The OFFICIAL 2008-09 NHL Thread

[DeToxRox]

Wow. Stumbled upon this ... Oiler fans .. wtf is going on? I remember Detroit had interest in Penner. I was never sold, and thankfully we didn't pull the trigger. Is it really that bad?


Dustin Penner will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game tonight.

"When we signed Dustin we thought he'd be a top two-line player,'' MacTavish told Edmonton reporters. "We thought the contract was a starting point for him, but he views it as a finish line. I can't watch it for another 2 1/2 years.''

"He's not competitive or fit enough to help us, so why put him back in?'' MacTavish said.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Wow. Stumbled upon this ... Oiler fans .. wtf is going on? I remember Detroit had interest in Penner. I was never sold, and thankfully we didn't pull the trigger. Is it really that bad?

Dustin Penner will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game tonight.

"When we signed Dustin we thought he'd be a top two-line player,'' MacTavish told Edmonton reporters. "We thought the contract was a starting point for him, but he views it as a finish line. I can't watch it for another 2 1/2 years.''

"He's not competitive or fit enough to help us, so why put him back in?'' MacTavish said.

Guy has size (maybe too much at times based on the club's comments) and skill, but the biggest question mark is intensity. When he really gets going he can control a game, we just haven't seen it very often since he got here. He's gotten the chances Lupul didn't and hasn't really run with it for a prolonged period at any point and with the young talent on the club now MacT is starting to punish guys with ice time (a tactic he only used to use on guys in his dog house and not for the guys, yes Horcoff I'm looking at you, he likes).

It's going to be a switch Penner has to flip himself and really lay it on the line on the ice once he's back in the lineup. Still has the potential to be an absolutely scary power forward type but is quickly going the way or Torres with inconsistent effort (or consistently poor if you prefer I suppose).

Too bad really as I thought he'd fit in nicely as a finisher on a line with Hemsky, but just another case of the team not being able to find guys who will step it up. Really is too bad Lowe wasn't able to get Vanek.

[johnnyshaka]

Travis, you are alive!!

Penner has been MIA for most of the year...but that was the case for most of the first half of last year, too. Wonder if he just needs a month or two to get it going?

As for Horcoff, at least he's been dropped a line or two. Glad to see Gagne with Hemsky but I'd also like to see Cogs up there, too. Those three could be dazzling with all that speed to burn.

[DeToxRox]

This Wings/Oilers game is a mockery. Put the fucking whistles away.

[Draft Dodger]

Stastny reportedly has agreed to a 5 year 33 million extension

[Draft Dodger]

(that's Paul, not Yan)

[Suburban Rhythm]

Didn't see this added. I guess Frankie Beauchemin tore his ACL, done for the year. So that leaves Neidermeyer, and Pronger and...uh...hmmm...Kent Huskins?

[Travis]

Fernando Pisani likely done for a while. Based on the replays I'd be amazed if he's not gone for a while with some serious damage to his ankle.

And in team related news, can we bench MacTavish for a while? I'm not sure I've ever seen a coach consistently drain the offensive ability out of a team the way he does. There's a lot of skill on this team both up front (albeit young) and on the blue line but they're not even looking close to anything resembling a cohesive unit. Seems like any goals they get are either PP, garbage or amazing (re: Hemsky) individual efforts. There's sure not many good flow sequences or much in the way of give and go's, crisp passing setups/plays, etc. And the PP, well, time to take it off of the slo-mo setting, pretty easy for penalty killers to block shots when there's an 8 second pause between passes and shots.

[DeToxRox]

Didn't look good.

[Maple Leafs]

Wendel Clark is having his number honored on Saturday night. Should be a great night at the ACC.

If any Leaf fans are interested, we've been counting down the top Wendel moments over at DBG this month: Down Goes Brown: Top 17 Wendel Clark Moments.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Wendel Clark is having his number honored on Saturday night. Should be a great night at the ACC.

