carpandean

A consistent 30-50-80 player, especially one that is also strong defensively, will cost you more than $5.3 million in today's NHL. 25-45-70 is probably more like it. For reference, one player per team, on average, scored 70 points or more last year.

I was hoping all summer to see Vanek back on the right side and now that he's back there, that line is going really well. I don't know what happened to Hecht-Connolly-Pommer. They've never been a #1 line, but they've played a lot better in years past when the other scoring line was Vanek-Roy-Stafford. Now that they have more of a legitimate top line, they should be more effective, not less.

You forgot "and Pommer's gold chain." :thumbsup:

Unless you have the stats on how many goals have been scored while he is basically giving the other team a free powerplay, then it's hard to really say whether it's a good thing or not. I seem to remember that the Sabres had several great chances right before he got that breakaway. So, it may be a safe strategy against a team like the Sabres that has trouble finishing, especially with the man advantage, but not all teams have such problems. He could just have easily cost him team a regulation loss, which given the NHL scoring system, is actually worse than giving them an increased chance of a regulation win.

I don't know about others, but I don't want the status quo, nor did I want Kovy. When it comes to these lifetime, high salary contracts, even more than regular contracts, you have to be extremely selective in who you give them to. The right one can be great for the franchise, but the wrong one can seriously hurt it for a very long time. These aren't the type of contracts that you give to the best player available in a given year, but rather to one who is one of the best players period. Crosby and Ovechkin definitely fit the bill, but beyond that, the justification drops off quite a bit. I didn't want the Sabres giving such a contract to another soft, one-way winger, who hasn't shown to be any kind of team leader. Some would argue that Vanek's contract is already really hurting the Sabres and it's only a fraction of the length of the one that the Devil's gave Kovy. I'd much rather see such a contract go to a Mike Richards (for example); a 30-goal center with leadership qualities, who plays with a physical edge and knows that the rink continue behind his own blue line.

Yes, thus the :rolleyes: . :thumbsup:

Battle of the division winners turned cellar dwellers. Sabres should watch out, though, as NJ will be a desperate team. :rolleyes:

I have to disagree. His shooting % is up in Toronto (at an unsustainable 24%), but he is skating like he usually did at the start of the season and for stretches throughout. Clarke was always either going 100 MPH, buzzing around the rink, or just completely disappeared. His production in Atlanta was no different than here (actually, it was weighted more toward assists than goals) and having only played 21 games there, it's hard to say that he was more consistent there. Maybe, he'll finally put together a consistent season in Toronto, but that's the only part that would be surprising. The one knock that you could put on Lindy is that Clarke may have been taken off scoring lines to quickly, which might not happen in Toronto.

Unfortunately, so will the rest of us ...

It's sad, but if I do end up getting a new jersey this year, then the leading candidate is McCormick. Of course, my current home jersey is a Mair one. I have a soft spot for players who actually care, which means I usually have to look at the bottom of the roster.

It was funny: the Atlanta announcer (don't ask) commented on how good of a defensive play he made right before that rush, saying something along the lines of "what's going on? Montador is playing great defense right now." Then, that play happened and he said, "that's the Montador I know!"

Watching that video, you'd think we'd be all set since we still have the Vanek-Roy-Stafford line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4jGSvxCRp4

I agree, she was not bad and not too old, but not "young and hot." It was more about her huge ... uh, sign. Yeah, those ... er, that.

6th on this team? Not exactly a compelling argument. I'd still rather have the potential of what Kassian could bring down the road than a guy who might improve our bottom pair.

Since he's an offensive Dman with 0 points in 4 games, you may want to at least let it go until he starts producing. ;)

Vision's fine; just distracted.

I'm watching the game again this morning on MSG's replay and I still wouldn't have known what the sign said if Rick hadn't said it. :bag:

I think you may be onto something, but more damning was Ennis' lack of celebration. Young kid, first goal of the season, no reaction? Lindy, what have you done?!! :rolleyes:

Miller is on skates, right? :blink: :nana:

If you did it more than twice a game, then I'm siding with the old ladies. Man, is that annoying.

Along the lines of the question that I asked in the 5'8" defenseman thread: how many of those guys are in our top six forwards or our top pair defensemen; i.e., the guys who are on the ice most of the time? Maybe Rivet? Most of those guys are fourth liners, who occasionally move up to the third line. Gaustad sniffed the top-six once or twice over the last two years, but definitely isn't slotted there. So, even when they are banging bodies during their 5-15 minutes, our team is still soft for the majority of the time. Hopefully, Kassian will work out and be at least a physical presence on the second line, if not the first. However, I agree that we need to make a move to address this concern this year. While he will get his chance at training camp, just like all prospects, Kassian will likely be heading back to the OHL for at least one more year.

By the way, the title should be changed, as NHL.com lists him as 6'3", 210 lbs.

He also said that he was hands down the best checker and best fighter in the draft class (top prospects.)

Good, I've been missing the spin-o-rama since Soupy left! I'm glad that they took him and agree that there was definitely a message in that pick. As I said before, he could end up being "just" a Goose or possibly Mair type player or he could be a Getzlaf. What he won't be is an undersized, finesse third-liner.