I think just about every Wing fan is pretty pleased with this team's ability to take a 1 seed to a game seven in the second round. Blow the dust off the Calloways, boys- you've earned a break. >>
I think just about every Wing fan is pretty pleased with this team's ability to take a 1 seed to a game seven in the second round. Blow the dust off the Calloways, boys- you've earned a break. >>
I wouldn't mind seeing the Bruins and Blackhawks in the final. I like watching original six teams go at er. I don't have much faith in their ability to get past the Penguins though. And I'm certainly not ready to write the Kings off.
I guess I shouldn't have sold my Bruins short...they just looked so bad at the end of the regular season, I wasn't sure if they had a run like this in them.
Original 6 final...gotta love it...NBC executives must be doing back-flips.
Should be a great series - both teams are playing incredible hockey coming in...Bruins have won 9 of last 10, Hawks have won 7 of last 8...
I wasn't sure if Chicago had it in them to grind out a series, but they proved vs. LA that they can. I wasn't sure the Bruins could hang with a scoring machine like Pittsburgh, but they proved they can. I think the conference finals were the perfect setup for this finals for both teams.
I hope that most of us here who are not Bostonians can agree that the world will be a better place is Brad Marchand's name is not engraved on Lord Stanley's Cup for a second time.
Boston really needs to find a way to acquire LA's Matt Greene. That guy can't skate one single shift without a bout of interference/obstruction. He'd fit in perfectly with Boston's second d-pairing. That said, I'm looking forward to watching at least six games of the Hawks attempt at breaking the New Jersey Bruins obstruction/interference (coughtrapcough) & crosscheck fest like I look forward to watching Zooey Deschanel continuously and disingenuously portraying herself as some sort of hopeless dork.
Bruins close-game Fenwick: 54.4% (Rank: 4th in NHL) Blackhawks close-game Fenwick: 55.8% (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
Bruins offense: -0.4 GVT (Rank: 14th in NHL) Blackhawks offense: 21.6 GVT (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
Bruins defense: 7.0 GVT (Rank: 8th in NHL) Blackhawks defense: 17.1 GVT (Rank: 3rd in NHL)
Bruins goaltending: 14.8 GVT (Rank: 2nd in NHL) Blackhawks goaltending: 10.0 GVT (Rank: 6th in NHL)
Bruins penalty kill: 10.5 GVT (Rank: 1st in NHL) Blackhawks penalty kill: 10.0 GVT (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
TOTAL: Bruins: 22.0 GVT (Rank: 4th in NHL) TOTAL: Blackhawks: 53.0 GVT (Rank: 1st in NHL)
Largest Team Beak factor: Bruins: immeasurable. Number of games until Hossa returns to his post as a Slovak contract killer: 6
Bruins obstruction: infinite Blackhawks interference: mild to Zetterleto depending on the situation.
number of times Marchand will skate away from Andrew Shaw's request to unfasten his mitten minders: incalculable to modern measures. number of times Chara, Ference, McKlutz, and Boychuk accrue a no call crosscheck with the puck at a minimum 10 feet away: infinite number of uncomfortable broadcast silences while Penisloaf Maguire looks to Ed Olczyk for affirmation to one of his rambling points: immeasurable number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite number of hours Milan Lucic & Brent Seabrook spent working out during the lockout: 0 in addition to one's poor judgment in musical taste, the percentage of one's $6M contract spent on an iron: 0
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy.
<<<number of uncomfortable broadcast silences while Penisloaf Maguire looks to Ed Olczyk for affirmation to one of his rambling points: immeasurable>>>
This was painfully obvious last night...I almost get the feeling that when they go to breaks, Olczyk constantly just asks Pierre "what the F are you talking about?"....
Great game last night, although the result wasn't what I hoped for....Daugavins cemented his place in the Glen Wesley wing of NHL's Missed Stanley Cup Finals Opportunity Hall of Fame....complete waste of a perfect pass by Seguin.
I'll just predict the Blackhawks take it in 6 now.
JJacks
Always buying music cards of artists I like! PSA or raw! Esp want PSA 10s 1991 Musicards Marx, Elton, Bryan Adams, etc. And 92/93 Country Gold AJ, Clint Black, Tim McGraw PSA 10s
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy. >>
<< <i><<<number of uncomfortable broadcast silences while Penisloaf Maguire looks to Ed Olczyk for affirmation to one of his rambling points: immeasurable>>>
This was painfully obvious last night...I almost get the feeling that when they go to breaks, Olczyk constantly just asks Pierre "what the F are you talking about?"....
