StaticWithABeat

Not sure what Atlanta is thinking taking this deal. Props to Bowman for pulling it off though, definitely a victory for him considering the circumstances.

Nominees/my picks Bill Masterton Trophy: Kurtis Foster, Jed Ortmeyer, Jose Theodore Calder Trophy: Matt Duchene, Jimmy Howard, Tyler Myers Frank J. Selke Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler, Jordan Staal Hart Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin Jack Adams Award: Joe Sacco, Dave Tippett, Barry Trotz James Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Duncan Keith Lady Byng Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis Ted Lindsay Award: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin Vezina Trophy: Martin Brodeur, Ilya Bryzgalov, Ryan Miller

I hope no one here is so detached from reality that they seriously think a top-seeded team would intentionally try to fall in the standings to avoid a playoff matchup.

This is the correct answer. Although I do enjoy a good "what would you trade" thread to show just how out of touch with reality some people are.

I am not an overly pro-enforcer guy but I would definitely like to see the team get bigger & stronger in general....seems like every time I turned around in the Penguins series it was Hudler/Filppula/Zetterberg/Datsyuk getting bowled over by Gill or Orpik in the offensive zone or Rafalski/Lebda getting outmuscled by an aggressive forward on a dump-&-chase. I will be watching Boston this offseason because they are going to have a nightmare of a time signing all of their RFA's, and I would not mind poaching Byron Bitz off them.

After losing to Edmonton in 2006 I gave up looking at blown calls/non-calls, bad bounces, injuries, and everything else as causes for an inferior team unjustly beating a more deserving one. Life became much less stressful once I accepted these things as random, uncontrollable factors that must be defeated just like any other opponent. IMO, the better team always wins. If you can't play well enough to overcome adverse factors that every team faces to one extent or another then you probably aren't meant to be a champion.

I was on a downtempo electronica kick for the past few weeks but it has since given way to a new wave of hard rock listening

If not for bad breaks, the Wings could've won the Cup every year since 1920. Use whatever excuse you want, the bottom line is breaks are a natural, uncontrollable part of the game and the Penguins are simply not getting it done.

I probably wouldn't bet on the Pens against the Ducks...their two-man show might work in the eastern conference but a gritty, well-balanced, defensively strong team like Anaheim would probably do similar things to them that the Wings are now.

St. Louis has been a finalist but never won before. For comparison purposes: Datsyuk: 97 pts. -- 22 PIM Parise: 94 pts. -- 24 PIM St. Louis: 80 pts. -- 14 PIM

Fedorov was nothing short of heroic in the playoffs and was not relied on the be a go-to leader like Thornton & Marleau are. I see no relevant comparison.

I'm not a hardcore pro or anti-fighting advocate, but it is definitely refreshing to see someone who doesn't run for the hills when the going gets tough. I like Samuelsson/Franzen/Maltby/etc. as much as the next guy, but I can only witness their displays of "toughness" so many times before I get depressed.

My friend got P90x for Christmas and got his ass kicked pretty bad. I tried a couple of the workouts too and some of them are quite intense. I'm in pretty good shape and work out 4 days a week normally but I had a tough go of it through some of them, especially the chest/shoulders one. My hat is off to anyone who can stick to that program for the full 90 days.

Wow those are surprisingly pretty sweet...then again I am black t-shirt biased since they make up 90% of my wardrobe.