While we eagerly await all-star weekend in the National Hockey League, here’s something else that most try to avoid, the Monday morning musings and mediations on the world of sports.

• Given his past challenges, Vancouver Canucks forward Cody Hodgson has written a wonderful story about perseverance and resilience this season but, for the moment, let’s concentrate on the hockey aspect of Hodgson’s breakout campaign.

The Canucks are a deeper, more dangerous team largely because of Hodgson’s emergence. He’s given them second-line production from the third line. He’s made the second power-play unit a factor. And he’s plugged a glaring hole in the team’s lineup.

With Hodgson, in fact, you can make the case the Canucks have the best set of centres in the NHL.

Pittsburgh owns that distinction when Sidney Crosby is healthy but the argument now comes down to Vancouver’s trio of Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Hodgson; Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and David Krejci; and Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and David Bolland.

As of this writing, Hodgson is also on pace for 23 goals and 50 points and should be a Calder Trophy finalist as NHL rookie of the year.

And the best part? There hasn’t been one story about his ice time in a couple of weeks.

• You may have noticed that, since Christmas, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin has turned the Hart Trophy race into a bit of a mockery.

• It was lost in the shuffle last week but the B.C. Lions received a massive boost when defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell spurned the NFL to re-sign with the CFL club and centre Angus Reid opted to return for another season.

In the aftermath of their Grey Cup win, the Leos were looking at, potentially, half a dozen changes to their lineup. As of this writing, the only player they know they’re losing for certain in offensive tackle Jovan Olafioye who’s bound for the NFL.

“This is a huge Christmas present,” said new head coach Mike Benevides. “We have a veteran team who knows how to win. These are two pieces we thought we had to change but now we’ve got these two cornerstones. When you can say that in January, it’s huge.”

As is Mitchell. If the big man’s head is right, he can be the best defensive player in the league.

• Joe Paterno’s death added a grim Shakespearean aspect to the Penn State story but there’s also a lesson to be learned from his involvement in the Sandusky affair.

In virtually every case of serial sexual abuse in public institutions, the common denominators are a conspiracy of silence and/or a culture of silence which allows the abuse to continue.

It was the case with Penn State, with the Catholic Church and with Graham James and there’s one simple way to end it.

Paterno had a chance to break that silence and the cycle of abuse. It was a sad end to an epic career but that shouldn’t diminish the importance of that lesson.

• The CBC can spin it any way they want but their decision not to broadcast the Vancouver Canucks-San Jose Sharks game on Saturday— especially after they passed on the monumental Bruins-Canucks matchup — reinforces the increasing irrelevance of Hockey Night in Canada. The show looks old and tired but, somehow, maintains the belief that its still appointment viewing.

More and more it seems like they’re the only ones who believe that.

• And finally, Sports Illustrated named the 2008 game between New England and the New York Giants as the greatest Super Bowl of all-time. That’s debatable. It was probably the most dramatic. And the Patriots bid for a perfect season gave it extra meaning.

But, until David Tyree’s miracle catch in the game’s final minute, it was also bereft of excitement.

Four years later, some of the supporting cast has changed but the big themes and the central players remain the same.

It will be Tom Brady against the Giants’ ferocious pass rush.

It will be Eli Manning and the Giants’ under-rated offence against the Patriots’ over-rated defence. It will be Bill Belichick against Tom Coughlin.

Both teams, especially the Pats, were lucky to survive the Conference championship games but now they meet again. And it’s now less compelling this time around.

ewilles@theprovince.com