StevieY'sguy

Round 1 Template: VAN/CHI: 4- VAN/CHI 4-1 SJS/LAK: 4- SJS/LAK 4-3 DET/PHX: 4- DET/PHX 4-2 ANA/NSH: 4- ANA/NSH 4-2 WAS/NYR: 4- WAS/NYR 4-1 PHI/BUF: 4- PHI/BUF 4-2 BOS/MTL: 4- BOS/MTL 4-3 PIT/TBL: 4- PIT/TBL 4-2 WC Champion: VAN EC Champion: BOS SCF Champion: BOS

Don't worry about Sheahan too much, he hasn't put up many points at ND thus this fall but i attend a CCHA university and i've seen him play 4 or 5 times and he's the real deal, very strong game away from the puck, he'll fit into the Wings system very well and his numbers will come...I'm also good friends with a kid that attended the Wings developmental camp this summer with Sheahan and he said he was very impressed with him and that he's good guy off the ice too...he got into a bit of trouble at the end of last season at ND but it was for drinking and let's be honest who didn't drink and make a few mistakes in college

This "argument" has always baffled me, the guy has 2 Cups as the starting goalie, is top 25 in goal against average all time, is 10th currently and may be 8th all time in wins by the end of this season, 8th all time in playoff wins, 4th all time in playoff shutouts....what more do you want? Did he play most of his career in an organization where one of the greatest to ever put on the pads (sawchuck) already played? yes..Did he play at a time when 4 or 5 of the handful of people who are better than him also played? yes....None of that should diminish what osgood did, if he plays at a time when there weren't 4 or 5 legends his place in history is much more lusterous. The fact of the matter is that if Chris Osgood put up the numbers he has put up in almost any other organization in the NHL save for a few then he is an organization legend...did playing with so many great players help his stats and help his teams be more succesful? absolutely but it helped all of those others players careers as well..How often do you hear people saying that Lidstrom wouldnt have reached the level of success he had if he hadn't had the benefit of playing with so many other great defensive players? almost never, and taking nothing away from Lidstrom but if he played his entire career with a team that never had another HOF or all star d-men on the the team he would not have as many Norris's end of discussion...Just because the Wings have had the luxury of having more all time great players than any other organization other than the Habs shouldn't be a punishment to osgood...the 2nd best goalie the wings have ever had is osgood (behind a guy who would go on the mount rushmore of goalies mind you) and he certainly has the numbers, in a few years he will have a plaque in the HOF...everyone is complicating this way too much, Ozzie deserves to have his jersey in the rafters.

Here's hoping Rolston will retire and come back to coach at his alma mater, Lake Superior State University, we could use the help to return to the glory days! He'd add a whole lot to recruiting that's for sure!

There's some interesting debates to be had here and I am interested into what the consensus is, starting with the 1920s: 1920's Pretty cut and dried, the Ottawa Senators won 4 of the cups in this decade, the town of Montreal won 3 but it was split between the Maroons and Canadiens 1930's this one is a toss up, Detroit won 2 cups in 3 appearances, the Montreal Canadiens won cups in both of their appearances, Chicago won 3 cups in 3 appearances, while Toronto only won one cup but reached the Finals 6 times...even though they couldn't finish the job often, I'm inclined to say Toronto being that they maintained their consistency by appearing in the finals in over half of the finals in the decades. 1940's This on isn't much of a debate, Toronto won 5 cups in 6 finals appearances 1950's It's hard to believe that a team could win 4 cups in a decade and not be called the team of the decade but that is the scenario with the Wings, 4 cups in 5 appearances is very impressive but it pales in comparison to the Canadiens 5 cups in a staggering 9 appearances. 1960's Once again a team with 4 cups in 5 appearances lost out on the title, Toronto takes a backseat to Montreal's 5 cups in 6 appearances 1970's Boston won 2 cups in 5 appearances but Montreal won 6 in 6 appearances case closed. 1980's Edmonton and New York both won 4 cups in 5 appearances so it's basically a tie...For my money Edmonton gets the nod..I know the 80s were full of offensive stats on steroids but I still think the Oiler teams of the 80s are the most offensively gifted team of all time 1990's A parity filled decade but as the only team to reach the finals 3 times in the decade it's gotta be our Wings 2000s The Wings and Devils both won 2 cups in 3 appearances and both lost their other finals in game 7s, i'm interested to see the debate on this one... thoughts?

