Yzerfan1999

Yeah, thats for sure Horcoff. The only reason I could see them effing that up is they mean this Rymsha kid took the shot and thats Horcoff just trying to pound in the rebound or something...but maybe I am giving them too much credit hah.

While I don't agree with that exact order, those are the top 6 players in the game. No doubt.

What about Zetterberg? Not that I think he will be traded by any means, but if he is not signed sooner rather then later, the trade deadline is going to be scary. I would hate to see it go to July 1 with Hank.

The Helm-love that many of this forums posters are displaying comes from what Darren gave the Wings during the playoffs this past spring. Kopecky's shot at playoff hockey last year was not impressive in the least. Helm took advantage of important playing time, whereas Kopecky didn't. I agree its unfair to completely judge Kopecky as a player at this point in his career, but based on what Helm brought to the team in the playoffs last year, I would be more inclined to pencil him into the line-up then Kopecky.

Relax. Its the offseason. There isn't much else to talk about.

How old are you?

Here is the link TSN Good deal by the Sens IMO. Meszaros wanted far too much.

God this just makes me nervous thinking about an extension. Why isn't Holland getting this done before the season starts? Its my nightmare to see Zetterberg become a UFA.

Thanks Yoda. Yeah, I would say that Crosby was outplayed by a couple of players on the Wings in the playoffs last year. Crosby would be rated much higher if he had not gone down with an injury last year. It will be really interesting to see the Crosby vs. Ovechkin comparison after this season is done.

The whole of the WNBA speaks English, and nobody cares about them either. Sad to say, but its not a language barrier, its a sex barrier. Making these women speak English won't help them. The best case scenario would be for the LPGA to turn out like womens tennis, where many of the female players are foreign and speak little English, and none are suspended for not knowing the language - they get attention because of their mini-skirts, but I just don't see the LPGA mimicking the success of womens tennis...ever. And your comment that 45/120 foreign players are South Korean, along with the fact that 11 of the top 30 money leaders are S Korean makes me think the LPGA should stop worrying about making them all speak English and start hiring foreign translators to work with the players. If they really want to make these women speak English, it seems like forcing them isn't the way to go. Why not hire several ESL teachers to provide free lessons to the players. They should be helping their athletes, not scolding them because they come from different countries.

I like the sounds of this Larsson kid, but I think he is at least 5 years away. Osgood will be our goalie for the next couple of years, then I see Howard taking over for two seasons. If he can't prove himself then, it will be Larsson's turn. Howard will get the first shot at the starters position, but I think the Wings are sitting pretty being able to bank on Larsson if Howard never works out. One of those guys will turn into a starter capable of winning with the Wings, just like Osgood.

Sorry, those were just examples of other widely spoken languages in the world. I could have said Mandarin, Cantonese, or Japanese. In this case maybe Korean was appropriate seeing as there are so many Koreans in the LPGA. I was just saying its a dick move to make it a requirement that all LPGA players speak English and then suspending them if they don't pass the test whe. Whats wrong with a translator for tournaments? I doubt half of those women live in the United States year round. Odds are they return home when tournaments are finished. Nevertheless, I think its an unnecessary request to force all of them to take English lessons with such a severe punishment for not complying.

Too bad your 'respect' has no bearing on anyones trade value. For the record, you can hate Crosby and think he is overrated - but if you think Toews or Kane -who are going to be great players, don't get me wrong - are better then Crosby, well...you must not watch a lot of hockey.

I said Cleary...but I was assuming we were down a goal in the final seconds. In that case I would rather have Cleary on the ice to score a goal rather then Drapes. But if we were protecting a lead in the final seconds, I guess I would go with Draper.

Jesus, am I the only one who find this ridiculous? What sense does it make to suspend these players for not being fluent in English? Help their professional development? Bulls***. If they are forcing foreigners to learn English at the risk of suspension by claiming it helps their professional development, the same should be done for the American players. Make them learn German, French or Spanish to further THEIR prof. development too. I understand the importance of being able to understand English, especially if the tour is mainly in N America, but this comes across as a bit pig headed to me.

