Yzerman191

Currently, the Capitals are on a 13-game winning streak. The longest winning streak ever was the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-1993, with 17 games. So here's the question: are the Capitals real contenders, or will they choke when it comes to the playoffs? Despite what people say about the defense, I think they've got a real shot. Ovechkin proved his worth in last year's playoff run, and besides AO, they've got some of the best offensive talent in the league. They've got tremendous chemistry on seemingly every line, and play the upbeat, offensively-oriented style of hockey that best suits their roster. In the Western Conference, I'm not sure that style would work, but in the less-defensively-oriented Eastern Conference, I think they have a solid chance to make it through any potential opponent they may face. Also, Varlamov is a good goaltender and performed pretty well last year in the playoffs. On an unrelated note, next Thursday the Capitals, who have won 13 games in a row, face the Senators, who have won 11 games in a row. If they can both stay undefeated, it will make for a hell of a game!

Actually, there were numerous reports about Fedorov's contributions to mentoring the younger players and providing some much-needed advice and experience to the Capitals. Also, I think he's using Crosby because Crosby is also on a young, inexperienced team who managed to make it to the finals and beat the reigning champions in four out of five games. The Capitals have to do it soon, otherwise the salary cap will destroy their team. They've got way too many young bargains on their team to keep it together too long. Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann, Laich, and Varlamov are all up for new contracts in the next two years. Thank goodness for the new NHL, right?

That's a pretty ridiculous statement, IMO. People seem to forget that Marc Savard played for the Thrashers from 2002-2006, and Heatley and Hossa were a couple other players to pass through Atlanta. Kovalchuk's 2005-2006 season, statistically is his best, and was a year where he played with Marc Savard (who had one point less, and 69 assists) throughout the entire season. Like him or not, Ovechkin will likely go down as one of the all-time greats. Kovalchuk will go down as a very good player who had a very good career.

That's a steal for New Jersey for sure. They get a legitimate cup run out of it, the chance to sign Kovalchuk long term, and if they can't sign him, they can trade off his rights and make back a good amount of what they traded to get him.

Mlive is reporting that it was a tweak to the knee that occurred in the first period, so it likely was during the Cleary goal. You guys can watch it on NHL.com in the highlights of the Wings-Sharks game.

Kronwall went down really funny during that first goal that Cleary scored. Someone hit him right in the back of the knee and he went down and was kind of slow to get up. This was in the first period, so it was likely something else, but did anyone else notice this?

I've been looking forward to Toronto's rise. I like it when the original six teams are competitive; it's disappointing to see teams like Carolina or Tampa Bay winning the cup when the locals don't even know they have a hockey team. Contrary to popular opinion here, I actually think Burke is a good GM, and I think he knows where he's going. Burke likes to build big, tough teams. He also builds his teams from the back end, which worked out pretty well in Anaheim. Goals against has been Toronto's biggest problem this season; they lead the league in goals against. Phaneuf, Beauchemin, Kaberle, and Schenn constitute a pretty solid back end, and Giguere is still a capable starting goaltender. There are four top 8 teams in the Eastern Conference that have scored fewer goals than Toronto has. I wonder if Niedermayer signs in Toronto this offseason?

I'm pretty sure Thornton was Stuart's man to guard. The goal is also in part a result of Howard's poor rebound control.

Leino and Williams totally fit the mold that Burke likes, right?

Burke seems to be building Toronto from the back end. Kaberle, Phaneuf, Schenn, and Beauchemin make up a pretty decent top four. Burke also acquired a goaltender capable of mentoring Gustavsson, but did so whilst shedding a terrible long term contract for a bad short term contract. It does make you wonder what Burke is going to do about his lack of offense. My guess is he's not done dealing this season and he'll be a major player in the off-season.

