Datsyerberger

Yea, I just read that a moment ago. Some of the people in that thread are ridiculously moronic, which is why I don't post on hfboards. The fact is that all of the top forwards in the West are underrated due to the more defensive style of play.

Sweet god, this has been a ridiculously screwed up game. Keep in mind I watch this as an unbiased observer because I greatly enjoy O6 matchups. Penalties have been back and forth for both teams... five, count them, FIVE 5 on 3s against the Rangers. And it's not like they've been playing undisciplined. The refs are calling the piddliest little s*** I've seen since I saw Dan O'Halloran officiating in the playoffs. The most recent 5 on 3 (which the Hawks scored on) came about from a slash call on a stick check.. a ******* stick check. No drop, no breakage.. just stick on stick contact to keep the guy from playing the puck. To be fair (well, sort of), the Blackhawks have been taking plenty of penalties, too. After that 5 on 3, when it was 5 on 4, they gave an absolutely BS holding call which I've little doubt was a weak make-up call against the Hawks. I can't stand it when a great matchup is turned into an officiating contest. It's officiating like this that make people rip on the refs. Amazing the game is only 2-2. /end rant

It's not an exact science, but I'd think its reasonable Dats could end up with around 110 with similar ice time to Malkin if he were in the east. As a second part of this, you should compare their PKTOI/g and PK goals against and see who has the more effective PK time. You could compare their TA:GA and hits and SBs as well, but... Wait, does Malkin play much on the PK?

It was just another great matchup trashed by awful officiating, DG. Flashback to the Pens/Wings game earlier this year.

In a twist of irony, the Rangers get a PP in OT from a slash on the stick and score. This whole game has been bad karma, man. Those refs are gonna reincarnate as cockroaches a few times.

Hossa might take a large discount to stay, but keep in mind a large discount off of his contract is still more than the possible 4-5 million Franzen could make.

Don't worry, I care. Sorta. I mean, I despise the ducks less now that Burke is gone. Once Pronger is out I'll be able to tolerate them. That situation though? Yeck. Thanks Burke. Step 1: Pray Step 2: Curse Burke's name Step 3: Cry Seriously though, I don't know the Ducks terribly well, but I can take a stab at this. Well, instead of just looking at all the UFAs, let's look at your core: Teemu -- Old, but can still light the lamp Ryan Getzlaf -- Owns Corey Perry -- Irritating little f*** Chris Kunitz -- Reliable 2nd liner Bobby Ryan -- Skilled prospect Ryan Carter -- Decent grinder? I don't really know enough about him/his play Chris Pronger -- Well, he's Pronger. That's good for the Ducks and bad for everyone else. JSG -- Solid goalie, whether its the pads, skill, or some combination of both. Jonas Hiller -- Has performed quite well with his time so far That's actually not a terrible core that's signed, so not all is bleak. You sure don't have to worry about goaltending, you still have a #1 d-man, a goalscoring forward, an up-and-coming 2nd/1st liner in Ryan, an experienced player in Kunitz, and an agitator in Perry. Pardon me if I completely hose this: Perry - Getzlaf - Salami Kunitz - () - Ryan (maybe swap Ryan and Salami? Depending on Salami's ability to stay healthy..) () - Carter - () Pronger - () () - () () - () Giggy Hiller Well, the good news is you have a mostly intact top 6, except a 2nd line center. You have a #1 D-man but nothing else. Now let's toss in some of your UFAs. Perry - Getzlaf - Salami Kunitz - () - Ryan Moen - Pahlsson - (Rob) (Remember Rob's production tends to pick up in the playoffs) () - Marchant - Parros (Long live the stache, and only if Marchant signs cheap) Huskins Pronger - Beauchemin (Pretty sure you can get him back) (Scott?) - Pelican.. er Hedican (IF you get Scott back, awesome, though its understandably quite unlikely) Montador - () So, if you manage to snag most of your UFAs and ditch the guys you dont want, you're in the hunt for: 2nd line offensive center 4th line player, vet grinder or talent in the system? #3 ofensive D-man #5/6 D-man Possibly a little more if you can't get everyone, but no major pieces Screw Morrison I don't know enough about your RFAs or Bodie Hopefully you have some talent in the system to fill in some gaps, I don't know the Ducks prospects well. The Ducks cap situation is actually pretty good for all of this, you're keeping a lot of good talent for relatively cheap contracts and you're losing your albatrosses. If you can manage to keep the UFAs you want and fill in the gaps with good pieces, the Ducks actually have the potential to be a rather scary team next year. Sorry if I just made a complete ass of myself, with some of the player's positions and what not, but I thought I'd take a whack at it.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band

