• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Official NHL Off Season Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wolf said:
I'm out of the western conference prospect loop, fill me in on this guy Howard. Would you rate him over Carey Price?
Well he's 4 (I think?) years older, so he's obviously more developed at this point. He put up sick numbers @ Maine, but had some consistensy issues in the AHL last year. Don't know if his potential is higher than Price...Howard's numbers are so much better at the same point, but the CCHA isn't exactly overflowing with NHL quality talent either.

He's definitely the best golatender prospect the Wings have had in...well forever. He will start next year, barring a disastrous AHL season this year and/or camp next year.
 
Malakhov said:
Legace carried his team last season and he didn't even get a sniff on the UFA market, so sad.
He had good regular season numbers, yes...but he didn't "carry" his team in any way, shape, or form. Maybe the other way around, if anything.

Hence, no one is interested.
 

sefskillz

shitting in the alley outside your window
Agree with rusty here. Legace isn't all that great, he gives up rebounds like no other too, but he had a solid core protecting his ass throughout the season.
 
Solid core or not, the guy only lost 8 games out of 51 played. No matter what sitaution you are in as a goalie, that's an excellent record.

I think alot of teams are really missing an oppurtunity here by not taking him, but I've been hearing he's asking for a little too much $$$.
 

Kingpen

Member
I'm getting sick of this Malkin shit... Damn russians playing politics... What the hell, get the guy over here so he can win rookie of the year. Shit even getting Yao Ming wasn't as hard as getting this guy over...
 

Stench

Banned
Wolf said:
Just like half the Edmonton roster from 05-06.
12015468lu6.gif
 

dem

Member
Wolf said:
Nowhere to be found. Just like half the Edmonton roster from 05-06.
Remind me again of 05-06?
Was that when the Habs got knocked out in the first round? Even after being up 2-0? Aw.. thats shame
 
dem said:
Remind me again of 05-06?
Was that when the Habs got knocked out in the first round? Even after being up 2-0? Aw.. thats shame
Yeah, they ran into a really hot goalie who caught fire in the playoffs. What was his name again? Oh, right, I think I remember.

Ty Conklin.
 

dem

Member
Mike Works said:
Yeah, they ran into a really hot goalie who caught fire in the playoffs. What was his name again? Oh, right, I think I remember.

Ty Conklin.

No no... that was Alex Auld wasnt it?
Oh wait.. couldnt have been... he wasnt in the playoffs.
 

Malakhov

Banned
dem said:
Remind me again of 05-06?
Was that when the Habs got knocked out in the first round? Even after being up 2-0? Aw.. thats shame
But at least in Habs land it's the GM who got rid of some players, it's not the players who left the ship :lol

People will have to recognize that this is a new era for the habs, Gainey is purging this team since he took over (20 players gone):

1- Patrice Brisebois
2- Pierre Dagenais
3- Stephane Quintal
4- Andreas Dackell
5- Jim Dowd
6- Jan Bulis
7- Yanic Perreault
8- Richard Zednik
9- Donald Audette
10- Joe Juneau
11- Jason Ward
12- Niklas Sundstrom
13- Ron Hainsey
14- Chad Kilger
15- Gordie Dwyer
16- Karl Dykhuis
17- Darren Langdon
18- Marcel Hossa
19- Mathieu Garon
20- Jose Theodore
 

dem

Member
Malakhov said:


Hopefully Lupul scoring 35 goals will help me forget the giant douche.

We have a goalie now... which we didnt have all last season. It wont be as bad as everyone thinks.
 

calder

Member
dem said:
a bunch of rentals left.
060626_nhl_pronger_200.jpg

"A rental? That's all I ever was to you people? That's cold, I gave you guys 8 whole months of the 60 month contract I signed, that's almost a year of my life I left in Edmonton!"
 

dem

Member
who needs defense anyway...
all the firepower up front.. and now the addition of the real deal.. total package.. ROB SCHREMP

rschremp.jpg


Mr America
and also Edmonton :p
 

fallout

Member
calder said:
http://members.shaw.ca/caldermuyo/misc/060626_nhl_pronger_200.jpg
"A rental? That's all I ever was to you people? That's cold, I gave you guys 8 whole months of the 60 month contract I signed, that's almost a year of my life I left in Edmonton!"
I keep forgetting this guy came from Dryden.
 

calder

Member
For a year when we were working in Northern Ontario we'd drive through Dryden a couple of times a month. Every time I'd tell the guys we should stop and edit the "HOME OF CHRIS PRONGER!" sign to read "SEAN TOO!" with spraypaint or else cover Chris with Sean somehow. But it was a 9 hour drive and they'd all be grumpy about having to go to ****ing Pickle Lake for 2 weeks and they wouldn't even slow down.
 

