(Spoilers) The thread where CALIFORNIA LOOOOVE~!

[Hewey]

Yeah. I see major changes in Pittsburgh as well. Of the 5 biggest targets to blame for the loss - Shero, Bylsma, Fleury, Malkin and Crosby - I'd take a guess that 3 of the 5 won't be in Pittsburgh next year. I don't think anyone believes Crosby is going anywhere. The problem with getting rid of Fleury is - who is going to take him off their hands and who do we get to play in the net instead? I actually thought he played pretty well last night. I actually think Malkin is likely to go. I actually thought playing him with Crosby was a bad move. The problem with Pittsburgh is no depth and playing him with Crosby only makes that problem worse, in my opinion. Blysma and Shero I think certainly will get tossed.

My guess is that Fleury gets another chance, Crosby stays the franchise kid, Malkin is gone to free up some salary and a new coach and GM.

No way is Malkin going anywhere. He had a better playoff than Crosby, and has proved he can carry the team when Crosby goes down with a injury. Bylsma is gone, Shero is very likely, Fleury is tricky, because there's not many options left, but no way are Crosby and Malkin going anywhere. It would be a huge mistake to let Malkin go.

The lack of depth and toughness can be blamed on Shero. He got rid of Staal, Talbot, Cooke, Kennedy, etc. If Malkin and Crosby were not producing, you could usually count on Staal's line to get something going. This year we had Sutter playing with about twenty different people. He was great in the playoffs, but imagine how much better the team would be if they didn't have to always count on Crosby and Malkin.

I can see them maybe getting rid of Neal or Letang to free up some cap space. If I had to pick any of the "untouchable" players to be gone, I could see them getting rid of Neal. His numbers in the playoffs were bad, he has had a discipline problem as well. But I can see them getting rid of him only if they can get something big in return, because at least in the regular season, Neal could work some magic with Malkin.

[Ruki]

Should probably just trade Crosby. To the Leafs.

We'll give you Bozak, Remier and the 8th pick. More than fair!

[TGWL]

In my opinion, Letang, Fleury, Shero, Neal, & Bylsma are all gone before Malkin...unless an absolute stunning deal comes along like Malkin for Rick Nash "Coughs"

[Hewey]

Nash will come out of his slump, I bet he'll get a bunch of goals in the conference finals.

In order, I see Bylsma, Shero, Neal, Letang and Fleury all possibly being gone. I can really see them giving Fleury one more shot because there's no other replacements out there, and he isn't really to blame this time for their loss. He wasn't great, but it could have been worse than it was if it wasn't for him. Maybe in the deadline next year they'll go for another goalie, or a solid back up, but I don't see Fleury being gone yet. Letang and Neal are for cap reasons, but you run the risk of pissing off Malkin by getting rid of Neal. Letang is tricky, he is taking up a lot of cap space, but maybe with a new system in place he'll play better? He's had flashes of greatness under Bylsma, and I don't think he's horrible like most Pittsburgh fans do.

Serious question, but who'll be the new coach? Do they just let Martin coach it, or do they go and find someone from outside the organization? Any ideas on a new GM too?

[Ruki]

I know I personally (as an Armchair GM of the Leafs) wouldn't give up much for Letang. He has a huge cap hit, and he just had a stroke...two very scary things to consider when trading for him.

[DMN in the House]

I didn't take a picture of it, but there's an awesome 'Go Kings Go' ad near my house, with a big ass black dog holding a dead duck in it's mouth.

[Hewey]

Come on, Montreal!

[Plubby]

What did the Bruins do that made Montreal the least evil of the two?!

[Hewey]

What did the Bruins do that made Montreal the least evil of the two?!

Swept the Pens.

No, I just don't care too much for the Bruins and a lot of their guys, and Montreal's never bothered me. I'm also a fan of Price.

[Hewey]

3-1! Briere gets a goal off of Chara!

[Plubby]

Montreal is the embodiment of evil.

[Hewey]

Montreal is the embodiment of evil.

Whoa, lets not be over dramatic, we all know Philly is the true embodiment of evil.

So anyone predicting who's going to take it all this year? I really think we're getting Montreal/Chicago in the finals with Chicago repeating. I think LA ends up beating Anaheim, but Chicago will beat them again. I just don't see these remaining teams beating the Blackhawks this year.

[Plubby]

Philly is a thousand times better than Montreal. And 500 times better than Pittsburgh.

[RPS]

I'm so pissed that I live so far away from Montreal these days that I can't visit for a game. The atmosphere is going to be electric for the next round.

[Pizza]

Montreal is the embodiment of evil.

Whoa, lets not be over dramatic, we all know Philly is the true embodiment of evil.

So anyone predicting who's going to take it all this year? I really think we're getting Montreal/Chicago in the finals with Chicago repeating. I think LA ends up beating Anaheim, but Chicago will beat them again. I just don't see these remaining teams beating the Blackhawks this year.

You don't see how a team that dropped two to Minnesota is beatable? I think Chicago is the best team left, but I wouldn't be more than 60% confident in any series.

[Plubby]

Montreal is the embodiment of evil.

Whoa, lets not be over dramatic, we all know Philly is the true embodiment of evil.

So anyone predicting who's going to take it all this year? I really think we're getting Montreal/Chicago in the finals with Chicago repeating. I think LA ends up beating Anaheim, but Chicago will beat them again. I just don't see these remaining teams beating the Blackhawks this year.

You don't see how a team that dropped two to Minnesota is beatable? I think Chicago is the best team left, but I wouldn't be more than 60% confident in any series.

Minnesota were superhuman at home this postseason.

[Hewey]

Montreal is the embodiment of evil.

Whoa, lets not be over dramatic, we all know Philly is the true embodiment of evil.

So anyone predicting who's going to take it all this year? I really think we're getting Montreal/Chicago in the finals with Chicago repeating. I think LA ends up beating Anaheim, but Chicago will beat them again. I just don't see these remaining teams beating the Blackhawks this year.

You don't see how a team that dropped two to Minnesota is beatable? I think Chicago is the best team left, but I wouldn't be more than 60% confident in any series.

Minnesota were superhuman at home this postseason.

Not to mention, Chicago came back from their losses and put them away. I'm not saying it's a guarantee that Chicago will easily put away the remaining teams, but I'd definitely pick them over the ones that are left.

[Cole]

Chicago/MTL original six final, book it.

[Hewey]

So nhl.com has a article on the Bruins/Canadiens game and Lucic apparently threatened some of the Montreal players in the handshake line.

[Cole]

So nhl.com has a article on the Bruins/Canadiens game and Lucic apparently threatened some of the Montreal players in the handshake line.

This doesn't surprise me one bit to be honest.