saskhab

Whenever you lose a d-man mid-game, there are going to be issues. Players are suddenly playing different match-ups, playing with different partners, etc. Its even worse when you're behind.

Winning the East would be an exceptional year. I'm predicting it too, but in the playoffs, not the regular season.

I think his previous anti-Francophone comments (from when he was playing in LA) wouldn't play well. He is friends with Cammalleri, though.

So guys like Konopka are around for pre-season games. Was wondering why.

Have to wonder if he's slowed down due to injuries. Other than that, he'd be great, I think he'd be a permanent fixture on the 4th line. But it'd put our team up to 49 contracts assuming Blunden isn't claimed off waivers. Not a lot of room for a significant add.

He was just waived by the worst team in the NHL for the past two years and likely has not recovered fully from injuries that prevented him from being traded to LA in the offseason. I'm pretty comfortable in passing on Brule yet again.

http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2011/9/27/2453124/jody-shelley-suspension-salary-cap Finally, a real explaination on suspended players and the salary cap.

Trotter is playing tonight. I don't see anywhere that he'll be among the cuts just yet. Possible, but haven't seen it.

Guys like Palushaj deserve more chances because of what they did over the long term in the past year, whereas guys like Dumont have to earn more minutes through camp because they weren't anywhere near the NHL at the end of last year.

The Tampa games will have close to regular rosters. Tomorrow's game will be the last with guys who have no chance of making the team.

Well, yes, that is true. They can also go to the AHL as soon as their major junior season is over, if we want to get all technical! Gallagher is probably closer to the NHL right now in terms of depth chart... one could make a case he's close to Palushaj, White or Blunden in terms of overall ability. Beaulieu is probably our 10th D at best, after Woywitka and Diaz.

They just went through a horrid stretch with injuries, bad luck and they quickly lost faith in their coach. It was a trainwreck. They'll be competitive. They probably aren't top of the division good, though.

Beaulieu plays in the QMJHL, so no university commitments for him. He can turn pro next year since he has a late '92 birthdate. And yes, Gallagher can't turn pro to next year because he's a 1992 birthdate as well. That does mean both Gallagher and Beaulieu are contenders for Team Canada's WJC team, along with Bournival. They'll all be 19 when that tournament starts.

With no cap crunch to speak of, the team might as well carry 23 players. To me that means 8 D and 13 forwards, with Weber as an option as a 14th forward but likely not needed.

The bankruptcy doesn't have a lot to do with the team itself, though. It's one of the two main ownership groups going belly up due to a variety of factors.

Parks & Rec is my fav right now. John Goodman is on Community now? Wow, big coup. I have been an inconsistent watcher, but I plan on picking that one up a bit more. So he's doing two shows now (HBO's Treme being the other)? The Canadian cable networks really need to shape up... not a lot of quality on them. I do wonder when I'm going to finally pull the plug on How I Met Your Mother. Show is just dragging on and on and has lost a lot of the creative flair of the first three seasons. They've been spinning their tires for a while. Last night's two episodes didn't provide much hope.

Well, I'm pretty sure the Masse line is the 4th line. Engqvist is probably the centre. Engqvist, Trotter, Blunden, Palushaj and Willsie are all battling for one of the final forward spots (possibly two spots up for grabs, likely only one). I think Martin might want to see how Trotter handles less talented linemates in a non-offensive role.

Was it? Top teir team since the mid-1990s, haven't had Stevens or Niedermeyer since the lockout, and lost Rafalski a couple years after. Meanwhile Marty is pushing 40. This has been happening for a long time.

I don't know if there ever is a bad time to pick up a Doughty. Four Mark Schiefele's aren't as good as a single Drew Doughty.

Let's debate the situation of who sits if we have a fully healthy Top 7 when such a situation actually arises.

Walsh technically can't play in the pre-season games anyways, he'd lose his NCAA eligibility. Dietz is the youngest prospect in the Habs system (first player Habs have drafted that wasn't alive when the Habs last won a Cup). Brodeur I guess they didn't think the ECHL was a good spot for him, send him back to the Q for one final season. Gusse was just there to give them a full compliment of goalies for the scrimmages.

Not to mention that the CFL gives the run a huge advantage by having the D-line start a yard back of the line of scrimmage. It's why short yardage is so automatic in the CFL... a yard should be made over 80% of the time.

Doughty isn't just another d-man, though. He'd be a #1 or #2 on every team in the NHL right now, and aside from like, Nashville, would look in line to take over #1 duties on all the other teams within a year or two.

I noticed!

They're officially on the clock. I'll forgive the Schiefele pick as they used the same scouts that helped get a franchise relocated, but from now on it's all on Chevy and True North. I assume Bogosian just wanted to see what the uniform would look like before he comitted.