kipwinger

We don't need experience on the blue line. We've got a veteran blue line. Kronwall, Ericsson, Quincey, Green, are all veterans. Kronwall has as many Cups as Chara, so it's not even like he brings that to the table. And did I mention he's slower than glass?

It's plausible. But I just don't see it. For one, Trotz never seemed that smart to me. It would take a genius to pull of a stunt like that. Who do you think he is, Mike Babcock?

Don Cherry's way, of course. He's the biggest proponent of the Canadian way. Not surprisingly, he's one of Ovie's biggest critics. Do your self a favor and watch all the Coach's Corners about Ovie's goal celebrations. Cherry starts out being his normal, borish, blowhard, self. And then, when it finally starts to dawn on him that neither Ovie, nor anyone else, cares what he thinks, it's like he's finally confronted with his own irrelevance. Afterward he starts backpedaling like you wouldn't believe. At first he's all, "Alex, you're an idiot and somebody's gonna get you, and you're acting like a soccer player, and blah, blah, blah". And then Ovie and everybody else laughs at him. And then he's like "Alex, you're a great player, and I know you're just having fun, but what if you were that other team's goalie? How would you feel? You're a role model". He's a ******.

The WWE isn't a sport, so its not comparable. The WWE is fictionalized drama, no different than Breaking Bad or Mad Men. So saying "says the WWE fan" in response to a criticism of sports is not much different than saying "says the Daily Show fan" if I'd been criticizing the news. They aren't the same thing. Football, on the other hand, is a sport. The dumbest sport on earth. It's primary function is to give people like this a raison d'etre.

Chara would be a good move for the WWE. They could get him to replace this guy.

Why would you want him at any price? He scored about as much as Kyle Quincey last year and he's slow as hell.

Yeah, right now the Metro Division (still the worst named division in sports) is pretty terrible. Obviously they'll even out over the season but none of their teams look that impressive. If the Florida Panthers played in that division they'd be making minced meat out of "perennial powerhouses" like the Pens, Rags, and Caps. Apparently the Flyers are good. At least that's what their fans say. I don't buy it. Probably, I don't really care about football, so enjoy the victory. Football is basically one step above NASCAR when it comes to being an attractant for drunken plebeians. It basically appeals to the lowest common denominator. Present company excluded...of course. I'd list all the reason why, but I'll let this EXCELLENT article from Sports Illustrated do it for me. Enjoy. http://www.si.com/nfl/2011/10/06/nfl

I actually like Columbus. I like pretty much all of their players, they've actually got great fans, and I like their style of play. And since I'm a Michigan State fan, I don't have that automatic hatred for Columbus that many folks do lol.

Jake Gardiner, a mid level prospect, and a 2nd.

Poor judgement?

This just in, Boston trying to unload old, overpaid, pylon! Color me surprised.

I love Ovie because he's really good, and he doesn't care about playing hockey the Canadian way. Which drives people NUTS. Take the hatred that most people felt for Subban (prior to his big money donation) and multiply that by 100 and you'll only just approach the amount of shade cast on Alex Ovechkin from the Canadian faithful. Love it.

For the record, I ABSOLUTELY did see Pittsburgh's "high powered offense" struggling. Said so many times. However, I thought Columbus would come out cooking. So I completely botched that one.

I don't disagree about Larkin having his own line, or playing around with Richards on the wing. We obviously need to have three lines going offensively. It's only going to make us that much more offensively potent. But I'm not sure that I agree our goals haven't come on high quality scoring chances. Both of Zetterberg's goals have been finesse plays. Larkin's was a pure snipe. Abby's one timer was off an awfully creative play from Zetterberg. It's definitely too early to tell how things will end up, but if we're scoring at a high percentage now, I can't imagine how it will change much when Tatar, Richards, Green, Nyquist, Franzen, etc. start contributing regularly. We're only going to get MORE offensive and we're currently top ten in goals per game (not that it matters much given how few games we've played).

Athanasiou...rather. ******* autocorrect.

