apuszczalowski
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Posts posted by apuszczalowski
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I believe they dumped Smid in preparation of another move. Neither of those players picked up from Calgary are going to do much in Edmonton. I think many hockey fans that follow the talent somewhat closely feel the same way. I also believe Hemsky will get moved as well. Maybe as part of a blueline solution, just speculating on that end of it though. My eye is on the cap for them, and not just short term, but somewhat longer term as well.
Agreed on Hall. I too feel it would be foolish to jettison Eberle and to early to do the same to Yak.
The move with Calgary with Smid was to clear cap space to sign Bryz. Its why the move took a while to announce cause they had to wait for the physicals to finish and the trade to be official to give them room to sign Bryz
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As I said, it all depends on your perspective. From my angle on the ice, I'm a Vezina candidate in net, from sitting in the stands watching, if I'm able to keep myself awake, I would probably get beaten routinely by the 8 year olds on the travel team that just got off the ice before me.You guys are ruining the mental image I have of you playing hockey. I've been imagining really good hockey.
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I find that most times, when I'm on the ice it can feel like I'm playing at a high level, then I go to watch other games in the league and you realize just how bad the play really is......Okay, I played last night, and it was just bad.
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I get similar problems, feels like shin splints, usually when I am playing in net, not so much when i play out. I have wanted to try using those new Dr. Scholls inserts on TV to go in my skates to see if it helpsI have a related question. Whenever I skate (or ski for that matter), my feet always cramp up. It's been like that since I was in high school (eons ago), and it happens even if I wear ultra thin socks. I've never had the money to buy custom made boots or skates, but actually I am willing to do that now because my growing days are long over and because thankfully I have some money to spend.
Any suggestions here? Other than buying custom, are there other things to do to make skating (or skiing) more enjoyable without cramping up the feet?
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In case you haven't been there in a while, they aren't on Ferry near Clifton Hill. After they re-opened from the Bankruptcy years ago they decided to sell that building and move onto Queen Street (Downtown Niagara Falls)rental skates will make you hate skating.
my advice, as someone who never really learned to skate as a kid (but played a ridiculous amount of street hockey): think about high-quality (top-brand) used skates, at least for starters. they'll be broken in, and that is a big bonus for middle-aged novices.
and i know it's another 30 minutes from buffalo, but i can't say enough good things about Cupolo's in niagara falls, ontario. they have lots of good hockey gear, but it's their used skates that i've had good success with. my one big caveat: i am not sure that they're still open. at one point they moved from ferry to queen, and then they were shuttered for a while with money problems. anyway, if they're still around, i recommend them.
finally, as jock said, when it comes time to buy a new pair of skates: spend some cash. it will be worth it.
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His agent would agree with youI'm betting $50 the charges are way trumped up. Doing no research that is. Don't know the guy at all and he could be a total scumbag, but in my experience these charges rarely tell any of the story, they hardly ever stick and are either dismissed or severely reduced.
Edit: But hey, I could be way off and I wouldn't be surprised either way.
Says he is innocent and that the charges are part of a conspiracy to keep Russia from winning the gold i Socchi
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But does East management Services have anything to do with the operation of the Sabres, or is it just for the new Harbour Center hockey stuff? If thats the case, then I doubt he has any thoughts on DarcyHey! Joe Ba's in Buffalo!
Granted, Pegula and Joe Ba pile the kids in the same stationwagon for a Sunday trip to the beach....but he actually makes sense to hire.
There is something to be encouraged about here if it doesn't backfire....Battista is a good mix of business, hockey, common sense, and used car salesman. He is qualified for a position like this, and maybe even can help the fans out. He seems to have a high tempo common sense about him, which on one hand oozes out car salesman, but at the same time, he has some street smarts and honesty creeps into his comments all the time. He's as much of a good ol' boy Penn Stater as anyone, and runs the exact same lower level circles as Benson. He however took the Second Mile/Sandusky thing head on...and was unapologetic for seeing the good things about his dealings with some of the guilty people and organizations, while at the same time chastised the bad actions and apologized for not seeing things sooner. That was solid.
