Welcome to the newest addition to the hockey coverage here at RealGM with our new hockey blog called Hockey Talk. Running on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Hockey Talk will examine player and team trends as well as take a more in-depth look at the game. This is an interactive project so feel free to email your opinions to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com and your thoughts may just appear in this space. January 25 The All-Star Break is here and for some teams, it couldn?t come fast enough. With over two-thirds of the league at or above .500, it should be a competitive second half. Here are three things to watch for after All-Star break in the NHL: The winner of the Southeast Division will finish at or below .500. The current leader Carolina is 24-24-4, and none of the teams in the division have shown signs of being able to take off. The winner, by the way, will be the Atlanta Thrashers. Calgary Flames' forward Jarome Iginla will get out of the shadows of Calgary and onto the national stage. His star was highest after the 2004 Stanley Cup, but the labor dispute halted his climb into mainstream media. Hockey fans know how good Iginla is, but as the Flames stay around the top of the Northwest Division, everyone else will figure it out as well. There will be a goaltending controversy in Detroit by playoff time. Both Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek are proven, playoff caliber goaltenders, but the angst from the Red Wings' faithful will be calling for change at any sign of a regular season slump or Game one loss. Enjoy the All-Star game and Skills Competition everybody! January 23 The Toronto Maple Leafs fired General Manager John Ferguson on Tuesday in a move which was expected in another disappointing season for Toronto. The Maple Leafs, who rehired former GM Cliff Fletcher, are 19-22-8 (46 points) and have looked lethargic and unenthused this season. Flechter?s task this season is to decide if they want to trade Mats Sundin in order to get value before he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. They could resign him after the season, but a trade does raise the risk he could stay away for good. Sundin (20 goals, 32 assists) is still a bona fide player at 36 years old and should be a part of the rebuilding project. Past this season, the Maple Leafs need an influx of young talent in the system, especially in net. I think Paul Maurice is a good NHL coach who should be retained, but the new general manager should be a younger mind from a proven organization. In this vein, I think Toronto should look to places like Detroit, Minnesota, Anaheim, and New Jersey to name a few. The safe bet might be to take a proven candidate, but the Maple Leafs are more than a one-fix franchise and bringing in someone with new, fresh ideas is the way to go in this situation. January 21 Sid the Kid went down with an ankle injury on Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and missed the next game which was a 2-0 win at Montreal. It is unknown how long Crosby will be out, but it is almost certain he will miss the All-Star game, and with a high-ankle sprain, it is possible he won?t be 100% the rest of the season. With good, but unproven goaltending, the Penguins must score to keep pace in the Eastern Conference, and the burden now falls on center Evgeni Malkin, who leads the team with 24 goals and will have to keep his scoring pace, if not exceed it the rest of the way. Even when he comes back, Crosby won?t be able to carry an offense, but he will be able to facilitate it from the point due to his masterful passing skills. If Malkin can stay at this pace and finish with 40-45 goals, which I think he can, and players like Jordan Stall, who only has 13 points in 47 games, can step up which is questionable, the Penguins should stay afloat in the standings heading to the playoffs. However, with Crosby?s high ankle sprain, any hope the Penguins had in reaching the Stanley Cup Finals has gone out the window. After beating Columbus 3-1 on Sunday night, the Colorado Avalanche have won four of five games, thanks in part to goaltender Jose Theodore. The 2001-2002 winner of the Hart Memorial (MVP) and Vezina (top goaltender) when he was in Montreal, Theodore?s career was at a crossroads when he was dealt to Colorado last season. He has turned his career around, though, and this season, his play has steadily improved. In January alone, he is 5-2-1 with a 1.63 GAA. He isn?t Patrick Roy, but he is the closest thing to stability in the net since Roy retired.