There has been much fanfare tied to this offseason with regard to the Pens......at first, it appeared that Gonchars refusal to come down from a 3 year 5M per year plus contract meant he was as good as gone......yet, here we are one day before free agency and the Pens are still negotiating with Gonch. I understand that the Pens have offered and thus far remained firm on 2 years at 9.5M total. And Gonchar has not said yes, but he has not said no either. In addition, the Pens moved a third rounder to Philadelphia for the rights to Dan Hamhuis, a very good defensive defenseman, with a little bit of offensive talent. He would look nice in a Pens uniform. The problem is that he has not even decided if he will negotiate with the Pens prior to testing free agency. He will look for 4M per year or slightly more, and if he and Gonch both sign, there is little left in the way of cap space to bring in a quality winger to upgrade our top 6 scoring. By the way, Scuderi (whom we could not afford), signed for 3.4M per year, and likely would have taken a bit less to remain a Penguin......just saying!
I recognize what Gonchar does when he is healthy for the power play, I truly do. But, he has not been healthy much the past two seasons, his defensive zone play has lapsed at times, and looked old and soft in this years post season. At 36, I am not sure if he is worth what his cap hit will do to the rest of the team. For the limits signing Gonch would put on the rest of the team, you better get 65 games from Gonch at least, and a power play clicking at 20%. In my opinion, put the 4M to 4.25M per year into Hamhuis for 5 years, and go HARD after Zbynek Michalek a 27 year old defenseman from Phoenix who is 6'2" and 210 pounds. He plays a good stay at home game, but can bring some offense to the table as well. He is a Scuds with a little more O. His cap hit last year was 1.25M, so even if you double it, you are saving big dollars that could put towards a winger like Ray Whitney, or create space for a trade to bring in a solid winger. I also like the thought of looking at Henrik Tallinder a 6'3" 214 lb stay at home defenseman who can skate and be physical at times. Or even Paul Mara a 6'4" 212 lb stay at home defenseman. I like the balance the team could have IF it can upgrade its defensive and physical capabilities a bit on the blue line by adding Hamhuis and Michalek, or Hamhuis and Tallinder, or Michalek and Tallinder PLUS a top 6 winger for the top two lines. The power play needs to change, and Gonchar s departure MAY force the coaching staff and Geno/Sid to make the corrections that everyone sees as necessary. Letang, Goligoski, Hamhuis, Orpik, Michalek are a very solid top 5 in terms of defense.......you can add in an inexpensive veteran and Lovejoy or Engelland to make this a good defensive corps. An additional winger who can score is still a priority despite the Pens finishing in the top 5 in scoring last year. Kunitz is injury prone, and Guerin is still unsigned AND a year older. If the Pens can also drop Godard in favor of Aron Assham, it would give them enough toughness, but upgrade what the bottom sox forwards can contribute as well. I like 4 solid lines with toughness and upgraded scoring, along with a balanced blue line, with more size and stay at home flair, but good skating capabilities. If this allows for them to retain Eaton as well, all the better. Lets create balance on this team, hope that Geno and Fleury regain form, we get a more solid defensive unit who can clear the net during the playoffs, and a power play that delivers commensurate with the talent it puts on the ice. Signing Gonchar as much as he could help for a year puts too many eggs in the basket of an aging, oft injured of late, soft defenseman.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
NHL Draft Day and UFA rumblings
