All Hockey talk all the time

504Heater wrote:

asq2 wrote:
The main concern is that the only finish about him is his name (har har).

I don't think it's realistic and I think even if it was his playmaking abilities would make up for it, but if he had Tavares' finish in that tournament, with the way he could get to the net, he literally would have had 20 goals.

:D Good assessment. He'll learn to put his head and his hands together in time. If he has the skills, the finish will come. Or he'll just end up being a disgustingly fun set-up man.

I fear the concussion with him. I don't know why, his style of play I guess.

No kidding. Let's not forget he was a 17 year old at this tournament. Tavares as a 17 year old was pretty nonexistent, MSP was despite lack of production probably the most dominant forward on the Swedish roster.

He's proven he can finish, but if he can with consistency at the NHL level he will be something else. If he can't, he's a bigger Hemsky. Not very bad at all.

504Heater wrote:

asq2 wrote:Thing is, the Fisher I watch infrequently drives to the net. It's usually to the boards.

Except when he's on...the power play. Which is a 5 man unit where he is the winger. Then he's right up in the goalie's grill.

Damn you Hartsburg! Put him on the franking wing and watch him develop into Morrow right before your eyes.

In all seriousness, I've found his net drive to be excellent the last 5 games or so. But I actually might just be thinking PP.

The not comfortable on the wing excuse does not fly. He has 11 ES points, and that's with Alfredsson on his wing at times.

Get on the ****ing wing and if you're not comfortable then dry your tears with your enormous paycheque.

asq2 wrote:
The not comfortable on the wing excuse does not fly. He has 11 ES points, and that's with Alfredsson on his wing at times.

Get on the ****ing wing and if you're not comfortable then dry your tears with your enormous paycheque.

You're definitely preaching to the converted.

asq2 wrote:

504Heater wrote:

asq2 wrote:Thing is, the Fisher I watch infrequently drives to the net. It's usually to the boards.

Except when he's on...the power play. Which is a 5 man unit where he is the winger. Then he's right up in the goalie's grill.

Damn you Hartsburg! Put him on the franking wing and watch him develop into Morrow right before your eyes.

In all seriousness, I've found his net drive to be excellent the last 5 games or so. But I actually might just be thinking PP.

The not comfortable on the wing excuse does not fly. He has 11 ES points, and that's with Alfredsson on his wing at times.

Get on the ****ing wing and if you're not comfortable then dry your tears with your enormous paycheque.

Best. Comment. Ever.

504Heater wrote:Oh man, I forgot about Schenn. If we can get the hell out of the draft with Schenn at this point, I'm a happy, happy man. He'd fit like a glove here.

Me too. He's a monster. Would really re-invigorate the Battle of Ontario too.

My only concern is whether he's another Fisher or not (in regards to being a reliable scorer). Don't forget Fish put up 106 points in 68 games in Sudbury.

Oh how the might have fallen though. Remember when we used to love Fisher?

I still do, to some extent, but not at that price.

Hey, Tampa won again!

Wow.

asq2 wrote:Hey, Tampa won again!

Wow.

They are starting to turn the corner. They are playing some respectable hockey lately. Good news for you, me and the rest of us who are wanting a lowest possible finish :D

hemlock wrote:

asq2 wrote:Hey, Tampa won again!

Wow.

They are starting to turn the corner. They are playing some respectable hockey lately. Good news for you, me and the rest of us who are wanting a lowest possible finish :D

It makes not taking an offer-sheet for Meszaros slightly less insomnia-inducing. :D

Speaking of the Dallas-Tampa game, Stamkos is turning it around. 18 points now on the season (which would be 5th highest on the Sens). I still think he'll be an 80-90 point two-way centre and a captain at the NHL level.

Also, Brad Richards had a pretty nice goal for Dallas. And how's about Eriksson? Kid has 22 goals on the season now.

asq2 wrote:

hemlock wrote:

asq2 wrote:Hey, Tampa won again!