If any Leaf fans are interested, we've been counting down the top Wendel moments over at DBG this month: Down Goes Brown: Top 17 Wendel Clark Moments.

It's Leaf Fan...by the way...who is this Wydell Clarke you speak of?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

It's Leaf Fan...by the way...who is this Wydell Clarke you speak of?

Wydell I believe is a cousin of Red Wing great Wendell Clarke.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

He seemed an odd fit from the start and hasn't been coaching in the league for 13 years. It seemed doomed to fail.

Well said, sir.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Wydell I believe is a cousin of Red Wing great Wendell Clarke.

Good ole #71.

What a legend...

[Maple Leafs]

You guys are getting his name wrong!

It is making me so angry!

[MikeVic]

But they didn't get the "Red Wing great" part wrong.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

You guys are getting his name wrong!

It is making me so angry!

I thought his name was Wendy, now I am being told it is Wydell....

[DeToxRox]

I'm reading the countdown and I have to assume his trade to a real team is #1.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Wow. Stumbled upon this ... Oiler fans .. wtf is going on? I remember Detroit had interest in Penner. I was never sold, and thankfully we didn't pull the trigger. Is it really that bad?


Dustin Penner will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game tonight.

"When we signed Dustin we thought he'd be a top two-line player,'' MacTavish told Edmonton reporters. "We thought the contract was a starting point for him, but he views it as a finish line. I can't watch it for another 2 1/2 years.''

"He's not competitive or fit enough to help us, so why put him back in?'' MacTavish said.

My apologies in advance to Oilers fans, but...


L...M...A...O...!!!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Didn't see this added. I guess Frankie Beauchemin tore his ACL, done for the year. So that leaves Neidermeyer, and Pronger and...uh...hmmm...Kent Huskins?

Huskins is actually pretty good. This will be his chance to step it up and become a major contributor.

The Ducks also have Montador and Hedican, who are solid (and McIver, who is not).

Obviously, losing a solid two way player and terrific hitter in Beauch does us no favors, but this is an area I think we can take a hit on and be fine. We have three basically NHL-ready D-man waiting at Iowa for a chance, and Brett Festerling (who was called up to replace Beauchemin) was insanely good in training camp. I am excited to see him get a chance.

Also, the loss of Beauchemin to injury means a percentage of his salary is now off the cap, which means we got to bring up Bobby Ryan, who should have been on our second line anyway.

It's even possible this awful situation will make the Ducks a better overall team. Go figure.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

My apologies in advance to Oilers fans, but...


L...M...A...O...!!!

Take it with a grain of salt, this is coming from Craig MacTavish who regularly benched Hemsky early in his career because his defensive play wasn't as good as MacT figured it should be.

The same coach who refused to play Lupul with Hemsky then watched Lupul put up 20 goals in 56 games for the Flyers last year (after 16 in 82 with Edmonton the season prior). Penner potted 23 last year and I'd be amazed if he's not around 25-30 by the end of this season too.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Travis

Take it with a grain of salt, this is coming from Craig MacTavish who regularly benched Hemsky early in his career because his defensive play wasn't as good as MacT figured it should be.

The same coach who refused to play Lupul with Hemsky then watched Lupul put up 20 goals in 56 games for the Flyers last year (after 16 in 82 with Edmonton the season prior). Penner potted 23 last year and I'd be amazed if he's not around 25-30 by the end of this season too.

I actually hope he gets there. I liked Penner when he was here. I think he was a dummy for signing that deal from a career perspective (if not a financial one), but that's just me.

That said, it seems a fitting result given how he ended up there, and all the crap that went on because of it. MacT really does not seem to be all that good of a coach, IMO.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Travis

Take it with a grain of salt, this is coming from Craig MacTavish who regularly benched Hemsky early in his career because his defensive play wasn't as good as MacT figured it should be.

The same coach who refused to play Lupul with Hemsky then watched Lupul put up 20 goals in 56 games for the Flyers last year (after 16 in 82 with Edmonton the season prior). Penner potted 23 last year and I'd be amazed if he's not around 25-30 by the end of this season too.

