Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Mellon Arena on January 7, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
It played to packed houses and keen interest the one-and-only time it previously toured Western Canada - in December of 2007 - but it is back for an encore performance this week, beginning a three-game set Wednesday in Calgary against the Flames. Sidney Crosby is a draw wherever he goes around the NHL, but the fact he is already 335 games into his career and only venturing into the Canadian West for the second time puts tickets at a premium.
The trip finishes Saturday in Vancouver, where Crosby will get a chance to play the red-hot Canucks and also get a look at GM Place, where he will make his Olympic debut exactly one month later against Norway. Presumably, the interview demands this week will also help prepare Crosby for the mob scene that will follow in Vancouver next month.
If Curtis Joseph does make his retirement official this week, he'll go into the record books with a 454-352-96 regular-season record, a 2.79 goals-against average and a 63-66 playoff mark, which included 10 wins for the 2001-02 Maple Leafs, the last time the franchise made any serious playoff noise. Joseph will turn 42 in April, and for the past two seasons found work as a backup, first in Calgary, then in Toronto. Joseph was the runner-up to Dominik Hasek for the 1999 Vezina Trophy and is fourth on the all-time wins list behind Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour. Joseph also tied Gump Worsley for the career lead in losses with 352. His Hall Of Fame candidacy will be debated extensively until he becomes eligible for selection in three years time.
The Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in a mini-goaltending controversy, now that Ray Emery is ready to return to active duty. Emery, the ex-Ottawa Senators' starter, didn't get much work Saturday in a conditioning assignment for the Flyers' minor-league affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms (stopping 12 of 14 shots in a 2-1 loss), but he was immediately recalled, leaving coach Peter Laviolette with a dilemma. Does he switch back to his de facto starter, Emery, or stay with the hot hand, which belongs to Michael Leighton - 7-0-1 since joining the Flyers on waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes and backstopping the team back into the playoff race?
Emery had a decent first month for Philadelphia, but had been struggling prior to Dec. 9 surgery to repair an abdominal tear, making it difficult to know how much of his poor play was the result of an injury. However it plays out, Leighton's emergence likely means Brian Boucher will be the odd man out, if for no other reason than dollars. The Flyers grabbed Leighton on re-entry waivers, meaning they are on the hook for only $300,000 against the salary cap - making Leighton maybe the best buy in the league.