The NHL Topic!

McWhiskey · 2010-02-08 04:32

gigeure already proving he was worth the trade and phaneufs starting to play like he was in his rookie season. i think the trades were enough to slap em in the face and get them both going again. i know its early but i still think this is a great beginning for the leafs.

SLF · 2010-02-08 06:01

The Leafs are gonna deal more...

McWhiskey · 2010-02-08 06:06

they need to dump kaberle. i know burke says he wont but he will after his no trade clause is up.

after all the trading going on recently there's going to be nothing left to do at the deadline. Sad

robotron · 2010-02-08 21:05

Ovechkin is too fucking good.

AmericanSkin · 2010-02-08 21:05

we fired our coach. i was stunned, but we haven't lost since we did.

thesean366 · 2010-02-09 02:14

scott hartnell's such a piece of shit.

choude · 2010-02-09 05:05

what do you guys think about the break for the Olympics do you think there should be one or should they just play with the missing players. me and my friends have been arguing for this for a while. I think the nhl should take a break because teams like the black hawks are going to be missing there entier first line. and San Jose is loseing there first line forwards so half the teams will be playing with there ahl rosters and the games will be boring

McWhiskey · 2010-02-09 05:15

why shouldn't they take a break? if they agreed to allow their players to play in the olympics all they'd be doing is putting lower quality hockey on the ice with no benefit as everyone would want to watch the powerhouse teams like russia and canada instead.

it works out fine i think. the all-star format we have now is a joke anyway, so i don't see why anyone would miss it when the olympics are on. not to mention it gives injured players two weeks to recuperate as well as a nice reprieve for non-olympic players to rest at home and see their families.

seeing as how this is likely the last year the nhl will be letting their players participate, i don't really see it as much of an issue to take a two week break every four years and condense the scehdule a bit to fit in the 82 games. it may suck for vancouver to have to go on a 13 game road trip but they're getting 13 of 41 road games out of the way in a small amount of time. they'll just have more home games now to wind down the season and less travel to wear them down going into the playoffs.

SLF · 2010-02-09 06:41

The fun part about the two week break, besides the awesome international hockey, is the trades post-break. 3 days to do them...

That said, Russia for gold. I've been saying this for the better part of 2009 into 2010, and they ended up ranked 1st...you really can't top their offense.

McWhiskey · 2010-02-09 06:57

offense isn't everything...

also, getzlaf left the game tonight with a sprained ankle. i hope he's healthy for the olympics. losing him would be a big blow.

SLF · 2010-02-09 07:09

McWhiskey · 2010-02-09 07:58

Canada's goaltending is much better. Brodeur goes without saying, but Fluery has really come into his own the past couple years with two cup finals and a cup win under his belt. Varlamov's rather unproven and Bryzgalov may be above average but he crumbled in the playoffs with the Ducks. Nabokov has yet to really make an impact in the NHL playoffs recently as the Sharks continue to fold under the pressure, though he is undoubtedly a great player.

not to mention the defense Canada has in front of the goalies. Niedermayer has an olympic gold, world championship, world junior championship, world cup of hockey, and four stanley cups. Drew Doughty is a triple threat with good offensive and defensive skills and challenging physical play. Pronger is another proven international player with a great shot and good defensive awareness. I'd call Russia's defense in comparison to be average at best.

Russia's biggest threat is their offense, which Canada has the ability to shut down. Canada has six forwards in the top 20 of NHL scoring. The Marleau, Thornton, Heatley combination not only have a ton of points but the advantage of team chemistry from playing for the sharks. not to mention the fact that Canadians like Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron - who have great chemistry and experience internationally - shut down Ovechkin and Malkin completely in the IIHF world juniors and outshone them.

Crosby and Ovechkin have played 17 games against each other since coming into the NHL. Crosby has more points and more wins than ovechkin, as well as elminimating him and the caps from the playoffs before going on to win the cup. So this is just purely opinion but in a winner take all game i think Crosby would come out on top against his rival from russia.

SLF · 2010-02-09 08:43

McWhiskey · 2010-02-09 08:48

you mean the world championships, where canada's best players are usually still in the NHL playoffs?