toby91_ca

Jagr did it twice and came very close 2 other times (96 pts each time). 96 pts last year when not even being close to 50 goals. Oh and.....you sure he was playing with Mario? Gretzky....you may want to check to see how he did in the 1990-91 season.

Also a big reason why Hudler was a star in the AHL, but hasn't really been able to flourish in the NHL. Skating is not always the most important thing, but as a general rule, you need to be a good skater to make the leap to the NHL. Certain players in certain situations can get away with poor skating (Andreychuk for example).

Here's a problem though. Biggest difference between being a star in the AHL and cracking an NHL lineup? - Skating.

So, just to deal with some of the specific players you mentioned then: Alfie had over 100pts and fewer than 50 goals 2 years ago and Jagr has done it twice. Just for fun, Gretzky scored 160+ pts without scoring 50. He also scored 215pts and just barely scored 50 (52 to be exact). Iginla has already scored 50 goals without getting 100pts. I agree with your thoughts on teh ppg thing this early, but I was only using that in the context of looking at their past performance and then seeing where they sit so far this year (which is, for the most part, consistent with prior years).

I agree for the most part, but you have to understand what a lot of people are feeling. I think hype is to blame more than anything. A lot of people around here have been hearing about this guy and how good is and will be for the Wings for a long time now. A lot of people expected (due to the hype) for him to come in this year and be somewhat of an impact player (if you recall some of the discussions earlier in the summer, some were hoping he would be a 20-30 goal scorer, this year). That type of thinking probably isn't fair, but that's the way it goes. Neither Zetterberg or Datsyuk came in with any type of serious hype from what I can remember, therefore, it was no big deal if they didn't make an immediate impact (also, they were able to crack the lineup right away...on deeper rosters). Consider Crosby for example. Think back a couple years. Now, obviously Crosby was coming with much more hype, but let's ignore that for a minute. There were many people suggesting Crosby wasn't going to live up to the hype, etc., etc. What do you think would have happened if Crosby didn't make the team a couple years ago? He would have been teared to shreds by the critics. Again, it probably wouldn't have been fair, considered he was 18 and never played in the league before, but it's because of the hype.

I think these are some of the comments from Holland that some people are not too excited about:

I don't think there is any conspiracy here though. The league probably is taking a closer look at these types of plays and starting to make more calls, but in the last game as an example, I think the calls were made by different refs. No way would the same ref call one and not the other. Neither should be a penalty. Homer will likely get called several times, maybe more than anyone else, but that is to be expected since he is in that position more than anyone else. There will be some bad calls made here or there, but don't confuse that with a conspiracy as I have already seen some similar bad calls this year on other teams.

Yikes, that was a bad call, unless I am missing something. Even if he was in the crease, if you don't interfere, it is okay (unlike a few years ago). So I have two observations: 1. The two incidents were at different ends of the ice, so it is likely that a different ref made each call. 2. The call on Homer didn't appear to be legit to me, but refs do make mistakes, it will happen. Just like the players, they are not robots. Problem here is that this type of call isn't subject to video review.

Well, I'd like to see a replay of the disallowed goal before I comment. I'd be surprised if it was the exact circumstances. I saw an interference call on one of the Pens the other day and he was about 2 feet away from the crease. I was thinking that the call didn't make sense, but maybe I am confused on the actual rule. I think one of the other problems is that you can't use video replay on goalie interference calls.

I didn't see the game on Saturday (at a wedding), but I just checked the highlights and the Phoenix goal looked fine to me. I can understand why you would complain from a Wings fan perspective, but from what I could see, there was no contact with Hasek until the goal was scored..so, the contract was irrelevent. I didn't see the call on Homer, is there any video of that? To be fair, Homer does walk a fine line in front of the net and he probably gets away with just as much as he gets called.

Actually, Crosby is already pretty good defensively and is improving all the time. He is a very hard worker, which is the first step. I think a lot of people look to the fact that he doesn't play a lot on the PK and assume that he is not great defensively, but one of the key reasons he doesn't play a lot on the PK is risk. The last thing the Pens want is to have him block a shot and be out of the lineup because of it. He has already missed a few games because of that last year (actually, he played the end of last year on a broken foot). He took a puck off the foot again in preseason this year. I think that team is scared to death of losing him for anymore than a game or two.

Hmmm.....where do I begin. I think I have a rebuttle to almost every comment, but I'll limit to just a few? You think you can't score 50 goals without getting 100pts? I won't bother listing the examples of who has done it (some multiple times) as it would lengthy. You think you can't get 100pts without getting 50 goals? (this list is way longer than the 50 goals without 100pts list) Am I reading correctly, you don't think Eric and Jordan Staal can combine for 50 goals? Vinny had 108 pts last year, his previous high was 75, not completely unrealistic to think he may not get 100, but I think he will. Spezza....if healthy, he should get 100. He had 87 in 67 games last year (pace for 106), he had 90 in 68 the year before (pace for 109) and he is on pace for 108 this year. He is no guarantee for sure, but if he plays all the games, I think he has a good chance. Jagr...50 goals and 100pts easy? He only had 30 goals and 96 points last year. He is now a year older and he is currently on pace for 12 goals and 94 points. Not saying he won't do it, but to suggest he will do it "easily" is a stretch in my opinion.

