The 2008-09 NHL season is now well underway and we can begin to gauge which players have distinguished themselves as the top individual performers. I created an objective statistical ranking system called the ?Floor Impact Counter? for basketball, for baseball and football, it is renamed the ?Field Impact Counter? and for ice hockey it is called the ?Ice Impact Counter? or the IIC. There is never a be-all and end-all in any ranking system (particularly in a sport like hockey where intangibles are exceedingly important), but I believe my formula is equally fair to forwards, defensemen and goaltenders. Ranking players by the IIC, I then am able to determine a Reina Value, which is a valuation system that quickly determines how players are performing in relation to their contracts throughout the season. With the NHL now using a salary cap, general managers must work within the confines of a strict budget and big market teams cannot afford to write off big-contract mistakes like they once did. * Rank, Player, Team: Season IIC total (Reina Value) 1. Alexander Semin, Washington: 69.5 (107%) Semin has two or more points in nine of his 16 games this season, including five (two goals, three assists) in a 5-1 win over Carolina. All this despite being shelved recently with a mysterious 'upper body injury.' Semin has the +/- in the entire NHL with 17. 2. Shea Weber, Nashville: 64.6 (93%) Weber has 21 points through his first 20 games in 2008. He had just 20 points during the entire 2007-08 season. 3. Simon Gagne, Philadelphia: 56.8 (49%) The left winger has already eclipsed his 07-08 injury-shorten totals in both goals (11) and assists (14). Gagne has an excellent 25.6% shot percentage. 4. Tim Thomas, Boston: 50.7 (582%) Thomas trails just Dany Sabourin in goals against average with 1.80 and also has two shutouts. 5. Brian Campbell, Chicago: 49.5 (5%) The signing of Campbell this summer has paid off for the Blackhawks so far, as he has 16 points for the second place team in the Central. 6. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver: 49.1 (10%) Luongo's .928 save percentage is an improvement from his 07-08 total of .917, but he is currently battling a strained left groin. 7. Dan Boyle, San Jose: 48.2 (12%) Boyle is Campbell's replacement and his +/- total of +7 looks a lot better than the -29 he had a year ago on a bad Lightning team. 8. Patrick Marleau, San Jose: 46.9 (17%) Many people expected the Todd McLellan hire to have a tremendous effect on Marleau, who had a mercurial relationship with the ousted Ron Wilson. 9. Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota: 45.6 (132%) Backstrom is already halfway towards matching his shutout total of a season ago. 10. Kris Versteeg, Chicago: 44.5 (1353%) The young Versteeg had just four points in his 13 games last season; this year he has seven goals and 13 assists in 19 games, giving Chicago fans another reason to like this exciting team. 11. Zach Parise, New Jersey: 44.4 (129%) Parise has been a very consistent left wing for the Devils over the past few seasons and he has elevated his game by having a shot percentage of .159. 12. Mike Green, Washington: 44.2 (34%) With 16 points and a +10, Green continues to be one of the best young defensemen and he is earning every penny of his new four-year contract. 13. Marc Savard, Boston: 43.7 (40%) Savard is third in +/- with 13, trainling just Semin and Willie Mitchell of Vancouver. 14. Derick Brassard, Columbus: 43.6 (461%) Brassard, the sixth overall pick in 2006, has 20 points in 19 games. 15. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh: 43.6 (79%) Malkin leads the NHL in points with 31 (seven goals, 24 assists). 16. Devin Setoguchi, San Jose: 42.8 (451%) Seoguchi has 12 goals, 12 assists and a +8 for the extremely impressive Sharks. 17. Patrick Kane, Chicago: 41.5 (81%) In his second season, the Blackhawks' star right winger has increased his shot percentage from .110 to .186. 18. Mike Smith, Tampa Bay: 41.4 (611%) Smith has a save percentage of .932 as he is heavily bombarded each night. 19. Henrik Lundqvist, N.Y. Rangers: 40.1 (611%) The Rangers' goalie is leading the NHL with wins (12) and has a 2.15 goals against average. 20. Marian Hossa, Detroit: 39.9 (-2%) Hossa is enjoying Hockeytown through his first 19 games with 24 points. 21. Bryan Little, Atlanta: 39.0 (644%) Little had just 16 points in 48 games a year ago and has 17 in his first 19 in 08-09, as he's finally starting to deliver on the promise of what made him the 12th overall pick in 2006. 22. Mike Richards, Philadelphia: 38.3 (16%) Two of Richards' six goals have been game winners. 23. Dennis Wideman, Boston: 37.0 (68%) Wideman also has a +/- of 11 and 10 points. Notables 39. Niklas Lidstrom, Detroit: 32.3 (-19%) 42. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington: 31.6 (-40%) 47. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh: 30.6 (-37%) 51. Matt Stajan, Toronto: 29.8 (+207%) 54. Joe Thornton, San Jose: 29.6 (-26%) - Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM

