 |
 |
2010 NHL Playoffs (Page 4)
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: /OV DRK 142006
Status:
Offline
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago
Status:
Offline
|
|
Cap space will be an issue, but I'm just going to revel in this for a little while. WOOHOO HAWKS!
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by iLikebeer 
They're in a similar situation to Pittsburgh after they signed Crosby and Malkin.
...along with Jordan Staal and Fleury, yeah.
That decision to load up on quality down through the middle came back to bite them against Montreal, who clogged the middle and forced eveything to the boards, essentially daring the Pens' wingers to come up big. They didn't, because for the most part they're shyte wingers - the Pens don't really have the cap space to spend money on those parts.
There's been talk that they should move Staal to the second line and get some quality pieces back in a Malkin trade. Of course maybe it should be the other way around, but there's no question that Malkin has more to offer as trade bait - there's a lot of teams that would use him as a first-line centre or winger, no doubt.
On the other hand, if they could just get Malkin and Staal to become good faceoff men and not have to rely on Sid as the only decent option, the extra versatility might make up the difference....
I dunno. But it's not like it's a terrible situation for them to be in.... 
greg
|
|
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Your Anus
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton
...along with Jordan Staal and Fleury, yeah.
That decision to load up on quality down through the middle came back to bite them against Montreal, who clogged the middle and forced eveything to the boards, essentially daring the Pens' wingers to come up big. They didn't, because for the most part they're shyte wingers - the Pens don't really have the cap space to spend money on those parts.
There's been talk that they should move Staal to the second line and get some quality pieces back in a Malkin trade. Of course maybe it should be the other way around, but there's no question that Malkin has more to offer as trade bait - there's a lot of teams that would use him as a first-line centre or winger, no doubt.
On the other hand, if they could just get Malkin and Staal to become good faceoff men and not have to rely on Sid as the only decent option, the extra versatility might make up the difference....
I dunno. But it's not like it's a terrible situation for them to be in....
greg
I would say that about 28 out of 30 teams would use Malkin as the top line center.
I hate all these stupid ass teams with stupid ass star players. Why do I feel like over half of the teams in the league have at least 3 or 4 players who are all better then the best player on the Blues? Probably because if you asked 10 people who the best player on the Blues was you'd get about 7 or 8 different answers.
Fielding a team of nothing but depth guys sure is a great way to finish right out of the playoffs, get crappy draft picks and be boring to watch. Ugh.
|
My sig is 1 pixel too big.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status:
Offline
|
|
Yeah... say hello to the Leafs.
Malkin's great but he's got some real question marks. Obviously he's played second fiddle to Sid his entire career, and the Pens thrive on the mismatch that creates... so it would be interesting to see how he'd fare as the top guy to shut down on his team. Hey, maybe it would result in him getting even more points... who knows.
(It's not like Sid doesn't suffer tremendously when Malkin's out... he went down for that two-week period early this season and Sid and the entire team went into a massive tailspin.)
He's possibly the worst faceoff man in the league, too. That isn't exactly what teams want out of their top-2 centres. It's caused a lot of problems for the Pens - they have possibly the best faceoff guy in Crosby, but Staal is also terrible so they're constantly having to juggle lines to get Crosby into the circle whenever possible. I don't know why both those players are so terrible at it, considering the physical talent they have.
He also takes a lot of dubious penalties, too. He's around a 100+ PIM man, but I'm not sure it's in the bruising, around-the-net Getzlaf mode - a lot seem to be unnecessary ticky-tack chasing calls. Of course Sid is pretty bad at those as well (I think he was close to leading the league in hooking calls) so between the two of them the Pens see a lot of PK time.
But, yeah, not a terrible situation. Of course they might have raised the Cup again this year, if only they had T.J. Oshie.... 
greg
|
|
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Your Anus
Status:
Offline
|
|
Just find a winger who is good at faceoffs. Keith Tkachuk took a whole lot of faceoffs for the Blues as a winger.
The Leafs are a bad team, but they have some star power. They still fall into the "3-4 players better then the best Blues player" category.
The Blues don't have a single star player. They probably don't have a single player that would make most people's top 100 in the league list. Not a one. Erik Johnson has the potential to be a big star, but he's not there yet.
|
My sig is 1 pixel too big.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status:
Offline
|
|
Well, you do now.
Say hello to a recognized playoff hero...
|
|
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Your Anus
Status:
Offline
|
|
Yes, well, while I do love this trade... it's still far from a sure thing.
How many times do we see goalies catch lightning in a bottle for a year only to fizzle out...
We'll have to see. I still appreciate the ballsiness of the move. You have to take chances to win, and the Blues have been way to safe for too long.
|
My sig is 1 pixel too big.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN  Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Cooperstown '09
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by iLikebeer
True, Huet's a big chunk - they would need to bring somebody up from Rockford to back him up. Ealdwell,probably.
The good thing is that this isn't the NBA, this is NHL hockey. While some egos are slightly bigger than others, it's not nearly as bad as other professional sports. They're just a bunch of guys (kids), who really love to play hockey. Next year, when everybody turns 16 and can drive themselves, there may be a problem. Rocky might have to spring for more than Juice Boxes and Fig Newtons after each game then....LOL!
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by ort888
Yes, well, while I do love this trade... it's still far from a sure thing.
How many times do we see goalies catch lightning in a bottle for a year only to fizzle out...
We'll have to see. I still appreciate the ballsiness of the move. You have to take chances to win, and the Blues have been way to safe for too long.
Yeah. I'd say it was more of a ballsy move on Montreal's part myself - they're screaming bloody murder up there now! - but there's no question that Halak has some question marks. The Habs got a potential top-6 forward, the Blues got a potential starting goalie... it'll be fun to see the shakedown in two years. (But what to do with Mason now?!)
For the record, I won my hockey pool with him this year, but as of today it doesn't look like he'll be one of my keepers for next year.
greg
|
|
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
|
|
Forum Rules
|
|
|
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top