kipwinger

Does anybody remember that Charlie Sheen movie "Cadence"? When he gets the 8-ball tattoos on the back of each hand lol? "I got them where they show!"

Another thing I'd like to see for the 15-16 season? The Griffins getting rid of these lame ass black uniforms they just unveiled. Can we all please agree to stop putting black in everything?

Nobody remembers bad contracts from yesteryear because bad signing almost exclusively include players who turned out to be underwhelming. And history doesn't tend to remember bad players. Nobody really puts in the time to chronicle really underwhelming stuff. Everybody remembers really good meals they've had, but almost nobody remembers meals that weren't up to snuff.

Taken at today's optional skate. Woohoo!

Depietro, Redden, Horton, Clowe. All terrible.

Uwe Krupp?

Look at the top center, defenseman, and goalie for the final four teams in last year's playoffs: Toews, Keith, Crawford Getzlaf, Fowler, Andersen Killorn/Johnson*, Hedman, Bishop Brassard, McDonagh, Lundqvist *Johnson was pretty clearly Tampa's best center. Still he played fewer minutes than Killorn, who centered Stamkos. It's kind of hard to say which group of three is best. Maybe the differences between the four are almost entirely on the margins eh?

To play devil's advocate, don't you consistently argue that the Wings can't advance past the early rounds of the playoffs precisely because Howard can't hack it and win them a series?

Omission on my part. I think you're right, you could argue Lindsay over Sawchuk and I wouldn't disagree. Sawchuk was a beast who won a ton of games, and a ton of Stanley Cups, on a loaded, dynasty team. But Lindsay helped make that team a dynasty. So yeah, I agree with you, Lindsay it is.

I think it was Custance who wrote the ESPN piece, and I agree with him. There really isn't much room for debate here I don't think. Abel, Delvecchio, Fedorov, Shanahan, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Osgood are all great players. But I don't think any of them can unseat the four he mentioned.

And the Maple Leafs hire Jacques Lemaire too. Toronto Maple Leafs ‏@MapleLeafs 10m10 minutes ago The #Leafs have hired Jacques Lemaire as Special Assignment Coach. #TMLtalk Hmmm...Shanahan, Lamoreillo, Babcock, Lemaire. Sounds like a good management group. I just wonder if they've got enough ego ya know? Like, do they have someone willing to take charge and be the boss, is my concern. Lol. I can't wait for this to fail. I mean, what could go wrong with a plan to remake the 1995 New Jersey Devils, only without all the great players and in an era where that style of play is largely unsuccessful?

It's not "just like being in Detroit". But It's probably not significantly more tempting for a young person than places like Miami or LA. This notion that after parties in Vegas spell impending doom for young players, but the ones in South Beach don't, is absurd and completely overblown. Didn't Jarret Stoll just get busted for cocaine in LA? What do you think he'd do if he played for a team in Vegas...cocaine? Or is the implication that he'd be on heroin or meth? In general this entire thread seems to be full of people attempting to justify their knee jerk distaste for a team in Vegas. Which is entirely unnecessary. Why not just own up to the fact that many hockey fans are extremely protective of their (niche) sport, and are uncomfortable with the idea of it being played in places (and by people) who are incompatible with our traditional notions of what is "hockey-like"? In other words, "we don't want them playing it, because this is our sport, and they aren't like us". Hockey is perceived as a northern sport and we don't want southerners or westerns playing it, even if it's perfectly viable in the south and west (which is mostly is).

I think we can all agree that there's only one man who can put an end to all the madness? You guessed it...

If Jeff Blashill really means it when he says " I don’t tend to look at what players can’t do. Now, we certainly want to get better in areas that they need to get better at. I always judge players on did they make more positive plays than negative plays ..." then Brendan Smith is by no means a lock for that sixth defense spot. Ya know, given that the only thing he seems to really excel at is "not being Jakub Kindl". Edit: Also, a little tidbit from Khan: "Coach Jeff Blashill has indicated he might play Helm on the wing on the third line, centered by Luke Glendening".

HERO charts are adjusted for usage FYI

Because the NHL is responsible for marketing EA video games now?

I absolutely DO think that Pacioretty would score more on another team. That said, with regards to Kane it's a little less clear. I'm not sure how much Kane benefits from playing for an offensive juggernaut of a team given that he's the primary reason that the team is so offensively potent in the first place. Certainly I think other guys benefit from playing on a team with Kane (looking at you Brad Richards) but I'm less convinced he benefits as much from playing with Saad, or Shaw, or Richards, or whomever. The two most offensively talented guys on the Blackhawks, other than Kane, are Toews and Hossa and he doesn't play much with either of them anymore. It's a little like saying Datsyuk only scores like he does because he's been (largely) on great teams. Aren't they great precisely BECAUSE Datsyuk scores like he does? Not saying you're wrong, just that it's a little bit of a chicken and egg thing.

Mike Babcock Sheets: For an additional 50 million dollars they'll come in Maple Leaf Blue.

Franzen should have given the sheets t0 Kindl. Just to ensure that Jakub always remembers that he'll never be good enough.

People all over the internet keep saying "I want these sheets!". They're nuts. Who the hell wants Mike Babcock's disapproving glare watching over everything they do in bed? You can almost see him thinking "Luke Glendening works harder than that" whenever you're making love to your partner. Screw that.

I already scooped you on this. Story of your life...always just a minute too late. Sucker!

Lol. theScore ‏@theScore 44m44 minutes ago Johan Franzen buys custom Mike Babcock bed sheets for Babcock's 'son' Gustav Nyquist. http://thesco.re/1L4cqk5 129 retweets 130 favorites

Professionals will be professionals, whether they're in Vegas or not. They'll be fine. Conversely, the types of guys tempted by the combination of booze, money, and stardom won't. But that's true everywhere. Darren McCarty didn't need to be in Vegas to throw his career down the toilet. He did it right here in crummy old Detroit. And he had arguably the most player friendly organization in sports behind him. He screwed it up because he's a screw up and that's what screw ups do. I hardly think a determining factor in the league's expansion plans should be how the location will affect the playing careers of the various screw ups around the league.

Pacioretty is pretty awesome, and underrated.