The Official MERB 2011-2012 NHL Hockey Thread

[Doc Holliday]

I call it like i see it. I also was agreeing with what Iggy had posted. The guy is a quasi-hockey genius & he'd make a good hockey GM. JC's hockey knowledge is also accurate on most times. As for the rest........all they post is stuff they read elsewhere & don't really have an opinion since their hockey knowledge is extremely basic, and limited at best. My guess is that a 10-year peewee hockey player has more knowledge than they do. Everything the non-Leafs fans (JC being the exception) post is someone else's opinion/article and it's always about being anti-Leafs/anti-Leafs fans. It's never about anything else.

However, i do encourage the hockey banter. It makes me proud that the likes of myself & Iggy have encouraged people who haven't followed hockey in their entire lives to come here and post (and learn the game). Maybe in 20 years or so, you will have caught up to our level of hockey knowledge.

Just my thoughts.

Tonight, great game between the Habs & the Leafs at the ACC. Will the Leafs avenge their recent loss against the team from the country of Quebec? GO Leafs!

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Just my thoughts.

You use your thoughts. I stick to the facts.

Just the facts.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You use your thoughts. I stick to the facts.

Just the facts.

You mean someone else's facts. Maybe it's time to start making your own opinions about this great sport, which puts baseball to shame.

So? What's your prediction for tonight's big game? Do you know what's special about tonight's game between the habs & Canada's team?
Will former Bruins sensation Phil Kessel score a hat trick? Go Leafs Go!

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You mean someone else's facts.

No, not someone else's facts. THE facts. Everybody's facts. No opinions, just the facts.

Phil Kessel? THE Phil Kessel? The same Phil (+8) Kessel that the Bruins used to steal Tyler (+31) Seguin from the Leafs en route to their Stanley Cup championship? That Phil Kessel?

 

[Lovemaker]

You mean someone else's facts. Maybe it's time to start making your own opinions about this great sport, which puts baseball to shame.

This is the first time in the history of modern civilization that someone has valued "opinion" more than "fact." Beautiful. By the way, this isn't the baseball thread so I don't understand why you made a reference to it, is it to incite someone? You are doing your best to drive this thread into mud, it's sad.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Phil Kessel? THE Phil Kessel? The same Phil Kessel that the Bruins used to steal Tyler Seguin from the Leafs en route to their Stanley Cup championship? That Phil Kessel?

I'm not sure whom you're referring to, but i'm referring to the PHIL "The Thrill" KESSEL who's currently 3rd in NHL scoring, and 2nd in goals scored IN THE ENTIRE NHL. The young superstar who now has 4 consecutive 30+ goals season & will surely score at least 40 goals by the time the regular season ends. The one the genius Brian Burke obtained for a couple of draft picks a few years back. The next Leafs player to get his jersey retired & possibly a future hall-of-famer if he ever reaches 500 goals.

Yep, THAT Phil Kessel. :thumb:

Rumples, i strongly recommend to you that you turn on your tv set at around 7pm, and you'll get to watch a great hockey game. Keep your eyes on Phil Kessel. You will be dazzled by his speed & uncanny scoring ability with his devastating wrist shot. Who knows, you might actually come up to Toronto & attend a game in person......or hang out at the world's #1 sportsbar next door, Real Sports. It's great!

 

[Lovemaker]

i'm referring to the PHIL "The Thrill" KESSEL who's currently 3rd in NHL scoring, and 2nd in goals scored IN THE ENTIRE NHL. The young superstar who now has 4 consecutive 30+ goals season.

Yeah but those are all facts, and therefore, they are meaningless. Give me an opinion instead

 

[Lovemaker]

Who knows, you might actually come up to Toronto & attend a game in person......or hang out at the world's #1 sportsbar next door, Real Sports. It's great!

I'm sure he'd rather stay in Montreal with all the hot girls and enjoy the game from here.:eyebrows:

 

[Doc Holliday]

Leafs’ Mikhail Grabovski attributes trade from Habs to inexperience

Whenever Mikhail Grabovski plays against the Montreal Canadiens, it’s a chance to look both ahead and back on his career.

While Grabovski “looks forward” to playing the Canadiens, the team he started his NHL career with, his Montreal memories aren’t always happy ones.

His trade to Toronto in July 2008 was precipitated by a string of events in Montreal that left the impression he was a difficult teammate.