This is where I see this as a positive. Darcy.....you can't BS a BS'r. I can see Battista hanging around for a few months, scoping out Darcy, and having the actual balls to puff on a cigar with scotch in hand and tell Pegula.."This Darcy character ain't gonna get it done." Battista thinks big and has pulled off some projects in his time, and he says about 5x as many words as Darcy in the same period of time. I can see him taking command of a situation, and not being too impressed with Regier. I have heard a bunch of Battista's interviews and it seems he has a good feel for the intangibles of teambuilding and leadership.
Now....where this can backfire is if Pegula ends up putting Battista in as GM himself. I don't think they are that crazy, and Battista has enough common sense I would hope to push for an experienced NHL level guy. But between pushing Darcy out, overseeing some of the things with Black (I'd be a tad nervous if I were him as well, but not as much as Darcy), and doing deals on the Harbor Center front....Battista can make himself a hero. I don't think he sees any idea as too big, and even though he is buddy buddy with Pegula like Benson, he actually has played, coached, built a program, and run operations.
God Bless us all....I need a drink......
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The talk from the Islanders on why they were willing to let him go was that they feel that his numbers are only what they are because of Tavares, guess we will see if they are right or wrong (was thinking of slipping in a spelling mistake there)I'll have to double check the exact numbers when I get home later, but after the trade I checked it out and while his numbers were somewhat better with Tavares than without him, the inflation was smaller than I expected.
If he proves that it wasn't because of Tavares, then I stand by my comment that this further proves Garth is in way over his head giving up a 1st and 2nd for a small improvement stat wise, unless he is also really dumb and thought Vanek was Miller.........
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Outside of Edmonton and maybe Winnepeg, how many Canadian teams are looking for a goalie right now? Montreal has Price, theres an article on TSN talking about the Leafs having the best tandem in the NHL outside of Colorado, The Canucks have Lou, the Sens are good, the Flames don't have a big name but have been doing fine so far with their rebuild this offseason. Edmonton and Winnepeg are probably 2 of the locations on most players No Trade Lists, they are not attractive places to sign in Canada. A 3-way deal could be worked out with Buffalo sending Miller to a team like Philly, and maybe Myers (I hope) or Ehrhoff to Edmonton, and Philly then sending maybe mason to Edmonton, although I'm sure they want someone more established right now and not another "potential" goalie. If you want to start looking at 3-way deals, I would try to work something out with Pittsburgh, with Miller going there, and Fleury being sent to Edmonton.Indeed. In fact I think right now is the time the Sabres should be finding a team that wants exclusive negotiating rights with Miller. If there is a team that is going to go after him next year then perhaps they can facilitate the goalie trade to Edmonton and take Miller (contingent on contract extension, or not I suppose). The Sabres can basically work a three-way trade to send a D to Edmonton and perhaps get some picks/prospects from Miller's preferred team along with something from Edmonton.
That's the best hope I see at this point if it's true that Miller blackballed all Canadian teams (which won't make him real popular in Canada I am thinking).
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You hope they can get a 1st for him, its going to depend on If he can show that his numbers weren't inflated by playing with Tavares and that he is as good as his numbers show, something the Islanders believed not to be true. Plus, the closer you get to the deadline, the less they might be able to get because he is a UFA and might just be a short term rental for someone. If he continues to play like he did on monday though, I have no doubt Buffalo could get a 1st for him, and Garth Snow is in way over his headYes.. he took hits in front of the net. He didn't really ever get a body on people on the ice and he usually lagged behind the play when it turned back towards the Sabres zone. There is more than just the slot in front of the opposition net to playing hockey. Vanek has talent, it's his choice to apply it. You can point to his OT goal against Washington as proof. He can chase people down. He has excellent stick skills to shoot and steal the puck. He has speed when he wants to use it. He just doesn't do it all the time.
As for the conditional pick they discussed on WGR the possibility that Darcy asked for it. I thought the reasoning was fairly solid too. The Isles gained very little out of this. They can flip Vanek but do we think they'll get more than they would have gained by flipping Moulson? if they can only replace it then they basically lost Moulson for nothing. The Sabres on the other hand can flip a player who hasn't been declared as going to Minnesota yet and has proven goal scoring ability. If the Isles are picking 1-10 this year the Sabres get a 1st round pick in a deep draft in 2015. They can get another 1st rounder this year if they flip Moulson as well.
If the Islanders do make the playoffs or pick 11-30 then the Sabres get a 1st rounder this year and can still flip Moulson for a 1st rounder next year, etc.
