# NHL 2019-2020



## technomancer

The draft is tonight so seems like a good time to kick off the thread for the new season.


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## MFB

Can't wait to see Boston make moves that don't go anywhere


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## technomancer

MFB said:


> Can't wait to see Boston make moves that don't go anywhere



Speaking of which, current Pens rumor is Letang to Toronto for Zaitsev and Kapanen 

Literally the only good thing about that trade is that Letang is 32 so the Pens get younger. Kapanen had a great season, but had done pretty much nothing up to that point with Toronto or the Pens. So basically trading for Zaitsev who is ok but not great and Kapanen on the hopes that his one great season wasn't a complete fluke. Oh and Kapanen is an RFA so they'd have to get him under contract.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Speaking of which, current Pens rumor is Letang to Toronto for Zaitsev and Kapanen


That actually looks good for Pittsburgh. Zaitsev would be reliable enough to fill in a spot with good minutes, but Kapanen gives you good young offensive talent with even more potential. A prospect or draft pick to even it out is debatable.

The longer the franchise waits to transition, the worse it will get... Letang isn't getting any healthier or younger...


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> That actually looks good for Pittsburgh. Zaitsev would be reliable enough to fill in a spot with good minutes, but Kapanen gives you good young offensive talent with even more potential. A prospect or draft pick to even it out is debatable.
> 
> The longer the franchise waits to transition, the worse it will get... Letang isn't getting any healthier or younger...



It's a gamble. The only thing that makes it even seem feasible is Letang's health. It's definitely a huge step back for the defense, and Kapanen has been a zero for his entire career up to last season. It's why the Pens traded him to begin with.


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## technomancer

technomancer said:


> It's a gamble. The only thing that makes it even seem feasible is Letang's health. It's definitely a huge step back for the defense, and Kapanen has been a zero for his entire career up to last season. It's why the Pens traded him to begin with.



Another rumor is that the Habs are talking to the Pens about Letang. It will be interesting to see if anything comes out of all of this tonight.


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## AdamMaz

Put it this way, despite reading rumors that Montreal is also interested in Letang... I am not in the slightest.


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## technomancer

Yeah honestly Letang is fantastic when he's healthy... but that hasn't been very often the last couple years


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## technomancer

Great pick for Montreal in Caufield... was starting to hope he might linger until 21


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## MFB

Great, now we get to deal with Caufield in MTL next season  

At least he didn't go somewhere where careers die (cough cough EDM/ARI cough cough)


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## AdamMaz

MFB said:


> Great, now we get to deal with Caufield in MTL next season


He looks very promising... you are familiar with him how?

I was expecting them to finally pick from the LHMJQ in Raphael Lavoie.


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## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> He looks very promising... you are familiar with him how?
> 
> I was expecting them to finally pick from the LHMJQ in Raphael Lavoie.



Highlights during the draft, and needing to know who I should complain about after I forget to watch a game 

Looks like the Pens avoided drafting the unfrozen caveman that is Kaliyev


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## AdamMaz

18 years old, 5'7 and 163 lbs... even the Habs would give him a couple more years to grow, you can breathe easy again  

Some of those highlights are wow!


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> 18 years old, 5'7 and 163 lbs... even the Habs would give him a couple more years to grow, you can breathe easy again
> 
> Some of those highlights are wow!



Yeah he's not NHL ready yet, but the kid has moves. I can't be upset with Poulin for the Pens either, hopefully he develops well. I am a bit surprised they passed on Kaliyev.


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## technomancer

Wow looks like everybody passed on Kaliyev...


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## JD27

Some trades today. Would have thought PK would get a little better return, not surprised he was traded though. Rumors he rubbed some the wrong way just like he did in Montreal.

TO- New Jersey PK Subban TO- Nashville Steven Santini, Jeremy Davies and two draft picks

The Canes have two picks in the 2020 draft, including a conditional first round selection, and Patrick Marleau from Toronto


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## AdamMaz

I too would have thought Subban to get more return, but I suppose Poile really needed to dump the cap hit.

Good maneuver by Toronto getting rid of Marleau, was really hoping instead that they would get pinched by the salary cap.


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## technomancer

Jersey is going to be interesting next year.

Rumor is the Canes are going to buy out Marleau.


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## technomancer

Wow did Vancouver overpay for J.T. Miller...


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## AdamMaz

Since losing the Sedins, Vancouver is desperate for experienced players. Between that and Callahan, can't believe Tampa is getting their cap sorted out too


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## technomancer

Fun draft... now the 2-3 year wait to see if any of these guys pan out.

Now if somebody would just give then Pens a bag of pucks so they can get rid of Johnson... I guess the best I can hope for is that they make him the 7th D, but Sullivan seems to really like him for some reason.


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## MFB

I got a guy I know who might be willing to lace up the skates and join the Pens, but hes still a few years from being NHL ready



Spoiler


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## technomancer

MFB said:


> I got a guy I know who might be willing to lace up the skates and join the Pens, but hes still a few years from being NHL ready
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler



How'd you get that photon of Johnson? I didn't think they were letting guys in his training rink...


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Now if somebody would just give then Pens a bag of pucks so they can get rid of Johnson... I guess the best I can hope for is that they make him the 7th D, but Sullivan seems to really like him for some reason.


Save some of that hate for the whole D corps for when the season starts, its going to be a long year and I can only bear so much


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Save some of that hate for the whole D corps for when the season starts, its going to be a long year and I can only bear so much


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## AdamMaz

Luongo has retired, finally. Bobrovsky in Florida is looking increasingly likely.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Luongo has retired, finally. Bobrovsky in Florida is looking increasingly likely.



Yeah going to be interesting to see where Bob and Panarin end up. Also going to be interesting seeing how Columbus looks next season...


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## AdamMaz

I know that Bobrovsky and Panarin share the same agent and are window shopping together, but has it been said anywhere that it was necessary that they both sign with the _same_ team?


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I know that Bobrovsky and Panarin share the same agent and are window shopping together, but has it been said anywhere that it was necessary that they both sign with the _same_ team?



I haven't seen anything about them necessarily both signing with the same team. They've just been traveling together. From what I've read Bobrovsky doesn't like meeting with teams and has been mostly letting his agent handle it.


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## JD27

Caps finally Burakovsky packing. Glad they aren’t paying him 3.5 to play on the 4th line.


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## AdamMaz

At least now Galchenyuk will stop getting asked whether he is a center or a winger


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> At least now Galchenyuk will stop getting asked whether he is a center or a winger



Literally the only good thing about this deal is Galchenyuk is younger and cheaper. Other than that it makes absolutely no sense since Galchenyuk is no better defensively than Kessel and has significantly lower production and the alleged main reason for moving Kessel was his defensive play.

Oh and a team that for large parts of the season relied on the power play to win games just traded their number one power play scorer.

Going to be a long season unless something miraculous happens. I'm pretty much expecting the same thing as this year unless there are more changes. None of the team's actual issues have been addressed at all at this point.


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## AdamMaz

Galchenyuk centered by Crosby or Malkin would more than likely increase his production significantly.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Galchenyuk centered by Crosby or Malkin would more than likely increase his production significantly.



Maybe. It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. I'm betting he's gone in free agency if not sooner. 

I'm also betting Schultz ends up going "because his production is down" while we'll keep Johnson who is the reason Schultz's numbers are down 

I'm waiting to see what Rutherford does with the cap space the Pens have now... and fearing a 5 year deal for Simmonds 

I'm also curious to see what they do about the goalie situation since nobody is mentioning that we have Murray, DeSmith, and Jarry all on one way deals next year.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I'm waiting to see what Rutherford does with the cap space the Pens have now... and fearing a 5 year deal for Simmonds


I could actually see that happening 



technomancer said:


> I'm also curious to see what they do about the goalie situation since nobody is mentioning that we have Murray, DeSmith, and Jarry all on one way deals next year.


You forgot Matt Murray II


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I could actually see that happening
> 
> 
> You forgot Matt Murray II



Murray II and Emil Larmi are not on one way NHL contracts. I believe Murray II is headed back to UMass-Amherst and Larmi is on a two way deal so will end up with the baby Pens in WBS.

The Simmonds thing horrifies me as I have seen it from some of the guys that usually have credible info on the team.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Murray II and Emil Larmi are not on one way NHL contracts. I believe Murray II is headed back to UMass-Amherst and Larmi is on a two way deal so will end up with the baby Pens in WBS.


I just thought it made for a funny headline 

Judging by rumor sources, looks like a lot of the UFA's are already lined up, will be interesting to see how accurate they are. Still most curious to see if any offer sheets will be thrown around.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I just thought it made for a funny headline
> 
> Judging by rumor sources, looks like a lot of the UFA's are already lined up, will be interesting to see how accurate they are. Still most curious to see if any offer sheets will be thrown around.



What was even funnier is the article on the Pens site about the development camp had his name linked to the stats for the NHL Matt Murray 

Yeah I am curious to see how things shake out, lot of good players on the move. 

I don't see the Pens doing anything that is going to drastically improve the team as far as signing somebody since they have no cap space to speak of (~$6 million and still need to sign 3 RFAs) but it's going to be fun to watch.


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## technomancer

Well, not as bad as Simmonds at least... Pens sign Tanev for 6 years at $3.5 per. As is typical for JR too much money for too long a term for what the guy is.

Also leaves not much for Pens to resign their RFAs unless there is a trade in the works.

I also look forward to hearing the speeches next season about how we can't afford to resign Schultz due to cap constraints 

and the biggies:
Panarin to Rangers
Bobrovski to Panthers
Duchene to Preds


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## AdamMaz

Even with the signing bonus structure to deter Carolina from matching, I don't think the Canadiens went high enough on the price tag and should have committed the extra 1st rounder to go higher. I believe Carolina will match.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Even with the signing bonus structure to deter Carolina from matching, I don't think the Canadiens went high enough on the price tag and should have committed the extra 1st rounder to go higher. I believe Carolina will match.



Yeah I'll be shocked if Carolina doesn't match that.


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## AdamMaz

Carolina's Twitter  https://twitter.com/NHLCanes/status/1145786850424119297


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Carolina's Twitter  https://twitter.com/NHLCanes/status/1145786850424119297



I love watching stupid hockey fans... "If he doesn't want to play here let him go" 

Yeah because I'm sure that guy always wants to take less money when he works


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## technomancer

Stuff like this from Anders Lee's agent cracks me up too

“There was NEVER a moment on this FA Day where it was even a possibility that Anders Lee was going to leave @*NYIslanders* no matter what else happened. This type of “FAKE NEWS” fries my bananas! Anders Lee said the most important quality in a teammate is “LOYALTY” and he meant it.”

Yeah because if somebody had offered him $9 or $10 million for 7 years instead of the Islanders $7 he would have turned it down  The only reason you wait unti free agency to sign is to see if you get a better offer, otherwise you would have taken an 8 year deal BEFORE free agency opened...


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## AxeHappy

technomancer said:


> I love watching stupid hockey fans... "If he doesn't want to play here let him go"
> 
> Yeah because I'm sure that guy always wants to take less money when he works



Fucking Leaf "fans" have been saying this about Marner. As if he hasn't been one of our best players and arguably our most consistent. Which, to be fair, isn't actually saying all that much but...


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## AdamMaz




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## AdamMaz

Sullivan extension... good thing?


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Sullivan extension... good thing?



Eh before that series against the Islanders I would have probably said yes but now I'm not so sure.... he either didn't adjust for the opponent or the players didn't listen to him. That worries me. That said a long extension seems to be the kiss of death for Pens coaches 

In other news ZAR filed for salary arbitration. 

I'm waiting to see what GMJR does for his encore since we have 3 RFAs and $1.5 million left under the cap. I keep hoping he dumps Johnson but not sure I see that happening sadly... and because of that idiot contract buying him out isn't really an option either.


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## AdamMaz

I guess all of the RFAs are going to pull a Nylander and hold out for a Matthews 5-year contract.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I guess all of the RFAs are going to pull a Nylander and hold out for a Matthews 5-year contract.



Looks that way...

For the Pens Blueger did sign a 2 year deal so that leaves ZAR and Petterson...

I am still in shocked disbelief over the 6 year contract for Tanev


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## AdamMaz

Edmonton and Calgary must be run by two of the weirdest management groups... first they swap goalies, now Lucic traded for Neal? Even with the sweeteners


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## AdamMaz

Scissons... 7 years for a mere $2.86m aav, I didn't know contracts like that ever got handed out  Can anyone think of another player that has signed a comparable contract in both term and value?


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Scissons... 7 years for a mere $2.86m aav, I didn't know contracts like that ever got handed out  Can anyone think of another player that has signed a comparable contract in both term and value?



Yeah that's because you don't normally sign depth players to long term contracts... unless you're GMJR


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## AdamMaz

So I'm not crazy... unprecedented I thought.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> So I'm not crazy... unprecedented I thought.



Yep, almost as weird as the Tanev contract from the Pens


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## technomancer

And Gusev is now a NJ Devil... talk about a team that should be a lot better next year...


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## JD27

technomancer said:


> And Gusev is now a NJ Devil... talk about a team that should be a lot better next year...



Yeah, a healthy Hall with Hughes, Gusev, Palmieri, Hischier, and Simmonds. They should score more anyway.


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## AdamMaz

I think they will still be a "bubble" team, still not confident in their goaltending to think of them doing damage in the playoffs.


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## MFB

AdamMaz said:


> I think they will still be a "bubble" team, still not confident in their goaltending to think of them doing damage in the playoffs.



Yeah, they'd need to make a big move for a goaltender or somehow luck out with the next Binnington to be taken seriously after all the upfront moves they've made


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## AdamMaz

I thought Ottawa was over the cap floor... why on earth would you relieve a divisional rival (Tampa) of a heavy contract (Callahan) and basically let them resign Point so easily...

Huge contract extension for Vasilevsky too... I swear Tampa _feels_ like the only team that the salary cap doesn't apply to. State/provincial taxes should NOT be such an influential factor across the league... wake up Bettman.


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## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> I swear Tampa _feels_ like the only team that the salary cap doesn't apply to.


Not a huge contract, but now Shattenkirk too... lets all go to Tampa because they are loaded and can fit everything under their advantageous cap


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## technomancer

This is funny... bottom line is if Murray wants Vasilevskiy money he won't be playing in Pittsburgh... and before he'll get that money he'll need to stay healthy for a season and not blow half a season's worth of games. At the end of the day Murray has been amazing, but only in streaks and never for an entire playoff run.

https://pittsburghhockeynow.com/pittsburgh-penguins-matt-murray-did-vasilevskiy-contract-set-market/


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## technomancer

I increasingly realize what a freaking train wreck the Pens are from a management standpoint... 3 goalies and 8 D on one way contracts, and one of our starting RFA D has no contract and we don't have money to sign him 

EDIT: and rumor is Guerin is the leading candidate for the Wild GM spot. I would prefer to see them let Rutherford go and promote Guerin as opposed to losing him. I had thought that was the original plan to begin with, but it seems to have stalled...


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## AxeHappy

Looks as if Marner is threatening to do what Nylander did last season and go play in the Euroleagues until he gets a contract he wants.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> rumor is Guerin is the leading candidate for the Wild GM spot.


Now confirmed.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Now confirmed.



Can't fault him for taking the job, hope he does well. I was really hoping to see him as the Pens GM...


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## technomancer

Awesome 

*Mike DeFabo*: Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said he has an informal list of assistant GM candidates to replace Bill Guerin. Rutherford is not in a rush to fill the position: “I probably will wait for a period of time – maybe even until the end of this coming season.”


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## JD27

Good job, Kuzy! That certainly explains some of his sporadic play.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/27445596/iihf-suspends-kuznetsov-4-years-cocaine


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## technomancer




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## JD27

And pretty well fucks the team I’d bet. He’s probably gone 20-30 I’d bet.


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## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> Good job, Kuzy! That certainly explains some of his sporadic play.


Same problem with Galchenyuk when he was a Hab, suspected for the same reason. Have fun Pittsburgh! I think technomancer might find his new sh*trod to replace Jack Johnson.

Another day, another hockey-household name signs in Tampa.


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## AdamMaz

Rookie camps are underway... NOW it feels like the season is on its way 

Thornton signed another year in SJ and Gardiner signs 4Yx4M in Carolina.

Anyone else tired of hearing about the RFA logjam?


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## Vostre Roy

I will try to follow the Habs rookie camp this year. Although the medias seems to try and sell them as being amongst the most promising group for a long time, it does feel like there's a couple very good prospect in the bunch (Poehling and Suzuki are getting me hopes quite high). Quite a shame that we won't see Caufield in action this year but eh, if he can have another killer year in the US University program, it'll already be a good telling of the future.

EDIT: Should have added Romanov and Yloven (if I'm not mistaken, the winger that plays in the Elite Finnish league) as players that'll be interesting to see next year


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## AdamMaz

It is looking like a good group overall, but not NHL-ready with the exception of those two. Although the Laval Rocket are headed in the right direction with Bouchard after one season, they still haven't proven to be above average.

Caufield arguably could have been productive this year in the NHL, but in ~3 years when he is done University and has grown into a bigger 20 years old body, he will be 200% NHL-ready. Top line with Suzuki centering?? 

Not sure where Romanov is right now, but I believe he was only projected for next year. Yllonen I seem to remember having suffered an injury in the past year, probably needed another year anyway. Lined up with Kotkaniemi would be interesting, granted they have history if I remember correctly.

In a year or two they will all be much closer to NHL-ready and I imagine a lot of the players on the current Habs roster will likely be let go or get traded, thus making room for the new crop to rise en masse and takeover the core of the team for the mid-to-long term future.


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## AdamMaz

For as long as I remember Galchenyuk, his player model had Malkin and to think they are playing on the same line together now... very happy for him.

Season hasn't even started and Corey Perry is already injured again


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> For as long as I remember Galchenyuk, his player model had Malkin and to think they are playing on the same line together now... very happy for him.
> 
> Season hasn't even started and Corey Perry is already injured again



Yeah I hope he has a great season, if nothing else it will be interesting to see how well the changes work out.

Also, DK sports have posted several articles with the statistical analysis, Johnson is objectively terrible


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Also, DK sports have posted several articles with the statistical analysis, Johnson is objectively terrible





AdamMaz said:


> Season hasn't even started and C̶o̶r̶e̶y̶ ̶P̶e̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶j̶u̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶ technomancer is already shitting on Johnson again**





So glad we don't have to hear about Marner anymore. Enjoy salary cap hell for the next million years Toronto!


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> technomancer said:
> 
> 
> 
> Also, DK sports have posted several articles with the statistical analysis, Johnson is objectively terrible
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> AdamMaz said:
> 
> 
> 
> Season hasn't even started and C̶o̶r̶e̶y̶ ̶P̶e̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶j̶u̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶ technomancer is already shitting on Johnson again**
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## AdamMaz

Anyone watch Jack Hughes play last night (more than just highlights)? Thoughts??


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Anyone watch Jack Hughes play last night (more than just highlights)? Thoughts??



Missed it, but 2 goals isn't a bad start.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Missed it, but 2 goals isn't a bad start.


Not everyone can be an Auston Matthew's or a Ryan Poehling.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Not everyone can be an Auston Matthew's or a Ryan Poehling.





Did you catch the ref call a penalty on Tampa in that Habs / Panthers game?


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## AdamMaz

My stream for last night's game was so bad, I ended up falling asleep for at least half of it . Thankfully I saw most of the goals in the 2nd period and woke up in time for the shootout . The youngsters are all looking very good this year 

PS: Trade Drouin for a bag of pucks. Galchenyuk 2.0


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## technomancer

So apparently the Pens think Tanev is a top 6 wing while Kahun is being put on the 4th line


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## technomancer

Also speaking of Galchenyuk, he's apparently injured


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## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> I think technomancer might find his new sh*trod to replace Jack Johnson.





technomancer said:


> Also speaking of Galchenyuk, he's apparently injured


So this is how it begins...


