BlakKy

That tastes bad.

That last assist is going to disappear. Puck def hit Hudler and Fil.

I'm sure he's cool being a young rich dude.

Looks alright with a couple of surprises i'd say. I'd prolly have Yzerman and Datsyuk play centre but w/e. OHH and also... she is hot.

Can't take credit for that but man I love it... and i don't even hate Crosby.

Sometimes I'm not sure... but if he can do it... good for him. Although I do feel Bert can contribute still when he has his moments of clarity.

Ok just for the guys around here who want to see Parise on the team at the deadline. What do we give to the Devils for a name like that? I would love to see Parise come here but Holland and Illitch are more 'Billy Bean' types. Numbers and dollars as opposed to name collecting.

I do post there occasionally, it's not the same though.

The Hudler for picks argument was always dumb. The chance of Hudler producing well at the drop of a hat was always greater than the chance of getting an equally good player in the 4th round... not to mention the fact we'd have to wait 4 years to test that player on NHL ice.

Even though 2 years of oustings by the SJS have just passed I still hate the Ducks more. It's a powerful dislike.

I hate that kessel is doing well this year (always advocated that his acquisition was a mistake) but im happy to see toronto competitive.. especially after moving to the city.

I'd say Lids has to be shooting w/ Homer in front of the net. His shot is by far the most consistent and accurate. Homer will be most effective with that.

Good thread. I miss Mindlfy. The heart and soul of these boards. Eva is no replacement.

Anyone who says he isn't doing the right things this season is lying. See his redirection last night against Minny to exemplify this statement.

Montreal would probably throw things at Santa Claus because he speaks too much english on TV.

I'm greedy and I want Detroit to move east. Even though we traditionally take a dump when we play the Leafs, I want Detroit to play them 6 times a year and allow my friends and I to put aside our differences over a glass of cold, hard facts. Detroit>Toronto and the rest of the East.

Ok com on he has had enough. Easy mistake to make.

http://tsn.ca/blogs/darren_dreger/?id=377001

I first had this as a note on my facebook and encouraged my friends to comment. Got some interesting replies. In the spirit of Trevor's NHL rankings related note I have compiled one myself and am interested in some feedback as well.After a long offseason of making due with pension plan puppets, letsgowings.com and hfboards as my only source of hockey discussion (it is surprisingly lack in Toronto) I have been toying with quite a few thoughts for this season. Not only will I rank teams with as little bias as possible but I will make some BOLD predictions as well. Hopefully you guys will chime in with some of your own. To start, the rankings: * EAST * Washington - 114 (Ovi, Backstrom, Green all due for bounceback seasons. Added Vokoun. On paper they are the best) * Buffalo - 106 (Maybe a little BOLD here... Not the 2006 Sabres but this team is fast and has the defense corp. that most teams in the east wish they had) * Pittsburgh - 101 (No reason why Malkin can't take home an Art Ross. Sid plays well but I don't expect 60 pts at 40 games) * Boston - 101 (After an early hangover the team is righted down the stretch. A system like that makes wins happen out of nothing) * Rangers - 99 (Richards, Gaborik, Dubinsky? could be a tough line at times) * Toronto - 97 (Isn't the 7th or 8th seed a perennial choice for these guys? Well damn that to hell, this is a BOLD prediction. Phaneuf plays a season w/o injury, Kessel scores 40 and Komisarek plays in the A) * New Jersey - 96 (Provided the coach plays a style Kovalchuk can cope with and Parise hasn't lost a step) * Philadelphia - 95 (I don't think the team will deal well with the shakeup. Bryz is more fragile than most think. The Shanahan NHL will make it tough on goonery=P) * -------------------- * Islanders - Streit back and less injuries make for an exciting season * Tampa Bay - Suspect goaltending, (Roloson is 41?) and some stink on the blueline * Montreal - Too small, yep the same problem as always * West * * Vancouver - 115 (The regular season domination will seem less apparent but this team is deeep) * Los Angeles - 110 (Feel like this team has a great talent pool with a lot of players on the upswing. Quick is the real deal) * Detroit - 105 (A system that wins. The young guns improve with Helm drawing attention. As long as Dats, Lidstrom and Zetterberg are on the team it will win the division) * San Jose - 104 (Hard to say if SJ got better this offseason. Burns is enigmatic and despite Heatley's rep he probably didn't make the team worse) * Chicago - 99 (On the cusp of elite. A lot sits on Crawford's shoulders. Toews' intangibles will determine the playoff position for this team) * Anaheim - 96 (Getzlaf and Perry, a wicked duo. Ryan is always consistent and Selanne ages in reverse) * Nashville - 95 (Losing Franson in the offseason in what looks like a total fleecing by the Leafs looks odd to me. Lebda is good for -6 pts in the standings) * Colombus - 94 (Nash and Carter? Maybe. Wiz shores up the D nicely, although the price is steep) * ------------- * Edmonton - Omark dazzles w/ 60 pts (BOLD you say?), a potential Calder winner in Nugent-Hopkins * St. Louis - Looks too talented at times to miss the playoffs every year but this team just can't get it done * Minnesota - Not getting over the hump, but the competition in the West's basement stinks * Some fun yet BOLD predictions: * * Malkin wins the Art Ross after a year off. * Ovechkin takes back the Richard * Malkin nabs the Hart * Tyler Myers wins the Norris in a very tight selection, now that's BOLD * Datsyuk gets the Selke * Lidstrom wins the Lady Byng as a career achievement award of sorts * Shea Weber receives a 10+ game suspension * Matt Cooke is not suspended this year, a BOLD one I know * Datsyuk scores 100+ points for the first time in his career (a little spicy) * Kessel gets 40 goals (as I mentioned before) * Ottawa is last in the east (coincidentally my second most hated team) * Colorado is last in the west (coincidentally my most hated team) * The Winter Classic will be boring, the HBO 24/7 show leading up to it will be good (Tortorella, Pronger, Jagr, Avery...) * * ECF * Buffalo > Toronto (s*** is that ever BOLD on two levels) * WCF * Vancouver > Detroit (The Wings will be beat up after a series with the Ducks in the first round) * SCF * Buffalo > Vancouver (Miller for Conn Smythe. The Sedins are the new Hossa) * Hope you Enjoy. (I apologize for the wonky formatting. Cut and Paste from facebook and all)

I almost predicted that.

I'm happy everyone predicts Tampa to be in the mix. Breaks my heart a little to leave them on the outside. I'm glad everyone likes the predictions for the most part. I actually thought about them a little.

Slow-Mo Love the effect it has on Jim's voice.

Best part is how he wants to win an Art Ross. Stay motivated Pavs.

The photo at 2:39... maybe my favourite modern Wings photo. Where can I find a high res version I think I exhausted zimbio looking for it. Happy Birthday Dats! Truly getting better with age. May many years pass before a new number 13 skates on our ice or the number is sent to the rafters!

Seems to me that if he really was dogging it or lazy some days he'd just admit it. His interviews seem to be about as honest as possible so I think he'd have no problem saying something like "I wasn't motivated in Philadelphia so I stopped trying". Since he hasn't said that I do feel like he may have been given a shorter leash and probably became a skating scapegoat for any internal problems in the locker room because it was easiest to blame him (speaks russian, keeps to himself and costs very little money).