They play Vancouver in Detroit on the 24th, but they also play them again in Vancouver on the 28th. The hopes are that he is ready to play for the game on the 28th.

Never really thought much of it until you say that. Detroit really does have a small D. I did a quick comparison to the rest of the league: 1 team has 8 D greater than 200lbs 6 teams have 7 9 teams have 6 7 teams have 5 6 teams have 4 and Detroit has 1.

From what I can tell at this point.....yes.

For those saying Sidney Crosby and getting upset for being told not to, in defense of the thread starter, he did mention "this year" - so last's year's Hart, Pearson, Art Ross really bears no weighting. That said, in terms of this year, not sure what Pens games the person has watched, but in the games I saw (I saw most of some games, but not all), he has looked amazing, the pts just haven't been piling up (though, it's not like he's in an incredible slump or anything). Even if I saw every game by every player this year, not sure I'd be comfortable answering this question only 7 games in. And since I have only seen Pens, Wings and Leaf games so far (I've some of others, but very little), I really don't feel comfortable answering. For example, Stastny has had some great statiscal games, but I haven't seen any of them, so I do not know how he has actually played.

That's why I said I can "almost" guarantee you. Since I am not the coach, I can't guarantee it. There is a difference between negativity and reality. I already stated that I hope Grigs turns out to be a great player at the NHL level, but I have to be honest, at this point, he hasn't even proved his is a great player at the AHL level. If you ask anyone in the front office with the Wings, they would tell you, under normal circumstances, this guy would not be on the NHL roster at this point.

http://www.zetterbergfan.com/HenrikZetterbergBio.html

After 7-8 games????

Please, just so I will be able to sleep tonight, tell me you were just joking.

Huh? Not knowing what kind of shape he needed to be in. As a professional athelete, shouldn't you be coming to camp in the "best possible shape"? Especially when you are a guy trying to crack the roster for the first time. I understand the guy had a setback with his accident and I do not want to make light of that in anyway whatsoever, but it is getting close to being 5 years past the incident now, it should really have no bearing on where he stands now. If it does still have an impact, will that impact ever go away?

There is a rule, you cannot have a stick measuring longer than 63", however, you can apply for an exception, which will allow up to 65". Chara uses a 65" stick for example. Oh and by the way, there is no way Chara uses a stick that comes up to his chin, since that would require a stick that is probably 71". In terms of the Ducks having longer reaches, they probably do because, in general, they are bigger. Pronger will be able to reach a lot further than Rafalski due to the fact that his arms are much longer than Rafalski's arms and he probably uses a longer stick. Pronger probably uses a stick between 63"-65", which would simply be too long for Rafalski to handle.

None of that is really relevant to this. What you are referencing is the rules with respect to the actual penalty shot, not rules surrounding when it would be awarded. The additions in 05/06 clarify rules around what happens when you have double-minors, etc. These are very rare circumstances, but need to be covered just in case it happens. Not sure I have ever seen some of those scenarios happen. The new rule talked about here was added for the 07/08 season. Refer below, the bolded part I think is where the change occured. I believe this used to read something like the player had to be past the red line, not simply his own blueline.

To be fair, I think it was only one person (in this thread anyway), they suggested he was all about the money. I think most others simply haven't been impressed with his play, which I think is a perfectly fair assessment so far. The fact that he is getting called up, basically because he isn't making enough money in GR, is silly (Holland basically said this was the reason). While he will make more money now, he won't be developing very much if he is not playing in games, which is doesn't appear he will be. If he hasn't been able to keep up with the pace of the AHL, how is going to cope with the NHL, which the main difference between the AHL and NHL is, of course, pace of the game. With that attitude, you'll be disappointed. I'm hoping he develops, but I don't think it will be anytime soon. It will probably be quite awhile before he is an "exciting" player in the NHL, if ever. If he gets himself in the lineup, it will not be on a line with Datsyuk, that much I can almost guarantee you.

What do you mean....the player no longer needs to be near the front of the net? It was never like that. If you got pulled down near centre ice in the past, it was a penalty shot (if you were in the clear). Are you confused or am I? I haven't gone back to check the rule, but this is how I understand the change. Previously, if you were in the clear and were at the red line or closer to the attacking zone and were hauled down, you would be awarded a penalty shot. NOW, you no longer have to be past the red line, you only have to be past your own blue line, I think that is the only change and I do not think it is really going to result in many additional calls at all. Non-factor as far as I am concerned.