TheAussiePosse

I think for the time being he's the best captain we have. However, in 5 years time I'd like to see players like Komisarek and Higgins and maybe even Gratton (if he develops into the 3rd line checking Centre) wearing 'A's and the C. If Koivu is traded, so be it. I'm not calling for his head, just agreeing that while he's the best captain we've got, we could have better in the future. :ghg:

Good to see you're up and posting, Habfan. Just a suggestion: breathe :/) I agree though, it is time to make a trade. Rivet for Novoseltsev?

Good job Habby, no major qualms there. I've been thinking though, with Rivet's case of Kilger-itis. Remember how he did quite well for Team Canada this past summer, playing with some rookie call Bowmeester? Given FLA's lack of defensive power, and the small bit of chemistry that there was between the two, is Florida a possible destination? Keenan's gone now, and thus so is his doghouse. With Gainey's spiel last week, and his new effort to aquire scorers and big players, can he find some hidden gem in Florida? I'm sure we wouldn't get anything big in return for Rivet (with his big salary and big "-" in the +/- column), but a package deal (which we talk about all the time) could work. I'm not sure if we've talked about this before, but I'm a fan of Marcus Nilson. Not much of a fantasy player (I found that out soon enough), but still a great guy to have on the team. Another guy is Ivan Novoseltsev, but I reckon we have enough players on this team like him. Anyway, here's to Rivet's play picking up. It'll be better for us, either way

TRADE RIVET

A deke is a move you do to get around a player. i.e. stickhandling past a defenseman, or sliding the puck between your legs before shooting a goal. It's a trick with the puck that helps you remain in control of the puck, and also helps you get around another player

I finally got the game. And just in time - the holidays have arrived. I now have like 10 games a day. Not included simulating seasons, etc. It really is an incredible game from the GM's perspective. Playing the actual games is different than in previous years, as it's a lot more about strategies. Defensemen clog up the zone, always looking for the big hit. And you really have to have a dual controller joystick to work the hit-magic (or pass magic). There are bugs, of course, and roster glitches (I'm still waiting for Ryder). There's also the obsession with Kilger (he's the top LW on the team). I wish someone could explain why he's so great in NHL 2004, and not in real life.

Please, feel free to post comments on the game... Not everyone can watch the game Anyway, glad we could put another win under our belts.

Which NHL player does he liken himself to?

what the hell was i smoking. I meant Iginla's twin, who's plaing in the ECHL right now, and there's a rookie called Elisa (a girl) who should do great on a line with Lindros. Lisa and Lindy together

Kastsitsyn Koivu Arnott Ryder Lecaviler Perezhogin Higgins Kilger Ward Bagin Gratton Langdon - Arnott plays centre, not wing. I'd rather him play 3rd line centre and get 20 minutes a night in place of Juneau than screw up on wing. He failed with Modano as his centre, and Modano is (IMO) better than Koivu. -I'm not sure when you're aiming to have this lineup, but Kas will take another year and a half to crack the team. Remember, he hasn't played N.A. style yet -Ryder isn't going to be much better than a 3rd line forward. I think him on a line with Arnott would substitute well for Brendan Morrow -Lecavalier won't leave TB until he's an UFA, and even then I doubt he'd want to come here - I think Langdon will be replaced by Jimmy Bonneau, our resident enforcer-in-training. Begin will also leave eventually. Maybe drop Kilger down to 4th line LW IMO, the lines in 1.5 years will look like this: Bulis-Koivu-Perezhogin Higgins-Ribeiro-Balej Ryder-Hossa-Ward Kilger-Gratton-Milroy There we have a defensively conscious 1st line that is fast and all potential scoring threats; a smooth 2nd line that has a small amount of grit mixed with some good passing; A physical, defensively adept 3rd line (with Hossa back at his natural position); And a solid 4th line that doesn't make mistakes. Then on defense: Markov-Komisarek Hainsey-Souray Archer-Korneev Every pairing has a physical D and a scoring threat In goal, we'd still have one of Garon or Theodore, and one of Michaud or Damphousse. That's without trades

Shanahan-Thornton-Iginla Kariya-Lemieux-Iginla Elias-Sakic-Murray Daze-Lindros-Heatley Smyth Jovanoski-Blake Redden-Stevens Neidermayer-Foote Aucoin Brodeur Theodore Giguere Maybe put in Perreault and Brisebois as the towelboys

