WTF Happened to ... David Vyborny?

by Jes

(OMG, actual hockey talk!!)

With the Columbus Dinner Jackets fighting for a playoff spot, it's obvious that the team isn't going to roll over and die as it did in previous years.

Rick Nash is scoring goals? Check.
Nik Zherdev finally matured? Check.
Pascal Leclaire is putting up a Vezina-calibre season? Check.

If one wanted to point fingers as to why the Jackets aren't over the hump (yet), they could always point to one man for not producing: David Vyborny.

Let's look at the numbers, shall we?

Year    Team GP  G  A Pts  +/-

2003-04 CLS  82  22 31 53 -26

2005-06 CLS  80  22 43 65  -9

2006-07 CLS  82  16 48 64  +6

2007-08 CLS  45  3  13 16 -11

Apparently, Vyborny has been hamstrung by groin injuries this season.
Still, this is a new level of sucktitude for the guy, and his output has been below awful. Is there more to than meets the eye?

Hitchcock has a theory on Vyborny's struggles, and it has nothing to do with his contract, which expires this summer. The Blue Jackets have not begun talks about an extension.

"(Vyborny) didn't get off to a great start and he started overthinking," Hitchcock said. "When you're overthinking, you're underreacting.

I really wish teams would stop dressing injured players and just let them heal. What good is an hobbled Vyborny to the Jackets when he's ineffective at both ends? Tell him to sit home until his groin is fully healed. In the meantime, give more ice time to Gilbert "Creme" Brule.

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So, Heath Ledger died of an 'accidental overdose'. Accidental? I bet those drugs just jumped out of the bottle and right into his mouth? Riiiiiiiight.

Look, the guy knew what he was doing, and he was a big-time user. Many celebs choose to live the fast life and drug it up, and it carries the risk of death.

There was nothing accidental about Heath Ledger's drug use, and we ought not to BS ourselves into thinking this was simply an unfortunate little accident. Drug abuse is a high-risk, high-reward choice that, sadly, once again took another life.

Southern Correspondant Wayne chimes in on Rick Tocchet's return to the Phoenix bench: "I wish I had thought of this last week, but with the Super Bowl being played in Scottsdale, I wonder if Rick Tocchet made a bet on the game..."

ba-doom-chish!

Puck That Hit put out a list of their top 10 hockey names. How Pavol Demitra did not make the list is pretty f'ed up.