JD: We'll Mr. Carty, we've hit the halfway mark of the 2007-08 NHL season. What are your initial thoughts and please present them in an Opening Statement form.

DC: My fellow Americans...sorry, this New Hampshire Caucus thing got a hold of me. To say the least my fellow hockey faithful, this season has had many surprises in store. Before we dive too deep into things, you have to start in Buffalo, Jake.

JD: I think it was a Primary, Dave. No wonder they didn’t send us to Iowa. To get back on point, the visual imagery of 70,000 fans and Sidney Crosby scoring in the snow gave the league a ratings orgasm it hasn’t seen in a long time. I know the masses are clamoring for more of these outdoor games, but it’s a logistical nightmare if the conditions aren’t pristine.

DC: Well, that's certainly true. The Winter Classic in Buffalo made hockey a winner again. When you look at all the successes and failures the NHL has had since the lockout, it's clear that this is the high point. A magnificent day for hockey and sports fans alike. Let's just hope it turned some young fans into believers.

JD: That was the high point? I’d throw the 2006 Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup Final out there, but go on.

DC: That being said, the event was far from perfect. The stoppages in the end of the game to patch up the ice really slowed down the pace of the game. I know it’s not easy to turn a football field with a nine inch crown into a hockey rink. But I think the league needs to ride this wave of momentum and work out the kinks for their next outdoor event, which will happen sooner rather than later. You’ll probably see a game in Chicago or maybe a Toronto/Montreal showdown in Canada and as much as I love my Red Sox, I'd love nothing more for them to flood the field for one glorious evening of stick and puck.

JD: If we’re talking about Fenway Park, I’d prefer playing a neutral-site game like a Beanpot Final there, not an NHL game. You’d then be talking about a game between two local rivals in a venue that defines the city’s local sporting landscape. Aside from that, I don't think it's fair to put players through those conditions for a game that counts two points in the standings. The most logistical plan isn’t an outdoor game, but using BC Place in Vancouver for 2010 All Star Game that isn’t scheduled to take place because of the Olympic break. And I know it’s a domed stadium and that we’ve already heard rumblings about Ford Field wanting to host a Red Wings game, but it would be a great test event weeks before the city hosts the Winter Olympics. You couldn't do it in Salt Lake six years ago because the E Center wasn't an NHL facility.

DC: Don't start telling me that an exhibition is going to bring in fans. It won't. The All-Star game will always be a popular event amongst hockey fans and probably not much more beyond that. Turning this blockbuster event into an exhibition will have negative results. If the game holds as much weight as a two-on-two street hockey game outside with a couple of your buddies, who would want to watch or travel miles and miles to see this game? I mean, more people tuned into this game than The Great One's last hurrah. That says something and it sounds something like "Don't mess with success."

JD: I absolutely disagree and I’d like to go back to the original Heritage Classic which featured a star powered alumni game with the aforementioned Great One, Messier, Kurri, etc. that was as entertaining as the real thing. Now you’re telling me that if you put the 1980 U.S. and Soviet Olympic Hockey Teams back together for an outdoor game, perhaps at the new football stadium at the University of Minnesota, it wouldn’t be a big deal? This should be about celebrating the sport, not just TV ratings.

DC: Let's move on to this season's biggest surprise. To me, only one thing comes to mind: Parity. We've seen it happen in football and basketball to a lesser degree, but look what the salary cap dragged in! Do players still have leverage? Yes, maybe just as much as before. But for once we are seeing parity like never before. In the Eastern Conference, six points separate spots two through eight and in the West, every team except Detroit (Kings of the jungle) and Los Angeles (Kings of the scrap heap) are separated by a mere ten points. I've never seen anything like this! Ottawa running away with the East is a big surprise. You'd have to think they'd have some competition.

