Would have loved Yandle in Detroit but not at that price

Love the Erik Cole deal

Habs keep fuckin winning

B's staying home?

Preds legit?

Talk about it

http://youtu.be/gS2M_dvgQ-M

i met him for the first time last week. he is smaller than i thought. i knew he would have a steep development curve but in a couple years he is going to be a very good player. nice skills, great hand-eye and soft hands.

I think Mickey might have needed a cold shower after that goal lol

I dont really see the griffins ever so this has been my first real look at him

Ive been impressed

He seemed a little taller but then again the competition was smaller. The first time he seemed like a playmaker, barely saw him shoot the puck. The next year he was more involved all-around. He had a period where his stock shot through the roof and then crashed back down. I think now people are seeing why the former happened. Another steal for Holland.

.

No details on espn

and and possible unidsclosed draft pick.

Nice deal

at least they hedge by getting a pick back. i like michalek though, he is a ballsy player. he will get in front of any shot and competes hard for the puck. he's never going to produce much but he moves the puck with enough confidence.

and body someone up on the opposing team. We're good on "skilled, puck moving" D men. Hope he can do that for us.

he is not derian hatcher or anything but he goes hard.

Dude completely reversed the Wild's season

But I can't believe Dubnyk is due for some kind of Jiggy in 03/Cam Ward in 06 type run either.

They looked good last week in Nashville, though.

But NSH lools touchable in a 1/8 series

Nashville is stacked front to back.

I am pulling hard for him to buck that trend because goddamnit he is a good coach and a good dude. But until further notice, his teams been choking like shiiiiiiiiit his whole career.

But yeah.

Unlike the choke narrative with players, ahem, I think objectively Boudreau gets out-coached in the playoffs.

he is fond of ending even minor bits of instruction with the phrase "will you guys fuckin listen to what i'm fuckin sayin' when i'm fuckin' talkin?"

players love him though and he is really a decent, genuine guy. like i know people who were season ticket holders in hershey and manchester (where he coached in the AHL) and not only do they still remember him fondly, he remembers them fondly, too.

They are still loaded on the back end. They have been having somewhat of an identity crisis lately--by that I mean playing loose but not scoring enough--but I think they could put it together again without much trouble.

Everyone wants a blockbuster but I think a stable situation is underrated. How often do you see a back of the rotation starter or middle reliever come in in baseball and stabilize a situation?

Here was a guy who was being kicked around the league, getting traded once a month it seemed like, and just having a guy back there they can read, develop chemistry with and kind of count on has worked wonders.

Ottawa is hoping the same thing happens with this Hammond guy, who I think has stolen the starting job until the season ends at least.

.

.

This isn't 2004, though, so I'm not sure I care.

I dunno, I like what the Rangers did to be honest. To add Yandle at a $2.75M cap hit for this year and next is an extremely valuable acquisition. Summers could replace Moore as a No. 6/7 guy, they are actually pretty similar players though I admit Moore is a little better and he's also younger. The first and Duclair, I mean that is a steep price but not really given this market. I look at what Tampa paid for Coburn and what LA paid for Sekera and consider this deal a good value for a player who is 1) considerably better than those two guys 2) under contract for next year 3) cheaper because of the salary retention and 4) an actual difference-maker in a very tight conference.

I get that they didn't want to give up picks and guys they had invested development time in, and that they would have actually had to pay slightly more to best the Rangers' offer. But I still think they missed out, personally, I like Yandle a lot and think he fits very well into the type of games we saw last year in the playoffs. Great locker room guy, too.

The Wings got Zidlicky which is a much lower risk move but a much lower payoff, too. He is pretty much where Gonchar was a couple years ago, vaguely useful 5on5, can give you some PP time.

But there is a group of guys that anyone would be asking for for a player like yandle

Tatar, Nyquist, Sheahan, Ouellette, Mantha, Marchenko, Pulkinnen, Sproul, Athanasiou

Kenny H has let it be known that they have no interest in dealing any of those guys, because of the development time you mentioned. Im sure Toronto wanted at least 2 of them for Phaneuf.

