The pain of it all

I have my pitchfork. I have my torch. Let’s go get that monster.

That monster is the NHL preseason.

I hate to jump onto a trend like this kinda late, but after reading the list of headlines at ESPN.com’s NHL homepage, it’s time to speak up.

Todd Bertuzzi, Zdeno Chara, Sergei Fedorov, Mark Recchi and Evgeni Malkin all left preseason games this week with injuries.

Let’s see: Bertuzzi, all star; Chara, all star; Fedorov, all star; Recchi, all star; Malkin, projected all star.

Fantastic.

Let’s take it another step.

Bertuzzi, Florida’s best player; Chara, Boston’s best player; Fedorov, among Columbus’ best players; Recchi, critical leader on a young Penguins team; Malkin, among the best players at the 2006 World Championship.

I don’t want to say the preseason needs to be eliminated. It’s vital to helping some guys get in shape, and is worth literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to other players. Bubble guys that make a team out of camp instead of being shipped to the minors need the preseason.

Which begs the question: why are established stars not only playing in their team’s first two preseason games, but also getting hurt in them?

Sure, Bertuzzi and Chara are playing with new teams, and Malkin is a rookie that needs to learn the level of play in the NHL. But guys like Bertuzzi and Chara can find chemistry with their new teammates in practice.

It’s not like Florida and Boston are teams with real playoff aspirations, and they can’t afford three or four weeks’ worth of games at the beginning of the season to work their new guys in.

And it’s good for fans. Halifax played host to a pair of preseason games this week, featuring local hero Sidney Crosby. A town called Salmon Arm that won a contest to be Canada’s best hockey town will host a preseason game this year. The Leafs and Sabres formerly annual visits to Hamilton and St. Catharines were phenomenally popular.

So there is no need to abandon preseason games, but coaches really need to think a little more logically about how and when to use their star players.