General Hockey Talk - Injuries, signings, factoids + other news from around the league

Big Ev wrote:I think in the end, Tavares will be a bit better than Duchene. He hasn't had as good of an opportunity like Duchene had had this season, and their seasons are opposite since Tavares was hot out of the gate while Duchene took his time to adapt to the NHL game. Tavares cooled off but I think next year he will have a good year with a better Isles team. Tavares will be like a Jeff Carter or Heatley whereas Duchene will be more like a Mike Richards.

I think Duchene's skills is off the charts. His understanding of the game at 19 is mind-blowing. He already challenges Stastny in terms of hockey sense which is incredible.
Tavares' passing and vision is also underrated, I think both will be great players and way better than Carter and Richards.
But as far as having all the tools to be the best, I think DUchene has an edge on Tavares.

Big Ev wrote:I think in the end, Tavares will be a bit better than Duchene. He hasn't had as good of an opportunity like Duchene had had this season, and their seasons are opposite since Tavares was hot out of the gate while Duchene took his time to adapt to the NHL game. Tavares cooled off but I think next year he will have a good year with a better Isles team. Tavares will be like a Jeff Carter or Heatley whereas Duchene will be more like a Mike Richards.

Tavares doesnt have the complete set of tools Duchene does. He's defensivly aware, a tremendous skater, great shot, off the chart hocke IQ, and a strong work ethic. There isnt anything Tavares has thator two Duchene doesnt, Duchene has a few things Tavares doesnt.

Its not even close right now who a team would rather have. Very comparable to Stamkos and I might take Duchene based on his skating and hockey IQ. It's close though. Tavares will top out as a Dany Heatley type scorer, he will never be a Sakic type like Stamkos and Duchene will probably be.

I realize what you're all saying about Duchene and I agree, but Tavares has one of the deadliest shots in the world and he's a baby. He might not have the hockey sense that Duchene has, but the kid was born to snipe. And he's a fantastic passer. The sniping is clearly Tavares and he's far enough ahead of Duchene that it makes up for some of the hockey sense. The passing is really close.

But...that's just my opinion from reading and watching them. Really love Duchene and O'Reilly. Really think the Avs are on their way to massive things with those two at the helm.

SpezDispenser wrote:I realize what you're all saying about Duchene and I agree, but Tavares has one of the deadliest shots in the world and he's a baby. He might not have the hockey sense that Duchene has, but the kid was born to snipe. And he's a fantastic passer. The sniping is clearly Tavares and he's far enough ahead of Duchene that it makes up for some of the hockey sense. The passing is really close.

But...that's just my opinion from reading and watching them. Really love Duchene and O'Reilly. Really think the Avs are on their way to massive things with those two at the helm.

I think Tavares has as much if not more hockey sense than Duchene, if we're talking offense, being at the right place at the right time etc.
What he's lacking is skating, the silk hands, defensive awareness and responsability.
What's scary in COlorado is they have developped a few snipers and they got Mueller playing again.
Stastny and Duchene down the middle for the next 10 years, that's Diddling ridiculous.
Potentially the best top 6 in the league in a few years and they have tons of cash to spend on an UFA.
Not sure how Shattenkirk is doing these days, but Quincy and WIlson, Cumiskey... all kids that can get the job done.
WHen you get everybody going like that, I think you give the coach his Jack Adams.

I dont agree with Tavares having more hockey sense... maybe more offensive sense and can find the open area's, but overall hockey sense, I dont think so. Duchene is already a step above most NHLers in that department, it's actually quite amazing to watch on a lot of nights.

Tavares is and will forever be a sniper, I think Duchene is going to be a guy that is talked about for Team Canada's for years to come, starting in 2014. Duchene, Stamkos, Getzlaf, Toews, and Crosby will be the guys going forward, IMO.

