eva unit zero

My only thought when I first saw it was that it sort of looked like Kovalchuk was trying to avoid hitting Rosival. When you consider that his comments contradict that, you can't call this anything but a blatantly dirty hit. That said, I expect one of two outcomes: 1) The league will investigate the hit, he will be allowed to play in the next game and the ASG during the investigation, and the league will discipline him AFTER the ASG. 2) The league will suspend him only for the next game. The first course is what I would do of the two available outcomes. There's a good chance that he sits out thursday's game anyway, even if he's not suspended. Waddel isn't stupid enough to send out his star player against the team he just laid a dirty hit on two nights later for a game with little importance.

Ozzie may have to skip the All-Star game for health reasons. Because he's just SICK!

I would rather watch Versus than ESPN. Why? Because ESPN ignored and made fun of hockey when they had it. The NHL is better off not condoning that treatment of its product. And for those who are saying 'Bettman is trying to kill the league by not being on ESPN' who do you think got the NHL on ESPN in the first place? Bettman was hailed as a genius in the early 90s when he basically robbed ESPN for a huge deal to broadcast the NHL. If that hadn't happened, we'd all probably be happy to see the league getting the kind of exposure Versus offers. Oh, and BTW...Versus stole Brian Engblom and Bill Clement from ESPN...so it's not like they have worse analysts than ESPN did given that they have THE SAME ANALYSTS. Except minus Barry 'The Goat' Melrose.

So, say we trade Kronwall and a first to get Sundin. Now we have a hole on defense. So we trade Filppula or Hudler to get Rob Blake. Tell me how that makes us a better team now? Sundin isn't so much better than Hudler or Flip that he offsets how much better Kronwall is than Blake. And that's just looking at the roster RIGHT NOW. Consider that come the end of the year, Sundin and Blake are gone, and we now have two large holes in the roster. Sorry...no deals should be made where we lose a top six forward or a top three defenseman unless we are getting one back that we are keeping long-term who would be an upgrade. Hossa is about the only situation that has a chance of happening, and I don't see Hossa happening.

Kesler has size and speed, but he's not a scoring forward. The Leafs will need a guy capable of putting up the numbers in return...and that's Hudler. Michalek put up 66 points last year with THORNTON. You don't think Hudler could have EASILY done so in the same role? Based on ice time, Hudler was on pace for 26-17-43 over Michalek's minutes last season. You don't think that turns into a MINIMUM of 35-40-75 if he's with Thornton/Cheechoo instead of spending most of his time with a combination of Draper/Maltby/Lang/Samuelsson/Franzen? Oooook.

One of the skills Kovalev lacks is the ability to have top-end linemates. When's the last time Kovalev had a regular linemate who was anywhere near his skill level? I am not sure if it has ever happened where Kovy wasn't the most talented guy on his normal line. I can't think of any other great player who has never been put with a guy who was better than him at that point in time as a regular line. Mario Lemieux is the ONLY name that comes to mind where I can't think of him ever being outplayed by his linemates. Makes you wonder how good Kovalev could really have been with some consistency and a little bit of confidence from his coaches.

Does McGuire SERIOUSLY consider Michalek and Kesler as good as Kronwall? Nik has 4 more points than Kesler, 4 fewer than Michalek. But he's a very good two-way defenseman...while the other two are mediocre defensive forwards. But the real question I'm sure is on the minds of posters here..if Kesler or Michalek and a 1st gets Sundin, does that mean the younger, more prolific Hudler can get him straight up?

It wasn't a 'I'll get back to you' it was a 'I'm currently going through a divorce, could I please have some time to sort out my personal life and then handle the contract business' and Fedorov's perfectly reasonable request for more time, NOT more money, was met with a reduction in contract length. Fedorov signed with Anaheim because they offered five years. Had Detroit offered the same 5yr/40m deal Fedorov likely would have accepted. It was never about the money; just the length.

Just no. Kronwall is one of the top 20 defensemen in the league this season, and has been playing a very solid all-around game. If he keeps it up for the rest of his contract at his current level, he is UNDERPAID. Trading Kronwall means Lilja is our only remotely physical defenseman under the age of 40. Personally, I think if we add anything it should be a physical stay at home defenseman...so wh yare we trading away a good young two-way defenseman who plays physical for a rental forward? I'm not interested in Sundin if he costs any roster player or Kindl. Beyond that, I would give up up to three of our other prospects plus one or two picks so long as the guys I mentioned stay in town.

My guess is 84. Because that would leave the Wings as the only team with any of their six regulars healthy in the West.

Key words...AFTER PRACTICE. Meaning he's already been working on his hockey skills for an hour or two. And if you practuced it fifteen minutes every day for fifteen years, you might get that good.

He's a center, but if he can come over and immediately step in a la Daniel Alfredsson, we can find a space for him. Think about it... Hudler/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Filppula/Datsyuk/Cleary Franzen/Bruunstrom/Samuelsson Maltby/Draper/Kopecky That's a pretty nice lineup.

The problem is that the goaltender's NHL career started 20 years ago, and they don't really have a successor. That's really the biggest problems the Caps face in the next couple years. They have good young forwards, and some decent young defensemen. They need to add a solid defensive defenseman and a goaltender, and they could be pretty good for a while.

I've always wondered why Kovalev isn't constantly dominating the league offensiely...I thought he was a better player than Jagr during Jagr's later Pittsburgh years.

I wonder...if the Caps are close to the playoffs and the price is cheap in terms of assets...could we see Mr. Fedorov goes to Washington?

