2008-09 NHL Season Wrap-Up

The Red Wings finished 51-21-10, good for 112 points and the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. How bad is it that I, and Wings fans everywhere, are disappointed with the team's fourth consecutive 50-win season and ninth straight season with more than 100 points? I'm completely spoiled to have my absolute favorite sports team succeed at such a high rate every year, but I can't help thinking that this regular season just adds up to a shoulder-shrug feeling given the expectations it began with.

And that's crazy. Bruins fans have sprung up all over the place here in New England after their energizing 116-point season, but Red Wings fans are more or less unphased by only four points less. Nuts. But it's true. I've been here before. I know what this team is capable of and I'm surprised they only managed 2nd place. I really hope they can pull it together for a playoff run, and I'm confident they can, but the inconsistencies throughout the season have left me with some doubts.

I'm getting ahead of myself though; my playoff preview and predictions won't come until Tuesday night. I just wanted to voice my opinion on the NHL season and I've found that I haven't got much to say. Other than a huge THANK YOU! to Kenny Holland for once again being the best GM in sports and signing Johan Franzen to an 11-year deal, I'm feeling so done with the regular season right now.

But just because I set out to do it at the start of this post, here are some thoughts on 08-09 now that it's in the books:

• The Avalanche finished in last place. Well, last place in the West. Awesome, nonetheless. HA!
• The Sharks look in perfect position to choke another season away. Just sayin'.
• ESPN made a "Top 5 NHL plays of the year" highlight list and left out multiple plays that I think deserve serious consideration. Franzen's goal against St. Louis a week ago was unbelievable, anything Datsyuk does is pure gold and Hossa has had plenty of goals this year that deserve some recognition. BIG thumbs down to ESPN for that bogus reel. I do love seeing that Ovechkin goal again though...what a beauty.
• Pavel Datsyuk should be the damned MVP. I'm pissed he didn't get to 100 points but he should be anyway. I know he won't win, but he should. And regardless of what everybody else says, Nick Lidstrom should win another Norris Trophy. I don't think he will because everyone is so enamored over Mike Green, who should just be a forward because he doesn't do anything well as a defenseman except score goals (what?!), or because Zdeno Chara had a great season too. But the vote should be for Lidstrom over Chara not only because of my bias, but also because without Chara, the Bruins would still have had a great season. Without Lidstrom, I'm not sure the Wings would have kept it together all year long. Oh well, "Fake Z" will probably get it.
  
• My Marty Turco for Vezina prediction was laughably off target. I still love him but really, I couldn't have been more wrong if I picked Barry Bonds to win the same award. I also picked Barry Melrose to win the Jack Adams for Coach of the Year. Haha, wow. Please point at me next time you see me and say "FAIL!" for my terrible blunder of epic proportions.
  
• The Winter Classic is amazing and I can't wait for next year. Bruins-Canadiens in Fenway. Unreal. That's one thing the NHL is actually doing right.
• Mike Milbury is still a huge douche. No big surprise there. Don Cherry, too.
• The Blue Jackets made the playoffs for the first time in history! Yayyyyy....just in time to be put in their place by the power of the league.

I'm done. The playoffs are coming. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, but I'm still a little pissed that BU lucked their way into another national hockey title and that Angel Cabrera won the Masters. Bah, that's annoying. I mean good for him, but Phil and Tiger played so well that it kinda sucks that the day had to end that way. Kenny Perry would have been good too, but Cabrera managed to be the last guy standing. Oy. And those Terriers...ooooh those Terriers. I can't get started on them or I just won't sleep tonight. Long story short, they deserve nothing.

Tomorrow, I'll be unveiling my All-Nemesis and All-Goat teams from previous Red Wings' postseasons. It's a collaborative effort with The Triple Deke, who came up with the idea a couple weeks ago, and you should be excited because it's awesome. Goodnight.