I dunno, the Sabres seem to have a ton of upside here whereas the Islanders can only hope to flip Vanek to replace what they gave up in the first place and if they are flipping Vanek that means they expect to miss the playoffs or not have a chance in which case they could be in the 1-10 range.
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I would hold off on talking about the instant chemistry they have after a few games, It seems like every player that gets moved always has one of their best games in the first game they play in with their new team. If he continues scoring like he did on Monday, then we can talk about chemistry.Let us take a look at 2009 to present. In 2009 Matt Moulson finally made the permanent transition from the AHL to the NHL which is the reason I am starting with that year. I am not counting this seasons stats so it ends with the regular season stats of the 2012/2013 season.
From 2009-2013:
Thomas Vanek - 106g, 122a, for 228pts
Matt Moulson - 112g, 102a, for 214pts
What this seems to equate to is that we traded Vanek's goal scoring prowess for better goal scorer with less assists plus we added picks. Now in the media and around the board a lot ppl have said that Tavares has inflated Moulson's numbers and that he is a average player who will see a big drop in his production. Until that does indeed happen, which I think is unlikely given how Hodgson passes, it seems Moulson may give us a little more in the goals department but overall Darcy got a very similar player back. Now obviously they have different styles of play but this trade is very interesting given that we saw Moulson's scoring already and the instant chemistry he generated with Hodgson.
This I think is the major draw back to Moulson is that he isn't as much of a two-way guy. Vanek definitely is better in his own end.
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If Vanek was truly part of their rebuilding plans, they wouldn't have traded him so early, the writing is on the wall that they want to go with a full youth movement with picks and prospects. There may have been rumors that they offered him a huge deal, but I don't think those were confirmed by the team?I'm not sure how you come to this conclusion. Vanek is gone because he didn't want to stay through the rebuild, but that doesn't mean the Sabres didn't want him--all indications are the Sabres DID want him. Moulson may well be a rental who is flipped at the deadline, but it's not because the team doesn't think a 29 year old player can fit in.
How does offering him to Toronto guarantee he signs in Minnesota?
As for the Toronto part, I believe Sick believes that Darcy wouldn't be dumb enough to contact a division rival and offer them one of their best players in a deal without knowing that he would only be a rental to them because he has already made up his mind that he is off to the Wild next season
I don't see why the Leafs would do the deal, I think they have more of a need for defence right now and not a scoring forward. I'm sure they would have gladly taken Vanek if the Sabres kept a chunk of salary, and took back some bad contracts for them to get them under the cap, but I don't see why they would given Buffalo anything decent for him when he isn't a need for them.Toronto is in a pretty terrible cap situation, so them not taking on Vanek could be a result of that just as easily as Vanek being unwilling to sign there.
Edit: Put another way, how many teams want to invest $16MM in two wingers?
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This deal was really a surprise, didn't even know the Islanders were looking at Vanek.
For those that think picks are gold, this deal was a steal for the Sabres. Anyway you look at it, it was confusing on the Islanders part because they gave up Moulson in the deal too. On the ice while looking at the stats, it does not appear they upgraded except if you believe that Moulson is at his peak playing with a talent like Tavares while vanek has not reached his potential because he doesn't have an elite talent to play with in Buffalo. It looks confusing also because the islanders biggest concerns according to the "experts" was on defence and in net, which this does not address (unless something else is being worked on that will eventual send Miller to them in a deal that will look more lopsided in the other direction)
its hard to get excited watching Moulson out there because you know that he is purely a rental and won't be here long (If Vanek didn't fit into their re-building plans, how can a guy who is the same age fit in?), and this deal continues to signal to the league that the Sabres are for sale and are going through the motions this season in hopes of getting the #1 pick.
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The Colts aren't nearly the team that the Broncos are, though. The Broncos were a better team for Peyton.
What does that have to do with anything?
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I was using the comparison to disprove some of the idea that tanking for a pick might only work in some special situationsNot sure where you got that I was making a comparison between the Sabres and Colts. It was a general point about tanking and how some think winning is always better.
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Its a little bit easier to tank in the NFL when its a guarantee that with the worst record you get the #1 pick and not just the best chance in the lottery.And I'm sure both the franchise and the fans are completely devastated they drafted Luck instead of winning two extra times.