That would have been AMAZING! Lucky kid!

I used Bourque as an example. You are right, there is no comparison. No where in that post did I deny Bourque's HOF position, nor did I compare him to Kariya - he was merely a tool to prove a point that they don't consider loyalty when they put you in the hall.

You bring up a good point, and I completely respect team loyalty - but I don't think they consider the character of a player in that sense when they decide who goes into the hall. The only thing they will look at relating to Kariya's character is the fact that he won a couple of Lady Byng's, which actually helps his cause. If they were that serious about loyalty, a guy like Ray Bourque, who ditched Boston after two decades just to win a Cup in Denver, would have been looked down upon. Don't get me wrong, I think loyalty and respect for the game and your team should be part of the process, but I just don't get the idea that they frown upon guys leaving a team for a big paycheck or a Cup. Its more about the stats for them.

I didn't say that, or maybe I worded it poorly. I was commenting on your method of HOF judgment. I don't think I ever even mentioned Andreychuk's name, I was simply outlining a loose personal guideline for HOFers. And btw, Andreychuk's best year was 1993-94 when he scored 53 goals and had 99 points in 83 games - not 1992-93. Do I think he is a first or second ballot HOFer? No, but he will get in eventually. And what is this postseason all-star team you keep bringing up? I have never seen or heard of such a thing. EDIT- Sorry, I think I am confused by your usage of 'postseason'. Do you mean All-Stars named AFTER the season is said and done, or do you mean some sort of playoff All-Star team?

Absolutely not, but close to 250-300 is not out of the question. Take a look at their points per game. Pretty close with Kariya slightly ahead at 1.022 to Sundin's 1.005. I am not saying he will surpass Sundin's point totals, but their careers are pretty similar if you ask me. Both were elite players at some point, both have Olympic gold medals, but Kariya has more first (3) and second (2) All-Star team namings, two Lady Byngs, an Olympic Silver and the Hobey Baker Award. Sundin was never selected as a starter for an All-Star game, and was a second team All Star twice. That kind of puts the idea that Kariya was never considered an elite player in the last decade and Sundin has on thin ice, at least not according to the fans.

How can you make all these arguments using stats, and then turn around and simply claim something like "he was never considered that good relative to his peers"? According to who? You? You use stats religiously to form your arguments, but now you just say "he generally wasn't considered one of the top 5 players at his position" to decide whether a guy gets into the hall. For me its much simpler. If he was a premier player - meaning one of the top 10-15 players in the league for the better part of a decade, has 500+ goals or 1000+ points, along with a Stanley Cup and a couple of personal awards - then he gets in the hall.

Never would have happened. Pocklington wanted MONEY for Gretzky to keep the remainder of the Oilers afloat. He thought, possibly incorrectly, that it was financially impossible to keep Gretz. in Edmonton, and getting cash in return helped him salvage 2 or 3 more years of good hockey in Edmonton. That or he needed the cash for his other business ventures. I don't think he was all that interested in getting fair value in hockey players back.

What just happened. I don't quite understand your post.

Nieuwendyk was able to. Career stats and achievements; Awards * ECAC's First All-Star Team - 1986, 1987 * All-American - 1986, 1987 * Calder Trophy - 1988 * NHL All-Rookie Team - 1988 * King Clancy Memorial Trophy - 1995 * Conn Smythe Trophy - 1999 * NHL All-Star Game - 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994 * Winter Olympics Gold Medal Hockey Men's - 2002 * Stanley Cup - 1989(Calgary Flames), 1999(Dallas Stars), 2003(New Jersey Devils) Career Statistics NHL Totals 1257 564 562 1126 677 158 66 50 116 91 International Play Played for Canada in: * 1986-87 National Team * 1986 World Junior Championships (Silver medal) * 1990 World Championships * 1998 Winter Olympics * 2002 Winter Olympics (Gold medal) * all from Wikipedia He seems like a no brainer to me. Same goes for Recchi. His stats are better then Joe's GP G A PTS PIM GP G A PTS PIM NHL Totals 1,410 522 859 1,381 942 140 47 70 117 77