VM1138

The empty net goal is going to suck.

Which translates into a handful of games, several of which he was pulled. In my opinion he probably shouldn't have been pulled some of those games. I'd trust Mrazek to return to form because of his short track record than I would Howard, whose track record isn't very good in between rare stints of above average play.

Also the goalie who stonewalled Tampa last year. Mrazek must be terrible in practice because I do t see why a week or two of mediocre play dooms our franchise goalie of the future to the bench. Relying on the vets this series isn't going to win it.

We fold under pressure. Jesus. And as feared, the stars are nowhere to be found. And I won't dogpile on him because he hasn't been garbage, but Howard doesn't look great, either. We will never win with him as or backstop.

I'm not sure the rest of the lines even matter. There hasn't been a combo that really lit anything up consistently all year.

I think 7 million is steep but you make a good point nonetheless. Just because one of us would sit here and say "I wouldn't pay X amount for that guy" doesn't mean that's not his value. I wouldn't spend $700 on a new iPhone but if I want to buy one outright I have to pay that price. And if I have a job where I need an iPhone (for whatever reason) I have to pay it.

Oh I know. I wanted to emphasize the point.

I'd hardly call 5 points in 10 games subpar for a kid who has played only ten games in the NHL.

I don't think you guys remember inflation. 5.5 is reasonable for someone like Danny D. He was our best defender most of the season.

Many, many people have already posited how the contract could be traded. I don't know why you think it's so impossible and unlikely. Even some of the bloggers and hockey writers have posited the same scenarios. The one that pops up the most is Phoenix with the Pronger contract. It'd be a better deal for them because they would end up with a cap hit without paying out actual money.

He's also slow as molasses in a series that is going to be high speed.

How often does SKA play Ekaterinburg? It could be that he can make big money for a year with SKA while still seeing his daughter much more often. She could come to games, he could visit her on away games, etc. Just giving him the benefit of the doubt.

He shouldn't have to retire. Like others have said, he's still or top point guy, and he's still a great player. Still a magnifcent playmaker, but he can't carry the load. Put him on the wing and let him be complimentary and he can play for years.

Holland's MO is to stand pat, sign a role player or two, and wait for a superstar to emerge from our recent draft picks.

I don't see why Blashill would change his "play not to lose" strategy that hurt us recently now. Playoffs aren't an entirely new thing. It'll be a week from the season. And signs seem to indicate Blashill isn't changing his strategy.

We lost to an AHL Rangers team. Stamkos being out injured isn't exactly giving me confidence. This team hasn't won 4 games in a 7 game stretch all season, I don't think. Not sure why they would now.

Jeez, they really hate Mantha, don't they? Holland can be so damn condescending sometimes. I just looked at Jurco's NHL career stats. He's basically declined each year. He's the definition of a plug out there. Serviceable as a warm body but not doing anything to help. Andersson is the same. He can PK because he can't skate the whole ice. Blashill is obsessively defensive. His only tweaks are to bring a player on to help us play PK, not a player to help our PP score. I've never been so frustrated with this franchise. I really hope we're not about to go down in humiliation.

For all the crap people have given him, including myself, Tatar ended up doing okay. He's frustrating to watch, and I would never build the offense around him, but his stat line isn't astronomically worse than it was, and since everyone has had a worse year I'd be loathe to single him out. There's clearly something deeper going on, whether it's coaching or certain players, but once that gets fixed I'd like to see what certain players like Tatar can do. I certainly don't expect next season to be as bad as this one, provided we get a replacement for Datsyuk. But back on topic, to Mantha: I don't care about his defensive liability. The fact is we need to score, and can't win a tightly played playoff series with no offense. And Andersson didn't exactly save the team from being scored on three times yesterday, either. We need speed, skating and offense, because we're honestly not going super deep this year. Professionals like Blashill and Holland should be able to recognize this fact and realize now is the time to take a risk. Mantha needs playoff experience. It's not like he's single handedly costing us goals against. Let him play and learn from his mistakes, coach him into being a better defensive player. He's not going to cost us this series, and his offense (not yet figured out by opposing teams) might be something that could turn the scales in our favor. EDIT: I think Nyquist and Larkin have set the bar too high for our prospects, too. It's like, if you don't score 25-30 your first season, you're "not ready."

It'd be nice to have a player who can score in the lineup, but I guess having defensive stalwarts Jurco and Andersson in instead is better. ...

I think he planned on finishing the contract originally, but his ankle surgery changed things. Now he probably feels like he's on borrowed time and wants to be able to play in Russia without being unable to contribute.

I hate being negative but there's no reason to expect a coaching change and culture change in less than a week. What we will see in round one is what we've seen all year. One strong game, one or two times getting shutout and a close loss.

I have a feeling his roster management is going to kill us in the playoffs.

Datsyuk himself said he's most likely leaving. According to an interview with Albom.Holland not trading his contract even with Datsyuk's okay is stupid, though.

The defensive argument goes out the window when you can't score. Mantha and AA score. So what if they're on the ice for a goal against if they score one or two? For right now, with the assets we have, that's okay. There's only like six defensively talented guys on the whole squad anyway. Not everyone on a team can be a defensive stalwart. You do have to score, and when things tighten up in the playoffs watch our offense evaporate completely.

Real rivalries aren't created, that's the problem. Playing the same teams all the time just gets old if there's no bad blood. I wish they didn't bother with divisions at all but that would be too revolutionary for corporate sports.