VM1138

I'm glad someone caught that at least. That was what finally sent me over the edge with laughter. Don't they have someone quality-check these Guardians before they publish them?

You've got to hand it to Floppa, though, despite the joke of his coming back, playing in Europe, coming back, etc., he still has tremendous talent, and if he can stay healthy (always a question with him) he can make an impact with the Avs.

North Carolina is amazing I hear. I have friends who live down there and they just love it. I'd like to live there some day. That being said, it's still fun to poke fun at them for having a hockey team, although at least Carolina is a stable market.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=550382 Yes, that's right folks, the Maple Leaf is a piece of wood that grows long--erm, I mean taller--to meet the needs of the situation. He penetrates surfaces to grab hold. And on top of all of that he fires sticky sap bombs. Oh. My. God.

I don't think mindfly deserves to be hated. He was just freaking annoying. Still not sure what he did to get banned. Crosby is easily the most hated. Snow sucks right now, but honestly what does it affect us if he runs his team into the ground? He's a joke, not someone to hate. I don't think it's possible to hate Hudler. You can not want him on the team, you can be disappointed with his play, but the guy is super likable.

So he's skated with the team, did he break his ankle again yet?

Exactly. Last time I checked it takes two to tango. Teams like Anaheim and Philly don't scare other teams into submission, because people still hit them and engage in fights with them. Gritty is really entertaining, if we're talking grit and not enforcers, but I tend to think out bottom 6 is pretty gritty. I don't see grit has pure hitting, though. I look at Helm digging in the corners and holding off three guys to make the play as grit.

Well, I guess we found a new Internet meme for whenever Pierre does something retarded, haha.

I don't understand. They're not the Broad Street Bullies but they do hit in about even numbers with their opponents. When they play a tough team they usually step it up and often outhit them (Anaheim, for example). And to say they play with no heart is ridiculous. When the games matter they throw it all on the line. Anyone who watches them recognizes their patented 3rd period comebacks. They may not play 100% all of the time, but they never, ever give up and usually find ways to grind out wins.

Nabakov did a good job defending his actions and I think he cleared things up considerably as to what's been going on the past couple days in this drama. It really makes Snow look worse, though. It seems like Snow is just not bothering to contact Nabakov and expecting him to show, not willing to give an inch. Interesting that the Wings were willing to "give him time" to get ready. How much, I wonder? Also, it's frustrating to read all this now. If, prior to being put on waivers, his agent had said something like "He wants only to play for Detroit, and will need X number of weeks to prepare before starting", I bet fewer teams would've considered claiming him.

Wow, great analogy, it's perfect (and obscure enough for most people, I bet). Nabakov's basically saying "I'll be damned if I let the Isles leech off of me."

EDIT2: What I think is really funny is that as of earlier today, Nabakov hadn't even returned Snow's calls. And he also had a pretty ominous-sounding comment to make to the agent, Meehan. “Every thing is on the up-and-up,” Snow said. “I am waiting to speak to the player, but we have spoken to his agent Don Meehan and, as a veteran in this business, he knows what is to come next.” http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=550290 Long Island sounds delightful, doesn't it? Very friendly place.

I wasn't saying that players don't get claimed. I'm saying players of Nabakov's caliber and his unique circumstances should be allowed to get picked up by a quality team. Again, he adds nothing to the Isles, who won't be able to keep him past this year and won't make playoffs or make any kind of noise, it'll be hard for Nabakov to showcase his skills and thus make it harder for him to sign a good contract next year. Therefore, the Isles just basically screwed Nabakov and any team near the playoffs that could've benefited from having Nabakov for what? Two or three extra wins that won't matter? I hope Snow enjoys those few extra wins, because they're going to cost him dearly. EDIT: And for those who think Nabakov is being a ****** bag, remember, he has NO obligation to the Isles. Sure, they claimed him, but honestly, it could be career suicide to go there. If you think about that, it takes on a whole new level. Plus, I bet he doesn't cause a ruckus if a team closer to the playoffs claimed him. But it's the freaking Islanders, even Osgood said they suck.

I would imagine he would have to count against the roster, otherwise teams would just pick up players willy-nilly (yes, I just used that phrase) to screw other teams over. However, since the NHL is screwed up beyond belief with their rules (and enforcement of rules) I bet there's some rule that says he wouldn't count.

You are absolutely right, but my point was that that mentality is what makes Snow a ******. People see that he simply followed the rules and don't seem to understand the OTHER implications. Basically, a good GM and decent human being would have thought A) This signing is NOT going to help us in the long run and B) This would be terrible for said player and will make me look like a jerk to other GMs and other players (forget about the fans) who understand the unspoken side of things. Essentially Snow made the Isles look like they have to kidnap and put a gun to a players head to make him play for them, showing absolutely no consideration for the unique situation or player's interest. Again, let me re-iterate that the Nabakov signing does not help the Isles one bit in the long run, and actually does more damage than good. Yet he hurt a player's career for his short-sightedness and is now being a dick about it. Yeah, the Isles followed the rules, but we have to remember that even though it's a business, there are also unspoken gentlemen's agreements that rule the league, and screwing over a star player for extremely short-term (and minor) interests probably violates them.

