The Official MERB 2011-2012 NHL Hockey Thread

[joelcairo]

Some great stuff on TSN the past couple of days. A special on the 10 Most Skilled Players in the NHL had the Sedins jointly at # 4, Ovie at # 3, Crosby at # 2, and the great Pavel Datsyuk at # 1. Virtually every player in the NHL admits that Pavel is the most skilled player in the world. Steven Stamkos, for example, is in awe of him.

Meanwhile on another TSN special, the expert panel of around 20 insiders, analysts, players, and coaches predicted the 50 best players of the new 2011-2012 season. # 1: Crosby. # 2: Ovechkin. # 3 Datsyuk. It's pretty clear in everyone's mind (check BOTH these TSN shows!) that these are the three greatest players in the world today...followed by the Sedins. Daniel was # 4 and Henrik # 5, with Stamkos # 6. Highest rated d-man was Chara at # 10 and highest goalie was Timmy Thomas at # 14. Brodeur, who will turn 40 soon, was not in the top 50. To no one's surprise Detroit had THREE (!!!!!!!) stars in the top 15: Datsyuk at # 3, ageless Nick Lidstrom at # 12 and the great Henrik Zetterberg at # 15. Lidstrom was correctly labelled "the most respected player in the NHL" and viewers were reminded that with one more Norris Trophy he'll tie Bobby Orr's record of 8 wins. Detroit = class all the way!

Since most posters here root for the Habs and two root for the Leafs, I'll mention that the Canadiens had one player in the top 50 (Carey Price at # 30) and the buds had zero. Hey, not ALL teams can have the depth and talent of the GREAT Detroit Red Wings! (Tampa Bay, led by GM and former Red Wing great Steve Yzerman, had TWO players in the top 10: Stamkos and Marty St. Louis).

 

[lgna69xxx]

I will take a team like the 2011/2012 Leafs with nothing but true hard nosed blue collar type work ethic players over a team with one or 2 superstars and a bunch of "ok" players ANYDAY.... GLG! .... gonna be a long long season in the most beautiful city that is Montreal.

Since most posters here root for the Habs and two root for the Leafs, I'll mention that the Canadiens had one player in the top 50 (Carey Price at # 30) and the buds had zero. Hey, not ALL teams can have the depth and talent of the GREAT Detroit Red Wings! (Tampa Bay, led by GM and former Red Wing great Steve Yzerman, had TWO players in the top 10: Stamkos and Marty St. Louis).

 

[Special K]

This team started out great last yr and blew a tire in November,.... totally different feel this time around.... they are focused like never before, at least in the Burke/Wilson era! GO LEAFS GO!

Thought you guys would have learned after last years...what was it, a 4-0 start? Only to AGAIN not make the playoffs. Is going 5-5 in October a great start??? Hmmm. I suppose for a Leaf's fan it would be considered a great start. :thumb:

 

[SexyNadya]

The Jets will win home opener !!!

Good morning !!!

These are the Clubs that should make it in the post season in the East for 2011-12 .
Note :
It's understood by all today that the key is to make it in the playoffs; therefore I have placed my selections in alphabetical order .

Boston Bruins ( Stanley Cup favorite )
Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils
NY Rangers
Phili Flyers
Pitts Penguins
Tampa Lightning
Washington Caps

I haven't selected any Canadian Teams .

 

[lgna69xxx]

Well, the JETS did not win their home opener, but it was Montreal who lost more, Cammalleri and Spacek to injuries.

 

[Special K]

What a fucked up NHL Schedule. Toronto plays 2 games in 3 days to start the season then doesn't play again for a full week? WTF is that all about?

 

[gohabsgo]

,.... totally different feel this time around.... they are focused like never before,

lol. exactly what delusional leaf fans say every season, but by April its the same result: no playoffs for six straight years!

 

[lgna69xxx]

Its Stupid is what it is! Oh well..... every team has easy and tough schedules at sometime during the season. Bruins 1-3???? Cup hangover to start the season?

What a fucked up NHL Schedule. Toronto plays 2 games in 3 days to start the season then doesn't play again for a full week? WTF is that all about?

 

[Doc Holliday]

Its Stupid is what it is! Oh well..... every team has easy and tough schedules at sometime during the season. Bruins 1-3???? Cup hangover to start the season?

I also agree that it was stupid on the part of the schedule maker to give the Leafs a whole week off after their first two games. It almost seems that they're now preparing for a home opener all over again.

