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I find it hilarious that Richards is going to be playing hockey again. I thought it was done.

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Yeah, Central has the best collection of talent out there IMO, Kane, Toews, Benn, Segiun, etc, etc.

Black and yellow are for bees, not busted ass ugly hockey jerseys! :lol

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Yeah this actually works out for both. Philly at least got some of the salary gone and got a prospect back.

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You're so welcome. Good deal for both teams.

Read somewhere that because Vinny is retiring but signed before he was 35, there's no cap penalty. So the Flyers are clear after this year entirely on that contract. I'll take it. If true of course.

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It's pretty true if LeBrun is siting Lecavalier's agent. Lecavalier will retire.

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I've heard multiple confirmations that Lecavalier is retiring after this year when he wins the Cup again.

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:lol mike richards

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NSH trades Seth Jones to COLUMBUS for Ryan Johanson

trade deadline is gonna be a quiet day

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Holy shit today was fun. :lol

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What the fuck is going on today?!

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Wow for Seth Jones. To get you have to give I guess but wow. I don't see Jones enough but is Johansen worth him?

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:lol:lol:lol

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In short - I think Preds getting Johansen is the short term win and Jackets getting Jones is the long term win.

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Defensemen are such a weird animal in today's NHL. It's rare guys are even as quick to develop as guys like Duncan Keith or Shea Weber, who were receiving Norris votes in their 3rd season. Most are like Giordano that take 5-7 seasons, and then all the sudden BOOM, they're really good.

I think Jones will really hit his stride next season or so. Plus, it's so hard to creep out of Shea Weber and Roman Josi's shadows. Just like Leddy started to really blossom when he left Chicago where he was, at his best, the 4th best defenseman on the roster behind Keith, Seabs, and Hjalmarsson.

The Preds really needed a good center/forward though. Josi and Weber are leading their team in points.

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Good win tonight! Beat the Pens for the second straight night! Loved the way they played, happy to see Toews fired up and protecting his team mates too!

Not sure I can think of a better offensive line than Kane, Panarin and Anisimov - they are amazing to watch. Only small criticism is that I wish is that Anisimov had a better face off win percentage.

So far if this type of play is continued Panarin is a shoe in for the Calder winner, Kane is in line for the Art Ross trophy and despite his injury I'd say Keith is in the running for another Norris. :)

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The Blue Jackets continue to be a mess. Is Torts really part of the long term plan for CBJ? I feel bad for that fanbase losing a franchise player in Johansen because of that organizational mess. Could Seth Jones be a good foundation? Maybe, but the jury is still out on him.

Stay forever irrelevant CBJ

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Also, I've never seen a GM hailed as much as Hextall for 'dumping salary'. Local media and fans are calling him jesus for dumping salary. Is that really the standard for a great GM now a days in Philly? Jesus christ. They threw a shit ton of money at Voracek and that's looking to be an overpay. Build a god damn team that can make the playoffs and then crown his ass

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Sometimes you have to take a step back before you can take two steps forward. He took over an absolute shit pile. It wasn't going to be an overnight fix for that dumpster fire he inherited.

I love the move for them, but to a small extent your right...he does need to build a winner now. On the other hand, they should be excited about shedding parts of those cap hits. It was a necessary step in a long process.

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Interesting trade that was. Top young stud for top young stud.

Good article by Burnside here about Okposo. I sure hope we can resign him and he takes a little less to stay. I mean, one of the reasons I got on board with Kyle for my 2nd son was Okposo was just coming up.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/14...rs-kyle-okposo

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I can see that. It's a risk for the Preds in the long run. If Johansen doesn't mature fast, I think it's a better deal for the Jackets. I know they've needed offense for a long long time so I guess you try to get it right.

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:lol CBJ :lol

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Man, it's so awesome to see a good old hockey trade like Jones for Johansen. Awesome deal.

The Predators have ALWAYS needed a #1 center... like, for pretty much their whole existence I don't remember them having a bona fide guy like that in the middle. They've also got a lot of really great defenseman, which doesn't make it EASY to move a talent like Jones, but it certainly isn't AS hard. If Johansen can produce, this will totally be worth it for the Preds. They will have the #1 guy they've always wanted. Because let's face it, the Preds are good but they aren't going anywhere in the playoffs through the Central division without some more offense.