Wow.

They are starting to turn the corner. They are playing some respectable hockey lately. Good news for you, me and the rest of us who are wanting a lowest possible finish :D

It makes not taking an offer-sheet for Meszaros slightly less insomnia-inducing. :D

No kidding. Hell we could have forced the issue and insisted they trade it to us with Kuba and Picard. Perhaps take even less. I don't think Tampa finishes much higher than 10th in the conference and say bottom 8-10 at best. How good would that pick be looking on draft day?

I suspect Murray's insistance on both Kuba and Picard is what got us the SJ 1st and not the Tampa 1st but that is pure speculation on my part.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I suspect Murray's insistance on both Kuba and Picard is what got us the SJ 1st and not the Tampa 1st but that is pure speculation on my part.

Sounds logical, but considering the alternative,Tampa may have given them up. Kuba was was a necessary dump to facilitate Mez signing there, and Picard had been traded twice previous to that deal. Hardly the most valuable pieces. Hard to say what really went down though. If I'm Tampa and I want this guy bad enough, I'd consider giving up my own pick.

hemlock wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I suspect Murray's insistance on both Kuba and Picard is what got us the SJ 1st and not the Tampa 1st but that is pure speculation on my part.

Sounds logical, but considering the alternative,Tampa may have given them up. Kuba was was a necessary dump to facilitate Mez signing there, and Picard had been traded twice previous to that deal. Hardly the most valuable pieces. Hard to say what really went down though. If I'm Tampa and I want this guy bad enough, I'd consider giving up my own pick.

I've always wondered why Murray didn't get TB 1st. After all he was in a good position. TB wanted Mez so much so they tried to reacquire their 3rd from Pitts so they could put in an offer sheet. Somedays to be a fly on the wall could be fun. I guess we'll never know.

It appears Sabourin has been waived by the Oilers.

Probably Long Island-bound.

We may have missed the boat on dealing Gerbage.

asq2 wrote:It appears Sabourin has been waived by the Oilers.

Probably Long Island-bound.

We may have missed the boat on dealing Gerbage.

Bryan Murray said there was 0 interest in Gerber around the league...

If you analyze what it would take to move up/down in draft order, using last years points/draft order as a reference, this is where we are at (before lottery reshuffles):

Current points: 37 points after 43 games (39 games remaining)

Thus:

<= 34 points --> <=71 pts = last place/1st pick --> 0.436 winning percentage
<= 34 points --> <=71 pts = 29th place/2nd pick --> 0.436 winning percentage
35-39 points --> 72-76pts = 28th/3rd --> 0.449-0.500
40-42 points --> 77-79pts = 27th/4th --> 0.513-0.538
40-42 points --> 77-79pts = 26th/5th --> 0.513-0.538
43 points --> 80 points = 25th/6th --> 0.551
44-46 points --> 81-83 pts = 24th/7th pick --> 0.564-0.590
44-46 points --> 81-83 pts = 23rd/8th pick --> 0.564-0.590
47-48 points --> 84-85 pts = 22nd/9th pick --> 0.603-0.615
49-51 points --> 86-88 pts = 21st/10th pick --> 0.628-0.654
49-51 points --> 86-88 pts = 20th/11th pick --> 0.628-0.654
49-51 points --> 86-88 pts = 19th/12th pick --> 0.628-0.654

I would guess that anything more than about 0.500 hockey is pushing it (guessing 0.600-0.650 at home, maybe 0.300-0.350 on the road - ???), thus even without "tanking", we are looking at a bottom 4-5 position. Even with lottery reshuffling, this means we should be able to snag Cowen (at 4th). He's not Hedman, but he'll do.

Edited for spelling correction @ 9:15pm 2009-01-20

Yes, Cowen most certainly will do.

'Druther Hedman though.

