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Thread: NHL Thread

  1. #61
    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: NHL Thread

    I would think the NHL will look to play more of these outdoor games.
    Nope, it's a bone they throw to those who don't like hockey. More will be yearly, not multiple by year.

    To those of us who do like hockey it becomes a novelty, bad ice, too cold for the players.. it's a nice thought and if you ever glided across a lake in a snow flurry chasing a puck you get it even more. But it's a marketing device that doesn't raise the game to it's highest level, it brings it down to its roots.


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  3. #62
    Are we not men? Yachtzee's Avatar
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou View Post
    Nope, it's a bone they throw to those who don't like hockey. More will be yearly, not multiple by year.

    To those of us who do like hockey it becomes a novelty, bad ice, too cold for the players.. it's a nice thought and if you ever glided across a lake in a snow flurry chasing a puck you get it even more. But it's a marketing device that doesn't raise the game to it's highest level, it brings it down to its roots.
    I got that impression. More of a spectacle to draw interest in hockey rather than an idea for a regular weekly event. I would think trying to put the rink out there and keep it in NHL quality condition on a week to week basis, with changing weather conditions, might be a bit cost prohibitive as well.
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  4. #63
    Posting in Dynarama M2's Avatar
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by SteelSD View Post
    Well, that and the Pitt management can't seem to figure out what actual defensemen look like.
    It would seem the Pens' plan to get around that is to play Gonchar and Whitney for half the game. Whitney's an interesting guy, better in the pros than he was in college.
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  5. #64
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou View Post
    Nope, it's a bone they throw to those who don't like hockey. More will be yearly, not multiple by year.

    To those of us who do like hockey it becomes a novelty, bad ice, too cold for the players.. it's a nice thought and if you ever glided across a lake in a snow flurry chasing a puck you get it even more. But it's a marketing device that doesn't raise the game to it's highest level, it brings it down to its roots.
    I agree it shouldn't be done more than once a year, but I like it a lot. It's a reminder that hockey has roots. It's also nice to see that tens of thousands of people haven't become so squeamish that they can't sit out in the cold for two hours.
    I'm not a system player. I am a system.

  6. #65
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by M2 View Post
    It would seem the Pens' plan to get around that is to play Gonchar and Whitney for half the game. Whitney's an interesting guy, better in the pros than he was in college.
    The Pens' plan should be to find some actual Defensemen. Unfortunately, the actual plan appears to rely on kids and old guys with very little in-between. Mark Recchi's bubble finally burst, as did Gary Roberts' prior to breaking his leg (almost merciful for the Pens).

    Ryan Whitney's one of those decent grinders who's marginally good enough to have a slot on the Power Play, but is one of those guys you wish you couldn't remember rather than have to root for. And don't even get me started on the total disappearance of Jordan Staal. Yeah, he's young, but he went from a threat to a complete non-entity this season. If the Pens are going to get better, he's a huge key.

    That being said, the Pittsburgh strength is in their centers and there's little elsewhere. It's bad design. Even-strength, you've got a magician (Crosby) trying to pass to an inconsistent Malkin or low-level options and decent-to-good Goalies (including Ty Conklin's coming-out party) trying to prevent goals in front of bad Defensemen.

    Right now, the team feels like an island of misfit toys. The Jagr trade was a complete disaster as I figured it would be and the Pens keep thinking that if they can just get in enough mediocre veterans in order to provide leadership that the kids can combine to get over the hump.

    They've been playing well as of late (see: Conklin, Ty) but the roster I'm looking at is just another potential first round playoff loss.
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Just to take a little poll, without starting a new thread, how many guys on here listen to the jackets on the radio, when they arent on TV, like the last two nights?
    Let's make some noise!

  8. #67
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by SteelSD View Post
    And don't even get me started on the total disappearance of Jordan Staal. Yeah, he's young, but he went from a threat to a complete non-entity this season. If the Pens are going to get better, he's a huge key.
    The Pens made a huge mistake with that draft pick. I said it at the time to fellow Hawk fans, but I've always felt the Staal family has been quite overrated. Eric has been having his fair shair of problems since his breakout 100 point season.

    Jonathan Toews at the time was the superior player, and at this point it's blatantly obvious. Alongside Crosby, I don't think there would be a better 1-2 punch in hockey right now. I remember Dale Tallon was basically praying the Pens would take Staal so that Toews could fall into the Hawks lap during the draft. Hawks' lucked out for a change.

    BTW: What's the big problem with Whitney? Granted I haven't seen him play much at all this season, but I was pretty impressed with him last year. I mean he was at nearly a PPG pace after the break.
    Last edited by Patrick Bateman; 01-04-2008 at 12:32 AM.

  9. #68
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by SteelSD View Post
    Mark Recchi's bubble finally burst, .
    ...and has been blown back up in Atlanta..

  10. #69
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Sean_CaseyRules View Post
    Just to take a little poll, without starting a new thread, how many guys on here listen to the jackets on the radio, when they arent on TV, like the last two nights?
    I have the Center Ice package myself, so all the games are on and generally both feeds if both teams are broadcasting.

    I have probably listened to 1 game on the radio in the past 25 years, but I was weaned on the best of them.. Bud Lynch and listened to him back in the 70's.

    As for announcers no team seems as loud and vibrant as the Sabres team, it's like listening to old school hockey announcers.