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## technomancer

RFA log jam has broken  Everybody and their brother signed new deals.


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## technomancer

And after finding some pairings that looked good in preseason... the Pens are right back to the same damn pairs that didn't work last year going in to the regular season


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## JD27

Hockey is back!


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## MFB

JD27 said:


> Hockey is back!



Well, not until tomorrow when the Bruins play you mean?


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## technomancer

The Pens have got to be looking at trading somebody from the D today or tomorrow, Galchenyuk is a game time decision and they only have 12 active forwards on the roster and they recalled Marino which gives them 9 active D... Riikola was filling in at wing in practice yesterday


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## MFB

Boy howdy did Dallas look like hot shit for the two periods of tonight's game that I caught. I couldn't tell you who did what for any momentum changing moments, because everyone seemed to just sort of skate on the ice and make it look like a practice scrimmage.

Shit luck for Polak too, not even like he was going for a dirty play or anything, just wrong place at the wrong time.


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## technomancer

It had to suck to be a Devil's fan tonight... up 4-1 going into the third and lost in the shootout. Ouch.


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## ElysianGuitars

MFB said:


> Boy howdy did Dallas look like hot shit for the two periods of tonight's game that I caught. I couldn't tell you who did what for any momentum changing moments, because everyone seemed to just sort of skate on the ice and make it look like a practice scrimmage.
> 
> Shit luck for Polak too, not even like he was going for a dirty play or anything, just wrong place at the wrong time.


Not concerned, Dallas started slow last year too. They are pretty notorious for it really. 

They woke up in the 2nd, lots of speed too. Bishop should have had that first goal.


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## Vostre Roy

Nice comback in the third period by the Habs, getting away with a win in shootout. But damn that defense was painful to watch, didn't count the number of breakaways that Price shut down. Exciting end of game for sure


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## technomancer

Well, Malkin looked good for 1.5 games anyways... wonder what the Pens will do since they now have 2 centers out injured and only had 12 forwards on the roster to begin with.

EDIT: Malkin is out at least a month. I'm curious to see how the lines shake out as McCann looked great at center on Saturday.


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## AdamMaz

Granted I have been out of the country and haven't been able to follow much other than Habs highlights, looking at the standings I am surprised to see:


Carolina 4-0-0
Edmonton 3-0-0
San Jose 0-4-0
I fly back home tomorrow, should be back in the thick of things by the weekend.


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## JD27

Man do the Caps suck against Dallas, they are 6-19-2 since 2000. They’ve only beat them at home 2 times in that span. I pretty much expect a loss every-time they play the Stars. The loser point was a nice touch last night though. Seguin must wish he played them every game, 10 goals in last 12 games including 5 GWGs.


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## technomancer

Ok this is getting ridiculous. Malkin and Bjugstad are on LTIR, Galchenyuk is on IR, and Hornqvist is now day to day.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Ok this is getting ridiculous. Malkin and Bjugstad are on LTIR, Galchenyuk is on IR, and Hornqvist is now day to day.


The saddest part is that sounds 100% normal for Pittsburgh. At this point, I'm _almost_ past teasing and just about at legitimate sympathy.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> The saddest part is that sounds 100% normal for Pittsburgh. At this point, I'm _almost_ past teasing and just about at legitimate sympathy.



  

The Pens normally have guys injured, but not this many by the third game of the season. This is insane. The last game was almost freaking comedy as Sullivan decided to go with 7 D and more guys got hurt so they were down to 9 forwards at one point


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## technomancer

And now apparently McCann is out... this is seriously ridiculous.


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## JSanta

The Sabres have had a great start to the season. I was able to go to the game on Monday and it was good to see them play a complete game, and not let up in the 3rd when they were already up by 2. It seem's that Ralph's system is working for the players. I'm excited to see how the pieces come together.


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## AdamMaz

I'm actually happy for Buffalo, finally looking like the team they are suppose to be. Killer power play too.


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## technomancer

Buffalo is looking really good this year, hopefully they can get some consistency and have a good year.

Also, loving that NBC is not mentioning that a defensman is actually playing wing for the Pens tonight. Riikola is in and playing wing on one of the lines.

EDIT: and at the injury analysis at the first period break they didn't mention that McCann, who has been playing center for the Pens in place of Malkin, is also out now.


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## technomancer

Pens score a short handed overtime goal to hand the Avs their first defeat of the season


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## JSanta

technomancer said:


> Buffalo is looking really good this year, hopefully they can get some consistency and have a good year.
> 
> Also, loving that NBC is not mentioning that a defensman is actually playing wing for the Pens tonight. Riikola is in and playing wing on one of the lines.
> 
> EDIT: and at the injury analysis at the first period break they didn't mention that McCann, who has been playing center for the Pens in place of Malkin, is also out now.



Saw a big hole in their play from last night, lack of physical play. They let the Ducks bully them most of the game. What will be interesting to see is how they play The Kings tonight, whether they have short memories and can come out after a big loss and put a full game together.


----------



## technomancer

JSanta said:


> Saw a big hole in their play from last night, lack of physical play. They let the Ducks bully them most of the game. What will be interesting to see is how they play The Kings tonight, whether they have short memories and can come out after a big loss and put a full game together.



We'll see. I like the Avs so hoping they have a good year.

I'm still honestly shocked at how well then Pens are playing with the number of guys they have injured. I figured they'd hobble through and come out well enough to dig out of the hole later, not go on a winning streak  Even Johnson has been looking decent and Tanev has been a fantastic addition this year.


----------



## JSanta

technomancer said:


> We'll see. I like the Avs so hoping they have a good year.
> 
> I'm still honestly shocked at how well then Pens are playing with the number of guys they have injured. I figured they'd hobble through and come out well enough to dig out of the hole later, not go on a winning streak  Even Johnson has been looking decent and Tanev has been a fantastic addition this year.



The Pens are pretty deep on every line, which makes them dangerous in almost any situation. So far, the season has had a great start for a lot of teams, and should make the next few months very interesting.


----------



## technomancer

JSanta said:


> The Pens are pretty deep on every line, which makes them dangerous in almost any situation. So far, the season has had a great start for a lot of teams, and should make the next few months very interesting.



Yeah I think the biggest shockers are Tampa getting off to a slow start and how bad the Devils and Rangers have been. With the lineup upgrades I expected the Devils and Rangers to be doing a bit better.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

The slow start for Dallas is starting to look worse and worse... They better pull their heads out if they want to be even remotely relevant by the Winter Classic... We won't hesitate to boo them off the ice if they're still this bad.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> The slow start for Dallas is starting to look worse and worse... They better pull their heads out if they want to be even remotely relevant by the Winter Classic... We won't hesitate to boo them off the ice if they're still this bad.



Let's hope they stay bad for the game on Friday against the Pens


----------



## JD27

ElysianGuitars said:


> The slow start for Dallas is starting to look worse and worse... They better pull their heads out if they want to be even remotely relevant by the Winter Classic... We won't hesitate to boo them off the ice if they're still this bad.



Pretty shocking, figured they would have been a strong team. I knew hell probably froze over though when the Caps beat them in Dallas for the first time in regulation since 1995.


----------



## JSanta

JD27 said:


> Pretty shocking, figured they would have been a strong team. I knew hell probably froze over though when the Caps beat them in Dallas for the first time in regulation since 1995.



And the fact that Buffalo steamrolled them on Monday. I'm surprised the Stars have been as bad as they are.


----------



## AdamMaz

Apparently injury-plagued Pittsburgh > Dallas.

technomancer, please submit all rights to complain to ElysianGuitars


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Just waiting for heads to roll at this point, specifically Jim Nill and Jim Lites. 

It's a pretty sad thing to know your team will likely miss the playoffs and it's still October.


----------



## technomancer

Pittsburgh still looks good but the injuries are just ridiculous... Dumoulin apparently had something happen in warmups last night and is now out and McCann was out again last night after being back for one game. Jack Johnson came in for Dumoulin and Riikola was playing wing again... and they still would have won against Vegas if Fleury hadn't been unbelievable. The game was 1-0 until the last 2 minutes when Vegas got 2 empty net goals.

I'm really happy with how the team is playing, just really not happy with the plague of injuries


----------



## JSanta

I watched all three West Coast games (granted, the next day because my old ass can't stay up until 1am and get to work by 7), and I was really impressed with how the Sabres played. Last year, they'd play ok for a game and squeak out a win, lose, and then that loss would cascade into several more losses. They came out and outplayed LA and did really well against SJ. SJ had a rough start to their season, but they are looking really good right now. I'm looking forward to the rematch tomorrow night.


----------



## technomancer

The Sabres are looking really good so far this year.

Losing Dumoulin is really hurting the Pens, which is to be expected given he is their best d-man in his own end. Moving Marino to the top pair is clearly not working out well either... the kid is going to be good, but he and Letang were a combined -5 last night. Letang has been a -2 in the 2 losses as well.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Maybe Stars turned the corner. Looking better each game.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Maybe Stars turned the corner. Looking better each game.



Pens are going the opposite direction  Then again they should start getting at least some guys back from injury soon and hopefully start to turn around.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I hate, I mean really, viscerally hate, to say this, but Corey Perry seems to be a good fit for Dallas, he has great chemistry with the guy he speared right in the nuts a few years ago (Jamie Benn).


----------



## technomancer

Pens traded Gudbranson for a bag of pucks and a 7th rounder to drop salary...

https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/p...EMr5ErhDi_clwgAt_VRkRv0YdfsG0a_qz1kLDQABHiJ5w

He was a +7 with the Pens and the only physical presence on the roster. Another casualty of Rutherford's poor management since we had no cap or roster space and guys coming back from injury. We still have 9 D under contract with 8 active on the roster and Trotman on an AHL conditioning assignment.

EDIT: I missed it, they also put Trotman on waivers Friday to send him down. It's sort of funny watching the Pittsburgh press dance around asking why the hell the Pens had 10 D and 3 goalies on one way NHL contracts. The team should be good this year, but everybody ignores that for every successful signing or trade there are 4 or 5 things like this that are a complete train wreck and that the train wreck is getting worse.


----------



## AdamMaz

I attended Saturday night's Habs/Leafs game and had a good time. Season has been a little deceptive so far, but I am confident they will have a good season.

Something feels strange about this season so far, league-wide, and I can't put my finger on it...

*EDITED* Just read some disturbing news about Malkin...


----------



## technomancer

Not sure what you saw about Malkin? From everything I've seen he could be back Saturday.

That said the Blues got kicked in the nuts with Tarasenko out at least 5 months.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

The Malkin thing is about his involvement in a cryptocurrency company or something, I don't know that he's actually implicated in anything, but I haven't looked too hard into it.

edit:

https://twitter.com/A_Kalnins/status/1188867147486900224


----------



## AdamMaz

Svechnikov, you're ridiculous.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Svechnikov, you're ridiculous.




That was pretty crazy. I’ve seen Forsberg and Kuznetsov try that last season while skating behind the net. Figured someone was going to pull it off sooner or later.


----------



## technomancer

That was awesome. Shame the kid only got a somewhat decent contract out of Carolina because he signed an offer sheet.



ElysianGuitars said:


> The Malkin thing is about his involvement in a cryptocurrency company or something, I don't know that he's actually implicated in anything, but I haven't looked too hard into it.
> 
> edit:
> 
> https://twitter.com/A_Kalnins/status/1188867147486900224



Ah ok. Sounds like a company he invested in was run by somebody crooked and they all lost money, but guess we'll see how it shakes out.


----------



## MFB

When did the Canes get cheerleaders? :jj:


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> When did the Canes get cheerleaders? :jj:



They had to do something with all that cash they aren't spending on salaries


----------



## technomancer

Wow and now Hornqvist is on IR. The Pens had ONE freaking game with a healthy lineup


----------



## AdamMaz

When was the last time anybody has seen a 3-on-0? OK. Now, when was the last time you've seen a 3-on-0 *in overtime*??


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars somehow scratched and clawed back to above .500. Pretty happy with the way they're playing the last 8 games. 7-1-0 in that stretch, currently on a 4 game win streak.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> When was the last time anybody has seen a 3-on-0? OK. Now, when was the last time you've seen a 3-on-0 *in overtime*??


----------



## AdamMaz

WTF...


----------



## AdamMaz

Looks like Don Cherry got fired today because the political Left here is too sensitive and the CBC were happy to oblige getting rid of him too.


----------



## AxeHappy

Cherry is an idiot who should have been fired years ago, this just gave *Roger's* (Not he CBC) the excuse they needed to fire him.


----------



## technomancer

Yeah let's be real, Cherry has always been a douche bag, he just finally went far enough to give them an excuse they've been looking for.


----------



## technomancer

Damn it

Crosby out at least six weeks for Penguins after core muscle repair


----------



## AdamMaz

With the comedy of injuries in Pittsburgh, I'm surprised the *coach* hasn't been injured yet


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Dallas is now 9-1-1 since going 1-7-1 to start the season...


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> With the comedy of injuries in Pittsburgh, I'm surprised the *coach* hasn't been injured yet



Tell me about it


----------



## AdamMaz

30 of 31 teams are playing tonight, going to be huge. Will be interesting to see what HNIC does to replace/cover Cherry.

Some thoughts as I glance at the standings this morning...


Happy to see Florida is finally pulling it together.
NYI quietly have the best point percentage of the league (13-3-1 for .794)
Tampa seems to be getting their business in order.
Columbus are having a much tougher time this year than I expected, after last season's exodus.
Edmonton are still winning and McDavid is ridiculous. 6 point game a couple of nights ago, I think he had a 5 point game earlier this week too, each with a hat trick.
I don't think anyone would have expected the Pacific division standings to look as it does right now, pleasantly surprised.


----------



## JD27

The Caps have somehow managed to play like absolute garbage defensively and simultaneously lead the league. Granted the first 20 games of the season have been against a lot of good teams, but now they have 24 games left against the bottom of the league. I suspect they are going to have a huge let down and lose a lot of those.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Make that 10-1-1, Stars beat Oilers 5-4 in OT.


----------



## AxeHappy

I didn't see the game, because I was at work, but I have been led to believe that the Pens absolutely murdered the Leafs tonight.


----------



## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> The Caps have somehow managed to play like absolute garbage defensively and simultaneously lead the league.


They remind me of Pittsburgh from a couple of years ago and Tampa these days... sleep for most of the game, then wake up just enough for a few minutes to blitz the other team on talent alone. The balance between work ethic and talent is often frustrating in the NHL.



AxeHappy said:


> I didn't see the game, because I was at work, but I have been led to believe that the Pens absolutely murdered the Leafs tonight.


I've been reading this morning that the Leafs are having an existential crisis... they are a .500 team right now, with 3 of the top 7-or-so players in the entire league, signed long term. Babcock is surely sweating for his job too.


----------



## AdamMaz

At risk of making technomancer nostalgic...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars killed Canucks 6-1 last night, was a crazy good game. 11-1-1 since the 1-7-1 start. Currently on a 9 game point streak.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> They remind me of Pittsburgh from a couple of years ago and Tampa these days... sleep for most of the game, then wake up just enough for a few minutes to blitz the other team on talent alone. The balance between work ethic and talent is often frustrating in the NHL.



Actually that’s a perfect example. That goes back to the playoffs last year against the Canes, they got outworked. Two recent losses against the Coyotes and Canadiens went the same way, hard forechecking and they fall apart.


----------



## technomancer

Wow Toronto fired Babcock


----------



## AdamMaz

Not surprised... he played the role of a "rebuild coach". Could never get them past the first round of the playoffs and could not fix their defense.

Next question is who across the league is he going to replace, now that he is available...


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Not surprised... he played the role of a "rebuild coach". Could never get them past the first round of the playoffs and could not fix their defense.
> 
> Next question is who across the league is he going to replace, now that he is available...



Got to be honest given what he is still owed it wouldn't surprise me to see him take some time off... then again you never know, most of these guys just aren't wired that way


----------



## technomancer

Schultz left practice with a groin injury and they recalled Trotman from the AHL


----------



## AxeHappy

I hear a big part of the problem is Babcock is a prick and didn't like what Dubaz wanted the team to be so wasn't really working with the tools he was given. 

But, gossip in times such as this are largely meaningless.


----------



## technomancer

AxeHappy said:


> I hear a big part of the problem is Babcock is a prick and didn't like what Dubaz wanted the team to be so wasn't really working with the tools he was given.
> 
> But, gossip in times such as this are largely meaningless.



Sounds like typical Toronto press... they always need an excuse when things aren't working. It'll be interesting to see if things actually improve or not with the new coach.


----------



## AxeHappy

Yeah, the Toronto media is fucking terrible with the Leafs. 

Although the press releases from Dubaz are all about him being "sympatico" with the new guy and them being on the same page and whatnot. So it's easy to see at least a sliver of truth to Babcock not gelling with what the GM wanted. 

There is a silly buzz around everything already because the Leafs beat the Coyotes in their first game with the new coach. It's been one game. Was cool to see changes to the Leafs whole playstyle (especially defensively) in the short amount of time the new coach has been in charge though.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Habs blew a 4-0 lead against the Rangers yesterday. It was painful to watch, the defense was absolute shit. And it makes it 4 loss in a row (0-2-2). At least the Suzuki - Domi - Lehkonen trio trial seems to have a good potential, if the rest of the team can wake up, they could actually be a decent team


----------



## AdamMaz

Thankfully I was only listening to the game, but even that was heartbreaking enough.


----------



## AdamMaz

...and also thankful that I did not end up going to the 8-1 loss vs Boston yesterday, and am instead going to tomorrow's game vs NJD


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars win streak finally ended last night at 7 games. 3 games in 4 nights has a tendency to do that...


----------



## AxeHappy

Leafs are on a three game win streak since the coach change. 

Wonder if the players were intentionally tanking games or some shit. Or maybe, it's been games against "easy" teams? I dunno.


----------



## AdamMaz

Maybe Babcock WAS the problem...


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Maybe Babcock WAS the problem...



Or maybe they haven't been playing very good teams since he was fired  That said only time will tell.

Pens are still getting killed by injuries and Murray has hit his "can't handle the NHL starting goalie workload" stat slump.


----------



## technomancer

Jebus Hornqvist FELL IN PRACTICE and is out with a lower body injury


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Maybe Babcock WAS the problem...



Toronto now has 2 straight losses outscored 9-2 total... maybe Babcock wasn't the problem after all


----------



## AdamMaz

I don't think I have ever seen a division as full of .500ish teams as the Atlantic is right now. The sad part is that goes all the way up to 2nd place.


----------



## technomancer

Been a tough season for coaches... Dallas fired Montgomery

In other shocking news rumor is the Pens are trying to trade Galchenyuk


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> In other shocking news rumor is the Pens are trying to trade Galchenyuk


That didn't take long 

In tonight's episode of "Which Penguin Gets Injured Tonight", my money is on someone in the medical staff.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> That didn't take long
> 
> In tonight's episode of "Which Penguin Gets Injured Tonight", my money is on someone in the medical staff.



   I'm waiting for Sullivan to fall and be injured at practice...

And yeah Galchenyuk has done literally nothing this year... 2 goals and a handful of assists. You know a guy is playing sub-par when he is put on the 4th line with the list of injuries the pens have.


----------



## AdamMaz

For the past 10 years or so... of all the 1st round picks that the Canadiens have drafted and ruined (basically all of them), Galchenyuk should have been the exception... but nope. Kotkaniemi is having a difficult sophomore year and Poehling is apparently distracted with Fortnite...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Been a tough season for coaches... Dallas fired Montgomery
> 
> In other shocking news rumor is the Pens are trying to trade Galchenyuk


I'm still in disbelief. Whatever he did, it had to be bad.