You can take anyone in the NHL with your team starting play next season, kind of an out there topic but the board has been boring lately Obviously its possible to pick a complete first line along with a goalie or you could pick multiples of one position. My 6 Crosby, Doughty, Keith, Miller, Stamkos, Getzlaf 2 top notch goal scorers, 2 of the best d-men in the game today, a first rate goalie, and a gritty center who can score and most importantly all team players...let's see everyone else's picks

Ovechkin has a hate following because he is a brash, cocky, person who puts up big stats but chokes when the pressure is on...if you have a "look at me" personality then it behooves you to win titles and big games to validate the fact that you act like an a**hole....Look at Michael Jordan and Lebron James, they're equally selfish but MJ has the rings...and thus a much smaller "anti-" following

I love Lidstrom as much as anybody but he is no longer the world's best defenseman, Keith and Doughty have certainly surpassed him and the gap will only continue to grow.....I agree with the criticism of the number 3 ranking of Toews but he is definitely a top 10 player, his games is very reminiscent of Yzerman's in the second half of his career..will probably never win a scoring title but is extremely well rounded. In my opinion the biggest omission to the top 15 is Getzlaf.

Have you ever considered that maybe the reason the NHL isn't making billions of dollars in America is due to the fact that most American sports fans have a terrible case of Attention Defecit Disorder and can only stand to see 10 seconds of continous action at a time (like you find in baseball and football) that invlove steroid enhanced animals trying to rip each others heads off or throwing a ball faster than a car only to watch another steroid enhanced freak hit that missile 500 feet? Because I do...hockey doesn't have the biggest or the strongest athletes, in fact part of the reason that makes it such a great sport is that you don't have to start out by being blessed with freakish size or strength to play it.... hockey will never be a top 2 sport in America and thus will never have the priveliged TV rights, adequate time of Sportscenter, etc. not because it is being marketed wrong, or because it is an inferior sport, but because the mass audience is largely made up of people who are too impatient or ignorant to realize what a great spectator sport it can be and have too may false pre concieved notions about it...it's just a sign of the times we live in. ( remember there was a time when most thought the world was flat, but that wasn't because the few scientists "in the know" were presenting their ideas "wrongly").

Ovechkin can jump around after scoring and perform pre-concieved goal celebrations and he is celebrated for displaying emotion and a love of the game..Crosby throws his gloves off and jumps after scoring a goal that clinched an Olympic gold medal (a bigger goal than OV has ever scored) and he is a smug cocky *******. Ovechkin makes brash statements on a regular basis and he is just speaking his mind..Crosby makes a statement saying he is surprised the game was that close (which shows that 1. he is even admitting he didnt give the US enough credit and 2. he is at least being honest, and i can't argue with him...given the rosters the game shouldn't have been that close) and you idiots jump all over that one statement and ignore seconds later when he said their win was a team effort and that it wasn't all about him, that anyone else on his team could've been the one to score, everybody worked hard and they really came together as a team, etc. You people see everything through a tainted view, there's no sense in arguing with you....As far as him getting attention here's his resume since 2003 : 2003: National Champion w/ Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) 2004: First player in history to win QMJHL Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, Top Scorer in same season 2004 and 2005: CHL MVP 2005: QMJHL Champion, Memorial Cup runner up, led Memorial Cup tournament in scoring 2005: Wins Gold Medal at World Junior Championship 2006:Youngest player to win a World Championship scoring title, named WJC Best Forward 2007: Becomes youngest player to ever win a North American pro sports scoring title (Art Ross Trophy), as well as the youngest winner of the Lester B. Pearson Trophy, the youngest to be named to the NHL First-Team and wins the NHL MVP ( Hart Trophy) 2008: Ties for NHL playoff scoring lead with Henrik Zetterberg, makes first SCF appearance 2009: Leads NHL playoffs in goals scored, becomes only second player in 13 years to top 30 points in a playoff run, becomes youngest captain to ever win the Stanley Cup 2010: Averages a point per game, and has 2 game winning goals for Canada during Olympic Winter Games, including Gold-Medal winning goal in Overtime vs. the United States in the most watched television event in Canadian History There's not one other hockey player in the world who can match the combination of team and individual success that Crosby has had over that time period (and he's still only 22!!) so I'm sorry but I have to disagree when people say he shouldn't be the NHL's number 1 posterboy.

