Drake_Marcus

Like everyone who thinks NY is going to be better then Pitt isn't a joke? Give me a break. Just because NY went back to its "here's a pile of cash- please play here" ways this summer doesn't mean they've got a chance to beat Sid's gang of retardedly stacked talent-fiesta lines. And I don't see Ottawa's level of play diminishing much either. Remember- they blew the start of last season and still managed a respectable showing. Lastly- I'm shocked anyone honestly thinks Nashville and Buffalo are going to disappear because they lost key players. Neither team is likely to drop out of the top 7 in their conference with the level of young talent they have left.

I'd vomit if they traded Maltby. He'll be a Red Wing until the day he dies. Don't kid yourself people- the Wings are as loyal to Maltby as he is to them. And yeah- he fills a role on this team. The grind line wouldn't be the same without him. When he feels like there's no need for him to be there I don't think his first thought will be "I wonder if Columbus needs me?".

I agree with you in principle but have to disagree in reality. The reality in question is the dumbass new state of salary affairs in our new "even playing field" CBA. Philly and the Rangers ruined the fun by paying UFA's twice what they were worth (at least- some got three times their value). Under the current state of affairs Penner's worth, what, like 10 million as a UFA? So 4.5 seems fair as a RFA, as retarded as that sounds to our sensibilities.

How likely is that? Sure I'd be a decent deal for us based on Hudler's actual stats (not that he doesn't have the potential to be like Cam with some actual icetime and pp access). But it's a proven, small, talented forward for an unproven, small, talented forward that comes cheaper. I'd imagine we'd have to include something else that addresses their needs in such a trade.

Good. The boys need to learn to do as well on the road as they do in the Joe. Specifically- they need to learn to get over the "western Canada" road trip hump.

I really hope he's the player we've all been praying he'd be for the last 3 years.

And with that I'm back on your side Sure. That's not a bad lineup at all. Hopefully Kindl comes up instead of Quincey. Quincey looks professional and poised, but I'm not too sure he's all that impressive in terms of shear talent.

Well on the plus side we'd have TWO physical defensemen out AT THE SAME TIME!

Bah! You put Sammy in the top 3 so why wouldn't you put Lillypads in the top 4? Lilly actually played well with Lids during the playoffs. Plus I think he's the minimum risk when paired up with Lids since Lidstrom can carry pretty much anyone with him. Pairing Lilja with a weaker defenseman would only increase the likelyhood of his mistakes being costly. Plus it's nice to have a physical presense out with Lids. Let's not forget that Kroner will likely be out from December-March with some injury.

Plus, to be honest, I think they both enjoy playing together so much that it's almost like a treat for them to get some ice time together. By the way they practice together it's clear they're close friends. If they are only paired up after a bit of strife maybe the magic will stay fun and new to them without becoming hum-drum?

People can knock Oz all they want but the fact remains that he's still clutch when we need him. I think the Preds games he won in the second half of the season prove that.

*sigh* Yeah. North Americans hate money. When was the last time you turned down a promotion? If another company offered you twice your salary would you switch jobs? Then I guess you're all about the money.

Bah! Oz scores goals all the time.

Agreed Hank. We've got two elite centres that play really amazing together. Keep them together on the man advantage but we can't ignore the fact that Z is a great centre and we need two elite lines. As long as Sammy isn't playing top six we're golden.

Look ok to me. Nothing fantastic, but not terrible in my opinion. I do think the skull on the arm is cool, but a little too similar to the front design. It's better to have a symetrical logo on the shoulder that's markedly different from the main logo on the front.

As others have said- he's plenty physical. He's 200lbs and 5'11. When the NHL lists you as 5'11 you're actually more like 5'10 (they're pretty generous in that stat). A 5'10 man with pro hockey conditioning that weighs in at 200lbs has muscle well above average for NHL players. As for speed- the big Euro scout for the organization says he's at 90% of his old skating, and that quote is more then a year old.

Well bringing up the Iraq war, while I do understand your logic in making the analogy, is just asking for flaming.

I only saw it possible if Calgary had NO chance of signing him and wanted something back while Kipper wanted to go here badly and we were willing to make it sweet for the Flames. In the end we all know rivalry isn't a 100% killer of the opertunistic trade, it just hurts it badly.

Interesting to hear about Howard needing to impress this camp. A local paper (I'm in Calgary for the summer) mentioned that Kipper was made an offer by the Flames brass that he turned down. The article went on to say that Kipper wants to test the free agent market and said Calgary would have to make him a much higher offer before training camp starts. I think making a huge move for Kipper is high priority. He obviously wants a chance at winning the cup and we've seen he's more then able to steal multiple playoff games on his own. I wonder if Holland could convince Lids to take a paycut on his remaining years (as well as get Maltby and Draper to take cuts)? If we can nail Z down to a 7 year 5.5-6 mill contract and cut back on Lids while still nailing him down maybe we could make Kipper a big enough long term offer to get a franchise goalie here for the next 7 years!

Honestly, I think this whole thing is good for the Preds. Apparently Nashville fans are becoming some of the most active and appreciative of all the newer franchises. Anyone who lives in a city with an NHL team is damn lucky. There are more than 30 big cities in Canada/USA so those with NHL teams should feel lucky and appreciate what they've got. The Preds are a successful team with a nice little rivalry brewing with the greatest hockey team on Earth (other than Team Canada ). Here's to another season of bitter, balls-out, TooToo-hating Nashville-Detroit match ups. No need to troll dude.

A 50% cap cut for self-drafted players is a bit steep, but 35-40% off could work for me. I call BS there. I'll give you Cherry as a biased guy, but MacLean is very even handed. The person I can't stand is that younger ex-goalie dude (I think he used to play for the Kings, right?). He's insanely Canadian biased. Regardless, you can't complain too hard about Ron or Don since they're shoulders above any other hockey commentaters out there. Cherry for his presence and hilarious ignorance (visors are for babies? Hahaha, sure- so are seat belts then ). MacLean for his amazing hockey sense, knowledge and broadcasting skill.

Not missing the point at all. I fully understand that. But go back and read my first comment- you can't expect people to just gloss over the background "I hate Holland" facts without responding to them.

Thanks for that. I actually enjoy your posts 40x more then the average "blah blah blah I totally agree with the last 46 people" posts! Not all of us. Infact, I'd wager that teams like Dallas and the Ducks have helped to soften the image of "warm climate"="struggling franchise". I think most of it actually comes from Canadians watching the few remaining teams move to desolate markets in the US (the 'Yotes), or conversely, to awesome success in the states (the Aves). It's embittering for some of us, especially the people with old Jets and Nords jerseys. (not me- although I do have a Lemieux era Pens jersey )