Hypothetically speaking:

Heatley for Wilson Blum 1st
Kuba, Vermette for Columbus 1st

Sucking, we could grab Hedman, and then use our 3 other first-rounders to try to grab MSP to fill the void left by Heatley, and we'd pick up a 2nd line centre of the future in Wilson and a very nice d-man prospect in Blum.

Of course, as soon as I get comfortable with the idea of dealing Heatley, he re-appears.

asq2 wrote:Yes, Cowen most certainly will do.

'Druther Hedman though.

Hypothetically speaking:

Heatley for Wilson Blum 1st
Kuba, Vermette for Columbus 1st

Sucking, we could grab Hedman, and then use our 3 other first-rounders to try to grab MSP to fill the void left by Heatley, and we'd pick up a 2nd line centre of the future in Wilson and a very nice d-man prospect in Blum.

Of course, as soon as I get comfortable with the idea of dealing Heatley, he re-appears.

Love that Nashville deal. Would they want a huge contract though?

Kuba and Vermette for one draft pick? That pick could very well end up being 15th or worse. Seems like a steep price to pay.

hemlock wrote:

asq2 wrote:Yes, Cowen most certainly will do.

'Druther Hedman though.

Hypothetically speaking:

Heatley for Wilson Blum 1st
Kuba, Vermette for Columbus 1st

Sucking, we could grab Hedman, and then use our 3 other first-rounders to try to grab MSP to fill the void left by Heatley, and we'd pick up a 2nd line centre of the future in Wilson and a very nice d-man prospect in Blum.

Of course, as soon as I get comfortable with the idea of dealing Heatley, he re-appears.

Love that Nashville deal. Would they want a huge contract though?

Kuba and Vermette for one draft pick? That pick could very well end up being 15th or worse. Seems like a steep price to pay.

My point was that we should end up with a decent draft pick, even without trading.

Heatley has the potential to light it up; he needs someone to feed him, and it needs to start behind our blue line. I think that part of the problem right now is that he isn't having fun right now because he's frustrated. He'll come around, once we have a decent defensive corps. Spezza has begun the transformation, and Alfie is Alfie. None of them should go right now.

Fisher, well, maybe Carrie can convince him to move to Nashville?

Vermette will be gone; it's either him or Kelly, and Vermette will bring more back. Kuba is gone by trade or free agency. Neil may have to go, although for $1.25 or less, I'd be happy to keep him.

Phillips is in a funk but will come out of it; we need him to teach the kids. He's a good 3/4 D to keep. Pair him Lee, and put Karlsson with Volchenkov next year. Picard and Smith become your 5/6 pairing, and we're not in bad shape. Keep Cowen down for a year, bring him up periodically for injuries, and our D shapes up nicely.

Atlanta won again tonight, beating the Habs. Even with the Sens win, they still manage to keep pace. TBay and Atl playing well could really do tank nation a favour. Now only if we could motivate the Islanders to win a few games, we'd be in business. Just kidding. They don't have a win in 09 yet. No chance anyway collapses and finishes below them.

hemlock wrote:Atlanta won again tonight, beating the Habs. Even with the Sens win, they still manage to keep pace. TBay and Atl playing well could really do tank nation a favour. Now only if we could motivate the Islanders to win a few games, we'd be in business. Just kidding. They don't have a win in 09 yet. No chance anyway collapses and finishes below them.

No matter about the Isles.
Second last is perfectly fine, as long as Garth understands that he needs Tavares, not Hedman.

Either that, or we pray that the lottery balls fall just right.

I can guarantee that NYI would take Tavares. Guarantee.

asq2 wrote:I can guarantee that NYI would take Tavares. Guarantee.

Then 29th place is fine, right?

Based on last year's stats/totals, we can still play almost .500 hockey and get 3rd overall (including tonight's game). Considering that two years ago, we played 0.640 for the season, I'd say that 0.500 is a ceiling, not a ballpark estimate. If we go 0.640 the rest of the way (pipe dream) we are still looking at 10th-12th overall, and that's absolute worst case (i.e. if we play as well as NJ has for the rest of the season).