And for CBJ's part, Jones is an absolute awesome pick-up. He may not make the immediate impact that some might expect him to... I still think he needs maybe another season or two to really adjust to the NHL game (think Victor Hedman), but once he does, CBJ's got a foundational defenseman for years to come. I agree with Chris that despite Jones being in a really good situation learning from guys like Weber and Josi, he probably needed to get out from behind them to really start to grow. And man, if Ryan Murray can get his career back on track, that is a tandem of Suter/Weber proportions.

LeBrun reported that both GM's told him that this was a VERY difficult trade for them to make, but I think it was a good one that has a lot of upside for both teams.

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Is Ryan Johansen really capable of being THE #1 center on a real Cup team though? I'm not so sure. Safer move for the Jackets I'd say.

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A little early to tell, I'd say. I worry about his attitude. But talent-wise? Absolutely. Kid has all the talent he (and the Preds) will ever need. Let's see if he can translate that to success.

Look, as a defenseman fan, I love the Jackets side of things as well. But I like that the Preds recognized their major need and addressed it. That's what trades are for. And they did it without immediately crippling their team. I can't think of any other team in the league that could AFFORD to give up Jones, but with Weber and Josi (and others), the Preds really could. Could it hurt in hindsight? Maybe. Any trade has that potential. But if Johansen develops well, this will go down as an awesome trade for both clubs.

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It is kind of bewildering the Preds are in such a position defensively to be able to move someone like Seth Jones and still have one of the best D cores in the league. That's David Poile for ya.

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Uh, hey man, you could trouble me for a nice warm glass of shutthehellup!!!!

The trade was great for the Flyers. We were in the playoffs with our terrible roster just a year ago. Won as many Cups as your perennial contender.

Though I do agree that Voracek was an overpay but it was market value for what he showed and the other deals players signed to stay long term with their current team. I'm more OK with that overpay then the overpay for a 32 year old that Holmgren did and Hextall just fixed.....

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I love John Scott's attitude about all this.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/14...fun-nomination

I also hope his team spends the whole game just trying to set him up. You know they're gonna try at least a few times. :lol

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The goalies could probably beat him up the ice.

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The KOHOs are back!

https://twitter.com/MikeChambers/sta...76412131594240

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As much as I can't stand him as a player that was a good read.

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Always loved Koho's gear. I swore by their sticks for years before the aluminum craze came on. For about 5 years running I would by the exact same fiberglass stick each time one wore out or broke. I would heat up the blade a bit and give it an additional (illegal) bend at the end so I could pull the puck back towards me easier!

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Me too! I used to always rock the Mario yellow and black sticks.

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I liked this part.
:lol

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I got the purple one with white lettering because I always liked the fact that it was more flexible and lighter than the others. I played D so I always wanted a stick that was light and flexible so I could poke check or swing the stick around real quick to block a shot attempt.

Now I have an aging Christian aluminium stick with the same type of illegal blade, back when I got it there was not much competition among stick manufacturers for aluminum ones so I picked the Christian out because Easton was the only other one and they were well out of my price range!

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Interesting... as a D-man, I always liked the stiffer sticks. But hey, whatever makes you comfy!

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Different era though when I played. I was not one of the giant hard hitting D men we have today. I was quick, good at passing and shooting from the blue line with wristers or slapshots. Like I said, I was only 6 feet tall and 175 pounds so I wanted a quicker stick and back then that was the perfect stick for me after those old Titan Turbo sticks went out of style (https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=...52299995580783) - still have my old Graf skates though, love those damn things! :)

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Loved the article, that video is fucking brutal though. Scott Burnside is unbearable. UGH.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaG5SAw1n0c

Seriously though, I still rock a 87 flex, but have been starting to feel like I should step it up a little to something stiffer.

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That's what I was thinking. I mean the Foote obsession was a little crazy.

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:lol How much older are you than me? I graduated high school in '03... I can't imagine you're too much older. And I hear you about being a smaller d-man. At my "prime" (:lol) in college, I was 5'10 and maybe 145.
Seriously, I wrote that and thought, "here come the dick jokes." Still posted it. Boom.

Mine is just a preference, I totally get the folks that like the torque and such from lighter sticks. No hate here. My sticks just always end up taking a beating (phrasing!) and I like 'em to be hardy.
I know you mean this in a man-love way, but the Foote love actually DOES add to the stiffer flex preference. I mean, the lighter flex sticks would break too easily when I was crosschecking someone in the back.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdKusPhRHAM

;)

Being an old man I sure didn't stay up for the Wings game but nice to see the result. Mrazek was phenomenal again. Howard will almost certainly be dealt in the offseason. Mrazek is gonna get a nice raise, although probably short term for now, and you can't have two goalies making a combined 8-9mil, unless you are the Stars.

