JoeLassister Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) According to Hockey News, this would be the top 10 of "Best Finns Players in the NHL" 1- Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota) 2- Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary) 3- Mikko Koivu (Minnesota) 4- Olli Jokinen (Calgary) 5- Pekka Rinne (Nashville) 6- Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphie) 7- Joni Pitkanen (Caroline) 8- Teemu Selanne (Anaheim) 9- Jere Lehtinen (Dallas) 10- Tuomo Ruutu (Caroline) Tuomo Ruutu or Saku Koivu ???? Edit : source http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/2429...sh-players.html Edited March 12, 2009 by JoeLassister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan84 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Pretty Bad! Selanne is way past his prime now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Pretty Bad! Selanne is way past his prime now. Ditto Koivu unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Pekka Rinne is already #5? What the hell? Does having been an established player for several years not factor in at all? I actually like Ruutu a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycing Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Aye but we all know who will be Captain of Finland at Vancouver in 2010... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) Koivu has clearly lost that extra, explosive burst of speed he used to have. He can still produce, but it's really gut-wrenching labour now. This is has been a ticking timb-bomb for a while, and detonation is imminent. Unless Pleks steps up, we could be entering next season without a legitimate #2 centreman, let alone a #1. (By the way, something analogous happened in 1995, when Kirk Muller and Brian Bellows suddenly got real old real fast. Overnight, GM Serge Savard found himself missing 2/3 of his top line. We missed the playoffs as a direct result. Miraculously, Savard was able to trade a washed-up Muller (plus Schneider) for Pierre Turgeon and Malakhov; and with the admittedly horrible LeClair trade he added Mark Recchi, thus creating a bona-fide elite first line, Recchi-Turgeon-Damphousse, with a young and lethal Koivu as 2nd line C. It was left to Houle to blow up that promising team Savard re-built). Anyway. I love Gainey, but he's almost out of wiggle room on this issue. This summer he has to address it. (Note: the Sedins are apparently playing hardball in Vancouver. If turn out to be available, I'd definitely pounce. Something must be done). Edited March 12, 2009 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 All three goalies are too high. Mikko or Jokinen should probably be #1. *sigh* If only we could swap the Koivus... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathieu30 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) All three goalies are too high. hmmm :ninja: Edited March 12, 2009 by mathieu30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 All three goalies are too high. Mikko or Jokinen should probably be #1. *sigh* If only we could swap the Koivus... Wild fans will take Backstrom over Koivu and Flames fans will take Kipper over Jokinen, those two goalies are right where they should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Wild fans will take Backstrom over Koivu and Flames fans will take Kipper over Jokinen, those two goalies are right where they should be. I thought you said Kipper was no longer a top 10 goalie in the league? Both of those goalies are good but neither of them are among the very best NHL goaltenders. I don't have much faith in Backstrom. I've basically never seen him play aside for highlights but Minny's system has always allowed goalies to put up better numbers than you'd think. He's going to be paid 6 million a season, I wouldn't have expect him to be above 4.5M. On the other hand, you have two #1 centers, one of them very young and already one of the leagues better point-getters. Montreal's been looking for a big #1 centre for ages and have never had any luck. Meanwhile, quality #1 goaltenders just come and go like that, only about 5 of the 30 teams are lacking one. So yeah, I'd definitely take Koivu and Jokinen over Backstrom and Kipper. (And I realize that the list is of the 10 best, not the 10 with the most trade value) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Tuomo Ruutu or Saku Koivu ???? Tuomo is God! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForumGhost Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 This list is all messed up... If it was mine, it would like like this: Miikka Kiprusoff Olli Jokinen Mikko Koivu Teemu Selanne Saku Koivu Niklas Backstrom Tuomo Ruutu Kimmo Timonen Pekka Rinne Joni Pitkanen I know Koivu is past his prime, but how does Jere Lehtinen beat him out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMMR Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Koivu hat trick tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I know Koivu is past his prime, but how does Jere Lehtinen beat him out? They've both seen better days, but Lehtinen won 3 Selke Trophies while putting up 20 goals a year and was a big part of a Cup winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCHabnut Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I agree with the list with the exception of Rinne. It's a little early for him to be pushing out Koivu. But really, Saks is no longer a great player. He is just good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch_nl Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Truth is that Saku Koivu is one of the most anonymous player in the NHL. Think of the Canadiens and everybody will thing of all the great players that HAS been with the team, not the ones that play now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafikz Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 No Saku? Not surprised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycing Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Truth is that Saku Koivu is one of the most anonymous player in the NHL. Think of the Canadiens and everybody will thing of all the great players that HAS been with the team, not the ones that play now. I dunno mahn, I'm sure if you ask around, most people (who follow hockey) know who the captain of the Habs is. (Okay, some might answer Kovy... lol). Also, after his successful battle with cancer, I'd like to think that his status in terms of "known" increased quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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