Penner had a strong game tonight. He scored just one goal (of the Oilers' 7), but was driving to the net all night and his presence in front of the net led to two more goals.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I actually hope he gets there. I liked Penner when he was here. I think he was a dummy for signing that deal from a career perspective (if not a financial one), but that's just me.

That said, it seems a fitting result given how he ended up there, and all the crap that went on because of it. MacT really does not seem to be all that good of a coach, IMO.

I can see your point, but counter point could be that he had a chance to jump start his "stardom" by moving to a team where he'd be an immediate top two line (and more than likely top line LW) player, which, for anybody would be awfully tempting, especially when the money was as nice as it was. Not saying it was the right choice in the end, but awfully tempting obviously.

If/when a player or two can step up to match Hemsky's level of play this is going to be a very dangerous team. Unfortunately that's been a search going on for a quite a while and at times MacT seems much more intent on using playing on a line with Hemsky as a reward for one of his guys (re: Horcoff, Moreau, Pisani) rather than finding players that would help elevate Hemsky's play.

Fortunately it appears that there are enough elite type offensive players on the team right now that one or two can't help but develop into those types of players. The potential of what a Penner/Gagner/Hemsky line may look like in a season or two will hopefully make the pain of watching MacT muddle his way through the last few seasons worth it.

[Galaxy]

4-3 Sabres over Bruins after just one period. Vanek retakes the lead in goals with two so far tonight.

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

4-3 Sabres over Bruins after just one period. Vanek retakes the lead in goals with two so far tonight.

My gosh. What an AWFUL performance tonight defensively.

It's just so tough being a Buffalo sports fan.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

4-3 Sabres over Bruins after just one period. Vanek retakes the lead in goals with two so far tonight.

Woulda been great if the defense flew in with the rest of the team tonight. Seriously, where the fuck did the real defensive players go? This team defense has gone from stout to stupid in about 3 weeks time.

[samifan24]

It looks like Roberto Luongo will be out for a while...

[Maple Leafs]

Leafs deal Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen to the Blues for Lee Stempniak.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Leafs deal Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen to the Blues for Lee Stempniak.

Don Cherry must be pleased...

[Suburban Rhythm]

So I guess this clears some cap space for Sundin now?

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

So I guess this clears some cap space for Sundin now?

I was wondering earlier today if Sundin would return to Toronto if the Leafs hired Brian Burke.

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

So I guess this clears some cap space for Sundin now?

Definatly not a cap move. The Leafs had about 7.5 mil in cap space, and that goes upto around 8 now

[Maple Leafs]

Man, those Habs have some snipers:

[Dr. Sak]

Claude Lemieux has signed a tryout contract with the San Jose Sharks in hopes of returning to the NHL after a five-year absence.

The 43-year-old Lemieux is expected to report to the Sharks' AHL affiliate in Worcester this week, San Jose spokesman Scott Emmert said Monday.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Man, those Habs have some snipers:

The purse stealer decides to give back this time-- to the Islanders!

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Claude Lemieux has signed a tryout contract with the San Jose Sharks in hopes of returning to the NHL after a five-year absence.

The 43-year-old Lemieux is expected to report to the Sharks' AHL affiliate in Worcester this week, San Jose spokesman Scott Emmert said Monday.

I just saw Worcester play a few weeks ago. Kyle McLaren was there. Now I could see Kyle McLaren and Claude Lemieux in an AHL game? Untold levels of awesomeness.

[yacovfb]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Claude Lemieux has signed a tryout contract with the San Jose Sharks in hopes of returning to the NHL after a five-year absence.

The 43-year-old Lemieux is expected to report to the Sharks' AHL affiliate in Worcester this week, San Jose spokesman Scott Emmert said Monday.

