norrisnick

He'd waive it if it became clear he was no longer wanted on the Wings. Maybe not to the Isles per se, but the only thing a NTC will do is give the player a bit of control of his destination. Very rarely does a guy with a NTC stick around with a team that wants to trade him. No one was screaming "NTC!!!!" when Pete and Tkachuk were involved in trade rumors. Why is that?

How in the world did Pete and Tkachuk get traded then?!?

That's where PR comes in. And hell many of the fans (the ones that boo and jeer) will know that a player isn't pulling his weight. Kenny can come out and say player A hasn't been playing to his potential and the going rates were too good to pass up. Build up the youngsters that are currently on the 4th and state the only reason they were down there was because the said player A had more of a record to go on, but the kids are capable. OR take the route of bringing in someone else and hope they have better success with the opportunity (ex. move Lang for a 1st acquire another center for a 2nd). I fully realize that even if Kenny were so inclined he couldn't get rid of everyone unnecessary, but one or two moves could really help in asset management. And even then these guys are well versed in the spin game. Lilly brings toughness anyone? If Kenny can sell it to Ilitch I doubt he'll have anything to worry about from public opinion. That Millen fellow still has a job doesn't he?

Holy hell.... That was the most massive case of deja vu. Creepy. With the cap and these prices I wouldn't be surprised if teams started. I mean seriously. Just because we're at the top of the standings, doesn't mean every player we have A. fits in. B. is pulling his weight C. makes a meaningful impact in the success of the team. D. can't be replaced by a younger/cheaper alternative. Etc... Kenny has been very firm of late that there is a next season and a season after that and you can't mortgage those years for today. But why not the inverse? If we can't make the deals to meaningfully improve our team why not try to meaningfully improve the future?

110% stone cold dead serious. At first these prices pissed me off, but now I'm giddy at the possibilities. We should be able to get a 1st for Lang, EASILY. A 1st+ for Schneider. Maybe a 1st or 2nd for a package including Willy/Maltby/Lilly/etc... It's patently ridiculous, but NOT if you're a seller. Kenny would be very shrewd indeed if he got in on this. A Guerin, Lapointe, Mayers, whoever is NOT going to put us over the top. Neither will Lang, Schneider, Lilly, Willy, etc... At this point those guys are more likely to stand in the way of success because they simply aren't responsible with the puck and/or producing enough to outweigh those turnovers. Hell we could sell our crap and use parts of the profits to bring in a couple of warmer bodies. But at this point it would be incredibly stupid to overpay for crap and shortsighted to not take advantage of the guys mortaging their future.

To HELL with that! Jump in with both feet Kenny!! Put Schneider, Lang, Willy, Lilly, Maltby, etc... on the market and get in on this action ASAP!! The latter four have been bouncing around between mediocre and atrocious for most of the season and we've shown we can play without Schneider. We're a one line team anyway atm, and rather than cripple the next couple of the seasons to bring in an overhyped 2nd liner we should get sell while the selling's good. Zhitnik for Coburn? Rivet and a 5th for Gorges and a 1st? Tkachuk for 3-4 1st/2nds? The aforementioned 5 players ought to land us 3 1sts and a couple prospects/warm bodies. And really, what do we lose in terms of competitiveness? Not much if anything...

I agree about the upward momentum (hits that primarily impact the opposing players head should be a penalty or extra penalty if the hit already was illegal). But disagree about his arm being out. It was tucked in to protect his ribs on impact and he extends to push Lupul away and regain balance. There was really nowhere else for his arm to be. Nevermind. Got reply happy before realizing there was more on page 2...

Why would he get fined if he did nothing wrong? I'm anti goonery and pointless fighting. I like a good fight as much as anyone, but fighting for fighting's sake (see Norton) or a team blowing its stack and lashing out at anyone in reach (Sabres here, Blues from a couple years ago) I don't see anything redeeming in that. I like that Stafford (was it Stafford?) went right after Neil. But the following shift was bulls***. If anything more needed to be done, Peters knew where to find Chris later in the game (or a following game). Depends on what the intial act is. Clean hit? Hit them back. Cheap hit? Hit them back, maybe fight the hitter. Etc... The Wings really haven't been subject to many blatant cheapshots that I can recall. Why throw a fit over a normal hit? It's ridiculous.

Agree about the tie for 4th. As for the other three, I'd say it was a complete toss up. The inspiration and scoring from Stevie and then Sergei and Nick had about the same impact but at two different positions.

So many coach have delved to bushleage chickens*** tactics. And? So basically you agree he wasn't thinking straight. Exactly my point. There's a right way to respond. And there is a wrong way. I think we both know, which way Ruff chose. Where have I said anything about Murray's coaching acumen? I don't think I've ever referred to him as anything remotely close to a good coach.

How does that have anything to do with anything?

That's fine. Take exception. But how you react will give you an indication of the sort of character you have. Throwing a tantrum like a 4-year-old is just sad. That's what Ruff and the Sabres did. Has nothing to do with having balls and much more to do with not having brains.

