VM1138

People still think he'd be traded even on LTIR? That would be even worse for the Jets. If a team is acquiring Kane for next season and won't get any benefit this year, they're going to offer even less than they already were. Kane for a conditional 5th round pick? That's what they're looking at in that situation I'd think. They might as well tell him to stay away from the rink to reduce friction with his teammates and wait for him to heal up in the summer to trade him for at least a roster player.

Whoever said we don't have space for a big contract is wrong. We've got $8 million in space right now. And we are relying on cheap drafted players for the future. We've got plenty of cap space moving forward.

McDavid won't help Buffalo. Some teams are just mismanaged. Sure, Pittsburgh and Chicago got lucky. They drafted Crosby AND Malkin and other high talents. Edmonton, too, but they're just so bad they mismanaged that, too. One potentially great player won't turn or even start the turnaround for Buffalo. How many teams in the past had one or two great players but the team never went anywhere? I guess it's a start but I won't be expecting a turnaround on the scale of Pittsburgh or Chicago.

I can't wait for the inevitable scandal when the NHL starts investigating whether or not they were deliberately tanking this summer.

I know he's played years in the NHL already but I'm just not seeing why Myers over Marchenko would be an improvement.

Thread seems dead, but I recently got an Xbox One, my gamertag is vm1138. Right now I just bought Titanfall for $12.50 on Deals with Gold. Thinking about getting EA Access. Also have Unity if anyone ever wants to play. I agree with Frank about party games, though. Whenever family or friends gather we play Wii, not PlayStation or Xbox. The games aren't as fun to sit down and play by yourself, but for groups its a pretty great system.

Just bought Titanfall Deluxe for $12.50 on Games with Gold, if anyone is interested. Have to work but hopefully tomorrow I can start playing it.

Yeah, the outdoor games are still fun and all, but they're not really special. I don't need to set aside time to watch the Winter Classic anymore because there's five other games I can catch if I miss it. Go back to having one outdoor event a year. It's just too much of a good thing. I could settle for two (so the Canadian teams can have their own, since Americans seem to have no interest in watching Canadian teams) a year. EDIT: Or, here's a crazy idea! Go all the way. Rather than have five outdoor games a year, give every team one outdoor game a year. I think it's best to go one way or the other. Either make it a league-wide event or make it a once-a-season-per-team event. That'd create a lot of games but you eliminate the problem of small-market teams not getting one and the awkward national matchups that hurt the quality of the brand.

Well, for the sake of symmetry, their first NHL opponent (that still exists) was Ottawa. That's a ratings killer, but if it's a Stadium series game ratings won't matter. It'll be an average game in terms of viewership anyway. Their first NHL opponent was the Montreal Wanderers, but my bet is on Ottawa or Montreal (their second still-existing NHL opponent). EDITED: Corrected tense usage.

Everyone ******* about Chicago but we're going to be in four ourselves. 09, 14, 16, and a 2017 outdoor game against Columbus, most likely. Chicago isn't the only team going to the well repeatedly. Let's not forget Pittsburgh, too. In order for them to be successful they need big market teams. And in order to be "fair" they need to have other teams play in them, too. So its going to continue to be the Rangers, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, LA playing random opponents in order to keep milking the outdoor game series.

Cool, I guess. I'll wait and see how it unfolds before getting too hyped for it.

Chelios. Skill, longevity, and accomplishments are unrivaled among American-born players. Leetch and Modano are up there, too, but like others have said, Modano was never the greatest at his position, so it's hard for him to take away the top spot from Chelios, who was.

They have the right attitude about it. It's an experimental treatment and the long-term side affects aren't known. And, of course, he was one of only a small handful of human subjects, apparently, so it's just anecdotal evidence. But even if he still dies, like they said, at least he'll have some more dignity in his final days.

Hanta yo!

I still worry our offense is a little to predictable. We still really need a talented goal scorer who can make things happen on his own. After Tatar and Nyquist got shut down in the playoffs last year I think having an extra hand on board is necessary. I'm not saying they'll never be good in the playoffs but some insurance would be really, really nice. And yes, the perennial need for a back-end, right handed offensive defenseman still hasn't changed. But that is only because they still seem to be reluctant to give defensive prospects a chance. If there's no intention of bringing up one or two more of them (and I'd be leery about bringing up that many rookies) then they need to make a trade.

No one really thinks Detroit-Columbus would be a good Winter Classic, right? I don't think in the entire existence of the Columbus franchise I've ever been excited about a game against them. Putting them outside won't change that. If you're doing a throwback/heritage style event you need heritage/throwback style teams. It's got to be Detroit versus an original six team. Or at least one of the teams from the '67 expansion.

That's precisely why we should run with a 50/50 Howard/Mrazek setup in the next few years. He's not anywhere near his prime yet. Balance the load and run with the hot goalie in the playoffs. It worked for us in 2008. We haven't really had a chance to try it since.

Agreed. I think the destruction of rivalries is one of the saddest things about the "new" NHL. They can label every match on Wednesday "rivalry night" but that doesn't make it a rivalry. Even Chicago-Detroit wasn't all that great. There was no hatred. Just healthy competition which is still cool and all but never super exciting. Maybe parity has something to do with it. When (almost) every team is decent and competitive, and everyone gets bent out of shape at every legal hit, it makes the climate harder to encourage real rivalries. Your game against Toronto is probably just as important as your game against LA, for example, because everyone needs to scrap for every two points. I also don't think playing a team a bunch of times a year is conducive to creating rivalries, either. It can work, but it's not a necessity. It makes each game less important because if you don't make a statement in your third game against that team, you'll have a few more chances.

The thing that makes Brodeur hanging around sad and different than someone like Chelios playing way past his prime, is that Chelios never had any illusions about his skill level declining. He played in the AHL because he loved playing hockey and wanted to play at the highest level he was capable of. Brodeur still thinks he's a starter. That's why he left New Jersey and I think he's taking so long to "decide" because he's still trying to convince people behind closed doors that he should get a starting job somewhere. Or at least a backup job he thinks he can turn into a starting job. His ego is well-known and I think that's what makes the situation kind of sad. EDIT: My point being that it's not necessarily sad for a player to hang around, as long as they're not fooling themselves.

I bet we'tee the only team board in the league that devoted six pages in 24 hours to McGrattan.

I hope Pulkinnen tears it up but I'm not getting my hopes up. His whole game seems to rely on having time and space to slap, which doesn't happen much in the NHL. His last callup demonstrated his limitations.

Limited minutes and the whole team is strong defensively. Clearly no one in the coaching staff or media thinks very much of him, which tells me he's not learning and reaching that potential he should have hit a couple years ago.

Surprised he's going back to Ottawa. All the reports said he cut all ties when he moved.

I hate the salute. It's forced and meaningless and fans already demand it. If they do something because they have to, it doesn't mean anything. I doubt the players are thinking 'gosh I love these fans.' It's muscle memory by now. Like wearing an American flag pin on your suit.

Let's also give some credit to Johan Franzen. He seems to be putting up the most consistent numbers he's had since 2009. He's not tearing the world apart, and is only on pace for something like 25 goals I think, but he's scoring every few games which is what we need him to do. I'd gladly take 25 goals instead of 30-35 if it means he's scoring in 25 games instead of 10.