I love the response lol but I believe he was talking about Russia and Ovie

for all of those LGW "experts" who saw Russia "shutting down" Canada and all of those who are ready to anoint Ovechkin as the second coming of Christ: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

It's more delightful than i had imagined

I may be a bit biased seeing as the guy who scored in the first clip this did it for my hometown minor league team on the same ice surface that I grew up playing hockey on, and even though they are not NHL player on NHL goalie, as far as two players playing on the same level I think these are both better than Pav's famous goal:

Fedorov is certainly carrying his weight but anyone who says that from top to bottom Russia has more talent than Canada is a fool, end of discussion. This is shaping up to be a hell of a matchup I'd be shocked if a goal in the last 4 or 5 minutes doesn't decide it, although I would find it absolutely delightful if Canada won in an absolute blowout like the last time a Crosby team played an Ovechkin team in an elimination game... I really hope Canada and America meet up in a North American final, just to show the world that the best hockey on the planet undoubtedly resides on this side of the pond..If that happend I wouldn't be too upset either way, I'm an American but both of the places i've lived/live in my life are within 15 minutes of a bridge to Canada (I'm currently residing within 100 yards of the toll booth for the bridge actually) and thus, I've spent much more time over the border than most and have nothing but good things to say about Canada, it also doesn't hurt that my all-time favorite player picked the team and my favorite players play for the big red leaf...

I don't see how you can complain about Babcock really, it's not like they got ran out of town by the U.S.A., Team Canada outplayed the U.S. big time and had wayyyyy more scoring chances, they just didn't get the bounces and as we all know, that's just sometimes the way it goes in this game...the 1980 team got their ass handed to them in every facet of the game vs. the USSR but got a couple pretty special bounces and the rest is history ( Now their coach, Tikhonov deserved some blame...if he never makes one of the most boneheaded moves in hockey in pulling Tretiak, the best goalie in the world, then the U.S. adds a silver medal instead of a gold to their count, no questions asked..)

Then so is Datsyuk: .64 career playoff points per game..Thornton has been in the league 12 years and is labeled a choker because he is one of the top NHL players year in year out during the regular season and has yet to win a cup? Need I remind you of a player who was one of the top NHL players year in and year out and questions about if he had what it took to lead a team to a cup led to him being floated in trade rumors until he won a cup in his 14th season and all of those questions vaporized?? His name was Steve Yzerman...let's lay off applying the choker label to Thornton until he retires ringless.

I agree, I'd throw Fleury in today...there's no reason to wear out Luongo and who knows, if Fleury looks sharp tonight and against Russia or Sweden Luongo gets off to a slow start (i.e. 2 goals in the first period or something) then you have the option of throwing in a goalie who has seen the ice recently, because as I see it now Brodeur is on the shelf for good

Could not agree more, I'm a huge Brodeur fan and even I thought Luongo was the better choice but as you said he would have been crucified if Luongo had got the start in the USA game and the USA ended up winning, no questions asked...this move gives Canada a better shot at the gold...they will have to beat Russia, Sweden and probably the United States to win it all and if they do than they will certainly have earned it...

I'm not necessarily saying i don't think he was as good in the 90s, but if the Norris is an award built on reputation as you say, then doesn't it further my point that Lidstrom really lucked out playing the last decade or so without another all-time great defenseman to contend with for the Norris trophy?? Ray Bourque won 5 playing the vast majority of his career with another one of the top 10 defenseman of all time in Chelios along with other Hall of Famer's in Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey in the game at their peaks...Lidstrom's biggest competititon over the years have probably been Niedermayer and Pronger, which as I said before just aren't the same echelon of competition that the stars of the 80s and 90s had to contend with. Is Lidstrom better than all of them? Probably (although I would say he has a photo finish to edge Bourque), but I think the fact that he had no real competition in his prime era may have boosted his image a tad higher than it really is.