You pretty much named every young player they have. Arizona was not going to take roster players back, the whole point was to get younger. A package of picks would have had to be pretty heavy and the way you're putting it picks were all they would be willing to part with.

I dunno, I think you've got to compromise a little when you know the guy is going to get moved to a team you're competing with directly. I get why they didn't do it but I think they may regret it.

Yeah id prefer he stayed out West for sure

Holland also wasnt prepared to deal a first rounder so i think there was just an impasse. Although i can see the benwfit of trading a first if you are confident in a long playoff run.

Plus...i dont really see the need tbh. I think the wings have their top 4 of the future already on the team and its nice to see Holland reaffirm his commitment to the next generation.

I just think that the game has gotten so fast that having a guy like him is a huge bonus. Look at what Vatanen has done for the Ducks, similar type of rangy player at both ends (only younger and smaller).

If he were a rental, yes, that would be a bad move. But I think as a guy they could have had for these playoffs and kept away from a competing team plus a guy they'd have next year, he had the value to stray from their plan a little.

You could find minutes for everyone if you added him, I think their D is much improved but not exactly flush yet. He would have been a good addition to their power play, too.

I noticed that recently he was getting less time with Fowler and wondered if a trade was imminent. Depres has a higher ceiling than Lovejoy but right now I would prefer Lovejoy. I also don't get what Anaheim wants with four left shots when they had a 3-and-3 balance (4-and-4 if you look at their depth D, also).

I know I will miss Lovejoy, who is one of the nicest guys in the NHL and a funny dude on top of it.

Cole to Detroit is a nice one, especially with Franzen's situation being cloudy.

I also like Baertschi to Vancouver. Calgary has gone from a bare cupboard to depth to spare, but this is still a relative buy-low on a guy who has a lot of talent.

The Hawks overpaid for what they got but Vermette was coveted for a reason. Interesting that last year the Kings were chasing them by getting faster/more skilled on the wings, and now they are chasing the Kings by getting deeper up the middle. Timonen could be a game-changer or a total waste, real boom/bust move there. Odds are it doesn't work out.

I like that the Leafs didn't go too crazy, just straightened up their contracts and got a bunch of picks.

Arizona and Buffalo did their thing. I was surprised Edmonton was not more active.

The Flyers I thought did very well in their deals, taking advantage of a seller's market for sure. They got a big bunch of picks and a useful player for two guys who wouldn't have been back next year anyway. I am glad they didn't try to make some empty push, which would be their style.

I thought Anaheim or the Islanders were in a nice position to make a big move, but no big names really moved in the end, especially at forward. I thought either one (and also the Caps) would have been a great fit for Sharp, but then again I didn't see the Hawks actually parting ways with him.

Montreal also kept it pretty low-key, I think Petry is a solid piece for their D though.

They are in a weird spot, sort of sitting ducks in the eighth spot and with some bad contracts. I think if they could have gotten rid of some contracts they would have but barring that it didn't make sense to go all in as buyers. Talbot should help their PK but I still think they are in a lot of danger of missing the playoffs. They were kind of in purgatory though, no reason to really push to get guys but also no benefit to being aggressive sellers.

the boychuck trade.

allegedly.

I don't know what happened to this team.

I love Z but he is looking his age and they still have him for three more years.

I thought Seidenberg was going to get moved today, didn't happen.

I do like the Connolly move or rather I should say that I like Connolly. Price seemed slightly high but that's always dictated by the market. I bet more than one team was interested in Connolly. He was a big scorer in junior and after one major injury the "injury prone" thing followed him. Health has not been a problem. Both with Team Canada and Tampa, he was stuffed into defense-first roles too often. He scored a lot in the AHL. Tampa would intermittently give him quality time but never any security. I think he can take advantage of that and become a nice two-way player. I don't think he will ever be a point per game guy but maybe he can get to where he will be similar to Eriksson. 55-60 points, responsible in his own end, etc.

