Well Deserved. . .

In spite of his play last night and at times, Hank Lundqvist has kept the Rangers IN more gmaes than he's knocked them OUT of. That's a fact that cannot be denied.

And he's done it, again, with a sort of humble grace that makes him the unlikely superstar. He's intense, committed, and hates to lose, which means he's taken to New York and it's pressures well. He's also pretty too look at, which hasn't hurt in the popularity department.

The King reigns in New York and now will deservedly make his first All-Star appearance in a few weeks.

I say deservedly and I mean it. I still hold true that he and Marc Staal are the best Rangers this year.

However, I am starting to wonder whether the every team must send a representative really makes sense any more. I mean I used to be a huge, HUGE, proponent of this. But this year I am not sure.

Now this could all be because of how frustrated I've been with the Rangers this year and the fact that, at times in that frustration I've said, they suck, they all suck, and thought, thus, that no one from NY should go.

But then I always go back to thinking that if I were a young fan, which I once was, I'd feel sad watching the All-Star game and not seeing someone from "my" team. Even during teh dreadful years, and Rangers fans, we know there were plenty, they always picked the best of ht eworst and sent them. And as a young fan I was happy.

So, thankfully, I can remember that. And not to sound sappy but it really is all about the fans, no? I mean it's an honor and Hank feels so. He deserves to be recognized, alone, for his having been so good for the last four years now. But it's really more about the fans enjoying the game and the presentation than the actual game.

It always was. And I hope that continues.

Marc Savard gets elected on his own, and not as an injury replacement like last year. Thomas, well deserved. Jeff Carter. All good.

And for anyone gripping about Mike Modano out west. Please. Richards, Ribeiro, and Eriksson might have more points, but on a team that had a dismal start, how can you not reward a guy that has been in the league as long as Modano, done as much as he has for the game, and who is such a genuinely good person.

Right decision. Argue all you want. Unless one of those other players was miles above him, on a team of no real bright lights, Modano deserves to go.

Congrats!