If we go on an absolute tear, and play like SJ - 0.770 - then we end up with about the 20th pick. But then we become a cup contender, so it messes things up anyhow.

Acrobat wrote:

asq2 wrote:I can guarantee that NYI would take Tavares. Guarantee.

Then 29th place is fine, right?

Based on last year's stats/totals, we can still play almost .500 hockey and get 3rd overall (including tonight's game). Considering that two years ago, we played 0.640 for the season, I'd say that 0.500 is a ceiling, not a ballpark estimate. If we go 0.640 the rest of the way (pipe dream) we are still looking at 10th-12th overall, and that's absolute worst case (i.e. if we play as well as NJ has for the rest of the season).

If we go on an absolute tear, and play like SJ - 0.770 - then we end up with about the 20th pick. But then we become a cup contender, so it messes things up anyhow.

The odds of this team playing at a .770 clip are roughly the same as Alessandra Ambrosio showing up at my home to profess her undying love and devotion to me. To call our defense patchwork is being kind. I don't see Bell or Picard as long term solutions. Both are stop gaps, until we can organize ourselves, or guys like Wiercioch and Karlsson are ready. I dunno if I can take that for two more years though

I don't even want .500 anymore. I want bad. I literally get angry when they win now, especially against a good team like the Caps. This win does nothing but hurt our draft position potentially. Yes there are some positives to take from this game (PP clicked, Heatley earned some money), but the fact remains that Washington mailed this in (except for Ovie who apparently tries to outshoot the opposition all by himself). They were clearly tired and it showed. Kudos to the Sens for taking advantage of this, but it's a day late and a dollar short.

hemlock wrote:
The odds of this team playing at a .770 clip are roughly the same as Alessandra Ambrosio showing up at my home to profess her undying love and devotion to me. To call our defense patchwork is being kind. I don't see Bell or Picard as long term solutions. Both are stop gaps, until we can organize ourselves, or guys like Wiercioch and Karlsson are ready. I dunno if I can take that for two more years though

I don't even want .500 anymore. I want bad. I literally get angry when they win now, especially against a good team like the Caps. This win does nothing but hurt our draft position potentially. Yes there are some positives to take from this game (PP clicked, Heatley earned some money), but the fact remains that Washington mailed this in (except for Ovie who apparently tries to outshoot the opposition all by himself). They were clearly tired and it showed. Kudos to the Sens for taking advantage of this, but it's a day late and a dollar short.

If she shows up, call me. Or at least send pics.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy the Sens, win or lose, because no matter what, they'll get no worse than 10th, and from the table I posted, they'll most likely end up 2nd to 6th. From that, we end up with Hedman, Duchesne, Cowen, MSP, Schenn, or the like. I'll take any of them (Hedman first of course). At that level, the lottery becomes more of a factor, since it's going to bump four teams down one.

So each loss is good. Each win is fine, since I know that it won't lead anywhere this year, and it won't make a hoot of difference in the long run.

Phoenix Coyotes defeat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3, moving into 5th place in the Western Conference.



In that game, Nik Lidstrom tied Brian Leetch for 8th place in powerplay goals by a defenceman with 111.

Also, Ken Klee played his 900th career game.

How the heck did Ken Klee get to 900 games. Good for him though.

504Heater wrote:How the heck did Ken Klee get to 900 games. Good for him though.

Ken Klee is still playing in the NHL?

PKC wrote:Ken Klee is still playing in the NHL?

Wait...is he? Atlanta?

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=793

Phoenix. Huh...who knew?

Pat Burns diagnosed with cancer again

wprager wrote:Pat Burns diagnosed with cancer again

Oh that's a real shame.