I think Kelly, Campbell, Chara, and Seidenberg are the only ones over 30. And now Talbot.

It just seems like guys like Lucic and Krejci have been around for a while because of the success.

I'm personally not ready to put Chiarelli on the hot seat but his act of 'it's hard to make deadline deals' sounds really stupid when 24 trades were made....

I mean those two really put in work in 2011 and I'd argue Chara getting tired cost them, at least to a large extent, a second Cup in 2013. It's also about $11M in salary against the cap.

Lucic is a frustrating player. I wouldn't have been surprised to see him moved. He is decent but could be better. I think they got fed up with the wrong guy's effort, although at the time I liked picking up Eriksson at least. I dunno, they just seem like a team that needs to add and they're not in a position to do it, so I think in that spot you look to reconfigure some things.

because Chiarelli locks up all his players.

The boychuck trade was worse than Seguin, in my opinion. Tyler was never going to score 50 goals in Clode's system. Just like Krejci won't but probably could in the right situation.

But Boychuck for picks...yikes. And those picks turned into Brett Connelly who can maybe score but this isn't the right team for that.

Yeah Boychuk deal was bad, like I said at the time the Isles made out like bandits getting him and Leddy just because teams were in cap crunches. That really improved their team.

I wonder if Lombardi will face a similar issue in Los Angeles. He committed heavily to the winning group and some of those deals will end badly. Richards, obviously, maybe Brown and just the length of some of the other deals made them risky. Overall he has done a better job than Chiarello IMO, but he might end up with similar issues.

I knew Wiz was being shopped and Karlsson also but I didn't know they'd be in a deal for each other.

Bourque also moves in the trade and I just heard in a separate deal Anaheim traded Brewer, meaning they got value for these guys that they picked up off the scrap heap for little if any apparent reason earlier in the year. Nice asset management.

The Lovejoy trade makes more sense now because Wiz is a right shot and will definitely be in their top six. He should improve the consistency of their power play, too. They also move Brewer and replace him with Despres as a left-shooting, #6/#7 D.

.

Everything I heard was them getting a D, honestly I thought a winger would have been (more) useful for them. Wiz is nice though and they straightened up a lot of other stuff (malcontents, expiring deals, dead weight, potential cap problems, etc).

Nashville to me was in a position to make a move but didn't really need much. Why tinker with what's working in a market with these kinds of high prices? I know I said something entirely different about Detroit, but that's because I think they are *this* close to being potential contenders. Nashville is already there IMO.

decent speed, competitive, a little nasty and should be good as a fourth line or depth guy. he can also play wing. kind of a poor man's andrew shaw. with him, vermette, shaw, kruger, richards and toews, that's a huge improvement over what they had at center last year.

.

i think they would have been more open to trading sharp but couldnt given the circumstances. they also freed up a lot of cap space to go after the guys they did. they didnt get a huge star but they got two of the most coveted guys who changed hands just the same.

Devo deal is kinda old news. I think Anaheim did the right thing. Both Devo and Pat Maroon are kind of big for nothing guys, I figured one would move for sure. Devo is faster but less consistent. Sekac is a better fit, in fact I think Etem-Rakell-Sekac could be a line that stays together some. Etem needed to play with more skilled guys but they couldn't use him consistently on the top line. This solves that problem. Good luck to Devo but the way Montreal added to their bottom-six today, I think Devo may wind up playing a lot in Hamilton this year.

Stewie goes to Minnesota and this is a great opportunity for him in a contract year. Buffalo got a second-rounder for him, that sounds about right although it's all the way in 2017. Stewart has to get it going here, this guy is wasting a lot of talent.

I ride for him, but we've seen that movie before.