As for the Bruins, Mathew Barnaby (TSN & former Sabres enforcer) predicted the Bruins wouldn't repeat & one of the reasons he listed was that they'd have trouble scoring goals. As for me, i think the loss of Mark Recchi will hurt them. There's also the fact that they gave two first-round picks (and a third) to the Leafs for Tomas Kaberle & they didn't even re-sign him. He's currently looking very good quarterbacking the Carolina Hurricanes powerplay. Maybe the Bruins were not using him properly last season. And, David Krecci is injured again......always injured it seems!

 

[Doc Holliday]

lol. exactly what delusional leaf fans say every season, but by April its the same result: no playoffs for six straight years!

Nothing seems to change with some people. Look who's back with his mocking & insults?

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Habs

Tough start to this young season by the Habs. However, the season is still very young & they should bounce back. To make the playoffs, the Habs will need superhuman performances once again by their great goaltender, Carey Price. Expect Price to play in approximately 70 games this season.

Looking at the current roster, i was surprised to find out that the only defencemen under contract next season are Andrei Markov & Yannick Weber. Examining the entire roster, i was surprised at some of the salaries some of the players will be receiving this season. Here are the top paid Habs this season, along with their 2011-12 salaries:

Scott Gomez $7.5 million US
Eric Cole $6 million US
Mike Cammalleri $6 million US
Andrei Markov $5.75 US
Brian Gionta $5 million US
Tomas Plekanec $5 million US

Unrestricted free agents (UFA) in 2012

Andrei Kostitsyn
Travis Moen
Mathieu Darche
Hal Gill
Josh Gorges
Jaroslav Spacek
Chris Campoli

Top restricted free agents (RFA) in 2012

Carey Price
P.K. Subban
Lars Eller

Expect Carey Price to ask for at least $6 million per season, which is what Ilya Bryzgalov was able to get from the Philadelphia Flyers this past summer. P.K. Subban will also be expecting a considerable raise, possibly in the $3.5-3.8 million range. He likely won't be getting much more since the team will have the leverage in the upcoming negotiations.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Guess who came to dinner?

Great game last night!

One of the best teams in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs, beat one of the worse teams in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 5-4. Guess who scored the fantastic goal in sudden death overtime? None other than former Hab Mike Grabovski, one of the league's top centers. See how happy he was after the game?

 

[lgna69xxx]

What a fantastic game to see live in person. It was like a emotional rollercoaster all night, back and forth, habs score, leafs score etc... In the end, the good guys won and picked up another 2 very valuable points. Kessel btw scored again his 8th goal already and added another assist. Dion Phaneuf also looks to be back to playing like he did in Calgary his first few seasons and will be a Norris Trophy candidate if he continues at this pace. Meanwhile, Carey Price is back to being a average goalie so far this season.... thats not good for habs fans, not good at all.

 

[Octavian]

What a fantastic game to see live in person. It was like a emotional rollercoaster all night, back and forth, habs score, leafs score etc... In the end, the good guys won and picked up another 2 very valuable points. Kessel btw scored again his 8th goal already and added another assist. Dion Phaneuf also looks to be back to playing like he did in Calgary his first few seasons and will be a Norris Trophy candidate if he continues at this pace. Meanwhile, Carey Price is back to being a average goalie so far this season.... thats not good for habs fans, not good at all.

Sure was a great game. That Steckel trade is probably Burke's best deal so far. It will be a very long season for Habs fans. Maybe we can get lucky and get next years top draft prospect. :lol:

 

[lgna69xxx]

It is hard to tell which trade Burke has made has been the best, they have all been great, Kessel, Phanuef/Aulie, Lupul/Gardiner, Liles....

Sure was a great game. That Steckel trade is probably Burke's best deal so far. It will be a very long season for Habs fans. Maybe we can get lucky and get next years top draft prospect. :lol:

 

[Doc Holliday]

Sure was a great game. That Steckel trade is probably Burke's best deal so far. It will be a very long season for Habs fans. Maybe we can get lucky and get next years top draft prospect. :lol:

I agree that Steckel has been a monster so far. He's absolutely an ace on faceoffs, and i was surprised last night at his hands & hockey sense. He isn't very fleet on skates, though, but he makes up for it with his assets & smarts.

As for it being Burke's best deal so far, i have to side with Iggy, but not necessarily because we're Leafs fans. I cannot recall a single bad trade Brian Burke has made while GM of the Leafs. I now call the Kessel/Seguin trade a wash, and years from now, i would't be surprised if the Leafs have clearly won it. But i'll keep an open mind in regards to it.