JD: Ottawa? They made the finals last season. How would they qualify as a surprise? The biggest surprise in the NHL this season? Mike Comrie and Hilary Duff. Hands down. How did that happen? Personally, I'd like to go up to him, shake his hand and congratulate him. I have an 11-year-old cousin that has the Disney Channel on 24/7. I've seen Lizzie McGuire. I know all of the big "tween" names," Tisdale, Hudgins, Miley Cyrus. Biggest disappointment? I love Kathryn Tappen to death and have since her days at Channel 10 in Providence, but she's out of her element trying to host Bruins coverage on NESN. It's like Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football or you trying to host American Idol.

DC: Jake, are we even talking about hockey anymore? Is your television working? Did you accidentally order the Disney All-Access Teen Queen package instead of NHL Center Ice? Get serious.

JD: At my place, the remote goes back and forth between the NHL Network’s On the Fly and Hannah Montana. It’s really quite the contrast. Now you wouldn’t know it because you just aren’t as up-to-date with pop culture, but the league just got some serious love from Perez Hilton over the Holiday. Apparently the Predators have the most attractive celebrity fans in the league. And it would certainly help things out if Sidney Crosby went out and got himself a big-time celebrity girlfriend like Tom Brady and Tony Romo have. In fact, I’m going to officially start the “Get Sidney Crosby and Ashley Tisdale together” commission. Are you with me?

DC: Are you kidding me? Sid the Kid is a sensation and you want to hook him up with the latest model churned out by the Disney Princess factory?

JD: They’re the same age Dave. You want to set him up with Britney Spears instead? I hear she’s single.

DC: Crosby could get any warm-blooded Canadian female and you want to set him up with a Yankee? No way, Canadian girls only! I'd recommend Elisha Cuthbert, but the Sean Avery connection is all too disturbing. The last thing we need is a jealous Avery pulling a Happy Gilmore (or a Chris Simon) and trying to stab our hockey savior with his skate. How about Rachel McAdams? She's been skating longer than acting, as I'm sure you know, Jake. That's much better then Bob Iger's latest factory export. Keep it north of the border, Sid.

JD: Yes, let’s hook Sid the Kid up with a 31-year-old actress. Good work, Dave; some matchmaker you are. Note the sarcasm. We’ve just spent the last ten minutes gabbing like two girls about this stuff, let’s get back to hockey. Next time we have this discussion, it should be with an expert like our friend the Super Intern from TMZ. We might be able to start a juicy rumor or something.

DC: Agreed.

JD: To be serious, the biggest disappointment might just be the Southeast Division. I know the Kings and Rangers are the sexy, popular choices, but it's a shame to see several great young talents, Staal in Carolina, Alex the Great in Washington, Vinny and Marty in Tampa Bay and Kovalchuk in Atlanta, on clubs that leave much to be desired.

DC: Tell me about it! Vinny should be adding an MVP to his resume, instead his team is last in the East. The Lightning without Lecavalier and St. Louis might be worse than the team they debuted in the 1992-93 season. Where's Ken Hodge Jr. when you need him? I'll tell you what I'm disappointed about. The Nashville Predators (and they're attractive celebrity fan base) served as an unnecessary and unwanted distraction yet again. Can we just send this team up to Hamilton and get this thing over with. I'm sick of seeing a team in the league who, if they could, would commit about as much to their payroll as Miss Spears does on parenting books. Have they been competing? Yeah, sure, but even the Charlestown Chiefs and the Trinidadian pee-wee team from Mighty Ducks 2 would stock up a few points in the level playing field that is today's NHL.

JD: See, now you’re trying too hard to be funny. Plus, if you sent the Predators to Hamilton, Carrie Underwood wouldn’t show up at hockey games anymore. I’m just disappointed nobody’s called Chris Hansen to do a “To Catch A Predator” pre-game montage video yet. Now we previously touched on the All-Star game. This year it's in Atlanta, which despite having some of the most fair-weather fans in America, can host a major sporting event with the best of them. In 2009, it returns to Montreal to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Canadiens. I've already stated that I think Vancouver should host the 2010 All-Star game. And you’ve got to go to Glendale, Arizona because they lost out on the 2006 game due to the Olympics. What would you change Dave and would you continue to bring the game to non-traditional markets?