LA @ CGY - both wildcards could come from the other division so whoever finishes 4th is SOL

DET @ MTL - Id really like to avoid Tampa in the first round. We're 6 back with a game in hand, and now its the habs' turn to play 3 in 4 nights in cali starting tonight

BOS @ FLA - maybe for the last wildcard spot in the East

Gonna make the 4/11 games more annoying than anything else

>LA @ CGY - both wildcards could come from the other division
>so whoever finishes 4th is SOL

LA was in tenth and I got the question a lot about them missing the playoffs. I said they'd make it and maybe the Wild, too, because Winnipeg and Calgary were both vulnerable. I cannot see Calgary fending anyone off without Giordano who, with all due respect to Johnny Hockey, is their best player and a guy they have no replacement for.


>DET @ MTL - Id really like to avoid Tampa in the first round.
>We're 6 back with a game in hand, and now its the habs' turn
>to play 3 in 4 nights in cali starting tonight

One through six in the East is so tightly packed that I don't think you can even look at seeding yet but I do agree Montreal has some vulnerability to lose ground with a tough road trip coming up.

>BOS @ FLA - maybe for the last wildcard spot in the East

Ottawa is hot, if they can keep this up they will be in the conversation, too. I don't trust the Panthers because their offense can go dead in an instant. Boston can probably hang on but God knows they have their problems. I hope Ottawa puts it together because at least that would mean the 8 seed would be heading in with some momentum. I can't picture Boston or Florida beating or even really testing anyone.

For the sake of the drama i hope they keep competing tho

And i didnt realize ottawa had just breezed thru their cali trip

The two California teams are both really good when trailing but early in the year Calgary was the most dangerous comeback team and they still can rally in a rush.

The other thing is that for all the good young players they have now, they have a bunch more who are injured and/or playing at lower levels. I get the feeling that when Baertschi said he wanted a trade, they had no qualms about accommodating the request whereas a year or certainly two years ago he'd have been considered untouchable. They had been real high on Jankowski, too, now he is just another guy in a deep organization.

They have a lot going on with their back end, a lot of scoring from defensemen and most of that was Giordano. He is really a slept-on player, from 2010 til now he's gotten better every year and now is a very, very good DMan, a legit No. 1.

But they still have a bunch of kids and now more so with no Gio and no Glencross, who was still a good penalty killer that added speed for them. They don't really have like a top line, more like three lines with speed that can score. Gaudreau is a really special player, reminds me some of Danny Briere with his ability to play in tight despite being small and also to come up big in big spots. Clutch player with a very exciting career ahead.

I like some of their guys that aren't playing. They just called up Poirier, he is a real exciting player. Small-ish guy but tough, he can fly and make plays at high speeds. Bennett is not exactly a sleeper but I think he will deliver, he just came back from a serious injury but seems to be picking up where he left off in junior. I also think Ortio will be their goalie, Hiller is a bridge guy for him. He had a nice stretch when he was called up earlier this year, basically carried them on a tough road trip.

Current slide acknowledged, which couldn't have come at a better time, we are ready to roll.

DW is cutting his losses and getting something for players that he definitely not gonna re-sign... Time to see what the youngsters look like knowing they're gonna play every night and having more responsibility... Hopefully the Sharks can squeak into the wild card...

Like on any given night they could beat any team but in a seven-game series I think the list of teams they would beat is shorter than ever.

>Like on any given night they could beat any team but in a
>seven-game series I think the list of teams they would beat is
>shorter than ever.


A lot like the 49ers, the Sharks' front office stirred up too much shit in the offseason and I think it has affected the players... I think it's clear that McLellan and Wilson aren't on the same page (Wilson deciding Burns would go back to D because that's what he got him for. Wilson's comments about Mueller needing to play)... But I like these trades because they have trimmed the fat, and players that just haven't really produced... This will give the young players a shot and hopefully push some of the vets...

I don't think NYRs are winning the cup, so that's a steep price to pay.

But maybe they do, and then it's all worth it... ?

Getting Arizona to take some of his money is huge.

Philly ripped off Tampa for Coburn.

I don't think Cole is going to do much in DET.

