frankgrimes

So very well deserved congratulations to the Dominator and all the other inductees strong class.

Wow that's a good hire and a much better one than Torts was. Guy seems to be a demanding players coach. I've went to the Pens board and most of them are now concerned about the influence of Morehouse (non hockeyguy doing too much PR stuff for their liking) and others are well..still clinching on the hope of getting Babcock next year. At this point I would not be shocked if Pens next headcoach will be Ron Wilson. Personally I really think they've dropped the ball on the Shero firing, the guy is one of the better Gms in the league, his only mistake was connecting himself to the faith of Bylsma instead of canning him last year and of course the Morrow for Morrow trade. As for the chance of coaching Sidney Crosby well Babcock did it and it seems like the guy is commited to playing a team game if the structure is right (ie. team Canada). So I hardly think him being there puts coaches away.

So Niskanen would cost one thing $ ---and is by far the best available defenseman, so if we pass on him who does fill the top 4 pairing problem ? Dekeyser, Kronwall and Ericsson is solid but after that there is a huge dropoff and injuries are going to happen no matter what. So I'm a bit surprised with these comments. I understand not wanting to give up assets but not wanting to pay a good defenseman ? That's just stupid.

24 years old, 210 lbs, hardest shot on the Edmonton Oilers, gritty pain to play against SOB on the fourth line. Guy took on that gargantuan man Bordelaus and landed a serious serious bomb. He is basically a 14 year younger version of Shawn Thornton.

Neither do I but I would really prefer him over someone like Spezza, Thornton or Kesler for the simple fact that all three of these great players would cost a ton of assets. That aside Kesler for sure would be my favourite if they all would hgave been ufas come July the First.

The problem here is, that the needed talent is not available or we don't have the assets - unless we overpay ridiculously - to bring them in. So the options aren't really much, either play a style that leads to more with less or try playing a style for which we don't have the horses for. To me option 1 would be the better one, but that means our front office has to role up their sleeves and not only continue to draft bigger, grittier players they also have to get active in free agency, trade deadline and ... Are guys like Gazdic, Orr, SThornton top players ? For sure not but they bring energy and smaller, younger players are playing heavier if they feel that there is someone who is going to protect them and provide some sort of energy. To be honest I would love having a fourth liner like DJ King the guy can play, is an SOB to play against and is willing to throw down with almost everyone in the league. If we can round out our bottom 6 with some heavier dudes then you don't need so much size for your top 6 but the point is, size and a heavier game is needed somewhere in the lineup, heck even the overloaded Blackhawks have Bickle and Bolland to play that bigger type of game. I'm not saying we should build the whole roster on size but our problem is, we don't have size in the top nor the bottom 6 NOR on defense. Sure, having a guy like Lidström running our powerplay did cope over a lot of things but now we have to deal with the reality and find a way to still bring it while our two superstars are still here. I really can't wait till Athensiou, Mantha and McKee are ready to make the jump to the big club they are going to provide some size and will create room with their sheer power - especially McKee. Personally I want Niskanen for the simple fact that Kronwall then could go back to bring his Kronwalling out of nearly retirement again and Niskanen would run the powerplay. Look at the Blue Jackets they aren't the most talented team in the world but boy do they work hard and they bring a heavy game their opponents have to work hard especially in Columbus if they expect to get some points out of there it's really amazing what Kekailinen and Davidson have accomplished there. Sure, we can't go 180 degrees in the different direction but at least we can try to mold this team into something that can have more success with less talent on the team.

Personally I think the Panthers didn't want or couldn't afford Bylsma. Despite his firing the guy is a big name in the coaching business. Also keep in mind, they Pens only have to pay him 100 % till he finds a new job at this point they are only paying the difference between his new and the old salary. So if I were him I'd be taking a year off enjoy life with my family and then reflect on my mistakes.

As stupid as it sounds but Richards would be a perfect fit for the Ducks, could slot in really well as a second/third line center and help out Getzlaf and Perry with the leadership roles. It' also non pressure market and a team on the rise.

I always thought this thing is overhyped, once the new season starts I doubt opponents still care about the past season. Maybe they'll use it as a motivation and spoil their party.

It's nice to see more and more people finally admitting that the Wings aren't skilled enough to play the puck possession highly skilled game anymore and that's exactly why we are having such an identity crisis. If you can't outskill your opponent you need to grind them down or simply overpower them. Sadly, this team doesn't have the right players for that but the good thing is, there might be a few available come July 1. I love this franchise but watching this team play when Z or Pasha having an offnight and the young guns are struggling is really boring. Don't get me wrong every team has an offnight but other teams such as Boston, LA always have some type of energy player to wake the team and the fans up, be it with a fight, a huge check or just blocking shots Gregory Campbell style. We don't have that because our front office still believes in a style that won't work without a ton of skill and I'm not even talking about the guy who made that style possible. The job Babcock has done is really amazing getting this team into the playoffs was huge but the sad truth is, we can no longer count on being a shoe-in each and every season and to be honest the team is having a tougher and tougher team to even make it. It's nice that a lot of centers might be available this off-season - really didn't expect such a great amount of them - but our biggest need is a #1 defenseman and a top 4 shutdown guy, sadly, nobody seems to be trading those guys nowadays. I honestly believe the Joe would be rocking again if the Wings would bring a grittier game. Fans love hitting, checks, fights and not only beauty plays. The Oilers would be really stupid if they decide to let Perron go he did very well and if I remember correctly was their best goalscorer. So to sum it up, our biggest needs are: 1. change of gamestyle 2. #1 and top 4 defender 3. center depth

