The NHL has become the forgotten child of the sports world. Once the world was in love with a superstar named Wayne Gretzky. He was even part of a Saturday morning cartoon show with Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan called ProStars.

If the he was the representation of the entire NHL for millions of children, that portrayal has held true. He was the comic relief. The NHL is so far from the average sports fan mind that it might as well be comic relief. The league is worth nothing more than a few slap shots on Sportscenter and a few fights reminiscent of Slap Shot on YouTube.

The sport is trying to make a comeback, but that probably comes partly from the fact that the best team in the league might be the San Jose Sharks. If you do not know them, they are in the Pacific division with the Anaheim Ducks, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Los Angeles Kings, and the Dallas Stars.

The league might be on its way back though, the return of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers (three of the vaunted Original Six) to the top of the class could work wonders for the league.

Just like the Celtics-Lakers final helped the NBA with ratings, a return of teams fans associate with hockey and cities people associate with ice is good for business. After fans get the teams straight, then maybe they could look at the superstar players and find a face for the sport.

Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins has emerged as the best player point wise in the league. Alexander Semin of the Capitals is right behind him. These names might not roll off the American tongue, but they are the future of the sport. Perhaps the league could starts marketing its own little cold war between these Russian players and talented North American players like Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane.

The NHL has a long way to making it back to the fourth major sport. NASCAR seems to have replaced it, but then again when you can fit a 100,000 people in the seats it helps. Still, the return of the traditional powers to the top is perhaps the first step in reclaiming that place in the hearts of sports fans The leagues needs to sell those Rangers tickets, those Red Wings seats, and those Bruins tickets to bring the league back into sports relevancy.