Markov is second in scoring by defenseman in the Eastern Conference and one of the best. There is nothing wrong with him being there.
IMO Markov would be a starter even if the selection was made on merit rather than popularity. I really don't understand why there would be complaints about his selection.
than it shouldnt be called the ALL STAR game. it should be called the "popularity contest golden globe awards"
again, this isnt saying its habs fans faults
Well I'm glad you say that because I agree that this is ****ed up but I hate it when people wrongly accuse us when all we did was vote for our favorite players that we want to see in the All-Star game.
And you are right, this is the popularity contest and that's we've been calling it lately in Montreal.
But those players were Toews, Kane, Getzlaf and Neids, a little different than Komisarek and Markov.
I dont personally give a ****, but thats the reason why people are not complaining.
Markov is betetr than all of those players and Toews is the worst of the bunch. Everybody keeps saying how good of a selection Toews was and how bad of a selection Kovalev was when in reality they have the same effective output.
I'm surprised I haven't seen more on Kimmo Timonen - as a Flyer fan, I can see Richards/Gagne not going, but it's hard not to see Kimmo. He's such a steady, underrated player both offensively and defensively. Hopefully the time off will help his foot heal a little more.
Markov is betetr than all of those players and Toews is the worst of the bunch. Everybody keeps saying how good of a selection Toews was and how bad of a selection Kovalev was when in reality they have the same effective output.
Nope, those 3 extra points Toews have puts him on a whole other level.
There would be, although it may not come from you. Everyone knows the Habs and their fans are the most annoying in the league, after all.
As for the selection, it's a good spread, better than the West's. There are deserving players missing (Elias, Semin, Green, etc.) but there are going to be such things every time, and everyone who was named to the team is a deserving selection, if you're mindful of the one-per-team criteria.
Heatley is NOT A DESERVING selection. The guy is one of the last guys that any objective Sens fan would pick. Guys like Chris Neil, and Shean freaking Donovan are on a list of people on the Sens that would be more deserving to represent the Senators at the All-Star game.
That's how bad and slow and lazy he has been this year.
and staal over backstrom and richards is a disgrace
I realize you are a Caps fan and defending your player....but I am guessing you are also just basing everything on STATS.
Sure Staal's point totals aren't as high as Backstrom or Richards..but you should look under the covers of the total stats.....Washington and Philadelphia are much more offensive teams than Carolina. Also, with more talented offensive players around them...Backstrom and Richards can rack up assist totals much higher than Staal will ever be able to this year.
Now look at the % of teams goals/points each player is responsible for:
Backstrom: 9% of goals, 12.5% of points
Richards: 11.5% of goals, 12.5% of points
Staal: 17% of goals, 11% of points.
Staal also has 4 GWG vs. 3 for Richards and 1 for Backstrom.
My conclusions: Staal doesn't have as talented players around him to rack up assist totals, but Staal's goal scoring is a bigger % of his teams scoring.
Let's look at a few other stats:
+/-
Backstrom: +6 on a team that is +73
Richards: +16 on a team that is +37
Staal: +11 on a team that is -29
I realize +/- can be a misleading stat..but Staal's numbers are impressive and show how much of a two way game he has been playing this season.
Power play vs. even strength:
Backstrom: 51% of points are even strength/SH
Richards: 59% of points are even strength/SH
Staal: 68% of the points are even strength/SH
I am not trying to say that Staal is more deserving than Richards and Backstrom....but he is not as far off as you and others are stating.
Remember all the *****ing people did when the Ducks and Blackhawks voted in 3 of their players? Oh wait...
Quality over quantity. I can't find anyone who thinks Kane, Getzlaf, Campbell, Pronger, and Giguere shouldn't be there. Toews is the only questionable one but is nearly at a point per game, is a great leader, and is much better defensively, and the only players that were snubbed were on the fringe anyways.
No one can make a legit argument (based on actual play) as to why Komisarek and Kovalev should be there.