(Yes, I know a generational QB has no hockey equivalent)
Its also much easier to have to go through 1 season of being the worst to being right back on track the next year.
The Colts had been one of the best AFC teams since they acquired Peyton Manning in the draft, he was hurt for one full season and they get Luck. Had they not gotten the #1 pick in the draft, they would have still had Peyton Manning and still went on to be one of the better AFC teams. Thats much easier to swallow then a mediocre fringe playoff team for what, 7 years since Drury/Briere, to continuing to get worse and being a complete embarrassment now. The Colts already had a playoff team in place with a good QB playing, they just had to replace 1 player with another to keep going. The Sabres have to do alot more, and need alot of luck/help to get to a point they haven't really been in almost 10 years.
The Colts might be a good comparrison if say next year Crosby goes down and the pens suck to get the #1 pick, and then move Crosby
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I know it was, I never took offence to itAnd correct Pominville. :D
Lighten up Buttercup. It was a joke.
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No, I was trying to add a separate post that had nothing to do with that comment and it kept merging them no matter how long I took betweenLOL took 3 tries to correct Pominville. :P
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And at one time they had a deep prospect pool that include such talents as Pominville, Roy, Vanek, Miller, etc, Where did that get them again? Sorry if I don't get overly excited because some guys at a website think we have guys that could be good in the future playing in the minors (or on this roster currently)"Deepest," "one of the deepest." Whichever. Some say we have THE deepest, some have us among the deepest. Considering hockeysfuture (for one example) had us as the EIGHTH deepest BEFORE the draft or acquiring Larsson/Hackett... There's not a lot to be excited for in Buffalo, but if you try to deny that our prospect pool is incredibly deep and talented then you're trying way too hard to be negative...
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Thats very debatableSure, but we've got the deepest prospect pool. I think it was hockey prospectus that said we have the best prospect pool of any team since the early 90s. Every team has prospects, but there's an obvious difference in level of prospects and amount of them...
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Gotta agree, gives you a chuckle but the joke was a little RuffLame, but I laughed.
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Its the same with every team though. all teams have prospects and guys that are going to develop and could turn into legitimate stars. Only difference is most teams will continue to build around them and get better while Buffalo takes the wait and see approach hoping that everyone develops and can just use what they have to build a winnerNot getting carried away. I legitimately believe it. I think in 3-4 years the team will be back in the playoffs, 5-6 years it will start being a legitimate threat and 7-8 years they'll be competing for the Stanley Cup. It's hard to project how our talent is going to develop, but we have so much of it that some of it HAS to turn into legitimate NHL players.
This is coming from a guy who always used to say no Buffalo team will ever win anything. I'm the extreme pessimist and don't think either team ever really gets anything right. But the Sabres have too much young talent not to do something.
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During one of the breaks in the Leafs game last night they talked about that hit and said it wasn't as bad as the hit later on by the sharks player on Morrow and I somewhat agree. The hit that sent Boyle out on the stretcher had a bad result, but that had more to do with how he fell into the boards then it being cheap or an intent to injure. The one later on to Morrow into the boards was bad and deserves some time
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Not a surprise about Pronger, what will be interesting is to see what happens now with his cap hit, will the league continue to allow them to place him on LTIR? i would assume they could as long as he does not turn around and sign retirement papers. I don't think theres language in the CBA to define just how "Long Term" LTIR is permitted for....Asham and Biron (NYR) both clear waivers.
As expected, Pronger's career is over: http://www.philly.co...m_confirms.html
Around the NHL - 2013-2014
in The Aud Club
Posted
I don't think its really that big of a deal, aside from the Trade Deadline and Free Agency coverage all of TSNs NHL games are usually just the coverage of the NBC games (Guess this may change for the Jets, but not the Habs who have regional coverage of their games on TSN).Sportsnet already does about 90% of the Leafs games (except HNIC games and the few shown on the Leafs TV network), and they do the games for all the West coast Canadian teams, and the Sens.
Guess its hard to say right now if TSN will continue with their Traded Deadline and Free Agency coverage to the extent they have been without the rights to broadcast games. They could always steal HNIC away fromt eh CBC like they did the HNIC theme song
But for those 19 games, the NHL did not make it crystal clear the effects of head injuries he could suffer. Maybe they should all continue this down further and sue everyone down to their parents who at one point put them in Hockey without properly informing them of the risks of a head injury.........