TheChimp

I'm starting to wonder which thread to post these thoughts in, now that there are two with almost the same subject matter....but the way Leino is taking the last game completely off, here, perhaps everybody is wrong when they assume that Darcy won't think of trading his brand new contract away....

Understood. You and Eleven. The other 17,998 of us I think disagree. :D

You get a first for the likes of Paul Gaustad, you're in good shape. And the Stafford-Ennis-Foligno line is all that is good about the team right now. You split that up and you destroy the only thing the fans want to pay money for, no?

Yup, I would say so.

Our new #1 line really should be Foligno, Ennis and Stafford. This is the one good thing from this season and if this line is broken up I'd be pretty ticked off. I think our shut-down line is really effective with Roy and Pominville on it and we should keep them right where they are, while we develop some younger guys to replace them in 2013 and 2014, respectively. (unless we decide to keep both Roy and Poms, which I'd not mind). I think Gerbe can replace Leino on the LW here, too, as he really did a good job when he had his stint on the shut-down line with Leino and Kaleta. Back to the #2 scoring line. Vanek can be traded. He's a guy that I can see the Sabres using to move WAY up in the draft with, and then we can all cross our fingers that Leino can do even 3/4 of what Vanek did in that role. I think that's an easy bet. Hodgson, Tropp and Leino is a #2 line I can see doing good things. Our 4th line, I don't care who ends up there but I hope to be surprised by some Rochester guys in camp. If not, Ellis, McCormick and Kaleta are just fine with me there. I'm going to have to think about whether I know enough about our defensemen to make anything even resembling an educated guess about them, but if I had to choose my squad right now, I guess I'd go with Ehrhoff and Sulzer, Myers and Sekera, and Leopold and McNabb. Regehr, like Vanek, would make pretty attractive draft day trade bait for higher picks. But there are guys in Rochester who I am VERY excited to see in camp. And as usual, everything I just posted is subject to change at the drop of a hat :D

But see, that's still quite an offer and goes back to my original point. Numbers don't lie. Ennis gets that much, and we'll have to subtract more than Brown will add. I like Tropp more and more every day :)

Roy no longer bothers me one single bit. Stafford neither. Certeinly not enough to lose their skills just so Vanek's line gets Brown.

Stamkos didn't get an offer sheet when he became a RFA, you're saying? I mean ?!?!?!?!???!?!!*&?$#!??(*^%?)??!!!^?!:::"?$$$? :ph34r: Alright, so I guess I didn't know that the Vanek offer was that much of an anomaly. I thought the AMOUNT was what everyone was mad at Lowe for. And then these other young phenoms all came to their RFA and I just assumed that the offer sheets would just flow in. Didn't know it was some unwritten rule that Lowe broke. OK< so Ennis will get what, a million then? Still, to get a Dustin Brown, it looks like we'll have to give up a 4-mil+ guy, even after doing the chincy stuff like replacing McCormick's 1.2 with a rookie salary and that kind of stuff. I'll be interested in which of those guys Darcy moves. And I'll also be curious who he replaces them with, as Brown goes to Vanek's line.

I just checked Capgeek, and with Ennis due to get a BIG offer sheet this coming offseason and no way in Hell Regier letting him go, to get Brown here we'd have to shed a Roy, Leino, or Stafford to make space. Not just one but actually two higher-priced guys would have to go, and that's AFTER Boyes and hecht are allowed to walk.

Yes, I think this will be the deciding factor. Kassian will be fine. Look how long we had to wait for Hodgson's first points. And Vancouver doesn't juggle lines nearly as often as Lindy does, so it could take Kass a while yet to find his true linemates. But Sulzer. This is what's making me think Darcy is way smarter than I EVER gave him credit for. Dude makes us better. Has since he started.

I feel we have too many 6th and 7th lines, but I'll be damned if you're gonna get me to make a roster. :ph34r:

No. I like this one. :D YOU make one if you don't like mine.

The Gerbe thread got me thinking. I'm done bitching about Roy, and I'm definitely off any anti-Stafford bandwagon. Obviously, Regier has no plans to get rid of Leino after signing him to that monster contract, but IMO, he should try. So, this is my idea right now. Due to change at the drop of a hat: Foligno - Ennis - Stafford Vanek - Hodgson - Pominville Gerbe - Roy - Kaleta Ellis - Turnbull - Tropp

I don't understand. All people have to do when circumstances change and make what they said previously appear incorrect, is admit it, and enjoy the team showing you that you might have been unnecessarily pessimistic or judgmental. I find myself doing that lately, and frankly, the feeling of joy at the team's surprising (to me) success far overshadows any embarrassment I might feel for having thrown them under the bus previously. I certainly don't recommend this kind of humility to just anyone, of course. :ph34r:

HA!!! Something told me they'd just skip Sedin's upper arm shiver to Keith's jaw and do something like this. LMAO. This league gets more full of ###### by the minute.

Just saw the story about Duncan Keith's elbow to D. Sedin's head and almost (ALMOST) started this post before I scrolled down to see Sedin hit KEITH square in the jaw with HIS shoulder/upper arm earlier in the game. Just weighing in. Both need to get suspended a few games IMO.

This one looks good to me. Thanks for the link.

I loved it when Koziol mentioned how Lindy had said before this (Florida 03/17) game that he was going to "start juggling the lines" to try and get some chemistry going.

Being relegated to listening to these games on my internet WGR 550 feed, I am a little in the dark as to the line combos. How many shifts has Hodgson played with Vanek and Pominville, a bunch or very few?

I used to think this made sense. Not so sure anymore. So long as you have a complete team under the Cap, I don't care if your top-paid player fits best on the checking or even the grinder line, and some scrub rookie getting 867 thou a season fits right in at #1 Center, if it works and you are beating the crap out of teams, great.

We needed someone to replace Gaustad's shut-down abilities QUICK, and Leino, who would have been the last guy I'd have thought could fill that role, has gone in and not only filled it but IMPROVED that line.

Welcome to the boards!! We need some more females here posting, that is for damned sure. So what are your thoughts on our coach still not having put old CoHo with our two top scorers to see what he's got?

It's too bad Lindy doesn't wanna try Hodgson with the top line, so we can see if we might have something there.

Interesting.

As I was typing that about Gaustad, I did think about how well Leino's line has played this last few games, but yes, I agree, he'd not want to stay there. Maybe he can continue this quick growth, prove that he's finally found his game, and give us that option to replace Roy that Leino was supposed to represent, who knows? EDIT: You guys are way ahead of me on this, huh? So do we think Roy would accept a third line centerman role the rest of his career? And if he actually did, would the fans not start yammering that he's paid too much to be there?