Caps didn't do much. There weren't the right players out there, the trade market was steep. It's a bit of a transition year for them. I think there are going to be bottom 6 changes in the off season, plus seeking a winger to play opposite Ovi, plus presumably the development of Kuznetsov so that the 2nd line isn't quite so much of a black hole of possession.

Some of the vets will probably move on. I won't be heartbroken to see Brouwer go. Jason Chimera fell off a cliff. Ward is probably gone too. I love him, but he's finally showing his age.

Glad they kept Mike Green but he's a UFA and they might not be able to afford him. Hell of a luxury to have him as a third D pairing though and let him be fresh on the PP.

EDIT: The Caps actually already DO have the winger who should play opposite Ovi (Eric Fehr) but for some reason Trotz thinks it's more important to keep the 3rd line (!) together.

anything could happen. It's also not a rental deal, they get Yandle next year and at a bargain price. Obviously if things go well, they could re-sign him beyond that, too, he is still in his prime unlike the Timonens and Jagrs of the world, and a better player than Sekera, Vermette, et al.

To me the Rangers' issues last year were that they played their top pairing too many minutes and that while they had depth scoring, they didn't have star power up front. Well they got St Louis, then Boyle, now Yandle, and they have Nash playing as well as he has ever played. They are scoring and winning and Hank is not there. For the second year in a row, I would not want to play them in them 'offs (not that the Flyers have to worry about that this year!).


>Philly ripped off Tampa for Coburn.

Yup and I thought they got good return for Timonen also. If Tampa re-signs Coburn, I don't know if it makes the deal better or worse. For now he plugs a hole for them and if I were Yzerman I'd prefer cutting my losses than overpaying for a guy who is just a guy. He is a good skater and eats minutes but that's about all I could say for him. Not physical for his size, no offensive production, just OK moving the puck. So to get a useful defenseman and two pretty good picks, that was a hosing. Timonen is just a high-risk rental, so again a couple picks (with the potential for one to get better) is nice. I thought Philly and the Leafs managed their deadline very well, and they were both overdue to manage something well.

>I don't think Cole is going to do much in DET.

He seems to be in pretty good physical condition (always a question mark with him) and I think he feels a need for them, especially with Franzen out. Like how much quality ice time can they give to Helm, Abdelkader, etc? They need a net front guy and a guy with size/speed. Cole was available and at a fair price. I wouldn't be surprised to see him just blend into the background, a lot of rentals do, but at the same time I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him make an impact just because they are a good team with a clear need that he fills.

>Caps didn't do much. There weren't the right players out
>there, the trade market was steep. It's a bit of a transition
>year for them. I think there are going to be bottom 6 changes
>in the off season, plus seeking a winger to play opposite Ovi,
>plus presumably the development of Kuznetsov so that the 2nd
>line isn't quite so much of a black hole of possession.

I liked the Glencross acquisition. He is a good player to have. Very good penalty killer, pushes the pace in transition, can finish, play in various situations/positions. He is like a good utility infielder in baseball, maybe not quite a Swiss army knife guy (the ultimate being Joe Pavelski) but close. I thought they might make a big move but I think Kane's injury pulled Sharp out of play ultimately. No big-scoring forwards moved at the deadline, unless you count Evander Kane who obviously was not of interest to a playoff team.

I like what I have seen from them this year and it's a shame they weren't in a spot to make an aggressive acquisition. They are young (Kuznetsov, Burakovsky, et al) but the way Ovie is playing I wouldn't want to have any what-ifs about squandering his campaign. This is the best I have seen him play in a long time.

>Some of the vets will probably move on. I won't be heartbroken
>to see Brouwer go. Jason Chimera fell off a cliff. Ward is
>probably gone too. I love him, but he's finally showing his
>age.
>
>Glad they kept Mike Green but he's a UFA and they might not be
>able to afford him. Hell of a luxury to have him as a third D
>pairing though and let him be fresh on the PP.
>
>EDIT: The Caps actually already DO have the winger who should
>play opposite Ovi (Eric Fehr) but for some reason Trotz thinks
>it's more important to keep the 3rd line (!) together.

