frankgrimes

His best chance of returning would be signing with the devils if they want him back.

which is a shame because everyone has seens what this guy has been able to do with an unbelievable team Canada roster. People can talk about how loaded they were all day long but team USA and team Sweden weren't walkovers either and they didn't get the job done Babcock and The Captain did in an amazing fashion, Sweden had no chance in the finals.

Devils are entering their rebuild/retool phase soon so I doubt they'll have any use for a 30 + highly paid former player, also I can't see any of the other teams signing off on this I would be a Radulov 2 situation. I'm not going into any political discusson here but I believe the downslope of the Russian currency might have something to do with it maybe. Also I'm starting to wonder at what point in his life does this guy think he has made enough money, he might very well have earned more than 60 $ mill. till now. Kovalchuck seems to be believe h can walk in and out of he leagues when he decides to do so no matter if he has a contract or not *lol*

There is no doubt that the NHL needs a lot of fixing and not just the draft, this has been the most boring season in years... I highly doubt they are going to change the draft again after next year, they'll look at how it plays out over a few years and maybe then tinker it again. Personally I think all NON playoffs chance should have a good chance at getting the top pick and those making the playoffs a worse one but not be completely out of it.

The coach doesn't have to worry about that it's the GM. A coach can only work with the roster he's been given by his GM. I mean Bowman also had the pleasure of working for - back tghen - by far best and most active GM in the game. A luxury Babs sadly doesn't have

The coach doesn't have to worry about that it's the GM. A coach can only work with the roster he's been given by his GM. I mean Bowman also had the pleasure of working for - back tghen - by far best and most active GM in the game. A luxury Babs sadly doesn't have

I've read somewhere that finishing last isn't about getting McDavid it's about the 100% security of getting Eichel, even the last placed team only has a 20 % chance of getting him but a 100 % chance to draft Eichel - for the last time because starting next year every player will be in the lottery so no more guaranteed picks. People can hate on the Sabres if they want but what they are doing is smart, Eichel won't be a player who needs 3 - 4 years in the minors at best it will be 1 year and he is going to kickstart their rebuild. At some point every team will need a top pick yes that even includes the Redwings...so the holier than you attitude doesn't fly here.

Weiss and Smith aren't getting you Phaneuf. At least one - if not both - of Jurco/Pulkinen will have to be included in a deal like that, yeah Phaneuf is a bit overpaid but so what ? The Leafs will offer to retain some salary and then ask for better pieces. But yeah something needs to be done to fix the defense and given the fact that Franson might be the best option I'm still shocked on what UFA day has become in this league.

I really hope not. Babs for sure might be looking at the big picture and weighting all the pros and cons plus asking his family about the situation and then decide what to do and why wouldn't he ? He will be highest paid coach with his next contract and a ton of teams are going to want him (including some up and coming teams). Save for the obvious "every prospect is going to turn out and even better than we've hoped" crowd I'm not so sure about the future of this team. Yes Nqcuist, Tatar, Sheahan and DannyD are all nice players and turned out well but the point is, soon this team will have to replace to ridiculously talented and hardworking centers and no, neither Larkin nor that Athanas (if they turn out to be solid top 6 contributors that would be very nice), guy is going to come even close to their level so if the D still isn't fixed by then the defense and offense will take another hit, how big will be determent by future UFA signings and the development stage from some of the younger players. Keep in mind I haven't even mentioned Kronwall who might be too old by then too and if fans can see that I'm very sure Babcock is very aware and concerned about the situation too. Blashill may be talking like Babcock and having success in the AHL but the NHL is a completely different beast, so who knows he could turn out to be great or maybe just average but replacing the best coach in all of hockey is a huge task for everyone no matter how much - and he's done a ton of it - someone has done in the AHL. I also think Babcock wants and deserves more of a say in roster decisions (a Roy/Sakic like relationship) and I'm not sure if Holland is ready to offer that but one thing I'M very sure of: if the Map le Leafs fans still believe that the best owner in all of sports will let him go if they offer 4 mill / year they're in for a huge surprise and a long negotiating war :-) Lately I've thought about another team that could be a darkhorse here the Anaheim Ducks: Perry and Getzlaf are in their prime, a very good an already established young core plus they are big and compete hard in all situations so if Samueli is willing to join the bidding-war the Ducks would be a very intersting choice, beautiful place to live, less pressure and I'm sure Murray would offer a Roy/Sakic like situation. So all in all Babcock has a ton of options and I don't think a recent winning nor losing streak is going to affect his decision but it will for sure be the top story of the off-season no wheter what he decides to do.