Duchene is far and away the better player all-around. His offensive AND defensive awareness makes his hockey sense and smarts what they are. He may not have scored as many goals in total as Tavares did in his OHL career (though he played one less season than JT), but he's very much and offensively gifted player.

Duche is scary smart, on and off the ice.

Tavares has a great sense of offensive awareness too. His game is different. He knows where to be, and Duche knows how to get open.

Matt Cooke got his at the hands of Thornton.

How bad was it? Did Cooke actually go with him?

N4L wrote:How bad was it? Did Cooke actually go with him?

It wasnt too bad... Cooke actually got some shots in... He's the one who challenged Thorton to get it over with too... Good move for Cooke to own up to his actions.

But Thornton gave him a few too many after he went down so he got extra PIMs. Thornton was definitely throwing bombs though, those fists had serious intent to damage.

ESPN reporting Kesler signs with the Canucks 6 years for 30M. Big cap hit.

ppg potential (and history) and solid as a rock defensively...that's a real nice signing.

Great signing. 5 million is great for Kesler - anything more and it's no longer worth it, but 5 is perfect. Congrats to Canucks fans! They've got a championship team brewing very nicely. Another couple of years...

Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

Pretty good core. All star goaltender, all star forwards... their D is lacking though, but again, they have Luongo. So pretty good signing even if it is a little more then they wanted to pay.

N4L wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

Pretty good core. All star goaltender, all star forwards... their D is lacking though, but again, they have Luongo. So pretty good signing even if it is a little more then they wanted to pay.

They all have weaknesses though. I love the Sedins and would take them on the Sens any day, but not long ago people were calling them lower level 1st liners, and guys who couldnt deliver when the going got tough.

Kesler hasn't always been this consistent offensively, and some would say his offensive breakout has more to do with the Sedins garnering all the attention, and leaving Kes to play against guys who are a little bit more challenged on the defensive side.

Of course the wildcard is Luongo. The guy has all the talent in the world, but before winning gold with Canada could never really be called a winner. He could carry this core, or be the guy that holds it back.

That being said I like what Vancouver has done, I just think that's alot of money over alot of years. And as Sens fans we know what locking up all our money in 3-4 guys can do to a team (that being said we never had a goalie at Luongo's level).

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

He put up 79 points in 81 games in 2007-08

Seabrook is back on the ice, practicing. May play today:
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/news/story?id=5010644&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines

Seabrook said he watched "quite a few replays" of the hit, and doctors told him he likely blacked out.

If he only misses the one game and plays tonight, I have an awful feeling that Campbell will feel that 8 games was too much and take that into consideration on the next big hit.

By the way, Wisniewski is getting married this summer and had invited Seabrook:

The incident obviously strained a friendship. Wisniewski, a former Blackhawk, is getting married and verbally invited Seabrook to the wedding. When asked Friday if he'll attend, Seabrook first said, 'No,' but he added, "we'll see."

Well, I think McGrattan and Marleau just set the Sharks up for a big fall again:
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/SanJose/2010/03/19/13297281.html

...former Senators teammate Brian McGrattan expects Heatley to make a difference for the Sharks in the playoffs the way he did in helping the Sens reach the Stanley Cup final in 2007 while playing with stars Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson.

“Unbelievable. He was unbelievable,” McGrattan said. “That whole line basically carried our team. Everybody else did their part, but you have to have your big line going, and they brought it every night. “

Umm, the "sniper" on that line had half of his points from secondary assists, had one goal more than set-up man Spezza, and 3 fewer goals than Alfredsson. Grats spent all of his time "observing" which proves his powers of observation are more than a little suspect. Yeah, he's not supposed to say bad things about his team mate, but he cold just pull a Heatley and say noting.

“I’ve played with him on a few different world championship teams, so I’ve known him for a while,” Marleau said. “He’s a big-time scorer. He scores in all the important games, and he shows up in those games. He’s gonna be there when your back’s against the wall and he’s gonna make those big plays and get those big goals.”