----------



## technomancer

Got to admit I am really impressed with Marino for the Pens. Fantastic find by the coaching staff. Kid was traded for a 6th round pick and has stepped in for Dumoulin on our top D pair with Letang and is doing a great job as a rookie.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Pete DeBoer out in SJS now. At this rate, half the league will have a new coach by the end of the season.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Pete DeBoer out in SJS now. At this rate, half the league will have a new coach by the end of the season.



Was just coming to post this. It really is getting ridiculous


----------



## JSanta

ElysianGuitars said:


> Pete DeBoer out in SJS now. At this rate, half the league will have a new coach by the end of the season.



This one really surprised me. Rough start to the season, but not enough to get him booted, at least I don't think so. They've been playing pretty well and are not that many points out of a wild card spot.


----------



## technomancer

JSanta said:


> This one really surprised me. Rough start to the season, but not enough to get him booted, at least I don't think so. They've been playing pretty well and are not that many points out of a wild card spot.



I think management expected them to be a division leader...


----------



## technomancer

Ugh playing Columbus without Crosby or Malkin


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> Pete DeBoer out in SJS now. At this rate, half the league will have a new coach by the end of the season.





technomancer said:


> Was just coming to post this. It really is getting ridiculous





It is not what I had sensed when I previously said...


AdamMaz said:


> Something feels strange about this season so far, league-wide, and I can't put my finger on it...


...but it is strangely prophetic, because this wave of exposees has been odd.


----------



## technomancer

Damn this is terrible 

Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom Out For Season After Being Diagnosed With Rare Type Of Cancer


----------



## AdamMaz

Taylor Hall traded to Arizona Coyotes, for a bunch of guys I have never heard of, plus picks.


----------



## MFB

Guess ol' Phil needed a playmate on a team of no namers


----------



## AdamMaz

Even with the good season Arizona has been having so far, I'm not convinced that he would resign at the end of the year. Looking like a expensive early-rental at the moment.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Taylor Hall traded to Arizona Coyotes, for a bunch of guys I have never heard of, plus picks.



Arizona ludicrously overpaid in that deal. The guys you haven't heard of are pretty good prospects + the draft picks with zero guarantee he will resign.


----------



## AdamMaz

OK Svechnikov, now you're just making it look easy!!


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> OK Svechnikov, now you're just making it look easy!!




Ha, that’s awesome! Cool to see all these younger guys being creative.


----------



## technomancer

Awesome goal. It is funny seeing how many people are butthurt about it though. I'm sure Don Cherry is in a cave somewhere screaming at a TV in a mustard-stained horrifically ugly suit.


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Awesome goal. It is funny seeing how many people are butthurt about it though. I'm sure Don Cherry is in a cave somewhere screaming at a TV in a mustard-stained horrifically ugly suit.



No doubt plenty of dinosaurs out there that don’t want the league to change ever. I know people that wish the dead puck era never ended. Just what I want to see, holding and obstruction accompanied by the trap...oh so exciting. All these younger guys with an actual personality are the best thing that could happen to grow the sport.


----------



## AdamMaz

I like old school grinder hockey, but I love how the league has evolved and hockey has been refined to how it is played now. Hand-eye coordination must be at an all-time high and is becoming increasingly _necessary_ to be successful. I hope it continues to become increasingly fast, technical and coordinated, from and X's and O's perspective. The flow of hockey is what makes it special, and now all of those back-and-forth palpitations can make for very memorable moments.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> I like old school grinder hockey, but I love how the league has evolved and hockey has been refined to how it is played now. Hand-eye coordination must be at an all-time high and is becoming increasingly _necessary_ to be successful. I hope it continues to become increasingly fast, technical and coordinated, from and X's and O's perspective. The flow of hockey is what makes it special, and now all of those back-and-forth palpitations can make for very memorable moments.



Exactly, there’s always going to be role players. The difference now is everyone has to be able to skate well, it’s made the game faster. Even your average 4th liner at this point is much more skilled than they were 20 years ago.


----------



## AdamMaz

World Juniors... Caufield has *4* goal game for USA 

EDIT: Holy this 8-6 Leafs/Canes game last night looked like it was NUTS!


----------



## Vostre Roy

AdamMaz said:


> World Juniors... Caufield has *4* goal game for USA



Lots of good players can't make it once they get into the NHL. Sure hopes it wont be the case with this kid, he seems to be a natural at positioning himself and shooting the puck. Been a while since the Habs ever drafted a decend goal scorer (Gallagher and Paccioretty are the only one that comes to my mind since what, Ribeiro, damn be his addictions issues he was super talented)


----------



## technomancer

Holy shit Simon and Galchenyuk both scored in the same period, we are going to get hit by a meteor


----------



## technomancer

It never ends 

Penguins Forward Jake Guentzel Undergoes Successful Shoulder Surgery


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> It never ends


All of the winning? 24-11-4 overall... 8-2-0 in last 10... 3 game winning streak...???


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> All of the winning? 24-11-4 overall... 8-2-0 in last 10... 3 game winning streak...???



It is absolutely amazing what the team is accomplishing while leading the league in games lost to injury  The team has at this point I believe played 2. maybe 3 games with a healthy complement of players. It's is absolutely amazing.


----------



## AdamMaz

So you would understand if I revoked the empathy-pass I accorded you earlier in the season


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> So you would understand if I revoked the empathy-pass I accorded you earlier in the season


----------



## ElysianGuitars

The Winter Classic was amazing. Experience of a lifetime. Had great seats, the atmosphere was amazing, just loved the whole thing. F*** Corey Perry.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> The Winter Classic was amazing. Experience of a lifetime. Had great seats, the atmosphere was amazing, just loved the whole thing.


I'm glad to hear, my impression of outdoor games is that the game itself is usually less eventful/exciting. I think it was down in Dallas... how was the weather and ice quality?

The acquisition of a top 4 left-handed D in Scandella was long overdue for MTL, hate that it took this long for only a 4th round pick. With Gallagher now added to the injury list (concussion), our current 4-game losing streak and the rest of the Atlantic having found themselves... I'm about ready to call it a dead season. They were a much more exciting team to watch last year, this year they look very plain. Would be nice if they tanked for Lafreniere.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

AdamMaz said:


> I'm glad to hear, my impression of outdoor games is that the game itself is usually less eventful/exciting. I think it was down in Dallas... how was the weather and ice quality?
> 
> The acquisition of a top 4 left-handed D in Scandella was long overdue for MTL, hate that it took this long for only a 4th round pick. With Gallagher now added to the injury list (concussion), our current 4-game losing streak and the rest of the Atlantic having found themselves... I'm about ready to call it a dead season. They were a much more exciting team to watch last year, this year they look very plain. Would be nice if they tanked for Lafreniere.


Weather was fantastic, was low 50s the whole game. Players said the ice was awful, but the game was exciting as hell. There were over 60k Stars fans and 25k Nashville fans, atmosphere was incredible. Game presentation was the best I've seen. I never knew I needed pig racing in my hockey game until Wednesday.

I watched the entire game on TV yesterday and the camera work was fantastic. The wire camera that follows the play did great work, the uniforms looked great on camera too, for both sides.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> Game presentation was the best I've seen. I never knew I needed pig racing in my hockey game until Wednesday.




I've been enjoying the Corey Perry "walk of shame" memes since


----------



## ElysianGuitars

AdamMaz said:


> I've been enjoying the Corey Perry "walk of shame" memes since


Still ticked about that. Can't wait to have him off this team.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Habs just signed Kovalchuk as a free agent on a two way contract for 700k$.

Glory days are very far behind him, but at that price, given that we are short a couple of forwards and that the teams on its way down, why not eh


----------



## technomancer

Vostre Roy said:


> Habs just signed Kovalchuk as a free agent on a two way contract for 700k$.
> 
> Glory days are very far behind him, but at that price, given that we are short a couple of forwards and that the teams on its way down, why not eh



Saw this, on that contract why not


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Saw this, on that contract why not


Exactly. Could be a great fit, but I'm not holding my breath.


----------



## AxeHappy

Leafs backup goalie put up a shut out over the Islanders. Given all the (perhaps understandably) drama surrounding the Leafs backup situation, it is nice to see Hutchinson put up his 3rd win of the season and have it be a shut out. 

And with how the Islanders have shat on Tavares since he came to the Leafs it's got that little cherry on top.


----------



## technomancer

AxeHappy said:


> Leafs backup goalie put up a shut out over the Islanders. Given all the (perhaps understandably) drama surrounding the Leafs backup situation, it is nice to see Hutchinson put up his 3rd win of the season and have it be a shut out.
> 
> And with how the Islanders have shat on Tavares since he came to the Leafs it's got that little cherry on top.



I can never be unhappy about and Islanders loss


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Preds ownership must have been pissed after the Winter Classic, Laviolette is gone


----------



## AdamMaz

Unexpectedly went to the Habs/Jets game tonight... plain game 3-1 L. Statistically, Kovalchuk was the most effective forward tonight, he looked ok for a first game.


----------



## AdamMaz

The NHL of the future?


----------



## technomancer

Such a shame he didn't score on that


----------



## technomancer

Looks like John Hynes is the new Nashville head coach


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Glad to know they won't get any better.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Such a shame he didn't score on that


Would have seen that for the next 20 years if he did!!


----------



## technomancer

And Tanger and Jarry are headed to the All Stars. I would have honestly preferred to see Tanger get some rest as he has been flat out terrible recently.


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> With Gallagher now added to the injury list (concussion), our current 4-game losing streak and the rest of the Atlantic having found themselves... I'm about ready to call it a dead season. They were a much more exciting team to watch last year, this year they look very plain. Would be nice if they tanked for Lafreniere.


After 44 games for the Detroit "Dead" Wings and despite winning only 11 games, 3 of those have been against the Habs (all 3 meetings thus far). 7 game losing streak now... this season can't end soon enough 

Now to spend the rest of the season nagging the Pens and reminding technomancer that their injuries and D corps don't matter


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> After 44 games for the Detroit "Dead" Wings and despite winning only 11 games, 3 of those have been against the Habs (all 3 meetings thus far). 7 game losing streak now... this season can't end soon enough
> 
> Now to spend the rest of the season nagging the Pens and reminding technomancer that their injuries and D corps don't matter



Good teams find a way to win


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Good teams find a way to win


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>


----------



## technomancer

technomancer said:


>



I feel you though I was watching the Pens in the dumpster fire years before and when they drafted Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury.


----------



## AdamMaz

All of Montreal's reaction to Kovalchuk ending the losing streak at 8 games, in overtime:


----------



## AdamMaz

This is heartwarming.


----------



## AxeHappy

There is no way I can like that video enough. 

Marchand is the definition of a dirty douchebag player. Fuck him.


----------



## MFB

AxeHappy said:


> There is no way I can like that video enough.
> 
> Marchand is the definition of a dirty douchebag player. Fuck him.



Actual footage of AxeHappy willing to dive on the live grenade discussion that is 'openly hating Brad Marchand'


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Vegas just fired Gallant for Deboer... 


That's not an upgrade... 


Also can Gallant make the next flight to Dallas please? We still have an interim coach.


----------



## AdamMaz

I too am very surprised by Gallant's firing, team is only 4 points away from the division lead. Would love to see him end up in Seattle, coaching another expansion franchise off of the ground.


----------



## AdamMaz

Anyone remember this from the playoffs a handful of years ago?






If my memory is good, it occurred in either the Stanley Cup Finals or Conference Finals... still the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Deboer


----------



## technomancer

Yeah that Vegas team has exceeded expectations if you look at the lineups, and this year they have quite a few injuries if I recall.


----------



## technomancer

Pens locked up Pettersson for 5 years at an AAV of $4 million... the contract seems like a steal.

Penguins Agree to Terms with Marcus Pettersson on a Five-Year Extension

I'm a bit concerned given the quality of players currently available and Rutherford's recent comments about being in win now mode. I'm afraid he's going to massively overpay for a rental in an attempt to replace Guentzel.


----------



## bulb

Caps have been way too solid in the regular season for me to get excited about the playoffs...


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I'm afraid he's going to massively overpay for a rental in an attempt to replace Guentzel.





Spoiler



Tatar


----------



## JD27

bulb said:


> Caps have been way too solid in the regular season for me to get excited about the playoffs...



And their reward is looking like playing Carolina in the first round again. Not a good matchup.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Tatar



  

At this point I would almost like to see them pull Poulin up from Juniors and give him some time on one of the top lines since he is absolutely tearing it up in Juniors and was really good in preseason... but that might hinder his development.


----------



## bulb

JD27 said:


> And their reward is looking like playing Carolina in the first round again. Not a good matchup.



Carolina is a tough team for us, but makes for good games. I’m not mad about that matchup, metro is competitive so there won’t really be an easy team.


----------



## JD27

bulb said:


> Carolina is a tough team for us, but makes for good games. I’m not mad about that matchup, metro is competitive so there won’t really be an easy team.



Yeah they have been good games. Metro is tough for sure, 5 of top 10 in league and 6 of top
9 in East are Metro teams.


----------



## AdamMaz

I was hoping Kassian would mess up Tkachuk good, fight was too short


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> At this point I would almost like to see them pull Poulin up from Juniors and give him some time on one of the top lines since he is absolutely tearing it up in Juniors and was really good in preseason... but that might hinder his development.





Spoiler



I think what you meant to say was: "Kovalchuk"


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I think what you meant to say was: "Kovalchuk"


----------



## technomancer

Well, Rutherford finally landed Zucker from the Wild and massively overpaid to do it.

Galchenyuk, Addison, and a conditional first round pick. Addison is a 2nd round pick 19 year old D who is putting up a point+ a game in juniors.

The only part of the deal I like is that Zucker isn't a rental so if he works out he'll be here for a bit and that we got rid of Galchenyuk.

https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/p...on-zucker-from-the-minnesota-wild/c-314891926


----------



## AdamMaz

Congrats on ridding yourself of Galchenyuk


----------



## Manurack

Fucking McDavid it OUT for 2 weeks to a month after the game against Nashville on Saturday. My team, the Oilers are in a potential Playoff spot. 

It's all up to Draisaitl and the boys now to keep us second in the Pacific Division!


----------



## AdamMaz

Manurack said:


> Fucking McDavid it OUT for 2 weeks to a month after the game against Nashville on Saturday. My team, the Oilers are in a potential Playoff spot.
> 
> It's all up to Draisaitl and the boys now to keep us second in the Pacific Division!


Normally I would have no sympathy, considering you have the entire league's two most productive players and after years of watching Crosby/Malkin... but I want to see EDM be successful. WTF is this though?


Speaking of Pittsburgh and at risk of tickling technomancer pink...


Spoiler



I hope they destroy the Habs tonight. I'm tired of being sold hope of making the playoffs. Go for the throat so we can start selling.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Wild have fired Boudreau.


----------



## Manurack

AdamMaz said:


> Normally I would have no sympathy, considering you have the entire league's two most productive players and after years of watching Crosby/Malkin... but I want to see EDM be successful. WTF is this though?
> 
> 
> Speaking of Pittsburgh and at risk of tickling technomancer pink...
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I hope they destroy the Habs tonight. I'm tired of being sold hope of making the playoffs. Go for the throat so we can start selling.




Dude I love the Oilers and Kassian. But what Zack pulled last night was total bullshit. Fucking retarded to do that in the NHL.


----------



## Manurack

Kass is a huge enforcer for the Oilers. Especially after Big Rig Patrick Maroon was traded away. Maroon was a big goal scorer and a scrapper. Kass is a good goal scorer occasionally, but the shit he pulled last night was fucked up.


----------



## Manurack

Looch was a good enforcer too, but fuck Lucic with his previous things he's done in the NHL too. The trade with Looch and James Neal has worked out in the Oilers favour. And hey Calgary fans - that last Battle of Alberta was the best EAT IT!


----------



## Manurack

Looch was a good enforcer too, but fuck Lucic with his previous things he's done in the NHL too. The trade with Looch and James Neal has worked out in the Oilers favour. And hey Calgary fans - that last Battle of Alberta was the best EAT IT!


----------



## Vostre Roy

Almost surprised that the first start for yesterday's game wasn't awarded to the refs. 

On the other hands, loosing a game that you were leading 3-0 is not only the refs fault, this team need to tank this season and get a proper draft pick. So far, the only positive thing I can think of this season is how well Suzuki is adapting to the NHL, he's currently the 2nd point maker in the team for the last 10 games or so.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Vostre Roy said:


> Almost surprised that the first start for yesterday's game wasn't awarded to the refs.
> 
> On the other hands, loosing a game that you were leading 3-0 is not only the refs fault, this team need to tank this season and get a proper draft pick. So far, the only positive thing I can think of this season is how well Suzuki is adapting to the NHL, he's currently the 2nd point maker in the team for the last 10 games or so.


Dallas is the best comeback team in the league, which is stressful as hell for fans


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> After 62* games for the Detroit "Dead" Wings and despite winning only 15* games, 4* of those have been against the Habs (now the season series*). 5* game losing streak now... this season can't end soon enough
> 
> Now to spend the rest of the season nagging the Pens and reminding technomancer that their injuries and D corps don't matter


*Updated for tonight's loss 

YOUR INJURIES AND D CORPS DON'T MATTER, TECHNOMANCER!


----------



## Vostre Roy

Yeah yesterday's game was super painful to watch. With a 3-1 lead, I couldn't help myself but think "they'll still find a way to loose". Pretty sure that this teams has the highest "loss game while being ahead by 2 or more goals" in the entire league.

Suzuki had another killer game, but his mistake that led to the last goal was just a reminder that he's still a rookie. He's now tied in 3rd position for total points, 5pts behind Quinn Hughes and 3pts being Makar.

Kovalchuk is slowing down, as it was probably expected by everybody. Its a shame if Bergevin was intending to trade him but its very good in case he's planning to resign him, salary would be considerably lower.

And the trade for Scandella ended up being a 4th round pick (for his acquisition) for a 2nd and 4th round pick. Love him or hate him, the guy's a pretty decent trade dealer.


----------



## JD27

It’s been quite a collapse, finally coughed up first place in the division to the Pens. MacLellan finally had enough after the Vegas first period and got Brenden Dillon from the Sharks. Pretty solid defenseman and he might actually hit something unlike the rest of them. I’m interested to see who sits now. I’d like to see Forsythe go and then maybe the PP would have a chance, no reason for that much talent to be so bad with an extra man.


----------



## AdamMaz

Isn't that what the Capitals have been doing for the past 10 years?


----------



## technomancer

All I can say is if Sullivan doesn't get the Jack Adams he was robbed. This season has been insane... it seems like no matter who goes out somebody else steps up and they just keep rolling. 

They killed Toronto last night with Malkin, Guentzel, Dumoulin, and Marino out of lineup. That's not including the less "name" player injuries. That's the team's leading scorer, #2 center, leading defensive defenseman, and their star rookie defenseman... with Jack Johnson as part of their #1 D pairing


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Isn't that what the Capitals have been doing for the past 10 years?


Oh they usually go on break around Christmas, but they come back. This year they are on the side of a milk carton.


----------



## AdamMaz

Trade market is expensive this year... I am salivating at the thought of all the high-level prospects and early/high draft picks we could potentially be getting if Bergevin sold even a few of our big names.


----------



## technomancer

technomancer said:


> All I can say is if Sullivan doesn't get the Jack Adams he was robbed. This season has been insane... it seems like no matter who goes out somebody else steps up and they just keep rolling.
> 
> They killed Toronto last night with Malkin, Guentzel, Dumoulin, and Marino out of lineup. That's not including the less "name" player injuries. That's the team's leading scorer, #2 center, leading defensive defenseman, and their star rookie defenseman... with Jack Johnson as part of their #1 D pairing



Of course as soon as I posted this they started a losing streak


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Of course as soon as I posted this they started a losing streak


2 losses in a row? I can tell you are new to the concept of losing and all, but 

Sincerely, from the bottom of the standings


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> 2 losses in a row? I can tell you are new to the concept of losing and all, but
> 
> Sincerely, from the bottom of the standings



When you haven't lost 2 in a row since November it can be shocking  

EDIT: comedy is the Pens are still in first in the Division since the Caps have been losing.


