lets go pavel

The Selke is for DEFENSE. I realize the winner usually makes significant contributions on the offensive end, but I'm pretty sure a point-per-game average, regardless of the dropoff, will still keep him in the running. And you do realize more than 3 people are considered, right?

How is Z no longer a Selke nominee because he isn't playing with Datsyuk?

So where's the depth in your scenario? You have Hudler and Franzen instead of Z, that's one extra guy, and who's to say we couldn't keep Z and Hudler? And how much are you planning on paying Franzen, anyway?

Why are you here? What team are you a fan of? Did you get beat up by Wings fans when you were little? You don't seem to have a point, other than to say we're all stupid for thinking Z might sign for around 7 per, and also stupid for being willing to "throw the bank" at him, which I haven't heard anyone say but you.

I agree with you, but if you look at the votes, only the top 4 guys had more than 3 votes apiece. Kipper got a 1st and two 3rds, Luongo got a 2nd and two 3rds, so really not much of a difference. Truthfully, there's not really a meaningful difference between anyone after #4. So one sportswriter has a thing for Kipper ... probably from Calgary?

I understand what you're saying, if you go by statistics you are absolutely right, Kipper is toward the bottom of that list -- although that's not a bad list to be toward the bottom of. I think most will also concede that last year he, and the Flames, were not at the top of their game, and that is reflected statistically. But my point is that the statistics only tell part of the story, because each of the goalies on that list play for different teams, so you can't objectively compare them simply using statistics. For example, Ozzie's save % is lower than most on that list, but he also faced significantly fewer shots per game than most of the other goalies. There's no way to know whether his save % would have gone up or down had he faced more shots, but it at least raises the question. How many of those goalies played for defense-oriented teams or with all-star caliber defensemen? How many didn't? How many of them were in close games night-in and night-out? How many played in a lot of blowouts? How many had nagging injuries, or played healthy all year? All of these variables and more factor into a goalie's statistics, and there's no way to account for them empirically. I can't justify Kipper's Vezina votes to you, and you may be right that they were based more on reputation than performance, but I can certainly make an argument that his performance may have been better than his statistics indicate. Let's say goaltender A faces 20 shots, allows 1 goal, and his team coasts to a 5-1 game. Goaltender B faces 40 shots, allows 4 goals, but makes a number of huge saves as his team sweaks out a 5-4 victory. Statistically goaltender A had the better night, but goaltender B may have had the better performance. I'm not saying this was Kipper's deal last year, but again, it does demonstrate the limitations of statistics.

Not a Kipper fan? I see the numbers, but I would still take Kipper over Huet or Khabibulin, or just about anyone else on that list. Every goaltender statistic is impacted, for better or worse, by the team in front of them, the numbers can't tell the whole story.

I'll agree with that, but when only one guy shows up to play it's hard to blame the goaltender, no matter how many pucks get by him.

This is true of EVERY goalie who has played the game. Conks made some big saves tonight, our PK killed us on the road again, and again too many breakaways. Goaltending hasn't been great either, but for f***'s sake, do we have to start one of these after every s***ty game? Really, who did look good out there tonight?

And how does that explain anything? If they don't trust their goalie to make saves, wouldn't they try to reduce the number of shots allowed?

I'm pretty sure we'd win that matchup!

Depends on what you mean. Do the regular season accolades, i.e. the President's Trophy, matter on a personal level? Probably not a whole lot. Does our level of play matter? Absolutely. I think home-ice is worth having too. Our PK is great at home and horrible on the road, and that's enough to make the President's Trophy worthwhile to me ...

Pascal Leclaire has a cap hit of 3.8 million and is signed for 2 more years after this, he's been playing worse than the guys we have now, and do you really think Columbus will trade him to us, in the same division, without us significantly overpaying? He's not the answer ...

What you're talking about isn't an enforcer at all, you just want a few bigger guys. I don't have a problem with that, I think most will agree that our 4th line could stand for an upgrade, but right now we're up against the cap so that will have to wait. As for last night, I think our guys held their own just fine. Those 2 breakaways are what ultimately killed us, not the physical play.

Definitely, huh? The Super Bowl doesn't get the publicity it receives because it's played at a neutral site, it gets the publicity it receives because it's the championship game for the most popular American sport. The SC finals will never reach that level ...

Agreed, bad idea. Personally, one of my favorite things about the playoffs (and really any good game where the crowd is into it) is the atmosphere that is created by the crowd ... the cheering, booing, the energy and hum. NFL playoff games have that, but often the Super Bowl doesn't, at least not in the same way, because much of the crowd doesn't care who wins, they're just there for the game. I don't even understand what the energy of the WC has to do with this idea ... the WC wasn't at a neutral site. The energy would not have been anywhere near the same at Wrigley had the Coyotes been playing the Leafs.

Myabe slightly, but do you really think the low # of shots our goalies face is because of Lidstrom? To me, it's a matter of the puck possession system we play and play so well, from the offense all the way back to the goalie, and we're not going to stop playing that way the day Lids hangs them up. Obviously he's plays a key role in the system, so maybe we'll see a slight increase, but I still think we'll be on the low end of the league in shots allowed. I wouldn't complain about a high caliber goalie, but I think we can continue to win without one, and quite frankly think we'd be a better team spending the money elsewhere.

Yup ... their other suggestion was Red Square ... would be interesting, but probably wouldn't do a whole lot for viewership/ratings over here in NA. (On a side note, they also had to give their odds on whether Ovechkin was better than Crosby ... Kornheiser 66% I believe, and Wilbon a very passionate 100%. Granted, there's some DC bias with the two. Nonetheless, I think that's the most hockey I've ever heard on the show... )

I think we're all getting worked up over nothing ... at the moment, this is just some guy's unsubstantiated report. And there's not much sense in the "if that's not good enough for Z screw him let's sign Hossa instead" argument because Hossa's almost certainly going to cost more than 7.5 as well ...

The Avery Rule p2? I don't know, but I'm sure they would find or create some rule that would disqualify him. The league doesn't seem too concerned about having a precedent when it comes to punishing Avery.

There's not a chance in hell the league would let him play ...

Just for discussion's sake, do you think someone like Komisarek is pleased to be voted in? On the one hand, being voted a starting all-star is supposed to be an honor, and I'm sure it's exciting to be at the game, playing with many of the biggest stars, etc. But he also has to be aware that he didn't actually earn the honor, he's only there because fans rigged the vote. Do you think it would bother someone to look around the room at the Crosbys and Ovechkins, etc, and realize you don't belong here?

Is it always raining where you are?

Mike Komisarek has played in 21 games, has 1 goal, 1 assist, and is +2 ... may as well give him the Norris now. Perhaps this is all part of a new NHL feel-good campaign ... see kids, in the new NHL, everyone gets to be an All Star!

Personally, I think Z is more likely than Hossa to come here for the lower price, but I agree that as free agents someone would offer them both significantly more than Datsyuk. The hope, of course, is that one of them wants to play here for a long time and is willing to sacrifice a million or three to make that happen ... again, I think Z is the more likely candidate to do that, but there's no sense in arguing about that since it's pure speculation. It's possible we could lose them both. So ... just out of curiosity, who are the other players you would replace Z with?