Nice start to a 6 game road trip going 3-0 so far and haven't played their best hockey but these grind it out games help you in the long run. At the start of the trip I thought 4-1-1 would be a great trip so they are on their way.

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Caps won. Again. No big deal or anything.

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Who would have thought that the Caps would get overshadowed by the Cats?? :lol

The Florida Panthers have won 11 straight games.


^Just wanted to type a sentence I have never typed before.

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I keep waiting for the Panthers to fall back down. So far they clearly haven't.

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It is pretty fun to watch that team finally have success. I am loving it. Then again, the Rangers are not in the same division as the Cats.

Would be cool to see them win a playoff round or two though.

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:lol Kozlov giving Foote a taste of his own medicine.

That image of bleeding Foote throwing off his helmet and just indignant is like the prototypical picture of him. Should be at the HHOF.
While they still lack a real superstar or two, the Panthers are a REALLY well built team. Just tons of great character guys who work hard and score by committee. I don't think the signing of Jagr and the impact he's had - particularly on his linemates - can be understated. He's shown them how a hall of famer works, while still keeping that carefree Jagr attitude. It really seems like he's having a blast playing hockey right now.

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really nice to see the pittsburgh influence trickling into the NHL more and more every year

John Gibson & Brandon Saad both made the ASG this year...my best friend's cousin is Vincent Trochek who is turning into a nice piece of the Florida Panthers' puzzle. not to mention RJ Umberger, Matt Bartkowski, and the troubled, yet once effective Ryan Malone

in the mid 80's there were 18 rinks for organized hockey. today we're close to 60 in the pittsburgh area. Thanks Mario & Sid

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I graduated in 1995 actually, hell I had undergrad and masters degrees before you were out of HS. :lol

As for the stick, I think it is just a preference thing on what you like. That stick just felt like it was a part of me from the minute I touched it on the ice. When I started using that stick my game got much better, I could zip by opponents, take the puck to the net better and place it where I wanted, my passing accuracy improved and my defense went up quite a bit because I could get that thing in the right place far quicker to block a shot, poke check, raise a FWD's stick and steal the puck, clear the zone, etc, etc - heck I even drew more penalties because if the ref saw a stick shatter they'd send the other guy off for slashing usually. All an opinion thing, we all have sticks we swear by and to be honest if they still made that particular stick I would be be using it to this day when I go play pick up games.

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Apparently the NHL will holding a special meeting that will be about expansion. Not necessarily a decision coming from it but might be getting closer to one. I'm having stronger doubts about Quebec. Vegas I think happens.

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Vinny and Schenn looked good, considering they were thrown in the mix quickly. Vinny picks up his first point as a King with a nice assist.

They make the Kings looks bigger and stronger then before.

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They should run away with that division because outside of AZ, and to a lesser extent Vancouver none of those teams impress me all that much.

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I love that the Coyotes (44 pts) and Canucks (41 pts) are currently in the top 3 in the Pacific and in the playoffs (for now), while the Avs at 43 points are still 2 points out of a wild card spot, which is really all they can expect to grab at this point.

Not complaining (the Avs dug themselves into this hole), just crazy the difference between the Pacific and Central.

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Pacific is a joke. So bad.

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i'm hoping the Pacific joke is the oilers way into the playoffs this year. Hard to believe that is still possible.

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Johansen already with a goal for the Preds.

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That was one hell of a shot too.

Nice win for the Hawks again - great to see Danault get his first NHL goal!!!

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Nice to see Marcus Johanssen get suspended for that hit to the head. Now it likely would not have mattered since the Caps were the better team Thursday but if they called that a major, maybe that changes the entire dynamic of the game if we capitalize on that major in the first period.

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Personally I think the suspension is beyond excessive. We're talking about Marcus Johanssen here, a player with 3 minor penalties in 39 games going into the game the other night. Obviously it wasn't a great hit, but considering a) it's Johanssen and he is the definition of a clean player b) Hickey wasn't hurt at all, which I think is a terrible way to determine suspension length but it's how the NHL does it and c) even Hickey said afterwards that he was quite sure there was zero maliciousness behind it and it was "50% my fault for being so low" (yes that's a quote), I think two games is pretty ridiculous.

