If anyone forgot, The puck drops tonight!

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 11:01 am

Hey, a win in January is the same as a win in April

.

I agree they've had a rather cupcake schedule and this run will be a good measuring stick, especially since it's damn near a game every other night.

They should have great battles with Nashville, since right now whoever wins the division gets home ice throughout the playoffs and who finishes second falls to a 4 seed.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 11:09 am

pk500 wrote:LSkye:

Indeed, the upcoming schedule will be the true litmus test. Let's just say I haven't been blown away by the Wings until this point, at least not in the two Oilers' victories in their only matchups this season.

But hey, impressive win for the Wings over the mighty, mighty Blues last night.

Take care,
PK

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the Blues and his name is TJ Oshie. We also get possibly the #1 overall pick come June and Phil Kessel will be there for the taking. Not to mention the upcoming firesale here in the next 6-8 weeks. Weight, Sillinger, Brewer, and possibly even Jackman will land some good young forwards, while Sillinger, Young, Weinrich, Salvador, and McCammond will land some draft picks. It's been a bad year...we knew that going in but next year will be much different and we will have the cap room to add some quality UFA's. I'll gladly sacrifice this year for a shot at Phil Kessel.

Tim

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:40 pm

Jeez, watching your Blues must be like watching the Lions here, half way through the season you start looking towards next year with hope.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:52 pm

laurenskye wrote:Jeez, watching your Blues must be like watching the Lions here, half way through the season you start looking towards next year with hope.

Well not totally true....This is just a one year thing for the Blues, it's pretty much every year with your Lions.

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:14 pm

Ooooohhhh! you got me!

but the lions did win some championships in the 50's...when's the last time the Blues hoisted the cup? HHHHmmm...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 8:52 pm

The Edmonton Oilers conducted their annual Super Skills competition today, with the team divided into Blue and White sides for various skills contests.

One of the contests was Hardest Shot. Defensemen Chris Pronger won with a blast clocked at 102.8 mph.

F*ck -- that is humming. Can you imagine being a goalie trying to stop that shot from 40 feet or so? DUCK!

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:04 pm

There was a note in the Star Tribune today about the Chicago Blackhawks that absolutely stunned me--in a town with three daily papers, no beat reporters were sent to cover the team on its recent road trip. F*ck, talk about falling off the radar!

I need to tune into more Golden Gopher games to watch Phil Kessel (and Blake Wheeler, for that matter).

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:01 am

Nothing is going right for the Blackhawks, with 10 losses in a row, the team is pathetic and there's no indication that things will change any time soon. With the Bulin wall still injured, his acquisition has been a total bust and definitely not worth the 6-7 big ones he earns per season. Once he gets healthy, they better trade him ASAP as the demand for Goalies is big while taking a chunk of his salary.

Colorado and Vancouver are shopping for a starter and the names of Biron and Theodore are heating up again.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:46 am

I can't see Buffalo dealing Biron, even if Miller is as good as advertised. Biron won what, 13 straight this year? Plus Buffalo is playing well, and you don't want to upset that chemistry.

I can't see Theodore moving, either. Yes, Huet is playing well as a backup, but he's only a year younger than Theodore. The Habs have two good goalies in their system in Carey Price and Yann Danis, but Price is 18. I'm not sure if I would be that comfortable with Huet and Danis as my goalies heading into the playoffs.

Danis has the lowest GAA among Habs' goalies this year in his six starts, but how much is he like Oilers goalie Mike Morrison, who was stellar in his first five or six NHL starts this year and then fell apart in his next two or three starts and is back in Greenville?

Time will tell.

If a big-name goalie is going to move, I think it's Luongo. Eric Duhatschek made a great point during the "Satellite Hotstove" on HNIC last Saturday: Turco's new deal has set the goalposts for Luongo. Turco just signed a deal paying him around $5.5 million per season. He and Luongo are very similar in stats and accomplishments during their careers, so Duhatschek thinks Florida will need to pay Luongo at least that.