Manics

Banned
Malakhov said:
But at least in Habs land it's the GM who got rid of some players, it's not the players who left the ship :lol

People will have to recognize that this is a new era for the habs, Gainey is purging this team since he took over (20 players gone):

1- Patrice Brisebois
2- Pierre Dagenais
3- Stephane Quintal
4- Andreas Dackell
5- Jim Dowd
6- Jan Bulis
7- Yanic Perreault
8- Richard Zednik
9- Donald Audette
10- Joe Juneau
11- Jason Ward
12- Niklas Sundstrom
13- Ron Hainsey
14- Chad Kilger
15- Gordie Dwyer
16- Karl Dykhuis
17- Darren Langdon
18- Marcel Hossa
19- Mathieu Garon
20- Jose Theodore


5 years from now you'll have a new list of "stiffs" the GM got rid of to create another "new era" for the Habs. The list will look something like this:

Steve Begin
Radek Bonk
Francis Bouillon
Mathieu Dandenault
Aaron Downey
Chris Higgins
Mike Johnson
Saku Koivu
Mike Komisarek
Alex Kovalev
Andrei Markov
Garth Murray
Alexander Perezhogin
Tomas Plekanec
Mike Ribeiro
Craig Rivet
Michael Ryder
Sergei Samsonov
Sheldon Souray
Mark Streit
David Aebischer
Cristobal Huet
 
Wolf said:
Nowhere to be found. Just like half the Edmonton roster from 05-06.

Our defense took a big blow with the loss of pr0ngz and Spacek, but I think we're as good or even better offensively than last season.

With the loss of Samsonov and Peca, we lost a whopping 14 goals. Lupul will triple that amount this season, but there's no replacing Peca's defensive work.

I still think the Oilers are in good shape.
 

dem

Member
MOSCOW, August 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not join the IIHF-NHL hockey agreement that regulates transfers between European clubs and the American league, the head of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) said Wednesday.

"At the talks with the IIHF [International Ice Hockey Federation] and the NHL [National Hockey League]... we failed to take into full account the interests of Russian clubs, which have players that interest the NHL," Vladislav Tretyak, who was elected the head of the RHF in April, said.

"The RHF therefore decided it was impossible for Russia to join this transfer agreement."


uh oh.. pens ****ed
 

Alucard

Banned
dem said:
MOSCOW, August 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not join the IIHF-NHL hockey agreement that regulates transfers between European clubs and the American league, the head of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) said Wednesday.

"At the talks with the IIHF [International Ice Hockey Federation] and the NHL [National Hockey League]... we failed to take into full account the interests of Russian clubs, which have players that interest the NHL," Vladislav Tretyak, who was elected the head of the RHF in April, said.

"The RHF therefore decided it was impossible for Russia to join this transfer agreement."


uh oh.. pens ****ed

It will be supremely ****ed up if Malkin doesn't play for the Pens this season because of this. What the heck is this? The Cold War era? Let the kid play for the team he wants to play for, period.
 

Sandman42

Member
Alucard said:
It will be supremely ****ed up if Malkin doesn't play for the Pens this season because of this. What the heck is this? The Cold War era? Let the kid play for the team he wants to play for, period.
Malkin actually agreed to stay in Russia himself. He thinks it's unfair as well.
 

R_GILL

I'm tanking for Kabanov!
Stench said:
I had no idea that Kypreos' mug was so freakishly asymmetrical...

kypreos_vert.jpg



It's kinda creepin' me out here...

Slap some more makeup on and he is the perfect two face.
 

pops619

Member
Malkin actually agreed to stay in Russia himself. He thinks it's unfair as well.

Malkin agreed to stay in Russia LAST summer. He said at that time that he intends to play in the NHL this coming season. He's never changed his tune. He just did an interview in which he said he strongly desires to come to the NHL this season.

This isn't over yet. I've said all along that Malkin will be here with or without a transfer agreement. The Pens' GM has been speaking recently as if Malkin will definitely be here. He's gotta be confident for a reason. There are still ways out for Malkin even with no transfer agreement. It may and probably will get ugly, but I still expect him to come to Pittsburgh in the near future. His wish is to play in the NHL, and I don't expect him to spend another season in Russia unwillingly after giving his team an extra year last season.

EDIT: For the record, here's a recent article that reaffirms my confidence that Malkin will play for the Pens this season: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06215/710757-61.stm

EDIT 2: Another update: Malkin has given his two-week notice to his Russian team, and contract negotiations, in which there's very little to actually negotiate, will begin with the Pens: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_464511.html.
 

Kingpen

Member
I am relieved to see those articles Pops.... Thanks...

I have plans to travel to the burgh for 6 games this year, and was ready to cancel those and just watch the team on Center Ice if Malkin didn't sign....
 
I haven't been really folowing the Penguins much, but by the way the fans were panicking to the possibility of no Malkin this year, it's seems like the brass didn't even plan a Plan B incase he didn't come over or not.

I'm pretty sure Malkin won't make or break the Pens this year.
 

Kingpen

Member
I think him not showing up is a huge blow to the team. They have a hole in the 2nd line, and Libor Pivko is not going to fill it. We have been hyped to all end about this kid, even hearing rumors that St. Louis would have traded the 1st overall this year straight up for him.

