Official Hockey discussion thread

A cup is no longer a reason to stay. The Pens have two and if it weren't for Super Mario they'd be in Kansas dodging tornados with Dorothy and Toto. The Bolts and the Canes are a fucking joke. They honestly got lucky. Both teams crumbled after their cup years and haven't done crap since. Even the pens are having playoff hangover.

Though I mostly blame it on the current sports culture. Back in the day it was easier to retain players. Now... well Hossa and Conklin are great examples. Back in the 80's they would have been publicly hung for what they did, now nobody cares.
 
Free Agency has made it impossible to retain a player for their  entire careers. There are rare exceptions such as Sakic, Yzerman and probably Brodeur, but even Wayne Gretzky was traded because Peter Pockington was afraid to loose him to free agency. I mean, if Gretz had stayed in Edmonton it is highly conceivable the Oilers would have won 6 or 7 Stanley Cups in their dynasty, maybe even  8. The Whalercanes were lucky that Roloson got hurt during the finals, because the Oilers would have beaten them. 
 
LooseCannon said:
Whoa, pal.  Gretz was under contract till 96.
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Are you sure, because Gretz himself stated in an interview that he would have been an unrestricted free agent at the time of the trade and that was a major considerarion in the trade. His contract with Edmonton was reworked numerous times during his tenure with the Oilers. His original contract was for 20 years. The motive by Pockington was money though. A little side note, he was traded on  my birthday.
 
I was exhausted too, but now I am refueled, refreshed and getting a little loaded. I guess I am ready to watch the All Stars!! :yey: But on a more semi serious note, was Gretz going to be an UFA during the 88-89 season. Him being traded during the off season has me completely confused. I googled it last night, but I can't really find out for sure. But the interview I saw was in the Ultimate Gretzky DVD. Bienvenue Montreal!!
 
East wins in a shootout!  Hahaha, not a bad game at all.  Kovy is the MVP!  Alright!  Go Habs go!

Now all they need to do is trade for Lecavalier....
 
I liked how they pararded all the Montreal Greats. No Patrick Roy though. That line up for the east was a conspiracy by the Quebecois. Lecavelier, St Louis, Marc Savard. Need I say more?
 
Canadians still make up most of the players in the league and are still the best players in the world. Quebec has also produced some of the best players at all positions, specifically goalie, so I'm not surprised.
 
:bigsmile: I loved this year's all star game!! Kovalev getting the MVP. King Henrick got lit up for 6 though. But, this leads me to think that  the Ghosts of Le Forum de Montreal have still not found thier way to the Bell Center. I would love to see another cup go to the Habs. My wife got a little frustrated about the PA going in out of english. I had to explain to her that in Montreal, French is the primary language. What is funny about that is she is part French Canadian. I love hearing the announcments and play by play in  Quebecois, it makes me long for those Quebec Nordique/ Montreal Canadian games -_-
 
Yeah, those were the days. Quebec got cheated when the Nordiques left for Colorado. Meh such is life and business.
 
I like the French.

"Tirer au but, c'est nous trente dans le saison, numero vingt-sept...Alex!  Ko!  Va!  Lev!"

And now all we need to do is finalize this rumoured trade with Tampa for Vincent Lecavalier.....
 
That would be AWESOME. If that comes through not only does it place the last nail in the tampa coffin, but it fortifies MTL enough to make a Cup run.
 
Montreal needs a puck moving D man, I mean Brisebois was good in his day, and so was Hamrlik, but they are getting old. Who would the Habs give up to get Lecavalier? Then what would Lawton do about St Louis? But after the Barry Melrose fiasco, I guess anything is possible in Tampa.
 
Montreal has a puck-moving defenseman.  His name is Andrei Markov.  We need someone on the point - a Souray or a Streit.  Lecavalier has a massive shot and would be welcome there, or it'd allow us to move someone like Tanguay or even Koivu back to the point.
 
But who do they give up to Tampa to get Vinny? Unless they can con Brian Lawton. And Markov is not the same calibur defenseman as Souray or Streit. That is evident, being able to get the puck up ice like they did is hindering them this year, they don't look as dangerously on offense as they did the past couple of seasons.
 
NigelTufnel said:
But who do they give up to Tampa to get Vinny? Unless they can con Brian Lawton. And Markov is not the same calibur defenseman as Souray or Streit. That is evident, being able to get the puck up ice like they did is hindering them this year, they don't look as dangerously on offense as they did the past couple of seasons.
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Markov *is* in the same caliber.  But the difference is the shot from the point.  Souray and Streit are both -20 players, Markov is +5 or +10 most years.  He is a puck mover.  Souray and Streit were both bombs on the point.  Montreal is doing quite well, though, considering their PP is much shittier than last two years - they are more dangerous 5 on 5 right now.

Right now, Tampa wants...Higgins, Plekanec, Gorges, and O'Byrne, plus the 1st round pick in 2009 and 2010.
 
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