Great game last night, although the result wasn't what I hoped for....Daugavins cemented his place in the Glen Wesley wing of NHL's Missed Stanley Cup Finals Opportunity Hall of Fame....complete waste of a perfect pass by Seguin. >>
via the scoreboard replay, it looked to me like Oduya managed to throw D-vins off just a bit with a stick-check. I've seen some folks crack on him for not one-timing that pass, but one-timing an off-hand forehand shot would’ve been kind of difficult to place accurately, let alone get anything on it. Even for pros it tends to shoot off one's toe into the corner half of the time. Thus he waited for Crawford to over commit and attempted a backhand and that gave Oduya enough time to get a stick in there. It happens. I give him credit for his patience. A normal rookie would've rushed that shot and looked even worse trying to bang one home. I'd put more blame on Seguin throughput the night. Each time he gets the puck on his stick he manages to bat off a weak roller from the heel. Homeboy needs to seek a alternate lie on his twigs or realize that he has more time than he may think. One or the other. I'd also like to encourage Claude Lemaire to continue rolling McKlutz and Krug out against the Hawks' third line.
I guess that's the reason why he's fill-in on a Stanley Cup roster, and not a regular....I don't even know if it needed to be one-timed, he could have gathered and wristed top shelf just as easily...
As for Seguin, you are right, he has more time than he thinks...he also needs to try to take it to his backhand on the rush once in while, or try stopping on dime at the top of the circle and waiting for others to fill in, just to keep the D-man honest...although when you're playing with Peverley and Kelly, I can see why he'd rather just fire a low percentage shot at the goalie, it's not as if those other two guys are going to do anything with it if he found them...If Horton is out, I expect Seguin to look a lot better on the Krejci line.
The talk is that Bartkowski will be taking Krug's spot next game, which I'm OK with. They both move the puck well, but Bartkowski is a little more physical in the defensive end.
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy. >>
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy. >>
Part of the reason I didn't have Boston in the Finals was because games like last night happened way too frequently in the regular season. The Bruins teams of the past couple of years were a virtual lock with a lead in the 3rd period...without going back through the schedule, I would guess there were at least 4 or 5 games where a team tied or won the game in the final 2 minutes.....they managed to avoid that all playoffs until last night.
I know the B's had some 3rd period woes this year, but they were also 4th in the league in close game Fenwick (7th in the playoffs). I think it came down to a couple relatively simple factors. The B's trap was fairly quickly offset by the Hawks sending in puck support in tiered layers and after the first period of Game 4, the B's trap was largely broken. They couldn't keep up with the Hawks' speed. Claude Lemaire wore out Chara/Seidenberg. Those earlier rounds where they were on ice for 30+ minutes per game in regulation had to take their toll. If you look across each series Chara went from 30+ minutes in the Leaf series down to around 24 against the Hawks. Seidenberg down to around 20. They're both already glacierly slow, and without benefit of the trap er ah I mean the strong defensive play of the Bruins collective, the game opened up which the B's couldn't contend with the Hawks' speed. Add in Seguin's desire to use Chara's sticks (order shorter sticks), Jagr doesn't fit on a line with a north/south C in the same way he never fit on a line with Scott Gomez in their Ranger days. Jagr excels with weaving types like Derek Roy or Giroux or of course Lemieux. The B's needed a guy with Jagr's passing and playmaking ability, but he just doesn't fit in with what the B's have on their roster. Iginla wouldn't have made a difference either. The Hawks have absolutely shut him down for the last 7 years and he's also a piano transporter. The NHL isn't as much of a copycat league as the NFL, but after the B's won in 2011 you saw teams like the Avs and Wild load up on big slow low skill defensemen, you also saw it last year with the Ducks signing Souray and B. Allen. The league is better off without anyone carbon copying that template.