It's being pushed out the door when you consider it is LOWER than the previous offer. When does that happen in contract negotiations, where the offer gets lower? It doesn't.

Fedorov never turned down the 5y/50m deal. He asked for some time to sort out personal issues and then showed up to sign the deal, and on the table was a 4y/40m deal. He asked for the 5th year back, and it was never put back on. He then signed with Anaheim for 5y/40m. That's called leaving for LESS money. Shanahan, on the other hand, left for EQUAL money. Yet Fedorov is the one called greedy. It wasn't about greed; it was about him being pushed out the door for some reason. That said, here is a list of players whose numbers are most likely to be retired, and what they must do to earn the honor. 1) #30, Chris Osgood. if he breaks some of Sawchuk's club records and perhaps wins another Cup or two, he might qualify for this. 2) #91, Sergei Fedorov. If he returns to the Wings and finishes out his career here, he may see some consideration for jersey retirement. 3) #14, Brendan Shanahan. He did a lot in his time with Detroit, but he was a mercenary to begin with and Detroit has never retired the jersey of a player who did not begin their career as a Wing.

Both of them should be in. I may have exaggerated slightly when putting Tram next to Ripken...but he was as good as Smith or Ryne Sandberg, and better than Luis Aparicio, Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto to name a few who are in. Tram belongs in the Hall. Morris was clutch, but what hurts him is that he would be the HOFer with the highest ERA. People look at that and think 'well, maybe he's not really a HOFer' and that costs him votes. I don't think Morris is more deserving than Tram, though.

Beauchemin is not better than average defensively. He is an offensive-minded defenseman who has not been playing without a Norris-caliber partner since he came to Anaheim. Well, this season his offense hasn't been there. You can't argue 'well, they picked up Schneider' because he was struggling offensively before Niedermayer came back, in the #3 role that he has been in. Oh, and Beauchemin is NOT better than Schneider. Nor is he as good as Kronwall. I would rank it like this: Lidstrom>Niedermayer Rafalski<Pronger Kronwall>Schneider Chelios=Beauchemin Lilja=O'Donnell Lebda>Huskins I really don't get the fascination with Beauchemin...yes he has a hard shot. That only makes him a good player if he can actually use it for offense. And of course Beauchemin will be on the PK...Anaheim has seen Kent Huskins and Joe Dipenta play significant PK time this season. Playing on the PK means you are one of the better defensive players on your team at your position; it doesn' always have a bearing on how good you are defensively i nthe league. For example, Rob Blake, Jaro Modry, and Brad Stuart are all considered poor defensively. Yet all of them kill penalties. Hal Gill, Pavel Kubina, Bryan McCabe, Sergei Gonchar, and Tom Poti all play upwards of 3:45 per game on the PK...I wouldn't call any of them 'good' defensive players. Beauchemin is the same story.

Yes, the fact that he is a better playmaker and defensive forward, better on faceoffs and is bigger and stronger all play a role in that. Hudler is a better goal scorer than Joe Thornton too; doesn't mean Hudler is a better player. Unless your only measure of player ability is goals scored, in which case total goals might be for you.

Abdelkader is considered Detroit's top forward prospect. He is considered to be a strong two-way forward with a physical game. He is ranked above Zach Torquato, Jan Mursak, and Cory Emmerton..all of whom were not far behind Matthias in OHL performance this season. Matthias is considered to need work on his defensive game. So let's recap; Abdelkader is considered to be a better prospect than players younger than Matthias who are performing near Matthias' level in the same league..therefore, Abdelkader is likely at very least an equal prospect to Matthias, more than likely better.

The Emmerton/Meech package was the most value I would be willing to give up if we can't afford to sign Hossa, because anything more than that would harm us too much in the future to make one more gun for one Cup run worth it. Try looking at my original post for what I'd be willing to give for Hossa if he can be signed, and please read the entirety of posts before you start ripping into people about their contents. Oh, and there is a small chance something like what I proposed could happen. It would require that teams which can afford Hossa and are looking for a forward make another trade or decide not to trade, and Atlanta to turn desperate to dump him for something. Which is possible, but not likely because of Hossa's status as a top scoring winger.

The Wings' top three is better than the Ducks' top three...and the same is true of the bottom three. Anaheim has better names but that's about all they have; Schneider and Beauchemin have been largely disappointing offensively this season and neither is better than average defensively. Even Pronger hasn't played to his abilities defensively, while the Wings have been getting a breakout year from Kronwall and solid defensive play from guys like Chelios and Rafalski.

Because Matthias scored 2 goals in a game playing on a line with Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton? I could do that. It's like how people are saying Bertuzzi is really coming around...no, he just was moved to a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, who have been playing very well.

I disagree with your assessment. Hudler is more likely to score a goal when he is on the ice; therefore Hudler is the better scorer. It's the Joe Malone comparison. Joe Malone averaged 2.2 goals per game in the NHL's first season, and set a scoring record or 44 goals in 20 games that wouldn't be broken until Maurice Richard played 30 more games in a season. Is Joe Malone the greatest goal scorer ever? His per game stats seem to suggest it. He averaged better than a goal per game for his career. His peak was a level nobody else has even come close to approaching. But Joe Malone played about 58 minutes per game, compared to the 20 minutes first line players see now; which would still project him to a 62 goal season playing 20 minutes for 82 games, but it doesn't make him out to be some kind of untouchable goal scoring deity anymore. Is Malone a better goal scorer than Mike Bossy, Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, or Steve Yzerman was in their primes? The per-minute stats would seem to suggest that it's a pretty close call, while the per-game stats suggest that Malone was individually a better goal scorer than most teams' entire first lines throughout NHL history.