Yeah I think some team will overpay Green and it's a shame because he's playing a more complete game and settling well into this role. Now he will go back to being overextended elsewhere probably.

Their bottom six is just a bunch of guys from what I saw, and that's probably something they could have addressed a little more at the deadline. I do like the Glencross addition though.

> they were both overdue to manage something well.

I thought Phoenix and Buffalo did well too. Firesales everywhere.

It's funny that Buffalo traded Neuwirth basically because he was playing too well.

http://youtu.be/-1M80Z7zTjo

andrew hammond is fucking fantasy owners raw right now.

Dude made a couple good saves but we put no real pressure on him and the PP looked like even strength

Tomorrow night v BOS is the game of the year

while theoretically they would want a solid seed and not a wild card, what is the big prize there? if they hang on the way things are, they would open against tampa. not exactly a pushover.

I think of the top teams, Montreal is the most slammable. If not for Price's outstanding play I don't even know if they would be in the playoffs. He has looked intermittently human lately. If they don't have him at his best they are probably screwed against any playoff team.

Rags would be harder to handle but maybe they peaked early. I am curious to see how they fare down the stretch, but I am pretty nervous that they might be really good again this year.

Best period in 3 goddamned weeks

Lets get 2 more of those

we will see if ottawa can pull this out (already got one point) but woooooooow. talk about clutching defeat from the jaws of victory. they couldnt handle a mix of bum boston forwards there.

@ MTL
@ OTT
@ DET
vs BOS
vs NYR

Ovi posterized Subbannation last night.

Nobody beats the Hamburglar. It's at that point where one of these desperate teams should just sign an Irish-Canadian named Ronald McDonald in a last-ditch effort.

I gotta hand it to Ovechkin he has had maybe his most complete campaign ever this year and the most productive one in a few years obviously. Great season. I wish they would have gotten another scorer at the deadline, the Sharp rumors had me intrigued.

I saw that with PK, right there with when he up-ended him with that hip check a few years ago.

he's ready for the playoffs though.

can't even make this shit up.

Is there a team with less leadership and discipline in the entire league? These guys are sitting there fighting with each other over who fucked up worse.

Two great games by Mason, today's was really something special.

If Ottawa wins later today, the Pens will be ONE point up on the Sens and that damn close to missing them 'offs.

Even worse than ours

Wilson takes a run at Zid with no call and then Gleason takes a swing at Zid because Wilson got rocked with a clean hip check

wilson gets paid to be an asshole

so keep that in mind.

.

.

TMac, too...

I like Doug Wilson as a GM, and as a person... But his comments a few weeks ago about Jumbo were so poorly timed... Never needed to be said... Just all around poor judgement... Sharks had won 5 out of 6 and after those comments, lost 4 straight (I believe)... Those comments shouldn't have that type of an effect on the team, but it's one helluva coincidence...

Hopefully who ever takes over puts Burns back at Forward... Dude could've had a career year if it wasn't for moving him back to D...

He wanted to light a fire under them but like you said they were winning. Jumbo didnt produce much after that in fact he has been ice cold for about a month.

It's weird to basically create an impasse with a guy who has a no-trade clause, I guess he was enticing him to waive it.

I think Thornton is gone this summer and maybe Marleau, too.

TMac will probably get the axe, though I don't think he is the problem. Wilson is a tough call, I think he has a lot of loyalty from the organization and in a lot of ways he has done a very good job.

You see what happened in Pittsburgh, they canned the coach and GM and things only got worse. Sometimes what goes on in the dressing room is the problem rather than what goes on in the front office.

And I feel like they'd rather keep Thornton to continue to help the youngsters... But you're right, they could choose DW over him...

I dunno to me I think he has done a really good job, I mean they are loaded with talent and what else is a GM there to do? There is not a bigger bunch of underachievers in the league, Pittsburgh included.

When they shut out Anaheim I said they were coming from that 8th sot, despite the statistical improbability of that statement.

