Ok over to the western part of Canada and the Oilers... FUCK... All I have to say. Back to the east.
2013/2014 Official NHL Thread
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Roy has an uncontrollable temper. The cops visited his residence several times when he used to play for the Avalanche, due to various complaints of domestic abuse from his ex-wife.
He's starting to remind me a bit of O.J. Simpson. Imagine what he'll do once his team starts to lose on a regular basis?? Ouch!
He's starting to remind me a bit of O.J. Simpson. Imagine what he'll do once his team starts to lose on a regular basis?? Ouch!
Pavel Datsyuk is the best two-way hockey player in the world. He's averaged ALMOST a point a game over his lengthy career and is a magician at just about every aspect of hockey. Another terrific player in the same vein is Patrice Bergeron. Also Toews. Guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin and Stamkos are all great and ANY team would want them, but they don't have as COMPLETE a game as Datsyuk. Part of it is that he's the most skilled hockey player in the world, but the other part is that he's been blessed by playing in Detroit and learning from the masters.
Think of Steve Yzerman: for the first several years of his great career, he was an offensive dynamo and a human highlight reel. Later the stats dropped but he became an even better OVERALL player. Early in his career, people might have predicted Art Ross Trophies (unfortunately there were a couple of guys named Gretzky and Lemieux who prevented that from happening) but NO ONE would have predicted a Selke! Yet an older, more mature, more COMPLETE Stevie Y. actually DID win the Selke.
Many years ago a wise man was asked: Would you rather have Rocket Richard or Gordie Howe? The answer was: If I want to sell tickets and fill the building I'll take Richard. If I want to win the game I'll take Howe. To modernize that great quote, change "Richard" to Ovechkin (or Stamkos) and change "Howe" to Datsyuk. Of course the flaw in that change is that Pav probably COULD fill a building by himself because the fans come to watch his magic game in and game out.
Right on Doc. He always did have a temper that manifested itself in many ways, one of which was kissing the Habs goodbye when Mario Tremblay kept him in the game too long. Also it seems to be a family tradition if you think of his son's violent episode a couple of years ago.
Should be fun when Colorado plays Vancouver - Roy versus Torts.
Excellent analysis. Kessel is neither a leader nor an impact or dominant player. Putting individual stats aside, here is Toronto's TEAM record with Kessel:
2013-14 EPIC CHOKE !
2012-13 missed playoffs
2011-12 missed playoffs
2010-11 missed playoffs
2009-10 missed playoffs
An 8 year deal may be a future anchor for Toronto (a la Dany Heatley's contract). After 5+ seasons it still remains to be seen if you can build a winner around Phil or if he becomes a future buyout - I say the latter.
It is probably the least reliable of all hockey stats because there is so much randomness. Besides the fact that a player's plus/minus is largely dependent on how good or bad his team is, who he matches up against when he's on the ice (some players always play against the other team's BEST players), etc., you have MANY situations where a player receives either a plus or a minus in which he had ZERO involvement other than being on the ice at the time.
Having said that, plus/minus stats are not TOTALLY without merit. Look at Bobby Orr's incredible plus/minus - which accurately reflects how UNBELIEVABLY great he was. Also, plus/minus stats can be useful when comparing apples with apples (same team, same quality of opposition) over statistically valid periods of time.
Far more accurate, however, are stats such as takeaways and giveaways. In general, stats have to be taken with a grain of salt. A goal is always a goal (even though the player "scoring" it sometimes did nothing other than have it bounce off a body part) but a secondary assist is VERY often not as key as a primary assist and sometimes the guy who made THE key play is uncredited because it happened too early in the chain. Nonetheless, they all count the same in a scoring race unless the race ends in a tie, in which case the title goes to the guy with more goals (like Jagr over Lindros in 94-95 or Bobby Hull over Andy Bathgate in 61-62). Not to disparage assists though: in fact I admire the truly great playmakers as much as - sometimes more than - the great goal scorers.
Stats are fun... but hockey has ART as well as science, so there are some intangibles that can't be measured. Plus/minus is not meaningless and can stimulate some good discussion but it should nt be the deciding factor in measuring a player (well, okay, MAYBE for Bobby Orr!).
There was a saying in Boston when I lived there, 1968-1972, "Jesus saves, Bucyk scores on the rebound." Johnny Bucyk would hang around the crease, wait for Orr to shoot from the blue line, then flip the puck into the cage. I'm not sure, but I believe what Bucyk perfected is not legal today, probably, in large part, thanks to him.
How Good Was Bobby Orr?
Nick Lidstrom was the second-greatest defenceman who ever lived.
Nick Lidstrom won 4 Stanley Cups and made it to the finals on 2 other occasions.
Nick Lidstrom won 6 President's Trophies.
Nick Lidstrom won 7 Norris Trophies and came second on 3 other occasions.
Nick Lidstrom won the Conn Smythe.
Nick Lidstrom - a defenceman (!) - was a five-time runner-up for the Lady Byng.
