Dabura

MAKE ME

I was thinking this earlier today. A healthy team with Sheahan and Jurco could be filthy.

I'd take him over Kindl (who doesn't exactly excel on the defensive side of things or in physical matches). That was the original question. I'd take him for the offensive side of his game, not because I think he's outstanding in his own zone. But let's keep arguing about this, it's extremely important.

I step away from the game for literally less than a minute and we score. Great for Nyquist, he needed one in the worst way. I love that he held the shot until he knew he had an opening.

He's played, like, one game at the NHL level. And he scored a goal. He plays a very smart game. You don't necessarily have to be big to be a quality defenseman in this league. For the record, though, I was referring to the PP. Almqvist would, I think, be a better PP quarterback than Kindl.

Cleary on a breakaway. The world is coming to an end.

Mick and Ken crying about calls and no-calls, I don't really dig it. Just call the game.

Well, this was a s***ty period.

We're off tonight. Good kill, boys.

Almqvist.

No. I hate him.

Sloppy in our own end. You'd think we'd clean it up.

Realistically, we gon die. But I actually have a pretty good feeling about this one. Halak is in, and we've done pretty well against him.

This whole thing solidifies my opinion that Hartley is bad news. Things I've read, things I've seen, things I've been told by friends who played under him (albeit not at the NHL level)...he's evil. You could say the same about Torts, but I'd disagree. I think his biggest faults are that he's a hothead and a narcissist. That's better than being scum, IMHO. I think Torts was right to match "power" with "power." You don't offer up your best players as sacrificial lambs. You just don't. (Unless you're the Wings.) Granted, you don't march over to the other dressing room between periods. But people are making it sound like he was wielding a bloody knife and screaming, "KILL BOB!!!"

Conspiracy Theory #508 Craig MacTavish did a really great interview with the Edmonton Journal. At one point he says:

Here's a CapGeek dealy. This is more or less how we'd roll, if it were up to me: CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER CapGeek Armchair GM Roster FORWARDS Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($7.500m) / Tomas Jurco ($0.709m) Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Stephen Weiss ($4.900m) / Tomas Tatar ($1.500m) Gustav Nyquist ($0.950m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Daniel Alfredsson ($5.000m) Drew Miller ($1.350m) / Riley Sheahan ($0.900m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) Luke Glendening ($0.900m) / Mitch Callahan ($0.800m) DEFENSEMEN Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($4.250m) Brendan Smith ($1.263m) / Dan Girardi ($5.000m) Danny DeKeyser ($2.000m) / Adam Almqvist ($0.800m) Brian Lashoff ($0.725m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($5.292m) Jonas Gustavsson ($1.500m) BUYOUTS Carlo Colaiacovo ($0.000m) Jordin Tootoo ($0.000m) ------ CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (estimations for 2014-15) SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,051,212; BONUSES: $215,833 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $7,048,788 Kinda boring, but pretty much the best I can do while being realistic. Even with all the forwards we'll be cutting loose, we're going to be very short on roster spots. Alfie returns, Jurco gets a spot, and that's it. (I've traded Andersson, gone with Sheahan. Mostly personal preference.) Where do you put a Matt Moulson? I guess the argument might be that Jurco can wait another year, but I feel like he's ready to do some damage right now, certainly by the time training camp rolls around. Put him on a true scoring line with two of the best players in the game and watch the fireworks (or so my theory goes). I've considered Devin Setoguchi, because you can never have enough scoring depth and because he's right-handed - but, again, where does he fit in? Next, the D. I've traded Kindl. I like Kindl, and I have this feeling he's a sleeper who will suddenly come out of his shell one day soon and kick all kinds of ass and make us feel sorry for doubting him. But I'm a big believer in Almqvist. If he can put on ten more pounds in the summer, he's good to go. Pair him with a big defensive defenseman (DeKeyser) on the third pairing and I think he'll surprise a lot of people, in a good way. In the top four, well, obviously I've added Girardi. I just feel like he'd be a great fit. I think he'd help us on both sides of the puck; he's a shutdown type, but he moves the puck well. It helps that he's right-handed. And it helps that he's a guy Babs could really lean on heavily, being able to log a ton of minutes and play in any and every situation, all while not necessarily having to be a top-pairing guy. I think he and Smith could work very well together. Finally, in net. I'd like to see Mrazek become the backup, but I don't feel it's necessary. Besides, with our injury "luck," we have to assume we'll be spending time with both our starter and our backup out of commission. Which means our starter would be...? And his backup would be...? I'll stick with Gustavsson. Mrazek can perfect his game in GR. The only potential problem here is Monster's contract. Will he be ok with a one-year or two-year deal? And I'm assuming he won't want a raise. And that he continues to be solid (when healthy), as opposed to, well, last season. The only thing that could really change my mind: if Monster continues to battle injuries. In that case, I might be more inclined to make Mrazek the backup. Overall, this roster has, I suppose, two main weaknesses. First, this would be a very smallish team. But that's pretty much unavoidable. Indeed, it's built into the fabric of the team/organization. It's part of our identity. We are the Red Wings, and we are small (and soft). Second, depth. We sort of have to assume injuries are going to continue to be a major problem overall. It's been that way for some time now, and I don't know why it'd suddenly change. That being that, how will we fare if Luke Glendening and Mitch Callahan are our first fill-ins? I guess it shouldn't be a big concern. Maybe Pulkkinen and Jarnkrok show what Sheahan and Jurco have shown this season, and maybe Glendening and Callahan really fit in nicely. (Glendening's already making a case for a permanent spot.) I guess I'd feel better if we had one more goal-scorer. Maybe I'll find a way to work a scoring winger in, a way that makes sense and isn't terribly unrealistic.

