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5-2, 6-4,...is the next game going to be 7-6 or 7-8? The goaltending is obviously what will determine how far the hawks go, and it's already not looking too hot. But they should be at least a 4 seed. Leddy has looked particularly good so far.
I'm not sure what to do about the goalie situation. I'd think a packing including Sharp & Hjalmarsson could get you an elite goaltender, but who do you target? Goalie performance seemingly fluctuates so much.
Depends on what you mean as an elite goalie. Myself, I only count Lundqvist, Rinne, Quick and possibly Miller as elite and that package wont get it done for any of those. After that group, you are looking at Halak, Howard, Lethonen, Price and Kipper, and again I don't see that working. Unless Tea Party decides to come back before next season, or they get in on Strombone(before Schneider's play drops even more); not really much out there for possible elite goalies. Only ones I can see available are Bernier, Elliott, or one of the 3 Wild golaies(Backstrom, Harding, Hackett); but really they are all unproven (aside from Backstrom, you know what you are getting there). Might be better to offer a bag of pucks to the Isles to take Dipietro and hope he stays together for the remainder of his 20 year contract.
I think the problem for the goalies is the defense pairings are unfamiliar. The games I've seen so far have featured a lot more open play and guys coming in on net freely. It also seems that rebounds aren't being cleared as efficiently as they usually are.
They reportedly tried to get Bernier several times but the Kings wanted a fortune.
Could he be going to Chicago?
For the same reason, I think the Canucks have to move Luongo. They're also at $60 for next year, but they have to replace their entire 3rd and 4th lines.
Which brings me to the point I came here to ask: do we know the specifics on the "amnesty buyouts" yet? Are they simple, that player no longer counts against the cap?
I would not trade Sharp, much less him and Hjalmarsson, for any of the goaltenders that are currently available. A pickup like Vokoun in the offseason would have been nice, but the Hawks already sort of tried that plan before with Marty Turco, and that didn't go so well. Anyway, Emery is basically here for that role, except he's not as good and costs half as much.
They're probably stuck in goal with what they have. I don't even know that the Hawks could absorb or swap a lousy contract for someone like Luongo.
On the bright side, there's no reason to flip out two games into the season.
That $60 mil does inlcude Olesz's and Frolik's contracts for next year. That is about 5.5 mil there if those players go back in a trade or 4.5 mil if bought out this summer. If they were to get Strombone, I doubt they would keep Crawford around to be a 2.6 mil backup; so the room looks like it is there.
Or just buy those 2 out and make a run at Nic Backstrome, Jimmy Howard or Mike Smith in the offseason.
Funny thing is, his contract is over only a year before Dipietro's and only 800,000 more per year. Talk about albatros deals.
To my knowledge - the buyout doesn't count against a team's cap, but whatever that amount was is included in the player's share of the Hockey Related Revenue. (Which I think comes into play in the whole escrow thing at the end of a season).
Edit: Capgeek.com seems to indicate it's a whole hell of a lot more complicated than that. I don't the CBA's even been finished yet, so there may not be a good answer yet for us.
hartnell - giroux - voracek
talbot - laughton - simmonds
fedotenko - couturier - read
mcgynn - schenn - wellwood
i do not really like anything about that. the three worst players on the roster are probably mcgynn, fedotenko, and wellwood, and i would have really preferred those three being hidden on the fourth line, rather than dispersed alongside schenn and couturier. i guess the thinking behind putting mcgynn on schenn's wing is that they played together in the AHL prior to the end of the lockout, but with the team struggling, i'd think the smart move is to stack your top three lines and then just hope the 4th line can give you 5-10 minutes without getting scored on.
my gut feeling is that the flyers will wake up tomorrow 0-3, but i'm not really confident in that being accurate.
