Bring Back The Bruise Bros

I'm thinking Janik and Ericsson on the 3rd defensive pairing..once Salei gets hurt..

I don't see Talbot being a 13th/14th forward...

I agree that most of the players from the Wings/Avs rivalry have moved on, in some way, either retirement or signing elsewhere. Guys that were the fuel to that rivalry (Shanahan, McCarty,Lemieux, Lapointe, Roy, Deadmarsh, Forsberg, etc.) have all moved on. I agree 100% with getting rid of the instigator. The Bruins and Penguins don't become automatic rivals because of the Cooke cheapshot. I think (and hope) there will be further retaliation by the Bruins next year. Remember, McCarty got Lemieux the following year, so the major retaliation doesn't always come right away. With free agency, the possibility for lasting rivalries decrease. The fact that Bettman attends games has no effect on the players whatsoever. Fighting in the NHL has steadily increased since 2005-2006. Not saying that fighting=rivalry. But there's no rivalry if there's not some nastiness.

Never thought this thread would gather so many replies

My girl asked me if the Wings are coming into Buffalo this year, and I looked at the schedule,and guess who's coming to Buffalo right around my birthday Hoping for tickets

Andrew Peters signs with Florida

My girlfriend doesn't understand the obsession yet. The thing that really drove her nuts was the playoff beard last playoffs. I explained it, and she understood, but still didn't like it The only things she really knows is Avery is a pansie and Crosby is a whiny little *****. So she's getting there She also knows about Probert, and understands how much his passing meant to the hockey community. RIP Probie She hasn't picked out a favorite player yet, I'm thinking this year she will

The Washington Post is reporting Eric Belanger has re-signed with the Capitals on a 1-year contract. And Sean Bergenheim has signed with Tampa Bay. Depth signing?

Personally, I love hard-hitting, scrappy hockey. That's the way the game is supposed to be played. The league cares too much about what people outside of "The Hockey World" think. Sure, more goals being scored, in essence, make the game more interesting, in general, but the atrocious amounts of chinky penalties called is ridiculous. The hooks, holds, and interference calls seemingly every other minute disrupt the flow of the game. In my opinion, its not fun to watch a game filled with powerplay after powerplay after powerplay after powerplay, because there's no flow to the game. Stoppages every 2 seconds.

Hopefully guys like Callahan and Archibald impress. This group of prospects is a little meaner than in years past. I'm not am expert on the prospects tournament, but will these guys get AHL contracts if they impress? I remember reading that Callahan could either play in Grand Rapids or go back to the WHL, I believe. If Smith, Ferraro, Zanetti,or Archibald impress, will they get AHL contracts to join the Griffins next year or what?

Well, it'll never be spotless, but there definitely hasn't been any nasty rivalries in recent years. Free agency destroys many chances for rivalries to develop. When is Bettman's tenure up?

Still don't like Claude. I'm itching for another rivalry as heated as that one was. It doesn't even have to involve us, I just wanna have a rivalry like that in the game today.

I think Grabovski is still being shopped around. The defense is stellar. No reason to trade Bauchemin or Komisarek. Burke seems to like Schenn. The defense situation will be interesting. Burke seems to be looking for a top 6 forward with a bit of an edge, and that's what he was after when negotiating a potential Kaberle deal.

Definitely will be worth every penny

Are there photos like these on Amazon?

Boston-Shawn Thornton Buffalo-Steve Montador Toronto-Colton Orr Ottawa-Matt Carkner Montreal-Dustin Boyd Rangers-Brandon Dubinsky Islanders-Zenon Konopka New Jersey-Zach Parise Philadelphia-Dan Carcillo Pittsburgh- Tampa Bay-Nate Thompson Washington-John Erskine Carolina-Tim Gleason Atlanta-Eric Boulton Florida-Stephen Weiss Detroit-Nicklas Lidstrom Chicago-Jonathan Toews St. Louis-Cam Janssen Nashville-Shea Weber Columbus-Jared Boll Calgary-Mark Giordano Vancouver-Shane O'Brien Edmonton-Steve MacIntyre Minnesota-Eric Nystrom Colorado-Brandon Yip Anaheim-Ryan Getzlaf Los Angeles-Matt Greene Dallas-Brenden Morrow Phoenix-Ed Jovanovski San Jose-Kent Huskins

I know, i've said this time and time again, but i'll be fine with Abdelkader fighting, as long as he ditches the helmet before the fight. Fighting with a visor on is a big no-no in my book.

Oh, well pardon me. If he can stay relatively healthy, he'll be an effective shot-blocker, other than that, he won't provide much, like the snarl that Hnidy could.

Hopefully he'll get some regular season playing time in Detroit.

Hopefully Janik gets some playing time. He really proved he can play at the NHL level last year. Salei will miss games, and Janik will take his spot

I'm aware of this...Bottom line is Hnidy would've been a better signing than Salei..

Mike Blunden re-signs with the Jackets. 1-year deal.

In my opinion, Hnidy would have brought more to the team. Granted, Hnidy isn't the most injury-free guy either, but he's a lot meaner and would give us that physical presence i think we lack on defense. I don't think Salei will bring nearly the same edge.

Exactly. Salei isn't known to be the most disciplined defenseman. He had an injury-filled season last year with Colorado, and the guy isn't young anymore. Weren't we talking about getting younger not too long ago? I'm not a big fan of this signing. Shane Hnidy isn't the youngest guy either, but he fits the bill of what we are looking for better than Ruslan Salei does.

What's the situation with Anaheim and Bobby Ryan? Will he be traded? Talks seem to have come to a stand-still. Colorado has yet to get deals done with Peter Mueller and Chris Stewart. Phoenix still hasn't locked up Martin Hanzal. Its early August, are there possibilities that these guys that have been unable to reach terms, be traded?