I dont know about you, but I love the NHL draft, not because of the picks.....unless you pick in the top 5, you are unlikely to see anybody picked on June 25th playing for your team this season, BUT draft day is often big for trades that shape the upcoming season, ie the Pronger deal last season for Philly.........you have already seen some interesting moves with Montreal sending show stopping goalie Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis for prospects (and thank you for that Habs!), Jason Arnotts return to the Devils and the Flyers moving Ryan Parent for the rights to Dan Hamhuis.....if the Flyers sign Hamhuis they may have the best D corps in the NHL, or at least the East, but also will be tight against the cap with not much room to address goaltending.....they are probably looking to move Gags, Fartsmell or Briere as a result.....as for the Pens......I love the thought of trading Godard for anything you can get, and signing Arron Asham, a UFA from Philly.....this does not address the scoring winger issue, but Gods makes 750K, Ashham made 640K......but if you had Rupp and Asham on the Pens, you really dont need Godard......even Philly no longer uses Riley Cote, and Asham scored 10 goals and 14 assists last season, and played decent minutes in the playoffs for a team that went to the Finals......I would think a 4th line that could crash and bang with Rupp centering Adams and Asham would improve the teams overall balance, and not sacrifice enough toughness to protect its assets.....for games that require more punch bring up Wade Brookbank 6 times per year....I also read that Ray Whitney lists the Pens as one of his top hopeful teams to finish his career with......Whitney made 3.5M for Carolina last season, but if the Pens could get him for 2 years at 2.75M, he would make sense...even at 3M he might....he is 3 years younger than Guerin, and though I love Guerin, he made 2M last year, and I am not sure how much LESS he would play for......you paid Fedostinko 1.8M, and he will not be back......you paid Poni girl your prorated portion of 2.1M......you had 5M tied up in wingers who either will not be back anyway due to no contributions(Poni and Feds), and one who is about 40......put a chunk of that into Whitney, and put you have upgraded your top 6 forwards quite a bit.......go after ZBYNEK Michalek D man for Phoenix, a very Scuds like stay at home guy........likely affordable at 1.5 M or so..........OR they can go the trade route which opens so many possibilities......they can look at Chicago who is already over the cap next year......they will HAVE to move good players for picks and prospects as a result.......the ultimate pickup for the Pens would be Patrick Sharp, but most indications are that he is untouchable.....but Kris Versteeg or Dustin Bfuglyien would be nice pickups for the Pens up front, or even Andrew Ladd.....
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Ovagkins Summer
It might just be me, and due in part to my general disdain for the Great Ape, but AO in a banana hammock is kinda scary to see..........Friday, June 11, 2010
Burrish....wow.
Yo, Adam, you may or may not be alone in that thought......BUT, very classless commentary, especially from a guy who was not even good enough to dress for the game....Pronger was not very good at all during the last two games of the SCF......prior that he was stellar.....he is a 36 year old physical Dman who played in more than 1oo NHL games logging more than 24 minutes per game.....and the big minutes...he also played in the Olympics...he may have simply run out off gas.......I will make sure I am very handy for the Flyers-Blackhawks next regular season game........I would think there will be some long memories for this comment.
Blackhawks win the 2010 Stanley Cup
This picure will serve as birth control in my home!Well, well, well................Maid Marian Hossa finally hoists the Stanley Cup......after two straight years as bridesmaid, this gifted pussy finally wins the cup.......well, he was on the team that won the Cup...........Hosebag had 3 goals in the entire playoffs, so it is difficult to say he WON the Cup.........he participated on the team who did.......in fact 9 players on the Hawks had more goals than Maid Marian.....9! I am certain that for 65M+ that more was expected of him......As this game unfolded I found myself wondering how committed I was to my new relationship with the Flyers, and to my surprise, I knew for sure when I was sickened by the sight of the cabby beating Patrick Kane's game winning goal go into the net, and when I turned off the whole broadcast as soon as Toews handed the much cherished trophy to Hosebag........Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Blackhawks I truly enjoyed watching......Toews, Bolland, Keith, Seabrook, Byfuglien, Sharp, Ladd.............and I still think they have by far the best uniforms in all of sports......but for chrissakes, I was still rooting for the Flyers.......no shit........the gloves will come off in October, and the old familiar hatred will arise again, but probably not to the same degree.............
