E
ven though these words are running during the week of April 1, we're not fooling when we say Sidney Crosby has competition as the best player in the National Hockey League.
Hall of Fame hockey writer Jim Matheson wrote recently in the Edmonton Journal that Crosby was the best player in the game but that the "best of the rest" was Pavel Datsyuk of Detroit Red Wings.
Hmmmm! After watching both of them play a few games this year, here's where I stand on this comparison: 1. Crosby; 1A, Datsyuk.
This is not to knock Crosby by saying he might have a hockey equal. Sid the Kid is undoubtedly among the best eight to 10 players of all time and at last glance, he was 20 points ahead of Datsyuk in the scoring race, but hockey is more about piling up points.
While Crosby wheels around the ice with gusto, setting up linemates for highlight reel goals and making incredible individual plays at breakneck speed, Datsyuk operates at a controlled slower pace, a Baryshnikov with the puck.
In a crowd, no one controls the game like Datsyuk, an 11-year NHL veteran who was picked in the late rounds of the 1998 draft. Using deft moves in tight spaces, employing the slickest feet in the game, Datsyuk seemingly plays keepaway with the puck when the mood strikes him. He's like a magician.
And while he's the Red Wings' top offensive threat, he's also among the very best in the entire league when it comes to defence: He has won the Frank J. Selke award for defensive forward of the year award three times, a prize Crosby will likely never contest.
Don't get me wrong: If an NHL general manager were picking a team from scratch right now, Crosby would be his No. 1 pick because he's only 25 and Datsyuk is 34. But for sheer skill in 2013, Datsyuk takes a back seat to no one. Both Crosby and Datsyuk are riding up front.
Those two are among five or six players in the NHL who are individually worth the price of admission (Steven Stamkos, Jonathon Toews, Taylor Hall and P.K. Subban are others that come to mind) but for my money, this year, right now, I'd pay as much to watch Datsyuk as I would Crosby.
Unfortunately, this might be the last year NHL fans get an opportunity to watch the miracle man in action. The Russian star so enjoyed playing in the KHL during the recent lockout that he's reportedly planning to return to his homeland next year.
KHL on TSN, anybody?
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R.J Currie of sportsdeke.com: "According to marine biologists, many sharks take a break each spring to focus on eating, having sex and swimming in warm water. If we're talking San Jose Sharks, you can add golf."
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- "Dude, you're going the wrong way!"
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CBS's Craig Ferguson, on the NCAA tournament: "I love the name March Madness. I'm glad the politically correct police haven't made us change March Madness to 'early spring psychosis.'
Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: "Convicted dog-fighter, Michael Vick, had to cancel his book tour after outrage from dog lovers spread. Vick's autobiography is titled 'Finally Free.' Much better than his first title, 'Old Yeller Had It Coming.'
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