Wing Across The Pond

I heard this too. But only from a friend. Not sure of the source but it seems plausible the way picks have been going recently

I'd actually say Z is the better passer. Dats makes some pretty passes but I think Z is technically better and does it more often. At a push I'd probably also say Dats has the better shot, and he's only recently starting to use it more. I don't know if that makes him the better scorer, but he certainly has the moves and (I'd say) a better shot. All told I'd say Z edges it for that je ne sais quoi. Literally. I don't know what it is that makes me say that, just something tells me it's what I should say.

The thing about this is that what the hell would Emery have done if he had, say, paralysed Holtby by punching him in the back of the neck? "Well I told him to defend himself..." He doesn't think about this s***. It's different if you're in a stand up fight with someone I guess as you're hitting face, but punching the back of the head isn't smart. It's the softest part and is dangerously close to the neck. The guy's a douchebag and should be treated as such (probably will next time these teams meet).

I see what you (unintentionally) did there... Such a shame this sort of thing happens because, regardless of the outcome, it sticks with players forever. Hope it's sorted speedily and justice, if necessary, is served.

We all thought it, but you had to go and be THAT GUY I hate to be "that other guy" but he also doesn't look crap at all... kind of suits it

You know what... I think this means we're going to win the Cup this year........ I'm happy moving East, but I don't see it has the roll-over you're painting it as. Should be a fun season no doubt

Lol tell me about it. 2 coaches who haven't coached an NHL game above a coach with 11 years experience. Why even include the stat if you're going to ignore it? Also I take it they mean cups won as a head coach? Because I'm pretty sure McLellan and MacLean have cup rings. But that I can understand. But to say that someone with 5 years experience and no cups, or even Adam Oates with 1 (VERY SHORT) year and no cups, are in a better position, at this very minute, to bring success to their team than someone like Torts with 10+ years and has actually won a cup before (and now at a team that will expect to challenge no less) is ridiculous. EDIT: What the...? Also noticed that Oates was 27-18-3 last year, whereas dead last, BOTTOM OF THE PILE, Ron Rolston has better numbers (31-15-11). Also missing Hartley's cup with the Avs in '01. That's going to sting... for both him and ESPN.

Captained Team Sweden as well in 2012. True story

Pretty true. If it was something like "Burke is the reason that [TEAM] hasn't won anything" would be weak, but saying he had an affair and a lovechild without a definitive source/proof is pretty big. It's libel and is worth a good suing!

Truuuuue dat. Although I guess I meant 'brand' more like, selling jerseys to fans (personalised ones worth more preferably), rather than ad space to companies. But yeah not really any difference. It's all the about the image

Just had a brainwave... yes helmets cause more injuries in fights than the fists that inevitably get injured, however what would happen if the league came out and said "helmets are worse for fighting related injuries than punches"? Imagine if Easton heard that and went, "I'm sorry, what?" Kiss that chunk of advertising revenue goodbye. Just a thought though...

It's probably LESS to do with advertising than people think (i.e. not the first step in a process that leads to sponsors on the back of jerseys), but more to do with brand presentation. *Note - Tried to find a promo/press pic of Ovie but they were all of him in game* However in all these sorts of photoshoot pics, what's the one thing you notice about the player in questions jersey? If you, as an organisation, are trying to sell your brand then the last thing you want is your marquee player, the face of your franchise, obscuring part of their jersey (in this case, their number) when he is on TV or going to be snapped for the net or the papers. All arranged photos seem to have players with untucked jerseys it seems. Not surprising this seemed to come at the request of GMs.

I don't even think you need stats (maybe for the man games lost.... and 'man games' also sounds like something really cool, like MAN GAMES 2014! and just being awesome). Do the league not see that they say "Helmets need to stay on. These are an essential piece of equipment, that is designed to protect the head from heavy blows when hitting the boards, the ice, or an errant puck. They must also be kept on during fights, because if they're solid enough to deflect vulcanised rubber or solid ice (which is effectively like concrete), think of what they're doing to peoples' hands... which you know... they kind of need to play this sport." It's ridiculous that they don't see the contradiction.

Yo! What up all? Hope you enjoyed your summers (been a while). I really like RNH, and lets be fair, with the situation Edmonton are in, if they don't sign him for his outstanding potential, they'll pretty much have no one except another kid with less potential and less skill. It's no surprise that with RNH injured to start this season they're most likely going to play Hall centre... their top line winger. Most likely because promoting their second line C won't be good enough/will have drastic knock on effects for the lower order. Their management situation (what is it, like 5 coaches in 6 years?) makes it an unattractive place to go to if you're a prime player. With that in mind, I believe that, whilst the contract is indeed a big risk, it's pretty necessary. (All opinion)

So let White walk despite just losing another d man, and sign two forwards? Not a good idea really

It still amazes me how much North Americans are getting into football/soccer. It's nice to see from a British perspective Now if only you could do the same with rugby! I like that team as well, although would like E in the defensive midfield slot for his occasional long ball peaches.

