NHL February 2008

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

^

 

I was just about to post that. Ed Belfour still remains at large.

 

Instead, big trade out of our nation's capital:

 

The Ottawa Senators have shuffled the deck in a big way by completing a four-player transaction with the Carolina Hurricanes. Sources say the Senators have acquired defenceman Mike Commodore and forward Cory Stillman in exchange for defenceman Joe Corvo and forward Patrick Eaves.

 

I've always liked Stillman. That's a big move.

[CanadianChris 0]

That's huge, and they didn't have to touch the core players to do it. Corvo, while having a good season, was in the third defence pairing, and Eaves was frequently injured and just wasn't getting enough playing time to warrant being kept. Awesome deal.

[BifEverchad 0]

HUGE deal for Ottawa. Two nice additions, as Commodore adds a lot of toughness and some edge to their PP, and Stillman is a nice feisty goal-scorer as well. This move adds to their already potent roster, sets up for maybe another trade before the deadline, all the while making some finishing touches to gear up for the playoffs.

[Red Baron 0]

Stillman with Fisher is going to be a scary second line, but I think getting Commodore is going to weaken the defence from an offensive standpoint.

[Guest Blue Man Czech]

Stillman is a nice feisty goal-scorer as well.

He had 1, 2, 3, 4 assists last night.

[BifEverchad 0]

Stillman is a nice feisty goal-scorer as well.

He had 1, 2, 3, 4 assists last night.

 

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

n/m

[Red Baron 0]

ugh... its all I can say.

[BifEverchad 0]

You guys don't like stupid jokes?

 

Fuck you!

[the max 0]

The NHL needs to define the term "distinct kicking motion" in the rulebook with regards to a puck being kicked in. Andrew Ladd kicked one past Auld tonight that continues to baffle me. The pass came, Ladd obviously kicked the puck, the puck changed direction and went in the net. Not only did the ref on the ice call it a goal, the replay officials let the goal stand. How the fuck is this possible?

 

And Shawn Thornton with 2 goals in 27 seconds has to be one of the greatest sports feats of the year. A guy that is only in the lineup for his physical presence (and doesn't even do that very well anymore) pots his first two of the year :27 apart is pretty fucking impressive.

 

What wasn't impressive was the offense. I'm convinced now that Glen Murray is the problem with this team. And I hope Chiarelli can take him out to the state line and leave him in New York somewhere, because I'm not sure he could get a water bottle and a used pair of gloves for him at this point. Watching Glen Murray skate before the injury was bad enough. I'm not sure he's fully recovered from his hip flexor injury now and he's gotten even slower. Jesus Christ.

[BifEverchad 0]

Habs beat the Panthers in OT (nice goal Kovalev), Miller and the Sabres shutout the Leafs and Ottawa lost to Jersey..

 

great night in the NHL!

[nl5xsk1 0]

What wasn't impressive was the offense. I'm convinced now that Glen Murray is the problem with this team. And I hope Chiarelli can take him out to the state line and leave him in New York somewhere, because I'm not sure he could get a water bottle and a used pair of gloves for him at this point. Watching Glen Murray skate before the injury was bad enough. I'm not sure he's fully recovered from his hip flexor injury now and he's gotten even slower. Jesus Christ.

As an offensive weapon, Slow-as-Molasses Murray > every forward on the Bruins not named "Savard".

[Red Baron 0]

How many more years does Murray have left on his contract? Can't the Bruins buy out his contract?

 

[nl5xsk1 0]

He's signed through next year, at about $4.15m per year (it might be a shade higher, $4.25 ... but $4.15 is what sticks out in my mind).

 

I'm biased in that I'm a Murray supporter, but I don't think that he's so horrid that he warrants buying out. Yes, he's injury prone, and he's not the fastest skater in the league, but he's not an albatross that needs to be buried on a 4th line or kept as a healthy-scratch.

 

Maybe if he had more time left on his contract, he would be a candidate for buying out. But since he's going into his FA year, I think that the team should be able to trade him either in the off-season or certainly at the deadline next year.

[BifEverchad 0]

I almost shit myself when Glen Murray nearly scored 50 goals in 02-03, since then he's been getting older and slower and more injury prone. I'd have to say that yes, he is still a valuable asset to the Boston Bruins, but I wouldn't solely rely on him to get the scoring punch going. Marco Sturm is a solid player and always has the potential to put up decent numbers, while Phil Kessel is an up and comer that comes to mind when I think of potential goal-scorers on the Bruins. While they still have a few things to tweak, I think they are only getting better.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Marco Sturm is the worst "hot or cold" goal scorer I've seen. He'll be a force for a few games/weeks, and then in-fucking-visible for every bit as long. Plus, a ton of his goals are EN goals, which only help pad his stats, they rarely help the team win. (Plus, $3.5 million/year and a NTC for a guy that's never scored 30 goals in a season is insane, IMHO)

 

Phil Kessel ... way too early to be down on him, but I have a fear that he's the next Sergei Samsonov. He'll have a productive year or two, but will never be the player that his skills would indicate.