If he returns to the NHL, I doubt it will be with the Sharks. The team's beat writer wrote this on his blog: "Sharks GM Doug Wilson has been traveling the past two days, so I haven’t been able to talk with him. But a team rep said today this is strictly about Worcester, and not San Jose."

[JonInMiddleGA]

I know back-to-back games can be tough but damn.

HTF do the Thrashers shred Toronto last night & then look like an SPHL team tonight against a Washington club missing 8 regulars from the lineup?

[Suburban Rhythm]

Ryan O'byrne having a bad week...

YouTube - Johan Franzen's AMAZING Goal Against The Habs

Franzen just made him look silly.

Also, for as much as Therrien gets bashed for his mixing of lines, so far this season, it's worked.

Pens down 3-0, beat the Isles 5-3. Malkin with the natural HT and assist.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

HTF do the Thrashers shred Toronto last night & then look like an SPHL team tonight against a Washington club missing 8 regulars from the lineup?

Toronto = bad.

[Suburban Rhythm]

It's unofficially official...or something like that-

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Brian Burke have agreed to terms on a six-year deal to become the team’s next president and general manager, Sportsnet has learned.

The deal is worth about $18 million - the rest of this season and the next five. Also, Burke will report only to the CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, which is currently held by Richard Peddie.

An official announcement is expected Saturday.

Burke agrees to six-year Leafs deal - Sportsnet.ca

[Suburban Rhythm]

DOLA

Oh yeah, Wade Belak to Nashville / Nick Tarnasky to Florida

[Buccaneer]

I just saw SI's 2008 Sports Turkeys and it listed Melrose. It said that he had an antiquated system that the co-owner had to diagram plays for the team during games. What's that about?

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I just saw SI's 2008 Sports Turkeys and it listed Melrose. It said that he had an antiquated system that the co-owner had to diagram plays for the team during games. What's that about?

I just read the same thing after you posted it here. The co-owner is Len Barrie, who played in the NHL for a few years. I'm sure there's more to the story but I don't understand why Melrose wouldn't diagram plays for his team.

[bbor]

Calling Len Barrie an nhl'er is a bit of a stretch

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I just saw SI's 2008 Sports Turkeys and it listed Melrose. It said that he had an antiquated system that the co-owner had to diagram plays for the team during games. What's that about?

Originally Posted by samifan24

I just read the same thing after you posted it here. The co-owner is Len Barrie, who played in the NHL for a few years. I'm sure there's more to the story but I don't understand why Melrose wouldn't diagram plays for his team.

This was first reported about a month or so on Hockey Night in Canada. Apparently some player told Al Strachan about the incident.

Apparently Melrose was never much of an X's and O's coach even back in his LA days. He had an assistant coach who handled that. By all accounts Melrose was always more of a motivator as a head coach. Over the last 10-15 years the game has really progressed in terms of strategies, positioning, etc. You have the dreaded trap, the left wing lock, and a host of other tactics. It's one of the big reasons goals have dropped. As the tactical/strategic aspect of the game became more important Melorse became less effective.

I also really think that the players had a hard time taking him seriously. Over the last 13 years while on ESPN Barry became sort of a cariciature of himself. I'm sure all the players had seen him on TV on many occassions. Between the mullet and all the "old time" hockey talk I think he became pretty easy to dismiss in the locker room.

[bhlloy]

Lucky win for the Ducks this afternoon that easily could have been 4-1 Chicago but Hiller got lucky and got the shutout win. Nice to see us play with some discipline (2 minors) for once.

I don't see any way they can send Bobby Ryan back down with the way he's playing. He's really buying into the system and had 2 or 3 crushing hits, and a nice forechecking play that led to the only goal. In fact, he looked like the best player out there today. Good stuff for a kid who has all the tools to be one of the top 10 forwards in the game. Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan is a line with ridiculous upside.

[Galaxy]

Have you guys notice the officiating is just horrible this year?

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Have you guys notice the officiating is just horrible this year?

Heh. I was at the game tonight...just brutal officiating.

Sabres had to beat two opponents tonight