Cammalleri and Bergeron return to practice:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=314676

Habs are 11-4 in the 15 games Cammalleri missed (on an accidental "check" by Volchenkov, if you recall), and went from 10th to 7th, and just 1 points behind 6th place Sens. They could well be in 6th place tonight unless an Atlanta whupping has the same magic effect on the Sens that it did the last time.

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

I agree that this is not a steal, this is probably market value considering the Canucks were getting two RFA years (I think). Definitely not a bargain or a steal, but a solid signing for one of the better two way forwards around IMO. Compliments the core of the Sedins quite well IMO.

SpezDispenser wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

I agree that this is not a steal, this is probably market value considering the Canucks were getting two RFA years (I think). Definitely not a bargain or a steal, but a solid signing for one of the better two way forwards around IMO. Compliments the core of the Sedins quite well IMO.

It's alot of scratch for 3 forwards though. Add in Luongo and that's 4 pretty hefty salaries. I hope for the Canucks sake they'll have some value contracts next season, like a Hodgson.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=314689

Avalanche sign NCAA forward Mike Carman of the Univ. of Minnesota. Will report to Lake Erie of the AHL.

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http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=314715

Rick Nash scored 2 third period goals in his return to the line-up, giving the Jacket's a 4-2 win over the Wild.

hemlock wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

I agree that this is not a steal, this is probably market value considering the Canucks were getting two RFA years (I think). Definitely not a bargain or a steal, but a solid signing for one of the better two way forwards around IMO. Compliments the core of the Sedins quite well IMO.

It's alot of scratch for 3 forwards though. Add in Luongo and that's 4 pretty hefty salaries. I hope for the Canucks sake they'll have some value contracts next season, like a Hodgson.

Sens forwards are far worse in terms of salary, plus the Canucks have Luongo and a very nice defence.

I think the Hodgson-Canucks relationship is strained beyond repair. For his sake I hope he gets to go somewhere where he can play a major role.

hemlock wrote:
It's alot of scratch for 3 forwards though. Add in Luongo and that's 4 pretty hefty salaries. I hope for the Canucks sake they'll have some value contracts next season, like a Hodgson.

It is, yeah. What's that...17 million on their top 3 forwards...that's about par for the course, but that means you have to believe that anyone on the forward roster can be replaced except for those three. So yeah, they better have some nice talent coming up to replace the inevitable loss of Burrows and Samuelsson.

I like the depth on D there, but the fact that there's no Duncan Keith or similar player might hold them back.

Dash wrote:

hemlock wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Hmm, I don't think this is a steal by any stretch. I really like Kesler, and he's a very good player, but how much of his success is because of Sedin's breakout year?

The Canucks have alot of money and alot of years tied up in that core (Sedin, Sedin, Luongo, Kesler) so it's a risk if it doesn't wor out. Luckily they have guys like Burrows, Samuelson, Edler and Erhoff signed to good contracts or they could be in trouble.

I agree that this is not a steal, this is probably market value considering the Canucks were getting two RFA years (I think). Definitely not a bargain or a steal, but a solid signing for one of the better two way forwards around IMO. Compliments the core of the Sedins quite well IMO.

It's alot of scratch for 3 forwards though. Add in Luongo and that's 4 pretty hefty salaries. I hope for the Canucks sake they'll have some value contracts next season, like a Hodgson.

Sens forwards are far worse in terms of salary, plus the Canucks have Luongo and a very nice defence.

I think the Hodgson-Canucks relationship is strained beyond repair. For his sake I hope he gets to go somewhere where he can play a major role.

I'd welcome him in Ottawa for sure. I'm not worried about the Sens. Down the line we could potentially have a franchise goaltender in Lehner and 3 studs on D.

