NHL 2008-2009 season and the 3rd jerseys! - Page 2

Who's Sutter? I really thought that the future of the NHL was Ovechkin and Malkin.

No sarcasm at all. Future-wise, I'd be thinking of Anze Kopitar, or Patrick Kane or but that Sutter guy? Never heard of him. I'll look into it.

Ha Brodeur is a fat load, but a pretty awesome goaltender, even at the age of 58.

Brodie's out for 4 months. I can't see NJ winning too many games in that time frame, which is great. The Devils haven't had this happen to them since Brodie joined the club. Poor shmucks.

Then again, it's a modern day miracle that it didn't happen sooner or more frequently. The guy is pretty much the Glenn Hall of the latest era.

Yeah. He was a legend just by his health status alone. But he's getting older, so there's that to consider. Will Khabibulin end up in NJ?

Good call. I was thinking Halak, myself. Habs need a 4th D-man.

Yeah. There's a couple of good ones out there. Beauchemin, Bouwmeester, Aucoin... Halak could be trade material indeed.

Beauchemin & Bouwmeester are both pretty good ideas that won't take too much prying if the price is right. I just don't think the Canadiens can afford to cast off anyone aside from Halak or MAYBE Sergei Kostitsyn. If they give up Halak AND someone else, there better be TWO excellent D-men in the package.

I have a feeling the Leafs are gonna trounce les Bleu Blanc Rouge on Saturday. They're playing with zero expectations, and that's when they thrive.

You fucking pessimistic asshole. IT'S THE LEAFS!

No way the Habs are letting any Kostitsyn go, but if there's one, it might be him. Or Higgins, but I like both. I'm rather seeing a prospect or draft choice + Halak going somewhere. I know some wants McDonagh, but fuck that, he's the future at the blue line.

How about Alexander Semin this season? You think he keeps this pace up?

He now plays with Ovechkin. So, yeah.

...

He played with OV last year too was but wasn't on the pace he is this year. He's just got a twisted wrister and some great hands.

Well so much for Barry Melrose, I thought they would at least give him until the end of the month but Im not terribly sad to see him go. He's simply been away from coaching too long and all his strategies seemed like they were still coming from 1995. I think he saw this coming last week when he had his assistant coaches conduct practice before an away game so he could have some alone time in his hotel room. I know next to nothing about Rick Tochett as a (interim)coach but here's hoping he can get the Lightning back to at least appearing to be a professional hockey team and not muppets on ice.

EDIT: Awesome, the article on ESPN.com about this says Tochett was suspended for two years as part of a gambling scandal...go Bolts!

Well, at least Tochett knows hockey. Melrose didn't. The whole Tampa management is pure shite.

You know who was a steal? Marian Hossa. Guy's fucking good.

A steal? Are you serious? The guy cost an arm and a leg. He's good, but he's paid accordingly.

We're paying him 7.5 million on a one year contract. Turning down several multi year 9 million dollar offers. Let's say we got him below market value.

Because he doesn't want to stick at one place for too long in case the team sucks. It's purely business. Look at the farce he did in Pittsburgh.

You have to see why he did it. Detroit has a chance to get the Cup, and most players will accept a lower fee for it. Hossa is a mercenary.

The sport of nightly fistfights yet calling your ex "sloppy seconds" is what gets you suspended?

The guy was on watch for a while now. Avery is at best a retard who can practice basic boxing while skating. What he did was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The real loser here is Brett Hull, who paid a lot for the said retard. No wonder the Blues are still shitty.

Suspend him for something worthy of the punishment. Sloppy seconds isn't suspension worthy, its just a matter of fact statement

Whoops! It's the Stars! Still, the guy deserves all the shit he gets. Search a bit; these comments are a mere pretext to flog the fucker.

I just heard Sean Avery has now been fired for the sloppy seconds comment. If he was already on notice, I suppose this was the last straw, but I've heard athletes say far worse and keep their jobs.

Oiler win against Van. Groovy.

Yesterday's Habs game vs Carolina was ridiculous. It was Carolina, the refs and the Habs vs the Habs. Sure, there were some warranted penalties, but half of them were stupid beyond belief. I hate double standards in referring in any sport, and yesterday was a prime example. And even with the piss-poor referring, the Habs have the tendency to win against the best, and lose against the 2nd rate team like these. Had they played like they can, they would have smashed them easily.

I haven't kept up with Carolina since they won 06. Their lineup isn't any good eh?

Average. They're ok, but not like 2-3 years ago. Yesterday was a case of the referees having all the attention, which is detrimental, no matter the sport.

Ive noticed a distinct difference in the level of refereeing this season in general. When its against the Lightning you can only really chuckle since, well, they suck bad anyway and a penalty isnt making them any worse. But Ive seen lots more questionable calls on Versus as well the NHL Center Ice channel (which we were inexplicably given for free; Thanks Brighthouse!) than what I feel like were called in the past. Their are always questionable calls every year but it seems as though, as you said, its not consistent this year. Thats most often evident in things like goaltender interference calls. One time a goalie is barely touched and its a penalty and ten minutes later their is a guy "falling" on top of him and slow to get up and its nothing.

As an aside, its always been my belief that if you leave the paint as a goalie you should be fair game to get laid out. I like Mike Smith but if he wants to wander the ice at will he and any other goalie should be prepared to except the consequences of a goal getting scored on them while they lay on the ice collecting their wits. Ive never understood why the most armored person on the ice needs to be babied. Protect him if hes in front of the net playing his position, if hes busy behind it then he better keep his head on a swivel for the hit thats coming.

I agree, but touching the goalie anywhere on the ice is a death sentence on yourself. The entire opposing them will seek to kill you, for a reason. Ask Perezoghin, a former bitchy player who played for the Habs, when he did a cheap shot at Carey Price at a game. The man was getting destroyed by everyone, even Kovalev.

Stall is great, Ruutu is a talented asshole, and Samsonov is garbage.

Staal is the team, and Sutter is the next one.

Man...just as we say something about bad officiating I see the worst of it tonight. The Lightning actually play a good game, especially Mike Smith just to get to the shoot out. On the second shot he blocks the shot but drops his stick in the process and they award a goal. Martin St. Louis on the third missed so the Aves end up winning, so much bullshit.

Samsanov was OK in Boston.

Heh, just realized you're a Les Habitantes fan....since I root for the Bs, that makes us natural enemies.

What round of the playoffs do you think the Canadiens sweep the Bruins in this year?

Quick FYI just so's you aren't completely mystified...the Preds AHL affiliate is in Milwaukee (the Admirals), so I keep an eye cocked to what Nashville is doing.

Anyway, the former Ads had a banner night - Rich Peverly assisted on the lone goal, and G Pekka Rinne posted a shutout.

Good thing the Blackhawks are good again and have a star player because Wrigley is starting to look great.

Damn Ducks.

BIG, BIG win for us. We did need it.

Did not really want to start a new thread and this IS hockey related.

Has anyone else been watching the World Juniors? Canada looks to get their 5th in a row. 15-0 yesterday!

US started strong against the Czechs but barely held on for the win.

On to NHL talk:

Harley commented earlier about Avery leaving. Personally, I feel what he said was not that bad. However, listening to the players, they have said this was the last straw. He was a cancer and no one liked him (Except Hull).

I am not sure how related it is but since Avery has been gone the Stars have played pretty good. They are nowhere near the level they were at last year, but they have improved significantly. I love my Stars, but I see them hitting the tees early this year.

I'm rather pissed off at your Stars at the moment. >(