Dabura

I agree with all of this. I think these days I just call him the best GM in the league out of sheer force of habit. And even that - the fact that it's a force of habit - is probably mostly due to me protecting myself from Holland loyalists who will cut you down for even farting in Ken's general direction. But, actually, the loyalists do seem quieter these days, versus, say, a couple seasons ago.

Ken Holland < Hamster < Dead octopus

That's not to say I'm cool with Holland, mind you. I do think he's absolutely the main problem here. Which is tough because I also believe he is, generally, the best GM in the league.

I love Babs. But it really seems like he's losing the locker room, along with his mind. Maybe he's just been here too long. Everyone who's ever played for him and spoken about him has said he's one of those "hard" coaches. Often that kind of style only works for so long. Him, the team, everything - it feels tired, old, stale. To put it mildly.

So it's settled? Replace Babs with Blashill and Holland with a hamster?

Also: let's trade Andersson now. And Quincey and everyone. Someone get on this.

I think I'd be ok with Blashill taking Babs' job.

Does he draft them? Wasn't scouting and the draft Nill's area?

At this point, I'm dreading each game. It's not healthy.

Maybe Holland will be forced to make a trade.

This team is terrible.

The Flames really need a quality goalie. Think they'd be interested in Mrazek? Also: What do you think of Dennis Wideman (on our blue line)?

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/19/on-the-mike-cammalleri-trade-speculation/ Should we be interested? He's a smallish centerman (we're pretty much set at center, and we're already undersized at the position) but he can score (nine goals in fourteen games this season). Former Wolverine, I think, if that's worth anything. The big problem is his cap hit, which is 6 or 7 million. I kinda feel like if we're going to go for a high-priced goal-scorer, we should go top-line elite (e.g. Gaborik). But, to his credit, Cammalleri has been pretty consistent, production-wise. And it might be easier to land him versus a Gaborik. Another potential issue is his age (31). Realistically, I don't think Holland would be remotely interested in seriously kicking this set of tires. But someone here did report that he said he was hoping to make at least a couple of trades. He always says that, though. So, *shrug* What do you think?

Genius. Though maybe not mean enough.

I imagine Pierre the Pelican saying this. And he sounds like...Bob Hartley. AHHH MAKE IT STOP Exactly!

I take some comfort in the knowledge that our blue line is going to be really, really awesome - in 50 years. DeKeyser. Smith. Almqvist. Ouellet. Sproul. Maybe Marchenko. Hellllzzz yeah.

Remember in Salute Your Shorts when Ugh makes the two kids hold those buckets full of water? Which is extra-appropriate because I know some people call Cleary "Buckets." Hurray! The Smith-to-forward camp is growing!

Heh, well, in that case... My other concern about Andersson is the inevitable postseason Datsyuk-Zetterberg breakup. When it happens (and we all know it will happen), we'd we'll have Datsyuk on the first or second line, Zetterberg on the second or first, Weiss on the third, and Helm on the fourth. But then, maybe this is a phantom problem. Maybe - after how many years? - we'll finally have solid secondary scoring. (Or maybe Z wold just play wing on his line?) Which brings me to my next thought. Franzen - Helm - Tatar. This line has been great for us. It was a revelation in the first period of the Caps game. So what do we do when Weiss and Alfie return? Maybe... Zetterberg Datsyuk Bertuzzi Franzen Weiss Tatar Abdelkader Helm Alfredsson Miller Andersson Glendening ?

I like Andersson's size. Beyond him, we're small down the middle. (Datsyuk, Weiss, Helm, and Glendening are all listed as 5'11. I think Weiss is secretly 5'10 or maybe even 5'9.) And I do like his game. But he's kinda...vanilla? Which on most teams would be a great thing, but on this team, where nearly every forward is a defense-first two-way specialist.... But now I'm kinda derailing the thread.

I love this: https://twitter.com/mirtle/status/401916819834806272

So, if you consume this "melted ice," do you then become part of NHL history (until you pee, sweat, breathe)? The implications are staggering.

I'm not necessarily in favor of moving Andersson. I just feel like space is already tight in the bottom six, and it will probably only get tighter with Sheahan and Ferraro making a push next season. And, re: Glendening moving to the wing, Abdelkader is officially a checker again, and Nyquist might be spending time in the bottom six. I dunno. I just feel like maybe he could help fetch a decent return. Probably not, though.

The Kardashians on their most low-key, invisible day possible are a bajillion times bigger than the NHL's biggest event. (Note: I am, of course, talking about the States.)

So much of it - if not pretty much all of it - comes down to this summer's UFA class. I don't mean our UFAs (though obviously that factors into it), I mean other teams' UFAs. I haven't looked into this, but my vague impression is that this is supposed to be a pretty epic class.