- Iginla's off-season just became a little less stress free. - Penguins: oops, who would've thought bringing in skaters you can time end to end with a sundial in Iginla, Murray and Morrow would've offset the team speed factor that the Hawks and Leafs exploited on the B's. - Bolland scored the game winner after Boychuk lost his check. Couldn't happen to a bigger douche. - Chara was on the ice for 10 of 12 final Hawks goals. Couldn't happen to (literally) a bigger jag. Sorry, you go Pronger-elbows high on clean players and you're a jag. Not to mention shoving guys head first into crossbars. Get in the back with Boychuk, Barret Jackman. Chara and Kronwall are up front now. - Marchand - because he's Marian Hossa and you're not. - Discovered why Bergeron is so successful in preventing goals. Zetterleto thinks the obstruction, hooking, and slashing is a bit over the top. - I know DAT BIG TUFF LOOCHEECH snagged a couple slop goals and one nice wrister, and satan's doppelganger - Horton was playing injured, but so were Hossa and Toews and the "Hulk" line of Krecji, Lucic, Horton combined for -138 Fenwick. Shoutout to Don Cherry (and others) for referring to that line as "the best line in the NHL". Krejci is deceptively slow. I also enjoyed the comedy Lucic provided by having to take up for 6'9 Chara when Bickell was laying the body to him. Being too rough with clean hits and all, that nasty Bickell. - The last 3 Conn Smythe winners are American born.
I've never considered Krejci a burner, so for me, he is deceptively fast, not deceptively slow. Maybe some are surprised by the points he puts up in the playoffs despite not having top end speed...IMO, he's a little like Paul Pierce, in that he's very adept at getting in the right position and playing the right angles to get by his guy.
Krejci/Lucic/Horton (when healthy) is a great playoff line, but during the regular season, they are just slightly above average. Lucic can't bring playoff intensity for more than 20 games during the season, let alone 82, and his hands aren't good enough to pot more than 20-25 goals in a season.
The B's have to pay Rask, so Horton should be gone next year, as will Ference. Chara isn't going anywhere (although I suspect he'll see a LOT less ice time during the regular season going forward), and Krug, Bartkowski, and Hamilton are the future of the Bruins defense, so they are going to have to make a decision on which of McQuaid, Boychuk or Seidenberg gets sent packing (Seidenberg has the most value, but I'm praying it's McQuaid).
<< <i>I've never considered Krejci a burner, so for me, he is deceptively fast, not deceptively slow. Maybe some are surprised by the points he puts up in the playoffs despite not having top end speed...IMO, he's a little like Paul Pierce, in that he's very adept at getting in the right position and playing the right angles to get by his guy.
Krejci/Lucic/Horton (when healthy) is a great playoff line, but during the regular season, they are just slightly above average. Lucic can't bring playoff intensity for more than 20 games during the season, let alone 82, and his hands aren't good enough to pot more than 20-25 goals in a season.
The B's have to pay Rask, so Horton should be gone next year, as will Ference. Chara isn't going anywhere (although I suspect he'll see a LOT less ice time during the regular season going forward), and Krug, Bartkowski, and Hamilton are the future of the Bruins defense, so they are going to have to make a decision on which of McQuaid, Boychuk or Seidenberg gets sent packing (Seidenberg has the most value, but I'm praying it's McQuaid). >>
RE: Krejci - I think it's probably a mix of his size - listed at 6'0 178 (and European) so you kind of expect him to be a plus skater. Not to mention, he skates on a line with two plodders which should make him at least seem quicker. Then you watch him get caught from behind by an aged Michal Handzus (who the Sharks cut loose because he was too slow) on a partial breakaway. I can't see Lemaire dressing Krug, Bartkowski, and Hamilton in the same game. I think they'd consider trading Kelly before moving their D depth...or more realistically, a compliance clipping of Peverley. Can't imagine that $3.2M hit looks too appealing these days. Seems Rask is seeking Price/Rinne money. That's going to hurt....but if a mid-tier guy like Jimmy Howard received $5.3M it's not unreasonable.
The whole off-season is going to be sheer entertainment for no other reason than the possibility of Tim Thomas ending up in Colorado. This needs to happen. Varlamov isn't holding anyone off, and the opportunity to pair two batbleep crazy goalies (Roy & Thomas) together is potentially too awesome for it not to happen. Also, Thomas reportedly dwells in Colorado Springs these days. The only way that situation could possibly be better is if Roy was the GM, Tortorella the coach, and Thomas and Bryzgalov as the tandem in goal. Under that scenario I would instantly become an Avs fan despite the fact that their logo is markedly worse than 95% of every high school hockey sweater I've ever seen.
