I think most people were looking forward to Crosby and Ovechkin battling it out for the next 10 years, with most people viewing Crosby as the “Golden Boy” of the sport. Now some people wonder if he’s played his last game.
This sport is in dire need of a player that will continue to help the sport grow. Some people may not realize that more fans actually attend hockey games than basketball games, but because ESPN holds the rights to NBA games they continue to put them out front on Sportscenter and try to persuade the people that it’s the more popular sport.
IF Crosby was healthy and the Pittsburgh Penguins were dominating the game, which they’re not bad without him, this sport would be even more popular with a player that could lead them to the front of the rundown every morning.
But that’s not the case and it’s time to start looking for the next player to stand out and lead the sport in the right direction. Here are a couple of candidates.
- Patrick Kane: He is the first player that comes to my mind when I think of someone who can take this sport over. He’s an American skater, he’s already won a Stanley Cup and been feature on the front of EA Sports NHL 10. Watching this year’s skills competition he was clearly the favorite in the crowd and pulling out that cape showed that he’s OK with having the spotlight on him and he doesn’t mind being a focal point. The Blackhawks are a good team (currently sixth in their division) and play in a huge market. He’s signed with the Blackhawks through 2014. The NHL needs to forget about Crosby and Ovechkin and make Kane their poster child. The only problem is he may not even be the best player on his team. Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp could all easily be considered better players. When or if Kane becomes the leader of this team he’ll easily replace Crosby and Ovechkin as the leader of the sport.
- Steven Stamkos: It would make sense to pick the best player in the league to lead your league, wouldn’t it? Stamkos is undoubtedly one of the best players of this sport. He is a Canadian who was picked number one overall in the 2008 draft and is only 21 years old. He is the best goal scorer in the league, leading so far (Jan. 31) this year with 32 goals, and he’s fifth in points with 52. He’s played in All-Star games and he made his debut in the playoffs last season. The only problem Stamkos faces is the team that he plays for. Not that the team is bad, although as of right now they sit nine points back of a playoff spot and are in a very weak division, but the market in which he plays in is horrible for a hockey player. He’s locked up with Tampa Bay for five more years, but if he can ever get into a big hockey market this kid could easily lead the charge for the NHL.
- Claude Giroux: He is quickly becoming the face of one of the more storied hockey franchises in the Philadelphia Flyers. His recent role in the 24/7 show on HBO leading up to the Winter Classic has also helped gain him some national attention. Playing well earlier in the season, he was a favorite to win the Hart Trophy. He is still currently second in the league in points, but his goals production has gone down each month since the season started. He’s made the All-Star Game the past two seasons and even scored a goal in the most previous one. The Flyers are good enough to keep him in the spotlight, I just think he needs more time to develop as a player and prove to the hockey world that he’s a star. The problem with Giroux is that’s he’s already had two separate incidents with concussions and we don’t want another Crosby situation on our hands. His production after the concussions shows that maybe he’s not over it yet. For the sport of hockey let’s hope he can become the player he was the first half of the season again.
- Evgeni Malkin: The most obvious choice would be to take a player who has already established popularity with NHL fans and who has become one of the more dominant players in quite possibly the most popular hockey market. The second overall pick in the 2004 draft, Malkin has won the Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie), Art Ross Trophy (league’s top scorer) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as he, not Crosby, led the Pens to a Stanley Cup trophy in 2009. There are many problems leading to the fact that Malkin isn’t the leader of this sport already. The first one is Crosby. Once Crosby is out of his way, either by retiring or if one moves to another team, then Malkin will have is chance to reign supreme. Malkin is also Russian and some believe he would prefer to play in his home country. Malkin is the most established of the group and my favorite to take over the sport.
The fact of the matter is that one of these men, or some other up and coming star, needs to grab this sport and its fans and run with it. I believe had the NBA been locked out the NHL would have easily taken its place on ESPN. And even though it still feels like the NBA season hasn’t started because no one outside of ESPN really cares about it, the NHL has got to step up and pick someone that can be marketed to the casual hockey fans out there. I don’t know who it’s going to be, but I hope he emerges quickly and helps this sport get the attention it deserves.
You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com/
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