 

Hey, three sports posts in one day!

[treble 0]

Habs beat the Panthers in OT (nice goal Kovalev), Miller and the Sabres shutout the Leafs and Ottawa lost to Jersey..

 

great night in the NHL!

I would think people would want the Leafs to win more. The more they lose, the better the shot at pick #1.

[the max 0]

What wasn't impressive was the offense. I'm convinced now that Glen Murray is the problem with this team. And I hope Chiarelli can take him out to the state line and leave him in New York somewhere, because I'm not sure he could get a water bottle and a used pair of gloves for him at this point. Watching Glen Murray skate before the injury was bad enough. I'm not sure he's fully recovered from his hip flexor injury now and he's gotten even slower. Jesus Christ.

As an offensive weapon, Slow-as-Molasses Murray > every forward on the Bruins not named "Savard".

 

While that's true, I'm tired of the wagon being hitched to a fat horse like Murray. I agree about Sturm, but at least he has a weapon other than a hard shot. Murray's only offensive ability seems to be standing in the slot and shooting when Savard passes him the puck. At least Sturm, Kessel, Axelsson, Metropolit, Kobasew, hell even Sobotka are capable of doing things other than scoring goals. Sturm has the speed and can disappear offensively but have a good night defensively. Axe is one of the more underrated players in the league and can bring it offensively when asked. Metropolit has been ok, mostly defensively, Kobasew is playing well, I'm a big fan of Sobotka's willingness to play physical even when he's no bigger than I am. And that story a few weeks ago of Sobotka getting under Avery's skin made me a Sobotka fan.

 

Kessel shows flashes of Samsonov at times. He has one move (the outside-inside move) that real defensemen can properly defend against in their sleep. He needs to start scoring more. That said, I'm with you in that it's still too early to call him a bust considering all that he's been through. I think next season he'll really be ready to emerge.

[treble 0]

Habs beat the Panthers in OT (nice goal Kovalev), Miller and the Sabres shutout the Leafs and Ottawa lost to Jersey..

 

great night in the NHL!

I would think people would want the Leafs to win more. The more they lose, the better the shot at pick #1.

They're in last place in the conference now. They're going to screw this up for me, I just know it.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

The Islanders did their part to help you out tonight, Treble.

[Red Baron 0]

It's not like Toronto is going to pick Steven Stamkos or Drew Doughty. Instead they will draft a Russian or an American.

[Red Baron 0]

Anyone watching the Edmonton/Vancouver game. They are just brawlin out there.

[Red Baron 0]

Zednik is officially released from Hospital.

[Darthtiki 0]

I caught some of the Edmonton/Vancouver game and I swear it was like everytime I turned around they were scrapping.

[Vigo 0]

Some of the NHL's players are thinking of going European with the jersey designs meaning lets toss a bunch of ads on them so they look like this.

 

 

I don't want to wear an Oilers jersey with Viagra written across the chest.

 

TheStar.com

[Red Baron 0]

I don't like it either, but if they do it tastefully like the CFL or most of the soccer teams in Europe.

[Star Ocean 3 0]

I think the Ducks are finally getting over those shootout loses. That third column needs to be done away with, already.

The next outdoor game needs to be in LA - Ducks vs. Kings, on Santa Monica beach. You'd see the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, waves gently crashing...beautiful people in bathing suits, kind of watching the game, kind of playing in the sand...that's what hockey is all about.

[Red Baron 0]

So Montreal is tied with Ottawa on tops of the Eastern Conference. I watched the highlights and it seems like Philly doesn't like it when the opposition plays a little dirty like they do.

[the pinjockey 0]

I don't think it is that as much as they just suck right now.

 

Briere is killing this team right now. He has been terrible for the last three months and they are screwing up everyone else's lines trying to get him going. (sidenote: Montreal fans booing Briere is just lame. Talk about a sense of entitlement. At least Buffalo fans have an excuse, but even then they should direct that at their own FO for not even trying to resign him)

 

And Jim Vandermeer and Jason Smith are not far behind, IMO. Smith is a terrific captain, but other than that I am praying they do not resign him. And I don't know what the fuck Vandermeer was thinking last night. He abandoned his post to go get into a discussion/scrum, didn't drop the gloves and it led to a 3 on 1 that they scored on with 1.2 secs left in the 1st. I don't care if it gets you the instigator, if you leave your position you better make play stop. I hope when Hatcher gets healthy, one of these two sits (Vandermeer obv. as they won't bench the captain) but I am not counting on it.

 

If it wasn't for Richards this team would miss the playoffs and I don't think it would even be close.

[BifEverchad 0]

Peter Forsberg is not coming back to the NHL. On Monday, Forsberg's agent Don Baizley has begun advising NHL teams that Forsberg doesn't have enough confidence in his wonky foot to commit to a return to the league this season.