Official 2007-08 NHL Thread

[MissHush]

Coming into this sesaon Chicago was basically William Wirtz's death and a few signing signings away from being really good in the future. Wirtz died and now the entire culture of Blackhawk hockey has begun to change. Still gotta get rid of Khabibullin, and they gotta do something to replace Havlat, because that guy cannot stay healthy among other things, but a few of the kids they got right now look really good. Patrick Kane is probably going to break the team record for assists and Toews looks to be like a young Steve Larmer.

prior to the blues 6-game losing streak, the central division was dominant this year. chicago, columbus...really came through this year!

 

[Jerry!]

Thanks in large part to John McDonough, the Blachawks will also hold their first ever fan convention in the off season. Which is kinda sad when you think about it. Wirtz almost completely destroyed the franchise.

 

[TLH]

The NHL ought to consider stripped a few franchises away so that it can increase the skill level on each team. If you had 2 less teams a conference then that's 45 or so skill players (24 top 6 fowards, 12-16 top 4 defensemen, 4 goalies etc...) that can be marbled into other teams.

By doing this, scoring increases and so does interest.

Not my idea though; I read it in a book.

 

[Victor Creed]

Taking away teams completely isn't going to generate interest, just piss people off. The only reason there was as much scoring 20 years ago was because goaltenders blew for the most part.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

^^Didn't they expand the net so there was more scoring. I thought that was one thing they did when they came back from the strike.

Flyers beat Tampa tonight. We need to kick into high gear now. Buffalo and Washington are right on are tails.

 

[TLH]

Just shrink the goalie equipment if you want to expand scoring. The goalies of the Gretzky era played with light padding.

 

[Victor Creed]

Just shrink the goalie equipment if you want to expand scoring. The goalies of the Gretzky era played with light padding.

Yea, a lot of them looked like they were made of wood too, haha. Could you imagine how few goals Gretzky and Co. would have against today's top goaltenders?

I think they need to make the equipment have a size limit based your body size so we don't have small goalies wearing leg pads that reach their ears.

 

[TLH]

Yea, a lot of them looked like they were made of wood too, haha. Could you imagine how few goals Gretzky and Co. would have against today's top goaltenders?

I think they need to make the equipment have a size limit based your body size so we don't have small goalies wearing leg pads that reach their ears.

I've got to fight the uphill battle of telling my Dad and his buddies that Jarome Iginla is a better scorer then many of the scorers that played during his era. Iggy has tallied as many goals as he had, mostly in the clutch-and-grab era where scoring was down. He also didn't play with many skilled players.

Guys like Crosby and Ovechkin would have had Gretzky numbers if the played back in the 80's, if you ask me.

Goalies never tried back then it looked like. They stood like pylons and moved occasionally. Some of them were acrobatic, but nothing near what we're used to now. Brodeur and Roy changed that.

 

[Shifty]

^^Didn't they expand the net so there was more scoring. I thought that was one thing they did when they came back from the strike.

Flyers beat Tampa tonight. We need to kick into high gear now. Buffalo and Washington are right on are tails.

It was the lockout and no they didn't. That was an idea and it still gets floated around. They need to make the equipment smaller and proportional to the height/size of the goalie. Kolzig is over 6 feet so he's going to be big but Giguere is taking advantage.

Sens are sinking. The only benefit is they may fall to 6th and play Carolina.

 

[Dark Donnie]

Anyone see Roy flip out...hilarious

 

[TLH]

Sens might just miss the playoffs...hate to say it.

 

[QueerMike]

Sens might just miss the playoffs...hate to say it.

They are 8 points up on the #9 seed, Buffalo, with 13 games remaining. Buffalo has 14 games left.

IF Ottawa goes 6-6-1, Buffalo must go 10-3-1 to surpass them. I can't see Buffalo doing that but I wouldn't be surprised if Ottawa played .500 the rest of the way.

Ottawa will get in but they will be lucky to get out of round one. Especially if they stay where they are and play New Jersey in round one.

 

[TLH]

Fair enough. I think .500 is a safe bet for the Sens at this point, but OK...let me put it this way, they could very well blow home ice advantage.

 

[Shifty]

Hossa Was Being Realistic
Dan Pollard
TSN.ca
3/7/2008 1:45:10 PM

Say what you will about Marian Hossa forcing the Thrashers hand when he refused to re-sign in Atlanta. You can't accuse him of not being realistic.

Hossa didn't see Atlanta as a team that offered to be a serious threat in the playoffs even if they could reach the extra season in the near future. Problems ran deeper than just the NHL roster. The entire development structure had cracks.

It's not that Bryan Little and Brett Sterling aren't talented prospects in Atlanta's system. It's just that if they are the best of the young crop to come up its more of a ripple than a wave of optimism at this point.

The Thrashers are to blame. Like many NHL teams Atlanta allows its AHL affiliate team to sign its own players. What's unique is the number of players the Thrashers allow to be signed. Those players belong to the Wolves, not the Thrashers.

The Chicago Wolves hockey team is an independently owned organization. It doesn't have to worry about playing Atlanta systems. It's not Thrasher development first. They play Wolves hockey. They don't have to be on the same page.

Just win baby. Make some money. There's nothing on the back of the jersey that says "prospect". The Steve Martins of the world are being paid by the Wolves who want their monies worth.

Head coach John Anderson isn't an employee of the Thrashers. That too is unique. His agenda is different. He's got to win for his bosses who aren't a parent NHL club. It's not that he looks to derail Atlanta's development plans. It's just that the best guy gets the ice time and the Wolves won't eat their own. That's the structure.