Being a Devils fan, and believing the Flyers' problems are lack of scoring depth and questionable defense, I wholeheartedly endorse this plan.
the flyers have given up 8 goals, but 2 have been empty netters and another 4 have been on the PP. bryz hasn't been great, but he's played miles ahead of where he was last year.
and it's not like carter and richards were even the best players on the kings. they were firmly behind kopitar, brown, doughty, and quick in terms of playoff contributions, as good as giroux is, the flyers didn't have anywhere near as much talent.
Sure. They got some good pieces back and could sign Bryzgalov, but here we are a year later complaining about how lousy Bryz is. I think at best the Flyers spun their wheels.
On the other hand, only team with 6 points is nice.
The Kings were one of the worst scoring teams in the league until they added Carter.
The penis jersey is of course the best.
Heh, nice way to put it. I've been pleasantly impressed with Crawford so far, and he's the biggest weakness on the team (come playoff time). If he can stay passable like this...
The Leafs have played well so far but they often start hot and cool down. Can't trust them.
Also, being a fan of the Mets and Leafs...ouch (as a Mets fan). Are you also a big Knicks and Redskins fan?
He was really good last year and the time he has missed have been unusual injuries. He broke his arm because he got hit by a Phaneuf slap shot.
Also, being a fan of the Mets and Leafs...ouch (as a Mets fan). Are you also a big Knicks and Redskins fan?
I am 49ers fan so things were bad before Harbaugh. I follow basketball but don't really have a team that I root for other than rooting against the Spurs, Lakers, and Celtics. I've been rooting for LeBron to win his first title so that the stupid talk about him being a choker would stop.
jesus this is gonna be a bloodbath.
hartnell - giroux - voracek
read - briere - schenn
talbot - couturier - simmonds
rinaldo - laughton - mcginn
i really want that 4th line to get together because i think it really helps a team to have a 4th line that's not just an energy line but a real crash line. i don't have a whole lot against wellwood or zolnierczyk, but 10 times out of 10, i'll take some physical bangers over them.
anyway, they outplayed the rangers by leaps and bounds in the 1st period, but couldn't score a goal, so they're even going into the 2nd period. and the lack of a goal also leaves them still without a goal on the season in the first period.
3 PP goals in one game, that's like a months total from last season! And the final shot count was 41-23.
3:47 Ladislav Smid: 2 Minutes for Cross checking Dustin Brown
7:09 Ladislav Smid: 2 Minutes for Delaying Game - Smothering Puck
9:54 Ladislav Smid: 2 Minutes for Instigator Jordan Nolan (Served by Teemu Hartikainen)
9:54 Ladislav Smid: 2 Minutes for Instigator - Face Shield Jordan Nolan (Served by Teemu Hartikainen)
9:54 Ladislav Smid: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Jordan Nolan
9:54 Ladislav Smid: 10 Minute Misconduct
And the Kings went 0 for 4 on the resulting PPs.
Justin Abdelkader's grandfather may have been Muslim but I don't think he identifies himself as such.
My favorite part of it was after his slide he remembered he played for the Oilers and proceeded to fall face first and cry.
The power play's been producing, but I don't know that I think it's been significantly better than last year, just luckier. Sharp's goal came after a minute and a half of depressing failure to even get into the zone. They look good once they get set up, but that only happens half the time.
That game had a whole bunch of weird penalties, from Smid's Smothering Puck and Instigator - Face Shield to a Faceoff Violation minor. Plus multiple Too Many Men on the Ices and a 4 minute High Sticking. A bonanza for rulebook nerds.
A lot of work still needs to be done on the pp and pk units but cant complain about the start of the season
The team allowed more even strength shots than they took when he was on the ice. That's not a realy good player reardless of whatever strengths he has.
The team allowed more even strength shots than they took when he was on the ice. That's not a realy good player reardless of whatever strengths he has.
I think that's a poor way to evaluate players.
The hockey analyst community has moved away from goal based metrics to shot based metrics to a large degree. The advantages of a shot based metric is:
- larger N. (particularly in include missed and blocked shots)
- eliminates the impact of goaltending.
