If anyone forgot, The puck drops tonight!

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:40 am

From what I have read about Therrien, it sounds like this could finally be the end of "Club Mario". Now it is time to get rid of the guy that hired Olcyzk in the first place.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:34 pm

Poor Eddie O. He was a favorite Hawk of mine growing up.

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:33 pm

HipE wrote:From what I have read about Therrien, it sounds like this could finally be the end of "Club Mario". Now it is time to get rid of the guy that hired Olcyzk in the first place.

Well, with Recchi and LeClair absolutely stinking up the joint, they would be my first choices to hit the highway. As for Mario, it's way too obvious he is out there to save his investment, and now that he has thrown in the towel, he should retire again...

As for moving to KC, I'm not sure why, other than a new arena. As a 17-year resident of the area, KC is a Chiefs town (until they start to suck) and college hoops (KU or MU). Everything else is a afterthought. Winnipeg should get the first shot, as the Winnipenguins would be a great team name. Maybe with Crosby it may change, but I don't see a real difference in the fan base of KC and Pittsburgh.

(Point of info for PK - the Scouts lasted TWO years. Yes, that should totally change your argument right there.

)

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 12:52 pm

Go back to Quebec City. That place will always be sold out.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:04 pm

Zlax45 wrote:Go back to Quebec City. That place will always be sold out.

Plus you get the great rivalry between the Nords and the Habs. I'm an Oilers' fan and am biased toward the Oilers-Flames rivalry, but the Habs-Nords probably was more fierce and savage.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:28 pm

Of course I'm happy because the Oilers won 5-4 in OT, but that Edmonton-Vancouver game last night was the best regular-season game I've seen all season.

Up and down the ice, maybe five whistles in the entire first period, great shots, great saves, nice moves, hits -- the game had everything but a scrap. Plus the Oil rallied from a 4-2 deficit to win in OT on a sweet shot by Peca, of all players!

P.S.: That save that Biron made to rob Pittsburgh in the last minute last night was beyond filthy. Absolutely ridiculous glove save, and this time it stayed behind the line unlike the other night!

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:12 pm

From the bizarre transactions file: Phoenix claimed Edmonton center Krys Kolanos off waivers today, just five weeks after the Coyotes put him on waivers, allowing Edmonton to pick him up.

Good riddance, as the guy was absolutely invisible on the ice for the Oil. But I hope he didn't sell his place in Phoenix!

Oil-Calgary tonight in the next round of the Battle of Alberta. Can't wait!

Take care,
PK

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:08 pm

pk500 wrote:From the bizarre transactions file: Phoenix claimed Edmonton center Krys Kolanos off waivers today, just five weeks after the Coyotes put him on waivers, allowing Edmonton to pick him up.

Good riddance, as the guy was absolutely invisible on the ice for the Oil. But I hope he didn't sell his place in Phoenix!

Oil-Calgary tonight in the next round of the Battle of Alberta. Can't wait!

Take care,
PK

That is pretty bizarre but what Blues GM Larry Pleau did a couple of years ago still ranks high on the list of bizarre transactions. The Blues acquired Brian Savage from Phoenix at the 2004 trade deadline for future considerations. Then during the offseason the Blues made good on their future considerations by making Savage himself the actual future considerations part of the deal sending him back to Phoenix to complete the transaction. The League actually conducted an investigation on this but nothing ever came of it.

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:54 am

Anyone look at Ottawa's stats?

Goals for = 132 (leads the league over Detroits 129)
Now here's the shocker,
Goals against = 63 (leads the league over Calgarys 78)

.

They remind me of the '95 Wings, where they broke all the records and then had a meltdown in the playoffs, then the Cups started rolling in.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:53 am

Just as shocking: Blue Jackets only 59 goals scored so far, 1.82 GFA.

That's bad by even the "old" NHL standards. The last two seasons the worst GFA's were 2.06 and 2.05.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:16 pm

JR needs to shut the f*ck up and face facts -- he's not the same player he was four years ago:

http://www.tsn.ca/olympics/news_story.asp?id=147642

But I was stunned at the selection of Chelios. The dude will be 44 in February. How can you take Chelios over Leetch? Only one reason -- Don Waddell has been Chelios' b*tch for many years now.

And Derian Hatcher? The guy is a mastodon on NHL ice surfaces. He'll be a f*cking slug on the larger international ice. Hatcher sucks, period.

And no Tim Connolly? The guy is the leading scorer for the Sabres and is having a breakout year. Why not take Connolly over Bill Guerin, who has done nothing this season for Dallas?

I sure hope the Keith Tkachuk who gives a sh*t shows up at Turin. Otherwise, he'll be a disruptive influence.

I hate to be a pessimist, but I look at the talent pool from which Canada has to draw and think there's no way the U.S. can win gold in Turin. There's not a single bonafide offensive sniper/stud on the U.S. team, as Gionta is the leading NHL scorer among Americans in 27th overall, and the defense doesn't really impress me that much. DiPietro will need to be absolutely superhuman for the U.S. to have a chance, in my opinion.

The only thing that will help the U.S. is if the international rules don't adapt to fit the NHL rules. International rules are more like the "old NHL," giving slow goons like Hatcher and Chelios a chance to chop and hack like throughout the 90s and early 2000s in the NHL.

Otherwise, players like Heatley, Spezza (if he's selected), Thornton, McCabe and Kariya will eat the U.S. and other teams alive.

Take care,
PK

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:06 pm

Call me a homer, but I'll respectfully disagree about Derian Hatcher. At the beginning of the season, he was awful, looking lost out on the ice. However, since Pitkanen and Desjardins have been injured, Hatcher has been a monster for the Philadelphia defense. Over the last month, he's logging over 26 minutes a game, and leads all NHL players with a +9. He's a +15 on the season. It looks like he's finally getting his legs back, and is getting a feel for what the refs will and will not allow. He makes up for his lack of speed by taking excellent angles to the puck.

