Reddaye

I won't laugh about Schneider getting hurt, because I rather like the guy. All I'll say is karma is a bitch, and poor Mike Van Ryn get's some measure of revenge. Even though Schneider had nothing to do with it.

EDIT:

Someone made an interesting point today when I was talking to them. Leafs fans...would you be willing to trade:

- Tomas Kaberle

- 1st Round Pick

- 2nd Round Pick

- 3rd Round Pick

To the Islanders, for their first round pick this year?

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but if I had the choice between Tavares and Hedman...I'd be pretty tempted to take Hedman. In the case of Toronto, we already have a pretty clogged system of defensemen, but we don't have anyone I'd say is a bona fide franchise calibre blue liner (barring possibly Schenn).

How often do you get the chance at a defenseman that can possibly step right into the NHL and make an impact, which is how this guy is being projected? Guys on the back end like that very rarely ever come along, the only thing less common would be NHL ready goalies.

Not that I'd pass up the chance at Tavares, of course. Just musing a little bit.

Also, speaking of goalies to look at...I wonder who will end up taking Olivier Roy? He's got the name, and his play with the Screaming Eagles has been very good. Both Colorado and Toronto could use a prospect of his caliber.

If only he wasn't a fucking lunatic...

Manly as his mustache is, guys like Ian White aren't exactly great d-men(if he even is one.. I'm not sure haha)

Poor Ian White. He didn't even do anything and he's getting hauled into this. >_<

You mean the offensive defenseman with more goals than any blue liner on the Habs roster outside of Schneider? And being a +5 while averaging 25 minutes or so a game, on a team that has had zero goal tending all season? I'd say that makes him a pretty good defenseman, especially when guys like Kubina are -16, and Kaberle is a -14. Maybe not the next Chris Pronger, but pretty good.

Now, getting away from all this bickering: what we need is goal tending. Considering the number of goals we score we could actually have done half decently well with consistent net minding. Some good stay at home defense to help that net minding would be a large plus.

I don't think anyone is going to argue that our team needs a lot of things.

So all of Montreal's dirty hits from behind, and slew footing, and injuring Mike Van Ryn (twice, I believe) is alright? They don't lack character when they slam into people right on the numbers, or slew foot them into the boards?Or throwing 'stealthy' little elbows at goaltenders on their way by? I see...that makes total sense. :/

I'm agreeing with Clawson on this one...while the Habs were being booed out of their own building everything seemed quiet on the French Canadian front. Now it looks like they may actually squeak into the playoffs and they all crawl out of the wood work again.

Some more news from their official message board.

- Every character has 4 super power moves now instead of 7 or 8 like in the first game. This may seem low, but remember every character does a Fusion with every other character, so you have 4 power moves plus 3 fusions per character.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

One of the best parts of X-Men Legends and MUA was the ability to customize your character's move set however you wanted. You could make Thor an elemental powerhouse, or make him a hammer throwing badass. Tweaking and picking the powers each character had was half the fun.

Just some updates on this from one of the developers:

The solution we came up with was to split the “active” (mostly offensive) powers and the “passive” (mostly defensive) powers apart. Each character now has a suite of core powers which are mapped to the buttons (like Iron Man’s Repulsor Blasts), but each also has a number of passive abilities which are “always on” (like Wolverine’s regeneration). We also have a new in-game customization system which lets you spend your experience points on Powers and Abilities while you’re in the game, and even re-spec without going to an outside menu. This is especially good for Co-Op games; you can re-customize your character without slowing down the action, however, your core offensive measures are always at your fingertips.

All this doesn’t even touch the subject of Fusions. Each playable character has a special fusion move with every OTHER playable character. So really, they have their Powers (accessed by buttons), their Abilities (always “on” in the background, and accessible without going to a full-screen menu), and 20+ powers in the form of Fusions, which you activate in tandem with other heroes on your team. In order to let you swap characters more easily (giving you easy access to different Fusion moves), we’ve done away with Extraction points. We hadn’t talked the “frequent roster switching” system before because we’re still working on tuning it, and as you know, generally it’s our policy not to talk about things that aren’t 100% ironed out. The short of it: we can definitely say that mixing up your team is no longer tied to any big circles on the ground.

Am I the only one who really doesn't give a shit about this whole Fusion gimmick? Maybe I'll change my mind once I play it and get to wrap a tornado in fire, or something.

I'd rather see Kubina wear the "C" next year, but that's just me.