Fighting non fighters is not hockey 101. Period. Never was. Never will be. It's not off base. Blues had hurt feelings and started fighting non fighters. The Sabres had hurt feelings and started fighting non fighters. In both cases it was a bushleague move by a chickens*** coach. Why did Mair apologize to Heatley after the game?

There is nothing in the rules that say you can't line up the opposing skill guys and check them. Nothing at all. It's a perfect example. Hurt feelings. Lash out. Lather, rinse, repeat. As you say the Sabres FELT it was a dirty hit. Thus disrespecting their captain and team. The Blues FELT the Wings were rubbing things in by running up the score (I think it was 6-somethign at the time) in the series sweeping game. In actuality there is no real reason for tough guys going after non-fighters in either case. Need for retaliation? Why is there a need for retaliation if the thought of legal check doesn't bother you? I hope you realize that if you had your way there'd be no checking and no fighting because everyone would be scared of the opposing goons. Think Cold War.

I'd say Neil is a pansy ass and should stay off the ice if he can't take a hit without throwing a tantrum. This IS hockey you know. Checking is allowed. It absolutely blows my mind that all the tough guy fight fans are absolute babies about any sort of contact being made. Grow a pair. Dust yourself off and finish your shift (or get off the ice). Anyway, back to your scenario. I'd say that's a crystal clear example of when a 'third man in' game-misconduct is warranted. WTF are you doing letting a skill guy get manhandled by a goon? Step in. No reason Neil should be allowed to drop Drury in such a case. A Sabre or three ought to be there before it gets that far. As for Ruff knowing what the Code is all about... Why was Kocur so pissed Quenneville and the Blues? Weren't they following the Code by gooning it up because they were embarassed on the scoresheet and season series? Isn't the proverbial "Sending a Message" A-OK in that case? Bulls***, and Joey put it quite well when he told the cowering Joel that he had no balls. Sending fighters after non-fighters is nothing but bushleague chickens***. It's a bunch of overgrown boys throwing a tantrum because their feelings were hurt. Same goes for Ruff last night.

Is fighters fighting skill guys against the code? I'm pretty sure that's worse than a clean check on a skill guy. If you have a beef, take it up with the guy you have a beef with. It's the only thing that makes sense. Really. Anything else is stupid. I'm off to work.....

That's neither here nor there. Chris Neil threw that hit. Not Jason Spezza. Not Dany Heatley. Not any other Senator. Chris ******* Neil. If Ruff wanted to be a big man he should have had Peters waiting for his next shift to coincide with Neil's first after coming out of the box (he already got jumped by a Sabre just after the hit, granted not a big time fighter but you get the picture).

Whatever happened to keep your head up? Shouldn't that major tenet supercede this other section of the Code? Which takes priority? The rules that allow one to dish out big checks to opposing player or the ones that state you must throw a tantrum when the rules of hockey aren't in your favor? For as much clamoring there is for big hits among the grit groupies you sure get bent out of shape whenever they happen. You'd think you'd want checking outlawed. How 'bout charge the mound and take it out on the guy responsible? THAT'S the point here. All this dishing out revenge on parties not involved. Granted this isn't the best case to make a point here, but at the very least Bertuzzi sucker-punched the guy that hit his friend/captain and not Sakic.

Yeah, Heatley, Spezza, and whoever else that was out there are sure a scary bunch. Protect your fellow Sabres from those mean nasties!!! Old time hockey you take the guy's number and wait for him out on the ice. You don't start indiscriminately attacking the opposition's skill guys. There is a Code, no? Doesn't Olde Time Hockey!© follow some sort of Code?

And don't underestimate just how bad those gloves smell.

It wasn't an elbow. It was the same hit that was deemed clean by the league as tossed at Willy, Franzen, and a couple others this year. The ever debated high shoulder.

You think a coach should have free reign to send his goons out against the opposition's top line and essentially jump them on the draw? Or the Sabre enforcer going after the other team's GOALIE? Doesn't that go against the All Holy Grit Groupie Code? It's not like the Sens can respond by sending their goons after Ruff, so someone higher up has to deal with it. IE the league.

Not at the point, which I believe is the main worry about possibly "losing" Schneider.

That's where Babcock's fondness for Willy runs afoul. Last season Hudler ran the AHL's best offense and PP from the point. Also Mikael Samuelsson played the point for Team Sweden at the World Championships. Both are far better passers and have more accurate shots than Willy. Sammy is also bigger, faster, and more defensively aware. Hudler is just better offensively and about on par defensively. But I think Hudler would panic a bit less under pressure, but he'd have a harder time chasing a guy down if he got beat at the blueline. Then there's Chelios who has been begging for PP time for over a decade.

Regarding his contract demands, I'd say his playoff performance greatly outshines his Russian-ness. And Canadian or not, I doubt Cherry would like Pavel. He isn't even overly fond of Crosby.