NHL: Hope Springs Eternal*

[Swordfish]

I don't think it's really inexplicable...he's not in it for the team, he's in it for Marion.

Think about this: He gets to the SCF with Pittsburgh and they lose to Detroit. So what does he do? Leaves for Detroit. He gets to the SCF with Detroit and they lose to Pittsburgh. So what does he do? Signs with Detroit's biggest and oldest rival.

I mean, to me...that's just disrespectful for fans of Pittsburgh and Detroit. I mean, I know it's a business and I know that people aren't always the greatest character guys, but come on, man...that's just so blatant.

He was traded to pittsburgh. it isn't like he was dying to come and play for us. He played, what 30 games for us? He didn't owe us any loyalty!

And the other way to look at the move to detroit is that he was taking a pay cut in order to get a better shot at winning the cup. Isn't that what we are always complaining that professional athletes never do? Sacrifice money for a chance to win it all?

Detroit couldn't afford him.

He's a talented player who works hard on both ends of the ice and never takes a play off. he's also reportedly a good citizen and a good teammate.

I was upset that he didn't re-sign with the pens, but i guess i didn't think it was some kind of personal snub....

[BlueRose]

I think Shirokov may be ahead of Hodgson in terms of cracking the roster right now... but Cody's slowly overcoming his back issues and it will soon be his chance to shine. I think he's playing Saturday against Edmonton.

I didn't get a chance to see Erhoff when I went to watch the Nucks' practice on Sunday... but they could have used his mobility against Chicago in the playoffs... :bang:

I think Shirokov has a better chance too. He wasnt there Wednesday morning, it was all the veterans pretty much. Erhoff is fast and he takes the puck and runs with it! It'll be nice to have a scoring D man.

What do you think about the backup goalie situation? I'm kind of leaning towards Raycroft, but I'd rather have Schneider. We cant keep Schneider forever anyways, he has way too much potential to be Luongo's backup for 12 years.

[Rexor]

He was traded to pittsburgh. it isn't like he was dying to come and play for us. He played, what 30 games for us? He didn't owe us any loyalty!

And the other way to look at the move to detroit is that he was taking a pay cut in order to get a better shot at winning the cup. Isn't that what we are always complaining that professional athletes never do? Sacrifice money for a chance to win it all?

Detroit couldn't afford him.

He's a talented player who works hard on both ends of the ice and never takes a play off. he's also reportedly a good citizen and a good teammate.

I was upset that he didn't re-sign with the pens, but i guess i didn't think it was some kind of personal snub....

Oh, I agree about the money/winning thing, and normally I would commend a guy like that. But, when Hossa spent the entire beginning of that offseason saying he was going to re-sign with the Pens and then, all of a sudden, signs a deal with the Wings and insulting the Pens in the process ("I just feel I have the best shot at winning a cup in Detroit" etc) it negates all of the positives from his "sacrifice" (I mean, c'mon he didn't really take that much less, and was really just a way for him to try and get more money THIS offseason).

[Swordfish]

Oh, I agree about the money/winning thing, and normally I would commend a guy like that. But, when Hossa spent the entire beginning of that offseason saying he was going to re-sign with the Pens and then, all of a sudden, signs a deal with the Wings and insulting the Pens in the process ("I just feel I have the best shot at winning a cup in Detroit" etc) it negates all of the positives from his "sacrifice" (I mean, c'mon he didn't really take that much less, and was really just a way for him to try and get more money THIS offseason).

He never said he was going to re-sign with the pens.

He took a TREMENDOUS risk in signing that contract. he was one injury away from losing tens of millions of dollars. I can't for the life of me understand any other reason to do that besides really wanting to win the cup, and honestly believing the chances were better in detroit. i may have felt differently if he weren't basically a rental player to begin with.

There was very little reason to believe that his value would have been higher this offseason than it was last off season. He was coming off a tremendous season, and a great post season. Winning the cup would not have elevated his value that much.

And i agree with him, he did have the best shot at winning the cup in detroit. It didn't work out that way, but it made sense at the time. I was disappointed to see him leave, but i certainly wasn't insulted by it. he also said a lot of great things about the organization, and the pens players at the time seemed to think he had been a good teammate.

I just can't get that down on the guy for wanting to win the cup, i guess.

[Lord O' Bones]

Erhoff is fast and he takes the puck and runs with it! It'll be nice to have a scoring D man.

I think you guys will be very happy with Erhoff. Try to remember though that he's good for a tremendous defensive failure every 10 games or so.

Lukowich is solid if unspectacular.

[Faceless Man of Braavos]

I think Shirokov has a better chance too. He wasnt there Wednesday morning, it was all the veterans pretty much. Erhoff is fast and he takes the puck and runs with it! It'll be nice to have a scoring D man.

What do you think about the backup goalie situation? I'm kind of leaning towards Raycroft, but I'd rather have Schneider. We cant keep Schneider forever anyways, he has way too much potential to be Luongo's backup for 12 years.

Honestly, I'm rooting for Schnieder to take the back up role... the kid has tremendous character and has been a loyal soldier for the organization - alot of players in his situation (stuck behind Louie) would have been crying out to be traded. Listening to him interviewed - he just oozes intelligence and class.

If Schneider, Hodgson, and Shirokov all make the squad, I'll be one happy Canucklehead....

[Biter]

What about the cap situation for the Canucks?