I thought they would squeeze Boston out, as they were playing awful and had been dealt a tough hand with Krejci going down.

But this? This is GLORIOUS. I will be so thrilled if they can eliminate the Pens.

Philly also had a buzzer-beater to beat the Isles today. They are going nowhere in them 'offs. I think the Isles and the Habs are both ripe for upset.

I haven't seen a team this year that is WORSE in close games. They cannot protect a lead, break a tie or pull out a tight game they trail. Either they win handily or they don't know. Last night they were up 1-0 at the second intermission and I said "they bout to lose." Boom. Right now they just pulled to within one against Edmonton--EDMONTON--whom they were trailing 3-1. I bet they lose again. Sutter is right that their guys hit a wall after last year and I understand that. That didn't happen in 2012 because they had the lockout, plus they didn't have as much of a rough ride. Even then they were pretty beat up by the time the playoffs rolled around. This year I think that's part of the problem and also their defense getting a little thinner each of the past three seasons (Scuds, Mitchell, Voynov departures).

I wonder though if they are too committed to this group. They were into locking guys up but now they will have some departures (veterans leaving for that last big pay day, like Mitchell did) and be left with some questionable deals. Gaborik has been good but I doubt he's good for four more years. Brown is under contract until he's dead. Mike Richards is already pretty halfassed and he has a lot of years left on that Flyers contract. I don't see anyone in their system to be thrilled about, although Zykov will probably be a pretty good player.

They still have a good core (Kopitar, Carter Doughty, Quick) and a couple guys who keep getting better (Muzzin, Pearson, Toffoli) but I don't know that I see them at the top of the league in years to come.

I almost feel a shred of pity.

Almost.

They have had some injuries on defense but I don't think that has killed them or anything. They have done this to themselves.

The question is does their new GM have the balls to lay it on the line and trade Crosby? You could get two really, really good players for him and change the entire culture of your team. He is not deified there the way Mario was, I honestly think you could get the move past the fans. Finding the right fit would be tough though. They would basically need a stud young forward and a reasonably priced top-pairing defenseman to make the deal worth it.

They will probably wimp out and make small changes, or worse yet shop Malkin around. To me when you have a sick culture with a team, you move the captain. I know that will sound crazy, especially to the casual fan, but to me Crosby is the best offensive player but not the best all-around player. I'd rather have a guy who plays a 200-foot game like Toews, Getzlaf or Kopitar, and they need to do something to further solidify their defense, too.

I mean, the team did win a title with a core of Crosby, Malkin, Letang, MAF, same core as now (with better pieces).

So it can't be all bad.

I just think this roster sucks, and I don't know anything about their coach.

Regardless, Malkin is going to get traded.

Goddamn the Wild can do it on the road. At home seems to be a completely different story.

I *think* I'd like to face Nashville most in the first round, but between them, Chicago and STL, there aren't a lot of "good" options. The Blues scare me the most, unless I remind myself that they lose to teams they shouldn't in the playoffs all the damn time.

last year they were lights out at home against colorado, so there's that.

i like their team but the west is really wide open. i could see almost any team coming out, even the ones that may squeak in like calgary, winnipeg and los angeles. obviously those teams are likelier to lose early on but i am just saying even the worst teams are pretty good. once you get into the top six, anything could happen. every team has some kind of question mark and then a lot of things going for it. we dont know who anaheim's goaltender is, for a second straight year, bizarre for a division winner. nashville has a whole host of guys who just lost their games after the all-star break. remember colin wilson? me neither. chicago is without kane and seemingly without identity, but not without depth and talent. st louis has no tank and their best players are mostly unproven in the playoffs. vancouver is inconsistent and i dont think anyone plays to the level of their opponent the way they do. so every team that has success behind them may also have a fatal flaw.

But 11 straight* road W's makes it seem so much more one sided.



* This likely ends tonight against Nashville. Parise, Vanek, Nino and Dubnyk are all sitting.

Elias said that's the first time in history that's ever happened.

Lucic blowing a breakway was icing on the cake.

