puffy

The average NHL player as a whole has never been better then now. Sports evolve, and you may argue that less teams= less diluted talent, but everyone seems to forget that back even in the 80's the league was over 90% NA.

There is a much bigger pool to draw from today. This is the reason the league has a lot more top guys, but no truly elite guys that stand miles ahead of everyone like Lemueix and Gretzky did. The vast increase in youth leagues/training, as well as far more balanced nutrition and talent pool to draw from has made for far more player parity then you could ever imagine.

You're going to call me insane, but I would honestly be shocked if Boyd Deverauex as he is now would not have been a consistent all-star in the 50s. The conditioning, speed, and overall talent of all the players will continue to improve, its just the natural way a sport grows. Do you really think the quality of game has suffered? If so, I suggest you get your nostalgia glasses off, and watch how easy it was for skill players to dominate in the 80s. Slow-ass defensemen and non-butterfly goaltending... yeah real challenging.

Just because the talent pool is bigger doesn't mean we should be putting a hockey team in a desert!

I suppose if the NHL made wiser re-location decisions in the past I might be ok with a 30 team league, but frankly every team has 4 or 5 players that are temporary plugs at best.

From a players perspective it's great because they keep the dream alive, but from a fans perspective it's like...WTF are some of these guys doing here?

Screw the cap and revenue sharing!

Why the hell should the stronger teams like the Wings,Leafs,Habs,Rangers ect. be expected to pay for these hopeless markets like Phoenix and Atlanta? It's not our fault they can't form a decent fanbase.

The league has become watered down with 30 teams. Guys who would have never made the NHL in late 80s/early 90s are now becoming NHL regulars. It's no wonder the quality of the game has suffered. I would not be against eliminating a few teams and going back to a 24 team format.

I doubt the league does anything. Sure this deal is crazy, but so was the DiPietro deal. Signing an average injury prone goalie for 15 years isn't any better.

Marc Andre Fleury is so overrated it hurts.

For starters a 2.65 GAA is hardly something to brag about, especially when you play on a great team.

Lets forget GAA for a second though because I know people like to bring up SV%.

MARC ANDRE FLEURY
2005/2006  .898
2006/2007  .906
2007/2008  .921
2008/2009  .912
2009/2010  .905

JEAN SEBASTIEN GIGUERE
2005/2006  .911
2006/2007  .918
2007/2008  .922
2008/2009  .900
2009/2010  .916 (With Toronto)

Does anyone see the irony here? JS Giguere is a past his prime pile of puke according to many people and yet Fleury makes the Top 10 in some cases? Give me a break!!! Put Marc-Andre on the Leafs and see if he can pull off a GAA lower than 3.20 and a save % higher than .900. I highly doubt he can.

Jimmy is not top 10. Any unbiased fan would agree.

He still has a lot to prove.

Datsyuk has inspired me to go back to College. 7th times the charm!

The only thing I hate about Mike Modano is he dives way too much. He also complains about proper calls all the time, it gets really annoying after awhile. He has a "crybaby" reputation and he has deserved it, with that said he is still a very talented player.

It's sort of a trade off with this guy. If you're willing to put up with his downside then you will surely enjoy his upside.

Paul, is that you?

No, I'm just your typical Romanian pervert. I would never pretend to be Paul Kariya...because lets face it, Asians have small penises!!!

Like I said before a "past his prime" Paul Kariya is still better than half the free agents out there today.

We all know he'll end up in Phoenix or Atlanta or something.

I just think its BS that Paul Kariya doesn't even get mentioned and Dominicf****** Moore makes "TSN's top 10 list of UFAs". What the hell is going on here?

Why has noone mentioned Paul Kariya yet? TSN has Dominic Moore on their list of UFA's but noone has said a thing about Kariya.

I realize Kariya is past his prime, but I'm sorry...Paul Kariya at his worst is better than Dominic Moore at his best.

If the Preds want to make things interesting they should trade for Mikael Grabovski next. I hear he and Kostitsyn are the best of friends

As of right now he's 1 of a very few players that's rumoured to be available, and could get the Maple Leafs offense going, and potentially into the playoffs...Kinda surprised nothing was done this past weekend concerning Kaberle; maybe Burke is waiting to see what pans out come July 1st.

I think he didn't trade Kaberle because he knows the offers are going to get better after July 1st. He may be intimidating and annoying, but he's not an idiot. He's waiting until certain teams get desperate before he makes his move.

Bertuzzi wouldn't be turning over the puck as much if Savard was his center; Savard would be doing most the work of getting the puck in the other teams end of the ice...All Bert would have to do is park his large frame in front of the opposing goalie for a rebound/deflection, or near the net for an easy tap in.

Agreed. While I'm not very fond of Savards contract I've always viewed him as one of the most underrated players in the game.

97pts in 05/06
96pts in 06/07
78pts in 07/08
88pts in 08/09

Those kind of numbers are worthy of recognition but the guy never gets his credit. He's always been viewed as an afterthought, which is a damn shame.

If this son of a ***** put up these kind of numbers in a Maple Leafs uniform he would be declared a national hero!

I'm actually a suicidal Leafs fan. I joined LGW after my psychiatrist advised me to.

It beats the hell out of anti-depressants and it's much cheaper!

Canada will make the World Cup of Soccer in 2026 and I am very excited about it!!!

All our European immigrants are making 3+ babies, so the proper strategy is in place.