Quality over quantity. I can't find anyone who thinks Kane, Getzlaf, Campbell, Pronger, and Giguere shouldn't be there. Toews is the only questionable one but is nearly at a point per game, is a great leader, and is much better defensively, and the only players that were snubbed were on the fringe anyways.
No one can make a legit argument (based on actual play) as to why Komisarek and Kovalev should be there.
Giguere is over-rated,hiller has done better this year...I would have Mason, Backstrom, Luongo, Nabokov over giguere.
Quality over quantity. I can't find anyone who thinks Kane, Getzlaf, Campbell, Pronger, and Giguere shouldn't be there. Toews is the only questionable one but is nearly at a point per game, is a great leader, and is much better defensively, and the only players that were snubbed were on the fringe anyways.
No one can make a legit argument (based on actual play) as to why Komisarek and Kovalev should be there.
I know Komisarek shouldn't be there, I have never said he should. I just find it funny that people are saying that the Hab players are keeping out like ten guys when in reality it's like two. The reason people are crying is because players off their favorite team don't get to play in a game that they claim they won't watch anyway. Pittsburgh fans, Chicago fans and Anaheim fans stuffed the ballot but that's okay. But the second the Hab fans do it to vote for a game that they are paying to see it's the end of the world.
No one can make a legit argument (based on actual play) as to why Komisarek and Kovalev should be there.
Well Komisarek led the league in hits and blockshots last season if I recall, so maybe a little bit of recognition or at the least stop venting your anger at him and undervaluing him like this.
Backstrom was snubbed. Averaging over a point a game and with better stats than the likes of Staal, Lecavalier and Heatley yet he's put on the sidelines. What a joke the All-Star game is.
The worst thing is no Semin...his PPG is 2nd best in the NHL.
No Backstrom is a joke...
No Elias is a joke..
No Kessel is a joke..
No Zheredev is a joke..
No Richards is a joke..
Komi being in is a joke..
Kovalev bein in is a joke..
Kovalchuk hasnt done much this year..
Timonen isnt an all-star this year til just lately.
Calm down a sec and think through what you just said logically. You just tried to add 6 players to the team while removing 3, one of whom is there because of the "one-per-team" rule. Your outrage apparently isn't with the selections, but with the format.
The answer is to pick bigger teams. Saying "they won't fit on the bench" is not an excuse. The reason they can pick a player per team in the NFL and MLB are the team sizes.
I'm surprised I haven't seen more on Kimmo Timonen - as a Flyer fan, I can see Richards/Gagne not going, but it's hard not to see Kimmo. He's such a steady, underrated player both offensively and defensively. Hopefully the time off will help his foot heal a little more.
Who would you bump off? The starters are voted in and Timonen wouldn't bump Markov in any case. Clearly Chara is a no-brainer. Then Kaberle, Streit, and Bouwmeester are the only players from their teams and deserving selections in their own right.
You can make a case that Komisarek should be out, but then Green would be more likely to be in than Timonen.
Well Komisarek led the league in hits and blockshots last season if I recall, so maybe a little bit of recognition or at the least stop venting your anger at him and undervaluing him like this.
Don't matter this year, otherwise we could have vote Theodore as a starter because he was very good a few years ago.
Everyone knows the Habs and their fans are the most annoying in the league, after all.
Now, now, now. Decorum, please. We ALL know that Coyotes and Lightning fans take that cake. Habs fans are second only to you-know-who.
Not that it is appropriate in this thread, but I think the reserve selections were good, all in all. I also like fan voting, and 1-player-from each team. I think some excellent players on teams light on talent wouldn't make it otherwise. Lots of guys taking feeds from all-star playmakers can't hold up when shipped to a new team, and some guys carrying teams seemingly by themselves would be in the top 5 in scoring if they had more talent around them.
All this Montreal talk has me hungry for poutine, for crying out loud...
