Richdg

Very ifferent styles. Ducks play a power game Hawks play a speed game. Our D matches up better vs the Ducks. I expect them to really struggle with Chicago's speed.

Of course my heart says Wings! But my brain says hawks. This is a much tougher matchup for us. The Ducks were a team carried by their forwards. The Hawks are much deeper, better on the blueline, and have better goal tending. The layoff will hurt the hawks early. We will win 1 of the first 2 in Chicago. But by game 3 they will be firing on all pistons, and we will be in trouble. Our D is much better suited to handle the Ducks forwards than the Hawks. For us to win, Jimmy will have to steal the series. But I think we will go down in 5 or 6 games. Even if that happens, it has been a very good first year post Nicky.

Jimmy carried us this series. yes others played well, but in the end we won because our G was better than the Ducks G. Kudos to Kronwall and E for playing most of their shifts vs the Perry/getzlof line and holding them down.

Not to mention, if you just lost the game you are pissed off.

But the guys you are talking about were Red Army players. They didn't have the option of being lazy-they got shot if they were! very different era. LOL! Yes Hull also was lazy. It is not just a Russian thing. But when such a large number of the "stars" from the same place act the same way, it does build a rep. This is part of the reason why there are so few russians in the NHL today. For the regular season there was 22 russian skaters and 6 G that played at least 1 game in the NHL. 28 total russians in the NHL. Hell not that long ago the RW's alone had 28 russian players.

For whatever the reasons, there has always been questions of effort with Russian players. yes datsyuk is an exception. But the list is very long. Kozlov and Fedorov both had their moumnets of watching the play and/or little effort. yashin is legandary for his lack of effort-and the Isles are still paying for him! Semin went through this the last couple of years with the caps, and yes Ovechkin has the same issue as well. The Bure's were another goup that had games where they simply didn't care while on the ice. Mogilney (spelling) another....

I am doing some work at home and more listening to the game than watching it. So far the only names I keep hearing are: datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kindl, Lashoff, Smith and a lot of Howard. Is the rest of the team even dressed? Or arewe playing just 6 guys tonight? Sorry, heard Franzen twice: goal and penalty. Not good enough guys.

18 shots for the Ducks in the 1st...... way way to many

Thank you Perry! LOL

Wrong. Sproul played the last couple of games in GR this year, including some PO time. he is the real deal from a offensive stand point. he is also 6-3/4 and around 200 pounds. Not to mention RHed with a booming shoot. yes he needs some more AHL time. but that could be 20 games. or it could be a year. But that isn't the point. The point is, to trade for value you have to give up value. We don't have many options to move and get a good return. Dmen is a position of strength for the organization, while forward is the black hole. Even if we get the perfect draft, those guys are 2-5 years away. We need forwards now. So the question becomes are we a better TEAM with E and no proven forward additions or with a proven forward/no E. Of course the answer is: depends. depends on who we would be picking up. If the choice is E vs Ryan, we need Ryan more. Edit. No PO time for Sproul. I thought I heard his name on the radio, but that is incorrect.

Come June we get another chance to reload. Yes! I still beleive we will pick between 12 and 18. This is a loaded draft. most experts are talking 90-100 quality players deep. Deepest draft since 2003 and best for the next 3 years. This is the year to load up on picks. Now there are a million mock drafts out there, but here is one that has the prefect pick for us: http://www.jacketscannon.com/2013/2/20/4011564/2013-nhl-mock-draft-1-columbus-blue-jackets-mackinnon-jones-drouin-barkov Yes it is just a writer for the Blue jackets. But for us to get Nickushkin..... I drool at the thought. Putting a 6-3/200 fast power forward with datsyuk and Z...... YES!!!!! A thousand tuimes yes!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think that is correct anymore, that is why the buyouts were added as an option to the new CBA. So you could remove guys from your cap.

using a buyout on sammy-1 year left on his contract is a waste of a buyout. use those on guys that are signed and hitting our cap untill they are 40. wasting 3 million in cap space for 1 season is not that big of a deal. wasting 4+ million on a guy for 3, 4, 5 years after he is retired is a HUGE deal. Ref: Kronwall 32 w/ 6 more seasons of cap hit, Franzen 34 with 7 more seasons of cap hit, and Zetterberg 33 with 8 more seasons of cap hit. ages as of dec 31, 2013.

