MY NHL ALL-STAR PICKS

The NHL All-Star starting lineups are out and, once again, the fans got it wrong. Of the six starters (including the goalie) representing the Eastern Conference, four are representing Montreal, and the other two are Pittsburgh Penguins. While fan voting for starters does leave something to be desired, here are my picks for the reserves for both the East and West rosters.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards (9):
Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals
Marc Savard, Bruins
Zach Parise, Devils
Phil Kessel, Bruins
Thomas Vanek, Sabres
Jeff Carter, Flyers
Simon Gagne, Flyers
Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals
David Krejci, Bruins

Defenseman (4):
Zdeno Chara, Bruins
Mike Green, Capitals
Mark Streit, Islanders
Dennis Wideman, Bruins

Goalies (2):
Tim Thomas, Bruins
Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards (9):
Jarome Iginla, Flames
Joe Thornton, Sharks
Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings
Rick Nash, Blue Jackets
Loui Eriksson, Stars
Marian Hossa, Red Wings
Brad Boyes, Blues
Patrick Marleau, Sharks
Daniel Sedin, Canucks

Defenseman (4):
Dan Boyle, Sharks
Brian Rafalski, Red Wings
Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings
Duncan Keith, Blackhawks

Goalies (2):
Evgeni Nabokov, Sharks
Nicklas Backstrom, Wild

In case you're wondering about some deserving players not on my list, keep in mind that these are only reserves. The starters, as voted by the fans, are as follows:

LW: Evgeni Malin, Penguins
C: Sidney Crosby, Penguins
RW: Alexei Kovalev, Canadiens
D: Andrei Markov, Canadiens
D: Mike Komisarek, Canadiens
G: Carrie Price, Canadiens

LW: Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks
C: Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks
RW: Patrick Kane, Blackhawks
D: Brian Campbell, Blackhawks
D: Scott Niedermayer, Ducks
G: JS Giguere, Ducks

THOMAS SNUB ANOTHER ERROR FOR THE NHL

Bruins goalie Tim Thomas was spectacular in 2007, leading a team with low expectations to the playoffs and nearly shocking the rival Canadiens in the first round. The netminder's tremendous play earned him a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star roster last February, the journey man's first ever All-Star appearance.

This season, Thomas has been even better, helping the Bruins get off to their hottest start in quite some time. The team currently sits in first place in the Northeast division with a record of 10-3-4 (24 points), and has a two point lead over highly touted Montreal. Thomas is 6-2-3 on the year, with a goals against average of 1.76 (first in the NHL) and a save percentage of .945 (also first in the NHL).

But alas, when the NHL's All-Star Ballot came out a few weeks ago, Thomas' name wasn't on it. The Eastern Conference goalies include Martin Brodeur, who is out 3-4 months with an elbow injury, Vesa Toskala, who's .878 save percentage puts him 40th in the NHL, and Rick DiPietro, who has played a grand total of three games this season, with a record of 0-2. Now I understand that Thomas has split time with Manny Fernandez this year, but Tomas Vokoun is on the ballot, despite splitting time with backup Craig Anderson (Vokoun and Thomas have each played 11 games) for the 6-9-1 last place Panthers.

This is a ridiculous snub by the NHL, a league that, let's face it, is pretty screwed up. It is by far the least popular of the four major sports, has too many teams, and is run unbelievably poorly. Ticket prices are too high and the talent pool is watered down (again, because there are too many teams). Fans were turned off by the lockout, and the NHL still hasn't truly recovered.

The League apparantly decided that Tim Thomas, who plays for a historically significant team (compared to the Atlanta Thrashers, for example) that is exceeding all expectations due in large part to his stellar play, is not one of the ten best goalies in the Eastern Conference. The NHL is missing a golden opportunity to spotlight a blue-collar, hard working player, someone the few fans the League actually does have might be able to relate to.

Of course, it doesn't really matter to Thomas. All that matters to him is keeping the puck out of the net, and keeping the Black and Gold on top of the standings.