NHL Thread - December

[RepoMan 0]

Children under 16 shouldn't be a sporting events and neither should families.

 

I think kids are fine at sporting events if they're actually their to watch the game and can the parents can deal with some fans getting a little drunk and rowdy (with in reason).

 

[Zetterberg is God 0]

The Wings squeak out another one tonight. It's crazy to me that they are racking up points while playing average at best.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Domination against the Penguins yesterday. Let's keep it going, boys. 12-1-3 in their last 16.

[bob_barron 0]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Any9...p&type=lgns

 

He'd fit on the Leafs

[Smartly Pretty 0]

I've never heard a remark like that sooooo blown out of proportion.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Thomas Vanek is playing unbelievable. They've changed his linemates a couple of times this season because none of them were producing...and he just keeps putting the puck in the net anyway. I've said it before but it bears repeating...if Roy or Stafford hadn't out and out sucked the first month and a half of the season...Vanek would have 30.

[Guest Czecherbear]

The Wings squeak out another one tonight. It's crazy to me that they are racking up points while playing average at best.

When you can sign players at will, anything's possible.

 

As for Detroit, well, they haven't been able to field a defense of Lidstrom, Pronger, Rafalski, Schneider, Kronwall, and Stuart. Without the cap they would've tried, and guys like Franzen may never have received their shot.

I still can't believe this! They have five of those six!

[Zetterberg is God 0]

The Wings squeak out another one tonight. It's crazy to me that they are racking up points while playing average at best.

When you can sign players at will, anything's possible.

 

Sign players at will? Rafalski and Hossa are about the only marquee free agents they got and had Hossa not taken a discount they never would have signed him. Except for those two, all of their best players are homegrown.

[bob_barron 0]

As for Detroit, well, they haven't been able to field a defense of Lidstrom, Pronger, Rafalski, Schneider, Kronwall, and Stuart. Without the cap they would've tried, and guys like Franzen may never have received their shot.

I still can't believe this! They have five of those six!

 

This is why I don't like the NHL salary cap. And the cap going down in 09 or 10 is bullshit. How can you expect to build a team knowing the salary cap is going to be reduced? What a joke.

[Guest Czecherbear]

had Hossa not taken a discount they never would have signed him.

Hey genius, that's kinda the point. They have flexibility to sign players below market value precisely because they're the Red Wings, a luxury the other 29 teams don't have, which makes the salary cap look farcical. It's the same thing the Patriots do.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

So Detroit having a quality franchise that people want to play for (even to their financial detriment) means the cap is a joke?

[the max 0]

No, in other words, Czech doesn't like it when teams he doesn't like get any sort of breaks whatsoever. Players take pay-cuts sometimes to play for good teams, something that completely baffles Czech.

[garfieldsnose 0]

The Wings used to always sign big names. They haven't in recent memory, but they signed Robert Lang, Derian Hatcher, Shanahan, Brett Hull, etc etc etc. I don't think those players took pay cuts. I could be wrong, but I don't feel like doing the research. But just because now a lot of their players are through the farm, doesn't mean they didn't used to sign players like the Yank$.

[the max 0]

When they were signing those players there was no salary cap though.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Touche.

[Guest]

I still can't believe this! They have five of those six!

 

No, four of them. And they'll have to ditch Rafalski in order to keep either Zetterberg or Hossa. They'll probably lose Franzen no matter what. That's three players gone. Great thing for the rest of the league.

 

Not as if Detroit gave Hossa a real pay slash anyway. 7.5 million bucks a year isn't much less than he'll get after this season.

[Guest Czecherbear]

So Detroit having a quality franchise that people want to play for (even to their financial detriment) means the cap is a joke?

If the idea of the cap is to prevent the haves from stocking the best, thus most expensive, talent, it fails when people will take paycuts to play for the haves anyway. I'd rather just let everyone spend freely instead of this leg-pissing-called-rain we have here where Detroit somehow happens to be able to get all these players. Maybe they'll run out of money to spend under the table now that nobody goes to their games anymore.

[the max 0]

Or maybe a player like Hossa next season won't want to take less to play for a non-Cup winning team and sign with another team. Hossa obviously felt that Detroit had the best chance to win the Cup this season, else he'd have made huge cash from someone else long-term.

[garfieldsnose 0]

In the same vein, Ed Snider usually tries to spend money to get players like that, but they don't always come here, so we're in the clear!

[Guest Czecherbear]

I know why he did it, I just think he should be doing it without a salary cap to lie about.

[Guest]

In the same vein, Ed Snider usually tries to spend money to get players like that, but they don't always come here, so we're in the clear!

Hartnell, Timonen, Briere. Of course, one of those is junk, and the other has a gaping and oft-torn vagina. With the Richards extension, they'll never sign another big free agent for a decade. They'll never win a Cup with a loser like Briere anyway. Thanks to the cap, they can't just replace him with another big signing.

 

Now we all win. I think the concept of long-term injured reserve needs to be fixed, though. Those guys should count against the cap.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Hartnell isn't bad. Briere is proving to not be that big of a deal because other players are stepping up and they keep winning. Mike Richards is one of the best players in the league. And this isn't one of those "Jason Giambi" Yankees curses that we can't win a Cup because we have Danielle Briere. Now, the point I was making was we could be like the Red Wings and sign every good player, but players probably don't like the team or the city. Not sure where that anti-Flyers retort came from.

[Guest]

I like the Flyers. I hate Daniel Briere.

[garfieldsnose 0]

I see. As I said though, Hartnell isn't bad when he is good. Indeed.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

I still can't believe this! They have five of those six!

 

No, four of them. And they'll have to ditch Rafalski in order to keep either Zetterberg or Hossa. They'll probably lose Franzen no matter what. That's three players gone. Great thing for the rest of the league.

 

I think they'll stick with Zetterberg. Franzen might stay if he takes less money and he seems like he would. I will be shocked if Hossa stays, especially if they get rid of Zetterberg to do it. Rafalski leaving would be ideal but I don't see that happening.

[CanadianChris 0]

I still can't believe this! They have five of those six!

 

No, four of them. And they'll have to ditch Rafalski in order to keep either Zetterberg or Hossa. They'll probably lose Franzen no matter what. That's three players gone. Great thing for the rest of the league.

 

I think they'll stick with Zetterberg. Franzen might stay if he takes less money and he seems like he would. I will be shocked if Hossa stays, especially if they get rid of Zetterberg to do it. Rafalski leaving would be ideal but I don't see that happening.

Keeping Hossa over Zetterberg would be mind-bogglingly stupid, and Ken Holland has shown over the years that he's not that.

[garfieldsnose 0]

Flyers are quietly dominating these past six weeks. Keep rolling boys, only 2 points out of first in the Atlantic Division with three less games played than the Rangers. A 17-7-6 record is very impressive considering they started the season 0-3-3.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

The Hawks, who also lead the league in attendance at a little more than 21k a game, snap another streak in a big way: 9-2 over the Oilers last night, despite losing their last five in Edmonton.

[Guest]

The Kings are playing so well and getting terribly inconsistent goaltending. This may even be a playoff team WITH the inconsistent goaltending. With Steve Mason playing so well, I suggest a swap for Pascal Leclaire. Goaltenders usually don't cost too much on the trade market. We get him, we get in the playoffs.

[Red Baron 0]

Steve Mason for the Calder.