“In Montreal, I was young — 23 or 24 or something like that — and I didn’t have much experience,” said Grabovski, who has now become a father in Toronto and the Leafs’ best centre.

“My first year here they gave me lots of ice time and probably in Montreal I would have done the same things as I’ve done here, but here, people believed in me.”

Grabovski doesn’t talk much about his departure from Montreal, but there is no doubt he thinks his success in Toronto could just as easily have been achieved in Montreal had the organization not lost patience with him.

But controversy has followed Grabovski ever since he entered the NHL after helping the Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal’s AHL affiliate) win the Calder Cup in 2006-07.

The following season, signs of a rift with the organization surfaced after he left the team following a March game in Phoenix in which he was a healthy scratch. He flew to Los Angeles ahead of the team to consult with his agent.

He was traded that summer, and in January 2009, he got into a scuffle with former teammate and fellow Belarusian Sergei Kostitsyn during a Leafs-Canadiens game in Montreal. The two had been feuding since Grabovski’s days with the Habs, and prior to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the head of the Belarusian national hockey program had to sit the two players down together to iron out their differences.

When asked if Montreal had dropped the ball with him because of the controversies, Grabovski was philosophical.

“Not really — I always thank Bob Gainey for trading me to Toronto,” he said with a smile.

“A lot of players realize when they don’t play in Montreal they’ll play on other teams. But I have my thoughts about playing there. A lot of people said I did stupid things there but I don’t see it like that. I didn’t have a lot of experience but I have a family now, I’m a family guy.”

Grabovski’s agent Gary Greenstin has been in Toronto for the past week, and will be returning to his Los Angeles base on Sunday. Greenstin’s visit sparked speculation about a contract extension for Grabovski, who is on pace to surpass last year’s career highs of 29 goals and 58 points.

It’s been speculated that Grabovski is seeking in the neighbourhood of $5 million a year on a new deal, but any extension may have to wait until the off-season.

At the same time, Grabovski’s production this season has fuelled further speculation that the Leafs might trade him for a nice return.

“I don’t worry about that. I think about the games and if something happens now they can talk with my agent. . . . I can think about that (in the off-season),” Grabovski said.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I'm not sure whom you're referring to, but i'm referring to the PHIL "The Thrill" KESSEL who's currently 3rd in NHL scoring, and 2nd in goals scored IN THE ENTIRE NHL.

The same Phil Kessel who, as his pitiful +8 will attest, is seemingly unaware that he has a job to do when the other team has the puck. Defense counts; Kessel is no Tyler Seguin, as his +31 makes quite clear.

I don't know how much you know about hockey, Doc, but it's a two way game. There's no DH in hockey, though Kessel's trying.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The same Phil Kessel who, as his pitiful +8 will attest, is seemingly unaware that he has a job to do when the other team has the puck. Defense counts; Kessel is no Tyler Seguin, as his +31 makes quite clear.

I don't know how much you know about hockey, Doc, but it's a two way game.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I will refrain from commenting. LOL!!!!!

(I haven't laughed so hard in weeks!)

p.s. Iggy, you're right. No use trying to reason with these hockey debutantes.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I will refrain from commenting. LOL!!!!!

(I haven't laughed so hard in weeks!)

I know what you mean, Doc. It's tough to reply when you know you've been owned.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Wow, your hockey knowledge is amazing! Phil "The Thrill" Kessel has gone from a -20 last season to as of today, a +8. (That my friend shows Astronomical improvement in his 200 foot game (the rink is 100 feet long rumps, thus the D game "The Thrill" is now playing) With that said, I hate that stat, Plus/Minus is one of the most meaningless stats in all of hockey, as it is only as good as the players around you most of the time, but watching "The Thrill" play almost every game this season, it is easy to see that he is now a complete player on most every shift he takes.

Many great players are Huge MINUS players this year, rumps, like Eric Staal, Ryan Getzlaf, and Rick Nash.(not that you have ever heard of any of those greats) all it means is they forgot how to be great players this season, right rumps? WRONG, it just proves they do not have good players playing alongside of them. Rumps, please stay and keep posting, you have NO IDEA how much of a smile you put on my face. :thumb:

The same Phil Kessel who, as his pitiful +8 will attest, is seemingly unaware that he has a job to do when the other team has the puck. Defense counts; Kessel is no Tyler Seguin, as his +31 makes quite clear.

