kipwinger

Like back when Lidstrom was averaging 30 minutes a night you mean? Good coaching like that? You ride the horses you have. Babcock certainly wasn't shy about wearing out Lidstrom and Rafalski for a Stanley Cup, and he's a good coach right? Plus, if you hadn't noticed, Chicago's defense is pretty banged up. Oduya is walking wounded, and they've got Timmonen in the lineup because the career AHLer (Cuminsky) with 7 whole games played for the Hawks hasn't been cutting it. Who else is he going to play? The great Scotty Bowman played Lidstrom 31:00 a night in the 2002 playoffs. Perhaps he should have played Lidstrom a little less, and gone with his third pair. That's what a good coach would do.

According to Puck Daddy, the guy never lobbied the league to ban beards, nor did he talk to anybody about getting players to voluntarily stop wearing them. Apparently, he was simply pointing out the fact that they'd be more marketable without them. And then a bunch of reactionaries went nuts and distorted the whole situation.

Damn, what a finish. This series is awesome.

Oduya playing with one hand. Dude is struggling. Gotta love dudes battling through injuries in the playoffs.

I'm so disappointed in you right now. I didn't expect you to like someone so gimmicky. Football pads with spikes? Might as well cheer for Demolition. The Dudleys had personality.

The guy in question is the Chairman of NBC Sports.

I just spent the last hour(ish) watching videos of the Dudley Boyz giving the 3D to various opponents and imagining them exploding on impact. It's basically the same thing. The Dudley Boyz, great tag team OR greatest tag team?

It's like Tron.

I guess I should have been more clear. I was talking about the first round.

Serious question, when was the last time Ken Holland moved up in the draft? If this isn't enough to make you puke...

In the pantheon of bad ideas in hockey, this isn't even really all that big of a deal. This guy's job is, in part, to market the NHL. Given his relative position, he's probably good at that. So he pitched an idea that he thought would do the trick. Nobody was interested, and the idea died. No harm, no foul. It's not like he's on an anti-beard, or anti-tradition, crusade. He was thinking like a sports TV executive...which he is. I mean, this is far less threatening than the stupid "glowing puck". That was truly a stinker of a marketing ploy.

Ok seriously, whose sock account is this? My initial thought was GMR, but it's not clever enough.

I'm surprised people are more upset about the infringement on tradition than the fact that it's not so subtly racist. “The players won't like this, but I wish they all would stop growing beards in the postseason,” Lazarus said. “Let's get their faces out there. Let's talk about how young and attractive they are. What model citizens they are. (Hockey players) truly are one of a kind among professional athletes. “I know it's a tradition and superstition, but I think (the beards do) hurt recognition. They have a great opportunity with more endorsements. Or simply more recognition with fans saying, 'That guy looks like the kid next door,' which many of these guys do. I think that would be a nice thing." Translation: These guys can be sold to Middle America because they're not black, scary, and/or a "thug". They don't have tattoos or dreadlocks. They look like you. We can work with this.

Cool hand Luke was famous for his pluck. His moxie. He wasn't notoriously fast at anything in particular. Get it together man. You're slipping.

I'm confused. Aren't these guys both really big...and North American? That means they'll probably be really good right? Why did we fail to sign two of our best prospects? Classic Holland.

No need to worry, happens all the time. What could go wrong? Oh...

I agree with both of you guys. They aren't going to trade the pick away. A move like that is probably WAY too ballsy for your average, risk averse, GM. I was only suggesting that it wouldn't be crazy, or even counterproductive, to do so. By all accounts, Jack Eichel would go first in any other draft (since 2005) that didn't have Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby in it. So losing a guy like McDavid, to get a guy like Eichel (plus significant other pieces) would very likely make you better than you'd be just keeping McDavid.

I don't like the addition of Chelios. I mean, I love the guy and all. But I don't want to add an assistant coach with ZERO coaching experience to a head coach with no NHL coaching experience. Unless Chelios is going to replace Granato and Blash is going to get someone with some NHL powerplay experience, I don't want him.

I think I want Chicago to win as much for the Patrick Kane afterparty photos as I do for anything else. Those alone are worth rooting for the Blackhawks.