I can't speak for anybody else, but here's the problem I have with your thought. Of course Athansiou is better than Miller. But he's not better for the role. By which I mean that to be a good fourth liner you need to play defense, kill penalties, block shots, agitate, hit, etc. Athansiou is our future second line center. I don't want him blocking shots in the NHL. I want him learning how to take over a game offensively in the AHL. I don't care if he ever blocks a shot, or kills a penalty. In fact I hope he doesn't. I don't want him to get hurt. His potential is too good, and his future too bright, to have him toiling away on the fourth line just to say "well he is in the NHL at least... Nobody would argue that he isn't better than Miller. He is. But you don't need a thoroughbred to do donkey's work. You need a donkey. And Miller is a cheap, effective, donkey

The guy's a good coach. I'm not taking that away from him. I'm just baffled that anyone would argue that his system isn't primarily defensive in nature. That's what makes him good. Why argue against it? If Detroit had been built around rough and tumble, two way Canadian trained players he'd likely have won more during his tenure. Unfortunately for him, all our best players are skilled, European trained, offensively creative players, so we didn't. With Columbus' current lineup, Babs would probably have won two or three Cups. With the Rangers, he'd probably have not won any.

I didn't say anything about shooting more. As a matter of fact I specifically mentioned getting better quality scoring chances. Which is probably why we've got one of the league's highest scoring offenses despite having fewer shots. I'm also not "remembering the worst" about Babcock. All of his teams have transitioned slowly. Even the good ones. Team Canada wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire offensively, despite having obviously superior offensive talent. His game strategy is build around shot suppression. He's said so. Every team he's ever coached has clearly been so. Yet when I say he's not offensive, and plays back in the d-zone you come a runnin' to defend him. Edit: Also, doesn't it make sense that a primarily defensive team would need to have a high volume of shots to score? Shooting a bunch doesn't necessarily make a team more "offensive". I'd imagine that Blahill's team will have a better goals per game, and a higher shooting percentage, and a much lower number of total shots. Just a guess.

My thoughts: Smith had a couple of boneheaded turnovers in the first period, and then settled down for the remainder of the game and was fine. He wasn't noticeable offensively, but that's to be expected. He was pretty strong on the boards and had a few pretty hard hits while pinching off wingers breaking into the zone. Kindl didn't have the early gaffs, and seemed to distribute the puck a little better in the O-zone, but neither where all that bad (or good). If the plan is to move Quincey to the third pair, then I think it depends on what Blashill wants that pair to be. A little more defensive, physical, and competitive? Smith. A little more offensive? Kindl.

I agree. No use in rushing him. He's way ahead of schedule on his return, why not play it safe and extend it out. Especial given how well we're playing in his absence.

I remember Johnson eating Datsyuk alive in the POs too. He does that for time to time lol.

I completely agree. And it would be the least successful conspiracy ever, considering how often we win. So why worry about it? But it's crazy, I live in the DC. I watch nearly as many Caps' games as I do Wings' games. I talk to their fans, I go to their bars, I read their sports pages. And yet, I never ever run across people who are so wholly convinced that A) their team is being screwed, or B) that another team is being unfairly helped. For example, they all hate the Pens, and Crosby, for being whiny, arrogant, and entitled. But they don't think the league is secretly guiding them toward success, and they have a more well established rivalry with the Pens than we do. Does anybody else who lives in another teams' city have the same experience? Unlike your average American, I'm able to multitask. It's what got me this bitchin' govt. job in the first place. YOLO.

I'm not really derailing the thread. The title of the thread has two components A) McDavid had a dirty hit, and B) the refs didn't punish him for it. Elsewhere you noted that the league will "make sure you hear about McDavid :-)". Which ham handedly insinuated league intervention on behalf of McDavid. I was just responding to that. If you didn't want it to be a part of the discussion, you should have left it out. I'd suggest titling the thread "Connor McDavid's Dirty Hit", and left it at that.

We have three great pairs anyway. Even more so when Dekeyser is back and Quincey is on the 3rd. I'm still not sure why you'd break up a pair that works well together in order to create three that have never played together before. Or why you think that would make us better? Than again, don't pay attention to me. I actually like Ericsson on the top pair so maybe I'm just justifying my own preferences lol.

Good point. That's why player development is so important. Most top five picks can step right into the NHL. Most 2nd and 3rd rounders can't. They need time.