Dabura

Oh man, this thread made me realize I'll probably never get to see my Dream SCF* now. *Wings-Rangers

Not to be That Guy, but why was my thread about this axed?

You knew he was gonna get mad-paid. And you knew it was gonna be Phoenix.

Change in philosophy? Not really, IMHO. More a simple reflection of reality. That reality, of course, being that we are generally small up front, and, as every fan of the game and his mother will tell you, the NHL is becoming a big(ger and bigger and bigger) man's game. And, yeah, I know: the whole we're-gonna-die-in-the-EC thing is overblown. But it's definitely a rougher ride than what we've grown accustomed to in the WC. Also, I'll say this yet again: we. are. effing. small. down. the. middle. Sheahan has size. Andersson has size, but he doesn't utilize it. Aubry is, what, 6'4? My impression is his stock tanked this past season. (Go figure.) Basically: Lecavalier plz kthxbai.

C'mon, guys, I'm sure it's just a joke. YES, YES I DID.

I'm not really gonna hate on him for this. Not yet, anyway. Why: he is, I think, saying he doesn't want to be a Penguin anymore. And what's not to like about that? Not saying the trade demands are where they objectivly should be or that he should be making more than Lidstrom. But, maybe he just wants out.

Is Vanek seriously on the block?

No, you're not alone there. All Smith-Quincey does is scare me.

What does Iginla make of this? Isn't it supposed to go the other way around, players doing everything they can to be/stay a Penguin?

Yes.

Bobby Lidstrom.

It brings to mind something he said after getting swept by the Bruins. Basically: "They play great defense, and we couldn't score." It struck me as an odd thing to say, for a few reasons. My overall impression: he does indeed want out. Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about him, because I hate the Pens with a passion. But I've watched him play enough to wonder if he'd be nearly as effective on any other team. The big question, in my mind, being: If you take away that supporting cast (Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Dupuis, Iginla, et al.) and that offense-above-all-else team philosophy, does Letang still produce like a mofo? Or do his numbers drop, making him an offensive defenseman who doesn't produce a whole lot? Just food for thought, I guess.

Not that I'm necessarily down with this, but - Who do you trade? Might this be the three-for-one Holland hinted at? (Unless I'm mistaken and this wouldn't be a trade. I really don't follow the Pens closely.)

I have never heard that name in my entire life. No joke.

Indeed. Can they really afford to lose him, though?

Bickell, Clarkson, Horton. Yes, they're all going to be overpaid, but that's the norm these days. If you want a first-line power-forward (which we need), you're gonna have to pay up. We're in a good spot. We just need a shot in the arm, i.e. a big, mean scoring winger, and perhaps a Weiss-type (eh). If we can do that, all while trimming the fat and bringing up the kids, we'll be doing the best we can. Anything short of that, though, will be a pretty big disappointment, IMHO, especially with the way we threatened in these past playoffs.

We're not getting bigger this summer. At least, not through free agency.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/weather/Amazing+photos+inside+flood+damaged+Saddledome/8566205/story.html Unreal. Reminds me of that movie Hard Rain.

Sad thing is, I see the 'hawks coming out of the West again next year. Wouldn't it be great, though - Blackhawks-WIngs in the SCF.

I guess the argument would be, When he sucked (see: against the Wings), the team sucked.

We've been getting thunderstorms basically every evening for the past 400 days. It's like Florida weather. Hot, humid, wonderful, unbearable, then it rains. A lot. But I'm in Eastern PA, whereas the Pens are Western. I don't know how they're faring. I wish only bad things on them and their fans. Sucks about Calgary. Never leave your jumbotron on the floor, I guess.

1. Didn't The Powers That Be say a big thing with Tatar not getting the full promotion was they wanted to give him a sort of chip-on-the-shoulder angry-streak? Or somethng? 2. I do agree that Nyquist, Brunner, and Tatar = too samey. I do like Tatar's game, though. He seems to genuinely like going to those hard places and causing damage. We need more of that in our top six. Hell, in our bottom six. And Nyquist was excellent in the playoffs...on a line with Brunner...who was, generally, one of our more effective scorers this season, and who's only going to get better. (Same goes for all three, I guess.) 3. And, y'know, Nyquist, Brunner, Tatar...that's potentially a lot of bang for a (relatively) little buck. If we could get that big scoring winger we need on the first line while keeping all three of these guys (not necessarily all in top-six roles), that'd be a pretty lethal forward corps.

Agreed. Thankfully, (and, honestly, this has me pretty excited), it seems like he gets it.

Well, I definitely don't want a big lumbering guy that just hits people. Though, again, Sheahan'll be up soon. (O YES I DID) Jokes aside, I agree: DZH is the best two-way one-two-three in the league. But doesn't this very fact sort of scream for our next forward acquisition, if he's a center, to be a non-"Oh-look-another-5'11-Selke-type. Because we definitely need one of those"-type? True. But I was talking about our centers, specifically.

I really don't see us getting Horton. He's been gravy for the Bruins, and they're our new divisional-arch-rivals-until-the-end-of-time. Even if he tests the waters, he's going to be asking for a whole effing lot in the way of both coin and term because of his performance of late, and because you don't want to be a middle-earning 2-yearer when you're a one-more-blow-and-I'm-a-jello-head. You want security. Long-term. Plus, we don't really do the whole "power forward" thing. It's so philistine, so uncouth. I'd prefer Clarkson, but it sounds like he's about as unlikely as Horton. Bickell's not going to bail for the Red Wings. We may get Stalberg. Or Weiss. We have a wicked one-two in Datsyuk-Zetterberg. But, with Flip leaving (I guess?), we're looking at a sharp dropoff between the second and third line. By which I mean, if and when Zetterberg jumps up to play with Datsyuk on the first line, who becomes the second-line pivot? Helm? I was actually kinda keen on that idea...back when Helm was a healthy, hungry force to be reckoned with. Franzen's a possibility, but the Powers That Be want him on the wing, and for good reason. Anderson impressed, but he's not a top-sixer. (Not yet.) Emmerton is out of his depth unless he's on the fourth line, Abdelkader has a great thing going as Datsyuk's piano-puller, Sheahan's still probably at least a a season away from even cracking the lineup, and even then, he'd be a bottom-six heavy. Jarnkrok is going to get a shot at the Big Gig this coming fall. I guess if he makes the cut, he'd be the guy we're looking for (re: What happens when Zetterberg shifts up a line?) But, my feeling is, even if he leaves the Red Wings Brass breathless, speechless, with jaws through the floor and ground and halfway to China, we're gonna want a solid second-or-third-liner in the mix. A guy like Weiss. So I wouldn't be surprised if we snag him. Then again, like someone mentioned, we're going to be in the Panthers' division. And, like I mentioned, we are very smallish down the middle. (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Helm, and Jankrok are all 5'11. Emmerton and Ferraro are 6'0. Sheahan's big, but, again, bottom-sixer.) A part of me wonders if Team Holland likes Weiss because, first and foremost and above and beyond everything else, he's 5'11.