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CerebusClones

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  1. The Ribeiro line should be a lock. The line gets plenty of chances night after night, and should not be modified. Once Hossa wakes up, it will be very interesting to watch these 3 youngsters. As for the rest, it really depends on Perreault. He's done well so far, but Koivu would probably do even better with Audette and Ryder. On the other hand, that line is successful so why break it up? Juneau and Dackell are playing very well so far, so you can't really take them off the lineup. Since no matter what we wont have a true first line, let's just get 3 second lines, and a strong defensive one: Bulis-Koivu-(Ward/Kilger) Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Ryder-Perreault-Audette Sundstrom-Juneau-Dackell Unfortunately, that leaves Kilger or Ward and the 2 goons out of the lineup, but there is just no room right now. So we have three lines who can all produce on any given night, and a very effective forth line. This is what we should have done last year, but the team was not united, and certain individuals would not accept their roles. This could work this year.
  2. Last year was T-Bo's first truly solid year. Just 2 years ago, Chicago benched him for Steve Passmore because he was so inconsistent. Theodore's awful season last year was still better than most of Thibeault's seasons. Theodore hands down. However, it is starting to look like Thibeault could be a late bloomer, not unlike what Sean Burke did. He's off to a great start, well one game to be honest. I hope for him that it happens, he's a good kid.
  3. My predictions: 1. Ottawa Senators 2. Philadelphia Flyers 3. Carolina Hurricanes 4. Toronto Maple Leafs 5. New Jersey Devils 6. New York Rangers 7. Boston Bruins 8. Washington Capitals _________________ 9. New York Islanders 10. Buffalo Sabres 11. Florida Panthers 12. Tampa Bay Lightning 13. Montreal Canadiens 14. Atlanta Thrashers 15. Pittsburgh Penguins
  4. 1st D: Markov>Delmore 1st D: Rivet Goalies Theodore>Biron Wow!! Now that what I cal biased... Koivu is superior to Drury, I will give you that. I actually consider Koivu to be very near the league's elite, while Drury is just a great player to have on your team. I can also give you that Hossa ha smore potential than Afinoganov, although he might never have a better season. I will also give you that Markov is better than Delmore. However, I would take Dumont over Audette any day. He's younger, better, bigger, and has more chances of scoring 30 goals than Audette anytime soon. Ribeiro is not better than Briere, at least not at this point. Briere was fantastic 2 years ago, and still wasn't too bad last year, although he was a bit disappointing. Im expecting a big year out of him, while I'll be very happy if Ribeiro reaches 45-50 points. Briere is also much grittier. Ribeiro is a better playmaker, no doubt about it, but has everything to prove. He's not even a sure NHLer yet. Zednik is not superior to Connolly. Connolly is about to explode, and get a great season, while Zednik might have peaked last season. I can't see him improving much on what he did last year. And as for the goalies, I wouldn't say that Theodore will be a better goalie than Biron in the near future. I think this guy could be a hidden gem that a team like Colorado should strongly consider acquiring. Miller might also be a better prospect than Garon. In my opinion, this year Buffalo is a much better team than Montreal. Heck, pretty much everyone has a better team than Montreal, including the Philly Phantoms...
  5. There is money to be made in the WHA fro one player per team. However, for a player to go to WHA will not be good for sponsors and commercial deals. Jason Ward didn't get a big Nike deal after leading the AHL last season. But yes, for now, players will still prefer playing in the NHL, but that doens't mean the NHL can forget about the WHA. There are some great marketing opportunities out there for the WHA, and the NHL better be aware of it. Otherwise, the WHA could slowy streal away players, fans, and market share. As I mentionned before, this competition could be good for us. It will force the NHL to fix it's financial mess, and also to find some new ways to improve the game.
  6. Here's a crazy lineup for the beginning of the season, including both Koivu. It might look bad, but could it really be worse than any other? Sundstrom-Koivu-Ryder Perreault-Ribeiro-Zednik Bulis-Hossa-Ward Dackell-Juneau-Audette First line: like Ottawa's Arvedson-White-Alfresson, you put your best player with some skilled, but non-offensive players, and you still get a good line. Second Line: Ribeiro seems to see Zednik well on the ice, and Zednik might be the only guy who can convert more than 2% of those passes into goals. Perreault coudl do well on the wing, and convert another 1.5%, and we might get ourselves a 2nd line. Third Line: All big, some, and quite sklilled players. Could perhaps become oor most offective 2-way line. Forth Line: Bunch of vets we want to get rid of, but can't. They won't hurt us there, and fill in for injuries during a game. Maybe the rejection will bind them together, and they could become a decent line, who knows?
