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2013-14 NHL Season Thread


dlbalr

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Yakupov's value is a bit lower than it should be but I don't know what Edmonton can do about that. It won't go up until he's moved probably.

Eberle has almost 40 points so he'd still be traded at a position of strength. The haul? Holy crap would it be good for him. Five years at $6M for a guy who will easily put up 60 points for you and probably more with the right situation. If I'm a Detroit I'm all over him.

So who would Detroit be willing to give up that fits the bill as an 'in prime-two way player'? Not much that they'd be willing to give up off the roster that could equal Eberle's value.

Maybe Edmonton go for quantity. Eberle for Gorges + Eller (maybe add a bit on EDM's end). This would make us smaller, but we'd get the best player in the trade. Perhaps a package of Gorges, Eller + could net the Habs a star player.

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Can someone care to explain what happened in Vancouver yesterday ?

Calgary put out their tough guys to start the game. As Vancouver had last change, Tortorella put his 4th line out to start but was visibly upset that the Flames' goons were starting. There was some verbal jousting, eventually leading to Bieksa lining up to take the draw for Vancouver to start as they were already pairing off. The line brawl happened, further enraging Torts. Evidently the entire first period wasn't enough to cool him off as he tried to confront the Flames' coaches (and players) at the 1st intermission.

Lost in all this is that a Canuck player may have had the shortest NHL debut ever. Kellan Lain played two seconds, got 15 PIMS, and was ejected as his fight wasn't the first one. And we thought Nattinen had a low TOI for his first game yesterday...

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Matt Stajan's contract was often ridiculed and some thought Calgary was just counting the days until he was gone. He's making $3.5 M this year and will make almost that much ($3.125 M) on a new four year contract. Clearly the Flames didn't see it the same way as some of their fans.

Tortorella gets a 15 day suspension (yesterday counted as Day 1) while Hartley gets a $25,000 fine for the debacle from Saturday night.

There are rumblings that Paul Romanuk may be joining Sportsnet next year to serve as a national play-by-play voice (Jim Hughson is expected to resume a full-time schedule and be their top guy). If true, that's not a bad 1-2 punch at all.

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I think the next six games could be make-or-break for the Canucks. Are they going to rally and use Torts' ejection as motivation? Or is it just going to further derail a train that's already half off the track? I'll give the Canuckleheads this much, year after year they've found ways to rival the Habs for sheer melodrama.

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There are rumblings that Paul Romanuk may be joining Sportsnet next year to serve as a national play-by-play voice (Jim Hughson is expected to resume a full-time schedule and be their top guy). If true, that's not a bad 1-2 punch at all.

Hughson will do HNIC as well as Sportsnet games?

I'm curious who TVA will get for the Habs. Probably a couple of bozos. We finally had a good team with Denis and Houde, and Brunet is surprisingly serviceable in the studio. But then they hire Gui... what helpful commentary can he possible have on anything?

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I think the next six games could be make-or-break for the Canucks. Are they going to rally and use Torts' ejection as motivation? Or is it just going to further derail a train that's already half off the track? I'll give the Canuckleheads this much, year after year they've found ways to rival the Habs for sheer melodrama.

The Canucks are a powerhouse falling apart. Gillis did a great job building on what Burke/Nonis left with the franchise but the way they handled their goalie issue was even more embarrassing than Montreal with Price/Halak. They actually went into the season going, "Yeah, we don't have a second line center. Deal with it" and because Mike Santorelli has 28 points I'm supposed to ignore that stupid decision. Not to mention they are a cap strapped team.

They will be in the same situation the Flames are in soon enough.

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Hughson will do HNIC as well as Sportsnet games?

I'm curious who TVA will get for the Habs. Probably a couple of bozos. We finally had a good team with Denis and Houde, and Brunet is surprisingly serviceable in the studio. But then they hire Gui... what helpful commentary can he possible have on anything?

TVA hired Felix Seguin and Patrick Lalime. I kinda liked Seguin who was on RDS' B team.

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Machine, I agree that the 'nucks look to be in structural trouble. They lost Ehrhoff, which nothing could have realistically prevented, but then deluded themselves that he was not a key part of the great 2011 run; Gillis also has a tendency to stand pat where he shouldn't. He retained Vigneault long after it was clear that he'd gone stale, hesitated for an eternity before finally resolving the goalie issue, declined to trade Edler before his NTC kicked in and is now stuck with a somewhat overrated player who could have brought back some much-needed help at FW, and seems unrelentingly devoted to his core even though it hasn't come anywhere near success since 2011. And when he did make a bold move, it was to trade a top-6 (Hodgson) in return for an enigma, thus compounding the team's dependence on a moody and oft-injured Ryan Kesler. They are extremely lucky that Santorelli has been so good. Meanwhile, the Sedins have seen their production drop this season despite an increase in ice-time...surely an ominous signal for the future.

The Flames are indeed the example that anxious Van fans often invoke, another team that clung to a core that almost won way past its best-by date. They probably should be thinking in terms of bolder moves, and it might actually help them to miss the playoffs this year, since it would provide an incentive to clear the decks.

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Hughson will do HNIC as well as Sportsnet games?

Yeah, it sounds like he and Simpson will do double duty (both worked for Sportsnet in the past). In the short term, I wouldn't even be surprised to see if they could convince Bob Cole to take on a little more work than just Saturday Montreal games (I think him doing those games is all but set in stone already for next year). Their regional guys all have major limitations, they probably are going to need a #3 national crew at times.

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I don't know if Bob Cole can handle a greater workload - he's already a few plays behind the action, he might forget which game he's calling.

Sportsnet will be hard-pressed to match the quality of Miller and Cuthbert at TSN, if those two are staying. Hughson I find pretty good, but something about his voice is off-putting to me (I feel the same way about Ray Ferraro).

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Big news for Florida fans, Scott Gomez will play for them tonight. He has been a healthy scratch since December 28th and has been scratched for 29 of their last 36 games. What's particularly perplexing is that after sitting 11 straight, he's playing on what looks to be the top line (Florida has three lines with similar talent so it's hard to say though).

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There will be fewer outdoor games next year, huzzah! Unfortunately, there already are rumblings that the Habs could play Boston next year in one (I posted a link on the site about that today).

Source on fewer games: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=702302

Havent watched any this year, but if Habs one is on I will watch, but other than that I could care less, just another game.

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Shane O'Brien cleared waivers today. I know there were some on here that really wanted the Habs to acquire him back in the offseason and prior years. Him getting waived off Calgary, a team in dire need of defensive help and a club run by Mr. Truculent himself, should be a telling sign that he's just not any good.

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