Apparently he won't elect to do chemo this time. You use chemo when radiation (for localized treatment) won't cut it. So either it's still small and radiation will be enough, or he's had enough and this may be it.

ya i was thinking the same thing wprager. lots of love to the burns family!

I have often wondered why Ottawa doesn't have enough 'mean' players.

Even Detroit has mean. Kronwall and Stuart will mess you up.

San Jose has lots of mean. Rob Blake, Clowe, Shelley, and now Claude Lemieux.

Boston...from Tim Thomas on out...Shawn Thornton, Milan Lucic, the Z-Man...need we say more?

....and so on...

Ottawa got beat by the mean Ducks in the Cup Final.

So where's the 'mean' in the Sens team?

Anybody have any thoughts on this?
:pirat:

Ruutu, Volchenkov, Smith, Neil, Fisher, Schubert, Phillips, Foligno, Alfredsson, Bass and Z Smith aren't mean enough for you?

I think this team is fine in terms of grit. What it lacks is over-all mobility and skill.

asq2 wrote:Ruutu, Volchenkov, Smith, Neil, Fisher, Schubert, Phillips, Foligno, Alfredsson, Bass and Z Smith aren't mean enough for you?

I think this team is fine in terms of grit. What it lacks is over-all mobility and skill.

Schubert? Ruutu?

Foligno's a hard worker, but 'mean'?

Fisher, 'mean'?

Chris Neil is mean.

And I mean 'mean', like do-anything-to-kick-your-butt-out-of-the-rink-while-I-beat-you-on-the-ice 'mean'.

Chris Pronger 'mean'.

Know what I mean?

Scary development in an AHL game:

http://www.tsn.ca/ahl/story/?id=264386&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main

Fortunately Gotz is alright.

davetherave wrote:

asq2 wrote:Ruutu, Volchenkov, Smith, Neil, Fisher, Schubert, Phillips, Foligno, Alfredsson, Bass and Z Smith aren't mean enough for you?

I think this team is fine in terms of grit. What it lacks is over-all mobility and skill.

Schubert? Ruutu?

Foligno's a hard worker, but 'mean'?

Fisher, 'mean'?

Chris Neil is mean.

And I mean 'mean', like do-anything-to-kick-your-butt-out-of-the-rink-while-I-beat-you-on-the-ice 'mean'.

Chris Pronger 'mean'.

Know what I mean?

I'd say we're pretty mean. Fisher, Neil, Volchenkov and Schubert are great hitters who will sometimes cross the line. Alfredsson, too, and he'll hit you with a puck as well. Then we've got Spezza spearing people and Sharko Ruutu.

I'd say we're mean enough. Kronwall and Stuart are hitters, they're not Chris Prongers though.

Chicago is another team that doesn't really have mean-ness but succeeds.

I'd much prefer targetting skill and speed than more intangibles.

Because, right now our results are intangible.

asq2 wrote:Scary development in an AHL game:

http://www.tsn.ca/ahl/story/?id=264386&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main

Fortunately Gotz is alright.

No kidding. In the video the opposing fighter watched from the penalty box looking terrified.

This is another blow to fighting. It seems to me that it is inevitable that fighting is removed from the game. I just wonder if it will do more harm than good. On one hand you protect guys from injury (and potentially death), but on the other hand it may open the door for more gutless actions otherwise. It's only a matter of time before an NHLer is paralyzed during the course of a game. The game is already dangerous enough as it is with pucks being shot harder than ever, and equipment that acts as a weapon in some cases. This isn't just fighting. If the league wants to protect it's player, it needs to look at all aspects.

Personally, I like fighting but hate these staged fights.

Richards fighting Perry in an OHL play-off game is a good fight. Iginla fighting Lecavalier is a good fight.

But not enforcer v. enforcer.

Of course, I say that and the realize that I consider McSorley v Probert a great hockey moment. :oops:

But nowadays, I have difficulty with guys who are just trying to earn their paychecks by fighting. This one was off of what, the first face-off of the game?