  11. #70
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Raisor View Post
    ...and has been blown back up in Atlanta..
    Recchi is in his Paul Coffey end of his career phase, he's gone Flyer, Pen and Pen again, now Thrasher... he's a human pinball who plays on the 3rd line.

  12. #71
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Hockey needs to get back on regular TV more often. If they can work that out, they'll lure in some new fans.

    I watched the outdoor classic the other day and remembered that I enjoy watching hockey. It's the first game I'd seen in a few years as I recall.

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  13. #72
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Austin Kearns View Post
    The Pens made a huge mistake with that draft pick. I said it at the time to fellow Hawk fans, but I've always felt the Staal family has been quite overrated. Eric has been having his fair shair of problems since his breakout 100 point season.

    Jonathan Toews at the time was the superior player, and at this point it's blatantly obvious. Alongside Crosby, I don't think there would be a better 1-2 punch in hockey right now. I remember Dale Tallon was basically praying the Pens would take Staal so that Toews could fall into the Hawks lap during the draft. Hawks' lucked out for a change.

    BTW: What's the big problem with Whitney? Granted I haven't seen him play much at all this season, but I was pretty impressed with him last year. I mean he was at nearly a PPG pace after the break.
    Oh, I really don't have an issue with Ryan Whitney. He's a decent mid-tier Defenseman. It's just that on a good defensive team, a guy like Whitney would just sort of meld into the background. It's not that I don't appreciate Whitney. It's just that I really don't like that the Pens' defense is so bad that he actually stands out.

    As for Staal, I was worried at the end of last season after he posted a shooting percentage (22.1) that's pretty much unrepeatable and an unsustainable number of short-handed goals (7). Add in only 13 Assists, and you have a one-dimensional offensive profile. He's on the flip side of that SPCT this season (3.9%), so that projects to improve at some point, but his Assist rate really has gone nowhere.

    He's young and I think it'd be silly to expect that his game be as refined as a Crosby or even Malkin, but color me concerned. And yeah, I don't doubt that his gene pool may have attributed to Staal's draft slot.
    "The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer

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  14. #73
    Probably not Patrick Bateman's Avatar
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by SteelSD View Post
    Oh, I really don't have an issue with Ryan Whitney. He's a decent mid-tier Defenseman. It's just that on a good defensive team, a guy like Whitney would just sort of meld into the background. It's not that I don't appreciate Whitney. It's just that I really don't like that the Pens' defense is so bad that he actually stands out.
    That's fair. He's certainly not a premier defensive player. I think he has great use on the PP, but you would definitely want a more refined defensive player to lead things instead of having 2 guys who I would characterize as offensive minded (Whitney and Gonchar). In an ideal world (say Detroit or Ottawa), I think Whitney sees the lions share of his time on the PP, while settling into a second pairing role on even strength.

    As for Staal, I was worried at the end of last season after he posted a shooting percentage (22.1) that's pretty much unrepeatable and an unsustainable number of short-handed goals (7). Add in only 13 Assists, and you have a one-dimensional offensive profile. He's on the flip side of that SPCT this season (3.9&#37, so that projects to improve at some point, but his Assist rate really has gone nowhere.
    Great point. This is something I have been pimping for quite some time, but my hockey friends don't believe that shooting percentage can be a luck factor. It's the reason I didn't buy into Jordan Staal's hype last season (or Mike Ribiero's insane current 40 goal pace). I don't mind his long term outlook. Big bodies like Stall are projects, and in all fairness shouldn't be expected to be top 6 guys right away. If anything, it's nice that the rest of his game is quite refined for his age, and once he figures out what to do with his size he could explode ala Bertuzzi.

    One of my beefs with Eric Staal is that his all around game is dreadful. Since he came into the league he has been thrusted into a scorers role where he's expected to lead the team. And at such a young age, Staal didn't have much of a chance to work on some of the finer points in hockey. That's one area where I see a big advantage for Jordan. He's never going to be a liability out there, so even if his goal scoring fails to break out, there will still always be a role for him. Eric obviously has the better offensive game for now, but I remain skeptical of him having another 100 point year. Even if Jordan can become a 65ish point guy (and in time I think he will) he will be far more valuable than his older brother.
    Last edited by Patrick Bateman; 01-04-2008 at 05:01 PM.

  15. #74
    smells of rich mahogany deltachi8's Avatar
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    Re: NHL Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou View Post
    I
    As for announcers no team seems as loud and vibrant as the Sabres team, it's like listening to old school hockey announcers.
    Yep. I am completely spoiled.
    Nothing to see here. Please disperse.

  16. #75
    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: NHL Thread

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/sp...tml?ref=hockey

    Several teams have approached the N.H.L. about staging outdoor games next season, after the success of Tuesday’s game between the Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium outside Buffalo, a league spokesman said.

    The game drew 71,217 fans and generated a wave of good feeling for the league and the sport. It had the highest American television rating for a regular-season game in more than a decade. In Canada, it had the second-highest rating for a daytime game in the regular season, trailing only Wayne Gretzky’s farewell game.

    “There have been several expressions of interest,” said Frank Brown, the N.H.L. vice president for media relations, but he did not specify from which teams.

    The Flyers’ president, Peter Luukko, has had “informal conversations” about staging a game between the Flyers and the Penguins at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, a Flyers spokesman said.

    Detroit Coach Mike Babcock suggested the Red Wings play a game at Michigan Stadium. Other suggestions made last week for future outdoor games involved Yankee Stadium, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and Montreal.


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