I don't know how much you know about hockey, Doc, but it's a two way game. There's no DH in hockey, though Kessel's trying.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You've already proudly proclaimed that you don't understand modern statistical metrics in baseball; I would hardly expect you to in hockey.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Wow, your hockey knowledge is amazing! Phil "The Thrill" Kessel has gone from a -20 last season to as of today, a +8. (That my friend shows Astronomical improvement in his 200 foot game (the rink is 100 feet long rumps, thus the D game "The Thrill" is now playing) With that said, I hate that stat, Plus/Minus is one of the most meaningless stats in all of hockey, as it is only as good as the players around you most of the time, but watching "The Thrill" play almost every game this season, it is easy to see that he is now a complete player on most every shift he takes.

Many great players are Huge MINUS players this year, rumps, like Eric Staal, Ryan Getzlaf, and Rick Nash.(not that you have ever heard of any of those greats) all it means is they forgot how to be great players this season, right rumps? WRONG, it just proves they do not have good players playing alongside of them. Rumps, please stay and keep posting, you have NO IDEA how much of a smile you put on my face. :thumb:

Iggy, i agree with everything that you wrote. Everything!

Plus/minus is indeed a useless stat. It's very misleading & usually doesn't say much of a player's individual performance. It all depends on who he plays with, who his line plays against, what type of 'system' his coach employs, and especially the goaltending....both on his side, and on the opposing side. GM's rarely look at a player's plus/minus numbers when they negotiate a contract with a player. Agents neither, because they all know that using such meaningless numbers can backfire against you in another player's negotiation.

I will admit, though, that Tyler Seguin is a decent player & will even get better as the years go on. No, he will not be such a prolific scorer like the great Phil Kessel is, but he'll be a very good player for years, as long as he can play with a good team & for a good coach. What? Did people expect that the Leafs would get a player of Phil Kessel's calibre for nothing? I have a surprise for you folks: nothing comes free in life. I'm happy for Boston that the Bruins got a good player from the Kessel deal. That's the least that they deserve, considering the fact they not only took Tomas Kaberle's contract off the Leafs' hands, but also gave them several gifts in the form of two first-round picks & one second-round pick. That second-round pick was turned into J-M Liles, by the way. Thank you Boston. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best! :thumb:

And finally, i agree with Iggy: having Rumples participate in the hockey threads has been great & constantly puts smiles on our faces. We not only welcome it, but we love it! Thanks, Rumples! We love ya, brotha! :wave:

(Iggy, get off your couch & come join me at RS....the babes all look great tonight & maybe we can cross over to watch the game after the first period.)

 

[lgna69xxx]

You mean those great stats that said the red sox would win it all last season? Those awesome metric stats? Yea i understand, that they FAILED! Ummm rumps, take baseball to the baseball thread now please....

You've already proudly proclaimed that you don't understand modern statistical metrics in baseball; I would hardly expect you to in hockey.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You mean those great stats that said the red sox would win it all last season? Those awesome metric stats? Yea i understand, that they FAILED! Ummm rumps, take baseball to the baseball thread now please....

Iggy, stop showing off your superior hockey intellect & get your ass over here at RS!!! I had the crowd chanting "Iggy! Iggy! Iggy!" just a few seconds ago. Come on over...great babes, great food, great beer, great atmosphere!! Go Leafs Go!

 

[lgna69xxx]

HAHAHA! Is Candice working?

Iggy, stop showing off your superior hockey intellect & get your ass over here at RS!!! I had the crowd chanting "Iggy! Iggy! Iggy!" just a few seconds ago. Come on over...great babes, great food, great beer, great atmosphere!! Go Leafs Go!

 

[Doc Holliday]

HAHAHA! Is Candice working?

I haven't seen her. But Jenny & Cassandra are here tonight. Oooh, baby!!! I think i'll stay there among Leaf Nation instead of crossing over to the ACC.....the atmosphere here in fantastic!! Go Leafs Go!!!

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You mean those great stats that said the red sox would win it all last season? Those awesome metric stats? Yea i understand, that they FAILED! Ummm rumps, take baseball to the baseball thread now please....

How little you understand. Statistics don't tell you what will happen. They show you what has happened in the past. Sometimes I just get tired of explaining the simplest things to you.