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> When you haven't lost 2 in a row since November it can be shocking
> 
> EDIT: comedy is the Pens are still in first in the Division since the Caps have been losing.



Don’t worry the streak will end tomorrow against the Caps. They’ve reached official dumpster fire status. I really think they are going to make a strong push to miss the playoffs.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Don’t worry the streak will end tomorrow against the Caps. They’ve reached official dumpster fire status. I really think they are going to make a strong push to miss the playoffs.



It'll be interesting since the Pens look like they've been trying to lose these last two... I was hoping to see Jarry tomorrow as I think his puck handling would have been helpful against the Caps forecheck, but he looked awful today and Murray is going to be in net.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> When you haven't lost 2 in a row since November it can be shocking


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>


----------



## bulb

JD27 said:


> Don’t worry the streak will end tomorrow against the Caps. They’ve reached official dumpster fire status. I really think they are going to make a strong push to miss the playoffs.



As much as I hate seeing the Caps lose this much, I actually just don't think the top seed ever works out in our favor with the playoff setup, and I think we might be better off with a 2nd or 3rd seed playoff spot as it makes the 2nd round less competitive and that's where we have historically struggled.


----------



## JD27

bulb said:


> As much as I hate seeing the Caps lose this much, I actually just don't think the top seed ever works out in our favor with the playoff setup, and I think we might be better off with a 2nd or 3rd seed playoff spot as it makes the 2nd round less competitive and that's where we have historically struggled.



No it doesn’t benefit them, but they really need to worry about not dropping out of the playoff race at this point. There’s 21 games left and only 7 points separating them from their current 2nd place and not being in the playoffs at all. At their current rate of .500 hockey over the last 24 games, they could easily slip out all together. There’s been a disturbing lack of effort over that span, I’m hoping there’s some more trades to light a fire under their asses.


----------



## bulb

JD27 said:


> No it doesn’t benefit them, but they really need to worry about not dropping out of the playoff race at this point. There’s 21 games left and only 7 points separating them from their current 2nd place and not being in the playoffs at all. At their current rate of .500 hockey over the last 24 games, they could easily slip out all together. There’s been a disturbing lack of effort over that span, I’m hoping there’s some more trades to light a fire under their asses.



They always hit a slump around this time in the season, this one is particularly bad, and to be fair the rest of the season has been uncharacteristically dominant. Your point is well taken, but I think they will be just fine once they snap out of this mess. Historically after the slump they tend to do quite well, and I really don't mind if that momentum carries into the playoffs.


----------



## technomancer

aaaand Kovalchuk is now a Cap


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> aaaand Kovalchuk is now a Cap


Had Bergevin moved him sooner, might have gotten the 2nd rounder we were hoping to get back for him. Instead it is a 3rd rounder (which is fair) and 50% retention of 700k (serious wtf?). I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to resign there, given the quality of team and all of the russians in the lineup.

Bogosian to Tampa Bay, because everyone plus their mother does and the salary cap apparently doesn't exist.

Also:


----------



## Vostre Roy

technomancer said:


> aaaand Kovalchuk is now a Cap



Logic choice, he'll be playing with a few fellow russian. Would had love to see him sign a contract at a fair price. We'll see what happen this summer I guess


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> aaaand Kovalchuk is now a Cap



Not surprised, I guess. He met with Ovechkin in Miami after he was released from the Kings. I honestly have no idea where he is supposed to slot into the lineup. 3rd line I guess, but that’s the only halfway decent defensive line. Eller is the only player in the bottom 6 with any offensive contributions, I’m guessing that’s why the picked him up. Just scary that a team that is struggling defensively just added a guy known for playing absolutely no defense. I still think they are gonna shed Jensen and maybe Panik at the deadline for another defensemen.


----------



## AdamMaz

Right hand shot... I'm wondering if they might use him on a 2nd wave powerplay exactly the same way as Ovi?

As miserable as this season has been, I found complete solace and redemption via this:


----------



## technomancer

^


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Right hand shot... I'm wondering if they might use him on a 2nd wave powerplay exactly the same way as Ovi?



Haha, for the 2 seconds at the end of powerplay that Ovi vacates his office?


----------



## technomancer

Oh ffs I think Rutherford was high  Botterill has got to be laughing his ass off at how badly he fleeced Rutherford.

So we traded Kahun for two much less capable and slightly older forwards including Sheary who we dumped previously because he consistently under performed after one good season, and picked up Marleau for a draft pick. These may be some of the dumbest trades I have ever seen. I like Marleau, but he is old and slow and does not fit the Pens system at all... and they traded a great younger player for basically 2 bags of pucks


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Oh ffs I think Rutherford was high  Botterill has got to be laughing his ass off at how badly he fleeced Rutherford.
> 
> So we traded Kahun for two much less capable and slightly older forwards including Sheary who we dumped previously because he consistently under performed after one good season, and picked up Marleau for a draft pick. These may be some of the dumbest trades I have ever seen. I like Marleau, but he is old and slow and does not fit the Pens system at all... and they traded a great younger player for basically 2 bags of pucks







Carolina went big today


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Carolina went big today



Wow yeah they did... just catching up on everything after a long day at work


----------



## technomancer

Local commentator Madden summed up the Kahun trade perfectly:



Mark Madden said:


> Winger Dominik Kahun went to Buffalo for forwards Conor Sheary (remember him?) and Evan Rodrigues. Kahun has skill, a high hockey IQ and had chemistry with Evgeni Malkin. Kahun is the best player of the three involved with this trade. It made the forward group deeper, not better. Will Sheary skate with Sidney Crosby? Hope not.



Kahun had stated he would not resign with the Pens, so if they were going to lose him at the end of the season getting rid of him sort of made sense, assuming they expect either Sheary or Rodrigues to resign (they're all UFAs at the end of the season). Then again Kahun was an RFA so not sure that rumor makes sense.


----------



## JD27

Caps made a small trade at deadline. Christian Djoos for Daniel Sprong, AHL level but interesting. I figured they had given up on Djoos, he was injured most of last year and got replaced in the playoffs, his size was exposed badly against Carolina. He only played two games this season and got sent to the AHL. I thought he played pretty well the year they won the cup though. Sprong I understand has potential, but has Burakovsky syndrome (suffers from inconsistency/coaches don't play him).


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Caps made a small trade at deadline. Christian Djoos for Daniel Sprong, AHL level but interesting. I figured they had given up on Djoos, he was injured most of last year and got replaced in the playoffs, his size was exposed badly against Carolina. He only played two games this season and got sent to the AHL. I thought he played pretty well the year they won the cup though. Sprong I understand has potential, but has Burakovsky syndrome (suffers from inconsistency/coaches don't play him).



Sprong was one of those weird guys that was awesome in the AHL but never accomplished much at the NHL level. Then again he wasn't one of Sullivan's favorites so he never got a lot of ice time in Pittsburgh.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Of course as soon as I posted this they started a losing streak


Now, *6* games is a losing streak to be ashamed of!


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Now, *6* games is a losing streak to be ashamed of!



Yeah worse is that 4 of the 6 have been against non-playoff teams


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Ya'll need to get it together, Jarry was helping my fantasy team early on


----------



## JD27

Let's discuss the real question, who let the Flyers sneak up on first in the metro. Where did they come from? What is crazy is there is only one legit bad team in the Metro, that being the Devils. Playoff race is going to be tight to the end.


----------



## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> Let's discuss the real question, who let the Flyers sneak up on first in the metro. Where did they come from?


Right???


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Ya'll need to get it together, Jarry was helping my fantasy team early on



Unfortunately Sullivan has shown clearly that regardless of how well Jarry plays Murray is always going to be the guy 



JD27 said:


> Let's discuss the real question, who let the Flyers sneak up on first in the metro. Where did they come from? What is crazy is there is only one legit bad team in the Metro, that being the Devils. Playoff race is going to be tight to the end.



Seriously, the division is insane this year

EDIT: PHEW the losing streak is over... we may be sucking but we are apparently still not losing to Ottawa sucking


----------



## JD27

Asking on behalf of a NHL Coach... Do you start 3v3 OT with your worst defensive center and faceoff man against the other teams top two players, one of whom already scored 4 times? 

How do you not cover the guy that scored 4x and allow an easy breakaway for his 5th? The defensive suck on display from the Caps right now has not been seen since Ovechkins second year and that team was God fucking awful. They have now allowed at least three goals for the 10th consecutive game, first time they've done that since the 2006-07 season. This is getting painful to watch, now an afternoon National TV game against the Pens Saturday. What could go wrong!


----------



## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> This is getting painful to watch, now an afternoon National TV game against the Pens Saturday. What could go wrong!


Between your impressions and technomancer's, sounds like it will be a thermonuclear bomb of suck is about to go off. I predict a 9-8 OT game.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Between your impressions and technomancer's, sounds like it will be a thermonuclear bomb of suck is about to go off. I predict a 9-8 OT game.



It very well could be. People keep saying the Caps are just in a slump. 14-14-2 isn’t a slump, it’s a 1/3 of the season. This is the real team, they won early because the offense was winning games they shouldn’t have. With 15 games to go there are 8 points separating 1st in Division and 2nd WC. I’m still not convinced they couldn’t fall out, especially in this division when you’re playing .500 hockey.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Between your impressions and technomancer's, sounds like it will be a thermonuclear bomb of suck is about to go off. I predict a 9-8 OT game.



It will be, and the game winner will likely be a soft goal on Murray either high glove side or because he was massively out of position on a rebound because he overreacted on the initial save 

I'd still like to see Jarry in net for a game against the Caps to see if his puck handling would help neutralize the Caps forecheck, but apparently Sully is never going to let that happen regardless of how Murray plays... with one win by blind luck (goal bounced in off a body while the pens got outshot 2 to 1 in the third and Murray had a .9 save percentage) and one loss with a .818 save percentage you would think it would be worth a shot.



JD27 said:


> It very well could be. People keep saying the Caps are just in a slump. 14-14-2 isn’t a slump, it’s a 1/3 of the season. This is the real team, they won early because the offense was winning games they shouldn’t have. With 15 games to go there are 8 points separating 1st in Division and 2nd WC. I’m still not convinced they couldn’t fall out, especially in this division when you’re playing .500 hockey.



I feel you... 4-6-0 is not exactly inspiring and the last 2 wins that broke the six game losing streak were against non-playoff teams. I'm curious to see how the Pens look over the next few games though since they did get their 2 best defensive d men back 2 games ago and Bjugstad is back as well so the team is slowly getting healthy.

EDIT: Well, the Caps last goal was high glove side


----------



## technomancer

2-8-0 in their last 10


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> It will be, and the game winner will likely be a soft goal on Murray either high glove side or because he was massively out of position on a rebound because he overreacted on the initial save
> 
> I'd still like to see Jarry in net for a game against the Caps to see if his puck handling would help neutralize the Caps forecheck, but apparently Sully is never going to let that happen regardless of how Murray plays... with one win by blind luck (goal bounced in off a body while the pens got outshot 2 to 1 in the third and Murray had a .9 save percentage) and one loss with a .818 save percentage you would think it would be worth a shot.
> 
> 
> 
> I feel you... 4-6-0 is not exactly inspiring and the last 2 wins that broke the six game losing streak were against non-playoff teams. I'm curious to see how the Pens look over the next few games though since they did get their 2 best defensive d men back 2 games ago and Bjugstad is back as well so the team is slowly getting healthy.
> 
> EDIT: Well, the Caps last goal was high glove side



Hmmm, can’t tell if Caps were good or Pens were just that bad. Murray let in 3 high side if I recall. Seemed to be shooting there a lot.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Hmmm, can’t tell if Caps were good or Pens were just that bad. Murray let in 3 high side if I recall. Seemed to be shooting there a lot.



Little column A, little of column B? Pens now have the worst record in the NHL over the last 10 so....


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> 2-8-0 in their last 10





technomancer said:


> Pens now have the worst record in the NHL over the last 10 so....


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>



But still 13 points ahead of the Habs....


----------



## AdamMaz

Can't be bothered by the standings if you've already written off the rest of the season


----------



## JD27

Nope, they still suck. Just lost to Buffalo who hasn’t won in 6 games.


----------



## technomancer

Pens actually won one... against Jersey  They looked pretty good but Murray is still playing mediocre at best and gave up his usual minimum of one soft goal per game.... 2 goals on 22 shots is not bad but far from great.

They play Columbus, Carolina, and the Islanders over their next 3. Be curious to see how they do against actual motivated teams.

In other good news Philly did not go 10-0


----------



## AxeHappy

Seems the only team the Leafs can beat as of late is Tampa Bay. The Fuck. 

Lose to an emergency goalie. Beat Tampa twice in a month or so.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars have lost 6 in a row, so that's fun.


----------



## JD27

And there goes the NHL season. Apparently the on ice officials are being told to go ahead and get flights home.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Official now. They hope to resume at some point.


----------



## AdamMaz

Just when I was starting to enjoy bugging you all with your Cup-contending teams


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Apparently Radulov has been sick for a bit and the Stars have been trying to get him a COVID-19 test. He still hasn't been checked for it. Thankfully he got better.


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> Just when I was starting to enjoy bugging you all with your Cup-contending teams


technomancer likes this.


No, not you. 1st round exit at best...


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> technomancer likes this.
> 
> 
> No, not you. 1st round exit at best...



Better first exit round than not making it at all and having your GM trade all your players picked in the first round 

Every day delay is a day closer to a healthy Pens lineup (and still having a first round exit )


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Every day delay is a day closer to a healthy Pens lineup (and still having a first round exit )




Let's say some scenario could play out where Philly swept into 1st place and you were matched against Washington in the 1st round... having finally lost to them in a series and watching them win a Cup of their own, how do you feel about the odds and/or your confidence going into that series? Rivalry...


----------



## AdamMaz

Here's a fun article to keep the illusion of a season continuing... using NHL20, someone simulated the same matchups that would have taken place IRL since the announcement (yesterday and tonights I think?).


----------



## AxeHappy

I have a regular passenger on the bus route I'm driving for this board period who has been working on an NHL20 Franchise Mode thingy from the Guelph Storm up. 

At some point this week he was telling something about the Leafs winning 3 cups in a row once his player made the NHL. 

I would take any results from NHL20 with more than a grain of salt. Maybe a barrel full.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Let's say some scenario could play out where Philly swept into 1st place and you were matched against Washington in the 1st round... having finally lost to them in a series and watching them win a Cup of their own, how do you feel about the odds and/or your confidence going into that series? Rivalry...



Honestly I literally have no clue what will happen when play resumes. The team has swung back and forth from looking like a Cup favorite to barely playing with literally no seaming reason for it so I am at a complete loss.

That said it was REALLY funny watching the local commentators trying to talk up Murray's performance against the Devils like he had a great game and was back to Cup winning form the other night... He gave up 2 goals for 22 shots, including his one soft goal per game he always coughs up, for .9 save percentage. Ha also made on amazing save... that he only had to make because he was 3 feet out of position after the first save in the sequence of play.


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> Let's say some scenario could play out where Philly swept into 1st place and you were matched against Washington in the 1st round... having finally lost to them in a series and watching them win a Cup of their own, how do you feel about the odds and/or your confidence going into that series? Rivalry...





technomancer said:


> Honestly I literally have no clue what will happen when play resumes. The team has swung back and forth from looking like a Cup favorite to barely playing with literally no seaming reason for it so I am at a complete loss.


Interesting. JD27, as a Caps fan I would be curious to see you answer the same question?


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Interesting. JD27, as a Caps fan I would be curious to see you answer the same question?



Caps are literally playing .500 hockey. They’d probably drag it out 7 games and it would look similar to the first round series against the Canes. They have played better against the Pens then the other metro playoff teams though. Any team with a hard forecheck is going to beat them.


----------



## AdamMaz

Aside from the absurd prospect of the league starting as soon it is hoping to, I find it endlessly amusing that not only would the Canadiens just make the 24-team playoff cut, but that it would be against Pittsburgh in the 1st round


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Aside from the absurd prospect of the league starting as soon it is hoping to, I find it endlessly amusing that not only would the Canadiens just make the 24-team playoff cut, but that it would be against Pittsburgh in the 1st round



I keep seeing this pop up as likely... with the way the Pens were playing and the long break I honestly have no idea how this will turn out


----------



## JD27

As much as I would like to see hockey again, this is going to be a complete joke if it plays out.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I keep seeing this pop up as likely... with the way the Pens were playing and the long break I honestly have no idea how this will turn out


The real question though is does Pittsburgh stand a chance?


Spoiler


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> The real question though is does Pittsburgh stand a chance?
> 
> 
> Spoiler



Will he be out of the hospital in time? I heard he had suffered a tragic couch related injury 

Though I guess since Murray has literally hurt himself stretching in the warmups of a playoff game and he is Sullivan's boy I shouldn't be talking smack about goalie injuries...


----------



## AdamMaz

I'm actually in the middle of rewatching the 2010 Playoff series between them two teams... man the disparity between them is shocking. Pens look great of course and the Habs look completely useless... hard to believe you guys lost that one. The Halak hype train at the time was huge, but in retrospect looks underwhelming so far... a testament to how bad the overall team was.

Although both teams are drastically different now, I wouldn't have any inferiority complex this time around. I think we Danault could contain Crosby well enough, but would be worried about the matchup against Malkin. I think we would need to repeat the 2010 series playing a defensively focused game, because even healthy I don't think we would be threatening enough to outscore you guys. A pity we sold off a handful of good depth players prior to the trade deadline, so I don't see us being well enough equipped, let alone for the long run.


----------



## technomancer

I honestly have no idea how it will play out to be honest. If the Pens play in their own end and Murray shows up they should be fine, but Murray was awful before the season was stopped and the defense had a bad habit of getting lost in their own end a lot. I also have no doubt Murray will be the starter even though Jarry would probably be a much better choice against a team with a strong forecheck.

It is going to be interesting with all the guys who will be back from injury trying to sort out the lines and find chemistry in a playoff environment.


----------



## technomancer

I do have to say I think this whole 24 team playoffs is a bad joke and a REALLY transparent attempt to get some extra games to drum up revenues from an aborted season. Regardless of how it plays out I don't like the idea at all


----------



## technomancer

And Vegas has named the Pens the overwhelming favorite against Montreal in the playoff debacle... all but guaranteeing they're going to get upset because it's the Pens


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> And Vegas has named the Pens the overwhelming favorite against Montreal in the playoff debacle... all but guaranteeing they're going to get upset because it's the Pens



Karma has really been taking its time lining up this this one...


technomancer said:


> Better first exit round than not making it at all and having your GM trade all your players picked in the first round
> 
> Every day delay is a day closer to a healthy Pens lineup (and still having a first round exit )


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Dallas somehow made the top 4. Funny enough, the only team in the top 4 in either conference that's not over 0.600 pt pct.


----------



## technomancer

And Bjugstad had surgery and his season is over... his play hasn't been that impressive when he's healthy, so I'll be shocked if the Pens don' try to unload him to save some salary.


----------



## technomancer

Who else thinks there is no way the proposed schedule is going to happen given what has already happened with Tampa?


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I think they just need to cancel the season already. There's too much risk.


----------



## AdamMaz

I'm fine either way.

The Draft just got very interesting... probably more so than the playoffs themselves


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> The Draft just got very interesting... probably more so than the playoffs themselves


View media item 3115


----------



## AdamMaz

I'm not sure I got the above post/upload right, so to be certain, in regards to the draft lottery on Friday/Lafreniere...