Again. This is Marcus freakin' Johanssen. He didn't really need to drive his shoulder up like he did, and it was a hit that definitely deserved a talk with player safety. I think considering who the player is and the circumstances of the hit, a fine would've been more than adequate.

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Why should it matter if he is clean player? Reputation shouldn't matter when determining suspension or not, just length. It was not a good hit. I wanted a major. I almost think if he got the major and game misconduct he doesn't get the 2 games. NHL is wonky that way.

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I mean I'm sure you wanted a major, but it just wasn't that. We're talking about a hit that was legal up until a few years ago.

And stuff like reputation and injury causation shouldn't be factors in deciding suspensions, I agree. But they are. One thing we can definitely agree on: the nhl is wonky about this stuff. Zero consistency, fully unpredictable from case to case.

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So the Oilers score 5 and lose 3-2... Taylor Hall had a beauty deflection, especially if you ignore that it was into his own net.

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Flyers with another win. Mason gets the shutout. Team doing much better than their shitty West Coast swing

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Didn't get to watch the game today but it sounds like it was a good one. Not thrilled to see the Caps blew a 2-0 lead going into the 3rd but it's pretty impressive how resilient they've been this season. Ovie up to 499 now. Hopefully tomorrow he'll get the big one at home.

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Jackets sure are rolling after that trade. Rolling down the hill that is.

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Always great to see the Maple Laughs get slaughtered. 7-0. Wow.

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Caps look pretty damn legit this year. That nyr - wsh game was pretty wild.

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First, congrats to Ovie on 500. We give him and the Caps shit, but that's still impressive. The only guys faster to 500 was Gretzky (in 575 games lol lol lol) Mario, Bossy and Brett Hull. Not bad company.

And now (for a dig at the Caps) a team who has won a Cup, the Wings are 4-0 (all by 1 goal, also have 17 1 goal wins this season) on the 6 game road trip so far. I said the other day 4-1-1 would be great so they are pretty much there. But thanks to the Caps for beating the Sens. Keeps them behind my Wings.

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Caps are nothing until they prove themselves in the playoffs. They shouldn't worry anyone until they can prove it in the spring

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definitely a wild 3rd. resiliency on the caps side, nice to see the rangers wake up after a unenthusiastic 1st and 2nd.

rangers definitely should have walked out winners, but that Backstrom goal was a heartbreaker. stupid caps announcers had literally just mentioned his goal with 1 second left a while back.

OV's OT winner was niiiiiice. poor effort to check him from nash and hung the D man out to dry. you could see the goal coming the minute he got to the boards.

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Things have been do bad for the Rangers recently that I am actually pretty happy with the past weeks results. I wonder if this team will find a way to string more that one win in a row anytime soon. Hopefully they can do so against Boston. The recent trend would suggest a Rangers loss though.

Congrats to Ovie! 500 is an awesome club to be in.

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http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7...d=nhl:topheads

This is honestly amazing. I did not realize that AO stacks up so well with Hull and Gretzky and Lemieux when adjusting for era. I mean he even beats Gretzky in era-adjusted goals over their 3-year peaks. That's incredible.

Remember when some Caps fans wanted to trade Ovie?? :lol :ugh

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Era adjusted goals sounds like the worst stat ever

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Kings Caps is going to be a fun Final. Game 7 winning goal will go to Williams and LA hearts will be broken forever.

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I don't think any of us really wanted Ovechkin traded neccesarily, but there was absolutely real reasons to be very alarmed and concerned by his play for a couple seasons there. That's changed. It can all be pin pointed back to one occurrence.

Hint: it's when Barry Trotz was hired

Agreed

Sounds great. Let's make it happen.

Unfortunately, there's still this. While this is clearly the best Caps team in the Ovie era, probably even ever, the possibility of choking is still a huge cloud over this group. I'd like to think they're too good for that this year, but I just don't know. As much as I want to be optimistic, I still don't really expect them to win a Cup. Getting out of round 2 still gives me hesitation.

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Also, well done to Ovie for getting to 500. Very fun moment to see him get it at home. There's a lot to be debated about his career so far, but he is inarguably one of the greatest goal scorers to ever play this game. I feel fortunate in that regard that I get to watch him so often.

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I just can't believe Ovi has 500 goals already. That blows my mind.

