NHL Thread

[Annabelle 0]

i've been flicking all day. tsn is the only place to get the trades. they announce them first and are always correct.

[Guest]

Sportsnet was always wrong, as I learned today. They looked like a joke with Eklund on.

 

I mean, the guy said Norstrom was going to Anaheim. In what way is that realistic.

[Annabelle 0]

sportsnet is the worst. the score has the best commentary but tsn has the best breaking stories.

[Vigo 0]

canada is ENRAGED about the smyth deal. i think its not too bad. smyth is overated as shit. plus the dude wants 5.5 million a year. you kidding me? i'd be scared to give him three. they got two former first rounders and a first round pick for him. this deal gives them almost as much as the pronger trade for a lesser commodity. i like the isles and all, but whats with them taking on smyth & not trading blake? they're gonna lose one of them. and i doubt it will be smyth. so why not trade blake for a nice package of prospects.

 

Which is why I'm not too heartbroken that he's gone. The deals that were tossed around were in that $5.5 million or more range over 4 or 5 years. You can make an argument that Smyth isn't worth that much now but it's almost guaranteed he won't be worth that much nearing the end of it. For that $5.5 million Smyth better be able to put up around 100 points, the reality is he won't come close to that. On a side note, it's funny seeing Pierre Maguire throw a hissy fit over the trade.

[Annabelle 0]

pierre maguire is a dunce. there's a reason why that asshole is doing commentary instead of coaching.

 

edmonton needs to tear down & rebuild. thats the way it is. what they have right now simply isn't good enough. this is a team loaded with 3rd line players but no superstars. after going to the finals, they were forced into signing subpar players like roloson, pisani, and to a lesser degree stoll to big contracts they didn't deserve. when your first line centre is shawn horcoff its time to rethink things. but luckily, they've got tons of 1st round picks from the pronger & smyth trades to rebuild. they should have dumped more players in all honesty.

[Guest]

Who are the winners/losers of the trade period starting with the Forsberg deal. So everything from there on in.

[Annabelle 0]

are we basing winners/losers on how the teams will do this year or how they will do in the future?

[Guest]

Both.

 

Winners-Philadelphia, LA (cap space is gold in this league), Pittsburgh, San Jose, Dallas (Nagy and Norstrom is nothing to scoff at), Islanders (They gave up stuff they didn't need for Smyth. I think Smyth is overrated, but I can't blame them for trying to do something.), and St. Louis.

 

Losers-Montreal, Anaheim (they had pressing needs that Brad May does not address), Buffalo (the same as Ducks), and Edmonton could not afford to lose the face of their franchise. They alienated their entire fanbase.

 

Big Losers-Atlanta might have fucked up their whole team with their moves. At the very least, they fucked up their future.

 

Fuck grades, it takes too long. Detroit's moves are boom or bust, and Calgary's moves were nice. Atlanta gave up their best prospect for Pascal fucking Dupuis. They're buttfucked.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Senators really pissed me off. They could've had Roberts straight for their #1 pick. Instead they get Saprykin (a HUGE step down) for essentially a 2nd rounder? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

 

I have San Jose as the big winner counting both Rivet and Guerin. Although Calgary and Detroit are looking really good too.

[Annabelle 0]

i really really like the red wings pick up of bertuzzi. he'll be a 2nd liner. a point per game workhorse as a second line player. a guy who usually commands the oppositions top defensive pairing. with datsyuk & zetterberg on the first line, bertuzzi can quietly wear down teams. of course, this is based on him staying healthy. thats the risk. but its a move i was honestly hoping for all day. detroit is just so deep with cleary, draper, and maltby as a strong 3rd/4th liners. there's so much experience. how can they not be favorites? and funny enohg, no one is really considering them winners today.

[Guest]

I think they won with the Calder and Bertuzzi trades, but those are two players that there really isn't any middle ground with. They're either going to suck, or be really good. I like that they got some North American players instead of this soft Euro trash they always get. If Datsyuk didn't work so well with Zetterberg, they would have dealt Pavel.

 

I still think Nashville has to be the favorites to come out of the West, and I noticed I accidentally left them off my winners list. They are stacked, and Forsberg has to work well with Kariya.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Detroit now has incredible depth if Bertuzzi stays healthy and Calder regains form. If Hasek's health holds up as well, we're talking a deep run here.

[Annabelle 0]

If Datsyuk didn't work so well with Zetterberg, they would have dealt Pavel.

 

sometimes i appreciate your commentary on hockey, then sometimes you say the most ridiculous bullshit that makes me scratch my head.

 

and bertuzzi is a wild card. no doubt. but he won't be expected to come in & be the star. he's playing a role. and it may suit his place right now. he's going to be rusty. he's going to be fragile. so the wings can gently ease him into form until the playoffs begin.

 

calder is a different story. this is an electric player who will only benefit from playing with better people. there was a lot of pressure on him to succeed in philly. only after the pressure subsided did he begin to produce. i definately think he will be a major & underated asset.

[Guest]

Pavel is not the type of player that wins championships. He is going to be unrestricted and want a big chunk of change. A chunk of change that he will not get from Detroit. I don't find it too far out of the realm of possibility that, if he wasn't so great with Henrik, he would have possibly been moved.

[CanadianChris 0]

Senators really pissed me off. They could've had Roberts straight for their #1 pick. Instead they get Saprykin (a HUGE step down) for essentially a 2nd rounder? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

That's it?? What a horrible decision. I'd rather have Gary Roberts than a late first-rounder.