Down the line is different from now. I'm optimistic about our future, but the present belongs to the Canucks. I was merely pointing out that they have 21.7 invested in arguably their 5 best players (Sedins, Burrows, Kesler and Samuelsson) for the next 3+ seasons, while Ottawa has 25.4 invested in their top 5 best players (Spezza, Kovalev, Alfie, Fisher, Michalek). We lose Kovalev after next season, they potentially lose Demitra after this season. But they could fit him in and have 6 players at the price of our 5 (Demitra, UFA, making $4M/yr and lead the Olympics in scoring/points).

Wow, Bergfors with his 20th goal. He's been awesome for the Thrashers, such a neat piece for them.

SpezDispenser wrote:Wow, Bergfors with his 20th goal. He's been awesome for the Thrashers, such a neat piece for them.

Yep. He's getting a chance he never had in NJ. He's getting top line minutes and PP time. He won't replace Kovalchuk, but he and Oduya will help lessen the sting for sure.

This year will be the first since the lockout where a team with fewer than 41 wins makes the playoffs.

Gohan wrote:This year will be the first since the lockout where a team with fewer than 41 wins makes the playoffs.

And it still won't be the Leafs.

Gohan wrote:This year will be the first since the lockout where a team with fewer than 41 wins makes the playoffs.

Did you know: if the standings hold up the way they do now, Florida and Toronto will be the only two teams not to make the playoffs since the lockout?

Maybe they should put that tidbit on their marketing.

PKC wrote:

Gohan wrote:This year will be the first since the lockout where a team with fewer than 41 wins makes the playoffs.

Did you know: if the standings hold up the way they do now, Florida and Toronto will be the only two teams not to make the playoffs since the lockout?

Maybe they should put that tidbit on their marketing.

Yeah, but the Leafs are going for the longest Championship Drought among the four big North American pro leagues. Trouble is, the Cubs have not won since 1908, so they've cracked the century mark. The Leafs have a ways to go.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=314957

Langkow leaves game vs. Wild on stretcher. Took a crosscheck from behind but was hit in the back of the neck by a shot from a teammate as he was falling.

Dash wrote:http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=314957

Langkow leaves game vs. Wild on stretcher. Took a crosscheck from behind but was hit in the back of the neck by a shot from a teammate as he was falling.

That's another play that needs to be eliminated from hockey. Pushing someone into the path of an on-coming slap shot. There's no accident about it. Cross-checking is illegal to begin with, but to time it so the victim ends up blocking a shot should be dealt with the same as any intent to injure.

He could be paralyzed from the neck down.

Apparently he has feelings and movement in all his extremities. Thank God.

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2010/03/21/13309236.html

The tough Calgary Flames centre was taken away in a stretcher during the second period after landing awkwardly on his head after bumping off a pair of Minnesota Wild defencemen.

Early word from the Flames is Langkow has all feeling and movement and was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons.

Greg Zanon shoved Langkow from behind, and the Flame bounced off Marek Zidlicky before toppling head-first to the surface as Flames blueliner Ian White's shot slammed into the back of his neck simultaneously.

So it wasn't enough that he got cross checked and hit with the puck in the back of the neck. He also landed head first on the ice.

Well, Boston beat the Rags, so they are pretty much out of it. 5 points back of the Bruins with 10 games left (and Boston with a game in hand).

If Atlanta beats the Flyers tonight it gets a very interesting. They'd be back to 1 point behind the Bees, and playing them Tuesday night. They would also be 4 behind the Flyers, but they would need help from other teams to catch Philly.

Philly won't lose tonight, I'll guarantee it.

lol and the Thrash are already up 1-0...

Janssen and Leblond fight for 3 straight minutes

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/3/20/1382964/janssen-leblond-fight-three-minutes-devils-blues

Big Ev wrote:lol and the Thrash are already up 1-0...

2-0 now.

Pavelec standing on his head. The Flyers should tie it up sooner or later with this many shots.

Big Ev wrote:Pavelec standing on his head. The Flyers should tie it up sooner or later with this many shots.

Ah, I see. Just like that Sens@Flames game, Right?