----------



## technomancer

I almost want the Pens to tank and land the the first pick just to watch all the whiny bitches lose their minds 

That said I am curious to see what actually ends up happening, as it isn't clear what happens to this if there is an outbreak like the last one in Tampa's training facility before they head to the host cities.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> That said I am curious to see what actually ends up happening, as it isn't clear what happens to this if there is an outbreak like the last one in Tampa's training facility before they head to the host cities.


I would hope for clarity by Monday, once details of the new CBA get publicized/analyzed.

See you on August 1st!


----------



## technomancer

Geeze Pens have 9 players being held out due to potential secondary COVID-19 exposure... and Trotman who opted out (understandably since his wife is pregnant and he had slim to no chance of seeing the ice).


----------



## technomancer

"We can ask them nicely to stay at the hotel during the games."--Carey Price on shutting down Crosby and Malkin on the PP.

  

Seriously though this is getting crazy... Toews and nine starters for the Bruins have been ruled unfit to play.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> "We can ask them nicely to stay at the hotel during the games."--Carey Price on shutting down Crosby and Malkin on the PP.


----------



## technomancer

Reading some of Price's responses were absolutely hilarious... I think he is really about sick of the media asking dumb questions and is starting to give answers like that.

I still don't know how they are actually going to do this... I mean if a team has something like Boston happen before they are scheduled to leave how do you have a tournament with a team with 9 starters out of the lineup?


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Reading some of Price's responses were absolutely hilarious... I think he is really about sick of the media asking dumb questions and is starting to give answers like that.
> 
> I still don't know how they are actually going to do this... I mean if a team has something like Boston happen before they are scheduled to leave how do you have a tournament with a team with 9 starters out of the lineup?


Price has been like that for awhile, he teeters between witty stoicism and bored professionalism.

I would think traditional sports logic would apply; if you can't field a team to play, you forfeit. The quality of players you are able to field is the team's issue.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I'm excited to see hockey again, but I don't feel like this is going to go well. I hope I'm wrong.


----------



## AdamMaz

I would expect any issues to occur around this phase 3 period. Once phase 4 and in the bubbles, I think it will be smooth sailing.


----------



## AdamMaz

Seattle Kraken... love the name and although the logo and colors are nice, I would have hoped for the artwork to be more intimidating.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> I'm excited to see hockey again, but I don't feel like this is going to go well. I hope I'm wrong.


"Daly said the fact that the NHL has had two positive tests among more than 800 players since training camps opened July 13 is a sign of good things to come."


*Here is a link with more details on the hub environments and the game presentation... CLICK ME!*

My favorite detail: "In addition, Mayer said broadcast partners NBC in Toronto and Sportsnet in Edmonton will use 32 cameras per game, 12 more than normal, that will be repositioned in each building to bring the television audience visuals they haven't seen before."


----------



## AdamMaz

Game day! 

I would be ecstatic making the Leafs cry one last time before going into the real playoffs... after that the Pens can go ahead and sweep us for all I care


----------



## ElysianGuitars

The NHL announced that phase 3 has had 0 positive tests out of something like 4600 tests administered. Very promising, sounds like the players are taking this seriously. I hope they can maintain the bubble.


----------



## AdamMaz

_"Conan, what is best in life?"_



Spoiler



"As the official home team, the Montreal Canadiens are setting up shop in the Toronto Maple Leafs home dressing room tonight."


----------



## technomancer

^ This would have been way funnier if the Habs had won 

Holy crap I realize it's exhibition but Chicago beat St. Louis 4-0

As for the Pens qualifier with the Habs I still have zero idea on how it will shake out. The Pens are still making stupid mistakes and their goaltending is questionable (they haven't even picked a starter yet).


----------



## AdamMaz

You guys will be fine. We look exactly as I expected... inanimate offence with no depth. I previously joked about being swept, but that not only looks very realistic, but I fear it will border on embarrassing at this point.


----------



## AdamMaz

McDavid effortlessly making professional hockey players look just plain silly.




Anyone have other angles, ideally in real-time, of *this* *hit?* Beaulieu on MacEwan I think... curiously not finding anything at the moment.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> You guys will be fine. We look exactly as I expected... inanimate offence with no depth. I previously joked about being swept, but that not only looks very realistic, but I fear it will border on embarrassing at this point.



Hopefully you're right 

That Columbus / Boston game yesterday was hilarious. Listening to the announcer talk about how 60 to 1 to win the Cup was way too high a chance for Columbus while they systematically took apart Boston had me laughing my ass off. Granted it was an exhibition, but if Boston looks like that when play starts they'll be headed home in the first round depending on who they match up with.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Granted it was an exhibition, but if Boston looks like that when play starts they'll be headed home in the first round depending on who they match up with.


Unless it is Toronto


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Unless it is Toronto


----------



## AdamMaz

Game day!

I don't expect this series will last long, but hopefully we can actually make it interesting. Good luck!


----------



## technomancer

Shocker! Sulliven announced Murray is starting 

I have no idea why anyone that has watched the Pens for the last six months thought it might be Jarry. Sullivan has made is abundantly clear who his starter is. Neither goalie has been stellar since the All Stars, but choices of who played which teams left no doubt who Sullivan was playing... no matter how many losses he had.


----------



## AdamMaz

4-1 Hawks over Edmonton and the 1st even isn't over... gives me a glimmer of hope


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> 4-1 Hawks over Edmonton and the 1st even isn't over... gives me a glimmer of hope



I was wondering how this was going to go... the Hawks looked really good in their exhibition game I watched.

A lot of the Habs fate will depend on which Murray shows up: the brick wall or the "Puck? what puck? Oh it's behind me?" guy


----------



## technomancer

Oh look, Murray's big game experience 

Not that it would have mattered as this team just looks lackluster


----------



## AdamMaz

I thought that was an entertaining game from start to finish. Both penalty shot calls were soft, I hope that isn't a trend across the league.

Habs biggest concern going into this series was our lack of center experience vs your 1-2 punch of Crosby/Malkin. Seem like Suzuki is up to the task, so that is very reassuring. Only felt outclassed in the 1st period, they are playing well structured hockey and I believe they could take the series.

The lack of fans for ambiance is forgivable because we are getting much more focused hockey which is exciting. The playoff intensity is definitely there. It is however odd to see the delay in goal calls, the fans are usually the quickest to call it.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

That Chicago-Edmonton game was great. So many goals.


----------



## technomancer

I agree on the soft penalty shot calls and was glad neither call ended up in a game winning goal. It just seems like there are a LOT of penalties being called... I watched several of the games yesterday and one of them had 14 calls 

Habs looked good and played exactly how they needed too... Pens not so much. They came out strong but sort of fizzled. Don't even get me started on the power play 

In other games Chicago actually looks scary, in both their exhibition game and against the Oilers they are fast and incredibly skilled. It was also good to see that the change of scenery seems to have helped Maata.


----------



## technomancer

Boston and Nashville both lost so the day wasn't a total loss 

EDIT: Paul Maurice is an asshole, guy is literally just making shit up about what was clearly an accidental injury to his player.


----------



## MFB

technomancer said:


> Boston and Nashville both lost so the day wasn't a total loss



I don't think anyone is surprised that after a nice big break, Tukka came back and managed to let in 3 goals while the guy he was splitting time stopped all the shots he faced.


----------



## JD27

Been some good games so far. Columbus continues to play the underdog card perfectly. Flyers have looked good. Flames/Jets looks to be entertaining after that first game. Excited to see the Caps/Bolts game today.


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> I don't think anyone is surprised that after a nice big break, Tukka came back and managed to let in 3 goals while the guy he was splitting time stopped all the shots he faced.



Rask didn't play yesterday, it was all Halak 



JD27 said:


> Been some good games so far. Columbus continues to play the underdog card perfectly. Flyers have looked good. Flames/Jets looks to be entertaining after that first game. Excited to see the Caps/Bolts game today.



Yeah been some great games. As a Pens fan it pains me to say it but Philly and Columbus are really fun to watch right now


----------



## MFB

technomancer said:


> Rask didn't play yesterday, it was all Halak



Whoops, I thought that was about our 4-1 loss in the exhibition game, I forgot we played the Flyers already as well and lost with the same exact score


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I'm liking the play-in format so much, feel like it should be the norm going forward, instead of Wild Card spots.


----------



## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> Flames/Jets looks to be entertaining after that first game.


A pity that Scheifele's season looks over already and Laine might be out too.


----------



## JD27

Caps looked lost for 40 minutes before deciding to play hockey. Then Reirden decides to not send Kovalchuk out for a SO attempt after Oshie and they lose. Sounds about par for the course, it’s like the pause never happened. 
More disturbing is the news that Samsonov seriously injured his back and neck in an ATV crash during the break, hence his absence from the roster. Oh and he just didn’t think it was important enough to tell the team! So the goalie of the future for the team may have screwed himself out of a career and we are prone to doing something stupid like resigning Holtby, who in my opinion is not going to be a starter much longer in the league.


----------



## AdamMaz

I am so torn between a shot at Lafreniere vs ruining the Pens season


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> I am so torn between a shot at Lafreniere vs ruining the Pens season



You know Bergevin will draft some guy slated to go 10th instead of Lafreniere anyways

If the Pens would play consistently I would be upset... but they aren't going to beat anyone playing a few good shifts a game. "Playoff experience" Murray posted a whopping .871 save percentage, Johnson continued to look decent on the PK but was a -3 5-on-5, and Marleau continued to be invisible on offense and a defensive liability with another -3. The PP finally looked good, and they started to get some traffic in front of Price and get some offensive pressure vs only getting shots off the rush 5-on-5. It's not over, but obviously it's not looking good when you blow a 3-1 lead in a pivotal game.

That said I don't think it matters as even if the Pens pull this out I can't see them getting past any of the top 4 seeds in a 7 game series the way they're currently playing 

Can you just imaging all the butthurt if the Pens would lose to the Habs, win the draft lottery, and draft Lafreniere


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> That said I don't think it matters as even if the Pens pull this out I can't see them getting past any of the top 4 seeds in a 7 game series the way they're currently playing


...unless it is Washington 



technomancer said:


> Can you just imaging all the butthurt if the Pens would lose to the Habs, win the draft lottery, and draft Lafreniere


The last thing I want is to hear another 15 years of idolatry out of Pittsburgh


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Didn't think I'd turn a game off during the return to play, but here we are. Dallas has lost 9 in a row, last time they won a game was February 25th, and they look completely outclassed every night now. I'm not sure what's going on but I could see Dallas setting the record for most losses in a row in the playoffs.


----------



## MFB

ElysianGuitars said:


> Didn't think I'd turn a game off during the return to play, but here we are. Dallas has lost 9 in a row, last time they won a game was February 25th, and they look completely outclassed every night now. I'm not sure what's going on but I could see Dallas setting the record for most losses in a row in the playoffs.



I mean, Boston is 0-3 since coming back and we've played Columbus, Philly, and Tampa; realistically I feel like we should've had Columbus, Philly is higher in the standings than I remembered, so that one is surprising, and Tampa is our Achilles' heel.

But it's not like we're rallying behind them like team they were the rest of the season, if you told me we were still the #1 seed, I'd call BS without thinking (which I think we did just lose it after that Tampa game)


----------



## technomancer

At least Boston and Dallas are IN and losing to the top 4 teams in their Conferences... the Pens are losing to the worst team in the playoffs and are fighting hard to go golfing this weekend


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> ...the Pens are losing to the worst team in the playoffs and are fighting hard to go golfing this weekend


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>



  

Eh nothing surprising. Murray has proven yet again he is average at best because he is so inconsistent, Johnson continues to be a defensive liability, and Marleau is just useless... and Sullivan refuses to scratch any of them.


----------



## AdamMaz

Despite watching the clip multiple times, I'm still really confused as to the Muzzin injury...


----------



## AdamMaz

AdamMaz said:


> My favorite detail: "In addition, Mayer said broadcast partners NBC in Toronto and Sportsnet in Edmonton will use 32 cameras per game, 12 more than normal, that will be repositioned in each building to bring the television audience visuals they haven't seen before."


SPEAKING OF... (click me)


----------



## protest

Sucks the Flyers are missing both Patrick and Lindblom. I think they could have a shot this year and those two would be huge for the 3rd line. Lindblom may actually play if they make it to the second round, which is insane.


----------



## AdamMaz

protest said:


> Sucks the Flyers are missing both Patrick and Lindblom. I think they could have a shot this year and those two would be huge for the 3rd line. Lindblom may actually play if they make it to the second round, which is insane.


Lindblom should be a lock for the Masteron, reminds me of Saku Koivu.

When I think of the teams we could potentially play in the next round, Philly is probably the team I am most worried about.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Despite watching the clip multiple times, I'm still really confused as to the Muzzin injury...



Yeah I'm pretty sure it was when his head hit the knee pad, maybe concussion or something with his neck.

Also, and I hate Mike Milbury as a commentator, the people calling for him to be fired over his comments on then injury are idiots. When Muzzin popped back up at the whistle I thought he was trying to draw a call too, since Muzzin stayed down then was up as soon as the whistle blew. It was only shortly after that when he sat back down that it looked like he was injured. 



AdamMaz said:


> SPEAKING OF... (click me)



Ah yes, 6' 4" goalie crouching down to leave areas of a 4' net exposed instead of standing and hugging the post to cut off that shot path. Even better was when he completely lost the puck carrier behind the net for that wrap around. Honestly what worries me most watching these 3 games is even in the one where Murray looked great if you watched closely he lost track of the puck A LOT on rebounds, especially if it was close in front of him.

The Pens REALLY need a goaltender and some young talent. Given the goaltending across the league they can not afford to have a starter that is inconsistent and can't handle a full season starting load. Murray has proved he isn't up to it, and Jarry is still a huge question mark as he was amazing for part of the season then questionable for the tail end. That may have been a confidence thing thanks to Sullivan making it clear Murray is his guy. We'll find out next year as there is no way they'll give Murray the $6 million he wants, and his performance doesn't even rate $2 million if you look at recent performance. Then again GMJR has done dumber things...


----------



## technomancer

So now that they're facing elimination after Murray crapped out in 2 games Jarry goes in. I am glad Murray is coming out, but it should have happened after the first loss. Even in the game where his numbers were great you could see he wasn't tracking the puck well at times and the defense repeatedly bailed him out when he left the puck lay at his feet.

Ideally I would like to see:
Jarry in net
Riikola in for Johnson (won't happen)
McCann back at center on the 3rd line with Marleau scratched and Lafferty moved into his slot on wing (won't happen)


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Ideally I would like to see:
> Jarry in net
> Riikola in for Johnson (won't happen)
> McCann back at center on the 3rd line with Marleau scratched and Lafferty moved into his slot on wing (won't happen)


Jarry has been confirmed. As for everything else, including a Pens win; careypriceno.gif


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Jarry has been confirmed. As for everything else, including a Pens win; careypriceno.gif



#1 PICK #1 PICK 

Seriously though I know Jarry is getting the start, I will be surprised if any other lineup changes happen. Honestly I'm shocked Sullivan is putting Jarry in.


----------



## JD27

Caps were so pathetic and uninterested in playing against the Flyers. Kuznetsov was so bad he got benched in the final 12 mins. They are getting annihilated in first round, doesn’t matter who they play.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1291824358458105857

Florida expected to part ways with Dale Tallon soon.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1291824358458105857
> 
> Florida expected to part ways with Dale Tallon soon.


I was expecting big changes, but was not expecting the GM. I figured with the opportunities the core has had, that it would have been at the player-level, with decisions heavily influenced by Quenneville.


----------



## technomancer

Wow that is a surprise about Tallon.

Hey Trashville goes home and Big Phil and the Yotes are headed to the first round


----------



## technomancer

Congrats to the Habs, after watching this the Pens need that first round pick


----------



## Vostre Roy

Goodbye Lafreniere (and the Pens)


----------



## technomancer

I'm wondering if we're going to see a coaching or GM change as this is the third dissappointing playoff exit in a row for the Pens. I also wonder if we're going to see the core blown up and a rebuild started.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I'm wondering if we're going to see a coaching or GM change as this is the third dissappointing playoff exit in a row for the Pens. I also wonder if we're going to see the core blown up and a rebuild started.


I was hoping to ask you exactly that, but I thought I would give some more time to digest everything.

I mostly listened to the game, glancing at it on occasion. It is evident the Habs lack of high-end talent and their reliance on structure to win games, but this series they impressed me with their composure, especially Price. Having our top 3 defencemen healthy and rested really showed. Suzuki and Kotkaniemi are proving to have made big strides in their development, this series alone will likely prove huge in their overall confidence.

I'm sad to think we won't be drafting Lafreniere, but I have been really enjoying being apart of this Covid Cup and continuing this run.


----------



## technomancer

Habs played exactly the game they needed to, patient and capitalized on lapses by the Pens. The impact of your top physical D really showed as well... as did a LOT of slop in the Pens game. The game winner was a perfect example: Tanev passed the puck right to Byron in the slot and then four fricking Pens tracked him and completely ignored everyone else on the ice to let Lehkonen walk right in in the slot and put it in a wide open net since Jarry was tracking Byron as he went to the side of the net. Horrible over commit by 4 Pens right around the net.

I honestly have no idea what ownership will do. Sullivan has shown questionable judgement lately, and I have no idea what GMJR has been thinking for quite some time. The entire team looked sloppy and disinterested overall.


----------



## technomancer

Wow and the Oilers are out, and looks like the Leafs are headed out with them in 20 minutes.

EDIT: Or maybe not


----------



## JD27

CBJ pulled a Toronto. Crazy games in these playoffs. More entertaining than I expected they would be honestly.


----------



## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> CBJ pulled a Toronto. Crazy games in these playoffs. More entertaining than I expected they would be honestly.


Everyone is rested, no fans to distract, better on-ice communication... this is probably the most focused hockey we will ever see.

I'm thinking the intensity that qualifier teams go forward with will be a noticeable advantage early in their respective series against round robin teams.


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Everyone is rested, no fans to distract, better on-ice communication... this is probably the most focused hockey we will ever see, *except for the Caps.*



Fixed it for you! Yeah, I’m thinking the round robin teams are going to have a real hard time against the qualifiers. Much more of a playoff feel in those games.


----------



## sakeido

Insane hockey today. What a great sport. 

Poor McDavid though, ouch


----------



## MFB

Any of you guys using the NHL TV to watch the games? I've been without cable since moving, and really don't miss it, but I'm curious how the quality is for being only $5 a month; seems like something they set up hoping people would use it, then when they didn't, it was cheap enough to keep around but not support in any way.


----------



## Vostre Roy

Tried it some time ago (circa 2015, PS3 app) and while the quality was good, I had access to like 1/10 games because of the priority given to the TV broadcast channels.

Never used it since


----------



## MFB

Vostre Roy said:


> Tried it some time ago (circa 2015, PS3 app) and while the quality was good, I had access to like 1/10 games because of the priority given to the TV broadcast channels.
> 
> Never used it since



Ah, OK, well that renders it useless for my area since all Bruins game are broadcast on NBCSN, so the one team I'd want to watch wouldn't even be possible; what's the point of an app like that if your product is still blacked out on there as well? That seems like a shitty part to all through the cracks.


----------



## Vostre Roy

MFB said:


> Ah, OK, well that renders it useless for my area since all Bruins game are broadcast on NBCSN, so the one team I'd want to watch wouldn't even be possible; what's the point of an app like that if your product is still blacked out on there as well? That seems like a shitty part to all through the cracks.



Well, I've never tried it but I'd assume that if you'd use a VPN you could probably go around that blackout restriction.

Long shot guess though


----------



## AdamMaz

I'm usually able to find an off-stream of the games online, I'm under the impression the source might the NHL Network. Seems like it takes the cable networks broadcasts, both presentation and announcers, then just cuts out the commercials. I didn't realize the authentic product was that cheap now? Interesting.

