stud_defenseman

I am putting Sammy on the second line to make the lines more balanced. Franzen and Z would get along fine with him. The third line would be much more dangerous. I am not saying that Sammy deserves to be on the 2nd line according to his skill level, but that is not how lines are always created in the NHL. If that was the case Homer wouldn't have always been on the top line last year. What is key is to make sure all the lines mesh well together and every player can be effective in his own way. Why people would want ot put him in a checking line roll is beyond me because he simply cannot fill that roll. He is effective as a scoring forward in a support role (eg. put him on a line with a great player and he will do well). I don't think it's that Babcock has a hard-on for him as much as he knows how to use his roster effectively.

How is that a no-brainer? Why would you put the best pure winger on the team, one who has a history of not performing while being the best player on his line, on a line with two largely unproven players. It's not as if they haven't split Z and Dats apart before, now they have even better guys to play with. Franzen - Zetterberg - Cleary, Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa...

This is my nice and balanced line-up. No one will like it because Sammy is on the second line, but I wanted to make a more dangerous third line. Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa Franzen - Zetterberg - Samuelsson Cleary - Filppula - Hudler Maltby - Draper - Kopecky / Helm / McCarty Lidstrom - Rafalski Stuart - Kronwall Lilja - Lebda Cheli / Meech / Ericsson The top two lines are going to get equal ice-time, so don't worry about Zetterberg losing time. Even though Sammy is going to be playing on the second line he isn't going to get PK minutes, and very few PP minutes so he is still going to be playing like 16 min a night. He plays well with Z, so it's a good fit. This gives us a very dangerous third line. Best of all, we are extremely deep down the middle. We are going to win like 63.7% of the faceoffs.

your english is actually pretty decent....<--- coming from someone who has a Master's degree in English Lit. you can atleast spell the player's names better than a lot of people on this forum. Spelling Zetterberg as Zetterburg is pretty much blasphemy in my books.

It's amazing how opinions can change so quickly

One question: By Signing a player to a 2-way contract does he take up a roster spot. If this is true then how does it make sense to sign both McCarty and Downey (and possibly even Cheli) to 2-way contracts if they are all going to take up a valuable roster spot. We would have to move guys, not only to stay under the cap, but to remain at 23 guys. At the moment we have 20 Datsyuk Hossa Zetterberg Holmstrom Franzen Cleary Filppula Samuelsson Hudler Draper Maltby Kopecky (Helm can play in GR) Lidstrom Rafalski Kronwall Stuart Lilja Lebda (Ericsson and Meech can play in GR) Osgood Conklin So if they really want to sign Quincey, Cheli, McCarty, Downey something has gotta give. I would simply wait to see whether D-Mac or Downey accepts the 2-way offer and then tell the other one too bad you missed your chance. I don't know what the hell they are going to do about Quincey and Cheli. You can sign Cheli to a league minimum and he can sit in the press box for half the games. With Quincey it makes no sense to sign a decent young player like that and then make him sit for half the games, and since GR is not an option with waivers that would be what he would have to do. One of Lilja or Lebda would have to be traded. Lebda makes like nothing so it wouldn't make sense to move him when we are right up against the cap. Lilja was JUST signed to a contract so that wouldn't exactly be good sense to move him. Solution to this whole mess: Sign D-Mac OR Downey to a 2-way contract. Sign Cheli for league minimum. Let Quincey go, we have tons of defensemen. What could we even get for Lilja anyways, a 3rd or 4th round draft pick? So basically we would be trading Lilja for Quincey and a 4th round pick. Doesn't seem to be that great of a benefit for possibly making your team less welcome towards FA's. We now have a 22 man roster with guys like Helm, Meech, Ericsson to back us up if we hit some injuries.

If Sundin doesn't come back the leafs are going to have a severe lack of leadership on their team, with probably Kaberle being the most likely to be Captain. Sadly, he is probably one of the least outspoken players on the team, and while we can relate to this with Lidstrom, who is one to lead by example and provide some vocal leadership here and there, I do not get this feeling from Kaberle.

Lol, I put Kubina's name on there just to take up some space. I didn't realize that he would actually have been under consideration for the captaincy.

I think Bure will get in. He was just way too good. I agree with everyone else you said. If Mogilny had stayed healthy in his career he would be in as well. But he didn't, so he won't.

