2008/2009 Hockey Thread v2.0

[Lowerdeck]

So, I live in the Worcester area and hear a guy name Claude Lemieux (sp.?) is making a comeback and got put on the minor league team here.

Worth getting a ticket this weekend?

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Don't expect him to be the best player on the ice or anything, but do expect half the crowd to consider him such.

Sort of like if Jose Canseco were to make a comeback in Pawtucket.

[NobBe Nobbs]

So, I live in the Worcester area and hear a guy name Claude Lemieux (sp.?) is making a comeback and got put on the minor league team here.

Worth getting a ticket this weekend?

Christ yes.

[Lowerdeck]

Don't expect him to be the best player on the ice or anything, but do expect half the crowd to consider him such.

Sort of like if Jose Canseco were to make a comeback in Pawtucket.

Course. He's 43 and has played two games in the last five years. Probably won't be pretty.

I figure some crowd with people that want to see him will bring legit hockey fans instead of the typical families with young children crowd. Lame.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Montreal got'd McCabe'd err.. O'Byrne'd, haha oh man I'd hate to be him. Not the end of the world though. Same time last season Montreal had fewer points. Hopefully they'll play better than recently that's for sure, but not hitting the panic button yet.

Lemieux making the comeback... .Epic.

Detroit tonight. Will either be an amazing game as seen in the pre-season or something like 3-0 Detroit with Montreal getting like 11 shots on goal.

Blake got rocked against Atlanta. I was so happy, he always looks so damn sick it just bothers me so fucking much.

And while I think there might be a Burke Euro-Purge, I don't think he'd give up the only good forward on the team this season in Grabs. He's only... 26? He's young and is the only reason it seems that Toronto wins games some nights.

[Clawson]

Classy Basha, classy. I wonder why Blake looks sick you jackass.

[Plubby]

When Koivu had only one eye, he looked like a million bucks! Therefore, Blake is a pussy if he looks like he had cancer!

[RoyWill Rumble]

Can you just stop being a Habs fan, please?

[Gabriel]

Jason Blake really irks me too... people are constantly saying "Give the guy a break, he had cancer!"... but the fact is, he's making first line money, and the only place he's been productive is on the third line. He's not worth what he makes, and that makes him both a liability and expendable.

I was really pissed today, because I heard that in relation to the hit by Armstrong the other night. It was a clean hit as far as I'm concerned, and he had his head down. That's what happened. These guys think that because there are rules against vicious hits and that headshots are being looked at, that they can just skate around with their heads down... and that's not the case, and it shouldn't be. He should have been paying better attention to protecting himself, and he ate one. Simple as that.

It's the same issue I have with guys being pasted from behind. A lot of the time, it comes down to the player feeling too sure that he won't be hit, that he doesn't take the precaution of protecting himself, or worse even, puts himself into a situation where he could be hurt. At first, the hits from behind were a huge deal to me... but now, after seeing how many times guys turn into it, or could have made a smarter and safer play, but didn't... I just feel like it's ridiculous.

Either way... I don't see Blake lasting long once Burke has taken over. A guy making that kind of money doesn't play on your third line, and Brian Burke is the type of GM who would take a sixth round pick, a minor league nobody and a plate of nachos just to get rid of that kind of problem.

From what I've heard, the younger guys on the team are all safe... the veterans though... the guys who could bring back higher draft picks or better young talent... guys like Kaberle, Kubina, Antropov, Ponikarovsky and Toskala even... those guys are the ones we might see on their way out.

[Plubby]

I don't think Cancer is an excuse for poor play (at least not after you're supposed to have "recovered")

But I do think it's an excuse to look sick

Edited November 27, 2008 by Plubby

[The Sultan of Swank]

Oh jesus christ all of you.

He's just an ugly, ugly man. There's an image from him as an Islander, he looks sick there too. His face bothers me, so I don't like him. Same goes for Brind'Amour. It has nothing to do with him having cancer. He's just naturally pale, with baggy eyes and looks like he's always just come down from a meth high.

Awesome game against Detroit. I so badly wanted Pleks second goal to count, but oh well. Deroit lost for only the third time in regulation, and last night Montreal for about 45 minutes looked like the much better team.

Also, the goal by Franzen... in-fucking-credible.

[Toe]

So Burke to Toronto as GM and President (with complete autonomy to make moves) is a done deal and should be announced tomorrow.

[Clawson]

Seeing as the Press Conference has been scheduled since like noon, I'd say it's a done deal.

[Plubby]

Theodore shuts out Montreal. Hilarity.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Yeah, wasn't a great game. Not the end of the world, the last time we played against Theo we lit him and the avs up for 8 goals. So I think a measure of retribution was in order.

Buffalo tonight, the prodigal son returns to nets, Matt D'Agostini is in, O'fuck I just put it into my own net is out, Dandy on D. Should be fun.

[Ananas]

"My teams don't get run. My teams run people."

-Brian Burke, November 29, 2008-

I think one thing's for sure. Andre Deveaux is going to drop the gloves tonight.

[Clawson]

Shame Steve Downie isn't on the Flyers anymore. Deveaux would have made him his little bitch.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Hey alright, we won last night. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think it's a shame you can't win with this team because I've never had so much fun watching a team as I have this year. Physical, intense, much improved puck movement, a ton of shots on goal. More Swedish than Finnish, but it's a work in progress. So many nice passing plays have been set up by this team only to be stopped dead. Such a shame when I think about all the highlight reel plays that could be happening if the puck just found it's way into the net. It's always entertaining hockey, win or lose. Except for that Thrashers game this week. That was horrible. But seriously, I love it.

I can't take my eyes off the screen when Grabovsky has the puck. Everytime he carries the through the neutral zone and past the blue line I'm thinking something is going to happen. Even if it's not his own scoring chance, it's a nice pass or a slick move or something.