A stroke of good fortune... Philly and Tampa are playing tonight, winner plays the Habs. Get to watch the direct competition just before our series


----------



## technomancer

Tough break for Tampa with Hedman going down... the Flyers have looked really good all tournament so far.


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> ... the Flyers have looked really good all tournament so far.



They have an LA Kings kind of feel to them. Really wish they had more of the kids in the lineup like I mentioned earlier because they have some dead weight in the bottom 6 (Thompson/Bunnaman). JVR looks straight awful. Hopefully he turns it on now that it's the playoffs. I'd put him and Ghost, who shouldn't come out of the lineup for Robert friggin Hagg, back on to the top PP to try to get it going. 

If Hart keeps his play up and they get a couple forwards back to fill out the bottom 6 I think they have as good a shot as they did in 2010.


----------



## Vostre Roy

So the Flyers it will be.

Tampa reminds me of the mid-2000 Sharks, incredible talent, dominate the season and get rekt in the post-season


----------



## AdamMaz

protest said:


> If Hart keeps his play up and they get a couple forwards back to fill out the bottom 6 I think they have as good a shot *as they did in 2010*.






Vostre Roy said:


> Tampa reminds me of the mid-2000 Sharks, incredible talent, dominate the season and get rekt in the post-season


Accurate.


----------



## MFB

Minus dominating the regular season, the Sharks haven't changed that much then


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Can't wait for Trotz to knock his old team out in the first round


----------



## JD27

ElysianGuitars said:


> Can't wait for Trotz to knock his old team out in the first round



Won’t need to do anything special. I can’t think of a team that looked less interested in being there other than maybe the Bruins. As long as the Isles remember when the game time is they’ll win easily.


----------



## technomancer

So much fun hockey... this Jackets / Leafs series has been nuts.

Going to be funny if Columbus and Tampa end up matching up again... especially if Hedman is out


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Going to be funny if Columbus and Tampa end up matching up again... especially if Hedman is out


Bye Toronto


----------



## JD27

Pretty sad when the host city teams can’t even qualify for the playoffs. Gonna be some good matchups in first round.


----------



## technomancer

Should be a lot of fun hockey.... going to have to work from couch Tuesday as I want to see that Tampa / Columbus game at 3


----------



## AdamMaz

JD27 said:


> Pretty sad when the host city teams can’t even qualify for the playoffs. Gonna be some good matchups in first round.


Or better yet, the Islanders have won a playoff series in Toronto, before Tavares


----------



## Vostre Roy

The Leafs haven't won a playoff rounds since 2004. That must be some kind of record amongst the teams that were not part of the early 2000s league expansion

Edit: Won't even begin to speak about the Stanley Cup draught, that'd be hitting the low hanging fruit


----------



## ElysianGuitars

JD27 said:


> Won’t need to do anything special. I can’t think of a team that looked less interested in being there other than maybe the Bruins. As long as the Isles remember when the game time is they’ll win easily.


Dallas looked pretty uninterested until last night.

Bishop has been "unfit to play" twice since return to play, so big question marks there. Khudobin is still really solid for us though.


----------



## technomancer

Lottery day: the last true excitement for a Pens fan for a while 

It's actually a bit sad as the Pens have some great talent coming up in Legare and Poulin on the wings and Joseph on D but I don't have a lot of faith in Sullivan actually making use of young talent. Ideally with the cap situation they would slot in and the Pens would let go guys like Sheary who proved to be exactly what he was when we traded him, inconsistent and undependable, and some of the other questionable UFAs / RFAs. 

I figure we are stuck with Johnson because who the hell wants that contract with that performance level?


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I figure we are stuck with Johnson because who the hell wants that contract with that performance level?


If it weren't for both teams cap situations, Johnson + extras <-> PK Subban might not be so crazy...


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> If it weren't for both teams cap situations, Johnson + extras <-> PK Subban might not be so crazy...





I actually saw somebody yesterday arguing that Johnson was good because his giveaways are low. I didn't bother to point out that you have to have puck possession to give it away...


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Lottery day: the last true excitement for a Pens fan for a while


Now you get to dread knowing he will be in the same division for potentially his entire career... I'm kind of ok with him going to the New York Rangers... will make for a good rivalry for us as both teams mature together.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Now you get to dread knowing he will be in the same division for potentially his entire career... I'm kind of ok with him going to the New York Rangers... will make for a good rivalry for us as both teams mature together.



Yeah can't catch a break


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Yeah can't catch a break


Considering Pittsburgh has had the right "breaks" at the right times, to not only win one, but THREE championships in recent memory... seems fair.

*NHL franchises across the league react to draft lottery (Lafreniere) results... click me.*


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Considering Pittsburgh has had the right "breaks" at the right times, to not only win one, but THREE championships in recent memory... seems fair.
> 
> *NHL franchises across the league react to draft lottery (Lafreniere) results... click me.*


----------



## technomancer

This Tampa / Columbus game is insane! Third overtime coming up

EDIT: Milbury needs to stop whining about overtimes just because he doesn't want to work them.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Hey, Dallas still sucks


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Hey, Dallas still sucks





View media item 3158
That said FIVE, FIVE overtimes


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> That said FIVE, FIVE overtimes


Most days I don't even have the energy to watch a full regulation game, wow!


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Most days I don't even have the energy to watch a full regulation game, wow!



Yeah that was insane. Still not as insane as the Pens / Flyers game from 2000 though, that one went until 3AM and I had to be at work the next day... we were in the stands and it was my wife's first hockey game 

Definitely easier to watch five overtimes from the couch


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I tuned in about 5 minutes before Tampa scored, so it's my fault that game ended I think


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> I tuned in about 5 minutes before Tampa scored, so it's my fault that game ended I think



You saying that as a Stars fan the suck just follows you? 

The difference in depth of the two teams became apparent as the game went on though. 

It is a surreal experience as a Pens fan finding myself rooting for the Jackets and Flyers


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> It is a surreal experience as a Pens fan finding myself rooting for the Jackets and *Flyers*


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> You saying that as a Stars fan the suck just follows you?


That's my super power


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


>





That's ok, I have seen enough of this Flyers team that I am pretty sure the Habs are following the Pens to the golf course shortly


----------



## Vostre Roy

AdamMaz said:


>





technomancer said:


> That's ok, I have seen enough of this Flyers team that I am pretty sure the Habs are following the Pens to the golf course shortly



Yup. He mad lol

That being said, I don't have that much expectations, Flyers tends to do to the Habs what the Habs did to the Pens.

But at the same time, for the last couple of years, the Habs had quite some success at the beginning of the season up until 2 months in it, and this is kind of like a beginning of season, so we'll see


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> That's ok, I have seen enough of this Flyers team that I am pretty sure the Habs are following the Pens to the golf course shortly



This kind of talk makes me uncomfortable, Pens fan.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> This kind of talk makes me uncomfortable, Pens fan.





It's a bit horrifying as I am really enjoying watching the Jackets and Flyers... if anybody finds out I may be escorted out of the city

EDIT: looks like Gonchar, Recci, and Martin are all gone as assistant coaches...


----------



## JD27

Ahh, vintage Caps playoff performance as Hole-tby strikes again. Up 2-0 with one minute to go in 2nd, sounds like time for a soft one to slip by to give the other team life. On a PP, time to cough the puck up and let another by. That dude cannot be resigned and there’s no way he’s a starter after this year.


----------



## protest

This is what it's like to have a goalie? I've never known this feeling.


----------



## AdamMaz




----------



## technomancer

^ that was indeed awesome

The goaltending in this series has already been epic after one game


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> ^ that was indeed awesome
> 
> The goaltending in this series has already been epic after one game



Was a good game, MTL hung in there better than I expected.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Was a good game, MTL hung in there better than I expected.



Yeah me too.

There have been a LOT of really good games so far.


----------



## eaeolian

AdamMaz said:


>




I have NO idea how he did that. In all the years of watching Price, I have never seen him do something that ridiculous - that's like Hasek-level crazy.


----------



## AdamMaz

Looks like coach Claude Julien has been admitted to hospital overnight and will not be coaching the rest of the series. They were unequivocal in saying it has nothing to do with covid, however there is one theory out there that he had a mild hear attack caused by:


Spoiler






AdamMaz said:


>


----------



## technomancer

Julien being hospitalized is not funny at all... but that ^ is hilarious 

Hopefully he's all right and has a speedy recovery.


----------



## AdamMaz

Details are scarce, but they made it sound like a better-safe-than-sorry visit, rather than an imminent-death episode. I understand the joke at minimum flirts with being insensitive, but they made it sound like he was ok. I've had many on-the-brink of life and death moments with my own medical condition and would not make such a joke recklessly.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Details are scarce, but they made it sound like a better-safe-than-sorry visit, rather than an imminent-death episode. I understand the joke at minimum flirts with being insensitive, but they made it sound like he was ok. I've had many on-the-brink of life and death moments with my own medical condition and would not make such a joke recklessly.



So he had a stent put in and headed home. Not precautionary and sounds like he is done for the playoffs.

https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-head-coach-claude-julien-update/c-318455322


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars both sucked and didn't suck last night. 5-4 win to even the series at 1, another 9:30pm game tonight.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> So he had a stent put in and headed home. Not precautionary and sounds like he is done for the playoffs.


Sad to hear about this. For as long as I've been following the franchise, Julien has been my overall favorite coach.

Game 2 is almost over and we're clobbering Philly 5-0, good sign moving forward.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Sad to hear about this. For as long as I've been following the franchise, Julien has been my overall favorite coach.
> 
> Game 2 is almost over and we're clobbering Philly 5-0, good sign moving forward.



I figured they'd win this one when the news about Julien came out... I didn't figure it would be a slaughter


----------



## AdamMaz

Game started at 3pm while I was still at work, managed to catch some of the 1st on coworker's phone (both goals), drove home listening to the rest of the 1st, got home and and saw a good chunk of the 2nd and glimpsed less frequently as the game went on... sounded like they played their best game of the season.

Lately I find I have a lot of trouble staying focused on anything, even for playoff hockey


----------



## technomancer

This just keeps getting better... apparently ownership wants to keep the Pens cap spending at $71 million for next season. They have $68 million already with no goalie contracts, 5 of their current starting D, and 9 forwards  Sullivan better learn to let young players play...


----------



## JD27

There’s ugly hockey, then there’s Caps hockey, a dumpster fire full of ugly. What a fucking mess that team is. Hopefully the Reirden HC experiment ends soon. It’s gonna be a sweep.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> There’s ugly hockey, then there’s Caps hockey, a dumpster fire full of ugly. What a fucking mess that team is. Hopefully the Reirden HC experiment ends soon. It’s gonna be a sweep.



At least your starting goalie didn't opt out 2 hours before he was scheduled to start game 3 of a tied series


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> At least your starting goalie didn't opt out 2 hours before he was scheduled to start game 3 of a tied series



Might be better off if he did.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

First time in 10 games Dallas scored the first goal. Hope they keep playing this well today.


----------



## JD27

This may be the most pathetic Caps series I’ve seen. True to form they lose in the most heartbreaking way possible, blow a breakaway then immediately get scored 
on.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

ElysianGuitars said:


> First time in 10 games Dallas scored the first goal. Hope they keep playing this well today.


Narrator: They could not


----------



## ElysianGuitars

What a wild game. Somehow Dallas won.


----------



## technomancer




----------



## protest

I think if the Canadiens don't score then the Flyers have a good chance of winning.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> I think if the Canadiens don't score then the Flyers have a good chance of winning.



Pretty sure that is true of any team in any game


----------



## JD27

Caps gonna finish their lack of effort with a blowout. Major changes should happen after this series.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Caps gonna finish their lack of effort with a blowout. Major changes should happen after this series.



I'm watching in hopes of seeing them get swept by Trotz... they can join the club with the Pens


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> I'm watching in hopes of seeing them get swept by Trotz... they can join the club with the Pens


 Sad part is Trotz and Islanders aren’t anything special. Trotz sucked for years as a playoff coach, that win had more to do with the team coming together than his coaching. Shit, he almost got fired earlier that season.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars played a solid game last night, probably their best all around game in the return to play, and best overall game since January or so. Benn got a short-handed goal while crashing the net, honestly kind of a hilarious goal.


----------



## JD27

Damn them for prolonging the suffering!


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Stars played a solid game last night, probably their best all around game in the return to play, and best overall game since January or so. Benn got a short-handed goal while crashing the net, honestly kind of a hilarious goal.




Now that is driving the net 



JD27 said:


> Damn them for prolonging the suffering!



  

Would have really liked to watch that Knights / Hawks game... but work in the morning is a bitch


----------



## AdamMaz

protest said:


> I think if the Canadiens don't score then the Flyers have a good chance of winning.


What a frustrating series... Flyers are asleep at the wheel while we're flying around controlling most of the play, yet still down 3-1 in the series because there is nobody on this team with a finishing touch or the capacity/will to takeover a game. As I am often reminded; there is no justice in hockey.


----------



## technomancer

Looks like all the underdogs are going out this round... Carolina is out, Columbus is out, Arizona is down 6-0 going into the 3rd...


----------



## AdamMaz

Who the hell let Chris Lee ref a Habs elimination game? The p.o.s. video reviews a clean/hard hit into a 5 minute major and game misconduct, on which Philly ties the game. F*** you Chris Lee.

EDIT: ...and now the lead.


----------



## technomancer

And Montreal survives to play another day


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Damn them for prolonging the suffering!



And your suffering is over


----------



## JD27

No, it never ends. They’ll probably do something stupid shortly. Only Caps would allow 17 shots against and still fucking lose 4-0 in an elimination game.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> No, it never ends. They’ll probably do something stupid shortly. Only Caps would allow 17 shots against and still fucking lose 4-0 in an elimination game.



Penguins: hold my beer 

Ouch not a good start for Dallas... down 3-0 before the 10 minute mark of the first


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Ouch not a good start for Dallas... down 3-0 before the 10 minute mark of the first


Turned that one around 

Niskanen 1 game suspension hardly seems equitable...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

ElysianGuitars said:


> Can't wait for Trotz to knock his old team out in the first round



Oof.


Meanwhile, the Stars game last night was the 2020 of hockey games. Stars were down 3-0 on the first 7 shots on net, took a timeout, kept on trucking. Ripped off 7 unanswered goals to end Calgary's season 7-3. Denis Gurianov had 4 goals and 5 points, Miro Heiskanen had a goal and 3 helpers, and none of the top line even touched the score sheet, was all depth.


----------



## technomancer

I got up this morning to see how the Stars / Flames game turned out and was like


----------



## ElysianGuitars

The thing I think that contributed most to the 7 unanswered was the Calgary coach inexplicably pulling Talbot, putting Rittich in cold (and Rittich hadn't played in the return to play AFAIK, though could be mistaken), Rittich got lit up, so coach put Talbot back in in the 3rd  He didn't even use his timeout till after Rittich went in.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> The thing I think that contributed most to the 7 unanswered was the Calgary coach inexplicably pulling Talbot, putting Rittich in cold (and Rittich hadn't played in the return to play AFAIK, though could be mistaken), Rittich got lit up, so coach put Talbot back in in the 3rd  He didn't even use his timeout till after Rittich went in.


----------



## sakeido

ElysianGuitars said:


> The thing I think that contributed most to the 7 unanswered was the Calgary coach inexplicably pulling Talbot, putting Rittich in cold (and Rittich hadn't played in the return to play AFAIK, though could be mistaken), Rittich got lit up, so coach put Talbot back in in the 3rd  He didn't even use his timeout till after Rittich went in.



Rittich played half of the exhibition game and didn't look good. He coughed up two big rebounds right in the middle of the slot that went directly onto Dallas sticks... Talbot definitely had a rough game but he still wouldn't have done anything like that. Ward probably lost himself his job. Gerard Gallant please!

What a terrible experience. Worst thing I've seen on TV since the Flames lost in the Stanley Cup finals 16 years ago.


----------



## technomancer

And Montreal is heading for the golf course... at least one of the teams in the East I like this year made it out of the round 

Though I can definitely get behind Tampa when they're playing Boston


----------



## AdamMaz

We lost, but I don't feel we were beaten. We outplayed almost the entire series, but they got the goals they needed while we couldn't finish.

All in all a great experience, seeing Suzuki and Kotkaniemi really take over the top 2 center roles has been more than I could have hoped for. I'm fine without Lafreniere.


----------



## technomancer

Looks like the Stars / Avs series is going to be a short one... Grubauer is out, and judging by how it looked isn't going to be back soon.

Starting to wonder if somebody in Dallas made a deal with the devil


----------



## JD27

And Reirden is gone, at least something good came out of the Islanders series. Now if the rest of the coaching staff could go.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Looks like the Stars / Avs series is going to be a short one... Grubauer is out, and judging by how it looked isn't going to be back soon.
> 
> Starting to wonder if somebody in Dallas made a deal with the devil


It was me, I made a deal with the devil that every time I talk shit on the Stars online, they score.

Wild game last night, did not expect that result at all.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> It was me, I made a deal with the devil that every time I talk shit on the Stars online, they score.


Sounds like the same devil that technomancer complains to about the Pens D corps??



technomancer said:


> Looks like the Stars / Avs series is going to be a short one... Grubauer is out, and judging by how it looked isn't going to be back soon.


Unfortunate, I was looking forward to seeing how much they would do in the West this year.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Unfortunate, I was looking forward to seeing how much they would do in the West this year.



Yeah I agree.

On another note how is "Pens expect to trade a goalie" even news? They flat out can't afford to sign and keep both Jarry and Murray, especially that Murray apparently wants a considerable raise over his current deal (despite having been mediocre at best).


----------



## eaeolian

technomancer said:


> At least your starting goalie didn't opt out 2 hours before he was scheduled to start game 3 of a tied series



Clearly the lesson here is that Halak is the backup you need.


----------



## eaeolian

AdamMaz said:


> Sounds like the same devil that technomancer complains to about the Pens D corps??
> 
> 
> Unfortunate, I was looking forward to seeing how much they would do in the West this year.


Especially since the refs swallowed the whistles last night after the Avs got up 2-0.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

eaeolian said:


> Especially since the refs swallowed the whistles last night after the Avs got up 2-0.


Was another wild game, and with all the power plays the Avs got they probably should have done better.

Truthfully, that was a prototypical Stars game. Crap the bed in the 1st, come out swinging in the 2nd, turtle the 3rd. The lucky empty netter was a nice change of pace though.


----------



## technomancer

Fucking Rutherford is at it again... just traded our first round pick, Rodrigues, Hallander, and Warsofsky for Kapanen, Aberg, and Lindgren. So basically yet again he overpaid to bring back somebody that we traded initially because they weren't living up to expectations and that didn't live up to expectations on the team they were traded to.


----------



## eaeolian

ElysianGuitars said:


> Was another wild game, and with all the power plays the Avs got they probably should have done better.
> 
> Truthfully, that was a prototypical Stars game. Crap the bed in the 1st, come out swinging in the 2nd, turtle the 3rd. The lucky empty netter was a nice change of pace though.



The real difference was energy in the 2nd, although the Stars could seemingly grab the Avs' top line at will, except for MacKinnon, who just had to take slashes to the balls.  After a few shots that should have gone in, they just started looking for the perfect shot, at which point your power play goes to shit. If you make more than three passes in the zone, you're not scoring.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

eaeolian said:


> The real difference was energy in the 2nd, although the Stars could seemingly grab the Avs' top line at will, except for MacKinnon, who just had to take slashes to the balls.  After a few shots that should have gone in, they just started looking for the perfect shot, at which point your power play goes to shit. If you make more than three passes in the zone, you're not scoring.


As soon as Dallas killed the Avs 5 on 3 I knew the game was going to turn.