NYI (98 points)
DET (97 points)
PIT (96 points)
BOS (95 points)
OTT (95 points)

https://twitter.com/reporterchris/status/585995027526115328

I said Ottawa would get the 8th spot when they came through here and I am not backing down from it now. Great balance, they remind me a lot of Calgary only the differences are that the Sens are pretty healthy and have a very hot goalie.

could win the division with a win tonight and a Nashville loss. A scenario exist also where we could win the conference...or finish in 3rd.

plus Backes dropped the hammer on Seabrook...ya BISH!

Johnny Hockey and Jiri Hoodlum (stealin on fools!) get two quick ones. First one was a shitty bounce, bad luck. Weird bounce off the end boards and then the shot got stuck on Quick's shoulder and went in as he fell back trying to cover it. They actually took a penalty right after that too but managed to kill it off.

Cue Michael Ray Richardson ...

I can't believe it.

i never got why he didnt produce more, having a great season

like 35 or something. dunno why

We had a great 3 year run. But this team was doomed from the start. Voynov going Ray Rice on his wife hurt our blue line. Then pile on all the injuries to the remaining blue liners we had. Also the injuries to Toffoli and Pearson. Just seemed everything was against us this year. Should be an interesting off season. Im suspecting we lose Stoll and possibly Regehr. Dont know whats going to happen to Williams. Dont know what they are going to do with Richards either. We still have Voynov wonder whats going to happen with him if he wins his trial. Honestly dragging this beat up and tired bunch into another playoff run is not something we need. This break will do some good. Get everyone some much needed R & R. Lets make another run at this thing next year.

they just ran out of gas this year, i dont think they had any more injuries than the average team they were just dead from three long years more than anything.

they have to write voynov off. williams will go get that last big payday somewhere else, stoll too if it's available. i bet they keep regehr on a contract similar to greene's, maybe a little shorter.

they have to dump richards, just bite the bullet and buy him out assuming that option is still available to them.

>they just ran out of gas this year, i dont think they had any
>more injuries than the average team they were just dead from
>three long years more than anything.

the injuries to the blue line killed them. I mean we had a rookie and an NHLer that couldnt make another team logging considerable minutes. For a good amount of games. Those are the injuries that killed us. Our defense went to shit while them two figured things out. Sure the fatigue fro the last 3 seasons was a factor. But I think we could have made another deep run this year too.


>they have to write voynov off. williams will go get that last
>big payday somewhere else, stoll too if it's available. i bet
>they keep regehr on a contract similar to greene's, maybe a
>little shorter.
>
>they have to dump richards, just bite the bullet and buy him
>out assuming that option is still available to them.

I hope we can resign Williams for a short contract for cheap. I hate to lose him. Stoll could walk for all I care. The only thing he brings to the table is winning face offs. Shore can win face offs and not score just as good as Stoll and for a lot cheaper. Shore isnt ready to play on the PK unit yet but almost any of our veteran forwards can take Stoll's spot there. I think you are right on Regehr. Just because of how thin we are on the blue line. I dont mind him. I thought he was better this season than last. He didnt look as slow out there and he is physical as hell. Toffoli is going to cost a lot. Whats the deal with Sekera? Any chance we keep him. He played amazing for us. I think he was our best dman the last 12 or so games of the season.

Stoll is a good checker and a good locker room guy. Some team is going to make Williams an offer he can't refuse. The thin defense definitely hurt them but I think they had guys up front who hit a wall after last year, too. I dunno, it's still astonishing to me that they didn't get into the top eight. Like Winnipeg had a really bad start and juggled goalies, Minnesota went through a huge lull and a goalie carousel, Calgary had a shitload of injuries from the start, was not experienced and lost their best player ... yet all these teams got in.

Jim Fox said it perfectly after the game. All their numbers were so close to last year except OT/SO losses. If they had won half those games they would have been in a week ago.

also, who do I dislike more!?

Matt Cooke vs Brad Marchand as the hatable face of each organization lol