toby91_ca

Fedorov will get in, no question....I think next year is his first year of eligibility no? The guy I'm wondering about is Lindros....the fact that he isn't in is pretty strange. The only thing Lindros doesn't have going for him is longevity, but there are several guys where that wasn't an issue.....most recent examples being Forsberg and Bure, but there are several others (Neely is another good example). Now, I like to try not to argue why someone deserves to be in because look at so and so, if he's in, then this guy needs to be. I'm not using that argument for Lindros. I think he's a no brainer, deserves to be there. His career was short, but long enough to demonstrate that he is a hall of famer. He was absolutely dominant for more than just a brief stretch of time. I was actually listening to a discussion on the radio the other day on him. They were throwing around the question about where they think he would have ended up if he stayed healthy. These were hockey guys, not just guys on the radio. Neil Smith was one of them and I think it was him who suggested there was Gretzky and Lemieux and then there would be Lindros. He didn't have the same skill level as those two, but his skill level was very, very high and he was a player that the league never really saw before. He was a monster out there that could go through guys with his size, but had so much skill at the same time. Those two things almost never come together. Lemieux had size as well, but obviously not the same type of size and certainly not used in the same way.

Well, McIlrath wouldn't have been an option, obviously. He's played a total of 8 minutes in the NHL this year.

There are easy charging calls where players jump and hit a guy. Then there are the others that are more subjective like distance travelled, etc. For those, the way I have always looked at it is that a player is going out of there way to do nothing other than to try and level a guy. Typically you'll see a player leave one side of the ice in the zone and skate all the way to the other, or skate from the point into the corner to nail a guy. Basically, those players are leaving their position to make a hit. In the case of the Malkin hit, he was skating around the net to go after the puck like he would normally be doing. It's probably a very poor explanation, but I don't see charging as even being considered here....but at the same time, I do agree that charging is often very tough to call.

I don't mind the scuffle at all....who cares of it's dirty or clean? You don't want your players getting drilled like that. If Crosby got lit up like that on a perfectly clean hit, if there is no response, then I can easily write that team off as having no chance of success.

I was actually surprised to see Girardi leave the ice at all. I figured he must have got the wind knocked out of him, but would be fine after a few minutes. Must have been a shoulder issue or something.....certainly couldn't have been a head concern, unless he hit is on the ice.

Yeah, it's only the 4...I'm not sure where I messed up there....my number was meant to be only guys that have played for the team this year (doesn't mean they are still on the 23 man roster, but it certainly wouldn't be considering the full 50).

If you bring up Goodrow's offensive stats as a good argument for him, then it's really a non-starter. He only got to over 1ppg in his 5th year in the league at the age of 21. Normally, guys at that age, in that league, are dominating.....oh, and they aren't going very far either because if they were, they wouldn't still be in junior. Now, that doesn't mean he won't or can't be an effective NHLer, but I can certainly see why he wasn't drafted and if he were to do well, it would be in spite of how he did in junior. I definitely would not point to his goal scoring in junior as an argument to why he might have some upside.

There probably isn't another team that has fewer players on their roster drafted by other teams....not that I've checked. The better bet though would be that there is likely no other team that currently has as many undrafted players on the roster.....the Wings currently have 9

Hornqvist looks like the most recent gem.....was picked dead last in the same year as Crosby....now he is on his wing and putting up big numbers. Sure, he's getting some benefit by playing with Crosby, but he was pretty productive before this year as well.

You won't find many teams with their best players picked so low because most teams best players are a lot younger, so it would be tough for a very low pick to be such an impact player that quickly. It was 3 years after they were drafted before either Datsyuk, or Zetterberg would play in the NHL....Datsyuk was also already 20 when he was drafted. Most of the top players these days are in the NHL the year after they are drafted with the elite of elite making it the year of their draft. I think size has been a big issue over the years, especially in the 80s....you find several examples of hall of famers that were drafted very low or not at all. Today's game is more about speed than size, but size is still very important (just not as important as it was 30 years ago). Also impacting drafting with non-North American players was whether they would ever come to play....so you'd see guys like Fedorov and Lidstrom drafted so low because it was a risk to take them, much different now. I think size was the issue for both Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Datsyuk was always seen as flashy, but I know I questioned whether he had what it took to be an effective NHLer. There have been dazzling stickhandlers in the past, but that's not what will make you a great player in the NHL...so there was a bit of that with him. Then, there's always the excuse that the draft is a crapshoot most of the time when you are trying to project guys who are only 18. There are rarely sure bets.