He'll lose that room quickly. Save for a healthy Kesler, there's no Callahan or Dubinsky or Prust or Girardi there for him to lean on. Super grindy, shot blocking, all out types that he needs to play his smothering defensive style of play. Torts has already stated the Sedins need to prepare for skating on the kill...good luck with that. Fantasy hockey players should probably prepare to drop the Sedins down on their draft boards. Don't think they'll be receiving the same 66% (Thing 2) and 63.7% (Thing 1) offensive zone starts under Tortorella.
<< <i>He'll lose that room quickly. Save for a healthy Kesler, there's no Callahan or Dubinsky or Prust or Girardi there for him to lean on. Super grindy, shot blocking, all out types that he needs to play his smothering defensive style of play. Torts has already stated the Sedins need to prepare for skating on the kill...good luck with that. Fantasy hockey players should probably prepare to drop the Sedins down on their draft boards. Don't think they'll be receiving the same 66% (Thing 2) and 63.7% (Thing 1) offensive zone starts under Tortorella. >>
I'm not totally sold on even Kesler being Torts' kind of guy, given his propensity for diving.
I'm madly in love with the Torterella experiment in B.C. already, but like everyone here I'm nearly 100% convinced that he's going to flame out in the most spectacular fashion imaginable. If I had to set an O/U line for his sacking/resignation I think I'd put it at about November 2014.
Filppula, Brunner and Clearly appear outbound for the Wings, with Alfredsson and perhaps Weiss coming in. Hard to see how the Wings become significantly better with these exchanges.
Comments
<< <i>
<< <i>Ha! Just trolling you.
I think just about every Wing fan is pretty pleased with this team's ability to take a 1 seed to a game seven in the second round. Blow the dust off the Calloways, boys- you've earned a break. >>
not these guys
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>Ha! Just trolling you.
I think just about every Wing fan is pretty pleased with this team's ability to take a 1 seed to a game seven in the second round. Blow the dust off the Calloways, boys- you've earned a break. >>
not these guys >>
No- I doubt those guys share my perspective.
Should be a great series - both teams are playing incredible hockey coming in...Bruins have won 9 of last 10, Hawks have won 7 of last 8...
I wasn't sure if Chicago had it in them to grind out a series, but they proved vs. LA that they can. I wasn't sure the Bruins could hang with a scoring machine like Pittsburgh, but they proved they can. I think the conference finals were the perfect setup for this finals for both teams.
GO HAWKS.
Bruins close-game Fenwick: 54.4% (Rank: 4th in NHL)
Blackhawks close-game Fenwick: 55.8% (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
Bruins offense: -0.4 GVT (Rank: 14th in NHL)
Blackhawks offense: 21.6 GVT (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
Bruins defense: 7.0 GVT (Rank: 8th in NHL)
Blackhawks defense: 17.1 GVT (Rank: 3rd in NHL)
Bruins goaltending: 14.8 GVT (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
Blackhawks goaltending: 10.0 GVT (Rank: 6th in NHL)
Bruins penalty kill: 10.5 GVT (Rank: 1st in NHL)
Blackhawks penalty kill: 10.0 GVT (Rank: 2nd in NHL)
TOTAL: Bruins: 22.0 GVT (Rank: 4th in NHL)
TOTAL: Blackhawks: 53.0 GVT (Rank: 1st in NHL)
Largest Team Beak factor: Bruins: immeasurable.
Number of games until Hossa returns to his post as a Slovak contract killer: 6
Bruins obstruction: infinite
Blackhawks interference: mild to Zetterleto depending on the situation.
number of times Marchand will skate away from Andrew Shaw's request to unfasten his mitten minders: incalculable to modern measures.
number of times Chara, Ference, McKlutz, and Boychuk accrue a no call crosscheck with the puck at a minimum 10 feet away: infinite
number of uncomfortable broadcast silences while Penisloaf Maguire looks to Ed Olczyk for affirmation to one of his rambling points: immeasurable
number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite
number of hours Milan Lucic & Brent Seabrook spent working out during the lockout: 0
in addition to one's poor judgment in musical taste, the percentage of one's $6M contract spent on an iron: 0
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy.
This was painfully obvious last night...I almost get the feeling that when they go to breaks, Olczyk constantly just asks Pierre "what the F are you talking about?"....