Yes E has played well. But Kronwall has played poorly this year from a defensive stand point, which makes E look even better. He is playing on a top pair, but he really is a 3/4 not a 1/2 Dman. The real question with E is, can we afford to keep him. He is a UFA after next season, and the market is 5 million per year. Is E worth it? That one is a tough choice. We do have 4/5 young Dman pushing for time: Kindl, Dekeyser, Lashoff, Smith, and Sproul. Maybe this summer is the time to flip him for a top 2 line forward-something we don't have.

If all of our UFA's left, would we really miss any of them? Maybe brunner, but even he has issues-but still young enough to make improvements. But really, Miller, Cleary, White, Filppula? What did these guys really give us this year? Not much. Combined they make around 9 million. Do they even have 9 goals between them? JK on that point. But let them all walk. Maybe even Brunner if it means we can sign a Clarkson and Horton.

I understand the fear thing. Everytime we seem to be set to take a player with size and skill, we seem to pass. Now that in fact is false, but it just feels that way.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/corey-perry-ejected-head-shot-jason-zucker-guess-013325728--nhl.html

if this happens? When this happens. Its not like the Sens are the biggest team or a dirty team.

LOL The texting gens response! send an e-mail! How about instead, we actually get a few tough guys to take care of crap like this on the ice, like it is supposed to be handled? yes bert with his bad back tried, but not to much avail. Maybe a few tough guys under 30. Holland? what say you?

Showing my age.... I remember Neil when he played for the Griffins. Something about #25.......... Yes for you youngsters, the griffins used to be the top farm team for the Sens.... back in the IHL days.... DING DING DING! We have a winner!

Still to early to tell. A lot can/will happen between now and the draft. What UFA/RFA get resigned? Are there any trades? Is there a hawken Anderson special we don't know about yet? How much did Nill factor into the draft? How about his replacement? all of that being said, if i was to guess.... I would say 1 of the following 5: Pulock, Mantha, Wannberg, De la Rose, or Horvat. Now all are rated pretty close. Horvat, Wannberg, and de la Rose are more 2 way complete players, but lack the high end scoring potential. Pulock of course is a very good Dman and mantha is a goal scorer. One more thing on Mantha. he is the oldest player in the draft. He missed by 1 day. He is nearly a full year older than a lot of these guys, and will be ready 1 year sooner. That is why bailey is most likely a high second rounder. The difference between him and Mantha is yes their speed. Mantha has great speed vs Bailey has good speed. bailey is almost a year younger and it shows. 1 more year in junior and we may be talking about him scoring 50 goals. he uses his size mainly to protect the puck. yes he checks, but he is closer to Perry minus the fights. In 3 years he will be in the 210 range and could be the same type of offensive player Perry is.

Not a guru by any stretch, just done a lot of reading and research. Max Domi. he is not his father. he is 5-9/180 and a skilled forwarded, not a block head like his dad. Other than he has an edge he is no different than guys like Nyquist, tatar, helm, jarnkrok etc.... small and skilled. Rychel is a success becasue he works hard. At his best he is dan Cleary at 28/29. Works hard, plays both ways, will get you 20 goals a year. he isn't very big 6-0/200, nor fast. In the second or third round he makes sense, not as a first rounder. if he is taken in the 1st round-and he will be, he will be considered a bust by most in 5 years. There is just nothing special about him, other than his work ethic. The rest already have a bunch of info posted about them in this thread, scroll up and read/enjoy. Highlights as well. mantha to me is the best pick for us, if he is there, in the 1st. Size, speed, skill, and puts the puck in the net. is he perfect? no. other than the top 3-5 every year, everyone has 1 or 2 questions about them. But who amoung us didn't at 18?

ummmm game 3 was last night and we lost 0-4! LOL, I know you meant game 4.

No. hell No. hell the F$%k No! Howard is the reason we are in the playoffs. it is not his fault that this team can't score, plays far to soft, and leaves him out to dry all game long. There isn't a G in the league that is going to do a better job with this team in front of him. We made it to the PO's and are rebuilding at the same time. if you thought this was a team that was going to make a deep run, you are kidding yourself. It isn't and will not. But none of thta has to do with Howard.

Nichushkin could fall-Russian and lready signed a 3 year extention in Russia. yes I understand the value thing, but there is plenty of value in this draft without taking a blueliner.