imisssergei

Staal had a career year. Even in Jr's he never scored 30 goals. Last year was a fluke for Staal, he had one good year in Jr's and suddenly he has a world of potential? He will be a solid two-way center, who has a role very similar to that of Draper. To Toby91_ca, Draper had a PPG average in '03-'04 at .60 ppg to Staals .52 pp last season. This season Draper has a .40 ppg, Staal has a .24 ppg. But I will give you he does have more of a scoring touch than Draper. My point was however, that he isn't a scorer. You have to look at Pittsburgh's current roster. Current centers are Crosby, Malkin, Christensen, Kennedy, Talbot, Staal, Smith and Stone. Esposito has proven in Jr's that he can't play wing. If you don't believe me, look at his stats. The last half of last season, Esposito was moved to wing by his coach, Patrick Roy, to help prepare him for the NHL. He flopped, his production dropped drastically. Leaving him with 19 fewer points than the previous season, while playing 3 more games. The Pens are too deep at center to fit Esposito in. There is no doubt that Staal is more capable than playing third line center, and killing penalties. Conklin isn't a guy that will lead the Pens to the Cup. But Fleury is definitely capable when he is on his game. As for Atlanta, did you just start watching hockey this season Sparky? The Thrashers won their division last season. Getting Tkachuk wasn't a move to make the playoffs, it was a move to win the Cup. If you watched TSN, than you know that nearly everyone else believes Sundin, if he gets moved, will certainly command much more than you are thinking, something much closer to the Pens deal suggested.

This is my last responce to you on this topic. First READ WHAT YOU WROTE!!!!!!!!!! You contradict yourself. In one breath you say that, ignoring Dom's horrific start, if he finishes the season playing as well as Osgood, and gets the start in the playoffs it isn't because of his name. Then in another breath you say that it would come down to what Hasek has done in the past. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?! That is EXACTLY what gving the start to Dom because of his name!!!!! Idiotic to give the guy the start in the playoffs who has been hot all season, instead of a guy who hasn't been? I fail to see how this could be viewed as idiotic. What's idiotic is your statement that if it's even close you have to go with Hasek. The only reason to go with Hasek would be because of his name. If the goalies finish up the year at the pace they are on, Osgood will still finish with better stats. Osgood deserves the start. End of story.

The only think Gretzky has done in Phoenix this year is put Bryz in net. The 'Yotes were terrible before they got Bryz, since getting them they have gone on a tear. It's not rocket science.

Various sources have said that both Foote and the jackets are happy with him there. He is the type of guy Hitch wants on the team. He isn't going anywhere.

But if you put any other starting tender on the Wings he has a sub 2.00 GAA. Dom should have a better GAA. There is no way Dom has the same GAA playing for Boston. Look at Thomas. His GAA is 2.23. But his SV% is tied with Osgood for best in the league at .932. If Thomas plays for Detroit, his GAA drop from 2.23 to a 1.57, good enough for best in the NHL. Remarkable, isn't it? If you put Hasek in Boston, his GAA shoots up to 3.13!!!!

What you are missing in this equation is Sundin's value in a teams quest for a Cup. I guarntee that Kenny would (if he had teh assets) make a strong run at Sundin. Sundin will command a huge amount. The Pittsburgh deal sounds the most viable to me. Staal is a solid defensive hockey player, he is a bigger, slower Draper. Espo has a ton of potential, and the Pens first round pick will be middle of the pack. Just look at what the Preds gave up for a unhealthy, underachieving Forsberg. Look what Atlanta gave up for a slow, aging Tkachuk. Sundin is much more of an impact player than either of those guys, not to mention he is healthy. If Sundin is moved, it will draw a kings ransom.

Here is what you are missing, or ignoring, I'm not sure which. The key factor is if the goalies finish the season playing on the same level, not finish the season with similar stats. That means, just looking at from now, till the end of the season. Dom would still finish with lesser stats. In that situation, if Dom gets the nod, how does it not directly relate to the name on the back of the jersey?

Every year there is a sucker. If JFJ plays his cards right, he will get top dollar for Sundin

It's not Khabi over Ozzie, it's Khabi over ever other Hawk....

While Hasek has played better in the last, 8 or so games, overall the first 3 months of the season were awful. Had he been a true number one for the Wings, I shutter thinking about his stats. Again, 2.11 on this Wings team isn't very good. There are no two ways around it.

You don't win without quality goaltending. Crosby is a great player, but he will never win a Cup if the Pens don't get a quality tender.

Have you actually watched any NYR or Canes games this year? The reason the Canes top have more points is because they play an offense first style. The NYR play more of a defensive style. If you don't believe me, look up and interview with Jagr about the coaching style and why he is so frustrated in NY. Stats don't tell the entire story.

Technically 10 is the most but Ozzie won't go, here is why. The NHL rules state that each team must have at least one represenative at the ASG. There are 24 roster spots on each side for the ASG (12 forwards, 9 d, 3 tenders). There are 15 teams in each conference. So, right there you have 15 roster spots taken, which leaves 9 available. With the one roster spot already taken into account for any given team, 9 other representatives would make 10. Next, and most importantly, the teams that might be hard pressed to find a representative. In the West, Phoenix, Chicago, and Edmonton. I think Bryzgalov will get the nod from Phoenix. Khabibulin will most likely go from Chicago. That leaves only one spot in net which will likely go to Leclaire.