I wouldn't call these trades horrible. Phaneuf is only 24, has a lot of offensive potential, and fits the mold of the players Burke likes. He's also so young that it's completely plausible to think that his coach can change his style to become more defensively responsible. Toronto also acquires another thing they love: a big name. I think it gives the fans some hope, whether it's justified or not. Also, Mayers wanted out according to some reports, and Stajan was an UFA having a career year (and also doesn't play the style of hockey Burke likes, so perhaps he had no intent of resigning him). White and Hagman are two pretty good players, though. Time will tell if this deal was a bust or not. Anyone who thinks that Giguere for Toskala and Blake wasn't a good move is crazy. Toskala has proven himself to be a total bust, and it is extremely unlikely they would have re-signed him anyways. Blake is to Toronto what Jason Williams was to the Red Wings before; he's the whipping boy, has an overpriced contract, and not well-liked by the fans. Giguere going the other way also gives their hot goaltending prospect a pretty accomplished mentor full of experience. And who knows; maybe this will jump start his career. Put the two trades together and Toronto fans have just acquired a lot of reason to hope for some success. They've got a few big names on their team now (Kessel, Phaneuf, Kaberle, Giguere) as well as a ton of prospects full of potential. Perhaps they'll ship Phaneuf off to Atlanta for Kovalchuk to make up for some of that lost offense?

A quick scan of the Vezina trophy winner list yields: Terry Sawchuk - 5'11". Grant Fuhr - 5'10". Dominik Hasek - 5'11". Bernie Parent - 5'10". Tony Esposito - 5'11". Glenn Hall - 5'11". There are a few pretty capable goaltenders in there, despite being under 6'0". I'm not really sure how much that extra inch or two adds, and I don't think the evidence is there to support the claim that it's not just a coincidence. Perform a statistical test and then make that claim.

I've actually been drawing the same parallels for a while now. Last season I took tremendous delight in checking the standings from November until February, watching Pittsburgh continue to tank. After the trade deadline, they made a few changes, powered their way back into a playoff spot and through some of the most difficult teams in the league on their way to the 'Cup. Last season kind of illustrated the fact that anything really can happen. Also, I actually think our roster is better than the Penguins when playing to its full potential, even after the departure of all those various free agents last summer. Our defense is undoubtedly stronger (on paper) when healthy, and Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, and all of those secondary scorers make up a very capable offense. We're also getting the best goaltending we've had in years. I'm still pretty optimistic about this season. It sucks to lose games like tonight, but it feels a little more promising when they hang with the Sharks or the 'Hawks with a line-up consisting primarily of AHL'ers.

Anybody catch the Babcock's comments after the game? What did he say? Usually I find myself pretty disappointed in Babcock's comments after games like these. Maybe he says different things in the locker room, but sometimes I just want to hear him rip the team apart when I'm angry after a pitiful loss like the one tonight. The most annoying part is they're truly running out of time to make up these squandered points. I could see losing if we were one of the less successful teams in the league, where we simply lack the coaching, managing, goaltending, defensive, or offensive talent needed to win. That's not the case though; we've still got a roster with Zetterberg, Datsyuk, lots of capable secondary scorers and role players, and we're probably top five in the league in terms of defensive talent. We've also got a young, hot goaltender who has performed better than we could've imagined, as well as a clutch goaltender sitting on the sidelines. The talent is there; the coaching is there; the leadership and experience is there. So I guess my question is, why do we keep losing to these teams?

I agree with you, but the reason I say that the job should be his as long as he wants it is because Holland is a good GM, and there's no reason he would suddenly lose his ability to make good decisions for the benefit of the franchise. I don't see that in the cards, and thus, the job should be his as long as he wants it.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's all that unfathomable. Ken Holland is only 55 years old, and as far as I can see, he hasn't been slipping as a GM. Unless he wants to retire early (and for hockey management folks, 60 isn't all that old), the job should be his for as long as he'd like. We've got arguably the best front office in the NHL, with guys like Holland, Nill, and Devellano. That's a pretty solid lineup, and even if Holland does retire, who is to say that one of these other guys that has been around and has the experience doesn't get the job? Also, being a good player doesn't always equate to being a good coach or general manager (IE Gretzky). I love Yzerman to death, but I'd like to see what he can do before we hand him the job of running one of the most successful franchises in the last twenty years. Ideally, of course, Yzerman would be slowly groomed for the job of general manager, Holland would step down several years from now, and Yzerman will lead us to X amount of championships as the GM.

I'd pick Hasek over Roy, and Roy over Brodeur when talking about all three goaltenders in their primes. I don't know what you're getting at by saying Roy and Brodeur proved they could win it multiple times, but many people consider Hasek's 1998 Olympic performance to be the best goaltending and the best individual performance by any hockey player they've ever seen. Since being established in 1924, only six goaltenders have managed to win the Hart trophy, and only Hasek has managed to win it twice.

