kipwinger

I was responding to this.

While it seems like you're just creating a thread to bemoan Franzen...and I agree, he's really frustrating, you do briefly touch on an interesting quandary. Particularly, what to do with him when he's healthy. It's be interesting to see because we are playing well without him in the lineup right now. So do you give Pulkkinen's spot to Franzen, and if so, what do you do with Jurco?

To be honest, I won't be surprised if he's traded before then. Not sure exactly how I feel about that, but I can see it coming.

To me, the biggest thing he's going to have to do is get WAY stronger. He's a little guy. You don't realize it until you see him in person. By comparison, Nyquist and Tatar look like big dudes. Which, I assume, is because of their respective fitness levels. I don't even really care if he gains weight (which he probably will), as long as he just gets WAY stronger. He's got a really low center of gravity, so if he does put on some muscle and/or add some power, he'll win a lot of the battles he loses. Other than his shot, there are a few things I really like about his game. He's got good first step quickness. He can jump on loose pucks and find open spots on the ice as a result. He's also pretty defensively responsible. I noticed him backtracking and checking his coverage a lot. Finally, I really like his aggressiveness. He doesn't play pensive, at all. He jumps into scrums, battles on the boards, and will put his body on the line to make a play. He battles, he's just too weak to win the battles right now. But he's definitely not afraid. He's got an alpha mentality, but right now beta strength. If he can be an explosive 195-200 lbs. (which I don't think is unrealistic given his frame), I think he'll be a really exciting player because he doesn't lack much else.

There are all sorts of rivalries, in all sorts of sports, most of which don't have fighting. Why would it be necessary in this case?

Rivalries happen for a lot of reasons, and they can't be manufactured. That's why they wax and wane. Anybody want to tell me there wasn't a good, healthy, rivalry with Pittsburgh for a couple years after 2008 and 2009? And watch out if Boston and Montreal meet again in the playoffs after Lucic was a ****** and Subban made the Bruins look like assholes. Rivalries can't really be forced, and only relate to history or geography tangentially. Wanna know why the Detroit/Chicago rivalry died? Because Chicago was horrible for 30 years, and once they got good we weren't great. However, let two powerhouse teams meet each other a couple years in a row (with something on the line) and you'll have a pretty good rivalry for a while. Remember Chicago and Vancouver a few years ago. Those games were intense because they were both good and the stakes were high.

Holland knows what he's got with Callahan, Marchenko, and to a lesser extent Pulkkinen. However, Sproul, Mantha, and Ferraro seem like (until recently) they're still in flux. I imagine that's why he's scouting them. He already knows who his most NHL ready guys are, but why not take a look at the next in line guys and see how they've progressed?

We are ******* terrible passers.

Jesus Ericsson, you're baaaaaaaaaaaad. Yikes!

Masterful.

This is one of my all time favorite posts.

Riley was the 20th best player at his position a year ago. Just sayin'.

I actually agree. When Weiss was scoring a point a game (roughly) it was stupid to have him on the fourth line and they should have rode him (and his confidence) for as long as possible. But lately he's been pedestrian...so I can't really blame Babs for demoting him. Hell, Babs has demoted Nyquist and Franzen so far this season when they weren't scoring. Weiss is no exception.

Not touching it.

We're not going to lose Marchenko for nothing. He's still got waiver exemptions. Why would we do this?

You said "Smith is better", so forgive me for mistakenly thinking this was absolutely about "who is better". I give up. You win. Maybe one day Smith will be better. Maybe not. That's good enough for me.

You know, I honestly didn't think Helm, Datsyuk, and Weiss would work either and it was a decent line...so who knows? I mean, I clearly think it's a disaster, but I guess I've just got to wait and see. I'm baffled.

All of these stats say Quincey is better, not just points. Quincey has more goals. Quincey has more assists. Quincey plays on pk. Quincey has more hits. Quincey has FEWER give aways. Quincey has more blocked shots. Quincey shoots more. Quincey has a higher shooting percentage. Quincey has a higher Corsi. Quincey starts in the offensive zone less often.

I mean, wasn't he just going to play Miller and Glendening more than Weiss and Pulkkinen anyway? Seems like he just put all the guys he doesn't play much on one line and all the guys he was going to play more on the other. I have no idea how this will turn out. Not really sure why you'd change lines around after 2.66 games of excellent hockey, but whatever. I'm honestly tired of trying to figure out why Babcock does what he does, and whether it will work or not. I hope this is the best set of line combos yet. I think you've got it mixed up. Miller-Sheahan-Glendening is going to be the third line, and Weiss-Andersson-Pulkkinen the fourth. At least that's what recent time on ice stats suggest.

Haha, I haven't even seen them. Bad?

Christ, are you really saying that just because you hold an opinion it "cannot be wrong"? You're definitely smarter than that. An opinion can absolutely be wrong if the preponderance of evidence suggests the opposite, as it does in this case. Because there's an objective truth here. Opinions can't be wrong when the choices are subjective (e.g. I like red better than blue tshirts). If you said "I like Smith better", I couldn't argue. That's your subjective opinion. But you said "Smith IS better". Which is not an opinion, its a demonstrably false statement. That's like saying my "opinion" isn't wrong if I say Steve Yzerman was better offensively than Wayne Gretzky. "Well...um...I don't care what the stats say...umm...it's my OPINION". You're wrong dude. Get over it. One day Smith MAY be better than Quincey, but as of right now the universe of evidence proves otherwise, regardless of your opinion.

Your opinion is wrong. I just proved that with measurable evidence. Also, to suggest that Quincey surged ahead of Smith in all those areas in just one week is not only wrong...but laughable. Have your opinion. That's fine. But as of right now it is 100% clear that your opinion is based on absolutely NOTHING substantive. Edit: Also, for the 50th time. You have to earn your opportunities. Of course Smith would have better stats with Dekesyer rather than Ouellet...so would Lashoff or Kindl. It doesn't mean they deserve to be there. The Wings organization doesn't owe Brendan Smith more ice time any more than they owed Mattias Backman more ice time. Earn it or don't.

Seriously? They're going to charge someone for throwing a sweater on the ice? This should be proof positive...beyond a shadow of a doubt...that the Leafs not only don't like their fans, but in some cases actively dislike their fans. What a scumbag organization.

No, I don't think Smith and Dekeyser would be better. Quincey is better than Smith in nearly every objective measure for a defenseman. Quincey has more goals. Quincey has more assists. Quincey plays on pk. Quincey has more hits. Quincey has FEWER give aways. Quincey has more blocked shots. Quincey shoots more. Quincey has a higher shooting percentage. Quincey has a higher Corsi. Quincey starts in the offensive zone less often. Smith has FEWER penalties (by two). Smith has MORE takeaways (by a lot). Other than those two areas, Smith is not better than Quincey in any measureable way. And that's not an opinion buddy. That's a FACT.

In other Toronto news...how punchable is William Nylander's face? Seriously, I was just reading an article about this kid and I couldn't stop thinking about how much I want to punch him. And it's entirely his face too. He might be the best kid on earth, for all I know, but his face is sooooo punch worthy.