  7. Ribeiro has disappointed alot before, so people are very cautious. I think he deserves a chance. He's got some very interesting skills, and he's our best shot for our second line. Unfortunately, he' has no one to set up, so I wouldn't more than 35-40 points out of him. I agree about Zednik. People here are in love with Zednik, but the fact is and remains that he's nothing more than a second-liner. He works very hard, but isn't very talented. Many players could score 30 goals playing with Koivu, and it just shows you how good Koivu could be if he had some better wingers. I've mentionned before that I would like to see Hossa at center. He said he's more comfortable there, so why not at least try him until Koivu comes back? As for the veterans, it's not a big deal. The older guys like Quintal and Juneau don't want to risk an injury before the beginning of the season. What matters is how they'll play when the season begins. The only problem I have so far regarding the camp, is how very little experimentation is being done. It's the perfect to mix things up, find good combinations, give different roles to certain playeres. For example: - Put Hossa as a center for a whole game - Put Sundstrom in a more offensive role. Play him with Ribeiro and Zednik for example. - Try Perreault on the wing, maybe he'll surprise many. Try him with Hossa and Bulis. Damphousse was re-born after moving to another position. - Try Dackell on the Ribeiro-Zednik line. He might surprise. He has a good shot. See what I mean. It's time to experiment, and instead it's always the pairings that, night after night, do nothing.
  8. Plekanec will be just fine, but he needs more time. He's not NHL-ready yet. I also hope that Plekanec gets plenty of ice-time down in the AHL. I actually believe he could be our future second-line center. Also, if Higgins is to play the wing in the NHL, he should play that position down in the AHL as well. Maybe a first line of Higgins-Plekanec-Balej And then Milroy-Gratton-Perezhogin
  9. Not having a lockout will be even worse for the league. If things don't change, small market teams will soon begin folding, team parity will disappear so new hockey markets will never grow, and thus the fan base will shrink. The NHL needs to offer a better product on the ice, and this will partly be accomplished thru the next CBA. Above economics, they need to find solutions (like new and modifired) to actual problems (like how boring the game as become). All this will require both parties to make concessions, and since both seem to only be interested in their own well-being, this will take a lot of time. And yes, Bobby Hull thought about the lock-out when he decided the WHA would begin next year. He's hoping to steal players, and also a part of the market. For us, this could end up neing a really good thing. The NHL will now get some competition, and most of the time, this means a better product at a lower price for the customers.
  10. Edmonton is being extremely cheap, which in a way they might not have much of chance. Comrie at 2M is more than fair. They could sign him on a long-term contract, meaning they might have a chance at keeping him on the mid-term. However, Comrie might now develop a negative attitude towards Edmonton, and might try to leave as soon as he can. The next CBA better give extraordinary gains to the owners, otherwise I don't give Edmonton much longer before they lose their team. The fans won't take this much longer.
  11. While NHL will be stuck in a lockout to negociate a new CBA between the players and the owners, the WHA will come back to life. It appears that quite a few players without NHL contracts will play for the WHA, and lucky for us, we migth still be able to watch players like Hull or Kariya next year durint the lockout. I really like the salary system for the new WHA, and the NHL could pick a thing or 2 from it. It's actually very close to what a feel would be the best way to award salaries. From what I've read, every team will be allowed a hard salary cap of 10M dollars, with the exception of one star player, whom could be signed at any price. That allows the star players, the guys who attract crowds, the guys that are hard to replace, to be paid according to market prices. I've mentionned it before, I have no problems with star players making 8-12 millions a year. What I have a problem with is Brisebois making 4M+ a year, Holik making 8M a year, Lapointe making 5M, or even Dackell making 1.5M. People don't pay 120$ to see these guys, they pay it to see guys like Forsberg, Thornton, Lidstrom, or Pronger. Dackell should not be a millionaire. Obviously, the amounts would have to be higher for the NHL than the WHA. However, a hard salary cap of 20M with the exception of 2 star players. That means that even the richest teams would hardly ever spend more than 40M dollars, which is not much higher than the 35M wish expressed by Gary Bettman. That also means that every team would have a chance at lending one or 2 star players. Detroit would have a hard time signing all of Yzerman, Fedorov, Hull, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Hasek, etc, thus some of them would go to Nashville, Montreal, Buffalo, .. However, the NHL might lose some players whi feel they are star players to other leagues like WHA. But then they'll just have to convince them that the glory of the NHL is worth playing for less. For example, if the NHL markets its players better, they will lend more sponsor deals. Unfortunately, this will never happen because the owners are likely to cave in to the NHLPA.