Great game for the fans and the media but for the team not so much, starting with a hefty loss is never a confidence builder.

What the NHL should be doing is really simple: unite the ASG with the WC and choose different cities. The event itself clearly has run it's course and from reading the Blackhawks forum even they aren't that thrilled about it but yet the NHL doesn't get it.

There is never a reasonable for these stupid lockout, it's just a greedy New York Lawyer thinking he can get others into paying for his failed experiments and some cheap owners who think owning a hockeyfranchise is like running a business instead of a huge privilege only an incredible small percentage of billionaires worldwide can afford. There was nothing wrtong with Richard's contract just the stupid recapture - how in the hell did Gms agree to that ? - so the landscape changed and they had to buy him out because he could have retired earlier. The recapture rule would never hold up in a court, you can't change the rules for contracts that where fine just some months ago. Can't wait for the first team taking the NHL to court for this and winning in a landslide.

I think he hangs them up. Take a page out of the Lidstrom book go away from the game not let the game go away from you or pull a Jagr..

I still would be extremely happy with Ritchie if there is a slight chance that hey may be available at 15 keep the pick. Guy already has great size

Why should he talk ? The guylets his actions do all the talking for him.

Kopitar is another guy who has great size, he doesn't fight but he for sure knows how to use his body. I remember the time he got drafted I told a buddy of mine whichever team is going to draft this kid has a potential star right there, he laughed it off well now everyone can see what this guy can do. Overall the Kings lineup is just filled with guys that have size and can obviously play really well. They have the makings of becoming a dynasty.

1997 was a great year for me on so many levels and then the Wings finally pulling off the cup was just the ice on the cake.

Yeah and it's not like King is a bad player, the guy can play for sure and their fourth line is feared around the NHL. The problem with drafting so many small guys in all the later rounds is that the Wings might still think, they are ahead of the curve when it comes to Euros which simple isn't true, other teams are sending their scouts to Sweden, Swiss, Finland and the other top leagues too so it's much harder to find a gems. Would be a good time to change the approach and start drafting big, physical kids.

Personally I think the Canadian teams especially Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver need to do a better job in shiedling their players from all the attention. They should really try to stop it before this thing is going too far and some fan tries something really stupid just because player A had a bad game. I also don't understand Murray here, why make it public he is doing himself, Spezza and the team a huge disservice. Now everyone knows the captain wants out and if the deal falls through this thing will be hanging around the Sens lockerroom for the whole year, not exactly an ideal situation, especially given the fact that Ryan will be an UFA soon too. The amount of talent the Sens are running out of town is just astounding Hossa, Chara, Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza a few years ago this team had the best topline in hockey and now they are going to lose their franchise center. The comments on TSN are also very disappointing, some fans are acting like the players should man up to the scrutiny and pressure...I'd love seeing some of those so called fans trying to experience 24/7 scrutiny themselves and then tell me again if a certain player should man up to that kind of crap. This is also the darkside of all this social media stuff, private things are getting leaked out way too easily and fans behave as pro athletes aren't supposed to live a private life. Nashville or St. Louis would be great destinations for him.

Luke Gazdic, Patrick Bordelaus, Ryan Reeves... Also if pests don't want to fight and the enforcer has no chance to fight them, go after their young player or star player and see how they like it. Anyway I'm more than sure that Thornton will find a home and might be back with the Bruins in some sort of once his career is over.

Paul Statsny - -the man with the difficult name -- would be available for nothing but cash, he is also younger so I would prefer him. Giving Jurco for Thornton would be a huge mistake. Also keep in mind the guy has a no movement clause and I highly doubt he would waive it for another team entering the twilight and soon rebuildtime.

Brought some much needed energy after his team went 0:2 heading back to Boston.

I love that quote and I'd be doing the same 10 out of 10 times

- Leadership - Physicality - Can play the game (watch his penalty against Pavelec that was some serious hockeyskill right there) - fight I know a lot of people think Thornton is like Scott but the guy can/could play on a fourth line role. Guy changed the whole dynamic against Vancouver in 2011 and that team was loaded with talent. Finding enforcers like him is very hard and to be honest I think the Bruins will regret this decision in a lot of ways. Bergeron is extremely talented and a hardworker but he doesn't strike me as someone who would tell his own teammate to shut up and take a seat.