands??
It's definitely a shot to the ego when you're the captain and they go to you first before anyone else to move. Yet, I would almost think it's a reprieve from purgatory and maybe a fresh start from the hell that is New Jersey. Yet, in this world of technology, it's got to sting to know that you're out because you're waiting for a trade rather than just a mysterious injury. That said, it's a great look into the process of how it happens and how long it takes to finalize a deal with all the clauses that have to be overcome in order to achieve a trade.
5. Brayden Schenn swept most of the awards at the WJC despite his teams' monumental collapse and playing on a separated shoulder. With him going back to junior, which way could his motivation go??
Schenn is going back to a dismal Brandon Wheat Kings team and Schenn could be a little put off from going to an extreme high like the Canadian juniors then back to a team that's last in their division. However, you have to figure that Schenn won't dog it, mostly due to wanting to make the LA Kings notice that he's ready for the next step. He didn't seem to lose a step when he went back to juniors and showed he has the ability to play big at the WJC. We'll see how well Schenn does when he gets back from injury-- but the Kings probably did the right thing sending him back, rather than having him rot in the press box.
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That's another week in the books and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did-- and I know you did. If you didn't, email me at Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com with some suggestions on what you want to see in the F5; topic wise or whatever.
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