Washington showed this year what can be done in a successful structure when they reached into the minors to slide Bruce Boudreau into Glen Hanlon's spot behind the Caps bench. Boudreau's work behind the bench and the development of prospects he coached in Hershey have Washington aiming for a playoff spot. It's something the Thrashers (if they had any mind to do it) could never have done. Even if they wanted Anderson to replace Bob Hartley they had to deal with the fact that Anderson is a Wolves employee. Atlanta would have had to compensate the Wolves and then add him to their payroll to replace Bob Hartley.

It's a situation that has to be dealt with if Atlanta wants to move forward.

Yeah Atlanta has to work something better out, perhaps find a different city. I know the Vancouver Canucks/Manitoba Moose affiliation hasn't always been perfect but the Canucks allow the Moose to sign veterans/free agents because ownership wants a winner. Being on a winning team would only benefit the young talent. The Atlanta talent just seems to be along for the ride. And now they've sunk where they might have a chance of drafting Stamkos.

 

[TLH]

I do hope Stamkos lands in a place like Atlanta. They need a big boost.

 

[Shifty]

I do hope Stamkos lands in a place like Atlanta. They need a big boost.

LA could use Stamkos. Atlanta needs a new GM/coach and a reason for players to stay with the team.

 

[QueerMike]

Fair enough. I think .500 is a safe bet for the Sens at this point, but OK...let me put it this way, they could very well blow home ice advantage.

I think they already have and they'll probably finsh 6th in the East.

 

[Jerry!]

Got back from the Blackhawks game little while back, and let me tell you something, the Blackhawk fans are back. Even though they lost, and on a questionable call which revoked the game tying goal in the last seconds of the game, the pre game ceremony honoring Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull was incredible.

I can say without a doubt, the United Center hasn't been that loud since Jordan made his comeback and during the record breaking 72-10 season. The place was going nuts. They had a bunch of former stars and team mates of Mikita and Hull back and what made it even better for me, my favorite Blackhawk player was at hand as well, Jeremy Roenick, who also got a pretty big hand from the audience. It felt as history was being made, that the franchise is finally taking a step in the right direction and that things will only get better from here on out. It sounds corny, but there were a lot of fans crying in the stands during the speeches.

 

[Immortalfire]

Thrashers finally get another win, defeating the Wild in a shootout

 

[TLH]

Got back from the Blackhawks game little while back, and let me tell you something, the Blackhawk fans are back. Even though they lost, and on a questionable call which revoked the game tying goal in the last seconds of the game, the pre game ceremony honoring Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull was incredible.

I can say without a doubt, the United Center hasn't been that loud since Jordan made his comeback and during the record breaking 72-10 season. The place was going nuts. They had a bunch of former stars and team mates of Mikita and Hull back and what made it even better for me, my favorite Blackhawk player was at hand as well, Jeremy Roenick, who also got a pretty big hand from the audience. It felt as history was being made, that the franchise is finally taking a step in the right direction and that things will only get better from here on out. It sounds corny, but there were a lot of fans crying in the stands during the speeches.

Chicago has always had good NHL fans, they simply need a team that gives them a reason to come out and cheer. I'm happy for Chicago; they're an original six team that deserves some postseason success.

 

[Shifty]

Chicago has always had good NHL fans, they simply need a team that gives them a reason to come out and cheer. I'm happy for Chicago; they're an original six team that deserves some postseason success.

I don't know if they'll make it this year. They've got to get past Phoenix and Vancouver then make sure at least Nashville, Colorado, Calgary, or Minnesota stumble. But its great to see Chicago have some life. The NHL needs the Original 6 teams to do well. Detroit, Montreal, NY Rangers and Boston seem set for playoff appearences, having Chicago would be great.

 

[TLH]

Calgary, Nashville, Colorado and Minnesota are all pretty hot and cold teams. If the Blackhawks keep winning they might be able to squeeze in, but it's unlikely.

 

[Jerry!]

I doubt that they make the playoffs this year. Half the team is rookies, the entire defense average age is like 21 or something. Considering that, they have done very well recently.

It was never really the team or lack of quality that kept the fans away. It was the management. The fans were always there, just the management ****ed up so bad, I've never seen a more mishandled big franchise like the Blackhawks. They alienated just about every great Blackhawk player and along with them every fan. Old man Wirtz more or less said "We don't want you here." Back in the days of Hull and Mikita at the Old Chicago Stadium, they would sell out routinely. When Wirtz didn't want Hull anymore and he left, a lot of fans left with him. Wirtz blacked out home games and only like 7 or 8 games in total would be televised a season because "it wouldn't be fair to season ticket holders if we televised the games." It was a crock of ****. Because of all this a lot of fans became Chicago Wolves (minor league AHL team) fans, including myself. But it looks like the Blackhawks are finally back.

 

[Shifty]

Red Wings and especially the Stars have some company now with the surging Sharks. The Score was talking about how they're missing one player who could bring some more toughness. Whoever gets out of the West is going to be banged up.

I'll be taking a small vacation to the Twin Cities during the first week of the playoffs. I doubt I will be able to find any playoff tickets, but my friend knows someone there who will try. Even still the city should be a great place to be in if the Wild are playing in the playoffs.

 

[kang604]

Canucks win tonite (woot!) against St. Louis, move back into 8th spot in the west.

Vancouver needs to get some wins together here, the NW division is still within grasp, we have a game or two in hand.