NHL 2021-2022 Thread

[Doc Holliday]

Canadian teams are unfairly penalized by the hard cap so i’d be surprised they’re able to re-sign him unless they plan on letting Tkachuk go elsewhere. And the fact Johnny Hockey is an American will make it even harder for them to re-sign, just like i don’t expect the Leafs to be able to re-sign Matthews a couple of years from now.

These players simply would prefer to play in their home country & i can’t blame them. I’d feel the same way. But people who believe AM will be signing with his home team Arizona will be surprised. I can’t see him signing with a Mickey Mouse organization with barely any fans at the games & whose future is constantly in doubt. Bettman will retire one day, right? I see Matthews signing with a bigger market like the Rangers, Vegas or LA.

 

[gaby]

Battle of ALBERTA....CGY 3 EDM 1....TOFFOLI with 2 great goals....now 7g /10 games with his new team....will b precious asset in the playoffs....FLAMES extend home point streak to 13.....fun to watch.

COL 5 NYI 4...another incredible performance by MAKAR with 2 goals...he has now 20 goals and 63 pts.....spectacular player.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Toffoli looks great as a Flame & i wonder if the habs will regret trading this popular player with a very good contract. It looks like he was custom-made to play for the Flames.

As for the Oilers they're back to their losing ways. The honeymoon period with their new coach seems to be over. This is a team that once again looks in disarray. It's not just the goaltenders. It's the entire team other than McDavid & Draisaitle. I love Darnell Nurse on defence & would take him on my team anytime. But other than those three players i doubt i'd want anyone else with my team, including Hyman who's contract for this type of player & age is ridiculous in my opinion. His contractual situation reminds me of Brendan Gallagher's. Good, tough player than any team would want but not with the contract that comes with it.

The Oilers are proof that rebuilds don't necessarily work. In the case of the Oilers it seems that it's rebuild after rebuild after rebuild. What's going to happen if they miss the playoffs? Will Connor McDavid demand a trade? He doesn't seem to be enjoying himself out there & how long has he been in the league with barely any improvement with the team? 7 years? Plus the fact that Edmonton isn't exactly a great hockey destination, which also helps explain why they've struggled attracting top talent to the city.

Right now it appears there will only be two Canadian teams heading to the playoffs, which is extremely disappointing considering a couple of months ago there was a chance you may see up to five teams making the playoffs. It's unfortunate that Dominique Ducharme wasn't replaced sooner but you can't just fire a coach whom you just gave a new three year contract extension to.....especially when you're still paying the former coach who was one of the top 2 highest paid coaches in hockey.

I'm surprised to now be saying this but the Montreal Canadiens now seem to have a much better future than the Edmonton Oilers, surprising considering it's the Oilers who have two of the best players in the game.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Washington Capitals Condemn Ukraine Invasion, But Support Their Russians

Capitals condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The Washington Capitals released a statement on Tuesday that condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine while the Eastern Conference team stood in "full support" of its Russia-born players, including star and team captain Alex Ovechkin.

www.espn.com

 

[gaby]

He will play tonight in CALGARY and EDMONTON tomorrow.......will not b an easy trip in Alberta....both organisations gave their FULL support to UKRAINE....they even played their national anthem.....could b a rough time for him...we will see....

 

[Doc Holliday]

Auston Matthews scored a hat trick last night & not only is he in line to win his second consecutive Rocket Richard trophy but he’s one of the top two favorites to win the Hart trophy as league MVP but is now in line to also possibly win the Art Ross trophy as the league’s top points getter. What a fantastic year he’s having!

Matthews is now being regarded as being the world’s top hockey player & what’s crazier is that he still hasn’t hit his peak!

I used to think Connor McDavid was still #1 but i have to admit that i was mistaken & Matthews now deserves the honor. McDavid still has the edge in speed but there are so many things Matthews does that McDavid can’t. On top of that Matthews has turned linemate Michael Bunting into a Rookie-of-the-Year candidate & has made everyone forget Zac Hyman!

 

[gaby]

WASH 5 CGY 4...a good one....and no OVI not that distracted...lol....with 2 goals and ties JAGR with 766 goals.

And what about MATTHEWS wth his 41--42--43 goals...wow...and a win 6-4 vs SEA.

 

[gaby]

CGY4 TBL1....WOW...Big win....and JOHNNY HOCKEY with a hat trick ...on fire......and MARKSTROM what a big plus...ll fait et va faire la différence dans les playoffs.