You gotta love a Michigan boy standing on his head in front of the world!! Along with 3 of the U.S.'s 5 goals coming off of the sticks of Michiganians, where would Team USA be without the hockey greatness of the mitten!!!

Great post, it should also be noted that Nick didn't win his first Norris trophy until Bourque's final season and at a time when greats such as Bourque, Chelios, and Brian Leetch were well on the downside of their careers...Nick had the luxury of hitting his prime at time where they werent any other all time great D-men to compete with..Niedermayer and Pronger will probably be hall of famers but were nowhere near the level of competition for Nick that the above mentioned guys were to each other.......also the goals per game over Orr's healthy 9 years was 6.16 while Nick's era was/is 5.84..a decrease in scoring yes, although not nearly as remarkable as has been suggested....

Show me hard evidence and numbers to support your claim that there was about a 3 goal per game average difference from 8 to 5 between Orr's generation to Lidstrom's and I can start to buy your arguement....I'm not here to drag this topic even further away from it's title (if that's even possible) but Esposito, Mikita and especially Bobby Hull are all in a higher echelon than Peter Forsberg....

I'd say he was a very big part of it, and Lidstrom wasn't the reason the Wings were great either but he was likewise a very big part of it...people will argue that part of the reason that Orr had so many points was that he played with scorers like Esposito and Bucyk and that his defensive skills are overblown because he put up great offensive numbers...although that may be (partly) true, does anyone think that it might be possible that Lidstrom's defensive skills may be overrated slightly as well?? Now I am in no way knocking Lidstrom at all, he is clearly one of the best to man the blueline, and certainly is the best defenseman of this generation but let's face it the guy did play with 4 other current or future Hall of Fame defenseman (Fetisov, Coffey, Chelios, Murphy) and on 6 teams that produced Selke Winners, not to mention on the team that utilized the left wing lock that was so effective for so many years and always had top notch goaltenders behind him... few defenseman in NHL history (if any) could have had many more luxuries than those...

Points were not "a hell of a lot easier to come by" back when Orr played: Orr played 9 full length seasons in the NHL and during that span the NHL's scoring champion averaged 123.22 points. Nick has played 16 full length completed seasons (i didn't include the shortened 94-95 season or this uncompleted season) and during the span of his career the NHL's scoring champion has averaged 119.75 points..so even if you take it at surface value that is a very small discrepancy between point totals....BUT if you consider that during 2 of Orr's 9 full seasons he was the leading scorer in the league (which unfarily counts against him in this instance) and use the 2nd leading scorer in the league's total in place of Orr's; than the average NHL scoring champion's point total for Orr's 9 full seasons comes out to be exactly 120 points.......so I would have to disagree that an average of .25 points a season can justify the remark that points were " a hell of alot easier to come by" in Bobby's Orr's NHL than Nick Lidstrom's here are the NHL scoring leaders for the season's I'm referring to: 66-67: Mikita 97 pts 67-68: Mikita 87 pts 68-69: Esposito: 126 69-70: Orr 120 (2nd place was Esposito at 99 pts.) 70-71: Esposito 152 71-72: Esposito 117 72-73: Esposito 130 73-74: Esposito 145 74-75: Orr 135 (2nd place was Esposito at 127 pts.) 91-92: Lemieux 131 pts 92-93: Lemieux: 160 93-94: Gretzky 130 95-96: Lemieux 161 96-97: Lemieux 122 97-98: Jagr 102 98-99: Jagr 127 99-00: Jagr 96 00-01: Jagr 121 01-02: Iginla 96 02-03: Forsberg 106 03-04: St. Louis 94 05-06: Thornton 125 06-07: Crosby 120 07-08: Ovechkin 112 08-09: Malkin 113