The Kaberle trade Burke made with Boston last season was tilted heavily in favor of the Leafs. Not only did they manage to find a taker for a player on an expiring contract, but they wound up with 2 first-round picks & a 3rd rounder in the process....and Boston let Kaberle go for nothing after the season ended. The Beauchemin trade to Anaheim currently looks like a steal by Burke. Same thing with the Versteeg trade to Philly....Philly already got rid of him. Getting Phaneuf & Aulie for Stajan, Hagman & Mayers is a steal by Burke. Obtaining players such as Matt Frattin, Joe Colborne & Jake Gardiner through trades have given hope to Toronto fans for the future.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Why the fuck did Gainey trade this guy away? I agree with you he is an amazing player.

Obtaining Grabovski was the only good move Cliff Fletcher ever made in his 2nd tour as Leafs GM (on an interim basis). Because of that trade, it's easier to forgive him for signing Jeff Finger to a ridiculous contract & trading away high picks for journeyman players (e.g. Yanic Perreault) at the trade deadline. I also didn't agree with his buying out contracts (e.g. Darcy Tucker, etc), but those moves didn't come back to haunt them.

In regards to why Gainey traded Grabovski, the team had no room for him at the time of the trade. It was either him or Sergei Kostitsyn, but having Sergei K's brother on the team likely sealed Grabovski's fate. The team at the time also had problems with Grabovski, who was dubbed to possibly being a potential troublemaker. The problem, however, was simply that he was still a teenager & was totally knew to North America.

Grabo's been a good role model on the team over the past 2 seasons & shuts up & gives 100% effort in ever game. He's also a tough little s.o.b.....just go back to the game last season against Boston when he was nearly knocked unconscious by Zdeno Chara, only to come back the next shift....and later scoring the winning goal....a highlight goal on top of that. If my memory is correct, Mtl got a 2nd round pick back for Grabovski. It looked like a good deal for both teams at the time. However, it's now considered a steal by the Leafs & one of their best trades in the past decades.

Habs just made a trade, by the way:

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=597172&navid=DL|MTL|home

 

[G1GBallday]

If my memory is correct, Mtl got a 2nd round pick back for Grabovski. It looked like a good deal for both teams at the time. However, it's now considered a steal by the Leafs & one of their best trades in the past decades.

I'm not sure about a second round pick but it was primarily to get exclusive negotiating rights with Sundin before July 1 which didn't amount to anything since he later signed with Vancouver. Looking at the results today, it's obvious the Habs kept the wrong Belorussians.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I'm not sure about a second round pick but it was primarily to get exclusive negotiating rights with Sundin before July 1 which didn't amount to anything since he later signed with Vancouver. Looking at the results today, it's obvious the Habs kept the wrong Belorussians.

Grabovski was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 3, 2008, in exchange for the draft rights to Greg Pateryn and a 2010 second round pick.

By the way, i just discovered that his name is spelled wrong. His actual birth name is Michail Jurjevič Hraboúski.

In defence of the Canadiens, they drafted him 150th overall in 2004. Not many players drafted in that position turn out like Grabovski. As for Sergei Kostitsyn (his name is actually Siarhiej Aliehavič Kaścicyn, he was signed as a free agent by the habs & had a terrific but brief junior career with the London Knights, playing on the same line with Patrick Kane & Sam Gagner, amassing a large number of points in the process. Habs management probably figured he'd be more adept to the North American style of the game. With 20/20 hindsight, they should have kept both players. But i don't know a single organization in professional sports that hasn't made moves they later regretted.

(I can't believe i'm defending the Habs! lol)

Dion Phaneuf on 'Grabs': "He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's got a huge heart and he plays hard."

Ron Wilson on 'Grabs': "It's a reward for how professional he is," head coach Ron Wilson said. "A leader, you don't have to say anything. He shows up and gives everything he's got every night. And he works as hard, if not harder, than anybody in practice."

Grabovski on how he describes himself & the change in his attitude over the years: "A little bit smarter, kind of more mature in my head," Grabovski said of how he has changed. "I'm 27 and when I started I was a little bit different. "But now, I'm a little more experienced."

Michael Traikos of Postmedia News: "There certainly was a time when Grabovski was a me-first player from Belarus trying to earn a job in the NHL. He did not speak much English then. Nor had he settled down with his Canadian girlfriend and become a father, with another child on the way. Back then he was just a skinny kid with a hot temper. And with experience comes knowledge. Grabovski, who had 29 goals and 58 points last season, is more understanding of his role as an NHL player."

 

[Special K]

The Kaberle trade Burke made with Boston last season was tilted heavily in favor of the Leafs. Not only did they manage to find a taker for a player on an expiring contract, but they wound up with 2 first-round picks & a 3rd rounder in the process....and Boston let Kaberle go for nothing after the season ended.

The Bruins won the cup last season so I'd say it worked out for all involved