Great game last night, although the result wasn't what I hoped for....Daugavins cemented his place in the Glen Wesley wing of NHL's Missed Stanley Cup Finals Opportunity Hall of Fame....complete waste of a perfect pass by Seguin.
Best TV viewing record in 16 years.
LINKY
Good game last night.
I'll just predict the Blackhawks take it in 6 now.
JJacks
<< <i>
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy. >>
creepy, you say?
<< <i><<<number of uncomfortable broadcast silences while Penisloaf Maguire looks to Ed Olczyk for affirmation to one of his rambling points: immeasurable>>>
This was painfully obvious last night...I almost get the feeling that when they go to breaks, Olczyk constantly just asks Pierre "what the F are you talking about?"....
Great game last night, although the result wasn't what I hoped for....Daugavins cemented his place in the Glen Wesley wing of NHL's Missed Stanley Cup Finals Opportunity Hall of Fame....complete waste of a perfect pass by Seguin. >>
via the scoreboard replay, it looked to me like Oduya managed to throw D-vins off just a bit with a stick-check. I've seen some folks crack on him for not one-timing that pass, but one-timing an off-hand forehand shot would’ve been kind of difficult to place accurately, let alone get anything on it. Even for pros it tends to shoot off one's toe into the corner half of the time. Thus he waited for Crawford to over commit and attempted a backhand and that gave Oduya enough time to get a stick in there. It happens. I give him credit for his patience. A normal rookie would've rushed that shot and looked even worse trying to bang one home. I'd put more blame on Seguin throughput the night. Each time he gets the puck on his stick he manages to bat off a weak roller from the heel. Homeboy needs to seek a alternate lie on his twigs or realize that he has more time than he may think. One or the other. I'd also like to encourage Claude Lemaire to continue rolling McKlutz and Krug out against the Hawks' third line.
Don't stand...don't stand so...don't stand so close to me
your thoughts, Turco?. Precisely.
As for Seguin, you are right, he has more time than he thinks...he also needs to try to take it to his backhand on the rush once in while, or try stopping on dime at the top of the circle and waiting for others to fill in, just to keep the D-man honest...although when you're playing with Peverley and Kelly, I can see why he'd rather just fire a low percentage shot at the goalie, it's not as if those other two guys are going to do anything with it if he found them...If Horton is out, I expect Seguin to look a lot better on the Krejci line.
The talk is that Bartkowski will be taking Krug's spot next game, which I'm OK with. They both move the puck well, but Bartkowski is a little more physical in the defensive end.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy. >>
creepy, you say? >>
So does watching the "children" play college football also make a fan "creepy"?
Boston's players are truly showing the influence of their captain.. dirty, low down, hackin slashin European style.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>number of times Penisloaf Maguire cites a player's youth or junior team to an American audience who doesn't give a bleep about some Canadian league where creepy adults pay money to watch children they aren't related to play hockey: infinite >>
If that's your perception, then you're obviously the one who's creepy. >>
creepy, you say? >>
So does watching the "children" play college football also make a fan "creepy"?
Boston's players are truly showing the influence of their captain.. dirty, low down, hackin slashin European style. >>
college football (or other college athletes) aren't 16 years old or younger.
- Iginla's off-season just became a little less stress free.
- Penguins: oops, who would've thought bringing in skaters you can time end to end with a sundial in Iginla, Murray and Morrow would've offset the team speed factor that the Hawks and Leafs exploited on the B's.
- Bolland scored the game winner after Boychuk lost his check. Couldn't happen to a bigger douche.
- Chara was on the ice for 10 of 12 final Hawks goals. Couldn't happen to (literally) a bigger jag. Sorry, you go Pronger-elbows high on clean players and you're a jag. Not to mention shoving guys head first into crossbars. Get in the back with Boychuk, Barret Jackman. Chara and Kronwall are up front now.
- Marchand - because he's Marian Hossa and you're not.
- Discovered why Bergeron is so successful in preventing goals. Zetterleto thinks the obstruction, hooking, and slashing is a bit over the top.
