kipwinger

Probably. Apparently authoritarianism is only bad when it stops YOU from doing something you want. Otherwise, it's pretty much fine by Slava.

I don't think we need to land a top guy. We've already got Kronwall. We just need to upgrade, where possible. Look at Tampa Bay's defense. Yzerman was criticized pretty heavily for wrapping up so much money in non-impact defensemen like Carle, Stralman, Garrison, and Coburn. None of those guys are really "top guys", but collectively they're better than any other alternative Tampa had. And they're playing good enough to win.

LUDA!!!!! Damn. Always one step ahead.

Whelp, I absolutely got that wrong didn't I? Yikes. Sorry for bring so dickish about the whole thing.

We should sign Blashill to play on the wing for Larkin. That size!

Saying that Larkin will be a wing is just as silly as saying Pulkkinen will be a center. He won't.

AA is a center, so is Larkin. They are the two best center prospects we have. And center depth is the most important thing in hockey. Why would AA be a wing for Larkin?

You seem to be suggesting that everybody should be wary of expecting too much out of Jeff Blashill as head coach. Because Dave Lewis wasn't a good head coach. So maybe Blash won't be either. If that's not what you're saying, then I have absolutely no idea why you'd bring Lewis up. Other than to try and make some sort of tenuous comparison which isn't grounded in similarity at all. Why did you bring Lewis up again? Edit: Nobody expects Blashill to win the Cup next year. But here's the thing...nobody expected Babcock to win the Cup next year either (had he stayed). So expectations are EXACTLY the same. However, given their relatively similar career trajectories, and the fact that Blashill out performed him in all head to head competition, I don't think it would be a stretch to expect him to be as good as Jon Cooper was in his first season as head coach. Which is a much more realistic comparison than the phony one you keep trying to make with Dave Lewis.

Lol. It'll be a cold day in hell...

But it's really, super duper, convenient for his argument. Will you reconsider?

Yes. Ericsson is a significantly better skater. He's actually one of the better skating of the large, stay at home, defensemen in the league. He's not Keith Yandle, but if you compare him to similar type guys, he's a great skater. Dion Phaneuf, however, is a terrible skater. That said, I agree that Dion is the better defenseman, 100%. But he's not a better skater. But he is a better passer, shooter, hitter, and decision maker.

It's destined to happen. It's got to happen. Bring Jimmy Home BABY!

There is nothing even remotely similar about Jeff Blashill and Dave Lewis. They both took over for successful coaches. That's it. Trying to make a comparison between the two is absurd. It's possible that Jeff Blashill will fail. We all get that. It's the EXACT same possibility that every coach has in his first year behind the bench in the NHL. It's the same possibility that Scott Bowman had, Mike Babcock had, Joe Quenneville had. We get it. Blashill has as good, or better, qualifications than any of these guys did prior to their first NHL head coaching gig. Better than Bylsma. Better than McLellan. Better than Cooper, Eakins, Boucher, too. And most importantly, better than Dave Lewis. Could he fail? Sure. Does the information we have overwhelmingly point toward the opposite outcome? Absolutely.

I am the walrus. I am the walrus. Shut the f*** up Donny! V. I. Lenin! Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!

Probably. I'm saying, if I were him I'd keep them. They were very effective. Plus I imagine they'd help with continuity.

I'd keep both our assistants. They were the only reason we made the playoffs this year.

It's arbitrarily kept for everybody equally though. So it's mostly a wash. The home team tracks it. And they have an incentive to inflate the numbers for their own team. But each team plays the same number of home games (roughly), so it doesn't matter.

Favorite post of the day. The ultimate Ken Holland heel turn. I love it.

Really? The "key" element? Not the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$? C'mon.

You tell me. I'm just reporting how ALL OF LGW responded each time (for the last 3 years?) that I said Babcock wasn't the best coach in hockey.

It wouldn't. He's a worse coach than Babcock. Ask anybody.

Me. Detroit has a bad economy and your money goes really far. Toronto has a bad hockey team and you never get value for what you pay. I'd stick with Michigan. Besides, it's not like Babcock was living downtown on Linwood or anything. The burbs are just fine in MI.

Howard Berger ‏@Berger_BYTES 11m11 minutes ago Can't confirm, but told in email from source #Leafs offered Babcock dual role of GM and coach. Why not, huh?

That's assuming Shanny is good at his job. He may not be. Nobody knows.

Yeah, the update I got this morning said "Keith nears 60 minutes", which was true. But it sort of lumps him in with guys who actually did log that much ice time. Side Note: Did you know that Sergei Zubov was a smoker? Imagine that.