Not a fan of young captains, especially ones who aren't even twenty years old yet. Give Schenn a bit more time to mature and then think about putting him in the role of Captain. Let's focus on developing the kid's talent, instead of heaping more onto his plate.

The sweetest thing about the Bozak signing that Ottawa wanted him so badly. And we got him. Fucking right.

The most amusing part is how many Senators fans were squealing about how wonderful Bozak was, and how much he'd add to their middle.

Once the announcement came that he signed with the Leafs there was a barrage of: "Well, at least he'll make up for that lost fourth rounder."

Sens fans are adorable.

Now let's see if Burkie signs on any more NCAA guys. Maybe Gilroy?

The National Hockey League has disciplined the Toronto Maple Leafs for their handling of defenceman Jonas Frogren's contract last summer.

Sources say the Leafs have been fined $500,000 for paying Frogren a $755,000 signing bonus which violated the CBA. The Maple Leafs will also have to pay an additional penalty in the form of a draft pick.

It's believed Frogren used a portion of the signing bonus, $400,000 to get out of the final year of his contract with Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League.

NHL deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, confirmed the sanctions to TSN.

"We can confirm that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been sanctioned by the league for violations of league rules in connection with the club's 2008 signing of Jonas Frogren, and that one aspect of the league-imposed discipline requires the forfeiture of the club's fourth round draft pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired from Tampa Bay). We have no further comment on the matter."

Frogren signed a two-year contract with the Leafs last July and this decision by the NHL will not impact his contractual status with the team.

Fletcher...you fucking dunce!

EDIT: Now that I think about it, this is just a thinly veiled excuse to take back that pick we bought. The GMs bitched and complained so the NHL did what they could do "right the wrong."

We're far enough down the draft right now that I suspect Brayden may be out of reach. Unless Burke makes some moves to bump us up. Can't see Schenn lasting past pick #6.

Hopefully I'm wrong though.

For the first two places, it's not an issue of whether or not he wants to play there. I picked those two teams based on the assumption that he wants big money. If he wants big money, he's probably going to have to go somewhere less than stellar.

The only competitive team that could fit him in without him taking a pay cut, is Vancouver, and that's assuming that they lose a few of the higher priced free agents, and don't fancy some healthier, more consistent players over Gaborik.

EDIT: Sundin's a free agent at season's end. I'm not so sure I see him re-signing with the team, even if he does decide to play next year.

I thought Sundin's contract ran through next season too. Oh well...may he rot in hell. (Kidding, of course).

What does Atlanta's cap situation look like? It seems as though Kovalchuk will be staying when his deal comes up next year, could Atlanta possibly slide Gaborik in? Considering his health issues, you'd think that the Eastern Conference's travel and style would be a better fit for him.

Kovalchuk and Gaborik on the same line, with someone good making plays in the middle, would be quite the thing to see.

EDIT: Supposedly highly touted NCAA free agent center man Tyler Bozak is very close to making the decision on where he'll sign in the NHL. He's got his short list of teams, which includes the six Canadian teams, Colorado, and San Jose.

I've also heard he's received phone calls from Luke Schenn and Jarome Iginla, just to chit with him about his future in the NHL. I'm praying to God that Burke can land this kid. He seems to have a pretty good upside, although I'm feeling he'll sign on with the Avs.

FLORIDA WILL MAKE IT

^_^ I wouldn't complain if they did. Especially if it meant they knock the Habs out of the post season...

...then I'd go down and Florida and kiss every one of their players on the lips.

I've been looking forward to it for a while now. Really loved the original, and this one actually looks even better. Been looking forward to finally playing an open world crime game that lets you have more control over your criminal empire. Scarface is the only one so far that's really tackled it.

Shame it comes out the same day as Riddick. I'm not sure which one I'll get first.

Colorado

Florida

Vancouver

Would Gaborik really want to sign with Colorado or Florida, though? Why leave a less than competitive team for another one? With the way Colorado have played this year I suspect they'll blow the thing up and rebuild. Florida will be lucky to even make the playoffs this year, let alone next.

Vancouver is a good one though. I could easily see them going after him, especially if they don't give the Sedins extensions. Sundin and Gaborik together would be a lethal combination.

I expect Gaborik will be willing to sign for less on a team that's competitive. I'm sure he's smart enough to understand the cap issues most teams have, and how badly it will drop in the next year or so.

So that leaves the question: what competitive team has the space to fit him in for big money, if that's actually what he demanded, and a GM was willing to pay?

I'd say Chris Hanson is the prototypical Brian Burke player. Big, strong, not afraid to fight, a bit of a power forward type player.