I don't understand why he would owe the Isles to contract NEXT season. Everything I've read up to this point, meaning CBA stuff not just rumors, indicates that he would only sit out THIS season and then be clear next season. God, this is a cluster-you-know-what. The NHL CBA makes no sense whatsoever, not to mention the waiver rules really are unfair. I do feel bad for Nabakov. But he better report if they're going to own him until he shows up. I just don't understand why they would agree to this, knowing this could happen? Honestly, aside from Snow, Nabakov's agent sounds like a moron. Agents are terrible these days, they're giving their players all sorts of bad advice.

You're right about the Isles being an obvious team in the hunt for a goalie, but not Nabakov in particular. Think about it closely, why do the Isles need Nabakov? (Again, not why do they need a goalie but why do they need that particular one) They're not on a playoff bubble needing that one last piece to give them a push. Their season is already over. Nabakov is not a long-term fix, he's basically a rental player for the rest of the season. He's not going to give them some hope for the future because it's not a multi-year contract and thanks to this, they have no chance of re-signing Nabakov next season. You only get a rental player if you're in the hunt for the playoffs or the Cup. Sure, Nabakov was an easy choice because he's good and cheap but that doesn't change the fact that Snow is a ****** for picking him and screwing up his career path. They could have just as easily gotten a league minimum regular goalie to finish out the year. THere was absolutely no need to claim a guy who could've gone to a playoff team and resurrected his career except for two things: 1) Complete and total ignorance of the situation. 2) Vindictiveness.

Curious move, but anything that honors Larionov is okay with me. I agree with a previous poster, the first step to creating a legacy for your team is sticking with one freaking jersey or color scheme. But as for a 40 year anniversary, that's nothing to mock. For a Wings fan it's "young" but it's still an important landmark for a sports franchise, every decade is, really. Just an excuse to sell some commemorative stuff and thank the city for continued support. The Wings will gladly celebrate their 90th anniversary in 2016, and that's an odd number, too.

I honestly don't think he ever was. When he came over here I always got the impression he was more of a Griffin's roster filler with a possibility of playing for the big club, but not really on any particular fast-track. In fact, I almost think it was purely upon some request of vFlip that they didn't turn down because Ilari actually does have some talent.

Remember, the idea is to get a vet to backup Jimmy, not another unproven goalie. SO any list of goalies would have to take this into consideration, I think. I'm just not sure who to go after, there are just so few worthwhile goalies out there this year.

The NFL allows more player discretion in waiver transactions, though. Doesn't it? I'm cool with the waiver system for moving players between the NHL and AHL and whatnot, but this special rule for European players just doesn't make sense to me. EDIT: At any rate, I think this was the Wings last-ditch effort to get a goalie for nothing. But it tipped their hand that the Wings are looking for a goalie. Trade upcoming this upcoming week, I'd bet money on it.

Missed the game and it wasn't recorded like I thought, sounds like I didn't miss much. Summarize it for me, was it the usual Jimmy "Easy Goal" "Four Goals" Howard letting in atrocious goals? Countless Hawk breakaways? Passes straight to Hawks players, or perhaps shooting straight into the chest of the Hawks goalie? Sounds like penalties and goal posts were an issue. We need to get a serious lucky break for once this season.

Dick moves by the Islanders, really makes them look bad. I'm not sure why they signed him, they knew this would happen. I mean, his agent said he would report, but honestly, anyone with a brain knew he wouldn't go to a terrible team. And now to hold onto him? Man, the waiver rule is really ridiculous. Totally unfair. Even if they sent him through waivers again there are enough retarded GMs in the league to keep claiming him and make the process either take forever or ultimately get him to a more decent team where he would report. This also would make Nabokov look bad. He'd be the starter for the Isles (like he wanted) and said he would report. He can be excused this one time, but if he does get waived again and he keepsnot reporting, people will wonder why he didn't just state "don't claim me if you're not Detroit." EDIT: I feel really bad for the players exposed to this waiver rule. It seems totally unfair that you come back to resurrect your career with a strong season showing, and then some terrible team with which you'll get massacred every night and have no connection to whatsoever signs you and ruins your whole plans.

I don't see why people are worrying about San Jose, Chicago, etc. There are a lot of lower teams that are more likely to put in claims. But the Wings just can't catch a freaking break, I guess we should've expected multiple goalies to become injured the day we claim Nabokov.

Holy crap, it looks like one of those Make a Wish grants where a little kid gets to play a game with the adults, haha.