kipwinger

Because he's slow. And the NHL is a fast game. And it's pretty hard to get your "right handed bomb" off if you're consistently slower than the guys defending you. Other than that, yeah, he's probably going to be better than Tatar. Lol.

Unless he breaks out and has a really good year. Like Tatar and Nyquist did. But with a 10th their speed or athleticism. At which point he'd just be another Tatar or Nyquist...and we'd need to trade him...for being redundant.

Exactly. He sucks. Dump him while some people are still gullible enough to think he'll be any good.

Pulkkinen sucks. I'd start there.

I'd wait until right before training camp, and if nobody has signed Semin I'd offer him a 1 year, 1 million dollar deal. If he's not available, oh well. If he doesn't accept the offer, oh well. If he takes it, great. I'm not going to leave a guy with that much skill sitting on the sidelines if I can get him for peanuts, but I wouldn't go too far out of my way to sign him.

Happy to see former Red Wings Patrick Eaves and Carlo Colaiacovo sign contracts this off season. Patrick Eaves scored 14 goals in 47 games last year with Dallas. That'll usually go a long way toward getting you a new contract.

The Richards' deal doesn't hurt us, so it's not a "bad signing". It's just confusing given our center depth and the Weiss buyout.

Why not just move Helm back to center for the duration of Datsyuk's injury, and sign a winger. Could Helm possibly be less productive than Richards' 36 points in 76 games for the Hawks?

I guess if they're planning on making Z the first line center, Sheahan the 2C, and Richards the 3C, then I'm fine with it...I guess. I mean, he did just have similar season to Sheahan...except for the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. I'm confused.

The media? I thought it was predominantly LGW trolls saying that? Isn't it always easier to justify Holland's ineptitude when you can say "durrrrrr he's out kicking tires while other guys are getting free agents"?

I picked those two situations not to say that it ALWAYS HAPPENS that way, but because I think it will happen that way in this instance. Crosby, or Datsyuk, or Toews, or whomever isn't some magic recipe for more goals. Sometimes, if their styles aren't complimentary, a player's goal production will not shoot up drastically...despite playing with better players. I've stated several times now why I think that would be the case with Kessel and Crosby (or Malkin). I'm not trying to denigrate any of those player, they're all really good. But sticking two really good players together doesn't necessarily make two really, super duper, great players. Sometimes it makes them no better, and sometimes worse. IMO this is what will happen with Kessel in Pittsburgh. I do, however, completely agree with the last part. Nothing would satisfy me more than to see Kessel fill the Stanley Cup with Leafs fans' tears. Side note: Jonathan Toews would make Kessel's number jump up more than Crosby's or Malkin's. Just by way of comparison.

That leaves quite a lot of room for speculation lol.

Except he hadn't just won the Cup.

A 36 year old dude just coming off a Cup win. What does he have to play for? No thanks.

So maybe he will, maybe he won't. No sure things in this life. Got it. Good talk.

So your position is that Crosby is elite, and might improve Kessel's play, but then again might not? Bold. I agree. I've addressed that above. Neal is a pure finisher. That's not what Kessel does. Kessel, like Patrick Kane, needs to carry the puck to be most effective. So putting him on a line with a guy who needs to carry the puck to be most effective, isn't a recipe for maximum offensive production. You hear all the time about guys who play well with the puck, vs. guys who play well without the puck. That is exactly the difference between Neal and Kessel. I would ABSOLUTELY imagine Neal's production would increase on Crosby's wing, but not Kessel.

So it's silly so long as you don't agree with it, in which case you like it? How much to you think Crosby is going to increase Kessel's goal scoring? Throw a number out there. Kessel's already about a 30-35 goal scorer. So what do you think Crosby's affect on Kessel translates into, in terms of goal production? Just spitball, I'm not expecting you to have a crystal ball or anything?

The last time I bet someone you seemed to like it. And literally "liked it". So I'm not sure what your issue is. Here's a link. This one's fun because it has to do with Mike Green and what he'd sign for. Which...I got 100% right. So it's not like I'm betting to "win arguments". I'm betting because I think I'm right in those instances, and am willing to back it up. http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/topic/79142-report-jeff-petry-and-munn-tree-all-ruin-2015-free-agency/page-2?hl=%2Bgreen+%2Bfranson+%2Bmartin#entry2613120

I like how everybody on LGW thinks they are 100% right, but never takes a bet. The point of contention is that I don't think Crosby will significantly impact Kessel's goal scoring. They do. Easy enough to see who's right, who's wrong, and who's just arguing for the sake of it.

I think you're taking my posts a little too seriously. Given my long standing love of Drew Miller, and my long standing criticism of Holland's "stand pat" strategy, I thought that would have been clear. Apparently not.

Crosby is one of the best players in the world, and certainly the best center Kunitz ever played with, and in only one, outlier, year did he significantly improve Kunitz' goal total. Every other year in Pittsburgh Kunitz has been exactly what he was emerging into in Anaheim, a mid 20s goal scorer. Likewise, Pavel Datsyuk is by far the best center Hossa ever played with, and he made Hossa a 40 goal scorer...something that Hossa had done four times before ever playing with Datsyuk. Hell, he didn't even reach his goal scoring zenith with Datsyuk feeding him. At least you could argue that Crosby and Kunitz did that together (albeit an outlier). Hossa was a BETTER goal scorer without Datsyuk. But I'll make it easier. I'll bet you $100 dollars, to a charity of your choice, if Crosby significantly improves Kessel's goal scoring (since that was the original point of debate). Since Kessel is already one of the best goal scorers in the league, and since Crosby is one of the best centers in the league, a "significant improvement" in Kessel's goal scoring should equate to him ending the season top three in goal scoring and/or scoring 50 goals. Deal?

No, I'm saying that for the centerman and the winger to have a great affect on one another their styles need to be complimentary. Kessel and Crosby are too similar. For Crosby to score 100+ points, he needs to have (and shoot) the puck...a lot. How is that going to increase Kessel's production? If Kessel were going to be playing on Joe Thorton's wing I'd agree that you'd see a bump in his numbers. But Crosby doesn't really have that affect on his linemates. Production wise, they're about as good with him as without. Pittsburgh's team may be better overall, but Kessel isn't going to be (more of) a scoring machine, because Crosby isn't really a "feed the puck to a winger all game" kind of player.

About as many as he normally does...maybe less. You know how many goals Chris Kunitz scored on Crosby's wing? About as many as he did before he was on Crosby's wing. Hossa on Datsyuk's wing? Same has before he was on Datsyuk's wing. Playing on Crosby's wing isn't going to make Kessel into Ovechkin.

Smith's shot isn't really all that great. His one timer almost never hits the net. He might be a little more effective if he's allowed to skate in a bit, but if you're thinking his shot is an improvement over Dekeyser's you're probably going to be disappointed.

Kessel won't play well with Crosby OR Malkin. In order for each of them to score as much as they do, they need to have the puck...a lot. So does Kessel. He's not a one timer machine like Neal was. He's more like Patrick Kane. They all can't have the puck at once. Somebody's offense is going to suffer. Dumb move for Pittsburgh.