  12. Roy doesn't want some 60 years olds scoring against him... what if he wants a comeback... just kidding.... I still think, at some psychological layer, he doesn't want old timers to beat him though. Brunet playing is really stupid. Why not invite Eric Chouinard then? He played for the Habs too. Or what about Kjellberg? Just kidding. Honestly, I don't have much interest in old timers' games. Don't hate me for what I am about to say, but even at their peak (except for Gretzky, Muller, Brunet, and other guys who played recently) they don't really compare to today's players. So at 50-60, and the factr that there is obviously no competition (which is perfectly normal), that makes for one boring hockey game. It's funny how people keep saying that players today are terrible, but I was watching some "classic" games the other day, and I was so disapointed. The game was filled with mistakes, and turnovers. Goalies could hardly ever stop any decent shot, so yes there were more goals back then. But it does make you realize that there is something wrong with the game today. So much talent, and yet such a dull and boring display. The players are twice as big, twice as fast, twice as talented (heck, some players not so long ago couldn't even skate backwards), and I don't believe they have lost the desire to win. However, players have become machines. Defensemen are huge, fast, and well trained. They hit the opposing player and clear the puck right away, like it was so easy, and it is for them. Coaches have installed extremely efficient and safe systemsbased on these big machines. I really believe the rivival of the game passes by larger ice surfaces. We need to give forwards a chance to beat the dmen. We need to allow for mistakes to be costly if we want to see more goals (although I don't believe that more goals equals a better game). People sat that the talent bank is spread amongs too many teams, but that's BS... we just need to give all that talent room to work it's magic. It's just not normal that Chara is an all-star while V. Bure is not much more than a journeyman... That's just my opinion...
  13. Gratton seems to be another Sevigny/Landry/White... He's great at the AHL level, but doesn't seem to have what it takes to make it in the NHL. It's too bad because I was hoping to see what he could do at training camp, but his injury will prevent him from showing what he could do (not that he had any chances anyway) Once Perreault and Juneau are gone, he might have a chance for forth line duties, but sI doubt we'll see much of him in the NHL. He should jhave a great career in the AHL though...
  14. Belak, maybe. But I would take Aki Berg before Kykhuis, Traverse, and even Quintal any day. Heck, I might even take him before Souray, and maybe also before Rivet. Also, he's also somewhat young and should get better. As a side note about Souray, hearing what the fans, the media, and Habs management talk about him, I hope we don't pull another Brisebois. People seem to think that he is a savior, and that we now have our own Pronger (and Im not talking about Sean). I really hope not to see him on the power play, or even on the PK teams. Souray is a 6th, 7th dman, but nothing more (at least not at this time) Even though I would love for nothing more than to see his jersey that he gave me gain some value (Im not even sure it's worth the material right now), I don't see much potential in Souray.
  15. Maybe, but i think they are a bit weak on the defence. Not strong enough. If they get a big hard-hitting defenceman the Maple Leafs could snatch the cup before we're there. Not strong enough? Need a hard-hitting defenceman? Top 5 would be: Kaberle McCabe Marchment Berg Belak I would take any of those guys in our team. After that, they have a great young gun in Colaiacovo, another good youngster in Jackman, or a good veteran like Lumme. Also, I don't see why a team who has Marchment, McCabe, Belak, and Berk would go for another tough hard hitting dman. Just my opinion. People here might hate the Leafs because they are from Toronto, but this is one great hockey that should win many more games than we will, and that can actually contend for the Stanley Cup.
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