 

Even worse, not only did the Sens not get Roberts, but they gave him to what's shaping up to be their first-round playoff opponent.

[Annabelle 0]

Pavel is not the type of player that wins championships.

 

whoa whoa

 

am i about to hear a sweeping generalization?

 

and i'd figure the wings will pay him what he wants, outside of the league maximum.

[Guest]

I'm not going to go that far. But I don't see very many "soft" players raising the Cup. Going into the playoffs, I'd take most every forward on that Hurricanes team from last year over him. His playoff point totals kinda prove my theory, and I think that's all that matters. I don't care about Hart trophies and that kinda shit (I'm specifically referring to Joe Thornton).

 

I won't even touch the Euro thing more than I already did, there are guys that completely destroy that theory. My view on hockey has changed over the past year.

[the max 0]

calder is a different story. this is an electric player who will only benefit from playing with better people. there was a lot of pressure on him to succeed in philly. only after the pressure subsided did he begin to produce. i definately think he will be a major & underated asset.

 

The pressure subsided because Philly died early. Is Detroit not going to have pressure? I'd imagine that their fans are expecting to go deep in the playoffs after their acquisitions today. Seems to me that Calder is starting to run out of chances. He has a career high of 59 points and only 5 games of postseason experience. Personally, I don't care what happens to him, I just have a feeling that he's going to flame out in Detroit like he did in Chicago.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I think Nashville vs Pittsburgh will meet each other for the Cup.

I wonder what Brian Burke's excuse for not doing anything during the deadline. He was probably crying on the phone when he didn't get Bertuzzi.

[Red Baron 0]

Like Montreal always done, trade players for nothing and get nothing in return.

[Annabelle 0]

calder is a different story. this is an electric player who will only benefit from playing with better people. there was a lot of pressure on him to succeed in philly. only after the pressure subsided did he begin to produce. i definately think he will be a major & underated asset.

 

The pressure subsided because Philly died early. Is Detroit not going to have pressure? I'd imagine that their fans are expecting to go deep in the playoffs after their acquisitions today. Seems to me that Calder is starting to run out of chances. He has a career high of 59 points and only 5 games of postseason experience. Personally, I don't care what happens to him, I just have a feeling that he's going to flame out in Detroit like he did in Chicago.

 

i don't think calder is a first line player. he did a fine job with the blackhawks. he died with the flyers because there was pressure for him to produce. with the red wings, he'll be a third line player. and that will help him. i'd love to have him as an additonal 3rd line threat. totally. he had two points in the first two periods tonight as a red wing.

 

as far as datsyuk goes, there's always playoff maturity. many professional athletes do not do well the first few times around. but again, bringing in some tough, solid players around him will help a lot. i think both datsyuk & zetterberg are developing into franchise players. they're still young. i don't think i am comfortable enough to label him as "not being a playoff player". if both fold their tents AGAIN this year, i'd be more inclined to agree.

[Annabelle 0]

I think Nashville vs Pittsburgh will meet each other for the Cup.

care to make things interesting?

 

i'll go out on a limb & say it'll be new jersey from the east. and either detroit or san jose from the west. nashville is a great team but they're still young & inexperienced. i am most comfortable to say detroit will come out of the west, but san jose has some of those intangibles that makes me nervous. offensively they will be need to produce big time because their deficiencies are in the back end.

[Guest]

Datsyuk has 15 points in 42 playoff games. That's like, the only reason I have ground to stand on when I say he's not a playoff performer.

 

I'm saying Nashville and Ottawa. I really think Ottawa's going to put it together this time. However, if Carolina gets in, they're fucking scary. The only other team I could see coming out of the West is Detroit. Rivet and Guerin are the oldest players on the Sharks. That's not enough experience for my blood.

[treble 0]

I guess Nashville needs to beat the Sens in 7 to keep up the recent trend of small-market Canadian teams losing in the finals to a southern market.

[Annabelle 0]

i'll go with detroit & new york isles in the finals.

 

and i agree that datsyuk has not produced in the playoffs. but i have a different feeling this year. oh what a feeling. ill stop.

[Red Baron 0]

Vancouver vs New Jersey

[Guest]

That Smyth-Yashin-Blake line is going to rule.

 

If Turco didn't suck so bad, I'd say Dallas has the pieces to make a run. Same for Calgary.

 

Fuck it, these playoffs are going to be awesome. It was nice to see a lot of teams NUT up this year at the deadline.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Ottawa vs San Jose is my pick. The alternative for the East is Buffalo while for the West it's Detroit.

[Vigo 0]

More on the Ryan Smyth trade. The Oilers apparently offered him $27 million over 5 years or roughly $5.4 to $5.5 million/season. He rejected it because he wants $5.7-$6 million. All I have to say is fuck Ryan Smyth.

[Guest]

Ryan Smyth will get his 6 million. And considering the cap room the Kings have, I'd give 50% odds that we will be the ones to give it to him.

 

The Kings have committed roughly $22.5 million to 11 players for next season, giving them significant cap room.

And if we send Cloutier and Tverdovsky down (more than likely), you can take 5 million bucks off of that. I would rather have Scott Hartnell at a lesser price, or even Paul Kariya at a near to 6 million price, but I could live with Mr. Canada. Him+Kopitar=greatness