DC: Since the game is on a Sunday night this year, it already stands to be a much larger success than last season. What I would like to see is something along the lines of what baseball does. The league is already taking a four day break and will have multiple events, but I want to see even more. Let’s face it, Versus would be nothing without the NHL and for better or worse, the station is more or less the flagship of the league. So, step up your programming. I want a legit-old timers game! With Gretzky, Lemieux, Bourque, Roy and Yzerman. I want a legit celebrity game! Have Mike Myers, Kiefer Sutherland and Matthew Perry try and put it past John Goodman in net.

JD: You just lost me with John Goodman. What has he done since 1993? Though if I was in charge, I’d throw the kids from the Mighty Ducks movies out there, coached by Gordon Bombay against a celebrity team. Or the 1980 Soviet Olympic Team.

DC: And in addition to these live events, I want more pre-produced material. Tell me why I'm watching these guys on my, Tell me where Sidney Crosby came from, tell me about Vinny Lecavalier's high expectations and the ups and downs he went through because of them, and tell me why it's significant that Zdeno Chara is the third Slovak captain in league history. Speak to the lesser-educated fans and give these players faces and personalities. That will do more for hockey than any simple exhibition ever could.

JD: Well at least the league got the timing right this time around. The weekend before the Super Bowl, I think it’s on right after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, or maybe it’s a lead in.

DC: Wow, looks like you'll have quite the choice to make that weekend. Who's taking home the gold in that event, because, you know, I might have better things to do?

JD: Tanith Belbin may be the biggest ice-traitor since Wayne Gretzky married an American. Also take Johnny Weir and Kimmie Meissner in the Men’s and Ladies’ singles. The field just isn’t as strong as it was in the Kwan Era.

DC: Ah ha! So it looks like figure skating doesn’t have the parity the NHL does huh? Tell me you don’t enjoy the game as much with all of these teams competing?

JD: I secretly think the league's ultimate goal is to have everybody finish with 82 points. I'm not a statistics major so I don't know if that's even possible, but I'm convinced it's the league's goal. The thing is, I think it could make the end of the regular season really exciting with ten teams bunched together for four or five spots. And would anyone complain if mediocrity leaves us with 15 seven-game playoff series' in April, May and June?

DC: As long as we get a few of those multiple OT thrillers, I gulp those down like Roger Clemens does Vioxx. My only concern with parity is that it means less names changing places at the trade deadline. I think you'll see a few smaller deals go down, but if everybody is still in the race, you're not going to see GMs pull out the abacus to try to crunch the numbers necessary to balance out salaries in a deal. Maybe some "change of scenery" and "spare parts" trades (a la Hnidy/Bochenski) will happen, but that's about it.

JD: At least I won't have to call in sick on deadline day. I won't have to check TSN's Trade Tracker every five minutes either.

DC: Yeah, but it means us hockey guys will be buzzing about names like Jarret Stoll and Andrew Raycroft being shopped around the league. No wonder regular sports fans don't get us. Any predications for the remainder of the season, Jake? At this point, with Detroit and Ottawa soaring above the mass of the league, I think the finals will come down to those two teams. Yes, I'm making shockingly safe predictions this evening, deal with it. Both teams stand head and shoulders above everyone else at the moment. Besides, you can't tell me that the Wings don't feel the burn from the past few fruitless postseason efforts. The Sens have their own demons to exorcise (I'm looking at you, Daniel Alfredsson).

JD: Duff and Comrie break up. And those of you who are already dreaming of a John Tavares-Hannah Montana scenario should just stop, I just don't see it happening. I’d love for Anaheim to be the eighth seed in the playoffs and play Detroit in the first round. The Rangers will get their act together and win the Eastern Conference and Vancouver will beat then in the Stanley Cup finals. But then again. What do I know?

DC: Apparently enough to write a scouting report about both the Dallas Stars and Disney's starlets. Here's to a 2008 that includes fewer Hannah Montana references by Jake.

JD: I’m not smart enough to write a scouting report on the Dallas Stars. So I’ll stick to the Disney starlets. Thank you very much.

DC: Always a humble one aren’t you?

JD: I try.