The struggles of the Montreal Canadiens aren't going away without change [Eyes On The Prize] Came across this piece last night/this morning. It surprised me a bit, as I had thought everyone in Habs Land is happy with their team. At the same time, I've had this feeling that the Habs are not as good as their record and place in the standings would suggest, that they, like the Leafs, are the beneficiaries of wicked goaltending and a lot of cosmic luck, neither of which is really sustainable over a full 82+. What do you think? Are this season's Montreal Canadiens the real deal, or should we exect them to take a tumble in the standings? Do they make the playoffs? If so, do they do some damage? Or do they get exposed, not unlike last season?

I still can't believe we won this game.

Interesting: they're not showing the game highlights on NHL Tonight. Just the shootout, in its entirety. "Oh, really? I'm bringing your sister too!" "Why I oughta--"

I really do wonder what Jimmy and Quick were saying to each other.

Watching Hitchcock's presser. He takes every loss incredibly seriously. I like that about him.

Lolz, Tortorella takes on the entire Flames team. Please tell me someone GIF'd that hallway shot, with his head in the bottom left corner. You're killin' the buzz, man. (No, I agree.)

The more I think about it, the more perfect this win is. - Richards being the big tough guy, scoring a goal and trying to start something with our goalie...and then being the final shooter in the shootout. - Kronner's redemption. That penalty was total bulls***. Only right that he should get the equalizer a few seconds later, and on the PP. (We scored a PP goal!) - Tats getting to salute his father against the Kings a second time, this time at home. - Our refusal to take any s*** from one of the bigger, better teams in the league. - Howard getting right up in Quick's grill, telling him he wants the starting job in Sochi. - Scoring three goals! We scored three goals! (Sort of!)

I think they notched something like 112 mins. in the first two seconds, right? And every skater on the ice pairing off with another one - that itself is extremely rare.Cr Sheer insanity.

Watching NHL Tonight. These hometown-network-guy-interviews-player-after-game-(and-the-whole-thing-is-mic'd-up-for-all-the-arena-to-hear) dealies are kinda cheesy.