Chris Pronger-Class A trashbag if you listened to many the day the Flyers traded for him.....dirty, cheap, old.........and if was not an asshole before, putting on the orange jersey made him an asshole by default, right? Not from what I saw....yes he had a nasty reputation coming over to Philly, and of course now that he was a Flyer, I wanted to buy into it......and did.....but, I probably watched 30 plus games that involved the Flyers this season and post season.......and I saw nothing more than what you would expect from a large tough NHL defenseman.........sure, he hit people high, sure he whacked their shins with his stick like he was chopping wood, sure he cross checked opposing forwards in their backs if they ventured in front of the Flyers net! Hell, he did it REALLY hard sometimes too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But ladies, guess what?! That is what the fuck he is paid to do!! That is what Zdeno Chara does....it is what Brooks Orpik does......it is what Andy Sutton does......it is what Anton Volchenkov does.....Are some of his hits in the gray area? You bet they are.........but again, NHL hockey is a violent sport, played by violent men, and anyone who puts on that helmet and those skates knows it............In the games I watched, I saw a very aggressive, nasty, phyisical defenseman who could also put the puck on the net..........period. Post game, I saw a guy with great leadership qualites, and a ready self deprecating sense of humor......Pronger was the fourth leading playoff scorer for the Flyers with 4 goals, 14 assists and 18 total points.....would love the guy if he wore the black and gold!
Scott Hartnell-I hated this guy.....then got a good dose of what a good guy he could be off the ice, but was not sure of him on the ice.......he was MONEY in the Finals............Hartnell was part of so many big goals in the last 8 to 10 playoff games, I got a real good dose of what he can do....He had 8 goals and 9 assists for 17 total points in the playoffs...many of these points came at BIG moments.......much more respect than before as a player..........
Timmonen-ssshhhhhh......always kind of liked Kimo..........
Danny Briere-soft as a babys ass..........disappears in big moments......overpaid weight on the Flyers........well, Danielle as I used to refer to him opened my eyes........the line of Briere, Hartnell and Leino was the most effective line on either team throughout the Finals.........Briere made great plays, set up huge goals, and felt dangerous every time he touched the puck.........with the seats changing in the new arena, I will no longer be able to call him my little Christmas Elf, or any of the other dozens of names I had for him.....Briere led the Flyers in playoff scoring with 12 goals, 18 assists and 30 total points, one more point than Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Toews....
Mike Richards-I laughed my ass every time Pierre McGuire talked about his leadership.....Despite my knowledge that he was a very good player, I thought he was one of the more overrated players in the league..............but again, upon further review.......I watched a captain stand up and take control of his team when they fell down 3-0 to the Bruins, both vocally and with his play on the ice...........his consant forecheck and physical play seemed to be a spark plug for the team, even when the scoring aspect of his game was not there......Richards value to the team goes FAR beyond his scoring touch but he chipped in 23 points including 7 goals and 16 assists for the playoffs.....I truly believe he is the engine for this team, period.
Aaron Asham-I always grudgingly liked this kids game, though I called him AssHammer and his angry reaction every time made Flyers games a special treat............but he surely showed himself to be a reliable mucker who could chip in the occasional goal and contribute with his physical play..............
Ian Laperriere-not much to say beyond taking a 91 stitch cut, and a brain contusion blocking a shot...........and coming back two weeks later to play...........nothing else NEEDS to be said.........
Claude Giroux-this kid will be a beast in this league for a long time........Giroux finished third on the Flyers in playoff scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists.....only Briere had more playoff goals........
.....
Paul Holmgren/GM-idiotic cement headed former Flyer who thinks winning the fights will win the Cup! Well, give this guy some credit.......I was among many who thought he gave up too much to bring Pronger to Philly....way too much....and for the most of the season, it appeared to be so....but around March and surely throughout the playoffs, the Pronger move looked to be a genius move.........he was KEY to their run...he ran out of gas in the last two games, but all in all a key component.....Leighton.....when Emery went down, picking up Leighton to back up Boucher looked kind of like a joke.......well the Flyers went to OT in Game 6 of the SCF with this reclamation project in the net.......pretty good move I would say......picking up Ville Leino late in the season....Leino had 3 goals at the time he was picked up by Holmgren in return for a traffic cone of a defenseman.........and by the end of the finals had teamed up with Briere and Hartnell to create the most dangerous offensive line by far in the latter stages of the playoffs...Leino had 7 goals and 14 assists in the playoffs.....the scoring depth of a healthy Flyers team would rival that of any in the league at this point.....Holmgren has done a nice job of blending skill and grit.........
