Armchair Pools Blog

Let's start with big Joe Thornton. I read on a blog somewhere that Joe "poops assists". Maybe not the most visually appealing analogy, but it's true. Joe's soft hands and his incredible patience have indeed made him the league's premier setup man. He has led the league in assists 3 times in the last 4 years and is on pace this season to make it 4 of 5. Unfortunately, this applies only to the regular season. In the playoffs, Joe's production tends to be a little "constipated". In the aforementioned 5 year period, Joe averaged almost an assist a game in the regular season. In that same time period during the playoffs, his production was cut by almost a third. In the 2006 Olympics, Joe managed only 2 assists over a 6 game span. Simply put, the Joe Thornton that plays in the regular season does not show up when the pressure is on. And in Vancouver, the pressure will be on.

If Joe poops assists, then Dany Heatley poops goals. A two-time 50 goal scorer, Dany has averaged .57 goals per game over the last 5 years. And while his output has slowed down over the last two seasons, his trade to the San Jose Sharks has reignited his career. He has had an excellent start to the 2009/10 season and at his current pace he will have another shot at a 50 goal campaign. What is giving Dany "the runs"? Well, it's not just the water in California. Being paired with Joe Thornton has unquestionably been the reason behind Dany's increased production. So this begs the question - if big Joe doesn't show up in Vancouver, what will happen to Dany Heatley? When he cannot count on Joe Thornton to send him pretty passes, will he bear down and find other ways to score? If this summer's trade antics are any indication of Heatley's character, I'm guessing not. In fact, I think that if things get tough for Team Canada, Dany might waive his citizenship and ask to be traded to Team Russia.

And what about Patrick Marleau? His main criticism is his inability to score consistently. While he scored 71 and 86 points in 2008 and 2006 respectively, he tallied a disappointing and surprising 48 in 2007. He has shouldered the blame for the Sharks dismal playoff performances and was stripped of his captaincy this summer. While he is more "regular" this year, the main source of fiber in his diet is without a doubt his linemates Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. If they disappear in Vancouver, Marleau's production will likely dry up as well.

So while they may be the NHL's top scoring line this season, they are also a line that has the risk of disappearing when the games get tough. And according to Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman, risk does not equal success.

"I've been to these tournaments, and the types of players that I found to be successful [are] guys that are responsible players," [Yzerman] said. "If you lose a game, you're out of the tournament, and you can't afford guys that are going to be high-risk." - Steve Yzerman (CBC Sports)

I agree. Let's leave the risky guys at home in February and take some "less-skilled" but dependable players to Vancouver.