kipwinger

Suter was going to struggle anywhere he went, once he no longer had a team full of defensively responsible forwards, in a defensively responsible system, with one of the best goalies in the league, and probably the premier defenseman in the game to make him look like a superstar. At his best he's a good defenseman, not a great one. Gets paid like one though.

Neither of them are as bad as they look right now, but then again Suter isn't as good as he looked in the past. Thank god Detroit didn't go out and spend that money on him, what a giant f***up. Still not sure how anybody (other teams included) thought this guy was as valuable as they did. Unreal.

I don't see Jarnkrok cracking this lineup for at least a year. We're fairly strong down the middle as is, and he's not projecting to be the next Zetterberg or Datsyuk. Filppula is probably a fair comparison and he spent a year in GR. Jarnkrok will likely do the same.

anybody got a link to the game highlights, I didn't get to see Brunner's goal and I can't find it anywhere?

I agree.

hmmm, well that wasn't pretty. Ran out of gas pretty early on in this one. Going to see a lot more games like this from all the teams in this shortened season. still... Jesus our PP is awful.

The difference maker will be whether or not Bobrovsky stands on his head or not. The Wings will come out strong, push hard at the beginning, and then sag as the game goes on. If they get on top of CBJ early then I think we'll cruise to a win. But if Bob is good early, this will be a hard game to win.

I agree with you about Flip and Pavs, and O'Reilly would definitely ensure that a transition after Pav would be a little smoother. So I'm obviously not against it, especially if he can be had for what's supposedly being asked. Truth is, I have no idea if they would trade with us or not, but as I've already said, considering we've got 3 of the top 30 AHL prospect, and the 2nd highest AHL scorer who wasn't playing regularly in the NHL last season, I'd say we've got a shot. Check out the rankings... http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?first=0&type=top_scorers&subType=0&season_id=40&leagueId=4&division_id=-1&confId=0

Exactly.

Why? We're not in the same division? Teams trade within the conference all the time. Plus we're a good trading partner if they want prospects given that we've got 3 of the top 30 in the AHL. And the rivalry days are long gone.

I don't think they will, no rumors I'm seeing say they want a roster player, and they're certainly not going to get a key component of any team for a guy who doesn't have a contract. That's the key, without having him signed, nobody is going to give too much for him, and the Avs can't really ask for the world either. Edit: Just read about how the Avs have an absolutely horrible PK right now. Give them Miller, Tatar, and 2nd for O'Reilly's rights. Clears out our glut of forwards, gives them their prospect and pick, and helps their PK with a good third line forward and PKer. Win, win, win.

As I said, I've seen this guy play a lot. Defensively he's as good as Flip or Helm, works hard, back checks, plays physical for his size, has real good speed. Offensively you're talking about a guy who put up 55 pts. in his second year, so I don't know if Nyquist really does have more upside. Especially considering O'Reilly has better size and strength and is still developing his game at the NHL level as well. I doubt he could transition to the wing though he seems like a Jordin Staal type center, big strong puck carrier who likes to gain the zone and then dish. But we all know Zetterberg definitely can play the wing effectively.

Haha, funny we came up with the exact same line combos. Screw it, why not? O'Reilly is the real deal.

I hope so, this guy is only getting better. I've actually seen a lot of him over the last two years and he reminds me a lot of Helm, but with the ability to finish. He's obviously not quite as fast, but works very hard, defensively responsible, finishes his checks, competes every night, and has some offense. Only drawback is that he's a center, and we're pretty loaded with those right now. Then again... Flip-Dats-Franzen Brunner-O'Reilly-Zetterberg Bert-Helm-Sammy Tootoo-Abby-Miller/Eaves/Cleary/whoever?

I agree with your point, but again I'd like to say that this this WAS NOT his first NHL goal. So that's not an excuse. This is what his first goal, and celebration, looked like...

The goal in question in this thread was not his first goal. So that's no excuse.

No celebration this time, and this goal was even bigger than the last one. Wonder if he got a talking to from the coaches after the last one? Good on him for celebrating with his teammates this time around, and what a start to this kid's career eh?

Where I stood at the beginning of the season. We're a playoff team that's one or two defensive moves away from being a Stanley Cup competitor.

In the two games he's played so far I've noticed two things I really like about Kindl this season. He seems more confident with the puck, and more importantly, he seems to be using his size and strength a little bit more. In both games I've noticed him taking guys into the boards very hard. Good for him.

Yeah but his cap hit is 6.8 million...so no thanks. But someone with his type of skill set would be fine.

Guys with NTC's move all the time. Especially when they play for garbage teams like Buffalo, or if they aren't getting the ice time they want/deserve. I'm not saying it wouldn't make finding one a little harder, and I definitely see your point, but it's not impossible to find one. Also, Regehr was just an example. Doesn't have to be him. Though given that it's a contract year for him, acquiring him is definitely in the realm of possibility.

Visnovski is definitely the best of the bunch, but we don't need what he brings to the table. He's essentially Kronwall without the hitting. Not particularly good defensively, but can score about 30-40 pts. a season. Again, a stay at home d-man that can play 20+ minutes a night is what we need for the top pair, then shift the rest of the personnel accordingly.

well I agree with all of that except the last part. Brad Stuart was the epitome of steady, physical, stay at home defenseman. That we didn't replace his skill set is one of our bigger problems this season.

The problem is that White cannot cover for Kronner because White doesn't play particularly good defense, also, neither Kronner nor White are big enough to play against big powerful forwards...like the ones that Chicago, St. Louis, L.A., and San Jose have. Also, don't let Huskins' reliability fool you. If this guy was good enough to play top 4 in this league, against high quality forwards, he would have been signed by someone. Also, why would Colaiacovo cover for Ericsson, Colaiacovo is the better point producer, Ericsson has never produced points at the NHL level. Are we even watching the same team?

I agree with your post, I think this is the best we can field right now, based on the personnel that we've already got. But I think it can be improved dramatically with the acquisition of one defensive defenseman who plays big minutes. For examples sake I'm going to say Robyn Regehr, but it doesn't have to be... Kronwall-Regehr Smith-Ericsson White-Lashoff Let the rest compete for the 7th spot, and keep the guy with the best 2-way defensive game as the replacement.