Dabura

I've outlined in this thread why you should question the story. It's a guy saying an inside source told him something. He provides no evidence that Eichel delivered a "Bylsma goes or I go" ultimatum, and in terms of established credibility, he's no Elliotte Friedman or Bob McKenzie. Not a day goes by without some dude spreading clickbaity rumors about a professional athlete. I mean, it could be true. But I'm not going to treat it is as fact just because "pro athletes can be dicks." In other news, Andreas Athanasiou is a locker room cancer. This is why Blashill is so hard on him. "AA" thinks he's hot s*** and everyone on the team hates him.

So what you're saying is this is Evander Kane's fault. Right? Can I quote you as an inside source in my hit piece?

Huh. I was just about to post something to the effect of "I'm thinking we could end up with Liljegren." Wouldn't be too surprised if he's available at #7. A lot of people are down on him, and not without reason -- but I really like him a lot. I think he has very real 1D potential. On the other hand, I could also see him becoming Smith/Kindl. If we do draft him, we should pay Lidstrom big bucks to mentor him, teach him how to be a perfect human.

I said halfway through the season that Byslma would probably be axed in April. He was a dead coach walking, even without this Eichel thing. Which, again, probably isn't even a thing.

I trust my eyes to Dr. Dangles.

Also: this is TSN, where everything boils down to Maple Leafs rosterbation. "Eichel wants out? I'd have to think the Leafs would be at the top of his list. You look at what Babcock's doing and the season Matthews is having as a 9-year-old. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? In other news: inside sources say the Leafs are 'very interested' in acquiring Auston Matthews, even though he already plays for them. This would be a huge addition."

I'm not sure he's even really complaining. Not in those two quotes, at least. “It’s been a mediocre two years,” Eichel told the Buffalo News in early April. “More than anything, it’s a bit disappointing, a bit embarrassing for us as players that we can’t be better for them. You want to please the fans because of all they’ve been through and all they continue to put up with. You just want to be better.” This is what players who play for really bad basement teams say in late-season interviews. Same with this: "I think guys want to win but there is a difference between saying you want to win and actually wanting to win," Eichel said. "Putting the work in, dedicating your life to it. When you do that and it doesn’t work it is pretty frustrating.” In terms of actual evidence that this Paul Hamilton guy is actually putting out there for all to actually see (as opposed to "Trust me. Because f*** you"), the best I could come up with was this bit from this piece: Eichel would say many times during the season, “I’m not the coach.” How credible is Paul Hamilton? I'm not familiar with him, but I'll point out that in that same piece I just linked to, he says: I think you know Eichel would not be shy during that meeting because he knows he can say anything he wants since this rebuild was all about getting him and the second overall pick the year before. I...sincerely doubt that's how it is. This is like high school gossip.

I just read the article. Seems like your standard clickbaity rumor-mongering. The ultimatum might be an actual thing, but unless we hear it from, like, Elliotte Friedman, we should probably take this with a grain of salt.

Had they gotten a single point out of their final game, they would've finished above us in the standings. Instead, they blew a tie with, like, 30 seconds left in regulation, got no points from that game, and finished below us in the standings. A true jerk move.

This might be my favorite post ever.

If the Leafs win this series, their fans will give new meaning to the word "insufferable." If the Leafs go all the way...the human race is doomed. Like, forget it. Move to Mars. It's over. Still, this series has been a lot of fun. It's good hockey. At the end of the day, that's all I want from non-Wings NHL hockey. I want to be entertained by the on-ice product.

I actually prefer Habs fans to Leafs fans, if only because I can't understand what Habs fans are saying half the time. Also, Habs fans have souls. Leafs fans do not have souls, this is a scientific fact.

Oh, for sure. I just feel that, on the whole, we've kind of lost sight of what makes great uniforms great. Personally, I like bold, clean, restrained/tasteful, straightforward. Like you, I think the Flames' and Ducks' current looks are way too noisy. Do you really need vertical piping on the flanks? Keep it simple, stupid! You know what it is? It's Michael Bay. These jerseys are Michael Bay jerseys.

...versus... Dear NHL uniform designers and marketing people living in the year 2017, You're doing it wrong. Sincerely, People with good taste

To be fair, three series isn't a very large sample size. And they've been the undisputed underdog in at least two of those series.

This series is nuts. I love it.

Blashill Houda, Torchetti, Chelios Tatar Zetterberg Mantha Athanasiou Nielsen Nyquist Abdelkader Larkin Svechnikov Sheahan Nosek Glendening Frk, Callahan Ouellet Green DeKeyser Jensen Ericsson Hicketts Kronwall, Sproul Mrazek Howard

Andersson, Rasmus Bowey, Madison Ekholm, Mattias DeAngelo, Anthony Faulk, Justin Hamilton, Dougie Honka, Julius Klefbom, Oscar Lindholm, Hampus Morrissey, Josh Orlov, Dmitry Sanheim, Travis Severson, Damon Slavin, Jaccob Theodore, Shea Trouba, Jacob You get the idea.

Anthony Duclair (RFA) is intriguing. But I'd want him cheap, and I don't see the Coyotes giving him up for cheap, because they don't have to.

Granted, it helps to have Matthews, Marner, Kadri, Rielly, Nylander, Gardiner, Kapanen, and van Riemsdyk. Oh, and Babcock. Yes plz. He does play for a powerhouse team, though. That's worth keeping in mind.

Well, this has been much closer than I'd expected. Babcock doing Babcock things.

To be fair, the 7th-seeded Kings bounced us in the first round in 2001. But, yeah.

GET REKT

Niemi (.892 Sv% on the season) and Lehtonen (.902) certainly haven't been doing them any favors, no doubt about that. As for our D being deeper than theirs...I mean, sure. I guess. Maybe. If you're drunk enough, and/or desperate enough. I guess my point was that winning Cups is really freaking hard.