On the outside chance of forwards getting hurt? Kind of like this year? It does happen, and you have to be ready for it; that's what depth is good for. I actually agree that, if Kovalchuk were to sign with the 'Wings, Filppula would be expendable. The front two lines aren't the problem; they look terrific (aside from Miller's home on the 2nd line). The back two lines, however, lack considerable depth, and I shudder to think about what it'd start to look like after an injury or two. Holland indeed made quite a splash in 2002 and 2003 before the salary cap, and again in 2008 (when Hossa came to him with an offer no sane GM could refuse, in the most desirable situation cap-wise). It isn't impossible for Holland to sign Kovalchuk, but it depends on a broad array of factors. Who knows what Kovalchuk wants, be it money, a good hockey market, nice weather, a successful franchise, etc. Financially, it is difficult but possible, similar to the Hossa situation last year. I think whether it is even a possibility also comes down to Lidstrom; I have a hard time believing Holland would turn down our team captain, and six time Norris winner, if he expresses any desire to return (and he'd be a fool to, anyway).

Maybe I've been spoiled in the past, but I feel like a defense with Stuart-Kronwall as the top pair is starting to get thin. The most dominant teams usually have at least one real powerhouse defenseman (Lidstrom, Neidermayer, Pronger, Keith, Gonchar, Chara), and I'm not sure an above-average group with Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall, Ericsson, and Lilja (if he ever returns) has that. Perhaps depth would make up for the lack of a single elite defenseman, but man was it nice always knowing with absolute certainty we had a guy (Lidstrom) capable of handling literally any situation thrown at us. As to the above poster: sure, your the numbers in your proposal are under cap, but you've got Miller on the second line. You've rid the team of Holmstrom, Cleary (who has a NMC), and Filppula (a great set-up man and two key guys for creating traffic in front of the net - a key strategy of Babcock's) to make the numbers work. What happens when one or two of the top 5 forwards goes down? Things start looking pretty bleak... And for the record, I love Kovalchuk, and I'd love to see him as a Red Wing; I'm just a bit skeptical to say the least.

A lot of people seem to be missing one of the biggest draws to signing Kovalchuk - his age. He's only 26 years old; that's several years younger than Zetterberg, Datsyuk, or Franzen. Even if he signed a 7 or 8 year contract, he'd only start declining at the very end of a contract like that. It's rare that a 26 year old superstar becomes an unrestricted free agent. Kovalchuk's stats speak for themselves - 327 goals in 589 games. That's a .55 goals per game average, putting him in between Maurice Richard and Cam Neely for 11th all-time in goals per game. Yes he will command more, but that's because he's worth the money. I'd take Kovalchuk at 7.5M (if we could afford it, which I don't know that we can) before Marleau at 6M.

We're approaching the two-thirds point of the season, and it's beginning to become more clear who the candidates for the various individual awards are. When it's all said and done, who will win what? I think before the season ends, Ovechkin will catch Sedin for points and Marleau for goals. If so, I think that makes a pretty good case for the Hart and Pearson awards, considering he missed a good chunk of games (albeit two were due to suspension). He's also leading the league in plus-minus with +28! I think Miller has the best chance to take the Vezina, and also has a shot at the Hart and Pearson. He leads in save percentage, goals against average, and is one behind Brodeur in shutouts. As for Red Wings, I think Howard has a good shot at the Calder and Mike Babcock has a good shot at the Jack Adams. There aren't too many overwhelmingly impressive rookies this year, and Howard is posting spectacular numbers. To nab the Calder, I think all he has to do is keep getting starts and keep posting numbers similar to what he's been doing. If Babcock can get us on a good run after the Olympic break and get us into a 5th or 6th playoff seed I think he has to be considered. Anyway, who do you think will win: Art Ross: Richard: Hart: Pearson: Calder: Vezina: Selke: Lady Byng: Norris: Jack Adams:

Lidstrom? Really?

http://tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=306706 That makes it even worse.

Wow. Cormier should be banned from playing in any official league in North America; it just looks like he's unable to control himself. I hope Tam is alright and presses criminal charges.