THN Best of Hockey Issue

Seemingly every year, I buy the Hockey News magazines special editions, be it the Yearbook, Prospect Watch, or whatever else they come out with.  Obviously, I think highly enough of THN to keep sinking in money to buy these issues, so it should come as no surprise that I buy the BEST OF EVERYTHING HOCKEY issue that came out just recently.  On many of the topics, there is general agreement on them, but on some, I'm thinking, "East Coast bias!"  As a Canucks fan, this is something that you would expect, so take that for what you will.  There is also a section devoted to the best players on each team, as well as that team's best season.  In that section, there are a few interesting points:

• The Toronto Maple Leafs do not have have a single player on the first or second team that played in the 1990's or beyond.  The latest any Leaf mentioned played was Bjorne Salmig, who last played in 1989.
• Despite a dreadful last 20 years or so, one New York Islander managed to crack the second team in Kenny Jonsson, who played from 1995 until 2004.
• Not surprisingly, the New Jersey Devils teams are dominated by teams from the Stanley Cup years, with Kirk Muller being the only one who played before those years that made the team.
• Scott Walker makes an all-time team?  Only the Nashville Predators, folks.

This issue, like many of the Hockey News magazines, was designed to inspire debate, from the major issues of the day to the more comical things, such as hockey songs.  I am approaching ten years since I bought my first Hockey News Yearbook, and I am happy to say that I am still buying, and will continue to do so.