All Star Updates

So, the All-Star Game is this weekend (But you already knew that), and the replacements have already been named.  Not making the All-Star Game this weekend are Jarome Iginla, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Ales Hemsky, and Tobias Enstrom.  Two of those players have already had replacements named, and they are Martin Havlat and Keith Yandle.  Havlat has put up numbers closer to his standards this year, which is to say about a point a game, and there is some justice for Yandle, as I thought he deserved a spot ahead of someone like Mike Green, who is having a sub-par year by his standards.  Now, the additions are good, but I never like to see them come at the expense of someone getting hurt.  After all, many of those players have earned that right to be called an All-Star.

Speaking of All-Stars, there are rumors of Peter Forsberg wanting to make a return to the NHL.  He never officially retired, so calling it a comeback would be the wrong thing to say.  However, he's 37, and there's no telling how much he actually has left in the tank, since his last game in the NHL was 2008.  Sure, there have been the Olympic Game stints with Sweden and the Swedish League games, but no one truly knows what he can still do.  If he does make a return to the NHL, logic dictates that the Colorado Avalanche would be the team of choice, since he recently had a tryout with the team.  As for what I do know what he can provide, veteran leadership and the winning pedigree are sure things, and those are things that Colorado could use with their youthful locker room.  No, the Avs' glory days of the late 90's and early 2000's are not going to be relived, but having that winner's attitude in the locker room could be as beneficial to the current team as playing the games on the NHL level and learning on the job.

Update:  Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes was named one of the replacements in the All-Star Game.  Skinner had previously been included on the rookies contingent that will be participating in the SuperSkills challenge on Saturday.