Never_Retire_Steve

I agree 100% that the 4th line needs a tune up

I see your point but the way Conklin has played recently I don't see how you CAN'T play him at least every 2/3 starts. Reputation should never allow you earn/keep a spot and that's what seems to be happening right now and I don't agree with it at all.

Seriously, how does this guy keep his job? 95% of the people I know or comment on Pierre hate him.

Say what you want about Osgood and his play. How is it not clear to 100% of the hockey World that Conklin has earned the #1 role in the last month? I don't even know how this is debateable.

I didn't see it, hopefully it isn't serious

Interesting and useless stat. Did Carolina not finish third in the conference when they won?

I strongly disagree, they were #1 in the East last year and have a very deep and skilled team this year. No real holes as far as I can see, I could easily see them in the Cup finals this year, winning it is another question.

I am starting to like the way the team is coming together a bit more than at the start of the year. We looked pretty bad despite our record in the first 25 games and one thing I have noticed over the last month is the play of Datsyuk. For me, I would leave that line alone and if Zetterberg isn't playing up to his offensive potential well than who cares as long as the team is still playing their best hockey of the season over the last 4 weeks.

This is quite the rumour. On the one hand, if I were Bob Gainey I wouldn't do anything to disrupt the way the Canadiens are playing, they are serious cup contenders with their current roster. On the other hand, if anyone EVER told me that Lecavalier was available I would have a very hard time saying no to a trade.

Based on my expectations My grades Dan Cleary: B+ Fills role nicely Pavel Datsyuk: A+ Team MVP Kris Draper: C+ Definitely on the downfall in his career Valtteri Filppula: C+ Expected much more out of him this season Johan Franzen: A- Great goal scorer, still think he is capable of more Tomas Holmstrom: B Steady Marian Hossa: A+ Was skeptical of how he would fit into our system, he has been good at both ends of the ice Jiri Hudler: A+ Unbelievable Tomas Kopecky: B- Didn't really expect much Kirk Maltby: B- See Kopecky Darren McCarty: D+ Definitely slower and a lot worse than in his prime Mikael Samuelsson: B+ Thought he was completely useless last year, proved me wrong so far Henrik Zetterberg: B - He should be our MVP, he is capable of so much more Chris Chelios: A+ Thought he'd be retired (possibly dead) by now Nicklas Kronwall: D- Absolutely atrocious on D some nights, hasn't shown the offensive prowess that he has Brett Lebda: C- Thought he would be better Nick Lidstrom: B Best defensemen in his era but not worthy of the Norris midway through the season Andreas Lilja: A+ See Samuelsson then multiply by ten Derek Meech: D Was hoping to see him in top 6 regularly Brian Rafalski: A Didn't think he would be as good defensively, offense is still there Brad Stuart: C+ Good hits, some lapses in D occasionally, both him and Kronner have disappointed me this season Ty Conklin: A+ Career backup sitting among league leaders in very important categories including shutouts Chris Osgood: C- Needs to be way better

He's not a guy who wins you games when you need him (exception Apr - Jun 2008)

We should have a discussion about the standards of getting into the Hall of Fame. To me I think it is too easy to get in and wouldn't have Osgood in there. I also would not have guys like Fuhr or Andersson in there either. So, for precedent he should get in based on his numbers when you compare him to other goalies.

The Hart is definitely a hard choice at midseason right now. Anyway, here it goes: Hart - Malkin Selke - Richards Lady Byng - Datsyuk Vezina - Backstrom Norris - Bouwmeester Calder - Ryan Coach is so hard to give, no one really knows how effective they are without being inside the organization, from an outsider point of view though it has to go to Julien. I also like the lack of homerism in this thread, even though there are some good cases for some Wings getting some of these awards.

OK, I'll give my personal insight into this subject even though it will probably be useless as everyone is pretty stubborn with their opinions regarding Ozzie. I used to hate Osgood with a passion in the nineties with all the center ice and ultimely goals that he would let in. It was so frustrating to see him let in bad goals on teams that had such promise. Having said that, he is probably one of the most underrated goalies of all-time, and his performance in the playoffs last year was amazing and I became an instant fan of Chris Osgood for about 200 days. Now he is looking like a backup goalie once again. In my mind there is no way that he should ever be hanging from the rafters. To me those should be reserved to guys who are the face of the franchise. To me I am happy that Detroit has been very selective with who's number gets retired. A guy like Lidstrom is almost on the cusp of not getting his number retired (I know that sounds crazy as he is probably one of the greatest defensemen of all-time) but playing with a guy like Steve Yzerman really puts you in a backseat in terms of being a franchise player.

If you guys get the chance you should see next year's Rookie of the Year show off his stuff. His name is John Tavares and is beyond ridiculous. Also, Canada absolutely layed a s*** kicking on the Czechs today and look like the clear favorite after the first day of the tournament.

What a tournament!!!

Wow, this would be a huge upset

OMG, that is the funniest s*** I have ever read, POTY already and it's only the first day. This truly made me LOL.

That game was a classic last night, so glad I watched it

Holy s*** this game is awesome, this is why I love this tournament

Sweden absolutely steam rolled Russia today leading up to tonight's matchup between the US and Canada.

Franzen over Hossa by a long shot based on value and long term

The Swedes have some pretty damn good prospects on their team

I miss Downey

I think it's more of a rivalry thing and cheering for the underdogs. You wouldn't hear that against Russia or Sweden, however, I do agree that it is rude.