- I know DAT BIG TUFF LOOCHEECH snagged a couple slop goals and one nice wrister, and satan's doppelganger - Horton was playing injured, but so were Hossa and Toews and the "Hulk" line of Krecji, Lucic, Horton combined for -138 Fenwick. Shoutout to Don Cherry (and others) for referring to that line as "the best line in the NHL". Krejci is deceptively slow. I also enjoyed the comedy Lucic provided by having to take up for 6'9 Chara when Bickell was laying the body to him. Being too rough with clean hits and all, that nasty Bickell.
- The last 3 Conn Smythe winners are American born.
I also predict I won't watch a minute of the playoffs.
aconte
Krejci/Lucic/Horton (when healthy) is a great playoff line, but during the regular season, they are just slightly above average. Lucic can't bring playoff intensity for more than 20 games during the season, let alone 82, and his hands aren't good enough to pot more than 20-25 goals in a season.
The B's have to pay Rask, so Horton should be gone next year, as will Ference. Chara isn't going anywhere (although I suspect he'll see a LOT less ice time during the regular season going forward), and Krug, Bartkowski, and Hamilton are the future of the Bruins defense, so they are going to have to make a decision on which of McQuaid, Boychuk or Seidenberg gets sent packing (Seidenberg has the most value, but I'm praying it's McQuaid).
<< <i>I've never considered Krejci a burner, so for me, he is deceptively fast, not deceptively slow. Maybe some are surprised by the points he puts up in the playoffs despite not having top end speed...IMO, he's a little like Paul Pierce, in that he's very adept at getting in the right position and playing the right angles to get by his guy.
Krejci/Lucic/Horton (when healthy) is a great playoff line, but during the regular season, they are just slightly above average. Lucic can't bring playoff intensity for more than 20 games during the season, let alone 82, and his hands aren't good enough to pot more than 20-25 goals in a season.
The B's have to pay Rask, so Horton should be gone next year, as will Ference. Chara isn't going anywhere (although I suspect he'll see a LOT less ice time during the regular season going forward), and Krug, Bartkowski, and Hamilton are the future of the Bruins defense, so they are going to have to make a decision on which of McQuaid, Boychuk or Seidenberg gets sent packing (Seidenberg has the most value, but I'm praying it's McQuaid). >>
RE: Krejci - I think it's probably a mix of his size - listed at 6'0 178 (and European) so you kind of expect him to be a plus skater. Not to mention, he skates on a line with two plodders which should make him at least seem quicker. Then you watch him get caught from behind by an aged Michal Handzus (who the Sharks cut loose because he was too slow) on a partial breakaway. I can't see Lemaire dressing Krug, Bartkowski, and Hamilton in the same game. I think they'd consider trading Kelly before moving their D depth...or more realistically, a compliance clipping of Peverley. Can't imagine that $3.2M hit looks too appealing these days. Seems Rask is seeking Price/Rinne money. That's going to hurt....but if a mid-tier guy like Jimmy Howard received $5.3M it's not unreasonable.
The whole off-season is going to be sheer entertainment for no other reason than the possibility of Tim Thomas ending up in Colorado. This needs to happen. Varlamov isn't holding anyone off, and the opportunity to pair two batbleep crazy goalies (Roy & Thomas) together is potentially too awesome for it not to happen. Also, Thomas reportedly dwells in Colorado Springs these days. The only way that situation could possibly be better is if Roy was the GM, Tortorella the coach, and Thomas and Bryzgalov as the tandem in goal. Under that scenario I would instantly become an Avs fan despite the fact that their logo is markedly worse than 95% of every high school hockey sweater I've ever seen.
<< <i>He'll lose that room quickly. Save for a healthy Kesler, there's no Callahan or Dubinsky or Prust or Girardi there for him to lean on. Super grindy, shot blocking, all out types that he needs to play his smothering defensive style of play. Torts has already stated the Sedins need to prepare for skating on the kill...good luck with that. Fantasy hockey players should probably prepare to drop the Sedins down on their draft boards. Don't think they'll be receiving the same 66% (Thing 2) and 63.7% (Thing 1) offensive zone starts under Tortorella. >>
I'm not totally sold on even Kesler being Torts' kind of guy, given his propensity for diving.
I'm madly in love with the Torterella experiment in B.C. already, but like everyone here I'm nearly 100% convinced that he's going to flame out in the most spectacular fashion imaginable. If I had to set an O/U line for his sacking/resignation I think I'd put it at about November 2014.
If Vinny L is cheap enough, I could see him coming here.