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I hope the Kings don't win the Cup just for the sake I don't feel like hearing idiot Flyers fans saying they shouldn't have traded a young star like Luke Schenn :lol

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I can't wait for the Hawks to get Drouin and have Teravainen, Kane, Drouin and Panarin.

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It would be nice for Luke Schenn, but in no way do I want Vinny Lecavalier anywhere near the Stanley Cup this year.

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Q also gets extended for another three years. Should be like 12, IMO.

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There will be Hawks fans who bitch though. Just like the Wings fans who bitch about Ken Holland getting an extension.

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(Dumb) Hawks fans still bitch about how Q and Bowman use young talent. Fans still think they know better than Q with how he handles prospects. "OMG I wish Q would have given him a chance..." Hear that bullshit regularly.

Dude could win 8 Stanley Cups and people would still complain about his "line blender" and how he handles prospects. Hell, Ditka won ONE god damn Super Bowl, with a football team that could have won the SB with my idiot ex-girlfriend as the head coach, and he's still held in higher regard than Q.

Dumb.

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I have complained about plenty of times Q but surely I have almost always been wrong. Every coach, player, GM, etc has their faults....fortunately Q's positives far outweigh his negatives. The results speak for themselves.

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Yeah I don't get it. Everyone is gonna make mistakes are things that make us question but not sure why people focus on those when someone has a lot more positives than negatives.

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This is a fun stat: https://twitter.com/dmb_etc/status/686791997345013760

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:haha :hump

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3 cups in 6 years and people still bitch. Amazing. They should just hand him a contract with the money figures filled in and allow Q to fill in how many years he wants to stay.

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I hope CSN Chicago does not delay the Hawks game coverage to hear that idiot in the oval office whine and moan about the US.

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I remember when Q was available and the Isles had a coaching vacancy about 10-13 years ago maybe, not sure and wished the Isles interviewed him or Hitchcock or even Hartley because I wanted an experienced, good coach. Of course, I knew the cheapskate Isles would hire a coach with no prior NHL experience so he could be one of, if not the lowest paid coach and that is just what they did.

On a brighter note, congrats on Brock for the hattie last night. If your team is ailing and we now have no Hamonic to go along with no Boychuk along with JT "struggling", it always nice to welcome the CBJ to town. It cures a lot of what ails.

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Kopitar close to 8 year $80mil deal. Similar to what Stamkos gets?

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If Kopitar is getting $10m AAV, Stamkos is going to get $12-13.

Don't get me wrong, I love Kopitar, but Stamkos has four 40+ goal seasons, one of those being 51 goals and another 60. Anze's career high is 34. Stamkos also has three 90+ point seasons, two Richard trophies, and is three years younger than Kopitar.

Obviously there's more that goes into it, but guys like Stamkos just get more from contracts. Just like sacks in the NFL gets you paid, goals in the NHL gets you paid.

Stamkos's contract is going to cripple the cap of whatever team he signs with.

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So the Leafs? lol

I just don't see how Tampa can do more than 9mil and keep a team together. MAYBE they can get it to $10mil but would he pass up on $12mil from a team? I mean over 7 years that's $14mil, or $21mil compared to a $9mil salary.

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Yeah, with Kopitar's deal serving as the benchmark, I find it hard to believe that Stamkos will stay in Tampa. They've got so many young guys who are fairly cheap right now but will get paid later, and there needs to be money left for them. I definitely don't see Yzerman shelling out $10-12 mil per year for him.

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Maybe they move Jason Garrison? Idk if that'd be enough.

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Lol John Scott send down to the AHL

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If Kopitar is getting 10, so much for JT getting less than 10. I figured he would take a little less than market when he resigns but the market is going up.

Also wanted to share Grabovski and Kulemin you tube video on how they are adjusting to Brookyln. Good stuff. I think even if you didn't grow up in the 5 boroughs, you can appreciate funny hockey guys. If not, there is always the hideous fish sticks jersey cameo.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/k...ipsters-video/

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Double post time in honor of Isles- Rag$ day. My buddy, who works for the NY Daily News made this post. I told him #5 was weak but he said the video needed to be on you tube. How many games would Nystrom get these days for the head butt in #2 and is there any doubt that Gillies was one, if not the toughest power forwards ever. Is there any wonder why Bossy/Trottier had all that room to work their magic with Gillies riding shotgun. He destroyed many back in the day.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ho...icle-1.2496368

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That's what everyone hopes, but it's so rare. There's so much pressure from the union to take market value.