toby91_ca

He was 33 years old at the end of last season.

Okay, can someone explain to me why so many people think the coach of the allstar team has any say picking the rest of the roster??? Nothing against you LeftWinger, as I know this thinking is quite common, I just have no clue why.

Why do we all think Bettman is so powerful and all controlling of the every rule in the game. If he wants to change a rule, all he has to do is snap his fingers and it's done....

True, but what would be the point of posting your opinion if you don't want others to comment on it?? That makes absolutely zero sense to me. If that was the case, everyone would just post their lists and it woudl be a waste of time. Oh, unless the allowable comments are something like "oooh, great list", "I agree with everything you said", etc. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, which basically means that someone's opninion maybe different from someone else's, therefore, they should be able to argue why they don't agree with someone else's opinion. I don't see the problem with that.

The thing is, most coaches in the league would have given the same orders.....well maybe not anymore, but there was a time when that statement would have held pretty true.

It doesn't hurt that Tampa's top 4 shooters are Lecavalier, St. Louis, Richards and Prospal, who have 42, 34, 25 and 27pts respectively.

Oh, I think it is absolutely Burke's doing. I don't think for a second that the organization is sitting around waiting for Neidermayer to make a decision, I think it was a well thought out plan.

Well, I do recall suggesting that the goal he scored against St. Louis (fluky type goal from outside the blue line) just might have been the type of goal he needed to score to get out of his goal scoring slump. Well, since that game, he has 8 goals in 9 games.........

It's unfortunate, but this is what tends to happen with guys that hang on a little too long. He has been a healthy scratch for several games now and the Pens are starting to win without him in the lineup. Pens fans complained about him all the time even last year and the year before when he was still putting up points. Most suggest that he was only putting up respectable numbers because he was on Crosby's line. There is some truth to that of course, but it is difficult to argue against when he is one of the leading scorers on the team. He was taken off Crosby's line earlier in the year and he continued to spiral until ultimately he was taken out of the lineup all together. Looks like the Pens are trying to do the same with Recchi that they did with Leclair. Roberts and Sydor are other guys that are aging and not doing well anymore. With Roberts, most feel he will turn it on near the end of the season and for the playoffs, but right now, he's not helping the team too much.

Has he ever stepped foot on European soil?

Most hockey experts agree that Lidstrom is better? Who, exactly, are you talking about?

I understand the theory, but I'd like to see it work. Also, the problem with the goalies, it's not just the size of the equipment, it is bigger, but not bigger than the 80s to the extent most think. Goalies are simply that much better, it isn't even close.

I agree, somewhat. The defensive play has decreased the excitement, but I don't think the great goaltending has had any impact, it certainly impacted scoring, but not overall excitement. The only impact on excitement I can see with the better goaltending is simply that goalies are so good positionally now, they make saves with their chest more than anything else, you don't see as many great glove saves anymore.

These are examples that I am pointing to as Bettman getting more of the bad rap than he deserves. You are right, it takes two sides to make the problem and not only that, there is more to the NHL side than just Bettman. In terms of who is more willing to haggle, I'd say the NHLPA was more of the sticklers there. Goodenow was as firm against the cap as you were going to get. If you want to single out individuals, I'd start with him being the biggest reason for the lockout and length thereof, but I don't think it is fair to single out anyone.

Instead of blindly reading my posts on this topic you need to look at the context. I was in no way pointing out that Bourque's stats are better, therefore he is better. Obviously, it is not that simple, otherwise, we'd never need to have these discussions, we'd just look at the scoring list. My point about stats was that someone mentioned stats as a reason why Lidstrom was better than Bourque, which I found odd......that's all, simple as that. Stats do mean something though and with his significant point lead over Lidstrom, combined with the fact that he was the 1st or 2nd team allstar 19 times compared to Lidstrom's 8, I have him ahead. With respect to Lidstrom being the best defenseman in the league for the past 7 years or so and Bourque never had that type of streak since he shared the Norris with a few other guys.......last time I checked, Lidstrom did not win the Norris the last 7 straight years. You can argue he was the best each year if you want, but you can't then say Bourque wasn't simply because he didn't win the Norris every year. I have yet to see someone try to deflect away the 19 post-season allstar selections vs. 8.......

These 2 are next to impossible. If you were to fine a coach for playing the trap, it would be SOOO subjective, you'd never be able to implement it. The 2nd one, I'm assuming you are more or less joking, as it translates to say "impede a goalies learning since they learned to well over the years, we need to make them worse"

Well, I had no problem at all with the timing of the hit, you have to finish those types of checks, but the leaping elbow was just out of line.

The only thing I can think of is that the Owners and the players are making a hell of a lot more money now than before he joined the NHL. Hard to argue how much of that is due to him. From a fan perspective, there isn't much to like about the guy. I don't like the guy that much as a person, but I don't dislike him as much as many fans do. I think the guy gets far too much heat for many things that are really not controlled by him, but oh well.

I'm assuming this was written by the same "Matt" that runs this site.

I think you've missed my point. I have suggested there are plenty of ways to increase the number of goals, but that is not my main focus, I want to see a better flow to the game....back and forth offensive action. Reducing goalie equipment does nothing to achieve this. Increased number of goals from 20+ feet out does not make for more excitement if you ask me.

The single most important thing that needs to be fixed is a movement away from the defensive strategies employed by pretty much 100% of the teams. The real problem, however, is that it is pretty much impossible to put a rule in place to get rid of this. You could try some sort of illegal defense rule, but I'm not sure how effective this would be. As long as history shows that defense wins, you will have great coaches that do their best to implement that type of system. There are several ways to increase scoring (goalie equipment, size of net, etc.), but, to me, none of that would create a more exciting game.

I can understand the thoughts that some have around losing respect for Neidermayer, but I take a different stance on it. He is effectively retired right now, he just hasn't "announced" his retirement. He's probably just trying to avoid what so many other athletes have done over the years (i.e. retire, only to come back, retire again and come back again and retire for the final time). He is effectively doing the same thing as I see him as being retired right now, so if he comes back, then he will be coming out of retirement, he's just avoiding all the formal announcements.

Just watched the video of the hit now....pathetic. You gotta wonder if the Flyers, as an organization are causing some of this. I know it is very, very difficult to suggest this, but if you look at this case as an example, there is absolutely no need to hit the player like that, all he had to do was skate in and throw a stiff shoulder and put him in the boards.

I don't see how games played really makes your argument better here, except for the fact that he has the same number of Norris's in less games played (though, that has a little to do with the competition). In terms of per game stats, Lidstrom still does not compare to Bourque (0.17gpg and 0.74ppg) compared to Bourque (0.25gpg and 0.98ppg). It is also very difficult to argue against the 19 post-season allstar selections, which suggests that Bourque was the best or second best defenseman in the league almost his entire career. The same cannot be said for Lidstrom.

I find it odd that you use "stats" as an argument for Lidstrom over Bourque. Is it just me, or does Bourque have almost double the points that Lidstrom has? Oh and as someone already mentioned, Bourque was a 1st or 2nd team allstar 19 times, Lidstrom 8 (he won't be catching Bourque there, that's for sure).