Florida may balk at that number due to the new capology in the NHL, so Luongo may be shopped.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:06 am

While neither is considered a big-name goalie, I would be surprised if one of the two Wild netminders, Fernandez or Roloson, isn't traded. Fernandez at least was leading league in save % and GAA, so I'd think he would bring more in return. But neither one is exactly young...

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:09 am

Buffalo will deal either Biron or Noronen, who has already requested a trade. With Miller and Biron healthy, Noronen has been a healthy scratch. They can't send him back to the AHL because he'd have to clear waivers, which he wouldn't, since he's highly regarded.

Petr Sykora was dealt to the Rangers yesterday for young defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, and a 2007 4th rounder.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:25 am

My bet is Noronen. But who really needs him? He's a lot like the Oilers' Jussi Markkanen, a guy who's a solid goalie but not quite capable to be a consistent No. 1 in the NHL.

Take care,
PK

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:47 am

pk500 wrote:My bet is Noronen. But who really needs him? He's a lot like the Oilers' Jussi Markkanen, a guy who's a solid goalie but not quite capable to be a consistent No. 1 in the NHL.

Take care,
PK

I agree. Noronen is 25 or 26 years old, and seems to be nothing more than a capable backup. Perhaps Buffalo is hesitant to give up on him because he was a 1st round pick 8 years ago...

As for Biron, I think he's overrated. Sure, he won 13 games in a row at one point, but he's still sporting a GAA over 3.00, and a save percentage under 90%. Buffalo is trying to pass this guy off as one of the better goalies in the league. Whichever team acquires him, is going to give up much more than what he is worth.

With long term injuries to Briere and Dumont, the Sabres may have no choice but to deal the goaltender with more value, which in this case is Biron.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:53 am

pk500 wrote:My bet is Noronen. But who really needs him? He's a lot like the Oilers' Jussi Markkanen, a guy who's a solid goalie but not quite capable to be a consistent No. 1 in the NHL.

Take care,
PK

I don't think so because he wouldn't land what Biron might be able to get them. Biron could land them a pretty good defensemen or with Briere out until April a center such as Doug Weight. They probably wouldn't even have to trade Biron to land Weight, we'd take one of their young forwards and a draft pick. With the right addition the Sabres could be very dangerous come playoff time.

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:12 am

Buffalo HAS to trade either Biron or Noronen if only because once Briere/Dumont are healthy, there is no room on the roster for important pieces like Derek Roy and Jason Pominville. Unless Regier plans on sending Roy down(I can't see it happening), there isn't room for everyone. Eliminating one of the three goalies on the active roster is clearly the right move, and I hope it's Biron. He really is overrated. In that huge streak he had, Biron had 1 spectacular game, while the team was out of it's mind in the other games. I still love the guy, but they could hopefully use that 2 mil to get that defenseman that could send them on a Cup run.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:59 am

Is there a personality conflict between Miller and Biron because both think they're a worthy No. 1? Does Noronen think he's a worthy No. 1 (which is folly, by the way)?

If Biron and Miller don't get along, then maybe Biron should move because it sounds like neither wants to be a backup. As for Noronen, someone needs to sit him down and tell him he's not an NHL No. 1. He's dreaming otherwise.

Take care,
PK

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:13 pm

pk500 wrote:Is there a personality conflict between Miller and Biron because both think they're a worthy No. 1? Does Noronen think he's a worthy No. 1 (which is folly, by the way)?

If Biron and Miller don't get along, then maybe Biron should move because it sounds like neither wants to be a backup. As for Noronen, someone needs to sit him down and tell him he's not an NHL No. 1. He's dreaming otherwise.

Take care,
PK

Biron and Miller get along great, but Biron has gone on record as saying he doesn't think the Sabres goaltender situation can carry on, as is, too long. Noronen just wants some playing time. The kid is relegated to watching hockey from a press box because the Sabres are out of options with him, thus the reason he's requested a trade.