- better future correlation than goal ratio
It does lose some pecision particularly in terms of players who generate higher quality shots, however, on a seasonal basis most think that is overcome by the larger n, additionally, their is readily available shot based metrics that adjust for various contexts. Shot based metrics right now are the best measure of puck possession available.
This is a good summary:
http://www.fearthefin.com/2012/8/10/3232773/non-traditional-metrics-glossary-corsi
In re to Lupul, even if you through the advanced metrics out play by play analysis indicates he wasn't driving the play on his line:
http://theleafsnation.com/2012/3/5/who-made-who-kessel-and-lupul
That check by Backes in the STL-DET game that got him a misconduct might not have been a hit to the head, but it was a textbook late hit.
when i look at the best things about the first 10 games of this season, i'm looking at kurtis foster and bruno gervais not being horrendous, i'm looking at tye mcginn having come out of nowhere to earn his minutes on the top line, and i'm looking at ilya bryzgalov playing out of his gourd, but doing it on a team that can't score, whereas if he'd have played like this last year, he might have won a conn smythe.
Based on the Caps' pace last year, it'd be 53. If the short season means more teams play for overtime and 1 guaranteed point, it might be more like 55 or something.
And speaking of the Hawks, I hope Kane's scoring and the undefeated streak doesn't convince Q that the Sharp-Bolland-Kane line is anything other than a disaster. It does nothing well and neutralizes both their best pure offensive player and their best defensive forward. Knowing Q, it probably wouldn't last even if it was a great line, but it's frustrating to watch for now.
In 94-95 50 was pretty much the threshold. But the inflated point totals of the shootout push it a little higher. I agree that 55 is more like it.
They have been amazingly unproductive given the talent level. Their corsi numbers are horrific, in double digit negatives despite very favorable zone starts.
Which is funny to complain about when Kane is 3rd in the league in points. But he's mostly been scoring when not with his regular linemates, and they've been responsible for a big chunk of the goals against.
I mean, I realize that they just put that WATCH: before videos, but sheesh. If they're gonna have headlines like that it should be WATCH: Man gets hit in groin with puck.
yeah, that was matt cooke. he gets no benefit of the doubt there. i'm sure he'll be suspended for a whole 2 games for doing it, but he should not ever step on NHL ice again.
It would astound me if that was purposeful. I can't stand the Pens or Cooke either, but I can't see how it's anything worse than reckless.
The interesting thing now is whether they will increase or mandate use of kevlar in the socks.
I agree. I've watched the replay a couple dozen times, and I can't wrap my mind around how that wasn't a dirty play by Cooke. I doubt he was trying to cut Karlsson's achilles--I don't think Cooke is skilled enough to pull that precise a maneuver off--but it doesn't look to me like he was merely off balance. He picked his foot up and brought it down. I watch players pin players against the boards all the time, and Cooke was doing more than that.
I have to hand it to Matt Cooke though. He puts the artistry in cheap shots, getting away with one even while all eyes are watching him.
Probably because Toews hates Thorton, kind of like how he hates Backes. A lot of people suspect Thorton was who concussed Toews last year.
Laviolette has his faults but the front office is the much larger problem. So they'll fire Lavy instead of Holmgren because they're stupid.
Oh, no way. Richards, Carter, and van Riemsdyk are all gone because of Laviolette. I don't think that Holmgren has been the one steering the ship since the Cup run in 2010.
No they're not.
Snider's been, but Holmgren has done nothing to warrant keeping his job.
And if they're gonna get rid of him, they should have done it in the offseason, and Darcy Tucker should ride shotgun.
Using the previous re-alignment list, there are three changes (the names were made up by me):
Snowbird Conference (
78 teams): Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Tampa, Florida, DetroitNYC-Based-Rivalry-Maintenance Conference (
78 teams): NY Islanders, NY Rangers, NJ Devils, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Carolina, ColumbusNorris Conference (
87 teams): Chicago,Detroit, St. Louis, Minnesota, Winnipeg, Dallas, Nashville,Columbus, ColoradoLatenight Conference (
87 teams): San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton,ColoradoPretty much the same, except that the whiner's in Detroit and Columbus both get their way, and it makes future re-alignment (like PHX->YQB much more difficult).
