from Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen,

Welcome to the age of parity, where a team like the New York Islanders finds itself among the nouveau riche, and new names rise up from the pack to join more familiar stars like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

The blueline paints a similar story. Mark Giordano, 31, who signed with the Calgary Flames as an undrafted free agent in 2004, seems to have come from nowhere to lead all defencemen in scoring. Yes, Giordano has played important minutes for the Flames in recent seasons, but a scoring star, with 43 points in 51 games? Two years ago, Giordano produced 15 points in 47 games.

The established pedigree remains. For example, the Senators Erik Karlsson, who led defenceman in scoring in 2011-2012 and 2013-14, is closing the gap on Giordano. Only an Achilles injury in 2013 kept the Senators captain from being the top scoring defenceman in three straight seasons. For now, though, Giordano’s closest competition is Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues, a 26-year-old who finished 14th among defenceman last season with 45 points. Shattenkirk already has 40 points in 49 games.

The NHL has turned into the old Bits and Bites commercial. Next handful – whole new ballgame.

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