Should make a good third or fourth line type guy.

The sad thing about Rinne is the fact that he's pretty well entirely under the radar. Being in Nashville makes him a bit of a secret.

Also: Justin Pogge is no where near ready to play at the NHL level. I was hoping after a solid performance filling in for CuJo he'd be ready to roll against Boston. Sadly he just basically collapsed, like usual.

I wouldn't mind us drafting another goalie prospect this year. Just to give ourselves another option.

My DS has been getting lots of love lately...

Pokemon Platinum (DS)

I haven't played a Pokemon came in the last eight years or so. Figured I'd give this new one a whirl and I'm really enjoying it. About ten hours in and I have two badges...trying to train my Eevee and raise it's friendship enough to evolve it into Espeon.

Retro Game Challenge (DS)

This fucking thing is completely awesome. Classic 8-bit style games, cheat codes, in-game magazines, and a totally 80's style vibe. Shooting, platforming, racing, and even an RPG all built into the thing with plenty of replay value. Really hoping they decide to bring the sequel and television show over here.

GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS)

I already raved about this in my thread about the game so I won't waste space here. Awesome game, a must play for GTA fans IMO. Wayyyyy better than the PSP versions.

I think the basic idea is that Roloson has been playing his guts out, and the Oilers desperately need to get into the playoffs. You always have to ride the hot goaltender. It's just a shame that JDD get's left on the bench. Roli made over fifty saves last night against Anaheim and the Oilers still won. In fact, the only reason the Oilers seem to be winning at all is because of Roloson's stellar play.

If Edmonton make it into the playoffs I'd seriously be considering Roloson for MVP. How many 39 year old goaltenders can make 30+ straight starts and be as solid in net as he has? It's quite incredible.

Speaking of the total opposite, you have poor CuJo. He didn't seem ready last night at all, especially on the first goal, There were some weird bounces, but overall 2 goals on 4 shots is unacceptable. The Leafs could have won last night if they hadn't gotten dug into such a hole.

On the other hand Pogge came in and played a solid game. Looked more steady in net than any time I've seen him with the big club yet. Controlled his rebounds better, saw the puck better, anticipated better...just plain played better. The one goal that did go in wasn't horrible, just a result of losing the puck and no one being able to clear it in time. Same thing practically happened to Miller last night too.

Chris Mason in St. Louis would be a good choice. He's basically helped carry that team from the gutters to near playoff contention.

I'm not sure about his record...but Dwayne Roloson has had like thirty straight starts. Can they give the poor bastard a trophy for that? LOL

With sales of WWE games netting THQ tons of cash every year, I doubt you'll see them selling the license unless EA give them a small country in return.

All we need is WWE Mayhem.

Yeah, I'm not entirely sold until the end of next season either. Andrew Raycroft is another guy who proves you can have a Calder worthy rookie campaign and end up not being worth a lump of dog shit.

So yeah, with ten shut outs on the season...anyone else thinking Steve Mason is the real deal?

I've been rooting for the Jackets to make it all season, and with Mason between the pipes they've been able to do it with the worst power play in the league. The guy is pretty impressive.

Another Zelda....yay?

The formula is starting to get old IMO, I haven't even bothered to look at Phantom Hourglass. After over twenty years of essentially the same game every time, a change would be VERY welcomed.

I thought the idea of bringing Joseph into Toronto was so that he could close out his career there? But if he's looking to play next year, he'll probably end up somewhere else. If you're asking me, Martin Gerber is a much more attractive option as a backup to Toskala, provided he'll take Cujo like money, or maybe a little bit more, on a new contract.

That was the plan originally.

I don't have the article handy but basically Joseph did an interview where he admitted that after the last few starts he's had, he still feels like he's got something in the tank. Feels that since he doesn't want much money he could get a job backing up somewhere.

Wilson was quoted as saying that CuJo would "certainly make a good backup for someone."

So it sounds like if he decides to keep playing he probably won't be playing for the Leafs. Which makes it perfect for us to try and snag Josh Harding if he hits the market.

I'll try to find the article.

No worse than Tim Thomas trashing the locker room after being pulled (or so I've heard). I think Thomas is a little on the crazy side.

Three games for Gerber isn't a surprise. I can understand his anger, but that wasn't the brightest move. Now if Joseph wants to play another season (he says he does), this next run of games will likely be pretty important. Don't know if he'll stay with the Buds, but these games can prove he can still go after a largely horrible season.

Should be an interesting few games. Love seeing guys like Grabovski and Mitchell really step up and show their worth.