I had my doubts about the signing, and considered him to be a bust after seeing his play earlier in the season. However, I've changed my stance. Derian Hatcher is one helluva defenseman.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:36 pm

I was happy to see Rolston back on the Olympic team. He's been one of the few offensive highlights for the Wild and is clearly more talented than everyone on the team other than Gaborik.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:14 pm

Sully:

I'll respectfully disagree, only because I consider plus-minus in hockey to rank right with saves in baseball as one of the most meaningless statistics in sports.

Plus-minus only means something within the team. It means nothing when comparing players from different teams.

Take Detroit, for example. The top Detroit player in plus-minus this season is Andreas Lilja, who is 20th overall in the NHL in plus-minus. How can that be, if Detroit has the second-highest point total in the NHL? Because Detroit has scored 52 of its 129 goals (40 percent) this season on the power play, which doesn't count in plus-minus unless you're scored upon shorthanded.

I use Charlie Huddy as another example. Huddy was +62 as a rookie in 1982 for Edmonton. I'm almost positive that was the top plus-minus in the league that season for a defenseman. But was Huddy the best D man in the NHL that season? Was he even a Norris Trophy candidate? No.

What it meant was that Charlie Huddy was a solid defenseman for an offensive juggernaut in Edmonton.

And what about Mario Lemieux? He put up 100 points as a rookie in 1984-85 but was -35. Yet he still easily won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. Does that mean Mario sucked defensively? Well, he wasn't as good on D then as he was five years later or now, but that -35 really proved that Mario played on a really bad hockey team that season in Pittsburgh.

I hate plus-minus. A stupid stat that shows very little!

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:57 pm

Once JR shoots his mouth off, is pretty hard to stop him but I like him because he always tells it like it is even though he's not the same player he used to be. I still think he should have been selected to the team for the Olympics because of his experience, but maybe it's all political as he ditched the team during the Words' event the last few years.

The L. Robinson affair is quite strange as he cited stress and family reasons for quitting his coaching duties in NJ. L. Lamoriello is taking over as they look for a new coach. He run his first practice after 20 some years, go Lou! Devils have been struggling.

The EDM-VAn tilt over the weekend indeed was one of the better games this year but it's not a surprise when this 2 fast skating teams meet each other. The third period was unreal as the Oilers got like 3-4 PP in a row in a 9 minute lapse. Come on refs! The 1st two periods were almost whistle free, maybe they were compensating.

Can't wait for the revenge tomorrow and show those damn Oilers what the Canucks are all about.

Prayers for W. Gretzky and family as his mom passed away after fighting cancer. She was only 64. All the best, 99.

Neckthai · Post by **Neckthai** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Team Canada features Bertuzzi but Sid the Kid will be watching from home. Spezza and Eric Staal are alternates.

Read about it here:http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Conten ... 8793972154

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:51 am

Nice to see local boy (West Michigan) Mike Knuble get selected. I always liked him (he had some damn funny commercials here as a Wing) as he truly plays for the love of the game.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:56 am

Wade Redden over Bryan McCabe? I'd at least put McCabe on the active list so he could play on the power play.

Glad to see Regehr get selected for Canada. As an Oilers' fan, I hate Calgary, but that guy is a beast on defense.

Take care,
PK

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:56 am

Neckthai wrote:Team Canada features Bertuzzi but Sid the Kid will be watching from home. Spezza and Eric Staal are alternates.

No Shanny for the Maple Leaf either.

The only reason Chelios is on the US team(I guess) is that they didn't want to give the C to Mike Modano. Otherwise........?

Sully, you're a homer (you asked!). Hatcher is going to be used like a tool booth.

DiPietro better do his best impression on Mike Richter circa 95 if the US is even going to medal.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:24 pm

Team Canada decided to go with experience instead of kid Sid, who's guaranteed for a spot in 2010. Some names were left behind and people here are talking about team B which can easily be represented as well in the Olyimpics.

Back to the NHL, another great game between EDM-VAN last night, two teams with high octane offense and no goalie at all. Canucks miss Cloutier badly and they better get a deal soon.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:34 pm

10s:

I'm feeling pretty good about the first round of the playoffs if the Western Conference standings were frozen and we moved to April.

Edmonton (No. 6) vs. Vancouver (No. 3), and the Oil owns the Canucks right now!

You're right: It was a great game.

Take care,
PK

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 5:15 pm

I could spend the rest of this season just watching the Oilers, Flames, and Canucks play each other exclusively. It doesn't get any better than those matchups.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 6:24 am

tjung0831 wrote:I could spend the rest of this season just watching the Oilers, Flames, and Canucks play each other exclusively. It doesn't get any better than those matchups.

And another classic last night between the Flames & Canucks, back & forth non stop action, my team losing in a SO. That last minute save by Kiprusoff from his back with no idea where the puck was coming from was UNREAL!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 10:51 am

Don't look now, but the Oilers are in first place in the Northwest!

(Canucks have two games in hand, but no one has to know that.

)

Merry Christmas,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 11:24 pm

Just witnessed another sad loss for the Pens vs the Leafs. I know it's the holidays but I could see more toronto fans today than Pitts. What's the drive like from Ontario? 3-4 hours? Here's the problem with the Pens: They have NO identity as a team whatsoever. Especially with Mario missing in action, and with S. Crosby just being assigned as Assist. Captain, isn't that too much burden for an 18 year old kid?

Now for all you Pens fans that wanted Eddie O fired, has the new coach won any games yet? This team IMO needs an identity, a leader, with Lemieux gone and with all the veterans there, everyone seems to be just floating around. This team needs a wake up call.