French Collection

Lou Nanne, Bill Goldsworthy.

Good story. The travel will be a fraction of the WHL, which spans nearly half of our continent. NCAA didn't seem to be on his radar, the NHL is his goal, not an education. He will benefit from having Crawford as a coach. Crawford will be on speed dial for many GMs and scouts. Those types will rack up air miles this year to get a few games in. It will be interesting to see his numbers in that league. Seguin scored 40 points in 29 games as a 20 year old during the lockout. It will be more difficult to compare him to the other European prospects because they are mostly in the Swedish, Finnish or KHL. The pay is pretty good too.

When you're named after a boxer, your father probably has a speed or punching bag in the garage. Don't mess with him. We also don't want him doing this too often in case of a hand injury.

MLBAM are probably also pleased that they will have 12 months of Major League sports.

You would think he would keep one cherished item or two. Then again this was in a closet.

Player development dept. Helping in Rochester, Buffalo and visiting our prospects in Junior, College and abroad.

Never been a Tiger fan, loved Jack and did not want his 18 Majors topped. However, Tiger was awesome in his prime and had a great run. He's young enough to win more but there are a lot of miles and scars on his mind and body. He may gut out a victory somewhere but he wil not pass Jack.

No tanking required, just play the season out and we'll see where we are at in March. We may be in a lottery position then or if Lehner turns out to be solid we may be in a playoff hunt. I think GMTM will make the rigth moves to fill our holes at the draft.

I think patience is the key. When Ehrhoff, Franson and other D-men sign there will be teams closer to the cap and some prospects pushed down the depth charts. Some serviceable 5-6 defenseman will become available. I know we are hoping for a 3-4 D-man but we won't get a 3-4 guy without giving up a good forward and more. We can hope for a Boychuk/Leddy scenario. We need do draft a few D-men next year.

I think he deserves to be on the team. He got the one way deal Grigo wanted because He worked hard and produced. Larsson does have more versatility than Grigo too. I think GMTM made a good call and traded the right guy away.

Oduya and Gorges would mean two of our top LHD would be over the hill. This doesn't mean they can't be effective. They just need to be used properlly. Look at what Larry Murphy accomplished with the Wings after leaving the Leafs as a washed up vet. Toronto played him like a #1 and he couldn't handle it. Scotty Bowman played him a lot less and in easier assignments and he helped win 2 Cups. He lasted 4+ years in Detroit. Back to Oduya, the intangibles of being on multiple winning teams and gutting out a Cup run would help the young guys learn what it takes. He would help take the pressure off of McCabe to be ready immediately.

I wonder if Reinhart can QB the PP from the point? The forwards have a variety of looks but our D doesn't have that smart playmaker. I don't think he's done that before but with his hockey sense he could learn.

Sharp's skills are declining but a rebound will probably happen this year because he'll be relied upon in the top 6 and play PP with Seguin, Benn and Spezza. I wouldn't say the Stars are rebuilding by taking on aging players like Sharp and Niemi. They seem to be wanting to match up now, but their D is not top notch.

Good mix with this staff. Bylsma has a solid background and has won at this level. Murray has played and coached in this league for a long time. May have some good discussions with his nephew. Barr is a long time journeyman. Been involved with a lot of pro hockey. Lambert brings some junior enthusiasm and some fresh insight to the ranks. DDB must have seen something he liked in his stint in Kelowna.

GMTM is Fury.

We will be much more entertaining to watch. Sabrès fans will rally around this team and help it grow into something special. The Leafs are behind us in the rebuild but the rivalry will pick up if their Smurfs (Nylander, Marner, Kapanen, Bracco) ever amount to anything. Maybe Nolan can join Babcovk's staff to mentor the Pee-Wees.

And the Leafs are tanking. Babcock's desire to win now is taking a hit.

Never saw him as having much grit, unless it was his favourite breakfast food.

Signed, sealed and ready to deliver.

Was Richards celebrating the fact that he was gonna get money for the next 10 years in a buyout? This hints of an illegal activity and could open up a messy legal battle. If he is guilty he bites his tongue and takes the minimum. Did Lombardi have someone watching?

This puts the dollars into perspective, although many players are overpaid long term after 1 or 2 good statistical seasons. O'Reilly's 55 pts puts him in an offensive range with Bergeron, E.Stall, Kopitar, Plekanec, Backes and Datsyuk. The top scoring C in the entire league is Tavares with 86 pts. ROR will not score at this clip but he is better defensively and is more physical. Toews is one if not the best C in the league and he scored 66 pts. ROR can add 10 more points with the added PP time and being the go to guy. I like our matchup at C with rivals Toronto (Bozak), Ottawa (Turris), Montreal (Plekanec). Our 1-2 punch with Eichel will be tough to match in due time. The bonus is that if we end up having Eichel, Reinhart and Girgensons as our 3 C's then ROR can play wing.

I like this kid too. Potential 4-6 D-man in about 3 years. Sounds like he has all the tools, just needs to fill out and gain some experience. I wonder if he moved up our draft board due to the excellent combine scores.

I don't want to lose him until we know what his ceiling will be but like many scenarios in life we want people who want to be here. He has been mishandled and he has sucked it up for the most part. Now is the time for him to step up and show he belongs. Does he want to play for Bylsma? Be a a part of the new core? Does he feel like he can't compete with Eichel, Girgensons and Reihart for top 9 minutes.

It would be nice to see some trades. We need some GM interested in Tim's offers. There were supposedly no takers last year for a late 1st for all 3 of our 2nd rounders.

Kevin Lowe offered Vanek a huge contract that Darcy matched.