There's a lot of money being spent on defense:

Bieksa: 3,75m

Mitchell: 3,5m

Salo: 3,5m

Edler: 3,25m

Ehrhoff: 3,1m

Schneider: 2,75m

O'Brien: 1,6m

Lukowich: 1,56m

Assuming a 22 man roster, you'd have to go with a much cheaper 7th D (like Baumgartner) to comfortably fit under the cap. Even so, if both Hodgson and Shirokov make the roster, I don't know if I'd rather have Cory than Raycroft as a backup. I don't have any doubts about Schneider's character or potential, I just see it as a cap issue.

Also, I've heard rumors about Sundin being willing to take a significant pay cut to return to Vancouver. I'd like to see him play one more season (maybe more than half of the regular season this time). The problem is, I still can't see any room for him, cap-wise.

LoB: Have you heard the rumours of Hinote, Malhotra and Dandenault possibly joining the Sharks? They'd have to sign for close to league minimum to make this team fit under the cap (yes, even after the Vancouver trade), so let's wait and see what happens.

[Brandon Stark]

I also heard a Dandenault to Detroit rumor, but I can't see that making sense with the current defensive group in place.

Isn't it grand being poised for our teams to be ripped to shreds at any moment like the other cap leagues? Thank god Yzerman/Sakic/et al played in the eras they did. I really wish a more NBA-centric system with salary slots and veteran exceptions would have been adopted. I think its much more fan-friendly while still correcting the imbalance that the complete lack of a cap creates.

[TheHoundRules]

I think you guys will be very happy with Erhoff. Try to remember though that he's good for a tremendous defensive failure every 10 games or so.

Lukowich is solid if unspectacular.

I believe he sat some down the stretch.

[Lord O' Bones]

LoB: Have you heard the rumours of Hinote, Malhotra and Dandenault possibly joining the Sharks? They'd have to sign for close to league minimum to make this team fit under the cap (yes, even after the Vancouver trade), so let's wait and see what happens.

I have. It looks like Malholtra will probably get signed. The other two, need to really impress in pre-season play.

Also, no one has a C or an A on their sweater. Everyone is in competition. I'm thinking Dan Boyle for next Captain of the Sharks.

[Brandon Stark]

Phaneuf...yikes.

[Lord O' Bones]

Phaneuf...yikes.

I can't tell if he left his feet before or after the hit at that speed.

Still, a pre-season game against a non-rival? Seems kind of out of place. Though if anyone wants to argue that if you're on the ice you play hard, I won't disagree.

[Swordfish]

I can't tell if he left his feet before or after the hit at that speed.

Still, a pre-season game against a non-rival? Seems kind of out of place. Though if anyone wants to argue that if you're on the ice you play hard, I won't disagree.

It didn't look like he did to me. The way the hit happens it looks like his right foot comes off when his shoulder makes contact.

[Biter]

Still, a pre-season game against a non-rival? Seems kind of out of place.

Definitely out of place, in my opinion.

Kessel to the Leafs for 2010 1st and 2nd and 2011 1st

Man, watching the Leafs might be kind of fun this season. They've got Gustavsson along with a solid defense, and now they've added a scorer.

[BLU-RAY]

Definitely out of place, in my opinion.

Kessel to the Leafs for 2010 1st and 2nd and 2011 1st

Man, watching the Leafs might be kind of fun this season. They've got Gustavsson along with a solid defense, and now they've added a scorer.

I think we gave up too much for him; however, he's probably the difference between missing the playoffs and getting in. Hopefully, he'll bust his ass here; I can't really fault him too heavily for having disputes with Claude Julien, who's known as kind of a hardass, but Ron Wilson is kind of a hardass too, on occasion.

[Caligula_K]

Argh, Kessel to Toronto, five years. He'll be out till November, but it's always scary for me when the Leafs have a good chance of being better than the Habs. Though Toronto gave up quite a few draft picks for him... We'll see how that affects them in the future.

[TheHoundRules]

Definitely out of place, in my opinion.

Kessel to the Leafs for 2010 1st and 2nd and 2011 1st

Man, watching the Leafs might be kind of fun this season. They've got Gustavsson along with a solid defense, and now they've added a scorer.

May be out of place, but it is hard to athletes to take it easy at times. You want your team playing hard, but you hate to see people getting hurt in games that mean nothing.

Leafs gave up a bit to much I think, but it definitely helps them.

[Rexor]

Phaneuf...yikes.

I think the only thing dirty about that hit was Okposo was already hit by someone else and definitely was not in a position to be leveled by a different guy. His body was slightly spun around and Phaneuf took advantage of it.

[Brandon Stark]

Living in the area of Michigan where I do, I'm lucky enough to get CBC on our cable provider. I used to think that this was only a bonus due to HNiC and a great alternative to US national broadcasts during the playoffs, but now there's something else:

Ken Daneyko, Bob Probert, Claude Lemieux, Glenn Anderson, Tie Domi, Ron Dugay, Stephane Richer, and Craig Simpson are all starring in a Dancing with the Stars-style reality show in which they're paired with female figure skaters. Its called Battle of the Blades and it will be awesome.

In other news, Detroit continues its trend of being on the edge of world scouting. :P They just inked a South African native to an entry level deal.

Andreas Lilja is -still- not cleared to play due to post-concussion symptoms from a fight in Feb. of last year. He was a pretty solid defensive defenseman, but I think he might be done. Konstantinov and Fischer were certainly higher-profile and more talented players, but none the less would stink to keep our streak alive of unexpectedly losing a D every few years.

[Lord O' Bones]

"Thank your lucky stars it isn’t the television feed- there is no one worse than Hayward (Anaheim's color guy). I'd rather listen to a Nickelback house techno remix while watching pigs fornicate than sit through another game called by that guy."

-Mr. PLank of Fearthefin.com on the prospect of watching a Sharks game via a Ducks broadcast. It's funny because it's true.