As a Blackhawks fan, I hate it for many reasons:
-It destroys the Detroit-Chicago rivalry, which is both ancient and both teams have been excellent recently. IMO, DET-CHI games are the best hockey games of the last few years, since both teams are fast and skilled and low on shenanigans.
-The playoffs will be mind-numbing and talent-negating, with MORE THAN HALF of the teams in the 7-team conferences making the playoffs, and then having to play each other for two full rounds. I groan at the idea of playing the same teams over and over, not as the result of skill but just systematically.
-The above makes the regular season meaningless in some of the conferences.
-The odd-sized conferences are still there and nothing has been resolved, only now the conferences are even more unbalanced. The east-coast bias will be even more in effect.
-The Blackhawks now have a HUGE competitive advantage in their conference.
The first two are the Dry Island casualties, and Laviolette could find a reason to criticize JVR over anything. Holmgren has done what he can with getting Voracek (who would be third in the league in scoring without his dreadful first week and a half) and Simmonds.
Conference Teams Total 2-year spendingAverage of 2-year Average of this year S.D. of 2-yearSnowbird 8 $975.2 $61.0 $61.8 $4.2
NYC 8 $968.3 $60.5 $60.8 $5.9
Norris 7 $781.6 $55.8 $58.2 $5.0
Latenight 7 $855.5 $61.1 $60.9 $5.1
And my point about the Blackhawks, other than Chicago, the entire conference is small markets. The only other team with a market more than half as big as Chicago is Dallas, who have a pauper owner. The only big-spending team is Minnesota, and that's a new thing. Winnipeg is CANADIAN!!1! but has an AHL arena and a tiny market.
Team 2-year Average This year Last year TV Homes (late 2011)Chicago Blackhawks » $63.6 $67.0 $60.2 3,493,480
Colorado Avalanche » $51.2 $53.0 $49.4 1,548,570
Dallas Stars » $53.6 $57.3 $49.9 2,571,310
Minnesota Wild » $62.4 $68.9 $55.8 1,721,940
Nashville Predators » $53.2 $54.1 $52.2 1,024,560
St. Louis Blues » $52.3 $49.6 $54.9 1,253,920
Winnipeg Jets » $54.6 $57.5 $51.8
I like the 4 teams per conference playing through like they did in the 80s. Familiarity breeds contempt and I think that's one of the things that creates a real hatred and a fun rivalry.
Because the entire thing is a shell game? If it were a real geographic re-alignment, the Canadian teams wouldn't be thrown together with the Florida teams and Detroit would be in the Central. Instead, it's a short-sighted move based on quieting some whiny owners (Mike Illitch, Stinger the Blue Jacket) and maximizing US TV ratings (Rangers, Penguins, Flyers, Capitals).
The reason the NHL would give is that Nashville is CST.
and w/r/t the conferences, my preference would be for something like this:
(CHI, DET, MIN, BUF, WPG, TOR, MTL, OTT) - you get 4 of the original 6 plus 4 canadian teams in the same group.
(PIT, PHI, NYR, NYI, NJD, BOS, WAS) - you keep the atlantic division together and add washington and boston which gives you a potentially stacked BOS/PHI/NY/WAS rivalry (one that no other sport has, btw)
(FLA, TB, CAR, NSH, DAL, STL, CLB) - out of sight out of mind
(LAK, ANA, COL, CGY, VAN, EDM, SJ, PHX) - you get 3 canadian teams, plus the southwest, plus colorado.
and then, when the playoffs come, i think you ditch any divisional/conference alignment and just put the teams in one big pot where 1 plays 16, 2 plays 15, and so on.
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