Sydney Crosby...

   Ok, Sydney Crosby is a good player. He does set up the players around him for points, he is great in the face-off circle. Crosby has gotten better at shooting and has shown it in 2010 with 51 goals and last year before he got hurt had 32 goals in literally half of the season which meant he was on track for 64 goals. This is an improvement to the new media-proclaimed great one, who before was known for his assists and not goals. In my mind from the start of his career he was over-rated. You cannot call an 18 year-old man the new great one, possibly better than Lemieux and Gretzky ESPECIALLY when he isn't even a goal scorer! His biggest flaw is his toughness. Let's recall 2009 when the Pens won the cup. Game Seven, Franzen hits Crosby into the boards and Crosby leaves the game with a "knee" injury. Soon to Follow Talbot scores again and then to finish the game and season Fleury makes his greatest save of his career by robbing Lidstrom of the game tying goal off of a rebound with only seconds to play. The reason I bring this game up is for Crosby not returning to the game and then comes out after the win and hoists Lord Stanley in the air skating around like he was never even hurt.... Would any other captain in the NHL do anything like that to his team, his peers, his fans? No. Malkin is back, looks great and in my opinion better than ever because he shows hustle like never before, and is even showing he can play a great forecheck. Granted it's only preseason, meaning you take his play with a grain of salt, but since he's doing things he never did before and claims himself he is only at 90% this means great things are to come. Malkin is better than Crosby because his points don't rely on the players around him, actually they rely on if Crosby is playing or not. Malkin plays better when Crosby isn't playing. Back to my point for this post, one team has already traded away their premiere center who happens to be their captain.... they also made their new captain their veteran defenseman. This team is the Flyers, and that center is Mike Richards, and their new captain is Chris Pronger. Maybe the Pens need to go another way. What has Crosby really done for this team? honestly? Score some points, set some people up, make his teammate Malkin look worse than he is, wimp out in the sign of failure, pansy out when hurt. Ok, he has a double concussion, meaning it will take a long time to recover. He is DEFINITELY milking this! Grow a pair and show your teammates what a captain really is, if not step down as the captain and give it up to a better candidate, like Orpik, Kunitz, Adams, Letang, or how about Tyler Kennedy? Who yes is a goal scorer, but he is a two-way player meaning he is just as good defensively as he is offensively and is willing to use his body for the benefit of the team, unlike crosby.

   The NHL's biggest problem are teams making their "superstar" goal scorer their captains. Take a look at the captains who aren't these huge goal scorers, Boston - Chara, Buffalo - Rivet, Colorado - Foote, Detroit - Lidstrom, Florida - McCabe, Nashville - Weber, New Jersey - Langenbrunner, NYI - Weight, St. Louis - Brewer, Toronto - Phaneuf. Now lets go through this list more thoroughly. Chara is considered a "superstar" yes, but he is also a defenseman meaning he has a different set of core values. Chara has that nasty 109 mph slap-shot which makes him a key factor on offense and his stature of 6'9" has put him in the spotlight. Chara is still known for being one of the best defensive players in the NHL with his unselfishness to use his body to block shots, when anyone on his team is blatantly gone after with one of those "gray area" hits, Chara is the first one to retaliate and stand up for his teammates. Next we have Craig Rivet, former Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Shark and now plays for Columbus. Rivet is one of those defensive oriented guys that can add that offensive firepower when needed. He's a respected veteran who's been around the league, been through the ups and the downs of NHL and knows what is needed for a team to achieve greatness. Once again a player who will use his body to benefit his team and stand up for his teammates. Colorado's Adam Foote is one of the most note-worthy defensive players in the NHL because of the length of his career and the success of being known as one of the greatest shutdown defenseman of all-time. Foote is another guy who has been through the ups and downs of the NHL being part of eight straight division titles and winning two stanley cups. Again a man who will use his body to benefit his team and stand up for his teammates. In April Foote decided to hang it up after 13 seasons. Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom will go down as arguably the best Defenseman to ever set foot on the ice of an NHL arena. Nominated twelve times, winning seven, for the Norris Trophy, being a member of the red wings for all 19 of his NHL seasons and going to the playoffs all 19 years, winning four Stanley Cups, Lidstrom lives and breathes success. Being an alternate captain for ten years under the reigns of former Red Wings' captain, center, legend, and current GM, Steve Yzerman, Lidstrom was trained to become one of the league's greatest captains. The man, who was always known for his offensive abilities for a defenseman, is underrated in his defensive abilities and knack for shutting down opposing teams shots on goal. His story is legend, his career will become legend someday, and when that day comes he has already helped produce the next big captain from Detroit by the name of Pavel , who is arguably the best player in the NHL because he is arguably the best all-around player in the NHL. Next we have defenseman Bryan McCabe of Florida. McCabe has been around, and I don't mean just how many years he's played but his experience of playing for six different teams. McCabe has played with some of the best and note-worthy players in his career. He's always been a gritty defenseman who, once again i'm seeing a pattern, uses his body to benefit his team and stand up for his teammates. He's played in over one thousand games and now plays for the Rangers. Now we come to Shea Weber, the 6'8" goliath defenseman for Nashville. Weber is the young version of Chara so not much needed to be said there. Then you have Jaimie Langenbrunner of New Jersey. Jaimie has been there through their massive successes and the recent lows. He's a two-way forward who knows his teammates, knows the system, knows how to stand up for his guys, and once again my favorite quality using his body for the benefit of the team. Next Doug Weight of NYI. One of the best two-way centers in the league who's been around and knows what it takes for a team to come together and strive for greatness. Weight has the offensive touch you need and is a great defensive player. Now you have Brewer of St. Louis who, in his prime, was the premiere shut down defenseman. Became a member of St. Louis in a big time trade and ever since has really slipped out of the spotlight. What he lacks in highlights he makes up in bringing a young team together and striving to break out of their recent dark age. Finally we have Dion Phaneuf, a.k.a. "the Freight Train". Phaneuf was the leagues up and coming great defenseman who packs the hardest hits, has a nasty and accurate slap-shot, a good passer, great shutdown defenseman, and was under another great captain in Jarome Iginla, who I didn't mention only because he is that "superstar" status that is a captain and is a great one. Granted Iginla is one of the best two-way players out there, he has some of the best offensive qualities you would want in a star winger. Back to Phaneuf, with all of those traits he has turned into a bust, another overrated, overpaid player out of Toronto. Which brings up a curse of Toronto, but thats another topic. All in all Defense wins championships, and defensive captains are key to building a dynasty.