Official Hockey discussion thread

The Hawks are scary. I still don't want to make a prediction, but barring an upset surprise, they should go deep. I want to know what the fuck the Islanders are thinking? They've been making questionable decisions for over a decade. Starting with offering Alexei Yashin a 10-year deal (which he didn't complete), followed by giving Dipietro a 12 (or 15?) year deal of which he's spent 80% of it injured, yet still collecting a paycheck. Recently they claimed Nabokov off of waivers which he resented so much he sat out last season (he wanted to play in Detroit) and didn't care about the fine levied against him. He's playing this year, but he is an elderly (past 36) goalie past his prime, still very good, but not for much longer and now they traded for Tim Thomas. A GREAT move by the Bruins, clearing cap space, moving an elderly goalie (over 40) who might not return to the game. That leaves boston with Rask as #1 and a good prospect as back up while the Islanders have a #1 pick who is made of glass and is yet to fulfill his potential, and two geasers past their prime, IF Thomas returns.

The Islanders do have some potentially great players in Tavares, Grabner and Okposo and out of NOWHERE surprises like Matt Moulson who was like the 240th pick and has been a 30 goal scorer for three seasons now. Not to mention Mark Streit on D with Lubomir Visnovsky . But they are far from having a complete young team like the Oilers. But with, IMO, are bone-head trades like this one... They'll go nowhere.

Boston has done VERY well in the past few years, trading Raycroft while he was a hot commodity as well as Kessel getting Seguin with the draft pick, getting Chara from OTT, getting lucky with Thomas having a late revival and of course gaining Rask who was already playing pro in Finland and was always primed to be #1. I'm glad they traded Thomas, an aging goalie, and giving Rask (25) a chance to be #1, before they had to trade him, because he wasn't going to play second fiddle for long.
 
I don't know about the worst, we also have Columbus and Atlanta may have moved to Winnipeg, but they still have the same guys. Washington is good on paper, but they're tailspining badly. They're like a trainwreck, I feel horrible, but I can't stop watching them fail over and over. But out of all of those teams, the Islanders BY FAR have made the worst deals, with Toronto a close second.
 
Islanders had to get Thomas if they didn't want to lose draft picks for being under the cap floor. How fucked up is that?
 
Yeah, I did see that, it being a salary cap move by both teams yet still legal as Thomas is technically still an active "hockey asset." In other words, seems both teams do not expect him back.
 
My Sabres fired the second-longest-serving coach in North American sports.
Lindy Ruff has been in my life as long as my children.

The team is playing like a team that needed to fire its coach but I'm still stunned.
 
Expectations are higher than the talent warrants and the fan base is as close to open revolt as I've seen it.
When it gets like that the coach pays the price, even if he is a good coach, even if it is in Buffalo.
 
It has to be a perfect storm of those things. Lindy Ruff. I'd be less shocked if it was Barry Trotz, you know?
 

The shot was low and hard and cemented the Blackhawks' spot in the history books.
When Brandon Saad rifled the puck past goaltender Antti Niemi early in the third period Friday night at the United Center, the rookie propelled the Hawks to a 2-1 victory over the Sharks and continued a streak for the ages.
Viktor Stalberg also scored and Ray Emery was impressive in goal again as the Hawks finished their 17th consecutive game to start the season without a regulation loss, the longest such streak in league history.
Click to expand...


This has been fun to watch
 
Congrats to the Hawks! holy crap!

Also, can't say I called it, because I didn't, buuuut: The Islanders have placed Dipietro on waivers, if he clears he'll be demoted to their AHL affiliate. Whoever claims him has to deal with 8 years of his ridiculous contract. He's no Alexander Dailge (sp?) but what a disappointment as a #1 pick. He spent more time in IR than on the Ice....
 
I'd take DiPietro at 2.25 million a year for 8 years. That's good money for a backup, and he'd be a lot more healthy playing 20-30 games a year behind Carey Price.

Also, since the Isles can't bury more than 900,000 of a contract in the minors, it's entirely likely that DiPietro is going there to try to get some games under his belt before he's bought out.
 
He would be a good back up, you're right, but is it at 2.25M a year? This is before front loaded contracts so it was $4M a year, was it not?
 
I am not really sure how this is any better (is not worse) than the existing system, though for me it might mean some extra Hawks games here in Dallas.


The National Hockey League’s plan for realignment would shrink the league’s six divisions to four and add playoff wild-card spots for the playoffs, reports ESPN.com.
The report says that the NHL sent a memo to all 30 teams on Tuesday. The new setup would have divisional instead of conference playoffs. Each division winner with the most points in the regular season would play the lowest-seeded wild card team in the 1st round, and the other division winner plays the other wild-card.
Here is how the conferences would stack up. The plan must be approved by the league’s board of governors.
The Eastern Conference would feature the Atlantic and Central divisions while the Western Conference would have the Mid-West and Pacific divisions.
The Pacific Division would feature Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver.
The Mid-West: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.
The Central: Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto.
The Atlantic: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington​
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Better for Detroit and Columbus, I guess, but...I'm really not sure about it myself. Sounds like they want to expand in the west as well.
 
I'd rather have Chicago and Detroit in the same division ... but not knowing how they will schedule, I am not sure if it is a big deal or not
 
They should have left Detroit with the Hawks in the Norris (I'd love it if they brought back the old names) and left a spot open in the Adams for a second Toronto team. The other expansion squad should be Seattle in the Smythe.
 
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