I'd like to take this move as a gesture of confidence, both for Komisarek and for us moving a player. Perhaps with the recent Floridian defenseman's injury, their lack of veteran leadership, and their weak blueline could take Quintal off our hands. I doubt that Rivet will be sat, seeing as he takes all the punishment in front of the net on the PP, and that Komisarek would not be brought up to be taunted by Gainey and sit in the press box. My guess at the lines: Ryder-Koivu-Zednik Perreault-Ribeiro-Dagenais Bulis-Juneau-Dackell Langdon-Kilger-Begin 1st line is set, 2nd line prays for chemistry, 3rd is set, and 4th line annihalates the Mattress line Markov-Brisebois Souray-Rivet Bouillion-Komisarek MK and Breezy are set. Rivet and Souray will hopefully just clear the crease together, holding hands if necessary for Bertuzzi. And the quicksilver Boo will take the corners and make hits like the one below, while Komisarek handles the crease Sunny and Cher (er, Quintal) sit. Maybe play Garon this time, I'm not fussed. Get him tuned for the double header this weekend. Bouillion's hit on Bobby Holik circa 2 years ago:

I'd love for Malhotra to play on the team. Just after we lose Sundstrom. And Dackell. Sure, Juneau too. Maybe Perreault, cos he's blocking up the Centres. Audette, because he likes getting hit (he asked Gauthier to hit him last game). And Blouin, because he looks funny. Hell, drop Czerkawski again because it feels good. And after all that, we can pick up Malhotra. Kilger-Malhotra-Ward would be a nice line ooh, even better idea: 3rd and 4th lines: Kilger-Malhotra-Ward Begin-Gratton-Langdon No-one gonna mess with us now

??? I just ordered the game, it'll be shipped over to me in about a week. What's wrong with it?

http://www.forecaster.ca/demo/hockey/score...reboard.cgi#inj "Alexei Zhitnik (Buf) was fined $1,000 for his knee-to-knee hit Saturday on Montreal forward Michael Ryder, The Buffalo News reports.* " Not enough IMO. But at least Ryder will be back for the Isles game... Right?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1657295 Quintal out with irregular heartbeat. Not sure how long he'll be out, but I doubt he'll return on Saturday. Still, this is giving time to Hainsey. I hope he uses it wisely

Yannic to Detroit? Had that idea the other day. Even if they signed Steve Thomas, they could still go for 3 great scoring lines: Shanahan, Whitney, Zetterberg, Hull, Thomas, Yzerman, Datsyuk, Perreault? Cheaper than Straka or Lindros (as rumors go), and no contract to worry about past this season. I don't think we'd ask for too much in return, just a prospect

i don't think iginla is going anywhere. he's a captain now, and calgary aren't cellar sweeping (yet). he's as likely to go as koivu or theodore (after all the support we've given to him)

we need koivu back. then zednik is back on track. then the lines are more scrambled and we can trade the guys who are in the way bulis-koivu-zednik, and we can breathe a sigh of relief. ribeiro and hosse will have to work something out. i'd actually like to trade juneau and perreault (who wouldn't), and try ribeiro as 2nd line centre, and hossa 3rd line. He's defensively competent, and could pot good points for us too. sure, juneau has sadly been one of our better players, but hell, i'm not afraid to welcome ovechkin before the 1/4 way point of the season

I don't think I'd wish that on anybody

Get a physical forward. We're getting killed against teams like Philadelphia and Boston who have big guys. For us, Kilger, Langdon, Begin, and Ward aren't enough. One more talented player would help a lot. I wish we could have got Battaglia from Colorado - not a scoring machine, but more physical than most of our team, reliable defensively, and a natural LW. Our defense aren't playing together anymore, so the time might be to move Brisebois. And/or Rivet. I think Toronto could afford him. If they weren't in our division. If STL was still interested, I would gun for it. Oh, and trade Theodore now. Just because.

Trading Quintal would be good, I would be quite happy with that. Rivet not so much, as he and Koivu are buddies. Although, for those that have actually seen the habs games (TV or live), who has been playing better? I think Hainsey or Komisarek would play in Quintal's spot. How much would you ask for in return for Quintal? A pick? A prospect? I like their 2nd round pick from the most recent draft (David Backes). Aggressive RW, big, good shot and hockey sense. His skating is a tad suspect, but not terrible. Maybe that would be asking too much. I don't know. However, with the only other teams actively shopping defencemen coming from the Western Conference, I think we have an inside chance, if any.