----------



## technomancer

Damn I get this has to be enforced but forfeiting a first and second round pick is just brutal

NHL announces sanctions to Coyotes for violating combine testing policy


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Wonder if that had anything to do with Chayka quitting.


----------



## technomancer

Could be...

Phew I thought the Flyers were going to blow that one after starting strong


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> Could be...
> 
> Phew I thought the Flyers were going to blow that one after starting strong



Had a very Flyers feel to it.


----------



## MFB

Oof, those two back to back Tampa goals


----------



## technomancer

MFB said:


> Oof, those two back to back Tampa goals



But wait, there's more!

Damn, tough game for Boston


----------



## eaeolian

technomancer said:


> But wait, there's more!
> 
> Damn, tough game for Boston



"Hey, kid! How do you feel about being sacrificial?"


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars lost last night but it was more due to bounces than anything, Khudobin and Heiskanen also both had bad games. All good, Friday they can bounce back.


----------



## MFB

I went back to work after those two goals, and boy am I glad that I did  7-1, Jesus Christ...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Games canceled for tonight, and looking like tomorrow as well.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

Don't want to write them off, but the Bruins look done. Tampa's finally playing like the team they are on paper. Isle's overall look pretty good, the top guys for the Flyers need to step it up it can't be just Hayes and Hart bailing them out. Golden Knights look like they've got Vancouver figured out, Lehner has been great. Hoping the Avs can pull it back against Dallas tonight.


----------



## MFB

Mr. Chainsaw said:


> Don't want to write them off, but the Bruins look done. Tampa's finally playing like the team they are on paper. Isle's overall look pretty good, the top guys for the Flyers need to step it up it can't be just Hayes and Hart bailing them out. Golden Knights look like they've got Vancouver figured out, Lehner has been great. Hoping the Avs can pull it back against Dallas tonight.



After watching yesterday's game, they are. Too many veterans that can't keep up with the quick schedule of these playoffs, and we're not playing our best; Rask fucked us by opting to not play for it as well, so now we're using Halak for every game, and it's showing. Too much passing, not enough opportunities to get in close and put the puck down a clear lane to meet the back of the net, it's just frustrating at this point. Pull the band-aid off and be done with it.

Plus, even if we advance, we're going against either Flyers or Islanders, who I expect will immediately be able to end us.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Stars could end this series tonight. Least night was a great game, besides the 2 own goals.


----------



## AdamMaz

If we assume that all the teams that are up 3-1 don't completely fall apart, the only team I would like to see go all the way is Vegas. I'll root for Islanders just because its the Islanders.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> If we assume that all the teams that are up 3-1 don't completely fall apart, the only team I would like to see go all the way is Vegas. I'll root for Islanders just because its the Islanders.



I agree on Vegas. I've never liked the Islanders though... and they are boring as hell to watch. A Tampa Vegas series would be much more entertaining


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

How is it already 5-0? I wanted to watch OT but that would've been nice to see...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Mr. Chainsaw said:


> How is it already 5-0? I wanted to watch OT but that would've been nice to see...


Stars were due to shit the bed, why not tonight.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> I've never liked the Islanders though... and they are boring as hell to watch. A Tampa Vegas series would be much more entertaining


Unless Colorado come roaring back, that would be the single most exciting match-up of the playoffs. I wouldn't watch the Islanders, but I like when darkhorse/underdog teams have success, especially if it also means another disappointment for Tampa. I'm very tired of hearing about the same handful of teams every year.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Unless Colorado come roaring back, that would be the single most exciting match-up of the playoffs. I wouldn't watch the Islanders, but I like when darkhorse/underdog teams have success, especially if it also means another disappointment for Tampa. I'm very tired of hearing about the same handful of teams every year.



Yeah I was looking forward to seeing how the Avs did this year, but injuries have done them in. I doubt their third string goalie is going to carry them for 2 more wins in a row.


----------



## technomancer

So now you can apparently just stand in the crease and it's not goaltender interference.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

technomancer said:


> So now you can apparently just stand in the crease and it's not goaltender interference.


I didn't see it live, but looking at the replay looks like Barzal was pushed into the crease by Pitlick, then Pitlick falls over so he's stopping Hart from making a play, not Barzal. Then you have Provorov just kind of there and the puck finds a way in. Didn't see anything wrong there.

There was another game, I think in the Stars-Flames series, where Corey Perry just ends up in the crease, Talbot was off to the glove-side edge of the crease, and the Stars scored. No one said anything about Perry being the in crease or anything, and Talbot wasn't in a position to make a save on the puck anyway. Both plays line up with the crease rule so they were allowed.


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> So now you can apparently just stand in the crease and it's not goaltender interference.



He was pushed in so they were never going to call it, but he made no attempt to move after the fact which meant Pitlick couldn't get out of the way.

I also love how the Flyers coaching staff promote going into a shell with a lead, and continue to play the 4th line and 3rd pairing in the last minutes of a one goal game.


----------



## technomancer

He was pushed in, which was fine. My problem was that while the puck was behind the net after that but before the goal he made no attempt to get out of the crease, he basically stood there. If the puck had gone in initially before going behind the net I'd have no complaint.



protest said:


> I also love how the Flyers coaching staff promote going into a shell with a lead, and continue to play the 4th line and 3rd pairing in the last minutes of a one goal game.



That's an old Pens standby. We have a lead! Now let's play the rest of the game like a penalty kill! That along with saying we need to get younger, faster, and harder to play against while leaving guys that are younger, faster, and more physical in the press box like Riikola. Oh and claiming decisions are driven by analytics while ignoring the horrible analytics on guys like Johnson because they have high hit and shot block numbers.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Glad to see Vancouver hang on. Hope that series goes 7, regardless of how the Stars/Avs series goes.


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> He was pushed in, which was fine. My problem was that while the puck was behind the net after that but before the goal he made no attempt to get out of the crease, he basically stood there. If the puck had gone in initially before going behind the net I'd have no complaint.
> 
> 
> 
> That's an old Pens standby. We have a lead! Now let's play the rest of the game like a penalty kill! That along with saying we need to get younger, faster, and harder to play against while leaving guys that are younger, faster, and more physical in the press box like Riikola. Oh and claiming decisions are driven by analytics while ignoring the horrible analytics on guys like Johnson because they have high hit and shot block numbers.



What you don't like guys that play a "heavy" game and "stay within themselves"? You must be loving the Flyers lineup choices.

And everyone knows young players can't contribute. There needs to be an injury to a grizzled veteran, which then makes them suddenly able to contribute. Just another one of life's mysteries.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> What you don't like guys that play a "heavy" game and "stay within themselves"? You must be loving the Flyers lineup choices.
> 
> And everyone knows young players can't contribute. There needs to be an injury to a grizzled veteran, which then makes them suddenly able to contribute. Just another one of life's mysteries.


----------



## technomancer

And Reirden is back in Pittsburgh as an assistant coach and they promoted Vellucci from the Baby Pens to assistant coach.


----------



## AdamMaz

Love the trade for Jake Allen and we got him for virtually nothing. A lot of people are criticizing having almost 15 million invested in your two goaltenders, but I am fine with it considering we have a lot of cap space and Allen only has one season left on his contract.

Going to watch the Avs/Stars game tonight... haven't watched any other games since we got eliminated. Looking forward to seeing the Av's speed and just how dysfunctional the Stars can be.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I think the Allen trade is the right move for the Canadiens... Not so much for the Blues, I don't know that Binnington is ever going to be as good as his rookie year


----------



## technomancer

Wow! Colorado forced a game 7


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> I think the Allen trade is the right move for the Canadiens... Not so much for the Blues, I don't know that Binnington is ever going to be as good as his rookie year


Maybe yes maybe no about Binnington, but definitely ~4 million in freed cap space for resigning Pietrangelo.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Maybe yes maybe no about Binnington, but definitely ~4 million in freed cap space for resigning Pietrangelo.



Exactly. Struck me as a cap move more than anything else.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

technomancer said:


> And Reirden is back in Pittsburgh as an assistant coach and they promoted Vellucci from the Baby Pens to assistant coach.



It'll be interesting to see Reirden back on the Penguins bench, I don't remember how good the team defense was back when he was first there.


----------



## AdamMaz

Mr. Chainsaw said:


> It'll be interesting to see Reirden back on the Penguins bench, I don't remember how good the team defense was back when he was first there.


...that's your cue technomancer, complain away!


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Wow! Colorado forced a game 7


Avs gonna win game 7 too, this team is trash.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> ...that's your cue technomancer, complain away!



It was more injury issues than anything else at that point... though their defensive system under Bylsma / Reirden was pretty notorious for being overly complicated based on comments from players that left.

At this stage I don't think it matters since the coaches and GM are defending a D man that is statistically one of the worst performers in the league. They've got some young guys that should probably crack the lineup that aren't going to and a solid RFA that likely won't be qualified. I'm just watching the dumpster fire at this stage.


----------



## sakeido

14 game point streak... I dunno guys, hot take maybe but I think MacKinnon is 98.95% as good as McDavid

He's like if Johnny Gaudreau was taller, weighed 40 more pounds and could skate 15 km/h faster. Unreal. What a beast.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> Avs gonna win game 7 too, this team is trash.


I got distracted and forgot about watching game 6 last night, but saw the highlights and read a headline: "The Colorado Avalanche Defeat Clueless Dallas Stars, Force Game 7". For a game 7 and on a Friday night, I will definitely be making a point of watching that one.


----------



## technomancer

Looks like Lindblom is supposed to play tonight. Hope he has a great game and they smoke the Isles


----------



## protest




----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

Can we get 1 more game 7 pls


----------



## technomancer

Wow 3 game 7s and all on the weekend. Going to me some good hockey


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Wow 3 game 7s and all on the weekend. Going to me some good hockey


----------



## ElysianGuitars

AdamMaz said:


> I got distracted and forgot about watching game 6 last night, but saw the highlights and read a headline: "The Colorado Avalanche Defeat Clueless Dallas Stars, Force Game 7". For a game 7 and on a Friday night, I will definitely be making a point of watching that one.


We're preparing to lose this one too, one more period of pain and then they can't disappoint me again this season.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> We're preparing to lose this one too, one more period of pain and then they can't disappoint me again this season.



Incorrect... here comes overtime


----------



## technomancer

technomancer said:


> Incorrect... here comes overtime



Your suffering will continue

  

I honestly think injuries just did Colorado in this year


----------



## sakeido

That the Dallas run in a nutshell.. injuries get em the win. Hell this time it was one of their own guys getting injured so Kiviranta could suit up for the hatty


----------



## AdamMaz

Of course they schedule the game at an inconvenient time for me 

I managed to listen to most of the game and watched parts later on... great game! I'm honestly surprised to see that Dallas is capable of winning a game 7.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I lost 8 years of my life tonight


----------



## ElysianGuitars




----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> I lost 8 years of my life tonight





ElysianGuitars said:


>


"Kivi-WHO?" 

Seriously great game, I'm not even mad that Avs are eliminated.


----------



## AdamMaz

Vancouver only put up 14 shots all game and were heavily outshot, but to their credit they held the game scoreless until late into the 3rd and did have some quality scoring chances.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

AdamMaz said:


> Vancouver only put up 14 shots all game and were heavily outshot, but to their credit they held the game scoreless until late into the 3rd and did have some quality scoring chances.


I started watching just as Reaves took that major, Canucks were so bad on the ensuing power play, and they got a power play later in the game as well and were equally as bad. Really sad outing for a team on the brink of elimination. They put up a single shot on the 5min pp


----------



## sakeido

Vancouver went way further than they had any right to, to be honest.. showed a lot of heart and determination but the talent and experience mismatch between them and Vegas was huge. Demko got em as far as he could practically singlehandedly but Van didn't show any life or get any dangerous looks until the last minute of the game, 6 on 5, when they had already given up one empty netter..

I am still choked Colorado is out. They had so many injuries I suppose they should be happy to get to 7 games too. Hutchinson really fell apart in the last one. Dallas is so, so, so lucky


----------



## technomancer

I was honestly hoping to see more from the Flyers in this game


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> I was honestly hoping to see more from the Flyers in this game



You weren't good with that diarrhea dog shit effort?


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> You weren't good with that diarrhea dog shit effort?



 There is comedy in that since our 14 year old dog is having digestive issues right now so I have literally been dealing with the real thing  (she's actually almost over it now but Friday was not fun)

But no, no I was not. I think part of it too is I just find the Islanders annoying and mostly boring as the whole trap trap trap defend defend only generate offense off of a turnover on the rush once every 10 minutes excruciating to watch. To the point I might not even watch the Tampa / NY series except for the elimination game.

On the bright side Vegas / Dallas should be fun and I'm off this week so I can even watch the late games if I want


----------



## protest

technomancer said:


> There is comedy in that since our 14 year old dog is having digestive issues right now so I have literally been dealing with the real thing  (she's actually almost over it now but Friday was not fun)
> 
> But no, no I was not. I think part of it too is I just find the Islanders annoying and mostly boring as the whole trap trap trap defend defend only generate offense off of a turnover on the rush once every 10 minutes excruciating to watch. To the point I might not even watch the Tampa / NY series except for the elimination game.
> 
> On the bright side Vegas / Dallas should be fun and I'm off this week so I can even watch the late games if I want



Ugh that sucks. Glad she's starting to feel better.

I sent my buddy a text after the game saying I needed Tampa to blow them out of the water because the clutching and grabbing in these playoffs has been bad enough, and to couple that with a Devils hockey team making noise in the ECF or go to the Cup would be the worst thing for the sport. I can't have teams emulating that BS.


----------



## technomancer

protest said:


> Ugh that sucks. Glad she's starting to feel better.
> 
> I sent my buddy a text after the game saying I needed Tampa to blow them out of the water because the clutching and grabbing in these playoffs has been bad enough, and to couple that with a Devils hockey team making noise in the ECF or go to the Cup would be the worst thing for the sport. I can't have teams emulating that BS.



Yep. I am not a Tampa fan, but REALLY do not want the Isles to win and everybody try to emulate that crap. It just makes the game boring as hell IMHO.


----------



## technomancer

Hell of a game for Tampa tonight


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I hope the Stars team that can score shows up tonight.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Narrator: They did show up


----------



## AdamMaz

Radulov!


----------



## technomancer

Pens traded Bjugstad for a bag of pucks... errr conditional 7th in 2021. This would be fine except they retained 50% of his salary so they need to find a 3rd line center for under $2 million for the deal to have made any sense at all.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

technomancer said:


> Pens traded Bjugstad for a bag of pucks... errr conditional 7th in 2021. This would be fine except they retained 50% of his salary so they need to find a 3rd line center for under $2 million for the deal to have made any sense at all.


I'm guessing they'd want to keep McCann but he's gonna want more than that I'd assume. 

It seems like Dallas really shouldn't be winning some of these games, but they keep finding ways to do it, hats off to them. I've lost count of how many open-net-ish chances Vegas has missed this series.


----------



## technomancer

Mr. Chainsaw said:


> I'm guessing they'd want to keep McCann but he's gonna want more than that I'd assume.
> 
> It seems like Dallas really shouldn't be winning some of these games, but they keep finding ways to do it, hats off to them. I've lost count of how many open-net-ish chances Vegas has missed this series.



Yeah plus they've been unhappy with McCann's performance. There was an article with an interesting analysis of the deal and apparently while from a cap standpoint a buyout would have been better, from what the team actually pays out this saved them cash so seems like it was a deal about the business bottom line vs cap / team lineup.

As for Dallas see my earlier comment about somebody making a deal with the devil


----------



## AdamMaz

Having only read a little about that series, I get the impression Dallas is doing to Vegas, what Philly did to Montreal.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Anyone know what I need to sacrifice to get the Stars to win tonight?


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Anyone know what I need to sacrifice to get the Stars to win tonight?



You guys have had such ridiculous puck luck that I think somebody already has


----------



## ElysianGuitars

I forgot to do my sacrifice tonight, so we're going to OT...


----------



## technomancer

And the last team I cared about is out of the playoffs  Congrats to Dallas


----------



## ElysianGuitars

WOW WHAT A WIN


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> And the last team I cared about is out of the playoffs  Congrats to Dallas


Under normal circumstances I would agree, but given the likelihood of a matchup with Tampa, looks like I have a new favorite team. #AnyoneButTampa


----------



## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Under normal circumstances I would agree, but given the likelihood of a matchup with Tampa, looks like I have a new favorite team. #AnyoneButTampa



Yeah, looks like it’s gonna be Dallas for me too. I hate Tampa, but unfortunately it looks like they have their shit together finally.


----------



## technomancer

Indifferent about Tampa, once they eliminate the Islanders 

I am in meh, somebody will win the Cup mode...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Tampa will definitely be a tough opponent, assuming they win tonight. Dallas will get an extra day of rest if that's how it goes, and I'm okay with that. They are completely gassed, they didn't get a break between series like Tampa did after dispatching Boston.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

Laviolette to the Caps, 3yr/14m.


----------



## AdamMaz

Mr. Chainsaw said:


> Laviolette to the Caps, 3yr/14m.


That strikes me as a good fit. Hopefully his no BS attitude straightens out the nonchalance in the lineup.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

Eric Staal off to the Sabres for Johansson. My guess is that the Wild want to see what Johansson has left, and the Sabres move Staal for draft picks/prospects unless they have a really good season, plus open up a bit of cap space. Seems like a good trade for Buffalo, idk what the Wild are thinking here.


----------



## technomancer

Ovechkin wants $12 million for 3-5 years... at 35

BREAKING: Alex Ovechkin Rejects Contract Extension From Washington Capitals


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Ovechkin wants $12 million for 3-5 years... at 35


At 35 is probably the only nutty part about it. However, when you consider that he can still be an effective 40-50 goal scorer into older age, if only because of his one-timer, $12 million doesn't seem so crazy. Especially while he is still legitimately chasing Gretzky.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> At 35 is probably the only nutty part about it. However, when you consider that he can still be an effective 40-50 goal scorer into older age, if only because of his one-timer, $12 million doesn't seem so crazy. Especially while he is still legitimately chasing Gretzky.



I think he would get it in a heartbeat, if revenues weren't in the toilet and the salary cap wasn't frozen for the next 3 seasons.


----------



## Mr. Chainsaw

Well the Pens re-signed McCann, 2yr/6m, wasn't really expecting that tbh.


----------



## AdamMaz

Go Radulov!


----------



## technomancer

Mr. Chainsaw said:


> Well the Pens re-signed McCann, 2yr/6m, wasn't really expecting that tbh.



I think the bottom line is they are cap strapped and Rutherford isn't getting remotely close to his inflated trade expectations for some of these guys. People also forget that even though McCann "slumped" he also tied his career highs this season and was one of the Pen's best players through January.

It's sort of like the idiots calling for Malkin to be traded, forgetting that statistically he was their best player this season


----------



## technomancer

Wow talk about a puck luck goal


----------



## ElysianGuitars

How about that win, are you not entertained?


----------



## technomancer

Rumor: Patrik Laine has demanded a trade from Winnipeg! 

EDIT: and Daniel Sprong is now apparently a Washington Capital


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Rumor: Patrik Laine has demanded a trade from Winnipeg!
> 
> EDIT: and Daniel Sprong is now apparently a Washington Capital


Yeah they picked him up before the trade deadline


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Yeah they picked him up before the trade deadline



They signed him to a one way deal for next year. Hopefully he's better for the Caps than he has been.


----------



## AdamMaz

ElysianGuitars said:


> How about that win, are you not entertained?


Dallas was much more effective than I was expecting, especially as puck possession is concerned.


----------



## technomancer

Ugh rumor is Pens are trading Hornqvist for Matheson from Florida... because the Pens need a $5 million D man that can't play defense


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Ugh rumor is Pens are trading Hornqvist for Matheson from Florida... because the Pens need a $5 million D man that can't play defense


Hornqvist couldn't be reached for comment...