Not quite true. Tackles can be made anywhere from the neck down as long as the arms are wrapped around. You can hit shoulder to shoulder as long as you wrap the guy up like you said. The choke tackle is huge in the game today, really effective, high body tackle. Good to see you played a great sport though I want it to get bigger in the US. Must admit I only saw the hit on the suspension video and had to agree with everything said by Shanny. It did look like it warranted a ban.

But they could score when those 'great defensive players' who were too busy scoring, left the ice. Not to mention, scoring a tonne of goals doesn't mean you're good defensively it just means you can score. So moot point really. And if you want to make a point of it, Dats is put on the ice to stop people from scoring, by playing in both their end and his own. And compared to what Dats does, they're boring as ****. Axe wasn't disagreeing, he was simply pointing out that Dats IS a once in a lifetime player, which was your criteria before you changed and started talking about points and scoring.

Spend Ericsson's pro career moulding him from a forward into a defenceman. Gets good on defence. Dress him as a forward..... Not to mention Kronwall isn't that stellar offensively. He's just our most-offensive minded dman. Maybe a great passer but not those two. Maybe Rafalski from 4-5 years ago. That'd be good

Darn... got there before me: "Der Kaiser" EDIT: Not to mention Beckenbauer is probably the best defender of all time.

As a stickler for grammar I would tend to agree with vladdy, but I'm actually ok with your usage. Appropriation is actually the key to language rather than meaning or usage. If it's understood then, practically (rather than technically), it's correct/acceptable. And if anyone disagrees they should look to pretty much all 21st century conversation and will more than likely see words and prose that doesn't technically work. But we understand it because we have a fantastic ability as sentient beings to decipher meanings from things that don't work - hence why we can read backwards and understand an intended word from a spelling mistake. Off topic though. On topic, I thought this was a joke when I saw it on Facebook. I guess it's not, and honestly I don't really know what I feel about it. Being in the UK I'm pretty psyched to get to see a lot more outdoor games so I guess I'm okay with it. I just hope they don't take the shine off the Wings/Leafs WC though and just call them all 'The Winter Series' or something. Because then it's just sh**ing all over an event that was supposed to be special for us given the history of the two teams involved. I think the real problem with this league isn't that people are out of touch with fans, or are simply out to make money, but that they don't understand/simply don't care that they're hurting people in the process. That irks me. Yeah it's also worth noting that these won't be tickets at regular pricing. They're prime tickets. How many Rangers fans are going to spend premium price on tickets for two games in one week? And that's only if they're going by themselves. Some people will not bother in those games. I think the others will sell out though, PIT/CHI being the least likely of the rest since it's been done/they don't care about each other enough for it to mean something (as opposed to 2 Cali teams, 2 O6 rivals, 2 Canadian teams, NY/NJ).

Can't say I saw much of all those players but can you please tell me how players like Sammy and Conklin didn't work the first time around? Because one wasn't a top 6, 70 point scorer and one wasn't a stand-on-his-head starter who stole every game? Sammy was clutch, scored good points on a line with great chemistry, and at a snip. Conklin was a backup who helped us to a second consecutive Stanley Cup final. I think they worked first time out. Quincey is a moot point considering he was a prospect when we lost him. You can't really say he didn't work out first time around either. Is it just me, or is this statement the most obvious/pretty redundant statement there is? In jest of course, but I'd like your crystal ball which says not all the big teams will win it, but maybe one will. Lol I think 4 teams will win the cup this year! Hehe again I jest.

From what I heard in Tampa recently, there have been suggestions to buy-out Vinny. Not sure Yzerman would do that though. If he does though, that takes off a lot of pressure

Reading through a lot of these it got me thinking: Does anyone think that Babcock is the reason that Holland doesn't make the big gutsy moves? I mean, from what's been said Babcock is a guy who can take depth guys and make them perform above and beyond themselves each night. So why does Holland have to try and shift everything around to bring in a big name when he can rotate the role guys and get the same results/wait for some rookies to develop? With this in mind, would changing Babcock force Holland's hand to bring in new players, or is it time to get a GM that listens to the demands of his coach? Or do we just leave it and keep qualifying into the post-season whilst looking for the 'right' deal to come along? Conversation starter so please don't have a go at me for suggesting it. EDIT: Also personally I don't think Ruff is an option since we have a great coach, not all that much is wrong, and Yzerman with all his problems in Tampa (I've been out there for the last three weeks and there's a LOT of problems) passed on him... although Yzerman seems a little insane which I personally like in a Manager/Coach/etc

Pretty funny video because Ken Holland kind of seems like that guy that would say "give it here and I'll fix it..... oh it doesn't seem to be working, BUT I can fix it....... hmmmmmmm". But what this shows more is that the video guys at nhl.com have had a LONG summer break and are just dying to post some videos again