A 2.11 GAA is good. But you have to take into consideration the team he is playing for. There is no denying that he played terrible the first 3 months. Any starting quality goaltender should be at around the 2.00 GAA while playing on this Wings team. The SV% is much more telling as to how he has played this season. In comparison with goalies who have played 19 or more games this season, Dom ranks tied for 29th in SV%. That is awful. Couple that with his acceptable GAA, and to call his stats mediocre is being polite.

So in one breath you say that Hasek will catch up to Osgood in some statistical categories, yet in another you say it's impossible because the only stats that change are wins and losses? I don't follow this logic. What the poster means by Dom getting the nod because of his name is this. If both tenders finish out the season on an equal level, you have to look at something else to decide who gets the start. Osgood has had the better season, there is no denying that. So in that situation, if Dom gets the nod, it would be because of his name, and not his performance. You could argue either way all day about GAA and SV%, either can be looked at as a padded stat. GAA will be directly effected by a good defense because you will have fewer defensive breakdowns, thus you will allow fewer quality scoring chances. You could use your argument about SV% being padded. However, over the course of time, you will see that the better defensive team, 9 out of 10 times doesn't allow many shots. Both stats are important. Personally, I believe that GAA is the padded stat, as it is more about the team than the tender. SV% is more about the tender. I mean look at Dom. It's the perfect example. Both Dom and Ozzie play behind the same team. Yet Dom SV% doesn't hold a candle to Ozzie's. Why? Because Dom sucked it up the first 3 months of the season while Ozzie was playing out of his mind. As far as any standardization of a quality scoring chance, there will never be one because it's impossible. Yes, certain situations can be labeled as quality chances, break aways for instance. However, other situations where there is a clear advantage don't necessarily translate into a quality chance, such as a 5-3 PP.

The NYR top six haven't done s*** eh? You talk about stats, you might want to go look at some. Whitney has a team best 43 points for Carolina. Gomez has a team high 40 points for the NYR.

To me, a tainted record would be so due to something in the direct control of the record setter. Example: Use of preformance enhancing drugs. Something like the number of games played makes no different. Again, it's like comparing eras, you can't do it with any real accuracy.

You listed 7 guys, that's why I asked. If the top 6 in Carolina are so dominating, how is Samsonov going to get any PP time? Stats aren't the be all end all. Just because the Canes have more guys with 30+ points than anyone else doesn't necessarily translate into the best top 6. I'd take the NYR's top 6 over the Canes any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

You are preaching to the choir.

If I'm Babs, I refer to have my guys that weren't voted to the team, stay at home. Besides, with the Wings already having 3 guys, and each team required to have 1 rep, I don't think any more Wings will get the nod.

I'm a fan of agitation. But seriously, the line needs to be drawn somewhere! Although, I guess he didn't bite anyone!

Neither was Fedorov's when he won it.

Bottom line, Hasek has played well for all of what, 8 games? He was AWFUL for the first 3 months. He is on pace for mediocre stats, at best.

I think you are confused about how goaltending stats are calculated my friend. GAA is calculated by taking the number of goals allowed per 60 minutes played, rounded to two decimal points. To get the number, multiply the total number of goals allowed by 60 and divide by the total number of minutes played. If anything, the SV% would be skewed. For reference, SV% is calculated by taking the number saves made divided by the total number of shots on goal, expressed in three decimal places. So what was that about U of M math again?

Wow, everyone, RELAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First, to answer the thread question: No, rotating goalies in the playoffs never works. Show me one team that won the Cup with two goaltenders getting equal play (barring and injuries)? You can't. It's never happened. You have to go with one guy. If he fails, make a switch. Now for the fun stuff... As much as I hate Hasek (which is A s*** TON) I think he will get the nod in the playoffs. I'd rather see Ozzie in net, he is having an out of the world season. You can throw out all the stats in the world you want to. You can skew them anyway you want to give the goalie of your choice the better showing. It doesn't matter. Just for reference, per TSN, here are the projected stats for each goalie: Hasek: GP 40 W 25 L 11 T 4 MIN 2374.62 GA 87 SA 840 SO 4 GAA% 2.21 SA% .896 Osgood: GP 44 W 36 L 4 T 2 MIN 2589.5 GA 73 SA 1064 SO 4 GAA% 1.68 SA% .932 IMHO, if things with both goalies stay status quo, I think Babs needs to start Ozzie. He would have proven over the course of the season to be the better goalie, NOW. I don't care what Hasek did in 2000, or in October. I don't care if Ozzie hasn't won a playoff series since 1903. The better goalie should start. Now, if for some reason Ozzie starts playing awful for a 5+ game stretch, then I'd be fine with Hasek starting. Why 5+ games? I think with the way Ozzie is playing, you need to give him a few games to pull back into shape, just like Dom got 3 months to get back into shape, it's only fair. However, the real reason I think Ozzie should start, is that he fits better into the style of play that the Wings use. We all know the Wings play a puck possesion style. They don't allow many shots, about 23 per game. Dom is the type of goaltender that needs to have a lot of action to be involved, and preform well. If he doesn't see a lot of shots, he feels the need to play the puck. We've all seen Dom wander. Don't tell me you aren't holding your breath hoping he doesn't screw it up! WE ALL ARE!! Now, regardless if you are going to be honest about how you feel when Dom plays the puck, there is no denying, it's an adventure every time he touches it. In the playoffs, I don't want that kind of an adventure. But I also want my goalie to be in the game. With the way Ozzie is playing, I really don't think Babs can't pass over him in the playoffs, if things stay status quo. It's like having a world class chef go grocery shopping with you, help you prepare a meal, but when it comes time to eat the meal, asking him to sit and watch. It just wouldn't be right.