No really, he can't actually be reached to confirm the trade


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Dallas is back to folding under any sign of adversity. Gonna need to find another level to win on Friday. If not, this season is over Saturday.


----------



## AdamMaz

After a game 1 that can be attributed to rest/fatigue, looks like the series is trending the direction most people would have expected.

To illustrate the unfair salary cap advantage Tampa has, their 8.5 million dollar captain, that hasn't played a single playoff game until last night, plays only a couple of shifts and scoring a goal... then leaves the game. Just plain rude at this point.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> After a game 1 that can be attributed to rest/fatigue, looks like the series is trending the direction most people would have expected.
> 
> To illustrate the unfair salary cap advantage Tampa has, their 8.5 million dollar captain, that hasn't played a single playoff game until last night, plays only a couple of shifts and scoring a goal... then leaves the game. Just plain rude at this point.



  

Looking like that Hornqvist trade got scuttles for now...


----------



## sakeido

Tampa's top line is absolutely unreal... can't believe they got Point with the 79th overall pick. Yeesh. Stamkos coming back for the first time in 7 months, scoring, then sitting back down is one for the books.

Dunno if you guys keep truck with advanced stats but the top line had a 92% expected goals share in game 2, WITHOUT Stamkos. Absolutely insane. Generally an all-elite top line will get maybe 55%. I can't even imagine how they manage to tilt the ice that much.

I don't think it's gonna work out for Dallas. It's Tampa's year. I'm pullin for them even though they absolutely fucked us over in 2004. They deserve it, although I really wish it had come down to a Colorado-Tampa final. Dallas has a lot to be excited about tho, their goalie tandem is clearly top tier and Heiskanen is a franchise #1 d-man at age 21. Giordano didn't get that good until he was 30 ffs.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> Looking like that Hornqvist trade got scuttles for now...


Pierre LeBrun says there's traction again


----------



## ElysianGuitars

https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1309232738835345410

Trade call is wrapped up, Colton Sceviour + Matheson for Hornqvist.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1309232738835345410
> 
> Trade call is wrapped up, Colton Sceviour + Matheson for Hornqvist.



Damn it  So they traded a somewhat underperforming but still solid player for a massively underperforming dman on a REALLY bad contract and a mediocre bottom 6 player. Way to go JR.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Sceviour is basically an AHL player, he's not gonna do much at the NHL level.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Sceviour is basically an AHL player, he's not gonna do much at the NHL level.



Yep. I think the Pens need to stop worrying about "younger and faster" and worry about BETTER.

I figure Kapanen will be in the bottom six after 10 games tops, and from what I've seen the D is getting worse instead of better. Oh, and this also got rid of the only net front presence the Pens had. What a mess.

(I do like Kapanen, I just think they MASSIVELY overpaid for him and he has never really looked like a top 6 forward)


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> (I do like Kapanen, I just think they MASSIVELY overpaid for him and he has never really looked like a top 6 forward)


In the Toronto lineup/hierarchy, I don't think he was getting the ice time or being put a position to maximize his value. I am actually excited to see what he will be able to do given the opportunity in Pittsburgh, especially on a line with Crosby.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> In the Toronto lineup/hierarchy, I don't think he was getting the ice time or being put a position to maximize his value. I am actually excited to see what he will be able to do given the opportunity in Pittsburgh, especially on a line with Crosby.



Having watched the team, he'll get a shot and if he isn't on a Guentzgoal scoring pace he'll be bounced within 10 games. If you haven't noticed they've been "trading for a winger for Crosby" for 10 years now 

I hope I'm wrong and the line is fantastic, I just don't see it happening.

As a fan it is frustrating as the team has some clear needs, and instead of addressing them JR is still thrashing around making basically mediocre trades. This latest is a prime example addressing getting younger and faster by adding a player that has been objectively horrible on a long-term contract that would fit a top four D man. If the kid turns around and is a top 4 then it will look brilliant, but there is no evidence that shows he will be, and the guys evaluating that potential are the same ones that thought Johnson was a top 4 defender.


----------



## AdamMaz

When you are always in a "win now" mentality, you sign everything that moves and dig your own grave for later. Signing is easy, but now you're stuck trying to make trades as your only way out and finding a dancing partner is even more difficult.


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> When you are always in a "win now" mentality, you sign everything that moves and dig your own grave for later. Signing is easy, but now you're stuck trying to make trades as your only way out and finding a dancing partner is even more difficult.



Yeah unfortunately "win now" is being used as an excuse for just being stupid and short sighted.

EDIT: I should add that if the Pens get entry contract Matheson vs 2020 Matheson Rutherford will look like a genius


----------



## AdamMaz

If you're going to call a penalty in overtime of a Stanley Cup Final, you better be 1000% sure its a penalty. Sorry Dallas, you got screwed out of the SCF. Tampa's pact with the devil continues.

I bet nobody thought THAT would be the metaphorical asterisks (*) on the Covid Cup.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

We've been getting screwed by the refs all over the ice. When they tripped Hintz and boarded him into the boards to injure him out of the game, no call. Benn in OT shouldn't have been a call. Pavelski in game 3 getting high sticked blatantly while we were on the power play, should have had a 5 on 3. Tampa just embellishing all over the ice too, and taking runs at our guys every chance they get, dirty as hell. I'm thrilled my team made it this far, but the refs have left their mark from game 2 on.


----------



## technomancer

As someone who doesn't care who wins this and has watched most of the games while not paying massively close attention I am not seeing anything one sided in the refereeing. Both teams are hitting everything that moves all over the ice whether the puck is in the area or not without calls. If they started calling everything the whole game would be a 4 on 4 from what I've been watching 

If anything Dallas got a gift with the 4 on 4 at the end of the third after that hook in the balls last night...


----------



## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> As someone who doesn't care who wins this and has watched most of the games while not paying massively close attention I am not seeing anything one sided in the refereeing. Both teams are hitting everything that moves all over the ice whether the puck is in the area or not without calls. If they started calling everything the whole game would be a 4 on 4 from what I've been watching
> 
> If anything Dallas got a gift with the 4 on 4 at the end of the third after that hook in the balls last night...


Not worth arguing, just gonna agree to disagree here.


----------



## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Not worth arguing, just gonna agree to disagree here.



All good. Like I said I've only been half watching while doing other stuff.


----------



## technomancer

And it's over for another season. Congrats to Tampa.

Now back to wondering WTF the Pens are going to do with 8 left shooting D


----------



## technomancer

It seems bizarre to not hear anyone booing Bettman


----------



## JD27

Still seems weird... I guess the season had to have an ending though. Didn’t see Hedman wining the Conn Smythe either.


----------



## ElysianGuitars

Can't be mad at my team for any of that run, it was incredible. Really proud of them.


----------



## technomancer

JD27 said:


> Still seems weird... I guess the season had to have an ending though. Didn’t see Hedman wining the Conn Smythe either.



Yeah given his performance you can't really complain about it though... 3rd all time in goals scored by a dman in a playoff run is nuts


----------



## JD27

technomancer said:


> Yeah given his performance you can't really complain about it though... 3rd all time in goals scored by a dman in a playoff run is nuts



Yeah it is, he only had 11 all season. Just figured it would have been Point.


----------



## AdamMaz

Conn Smyth voting:







I agree with Hedman over Point.


----------



## technomancer

Wow so NY actually bought out the King. I completely get it from a business standpoint, but still sad and the end of an era.


----------



## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Wow so NY actually bought out the King. I completely get it from a business standpoint, but still sad and the end of an era.


I believe we've been playoff eliminated by Lundqsvist a few times over the years, nothing but respect for him. Hopefully he finds a team that wants him and he has a few more good seasons before retiring.

Now that the Lightning have had their chance to celebrate and digest... lets talk offseason. Any BOLD predictions? Shocking moves/trades/signings?? Lets hear'em!


Spoiler



Bergevin acquires Laine from Winnipeg in exchange for Danault (slot him as 2nd line center), one or two of our on-the-cusp prospect defencemen such has Juulsen, Fleury or the older Kulak (to fill their need for a defenceman), 1st round 16th overall pick 2020, and some other asset. Laine however plays out the final year of his contract before negotiating extension.


----------



## technomancer

At this point GMJR just seems to be thrashing around, so no idea what's going to happen with the Pens.

I do find the idea of a Matheson / Johnson third pairing absolutely horrifying though, so I am sure we'll see that this season 

EDIT: Pens resigned Jarry to a 3 year $3.5 million per average deal

I'm curious to see what happens with Murray in the next couple days, as they definitely can't afford to resign him.


----------



## AdamMaz

Given Jarry just got 3.5, leaving 2.6, I'm wondering if it possible that through arbitration that Murray is awarded more than Pittsburgh can fit and the league allows him UFA status (like an emancipation?).


----------



## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Given Jarry just got 3.5, leaving 2.6, I'm wondering if it possible that through arbitration that Murray is awarded more than Pittsburgh can fit and the league allows him UFA status (like an emancipation?).



Pretty sure they can be over the cap until final rosters are due, so I doubt they'll let him walk. That said Murray may not get what he wants in arbitration given his performance hasn't exactly been earth shattering over the last 3 years. I saw something about Murray, Johnson, and a 5th to Ottawa for a 2nd and honestly if Ottawa is willing I hope Rutherford jumps on that deal as it would be a win for the Pens.

Sullivan has to be losing his mind right now with two of his guys on the way out in Murray and Simon (Pens announced they will not qualify Simon)


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## ElysianGuitars

technomancer said:


> At this point GMJR just seems to be thrashing around, so no idea what's going to happen with the Pens.
> 
> I do find the idea of a Matheson / Johnson third pairing absolutely horrifying though, so I am sure we'll see that this season
> 
> EDIT: Pens resigned Jarry to a 3 year $3.5 million per average deal
> 
> I'm curious to see what happens with Murray in the next couple days, as they definitely can't afford to resign him.


Now you don't have to worry about that third pairing, Johnson is being bought out.


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## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Now you don't have to worry about that third pairing, Johnson is being bought out.



Yep just saw he's on waivers... That said I am still plenty worried about a 3rd pairing  That takes the Pens down to 7 left handed D 

I really do feel like I'm watching the exact same thing that happened to Carolina play out in Pittsburgh...


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## AdamMaz

Except that Carolina has practically two whole NHL-caliber defense corps while Pittsburgh can barely muster one.


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## AdamMaz

Sad to see Domi go, but its a good move for everyone involved.

Bye Alzner!


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Except that Carolina has practically two whole NHL-caliber defense corps while Pittsburgh can barely muster one.



I was more referring to the bad contracts and thrashing around with the lineup in a series of endless trades to get guys that don't really end up working.

At this point I am betting the Pens are going to end up completely cash strapped with Murray in the lineup for another season and have to let somebody they can't really afford to lose go to accomplish it...


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## ElysianGuitars

Matt Murray to Ottawa.


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## technomancer

ElysianGuitars said:


> Matt Murray to Ottawa.



PHEW! glad Rutherford caved on the deal.. shame he couldn't have gotten Johnson in there (which was an original rumor) but even Ottawa wouldn't take that contract 

I'm sad to see Murray go and hope he does well, but there was just no way the Pens could afford what his ask was, and his performance over the last 3 years really didn't justify a $5+ million salary


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## AdamMaz

Murray to Ottawa is a good fit. Since you no longer have him or Johnson to complain about, what is the Pens biggest issue(s) nowadays?


Spoiler



Don't say Matheson because he hasn't even played for you yet 



Ottawa will be scary in a few years, already had very promising prospects, now add Stuetzle and Sanderson 

Nashville are having a great couple of days... traded Bonino away, bought out Turris and drafted a very promising goalie in Askarov.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> Murray to Ottawa is a good fit. Since you no longer have him or Johnson to complain about, what is the Pens biggest issue(s) nowadays?
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Don't say Matheson because he hasn't even played for you yet
> 
> 
> 
> Ottawa will be scary in a few years, already had very promising prospects, now add Stuetzle and Sanderson
> 
> Nashville are having a great couple of days... traded Bonino away, bought out Turris and drafted a very promising goalie in Askarov.



Not Matheson specifically, but the defense has not gotten much of an upgrade over last year. Statistically Johnson being gone is great, but given Sullivan's preferences the 3rd pairing will probably be Matheson and Ruhwedel. There is no net front or physical presence anywhere in the lineup. Goaltending is still a question mark as while Murray proved conclusively he is not up to being an NHL starter with a normal workload over a full season Jarry hasn't yet proven he is either. Third line is still a question mark. 

Basically the team has gotten younger and faster, but I'm not sure they've gotten better at this point. I'll hold out judgement until I see how the team looks though. In theory if we get some of the young prospects in the lineup it could get interesting.


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## AdamMaz

So much to process across the league... this is nuts. Contract buyouts everywhere, tons of RFAs going unqualified, goalie market is flooded, contract dump/trades everywhere... and the UFA market hasn't even opened up yet!!

I like the Anderson 7y/5.5m contract. Longest term I have seen signed post-covid, audacious, but I like it (for now ). Also glad to see Domi sign a fair contract and get a good opportunity in Columbus.


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> So much to process across the league... this is nuts. Contract buyouts everywhere, tons of RFAs going unqualified, goalie market is flooded, contract dump/trades everywhere... and the UFA market hasn't even opened up yet!!
> 
> I like the Anderson 7y/5.5m contract. Longest term I have seen signed post-covid, audacious, but I like it (for now ). Also glad to see Domi sign a fair contract and get a good opportunity in Columbus.



Yeah the flat cap for at least 2 seasons has everybody freaking out and has definitely made things interesting


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## AdamMaz

You must be laughing your ass off as Ottawa signs Murray to 4y/6.25m and NYR signs Johnson to 1y/1.15m


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## technomancer

AdamMaz said:


> You must be laughing your ass off as Ottawa signs Murray to 4y/6.25m and NYR signs Johnson to 1y/1.15m



Ottawa better hope Murray steps up and looks like he did in the Cup runs and not like he has between the pipes for the last 3 years for the Pens or they MASSIVELY overpaid. The Johnson deal is more what the Pens should have signed him for an kept him in a MUCH more limited role.


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## technomancer

It's like goalie roulette in the NHL today


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## JD27

WTF are we paying $4m to Justin Schultz for? That’s a terrible signing. Signing Lundqvist was at least low risk as a backup for Samsonov.


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## MFB

Looking at the big ol' transactions list from TSN, there's a lot to unpack here.

Krug going to the Blues? Can't think of anyone on our roster who's going to fill those shoes, so our D core might as well be from Pittsburgh now.
Chara in free agency, couple years overdue but without having anyone in our core to backup him and Krug leaving at the same time, would've been nice to still have him.
Crawford signing with New Jersey? They were in desperate need of goaltending with Blackwood being Blackwood.
Brodie to Toronto? Not sure where they freed up the money for him, but sure, add more the powerhouse that chokes at the though of winning a Stanley cup.
Holtby to Canucks? Didn't think Markstrom wasn't working out that well, but maybe they'll split starts and get the best of each by not burning one out.
Markstom to Calgary? Scratch that previous comment, I also didn't think Rittich was playing poorly enough to warrant relegating him to second fiddle but OK?
Kinkaid to Rangers? I thought Georgiev was their backup, so not sure where in the lineup he'll be fitting in.
Shattenkirk to the Ducks? Hope he likes playing for city that forgets they have a hockey team.
Talbot to the Wild? Won't move the needle at all, but good for them for feeling like they did something.


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## technomancer

JD27 said:


> WTF are we paying $4m to Justin Schultz for? That’s a terrible signing. Signing Lundqvist was at least low risk as a backup for Samsonov.



Depends, if he returns to form it's a great signing. He wasn't great last season, but he was also paired with Johnson and recovering from a broken leg.


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## AdamMaz

Hall 1y/8m to Buffalo


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## JD27

technomancer said:


> Depends, if he returns to form it's a great signing. He wasn't great last season, but he was also paired with Johnson and recovering from a broken leg.



Seems like a panic signing to replace Kempny who is going to miss next season.


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## JD27

AdamMaz said:


> Hall 1y/8m to Buffalo



Says he wants to win a cup, signs with Buffalo... More like the flat cap and uncertainty with COVID dried up the market and the only ones willing to pay $8m are teams that need to hit the bottom floor.


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## MFB

I don't know, I mean Buffalo were right on the cusp last year and could have been something good but they're also in desperate need of goaltending it seems like, since Ullmark and Hutton aren't exactly studs between the pipes; not to say they're awful, but 60/40 splits between two middle of the pack goalies is going to land you right in the middle of the pack.


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## AdamMaz

MFB said:


> I don't know, I mean Buffalo were right on the cusp last year and could have been something good but they're also in desperate need of goaltending it seems like, since Ullmark and Hutton aren't exactly studs between the pipes; not to say they're awful, but 60/40 splits between two middle of the pack goalies is going to land you right in the middle of the pack.


Fair arguments, but still not buying that Hall based this decision on Cup contender over the money.

I was expecting Habs would sign a forward similar to Toffoli's profile/contract, just not the one I expected. I like it. 

Given management has made it clear that Gallagher will get a longterm and big money extension, looks as though Tatar will surely be moved sometime next season and Danault almost certainly as well.


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## MFB

Forgot about that part, but yeah, Buffalo still isn't in cup contender shape by any means  Even if they were to get in, I feel a round one sweep would be right in their wheelhouse


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## AdamMaz

Has Bergevin already won GM of the Year next season? Just maybe. Price/Allen being possibly the best goalie tandem in the league (rivaled by only Lehner/Fleury), just extended Allen 2 years for LESS money. Never in my life have I seen on off-season this efficient.

EDIT: Now Gallagher extension 6y/6.5m. I'm good with this.


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## ElysianGuitars

AdamMaz said:


> Has Bergevin already won GM of the Year next season? Just maybe. Price/Allen being possibly the *best goalie tandem in the league (rivaled by only Lehner/Fleury)*, just extended Allen 2 years for LESS money. Never in my life have I seen on off-season this efficient.
> 
> EDIT: Now Gallagher extension 6y/6.5m. I'm good with this.


Bishop/Khudobin says hi


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## AdamMaz

Good tandem, nice run, but agree to disagree.


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## technomancer

Cody freaking Ceci 

On the bright side I guess it's at least not a 5 year deal at $3.25 million per...


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## ElysianGuitars

AdamMaz said:


> Good tandem, nice run, but agree to disagree.


Been a top 3 tandem in the league the last 2 seasons.


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## AdamMaz

I definitely agree with that. I just don't think that they are _the best_ tandem.


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## AdamMaz




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## ElysianGuitars

Finally.


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## AdamMaz

What is this sorcery?! Blackhawks fans salivating


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## technomancer

Curious to see what shakes out between temporary division realignments and the league trying to modify the terms of the CBA everybody approved in July. Wondering if a season will even happen with things getting crazy again.


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## AdamMaz

technomancer said:


> Curious to see what shakes out between temporary division realignments and the league trying to modify the terms of the CBA everybody approved in July. Wondering if a season will even happen with things getting crazy again.


The players sound ready to go and with a newly signed CBA are good to go to all the way to court. I think the owners signed it at the time really banking on easing of quarantine restrictions, but with the 2nd wave of the pandemic effectively ruining that, they will likely stall until they can get paying fans in the building or until they realize that not playing will hurt their pockets more. I would think it more than reasonable for governments to give special exemptions to solve the issue, but I guess that isn't happening.


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## AdamMaz

Sounds like the finances have been agreed upon, now it is down to the more practical elements that concerns the clubs and how the season will be played.

January 13 is the current aim, the Canadian division is looking extremely likely


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## technomancer

Yep looks like 56 game season starting 1/13... divisions are a bit of a mess honestly and REALLY setting up Tampa for another record season 

Going to unsticky this and start an NHL 2021 thread


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