Say what you want about Leaf fans creaming over Luke Schenn, but he is going to be a stud. He is not looking like a defensive specialist obviously, but he is only going to be as good as the rest of this defense is. And for that, he is doing a damn fine job. I think I smile at least once a game watching Schenn. He's a kid out there, always one of the most physical players on the ice and almost with the same swagger as somebody who has being doing it for years. He is going to be the heart of this team, baby. Maybe no more standing toe to toe with Zdeno for now.

Andre Deveaux has played two games. Please make room for him long term. If this were a pro power skating league, maybe Jason Blake could fit into the mix. Strong skater. Pretty sure he puts on a blindfold once the puck touches his stick. Andre Deveaux is Brian Burke hockey. Jason Blake is... most likely to leave Toronto and start scoring goals. Why wouldn't that surprise me? Point is it's not happening here.

One last thing about a guy who is a likely candidate to be shipped out sooner than later, Alexei Ponikarovsky. In terms of skill, I don't know that Poni is going to get any better, he has got to be close to 30. What has impressed me about the Poni Express this season is how he plays the game now. He is a guy that everybody has been indifferent about for years, everybody can see he has or had the potential, but there was always that lack of physicality, not wanting to go into the corners and battle for pucks. This season he looks like has really bought into the aggressive and intense style Ron Wilson brought in with him. He's not a beast out there, but he is fighting in the corners, he is throwing big checks, he is standing up for teammates, a totally different Alexei. I can see this being a career season for him in points, maybe he'll break 50, which if anything could make him attractive to other teams in the process.

That's all.

PS, please keep Matt Stajan. You'll all be sorry when he picks up the Hart elsewhere.

Edited November 30, 2008 by Enter Blue Guy

[The Sultan of Swank]

Fun game to watch last night. Andrei Kostitsyn's goal was rather nice and the team really started to battle hard in the second and third.

Also...

Upon being named president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs today, Brian Burke said: "You're talking about the Vatican if you're Catholic, you're talking the centre of the hockey universe, you're talking about one of the most important jobs in hockey running the Toronto Maple Leafs.''

... Rofl. He's about 500 Km, 11? Cups and 40+ years away from that statement being right.

I know I'm going to get slammed by the Leafers here, but there's no question that Montreal is the most successful team, has the richest history, has had all the best teams except for a few suspiciously good Edmonton and Detroit teams, is the cradle of organized sport and the cathedral of hockey. Anyone who disagrees is completely disregarding 100 years of history, 24 stanley cups and many of the best and most entertaining players, coaches and managers to ever have jobs in the NHL.... Fact.

This isn't to say that Toronto isn't an incredibly important team in the league, but it's like saying that the BoSox are THE team in the MLB... not quite....

Toronto can only get better with Burke, I just hope nobody's expecting a miracle turnaround for this season. It's going to take some time, but he built a great team in Vancouver, and inheirated a good team in Anaheim that he added a few pieces to, to put over the top so Toronto for once... in a looooooong time is in the very capable hands of Burke.

Edited November 30, 2008 by The Sultan of Swank

[Gabriel]

I've caught the excitement for Burke coming to Toronto... it's an exciting time and things could be really good.

That said, I'm also terrified about the situation. The way Burke has been talking, it sounds like he's going to intentionally throw the present to improve the future... which isn't necessarily what you have to be, or should be, doing.

There's no question in my mind that there is a good amount of dead weight on the Leafs roster, and there are also some guys they could afford to ship away (provided they add a roster player who can do at least half of what they've been doing for the team)... but I don't think that trading away guys like Antropov for a couple late round draft picks and Johnny ECHL is a good move for the team. Not now, and not in the future. Sure, you've added more draft picks, but at what cost? You've given up a top six forward, who's been playing pretty hard this season under Ron Wilson, you haven't brought in anyone who could potentially take that spot, and you've pretty much told your team that you dont' expect them to win.

The Leafs, as they are right now, are capable of surprising a lot of people and making a run at the 8th spot in the East. That definitely shouldn't be the end-goal of a team (to simply make the playoffs), but at the same time, you shouldn't just give up on the season, deal away anybody who could help your team now and hope that you can draft well with the picks you've accumulated.

There aren't a lot of John Mitchell's in the Leafs system, who can come up, play hard and make a case for being a top six forward... so you can't just go dealing away the guys who've been playing well.

Jason Blake

Ryan Hollweg

Alexei Ponikarovsky

Those three guys should be first out the door, long before a guy like Antropov, whose name has been brought up a lot as someone who should be worried about leaving.

After that, they have some room to move a defenseman... either Kaberle OR Kubina, but not both.

I guess I really just don't see THAT MUCH wrong with what they've got going right now. They're a hard working team, with a few holes to fill... but really, if you can add some consistent goal scoring, get Toskala to continue playing as well as he has been, and maybe add a 2nd/3rd pairing veteran defenseman for depth... I think that's really all they need. That keeps them competitive this season, and gives them room to deal away some people in exchange for a stockpile of draft picks.

If Burke rapes the team of its' chances for this season by trading away anyone who could help the team this season, then he's going to be left on July 1st with very few options. I don't care if his name IS Brian Burke and people like to play for him. No one in their right mind is going to want to sign a long term contract with a team full of 3rd line players, with a core consisting of Luke Schenn and John Mitchell.

Taking the team apart now will do damage that lasts far beyond this season. Let them stay competitive, so that come July 1st, when Burke talks to free agents about joining the rebuild, he can actually say with a straight face "I think you can push us past where we were last season, and if we can get you, it will really help us get this other guy...and that fills the two biggest holes we have on the team... so sign the contract, and get ready for a big time playoff run."