I forgot Gonchar was still playing as well. Odd trade for Montreal though....Gonchar's biggest attribute is his big shot from the point.....and they already have that (RH - Subban and LH - Markov)

Conn Smythe would be in a different category though (owner, not player)

Johnny Bower....not sure why he wasn't in that list....just turned 90 the other day as well.

I've had asthma all of my life, although I very rarely use an inhaler these days....it's the type of thing you normally grow out of later in life. These days, I'll typically use an inhaler once or twice a year, normally triggered by a cold or different environment. Anyway, I use two types 1) to basically breath better instantly and 2) to strengthen lungs.....the 2nd one does have a steroid in it Budesonide....which I think it pretty common for asthma treatment. As noted above, I don't think Clenbuterol is typically used for asthma treatment in North America.

What the hell is Franzen doing?

I'm sure most have heard the embarrassing stories about him by now. I can't figure out what's wrong, but I can cut and paste anything in there, quote button doesn't work probably either. Anyway, the gist of the story is that he hooked up with a porn star a couple years ago and he's been pestering her ever since on twitter....not to get back with her, but for her to hook him up with dates on the road in various cities. She calls him out as the most annoying twitter follower. I'm sure if you just google Del Zotto, you'll find the details.

Every goalie tries to knock off their net by "accident" - they've been doing it for years. It is normally in different scenarios when you can get away with it....not on a breakaway like that. So, cheating didn't necessarily pay-off here. You can say it paid off because he exchanged a 2 man breakaway with just a one-man, but really, if he had of just let it play out, looks like they mishandled the puck and it would have ended up in the corner or at least, his teammates would have had a chance to get back in the play.

Buffalo, the team, scored 11 goals in 10 games so far this season. Pittsburgh scored 7 goals in the second half of it's game last night.

Agreed, if he never went to KHL, he would most certainly already be the 2nd highest point getter all-time. He's currently 89 points behind Howe and 126 points behind Messier. He scored 67 points last year, so if he comes back again next year I'd say he's has a decent shot at catching Howe, but it would be tough to catch Messier. Statistically, if he puts up the same numbers this year and next year as he did last year, he'll catch him, I just think the likelihood of that happening is low. Just thought I'd bring it up as I saw a comment somewhere today about Jagr not "hanging on" but actually still being a very effective player. I probably realized, but didn't think about it much that he was very close to the top of all-time point getters. I'm not a fan of his at all (not that I have any great dislike for him).

Groucho Marx?

Two line pass? That's a phrase I haven't heard in years.

I heard a bit of Bob McCowan's show last night and tuned in right in the middle of him talking about the Wings being for sale. He was basically saying that he stands by what he said. It doesn't mean there will be a sale, just means that it is out there as a possibility. I see it as a trade rumour type deal. There are talks all the time about potential trades involving certain players....most of those talks do not result in an actual trade, but that doesn't mean there were no talks happening. Anyway, Bob suggested that the story he reported was based on information from 2 independent (and very reliable) sources. He also suggested that he heard from a 3rd since he broke that story. So everyone can deny it all they want (he made specific reference to Holland). My take....Bob doesn't make stuff up, he's one of the most connected and respected guys in the business. I've listened to him quite a bit and there are often times when he talks about hearing things, but doesn't mention them on air because they are just rumours. For him to put something out there, there's has to be more to it and more substantial sources claiming it. We're not talking about some dumbass reporter out there trying to make a name for himself. That said...like most other things, I think there is truth behind this, but I don't think it will come to fruition.

I'm not ready to give Yzerman too much credit yet for any of Tampa's success. He's been there for 4 years, the first year they went to the conference finals, but not much of that was due to anything Yzerman did, it was mostly due to the play of St. Louis and Stamkos. The second year he was there they missed the playoffs. The third year he was there they missed the playoffs. The fourth year he was there they were eliminated in the first round. I think they are starting to come around now, but again, that's more to do with Stamkos' maturation as well as Hedman starting to come into his own as well (both of whom were drafted before Yzerman came around).

Most, if not all, professional athletes (public figures) will have morality clauses in their contracts. This is why they can be terminated for legal issues where most "normal" people, working "normal" jobs would not necessarily suffer the same consequences.

You know there are a ton of players that you just hate on the ice but are really good guys off the ice? Lucic isn't one of them. He's just an all-around ******, all the time. There are not many players I would say that about...to be honest, the only other two that immediately come to mind are Marchand and Maxim Lapierre. Lucic can be a really effective player, big and strong, decent skill for a big guy, but he really is one of those guys that are inexplicably...aholes all the time.