French Collection

Ludwig with the 10 inch shin pads.

It hurts my ears to hear Zach Parise pronounced Parisi. I remember hearing that he wanted it pronounced that way. His father was French Canadian, from near my hometown, who pronounced it Parizay.

Not a bad introduction to an NHL bench for Peca. I’m sure there is a lot to learn from Laviolette.

Rangers will be the healthiest team going if they sweep both series.

Looks like Brooks Koepka.

Again, my anti Leafs bias prevents me from seeing him as a defensive stalwart like Bergeron, Kopitar, Barkov O’Reilly and Toews. He would have to be 25% better than the next guy for me to consider him the best, it’s just the way I am wired. I can’t even strike up a conversation with someone wearing a Matthews sweater.

Svechnikov has more edge to his game than I recall.

NYR PK had more chances than the Canes PP. I would have never bet on a sweep, I thought the Canes could win this series. Maybe Brind’Amour does move.

Is he your Hart candidate? My anti Leafs brain prevents me from seeing him as the best of the best. I’m in the MacKinnon camp this year with Kucherov being second.

Well said. The lazy guys fell to the wayside well before the NHL. As much as Gretzky talks about taking time off and playing other sports, these guys train almost year round, and their training is hockey specific. Laziness shows itself in cheating defensively or giving up on puck battles, things that coaches try and eliminate and we fans criticize. I like to think there are no stupid doctors out there and definitely do not want to be seen by one. I knew an engineering student who was a serial cheater on exams. It wasn’t so much laziness or not being smart enough, he was under tremendous family pressure to become an engineer. Now I know why some bridges collapse and other engineering mishaps we hear about come to be.

They run a franchise that is the best in the OHL. They have a large rink for junior hockey and fill it, so they are making tons of money. People hate Vegas for using the LTIR rules to the nth degree. London has advantages other teams don’t have. They are a desirable place to go so kids they always seem to get guys that commit to the NCAA and are not picked by other teams. Somehow, London gets a lot of these guys to play the OHL instead. They have money so there are a lot of stories about side deals. Their billet program treats kids first class, living in gorgeous homes and having access to high end vehicles while other small town teams have to work hard to find good living accommodations. Dale Hunter is also a great junior coach, who churns out NHL prospects. Almost any kid would want to play there. Both Hunters could be working in the NHL but they prefer being in London, out of the spotlight, still making great money.

He is undeniably the best goal scorer in the NHL right now. There has to be selfishness to his game to score 69 goals with only 38 assists. I’ve said it in other threads that they award 2 assists for every goal so there should rarely be a player with a ratio like his. Ovechkin, not known for his playmaking, has averaged 1.22 goals for every assist over his career. Matthews scores 1.31 goals for every assist. He is definitely not the typical center, who sets up his linemates. I believe it is no accident McDavid got 64 goals last year, after Matthews was given the Hart for 60 goals the previous year when McDavid outscored him by almost 20 points. McDavid could probably score 75 if he was more selfish.

The average fan hears “he’s the next Steve Yzerman” instead of brings a two way game like Yzerman had at the end of his career.

Konecny is giving up 5 inches and 30+ pounds but I would put money on him in a battle.

Hence the term 80% league, until the playoffs.

The likelihood of a trade involving the Sabres pick is close to the three percent chance the team had to get Celebrini. It is fun to think about the possibilities and I hope KA does his job and listens to offers and initiates some of his own. They have been drafting better in the last few years, imo. As others have said, the drafting of 18 year olds is a crapshoot and it gets tougher to find NHL talent the deeper you go. Is Lindstrom the next Tocchet or PL Dubois? Parekh could be Makar or DeAngelo. Iginla could be the second coming or Dillon Dube. Trading #11 for an established player would make a statement on multiple levels. It would certainly get my attention.

I’m cheering for Florida in this one so that beating of the Bruins was nice to see. I would love Tkachuk on the Sabres because he plays hard and gets under the other team’s skin. I find that his toughness is overrated. He is not Brady, who will drop the gloves against nearly anyone. He rarely will engage in more than a face washing duel and dropping the mitts vs Pastrnak is about right for him. 6’2” 206 but he doesn’t challenge any middle weights. He is more skilled than Brady but I would prefer Brady because he’s got your back. If it’s all about face washing, wrestling and chirping then Matthew fills the bill. Anyone like Dakota Joshua’s game last night? 27 year old UFA.

But that would block Savoie, Östlund and Kulich.

Almost looked like Marchand had no comeback.

Noah Östlund was the 1st round pick. The second round pick was used in the deal to get Greenway.

Matthews on the Sabres could push me over the edge and hand in my fan card.

Montour celebrating in Marchand’s face and the ensuing scuffle was fun to watch. I hate Montour’s smug little smile but it’s OK if it gets under Marchand’s skin.

What do you give up to acquire a god?

Dino Bravo and Gino Brito were others I’ve seen.

Goalies are weird so he could regress and flame out. I don’t think that will be the case here. He is still on an upward trajectory imo but he may get passed by Levi, which makes that a lot of $ for a backup.