It's more painful than you think. If Z is back at a reasonable contract (say anywhere between Pavel money to 7.5m/yr) then, even if you get rid of Sammy, Lilja, Chelios, and Hossa and replace them with .5/yr players, you can only keep one of Franzen or Hudler if you keep Flip as well, and even that's a tight fit.. Realistically, we're only likely to keep: Z and one of Franzen, Hudler, or Flip Or if we're lucky, Z and two of Hudler, Franzen, or Flip, If Holland is God, Z and all 3, or Z and Hossa and one of those 3. My ideal realistic keeper is Z and Hudler, and if we can get one more, throw in Franzen. However, it's possible Franzen draws a very large contract, and if that does happen, I can live with Hudler and Flip.. I'm not gonna complain about 2 skilled young players. Franzen - Dats - Homer Hudler - Z - Leino? or ZDH Hudler - Flip - Leino?

I doubt Lidstrom retires, simply because he has no reason to. He still seems to enjoy the game, he's still quite healthy, he can still log obscene minutes, he's still near the top of his form. Also, since his family lives/is raised in the burbs and his kids are going to school here he has little reason to want to move. Perhaps I'm wrong and he wants to retire, but I just don't see it as likely, at least not yet. I think more interesting speculation would be how much he re-signs for after this contract expires.

It's threads like this that make me wish people would read the entire thread before posting. 2-3 pages in multiple people have shown the math it would require to keep just Hossa and Zetterberg or Zetterberg and Franzen or any combination of Franzen, Hudler, Zetterberg, Hossa, and Flip. And of course people post another page and a half of fantasy situations of keeping Hossa and Z with other players as well even though people have shown that even if they take less than Pavel money, it will still be hard to get a 22 man team under the cap, much less a 22 man team with those 2, and Franzen OR Hudler OR Flip. Edit: Eh, I'm cranky. Just got done working out an irritating server problem.

I think Matt's guesstimate is reasonable. I'm currently sitting on long term (7 years, that puts him at 35 when it expires) at $7.45, probably frontloaded. He's then eligible for an 'old guy' contract afterwards, takes a discount because he's the captain, you know.. Frankly, I'll be happy if Matt's cap number is closer than mine.

They said "in the ballpark" not exactly that number. So, I'm going to throw out a guess that's "in the ballpark" (rather long term and similar numbers) Frontloaded contract at $7.45m/yr for 7-8 years, anyone?

I remember hearing about this one guy once, all scarred up back when real men played without helmets. Chucksaw or something.

Irish Drinking Song - Buck-O-Nine (It's not my fault if Rucker can't spell "Drinking")

We just need to put St. Patrick in the net for our opponents to exorcise those snakes.

Uhhhhhh make up uuhhhh call uhhhh for uhhhh sure there, eh?

Hey, if they're getting it done at ES..

Lol, I love how I can see a Wing make a slick move driving through center ice through a pair of defenders, get the puck tapped twice, still keep it, take a shove, make a backhand pass to a teammate and say "That must be Datsyuk" and be right 98% of the time.

I repost with corrections: Is it just me, or has Homer, Datsyuk, Hossa, Lidstrom, Raffi, Chelios, Lilja, Stuart, Kronwall, Kopecky, Filppula, Sammy, Draper, Hudler, Franzen, Zetterberg, Maltby, and Cleary been invisible?

Whew.. Draper.. non-EN.. Where does LGW keep the defibs?

HOLY ******* HELL DRAPER?!?!?! AHHHHHHHHH RUN FOR THE HILLS, THE APOCALYPSE IS UPON US. SAVE YOURSELF FROM HEEEEEEELLLLL

While it's a valid argument, please don't get it going here too

Don't get too hyped on Konnan, I did it too. "Is it just me, or has Homer, Datsyuk, Hossa, Lidstrom, Raffi, Chelios, Lilja, Stuart, Kronwall, Kopecky, Filppula, Sammy, and Cleary been invisible? (Worth a shot) rolleyes.gif" ...Technically.

Lol, the announcer at the Kings pronouncing Flip's named "Fil-POOOOO-luh"