I still think Carcillo is an ass monkey, and that Jeff Carter is overrated, and tends to disappear on the big stage, ( a total of 7 playoff points and a -5) but man, there were plenty of Flyers I have a new found respect and appreciation for...I would not be shocked if Jeff Carter became trade bait to solidify the goaltending situation...that said, when October rolls around it will be business as usual around here. I am hoping that watching their bitter rivals come within a game and a goal of winning the Cup will restore the hunger for the Pens, and create some very interesting blood matches in 2010-2011. Until then, congratulations Flyers and fans on an impressive run through the 2010 playoffs. And by the way, kiss my ass! LOL!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Game 6 2010 Finals
As funny as this picture is in a way, it is to me the final temptation the Hawks and fans have put out to the hockey gods to crush their dreams.....again.....Flyers in 7.............I am sitting here waiting for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.........and some dates put the accomplishment of the winning the Stanley Cup in perspective...........the two teams playing tonite are two very storied franchises, and one is an original six team.........yet, one has not won this trophy in 35 years and the other in 49 years........Chicago has not won since 1961 and Philadelphia has not won since 1975. Think about that for a second.................that puts an exclamation point on how tough it is to hoist this trophy.......2 months, up to 28 games, 4 best of seven series, injuries, bad calls, bad bounces, bad breaks, emotional strength tested, physical strength tested........and the will to win tested to unimaginable degrees.............on the ice tonite Ian Laperriere from Philadelphia is only weeks removed from a puck to the face creating an injury requiring 90 plus stitches to close and causing a brain contusion, yet he comes back like nothing ever happened..........Duncan Keith or Teeth as he is now known took a puck to the mouth in the final game of the conference finals creating the loss of seven of his teeth, and he hardly missed a shift.........anybody remember the puck Ryan Malone took an already injured face in the 2008 finals, only to come right back out and finish the game, creating havoc in front of Detroits net? Whichever team wins this trophy deserves it....every bit of it......and so do their fans............as I sit here, I can easily recall the ups and downs of the two month runs the Pens took in each of the past two seasons........the utter anguish at times when you thought your team was done, and the unreal excitement, pride and joy every time they beat the odds and won a game or a series that had looked improbable............there are few moments in my adult life outside of the moments involving my family that are more memorable to me than the final seconds of Game 7 last year as I watched Fleury block Lidstroms last shot, then only could breath again when I saw the Pens players throw their gloves, and sticks in the air in pure joy. I remember literally having chills as the players described Mario Lemieux's text about playing without fear and meeting them at center ice..............the thrill of that victory lasted throughout the entire summer and well into this fall..............as much as I hate missing out on this thrill this year, I am hopeful that my friends my Philly get to experience this rush on Friday night.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Flyers in Seven
T Too good to pass up!
After watching 3 games of this years SCF, I am more convinced than ever that the Flyers will win this series in 7 games...........I think that for the most part they have outplayed the Hawks in this series, and could easily be the team that is UP 2 games to 1. I also think that they have shaken the confidence of the Blackhawks with the game 3 victory. The lightning fast response to the Hawks' go ahead goal in the third period was impressive. More impressive was the overtime period in which the Flyers did not wilt after a close call in the net, and scored the game winner shortly thereafter with a great feed by Briere, and a nifty goal by Claude Giroux. I think that the series hinges on game 4 in Philadelphia. If the Flyers win that game, they will smell blood, the young Hawks will blink, and the Cup will be in Philly by next weekend. If the Hawks can take this game, and stem the tide, it will be tough for the Flyers to take 3 in a row against them, as their confidence (Blackhawks) will back to go along with a 3-1 series lead............I, however, expect that the Flyers will win tomorrow night on home ice, and eventually hoist the Cup. Either way, the last three season the Penguins and now the Flyers have represented the Atlantic Division, the state of Pennslyvania, and the Eastern Conference with great pride. For those "experts" who think that the western conference is light years ahead of the East, sit down and watch another PA team debunk that myth. Then fast forward to 2010-2011 and watch the war between the Pens and Flyers get even more entertaining!
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