How about Kronan the Barbarian? Or Kronner the Barbarian? Something to that effect.

I don't experiment too much with microbrews or many imports, but I like to change it up a bit. Out of the bottle: Alexander Keith's IPA, Canadian, Coors Light, Sleeman Original, Miller Genuine Draft, Moosehead. Out of the can: Canadian, Coors Light. Draft: Keith's IPA, Canadian, Coors Light. Can't go wrong with Canadian, Coors Light in any form. Stuff that sucks: Labatt's Blue, Corona, Heineken, Guiness.

That is one of the only things keeping him from being an elite defenseman as well. Give him a few more years to polish up his skating and passing and he will be great. It will probably take the retirement of Lidstrom however before he finally starts getting the minutes and the recognition for his abilities.

He won't get in on the first try, but I think he will eventually. Gilmour will get in too.

double post.

2 more years and he is going to start being mentioned with the top defenseman in league. 5 more years and I bet he is going to be a norris trophy candidate. Maybe I'm just being a homer, but to me he seems really really really good. He won't be a Lidstrom, but he will be our number one guy once Lids retires.

L.A should go for him, they need to spend some more money.

Though I have never been able to watch a GR game as I live in Toronto I have been for the last few years reading up on our prospects and following their progression. One player who I am curious about is Kindl. Two years ago he was projected to be potentially a #1 or #2 D-man as he was excellent in the OHL, but now he seems to have taken a step back since joining the AHL. Is it still generally accepted that he is going to be able to step up into a prominent role in the NHL or is it begining to look like he may not have what it takes. His stats last year were far from impressive, but I'm hoping someone can give me some insight as to why they think he might be struggling, and if it looks like this is something he can turn around in the upcoming season.

thanks guys.

There is a good chance McCabe will be watching from the pressbox and not even playing. No way in hell he will get the captaincy.

I do watch a lot of leafs games. I'd give it to Steen I think before Stajan. Neither of them are likely to get it though.

haha, start a thread up. What stats do you try to predict? Just goals and assists? Or do you stretch it out to GP, PIM,+/-?

With bringing in Hossa all of a sudden Detroit has added another player, who alongside Datsyuk and Zetterberg will eat up 21 minutes a night. There are also guys like Filppula and Hudler who will also likely be picking up more minutes as they continue to improve. Where are all these extra minutes going to come from?!? A guy like Maltby who has seen his play decline in the last few years and averaged 12 minutes of ice time last year is definetly going to see a big decrease. With all the penalty killers we have, and our new offensive additions Draper will also likely be seeing a decrease in ice time. With how talented our top players are I can see the wings becoming essentially a 3 line team (which is not necessarily a bad thing). I know it is ridiculous to try to predict what our lineup will be, but this is just an estimate. I am working on the assumption that Z and Dats will be split up and Flip will be used as a 3rd line center. Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa Franzen - Zetterberg - Cleary Sammy - Filppula - Hudler Helm - Draper - Maltby The top line should average 19 min per night (Holmstrom will have less than Hossa and Dats). The second line should average around 18 (Franzen and Cleary would have less than Z). The third line should get around 16. That leaves the 4th line with only 7 or 8 minutes of ice time per night if you factor in the extra time that overtime offers. This simply is not going to work. It's kind of sad that after winning a stanley cup, players who proved themselves will end up getting the shaft, but that's business I guess. Who will end up losing out?

Still, with that extra 1.5 million that could have been what we needed to get Hossa signed next year. Then if the cap went up again we still probably could afford to pay Filppula when his contract comes due.

Yea, it's gonna be pretty sad during our home opener when we play the leafs... Potential Starting Lineup for Detroit. Datsyuk - Zetterberg - Hossa Lidstrom - Rafalski total points last season = 380 Toronto (If Sundin doesn't return) Blake - Steen - Antropov Kaberle - Kubina total points last season = 243 I am definetely going to make my own stat predictions this year as well

Sorry if something like this has already been posted, I am very lazy and don't feel like looking back . If Filppula's contract goes to arbitration how much will he be awarded? On the other hand, if Holland get him signed before it goes to arbitration what will the contract look like? Feel free to provide your arguments to your numbers. My predictions. Arbitration: 2.5 million per season No-Arbitration: 8 million / 4 years. I don't think he is going to make near as much as some of the people on LGW seem to think.