Nick Lidstrom was a runner-up to Hall of Famer Pavel Bure for the Calder Trophy.
Nick Lidstrom was on 10 First All-Star Teams and 2 Second All-Star Teams.
Nick Lidstrom was on the NHL All-Rookie Team.
Nick Lidstrom was on the Olympic All-Star Team.
Nick Lidstrom had the nickname "The Perfect Human".
Nick Lidstrom in the last few years before his retirement was the player most respected by all NHL players.
Nick Lidstrom had "hockey intelligence" the equal of Wayne Gretzky and Igor Larionov.
Nick Lidstrom will be an automatic, unanimous, first-ballot Hall of Famer the minute he becomes eligible in 2015.
Nick Lidstrom was not even close to being as good as Bobby Orr.
And THAT'S how good Bobby Orr was!
Nick Lidstrom was the second-greatest defenceman who ever lived.
Nick Lidstrom won 4 Stanley Cups and made it to the finals on 2 other occasions.
Nick Lidstrom won 6 President's Trophies.
Nick Lidstrom won 7 Norris Trophies and came second on 3 other occasions.
Nick Lidstrom won the Conn Smythe.
Nick Lidstrom - a defenceman (!) - was a five-time runner-up for the Lady Byng.
Nick Lidstrom was a runner-up to Hall of Famer Pavel Bure for the Calder Trophy.
Nick Lidstrom was on 10 First All-Star Teams and 2 Second All-Star Teams.
Nick Lidstrom was on the NHL All-Rookie Team.
Nick Lidstrom was on the Olympic All-Star Team.
Nick Lidstrom had the nickname "The Perfect Human".
Nick Lidstrom in the last few years before his retirement was the player most respected by all NHL players.
Nick Lidstrom had "hockey intelligence" the equal of Wayne Gretzky and Igor Larionov.
Nick Lidstrom will be an automatic, unanimous, first-ballot Hall of Famer the minute he becomes eligible in 2015.
Nick Lidstrom was not even close to being as good as Bobby Orr.
And THAT'S how good Bobby Orr was!
Flyers Fire Laviolette
The Flyers have fired Peter Laviolette after only 3 games:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/9...hiladelphia-flyers-head-coach-source-confirms
My friend and I went to the Habs-Flyers game Saturday night and we thought Philly looked very sloppy and disorganized on offense. Their only goal came from Lecavalier on the PP. They did not have a lot of good scoring chances in the game and it looked to me like they were struggling and frustrated. Towards the end of the game the Flyers had that chippiness that you see as a result of total frustration.
The Flyers have fired Peter Laviolette after only 3 games:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/9...hiladelphia-flyers-head-coach-source-confirms
My friend and I went to the Habs-Flyers game Saturday night and we thought Philly looked very sloppy and disorganized on offense. Their only goal came from Lecavalier on the PP. They did not have a lot of good scoring chances in the game and it looked to me like they were struggling and frustrated. Towards the end of the game the Flyers had that chippiness that you see as a result of total frustration.
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Wow! I'm shocked!!! 
I watched the Leafs/Flyers game the other night (Thursday) and the announcers were joking around & wondering which Philadelphia coach would get axed first: Chip Kelly of the Eagles, or Pete Laviolette of the Flyers. One of them remarked that it was still way too early to fire the Flyers coach. Little did he know.
The big problem with the Flyers isn't Laviolette. He's actually a very good coach. But he doesn't have the players to win . Questionable trades by GM Paul Holmgren have downgraded the talent level on this team. One of the worse trades he's made was the JVR-Luke Schenn trade of a year ago. I was never a big fan of getting rid of captain Mike Richard, who wound up winning the Cup with the LA Kings in his first season there. The Jeff Carter trade is a wash. Not re-signing Briere wasn't surprising, but throwing all that money at Vincent Lecavalier and Mark Streit had many people shaking their heads.
But the worse move Holmgren has ever made was throwing all that money at free agent goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and signing him to a long-term contract, just to see him being bought-out after only two seasons of embarrassment. They even got rid of future Vezina trophy winner Sergei Bobrovski in order to give more playing time to Bryzgalove. Awful, awful trade!
The Chris Pronger injury (and all the money thrown at him once again) didn't help, but the GM had plenty of time to fin d a suitable replacement. Obviously, Luke Schenn nor Marc Streit aren't the solution.
The wrong guy got fired here. But it's only a time before owner Ed Snider wakes up & finally gets rid of his incompetent GM.
p.s. EB, check out Eva Pearl's profile in the QC section. Doesn't she remind you of someone we used to know?
I watched the Leafs/Flyers game the other night (Thursday) and the announcers were joking around & wondering which Philadelphia coach would get axed first: Chip Kelly of the Eagles, or Pete Laviolette of the Flyers. One of them remarked that it was still way too early to fire the Flyers coach. Little did he know.
