The NHL Thread

[Imran Siddiqui]

I want to see Jersey play the Wings again in the finals. We'll take 'em out in 4 again .

[reismark]

I'm not a big hockey fan... but the Toronto Maple Leafs are the worst form of scum in sports today. I wish them much pain and suffering, like that which they intentionally and coldly caused on the New York Islanders.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by reismark
....like that which they intentionally and coldly caused on the New York Islanders.

Heh heh heh

[Imran Siddiqui]

Reismark, you're right. You aren't a big hockey fan. It wasn't like in the Islander's headay they are nice boys. Bossy and co. were just as dirty.

[Ben Kenobi]

but goaltending will remain a question mark in the playoffs until Cloutier shows he can win.

How many games has he won this season?

They sure miss him after that debacle against Columbus. First OT loss this season.

That's the biggest strike against the Canucks, they've got lots of depth, but they rely on key players. What happens if Naslund goes down again?

[Agathon]

Well if the Canucks lose their top few players then they aren't going to win, but that goes for any team in my opinion.

Anyway, votes for best fighter in the NHL

Domi: a good scrapper but tends to have trouble with really big guys because of his small size.

Brashear: a bad sport but a good fighter except that he wusses out too often when challenged.

Laraque: all round pretty good goon.

Stock: what a guy. I love this one http://64.106.200.81/clips/030103vand1.mpg

Go visit the site http://www.broadstreetbully.com There's a few clips there but the guy has a lot more which he hasn't put up on his new site yet.

[Agathon]

Move this to the top.

Does no one have votes for the NHL's best fighter.

The Leafs must be the best fighting team; after all most of them are reasonable goons; Domi, Belak, Roberts, Corson, Tucker, McCabe, all fight and Antropov likes fighting. Even one of the prospects took on Rob Ray in Buffalo the other night.

[Guynemer]

Bah. Screw fighting. Interesting sideshow? Sure. Essential to the forging of a team's success? Very, very rarely. I can't think of a single Important Fight, other than Darren McCarty's punishment of Claude Lemieux. ****er had it coming.

As to why I think Toronto has a better chance than Vancouver--it all comes down to Crazy Eddie. He's a proven playoff goalie. There's every possibility that he'll lose his mind and somehow cause the downfall of the Leafs, but at least he has been to the mountaintop. Cloutier hasn't gotten out of the first round. However, I'd be stunned if that didn't change after this year's playoffs--even if the Avs catch the Canucks, there's no way the Blues will be able to beat Vancouver in a seven game series.

The only possible way Vancouver loses in the first round--the Avs pass them for the division title, and the Blues pass the Red Wings, leading to another Detroit-Vancouver series. Any other situation, the Canucks get to at least the second round. How far they go after that sits on Cloutier's shoulders.


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Okay, here are a few questions:

The red line--should it stay or should it go?

Overtime losses--sure, the extra point leads to more exciting play in OT. But a loss is a loss; at least it should be. How about this: three points for a victory, one point for a tie, and overtime returns to 5-on-5?

Contraction--the NHL is deep in the red. Should it contract a few franchises to stem losses and increase quality of play?

[Kontiki]

Brashear was pretty much the undisputed champ for a few years, but I think he may be starting to wind down a bit. Laraque is a freakin' monster - he's listed at 6'3" (thought he was taller?) and 250lbs. It's hard to tell who the current champ is, since fighting in general is down this year.

As a team, again I'd go with Philadelphia. They always seem to try to have the biggest, toughest team in the East if not the league. Vancouver has one of the bigger and tougher teams in the West, actually, so tonight's game should be a good one.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Guynemer
Okay, here are a few questions:

The red line--should it stay or should it go?

Overtime losses--sure, the extra point leads to more exciting play in OT. But a loss is a loss; at least it should be. How about this: three points for a victory, one point for a tie, and overtime returns to 5-on-5?

Contraction--the NHL is deep in the red. Should it contract a few franchises to stem losses and increase quality of play?

Red Line - keep it. Introduce no-tough icing, though.

OT losses - I think the system works well the way it is. Those calling for a shootout are out of their minds, and most hockey experts agree that 4-on-4 creates much more exciting play than 5-on-5. I may consider lengthening OT from the current 5 minutes, but it does keep the games a respectable length.

Contraction - perhaps, although not totally necessary, IMO. The league did make a collosal mistake expanding into rediculous markets like Atlanta, Florida, Tampa Bay and a couple of others, but I think the league overall can handle it. The biggest problem with contraction is that the cities most likely to lose their franchises aren't the ones that should. Currently, the teams on the bubble would be Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Ottawa (maybe Phoenix), but Atlanta, Florida and Carolina are the teams that really don't make sense.

A salary cap, on the other hand, is desperately needed.

[cinch]

I agree with Kontiki mostly.

A salary cap is needed. Hopefully it'd even things out a little. I don't think I could fathom a hockey league with teams in Atlanta and Florida, but not Edmonton and Ottawa.

4on4 OT works fine, in my opinion.

The red line should stay. Cherry-picking and constant breakaways are not my idea of good hockey.

As for fighting: Blah. Not an important part of the game. They could outlaw it, for all I care. I much prefer the powerful, legal bodychecks to the punches. I do like Laraque, though... Not because of how he fights, but because of how he handles the puck in the opponents' zone. He can keep that thing on his stick with one hand, while fending off a 200lb defenseman with the other, and still make a decent pass out into the slot.

The problem is, there's usually no one there to receive the pass, because his linemates have unpolished positioning skills.

[Kontiki]

Can you imagine the league with a solid salary cap in place? It'd be amazingly competitive, closer to the days of not-so-long-ago (earlier 80s). Even without it, the NHL is much more competitive than, say, MLB since have not teams can legitimately be threats.

The biggest problem, of course, is that I doubt the NHLPA will go for it.

[Agathon]

I think hockey needs fighting to provide some incentive to avoid cheap shots. The referees and the rules don't seem to work.

Anyway, sport is basically a toned down version of war so what's wrong with a little biffo.

The league does need a salary cap and it also needs a redistribution scheme to help small market teams.

[Ben Kenobi]

I don't really follow the best fighters, but I will cheer a crushing clean check.

I'm still worried about those Avs. Too close for my comfort.

That was a good game tonight with Toronto, Crazy Eddie stood on his head and fails to receive a star.

The canucks outshot Toronto 2:1 and salvage a tie.

Did you like the game Agathon?

[cinch]

This Just In: Marchment goes to Colorado for some draft picks.

FRIG, the Avs are gonna be just unstoppable now. They have Marchment to take out the other teams best players (and if he can't get them, Blake will still get in their way), and the firepower up-front to take advantage of the weakened results...

My prediction: Avs in 2003.

(That is, if they can get passed the Oil... )