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:15 pm

Biron/Miller seem to get along great. Biron's always been a great team guy, never one to complain. Miller is clearly Lindy's choice, and most Sabre fans agree. I think Biron would be a great backup, but Regier can probably get more for him than Mika. Noronen definitely thinks he can be a #1, and before this season, I liked him the most. I think he led the league he played in in GAA and SV% during the lockout. He definitely needs a fresh start, like Kiprusoff got in Calgary. He definitely has the talent to be someone's #1, but in Buffalo salary is always an issue, and Mika is still cheap.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:51 pm

Is there a better bargain in the NHL right now than Edmonton center Jarrett Stoll? The dude is making $501,600 this year and has 14 goals and 26 assists in 42 games. He's also No. 2 in the NHL in faceoff percentage at 61.8 percent.

The guy plays a regular shift, on the power play and shorthanded. Something tells me Stoll is going to add another digit to his paycheck next season.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:48 pm

Pk, It seems a forgone conclusion that Martin Biron is going to be moved at some point, and his value should be relatively high, so it will be interesting to see what the Sabres could land in return. An impact defenceman or, with Daniel Briere out for a couple months, the Sabres could use another scoring forward. Any acquisition the Sabres make will have to be the kind of player who plays both ends of the rink -- it just seems to be a pre-requisite to fit with Lindy Ruff. Throwing out a couple of names that could be of interest from teams that might have interest in Biron, how about Raffi Torres (Edmonton would probably prefer to offer Radek Dvorak) or Brendan Morrison?

Theodore is being shopped around because of his contract and the Habs are mediocre so far in the season and usually with a move or two at this time of the year, either you make your team better for the playoffs or start adjustting to the new Cap for next season.

Yeah, I think Luongo will be moved too, especially after Turco got ressigned for 4 more years and I don't think FLO will want to pay that amount of $$$. Funny thing with Turco is that he's been sttuggling since the contract extension and has been pulled out 3 games in a row with Hedberg finishing the games.

Tampa is another team looking for a a starting goalie and in the next couple of weeks, a big name or two will be moved. You want a good bargain? Still with the topic of goalies ,no other team is enjoying better their good drafting and fortune that the NY Rangers as H. Lundqvist is playing out of this world.

Finally, as a Canuck fan and knowing the cap salary of the team, the only name that would fit well in VAN is M. Fernandez.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:04 pm

Would Toronto move Tellqvist? That guy was unconscious Saturday night against the Oil.

But with Belfour approaching age 63, Toronto probably wants to keep Tellqvist.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:38 am

Hey PENS' fans this is what you can do to save the Franchise in PITTS.

http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html

or just call 717-787-2500

The following grim news comes from Mark Madden of ESPN Radio in Pittsburgh...a very connected guy with the Pens....

"After speaking to a source in Penguins upper management, I can report that the Penguins feel ZERO PROGRESS has been made in the attempt for a new arena.

The Penguins feel all the manufactured optimism by local politicians is just that, manufactured. All BS. All nonsense. Nothing concrete.

Furthermore, word has reached the Penguins that Gov. Rendell already has his excuse for NOT giving the Penguins the slots license, and it is..Well, if we give you one, we gotta give the Eagles one, and the Steelers one, and it just wouldn‚t be fair.. Oh, as opposed to giving selected teams free stadiums, and others NOT.

Also, the Penguins are already actively pursuing the sale of the teams to Boots DelBiagio, who would move the team to Las Vegas. Everything will be in place when the slots license gets turned down."

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:51 am

Boots DelBiagio. No Mob ties with that name, right? Especially since he's moving the team to Vegas, of all places?

Nah ...

The Las Vegas Dons, coming to the NHL soon.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:22 pm

The Lightning waived Dave Andreychuk today. Looks like it's the end of the road for a great player.

At least Tampa management had enough class not to require Andreychuk to report to the AHL if he cleared waivers. Andreychuk will be paid the rest of his salary this season, another class move.

I can't imagine anyone picking up a 42-year-old center who is a slow skater. He just doesn't fit in the "new NHL."

Too bad. Andreychuk was pure class and a fine player and leader.

Take care,
PK

nyisles16 · Post by **nyisles16** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:24 pm

maybe the Isles could use him.. they seem soft & need some grit.. something they lost when they decided to keep the money stealin' Yashin..