I'm not saying they should trade the 1st overall just to be trading it. I'm suggesting they take advantage of two things. 1. There is so much hype surrounding McDavid that people are more likely to do something irrational if he's involved (think Mike Babcock's hype and subsequent 50 million dollar contract). 2. McDavid isn't so much better than Eichel that losing one for the other leaves you in a bad spot. They're both future #1 centers. So I'd offer McDavid for Eichel (plus) and see if the hype makes Buffalo do something stupid. If they don't bite...fine. You still have Connor McDavid. If they do bite, even better. You got a future #1 center PLUS whatever else you can get (I'd ask for Reinhart and Ristolainen, but whatever), for a future #1 center of comparable skill.

I'd argue the best NCAA teams would dominate the best Junior teams. Not because they're more talented...they aren't. But they're more developed. I also agree about the Hobey Baker. I'm not suggesting that the NCAA gets the kinds of talent coming through it that the Canadian Junior Leagues do. I'm suggesting that, in general, it's always harder to play against 19-23 year olds than it is to play against 16-19 year olds. And given what Eichel did to college kids, I don't think it's a stretch to assume he'd do considerably more damage to a bunch of children...just like McDavid did. Guys dominate the Junior leagues all the time. That, in and of itself, doesn't really impress me that much. Every guy that scores a bunch in Juniors is the next Crosby, or Stamkos, or whomever. But that doesn't make it so. That's just good PR. I have no reason to believe that McDavid is soooooooo much better than Eichel or anybody else, based on his Junior career. I do think, however, that he's been hyped to the point that everybody thinks so. If I were the Oilers I'd call Buffalo right now. I'd offer them the first overall pick, for the second overall pick, Sam Reinhart, and Rasmus Ristolianen. See how much value the next Crosby actually has. If McDavid is the next Crosby, then why can't Eichel be the next Toews? And as good as Crosby is, would you rather have him or Toews plus two blue chip prospects?

I take it as a point of pride that I don't buy into the insane, and annual, hype that surrounds the 1st overall draft pick in all major professional sports. That's because I've seen too many of the bust, or underwhelm, for all sorts of reasons. I'd rather they show me what they've got. In lieu of that, I'd rather rely on more objectives things, like size, speed, stats, the degree of difficultly in their respective leagues, etc. The only thing I know absolutely, positively, 100% about Connor McDavid is that he's far and away the most POPULAR player in the draft. No denying that. But I still have to be convinced that he'll be the best NHL player to come from this draft. And here's one final thought. I don't think it's a stretch to assume that if Jack Eichel were A) Canadian, and B) playing in a weaker league against a bunch of teen age boys, that he'd be as dominant AND as heralded as Connor McDavid.

He'll probably be super duper good right? Like, Hart Trophy, 100 point seasons, Olympic Gold, type good? I mean, he'll probably be soooooooooooo good that people will anoint him the second coming of Gretzky. He'll have scoring titles and accolades for days and day. Nobody's been that good in a long, long time. Except for Crosby...and Ovechkin...and Stamkos...and Tavares. They've got a whopping 1 Stanley Cup between them. It's too bad they don't give Stanley Cups away for your Junior Hockey career and your pre-draft hype. These guys would be rolling in them. Connor would too. Sadly, we still do it the crappy old way where you have to earn it by winning NHL games. McDavid will be good. But lots of teams will win lots of Cups without Connor McDavid. So maybe everyone should temper their idolatry a little bit.

Didn't you hear? Holland's a senile old miser who's actively trying to destroy the Detroit Red Wings legacy through his own ignorance and inaction. Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Like George Malik, who scoffed at the idea when it was first brought up, then became increasingly neurotic as the end of the season drew near, and then stated he "saw it coming" when he signed with Toronto. George's "reporting" of the Babcock situation is the stuff of legends.

This reminds me of Luongo complaining that Tim Thomas didn't "pump his tires" a couple years ago in the finals. How entitled do you have to be? Is Jack Eichel bound by some sort of hockey law to kiss Connor McDavid's ass? Screw McDavid. I'd rather have a "cocky" kid like Eichel, who is confident and competitive, than the next Nail Yakupov. You can keep your hero worship. I like hockey players, not "saviors".