haroldsnepsts

As was mentioned in a previous thread regarding Datsyuk, the biggest draw for him in Russia is his daughter. Everything else in the blog is unfounded conjecture and speculation, regardless of an "unnamed source."

Just to be clear, you're holding it against Babcock that now in his 10th year as an NHL coach, he's made it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals twice and won it once? Most coaches don't have that "blemish" on their resume because they don't make it to the Cup Finals three times.

That's where it gets weird with the league. By their definition of "targeted" it doesn't have to mean the the player is clearly trying to hit a guy in the head. There were cases where because of what they deemed was a recklessly thrown hit by the player, the head was essentially targeted. Unintentional but reckless, so still targeted. Here's the NHL explanation video. Talk of the hits starts about 3 mins in. They show examples of illegal and legal hits to the head.

Agreed. The league apparently has language specifically saying the spin-o-rama is legal for shootouts, but that Canucks goal it was so clear he came to a complete stop and was actually moving away from the goalie when he scored. Neither the player nor the puck were moving forward when he scored. I'd love to think that if there's enough players scoring in ways that make it even less about hockey, eventually they'll get rid of the shootout. I know it's a pipe dream though.

Zucker was admiring his pass but Perry's hit looks late, and he sort of throws his upper body up to try and catch more of him, which ends up just contacting more of his head. Aside from looking late, that's a tough angle to throw a hit. Given the distance Zucker was from the boards, there's little chance this hit would end well. If Perry had hit more of his body he likely would've sent Zucker flying head first into the boards. I don't think it was a malicious elbow or anything but it was a bad decision by Perry.

And unfortunately it's probably not going anywhere because owners love the forced parity. It's so much harder to pull away from anyone in the standings because of the loser point. It keeps teams in the playoff hunt longer later into the season, which means the games are more meaningful, which means better ticket sales and ratings. If memory serves they actually introduced the loser point before the shootout, when they went to 4 on 4 OT. But now that it's here with the shootout, it seems unlikely it's going away.

I can't remember who said it but pointed out that the loss of Lidstrom and Detroit's generally less talented blueline not only affects the defense. The forwards will struggle because the puck is not being moved up ice as effectively. It's definitely true. Defensively they've looked better, but they're still struggling to break out of their own zone and establish themselves in the offensive zone effectively. Lidstrom is obviously a huge loss in that department, but I think the loss of Rafalski was a huge blow that's now more visible since Lids is no longer there to pick up the slack.

I thought for sure that's what this thread was about. there's no way that move should be legal. Not because of the way he puts his stick on the puck, that part only highlights how stupid the event is because guys can take their time and do whatever weird thing they want since they have all the time in the world. It has little to do with hockey and should not decide a game. But it, and most spin-o-ramas I've seen should be illegal because he clearly comes to a complete stop right at the goalie and tries to jam it home. He's no longer moving forward in any way. And what's with the "may be?" The shootout is definitely a bad thing.

I think Kindl's one of the better D men at getting his shot off quickly on the blueline and getting it through. Kronwall has become the king of firing it into shinpads. With Kindl it's always been about consistency and willingness to get hit to make a play.

Agreed. Though I fault the rookies less for that. With them I would bet it's less about them taking games off and more adjusting to the grind of an NHL schedule, especially in a shortened season. Imagine if he did bring guys up sooner. Like if Smith got to spend more time on the ice with Lidstrom.

It's just frustrating that without all the injuries Lashoff wouldn't have even sniffed the ice in the NHL this year because of Holland's "overly ripe" philosophy. Instead he's played 21 games averaging over 18 minutes and has looked surprisingly poised for a rookie.

Edmonton is up 4-1 on the Hawks halfway through the 2nd period. They almost scored too much too soon. A young team having the problems Edmonton has, I could see them blowing this lead. Buffalo-Flyers getting chippy after a questionable hit by Simmonds. I think the Sabres player turned at the last second, but then Weber goes after Simmonds, who proceeds to pretty much drop Weber with a solid right hand. Sabres sent out supergoon John Scott, who promptly gets a 10 minute misconduct. Now Ott is chirping the Flyers bench. Fun game. And the hit was questionable but man Simmonds is awesome.

Wow. Oilers hang on to win it 6-5.

Rinaldo called for charging. Honestly it's about time, he's pretty much been doing it all night. Luckily he mostly missed Weber but he was well off his skates. A lot of his other hits looked like he came halfway across the rink to hit someone.

I'd like to agree, but they already won a Cup with mediocre goaltending. They were fortunate to play a team who's goaltending was even worse. In the Flyers game, Ott really showing how stupid he is with the penalties he's taken.

Slightly? He exudes a high level of douchiness with everything he does. Great player, seems like a bad human being. Hawks score. 6-5. I didn't see the goal but sounds like there's some very suspect goaltending on both sides tonight.

Oilers Hawks now 6-4 Edmonton. Wow.

Agreed. For everything people say about Semin, it really applies to Ovechkin the last couple seasons. A one year contract for a guy with something to prove isn't a huge risk. But Semin got $7 mill with Carolina. Maybe it was an issue with paying him more than Z and Dats for the year. Who knows. But it sounds like he's playing well and playing big minutes for the Hurricanes.

especially ones with No Trade Clauses.

Agreed. The Kings are a bad example for "anything can happen." A lot of people were picking the Kings to go deep in the playoffs before the season even started. They were a very good team that underachieved for half the season and couldn't score to save their lives. Then they fired their coach, made a few changes, and started playing up to their potential at the right time. They weren't some mediocre team in terms of talent that came out of nowhere.

Any further posts commenting on the worthiness of the thread will be deleted and warnings/suspensions/permabans will be handed out. It's pretty simple. If you don't like the thread, don't post in it.

I don't have a good guess for the amount but it wouldn't surprise me if it jumps up significantly in value after the first couple years to try and avoid escrow, and that Holland locks him up for the max 8 years. Jimmy may not be considered elite, but he can be a great value goaltender. Good enough to win the Cup but with a low enough cap hit that Holland can spend money elsewhere on the team.

Overall I think Lebrun is pretty good but Kronwall for the Norris?? It just goes to show how these days the sports writers hand out awards by looking at stats as much as anything else.

If Lashoff had ever gotten the chance to play before, Kenny might have realized he didn't need to sign guys like Cola and/or Huskins. The overly ripe philosophy definitely has its drawbacks. It's unfortunate it requires injuries for them to even get a shot but it's nice to see the younger guys getting a chance.

Honestly if they do make a move It better be a big one with someone who has years on their contract. Because unless something dramatic happens with this team over the remainder of the season, they are not one playoff rental away from a deep Cup run. That should've happened the last two seasons. If Holland is going to give up assets it should be for a guy who'll be here for a while and help the rebuild.