The big problem with the Flyers isn't Laviolette. He's actually a very good coach. But he doesn't have the players to win . Questionable trades by GM Paul Holmgren have downgraded the talent level on this team. One of the worse trades he's made was the JVR-Luke Schenn trade of a year ago. I was never a big fan of getting rid of captain Mike Richard, who wound up winning the Cup with the LA Kings in his first season there. The Jeff Carter trade is a wash. Not re-signing Briere wasn't surprising, but throwing all that money at Vincent Lecavalier and Mark Streit had many people shaking their heads.
But the worse move Holmgren has ever made was throwing all that money at free agent goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and signing him to a long-term contract, just to see him being bought-out after only two seasons of embarrassment. They even got rid of future Vezina trophy winner Sergei Bobrovski in order to give more playing time to Bryzgalove. Awful, awful trade!
The Chris Pronger injury (and all the money thrown at him once again) didn't help, but the GM had plenty of time to fin d a suitable replacement. Obviously, Luke Schenn nor Marc Streit aren't the solution.
The wrong guy got fired here. But it's only a time before owner Ed Snider wakes up & finally gets rid of his incompetent GM.
p.s. EB, check out Eva Pearl's profile in the QC section. Doesn't she remind you of someone we used to know?
Exactly right. This is a recurring theme in hockey: lousy GM, fire a coach (or 2, or 3) as a scapegoat...and then finally figure out to fire the GM!
I don't how Holmgren has survived for so long - he's always been a GM about as "competent" as Mike Milbury was!
Holmgren was a revered player in Philadelphia and what sometimes happens is that these revered players ingratiate themselves with the ownership group and get paid for doing nothing. Look at Reggie Jackson, he has been on the Yankees payroll doing nothing for 25 years now, this all the result of a deal with George Steinbrenner to go into the Hall of Fame with a Yankees cap rather than an A's cap. Holmgren somehow postured himself the same deal after Bobby Clarke was run out of town because of the Lindros fiasco.
Bobby Clarke is the current Vice-President of Hockey Operations for the Flyers.
I've been following hockey a long time, and i don't ever recall Paul Holmgren ever being 'revered' as a hockey player, whether it was in Philly or anywhere else he played.
On another note, many believe "Homes" is in panic mode ever since Ron Hextall was brought back to the organization in order to act as his assistant GM. For the past few years, Hextall has interviewed for several vacant GM jobs around the league. My guess is that it's only a matter of time before he takes over the GM position.
Bernier: This guy is a STUD!
Wow, that took all of a week to decided the #1 job lol......... Pierre Lebrun knows his stuff folks!
Bernier was electric, steady and simply a stud tonight in a 4-0 shutout of the Preds. Nonis's best move of the summer (as i said before) was trading for Bernier.
Wow, that took all of a week to decided the #1 job lol......... Pierre Lebrun knows his stuff folks!
Bernier was electric, steady and simply a stud tonight in a 4-0 shutout of the Preds. Nonis's best move of the summer (as i said before) was trading for Bernier.
But is Bernier or Reimer the man? The Leafs seem to have 2 stud goalies.
Meanwhile did anyone notice that coming into tonight's games, 19 year old Tomas Hertle was leading the NHL in scoring? 6 goals in his 1st 3 games is a good start, I would say.
Meanwhile did anyone notice that coming into tonight's games, 19 year old Tomas Hertle was leading the NHL in scoring? 6 goals in his 1st 3 games is a good start, I would say.
He lit us up last night
Plus we're getting blown out again as we speak :help:
Best Regards
Smuler
Bernier was REALLY brought in to be the #1 guy because his pedigree is of a true #1 and Reimer is a 1b type so the Leafs have a awesome duo in nets. Not many Goalies are drafted in the 1st round unless they are thought to be studs once they get a few seasons under their belts. Pierre Lebrun has said over and over how great Bernier will be one day and his time may have arrived. (now watch him give up 6 goals next game lol)
GLG!
GLG!
Guys, if you look at last year' stats, Reimer's save percentage was about even with Bernier's but Reimer played a lot more games. Reimer is also a lot bigger goalie and therefore there is more net coverage. The stats:
Reimer: http://espn.go.com/nhl/player/stats/_/id/3870/james-reimer
Bernier: http://espn.go.com/nhl/player/stats/_/id/3533/jonathan-bernier
Bernier is the higher draft pick but at this stage he is not clearly superior to Reimer. This is an open question and the two goalies should be rotated until one proves to be the better man. This is what the Islanders did when they had Chico Resch and Billy Smith. Ultimately Smith proved to be the man.
Reimer: http://espn.go.com/nhl/player/stats/_/id/3870/james-reimer
Bernier: http://espn.go.com/nhl/player/stats/_/id/3533/jonathan-bernier
Bernier is the higher draft pick but at this stage he is not clearly superior to Reimer. This is an open question and the two goalies should be rotated until one proves to be the better man. This is what the Islanders did when they had Chico Resch and Billy Smith. Ultimately Smith proved to be the man.
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