Wasn't Marian Hossa a LW for some time before moving to RW? As much as I like Hossa, I still think we could get something better for him. I propose we try to pry Havlat off Ottawa for Hossa, or Hossa and a pick. Havlat would then play with Koivu on the top line. Then, if Ryder continues playing the way he is now, stick him on RW on that line. And then trade Dackell for a pick so Ward can take over 3rd line RW. And trade Sundstrom for a pick, or a gamble player. Maybe Minnesota? Then trade Perreault. Then put Kilger, Langdon and Begin in the lineup together on the 4th line. Then we look to move Juneau as well, maybe put him back in the deal with Dackell, and, if all that's worked out, sure, get Primeau like the rumors were there before. Slot him in on the 4th line. Havlat-Koivu-Ryder Zednik-Ribeiro-Audette Bulis-Primeau-Ward Langdon-Kilger-Begin OK, now we trade Audette because he's a bum, but he has good scoring totals (maybe a point a game?). Trade him for... Martin Lapointe, whose salary is 3/5 eaten by Boston. Lapointe then picks up his game, becoming the second coming of 'Pointu (see Ken Dryden era). Man, I hope Bob does something soon. This is killing me

With the success that the Ryder-Perreault-Audette line has been having lately, I wonder why someone would want to break them up? However, I agree with demoting Begin, Higgins, Dwyer and Komisarek (until injuries bring him back up). Bulis wasn't really clicking with Juneau and Dackell as well as he did with Koivu, so we'll transplant him to the top line. Then, depending on how Rib's line is doing, maybe reunite Zednik on the top line as well. Then replace Zednik with Ward, giving him a chance on a good line. Bulis-Koivu-Zednik Ryder-Perreault-Audette Hossa-Ribeiro-Ward Remaining is our defensive pair (Juneau and Dackell), and an open left spot. The remaining spot is left for Kilger (who can play LW), Sundstrom (who can play RW and LW) and Langdon (who doesn't care where he plays, as long as he has no less than 2 scalps by the end of the night). Depending on the team, they will rotate in. - Langdon for a team like Philly or Columbus, where we'll need an energy guy who can fight - Kilger for a team like SJ or Buffalo where we'll need a physical body, but also a tad bit of scoring (who knows, it could be his lucky night) - Sundstrom for a team like Anaheim or New Jersey, where finesse and smart defensive plays win the day. However, Sundstrom doesn't play well with Juneau or Dackell, so maybe he can fill in for Ryder when he gets injured, or Ward, or whoever. I'm concerned that Komisarek won't progress this season as much as we'd hope because he's sitting in the press box. I'd rather he lead Hamilton to vicotry again (or close enough) than overdose on beer and wings.

I don't know where they get 'topnotch' from, seeing as Begin and Langdon were waiver draft additions. But Kilger's not in there either. I'm actually a bit worried about the players coming back. I'm not sure if we're going to substitute Begin and Langdon in and out of the line-up per game, so they can recover or whatever. But our lines at the moment are full, and we have 5 injuries. Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Ryder-Perreault-Audette Bulis-Juneau-Dackell Dwyer-Higgins-Ward (or Higgins-Ward-Dwyer) We still have Koivu (1st line centre), Sundstrom (2nd/3rd line winger), Kilger (3rd/4th line centre), Langdon (4th line forward) and Begin (4th line LW). While Dwyer and Higgins can be replaced (both to Hamilton? Or just press box?), and we put in Koivu and Sundstrom in their places, we still have 3 players without a line, and screwed up lines. With Julien trying to create cohesion and 'gelling' between the players on each lines, how is he going to face the 5 injured players? I propose that he form a sort of rotating line-up. Once a player has a line that they click with, they stay on that line. If a player gets injured, we don't move around the whole line up, but just fill in from a press-box player. We seemed to have 3 lines that are clicking right now: Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Bulis-Juneau-Dackell Ryder-Perreault-Audette When Kilger gets back, he will centre Ward, and Langdon/Begin/Dwyer will go on the LW. Our main problem is that we have 4 NHL calibre centres. Koivu, in this case, is the odd man out, but that is impossible, as he is our captain. Somehow, Julien will have to subtly move players around, so that the chemistry is not destroyed, but is maintained.