McDavid and Eichel aren't the usual top picks they're young phenom. Especially McDavid has the potential to become another Crosby or maybe even better. It pisses me of how much crap Buffalo is getting for doing the right thing. Ufas won't sign there (for now), centers are hard to come by do what other option do they have? None talents like McEichel aren't going to be in every draft. I hope McDavid can do for them what The Captain did for us. I also wouldn't be too cocky about never needing a top pick because well when Pasha is gone...The blow has to be lessened somehow and soon after him Z too.

He'll get a better deal than Tatar but only slightly.

Norris will still go to Shea Weber but Rinne needs to get back into monstermode otherwise Price will be running away with it soon.

http://www.tsn.ca/thornton-doug-needs-to-shut-his-mouth-1.230111 I guess one of the two will be gone after the season is over and Thornton has a full NMC so I guess it won't be him. Good for Joe for finally snapping I mean DW has stripped him of the C and then talked about big changes but did nothing. Should be really interesting going forward.

Happy for him and it's a great story but there is no way he is winning the Hart over Price - that guy is playing out of his mind this season - I would also add Stamkos to the Hart trophy candidates.

Sadly I know that but getting rid of the instigator would be a way to end the open season on stars, because the refs will never be able to see everything and get everything right. These guys are humans not robots so errors have to be expected.

This game is called hockey, it should be violent, physical and skilled. If stars want to shine against the so called "lesser skilled but tougher" guys guess what ? Work harder because guys like Prust while not the most talented will work their butt of, If someone crosses the line you simple can't count on the refs the game is too fast and there is too much stuff going on...want to change the open season against so called stars ? Get rid of the instigator problem solved. This season has already been one of it not the most boring since years and I'm sorry but basketball like scores are not going to bring back the excitement...let's make hockey hockey again and then the excitement will come back.

Fine, so you'll have other stuff to do instead of wasting my time nice.

Ah so he's part of the let's play tree huggers fraction that's why you know him got it.

No clue who this guy is, so maybe he is trusted maybe not..But this sounds like damage control

Should have been Godström stupid auto correction

That's a very good point. People thought the loss of Godstrould be a major blow and for sure it was, the defense hasn't even been close to be as good as they were...but don't underestimate the impact of losing one of the most skilled players ever (Pasha) and then a very very good two-way center soon after that ? It would be unfair to expect Larkin to fill in for either one. So a bonafide number 1 defender - hopefully DannyD develops into one - will be needed because otherwise the defense will take another shot. Also the center Position will need to be fixed by then

Look, I'm talking about the optics and they would be devastating..let's assume they scratch him and really piss the guy of what's the smash thing to do? Yes tell DW to shut up plus provide them with a list of two teams that would be acceptable which means Thornton would leave for basically nothing and no upcoming ufa would want to sign there. In terms of money well I've read that they could need more and better scouts.

Suddenly a seriies of bad games is forgotten, if a rookie goalie has 1 good game after the captain, coach and Kronner called out the team after an embarrassing loss. It's really unbelievable. I 'd rather see Howie back in there and get his game back....just watched the Philly game man that was bad but 4 of the goals were gifts not even king Henrik could stop them.

It gives him the power to not get moved at all if he doesn't want to. If the sharks decide to scratch him for let's say 20 games in a row and it's not based on performance there could be trouble. Opening the pockets in terms of better scouts, development programs...I mean they have Hertl then what?

McGuire is like Puckdaddy their knowledge is of the charts. And then there are guys like Don Grapes Cherry guy probably had more knowledge than everyone. Man Babs must have really ripped off the door on Saturday and rightfully so..This team is like wonderland you'll never know what result you'll get.