 

[gaby]

BUF 5 TOR 2...outdoors game....wow....défaite gênante des LEAFS....incroyable....la fin est proche pour Sheldon Keefe....ne m'a jamais impressionné....et ne semble pas impressionner ses joueurs non plus.....même DUBAS doit commencer à trouver la soupe bouillante.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Come on Gabby! Sheldon Keefe’s job is not in jeopardy. The Leafs are still one of the Leafs best teams and would have passed Tampa in the standings had they won today. The difference was the third period where Mrazek let in two very weak goals plus an earlier fluke goal by Buffalo due to a strange deflection off the Leafs defenceman.

This may be the best Leafs team in its history if they had better goaltending. If Campbell returns from his injury in the same form he was in during the first half look out! But right now both goaltenders are struggling & the Tavares line has stopped scoring. But there’s still a lot of hockey left to play for the Leafs to regain their form & battle Florida for first place.

As for the habs they’ve played against two of the worse teams in hockey the past two games & struggled to get three points, which they managed to do with a lot of luck. Is the honeymoon period over with Shrimpy St-Louis or will they start playing over their heads again & squander their chances at picking first in the upcoming draft? Time will tell.

 

[gaby]

Well.....BOSTON est à seulement 2 points derrière....sont à 3 pts de TBAY et à 7 des PANTHERS....et pour les avoir regardé assez régulièrement se sont faits remonter souvent dernièrement même s'ils parvenaient à s'en tirer....pas le comportement d'une équipe
Championne..IMO.

 

[gaby]

MATTHEWS suspended 2 games for cross-checking Sabres defenseman DAHLIN...i saw it...it was a good one...lol

 

[Doc Holliday]

Matthews will enjoy the week-long vacation i’m certain of this. The Leafs have been playing a lot of games lately & he’ll welcome the well-deserved break in order to recharge the battery. It will help make up for the days off he missed out on during the all-star break.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Keyed by an amazing goal from Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Ryan Tverberg, the UConn hockey team has stunned top seeded Northeastern and will play for the Hockey East Championship tonight in Boston at 7 pm against UMass:

UConn stuns Northeastern, to meet UMass in Hockey East final

The UConn Huskies have transitioned from playoff patsies into title contenders while upending the power structure in Hockey East.

www.bostonherald.com

 

[EagerBeaver]

Here is the critical goal by Leafs draft pick Ryan Tverberg at the 6:20 mark of the highlights video- note how Tverberg steals the puck, then completely gets the Northeastern goalie out of proper position as the goalie has no idea what the hell Tverberg is trying to do to him:

 

[EagerBeaver]

Some NHL draft picks will be on the ice tonight in the biggest college hockey game in New England in years as defending NCAA Champion UMass faces UConn for Hockey East Championship:

 

[EagerBeaver]

Panthers Beat Boston, Colorado Trade Offers for Claude Giroux:

Flyers trade longtime captain Giroux to Panthers

The Flyers on Saturday traded longtime captain Claude Giroux, who recently played his 1,000th career game with the franchise, to the Panthers.

www.espn.com

Clearly Florida wants to win the Stanley Cup.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Panthers Beat Boston, Colorado Trade Offers for Claude Giroux:

Flyers trade longtime captain Giroux to Panthers

The Flyers on Saturday traded longtime captain Claude Giroux, who recently played his 1,000th career game with the franchise, to the Panthers.

www.espn.com

Clearly Florida wants to win the Stanley Cup.

Giroux had picked to be traded either to Colorado or Florida. The Flyers & the Avs couldn't agree on a deal so it left only the Panthers as a destination of choice. He turned down offers to join the Rangers & the Bruins. When Florida found out that they were the only destination left they started playing hardball with the Flyers. The deal took a bit longer to get done because of this but both teams reached an agreement which was favorable to all parties.

For Giroux, Connor Bunnaman, German Rubstov & a 5th round pick in 2024 the Flyers get Owen Tippett, a 3rd round pick in 2023 & a 1st round pick in 2024.

Giroux may simply be a rental for the Panthers. He may chose to hit the free market once the season ends and will likely hit the jackpot if he does. He's still a very productive player & is known as a great leader among hockey players.

 

[EagerBeaver]

In the Hockey East Championship game UConn has taken a 1-0 lead on a fantastic redirect goal by the Russian Vladislav Firstov, the Minnesota Wild 2nd round draft pick. Firstov, living up to his name, has now scored UConn's first goal in each of their 3 Hockey East tournament games:

 

[EagerBeaver]

UGH....brutal 2-1 loss in OT by UConn to UMass for the Hockey East Championship. I have to say the UMass defense was excellent and the better team won. UMass is now on to defend its NCAA Championship.