haroldsnepsts

Agreed. I'm not sure Smith is the real deal. He's had one exceptional season and has only started over 40 games three times in his career. In 2012 the Coyotes had it together as a team that year and it's a defensive system that plays to his strengths. Plus Smith is 31 years old and has had his fair share of injuries. If they really do sign him for 6 years I wouldn't be surprised if they end up with a highly paid backup in a couple seasons.

As I've already mentioned, my assertion was never that Kindl was the 7th D man. My posts are there for you to re-read if you feel like seeing what I've actually said.

The stats don't support my argument? His average TOI was 17:43 in the playoffs. 18:33 in the regular season. Go look where those numbers put him on the depth chart. In the playoffs he averaged 14:57 Even Strength TOI. Regular season it was 15:40. The rest was mostly on the PP. Kindl wasn't seeing big minutes. His plus minus was good in part because he was protected. That stat in no way proves the opposite, or much else for that matter. +/- is in no way a great indicator of taking care of business in your own end. On the LA Kings the +/- leader during the regular season was Jake Muzzin. Ask any Kings game how they felt anytime Muzzin had the puck in his own end.

True. I guess I was thinking more of his goalscoring and in my head thought it was a down year overall. One of the most frustrating parts was his inability to get a shot through from the point. He'd wait forever, then shoot anyway and drill it into shinpads.

I have to think part of Kronwall's offensive struggles were because of his bigger defensive responsibilities. The same thing happened to Doughty in LA. He had a great year but without Mitchell or Greene he spent the first half of the season playing a more stay at home role. Gradually he started jumping into the play more, especially when they signed Regher. Seems like Kronwall is just trying to keep his head above water in his own end, let alone contribute the offense. Hopefully that will improve. Kindl and Smith will hopefully step up and take some pressure off too.

No, I can rely on other factors to determine what level a defenseman is playing at, like watching them play the game. An understanding of the plus-minus stat helps too. If you actually read my post, you'd see I was specifically saying that on the defensive end he plays like a #7, not his overall game. To further clarify I'm mostly referring to his lack of consistency in his own zone. That lack of consistency night after night is the biggest difference between a #7 plug and regular on the blueline, especially someone with Kindl's skillset. Maybe next time try and make a point of your own instead of misrepresenting mine and telling me I'm wrong.

More of them? I was joking. As has been mentioned, he's 21 years old and has played 3 seasons in the NHL, and he's already put up more points in one season than Franzen ever has. That seems a tad early to write him off. Supposed by who? How you can you possibly shoot down a deal without even knowing what it is?

As the OP mentioned, Detroit and Boston will be in the same division next year. He's got a lot of potential but it seems unlikely they'd trade a young guy within their division. It's a good thing the Wings don't have any players who disappear for long stretches. *cough* Mule *cough* He's 21 years old and has only been in the NHL 3 seasons. He put up 32 points in 48 games this year and 67 in 81 the season before. That would've put him tied for 2nd on the team with Datsyuk. He needs to bulk up and is still developing his game at this level. I'd definitely be interested but like I mentioned because of the realignment it seems unlikely Boston would trade him to Detroit.

Even if he did fetch someone good in return, right now I think it would destabilize the blueline too much. He's not setting the world on fire but he was the most consistent D-man on the team. With young guys like Dekeyser, Smith, and Lashoff in the lineup, they'll need that stability. Because Quincey and Kindl don't really provide it and Cola will probably be injured at some point. Remember that White was good enough to be a #2 guy when paired with Lidstrom. Kronwall struggled against the top matchups and they're certainly not the best top pairing out there, but I think E is good enough to be there. Even though it surprises me somewhat to say it. I thought he'd peak as a middle pairing guy. I don't think his offensive game has to be impressive either. It's not his role. The problem is that Ericsson and Kronwall are kind of both #2 guys.

It's overpayment right now. And he's now signed until he's 30 so the big question is if he's still improving or if he's peaked. Offensively he made big improvements this season. He looked more and more comfortable on the PP and is among if not the best on the team at getting his shot through. It might not always be a cannon but he can get it through to the net, which this team has had a hard time with since Nick and Rafalski retired. Defensively he still plays with the consistency of a #7 guy though. If he improves that, this'll be a good deal. If he doesn't, the Wings will be wishing they packaged him in a trade.

So after the deadline he was no longer a big body and proven winner? And he had his explosiveness before the deadline but lost all of it in the playoffs? He didn't become a completely different player at the deadline. He was on an offensively mediocre Boston team that was awful on the PP. And unlike Dallas in Boston they made him backcheck. His ability to dig out the puck and hang on to it led to key goals and great chances for Boston. Having no goals was a little surprising but his overall production really wasn't. Your first posts overvalue Jagr to justify Holland not dealing Flip. And the latter ones undervalue him to justify not signing him. It's pretty basic.

With Tortorella I'm just skeptical that he actually has. But maybe the third time's the charm?

What good is it if he realizes those things AFTER he's been fired? The Canucks have about a season and a half to achieve something great with Tortorella. That seems like his shelf life.

Are there two different Jagr's in the NHL? Because depending on the thread it sounds like you're describing two completely different players.

Even towards the end of the Cup winning game it looked like Chara crushed him into the post and knocked the net off. On the replay though you could see Chara gave Toews a fairly regular shove, Toews hit the net and flopped, immediately looked up at the refs with disgust, wondering why there was no call when he was clearly almost murdered.

Crawford would've been my choice. He had a shaky game in the Finals but overall was a big reason the Hawks were still in the playoffs as they got their act together. In 2010 they won it because of their stacked team and in spite of their goaltending. This year they needed to lean on their goalie.

That's a good idea. Like have someone from the HHOF hand it out each year.

It's a shame that he insists on ruining what should be a great moment by continuing to present the trophy.

I wasn't saying Holland should make a move so Datsyuk and Zetterberg can win the Cup again before they retire. I'm saying like with Lidstrom, two great players on the team are nearing the end of their prime years so he should take advantage before there's two huge holes in the lineup where they used to be.

At least it wasn't Toews. Lebrun had his as his second choice for it a few days ago, which is a jaw droppingly bad choice.

As others have mentioned, that's inevitably what will happen when you create an artificial situation that decides games. Players will push the boundaries as far as they can, so it's going to get into more hairsplitting with the rules. Banning the spin-o-rama was a necessary step. The players were coming to a complete stop, running into the goalie, and jamming the puck home. I can't see them getting rid of the shootout anytime soon but a shot clock situation wouldn't be bad. Or starting a player from the other team a certain distance behind to chase the shooter down.

This is the heart of it: Holland certainly didn't have that sense of urgency regarding Lidstrom's retirement. Will he with Dats and Z? Or will he be content to tweak and keep the Wings good but not great, hoping Babcock and some younger players can pull off something special in the next couple seasons?

Canucks need a coach to get the team to live up to their talent level and win clutch games, so they hired the coach of the Rangers?? The best part of this move is Luongo's response on twitter: Strombone ‏@strombone1 15h I'M WILLING TO STAY, BE THE BACK UP AND PLAY FOR FREE IF THEY LET ME SIT IN AT EVERY TORTS PRESSER! #MAN #MYTH #LEGEND

I get why Olczyk is the way he is, but why does Jones have such a boner for Chicago? Just hates Boston from his Flyer days?

Hopefully Lucic for the OT winner, to make up for that awful turnover and also not seeing Horton wide open for the breakaway.