from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

– Sidney Crosby will be on Canada’s World Cup of Hockey team because he’s Sid, but if they were voting on his inclusion today, would he even be on the radar? Maybe this is just an off year by a great player, but Crosby isn’t in the top 100 in scoring. Five goals all year, only two even-strength, just 15 points. Nine defencemen have more points than Crosby. So do wingers Lee Stempniak and Mikkel Boedker. He’s also minus 10.

– I disagree with NHL execs or scouts who think Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is soft. He’s not soft. He’s just not big at 6-feet, 189 pounds. Do they call Colorado’s Matt Duchene soft? He’s shorter than RNH and gets fewer PIMs on seasonal average.

– An obvious target if the Oilers are looking for a defenceman in a trade would be Oscar Klefbom’s childhood buddy, D-man Jonas Brodin. But the Minnesota Wild need a centre more than a winger the ilk of, say, Jordan Eberle. Brodin, 22, is $4.166 million year for four more years.

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