Rob Blake recorded four assists, and San Jose improved to 17-3-1 with a 7-2 victory over the road-weary Capitals on Saturday night. San Jose was coming off a four-day layoff. "It's never the same when you have that many days off, but it's a lesson learned," Sharks' Coach Todd McLellan said. "This could be (like) a playoff series, where you have that many days between games."

The Canadiens retired Patrick Roy?s No. 33 prior to Saturday?s game against the Bruins, making the Hall of Famer the 15th player to receive the honor from the franchise, as reported by Yahoo.com.

Goalie Kevin Weekes made 25 saves for the Devils on Friday night to record the 100th victory of his NHL career. New Jersey defeated the Islanders 5-2 on the strength of Weekes' goaltending and goals by David Clarkson and Travis Zajac within a 10-second period. "It's always fun when you get a chance to play," said Weekes. "It's a privilege to play in the NHL and I've always had that attitude my entire career. This one was pretty special. Now I know what Marty feels like every day. He's always hitting some milestone."

Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom was named the NHL?s first star of the week Monday after posting two goals and nine assists in four games, as reported by the Canadian Press.

Goaltenders Roberto Luongo, Steve Mason and Brent Johnson on Monday were named as the NHL's ?Three Stars? for the week, as reported by Yahoo.com. Luongo was dominant for the Canucks, stopping all 81 shots he faced in posting three consecutive shutouts as he was named the ?First Star.?

Igor Larionov, Glenn Anderson, linesman Ray Scapinello, and the family of the late Ed Chynoweth were presented with Hall of Fame rings during a ceremony Monday morning in Toronto, according to an Associated Press report.

Peter Laviolette became the all-time winningest American-born coach on Friday after the Hurricanes rallied for a 2-1 win over the Senators, as reported by Yahoo.com. The native of Norwood, Massachusetts, notched his 240th career victory to move past former Lightning coach John Tortorella.

Columbus Blue Jackets' center Derick Brassard has been named the NHL?s Rookie of the Month for October, the club and league announced today. He becomes the second Blue Jackets' player to be named NHL Rookie of the Month (Rick Nash, November 2002). Brassard, 21, scored four goals and five assists for nine points and had a +3 plus/minus rating in 10 games. He led all NHL rookies in points, while ranking second in goals and assists (tied). He registered a point in eight-of-10 games and tied for the club lead in assists and points while ranking tied for second in goals. Among the players he beat out for the award was teammate Jakub Voracek, who ranked third among all rookies in scoring with 3-4-7 in 10 games. Playing his first full season with the Blue Jackets, Brassard has recorded 5-8-13 with eight penalty minutes and is ?even? in 28 career games. Columbus? first pick, sixth overall, in the 2006 Entry Draft, he also earned Rookie of the Month honors for October and April last season in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch. In his first pro season in 2007-08, the Hull, Quebec native recorded 15-36-51, 51 penalty minutes, and was +9 in 42 games with the Crunch. He was selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game but did not play due to a call up with Columbus. He made his NHL debut against St. Louis on January 11, recorded his first NHL point with an assist at Colorado on January 20, and scored his first NHL goal against Minnesota on February 2.

Ducks' trio Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne shared the NHL?s First Star honour after producing a combined 28 points in four games last week, as reported by the Canadian Press. Bruins' goaltender Tim Thomas was named the Second Star while Flyers winger Simon Gagne took the Third Star prize. Getzlaf led all NHL scorers with 10 points last week.