All signs this morning are pointing to Malkin's agent sneaking him out of Russia by giving a 2 weeks written notice saying he is going to quit his job.... Man I sure hope he gets signed.
 

aceface

Member
Looks like the Sabres accepted Briere's award. Dumont and Biron are both most likely gone, but even so Galisano is really opening up the pocketbook to go for it this year. It's a welcome change after so many years of bankruptcy and under spending in Buffalo.
 

pops619

Member
I haven't been really folowing the Penguins much, but by the way the fans were panicking to the possibility of no Malkin this year, it's seems like the brass didn't even plan a Plan B incase he didn't come over or not.

I'm pretty sure Malkin won't make or break the Pens this year.

Penguins fans just like to panic. You should see how much they panic over the possibility of the team leaving. It's not very likely at this point, but a lot of people love to feed on the hysteria.

The Pens brass probably didn't have a plan B because they knew that Malkin was going to be here in any event. I figured that if the Russians didn't sign the agreement, he'd give his notice and leave. That's exactly what he's doing. The Pens, being closer to the situation, probably knew for sure that would happen.

He definitely makes or breaks the team this year. He will help them basically in every area and I think is the difference between another bad year and a potential playoff year. Even without him, they'll be improved a lot, but not enough to even think playoffs. With him, if he's as good as he's supposed to be, they could quickly become a dangerous team. He could be like adding another Crosby.
 

Alucard

Banned
Just think how awesome the team could potentially be if Staal develops as well as his big brother. Of course, keeping a team that full of starpower for more than a few years is going to be impossible with the cap, so we better win the cup in the next few years!

I really hope our D steps it up this year. MAF needs better support in front of the net, and I'm REALLY hoping for a great year from him. Like I've said before, he's one of my biggest worries in the coming season since he didn't close out the year very strongly in the AHL playoffs, and has shown that he can be a little shaky. Maybe the new goaltending coach we got will help out.

With Malkin, we can definitely make a playoff run. Without him, I just don't see it. Soooo excited for the season to start already and it's still 2 months away!
 

pops619

Member
The Pens will better be on D just because they're improved their forwards. Malkin, Moore, and Ekman are all considered to be good defensive players. Eaton's a solid defensive defenseman. Moore and Eaton were very good penalty killers last season, and Malkin's supposed to be a good one too. He definitely did a good job defensively and on the PK in the Olympics. The Pens' PK was terrible all year, so adding some legitimately good PK'ers will help a lot. Combine that with guys like Whitney, Orpik, and Fleury hopefully improving and the Pens stand to see their goals against drop a good bit.

Goals for will increase with the additions of Malkin and Ekman, not to mention Crosby undoubtedly improving. The Pens' power play will be deadly. It was sixth last year basically on the strength of Crosby. Now add Malkin to that mix.

I'm saying it, the Pens are going to see a dramatic improvement this year, assuming Malkin does indeed make it over. They're going to be a forced to be reckoned with.
 

fallout

Member
Alucard said:
I really hope our D steps it up this year. MAF needs better support in front of the net, and I'm REALLY hoping for a great year from him.
Yep, the concern shouldn't be about the 244 GF, but the 316 GA, heh. I mean, hell, even if you guys do get Malkin, you're still going to have trouble winning games if you're letting in more than 3-4 a night.
 

Alucard

Banned
fallout said:
Yep, the concern shouldn't be about the 244 GF, but the 316 GA, heh. I mean, hell, even if you guys do get Malkin, you're still going to have trouble winning games if you're letting in more than 3-4 a night.

This is where not giving up 30 shots a night every night helps out with that. Defense is a big key to the Pens' success this year...as with every team every year I suppose.
 
Malakhov said:
Noronen leaving for Russia instead of being used as the Canucks backup.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=173282&hubname=

:lol

Not surprised. He said in Buffalo he wanted to be traded somewhere that he would be a #1 goaltender, and the Canucks just decided to get Luongo instead. Nobody was lining up for his services (and the canucks weren't about to offer a backup 1.5m), so off to russia. He's a UFA next year and pretty much nobody in Vancouver cares.
 

Socreges

Banned
Yeah I sort of fail to see the comedy in that... dude wants to play 50+ games a season and won't get that opportunity yet in the NHL....
 

Socreges

Banned
aceface said:
The comedy is that Buffalo basically got a 2nd round pick for nothing.
psh, thats nothing. trade made sense at the time. noronen only doesnt benefit the nucks since they didnt make the playoffs and went with luongo. and buffalo's mind wont change since they lost the player any way they slice it
 

calder

Member
Eric Weinrich is trading in his hockey stick for a clipboard and a whistle.

The 40 year old defenseman is expected to join Kevin Dineen's coaching staff on the AHL's Portland Pirates after almost two decades in the NHL.
What, no GM postitions open at the NHL level? Unlucky!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom