Shortline Bus Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share #176 Posted February 26, 2013 Chicago is in the Mid West though so it makes sense. I would keep Detroit in the Western Conference too this way things are even and you keep the rivalry between Chicago and Detroit. You realize VG8, that the Wings other than the Canucks travel more by far than any other club in the league. Also Detroit (also Columbus, Ohio)are in the east coast time zone so they have a point on wanting to be in the eastern conference. Problem with NHL is that majority of it's teams are in the eastern and central time zones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 26, 2013 Share #177 Posted February 26, 2013 You realize VG8, that the Wings other than the Canucks travel more by far than any other club in the league. Also Detroit (also Columbus, Ohio)are in the east coast time zone so they have a point on wanting to be in the eastern conference. Problem with NHL is that majority of it's teams are in the eastern and central time zones. Yeah I'm aware of that but the issue is that there would be too many teams in the Eastern Conference and expansion right now is not being considered, plus if Phoenix has to up and move that could be yet another team in the Eastern Conference... The main issue right now is if the Western Conference will have an easier time due to fewer teams. The thought process is that would be offset by them having to travel more, which is a valid point but still. The West has generally had the more elite teams of the last few years anyway and usually beats up on the Eastern Conference so it just may give the Western Conference that much more of an advantage to win the Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share #178 Posted March 3, 2013 Back to on the ice action. The Blackhawks continued their league breaking 22 straight game unbeaten streak to start the season by beating their Midwest rival Red Wings 2-1 in shootout Sunday (3/3/13). Chicago maintains their record shattering start to the season. http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2012020311&navid=nhl:topheads My question is why is this amazing streak not gotten more national media attention here in US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share #179 Posted March 4, 2013 About a month into the rapid short season some interesting points. The Blackhawks are off to an amazing start not yet losing a game as they are looking the best team so far. While closer to home the Islanders have done little bit better than expected currently in 9th place in the NHL East Division. While Rangers are off to a slow start but playing better recently. And the Devils are in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. As a whole the NHL tv ratings are in a bit of a surprise higher than during this point a year ago in a full 2011-2012 regular season. This shows IMO that the NHL 80-plus game regular season is too long and should be around 70-plus games starting around the first week of November. (Same could be said for NBA but that for chat in the pro basketball thread) reactions? Here one of the US best known NHL/Hockey Columnist in NY Post Larry Brooks who also agrees with my view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share #180 Posted March 6, 2013 Any one seen last night (Tuesday 3/5/13) Rangers game vs Flyers? Even though blueshirts won important game to take over the #8 and last playoff spot in NHL East, it came with huge cost. Watch this clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b1GSHiiOq8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTS CNG Command Posted March 7, 2013 Share #181 Posted March 7, 2013 In their 202nd consecutive sell-out game at home, the Blackhawks come back to beat the scrappy Colorado Avalanche, 3-2. Captain Jonathan Toews's short-handed goal tied it; with 49.3 left, Dan Carcillo scores his first goal of the season to put them in front for good. This marks their twenty-fourth straight game with at least one point in the standings to start the season (thirtieth overall dating back to last season). It's also their eleventh consecutive win, continuing their longest winning streak in franchise history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 7, 2013 Share #182 Posted March 7, 2013 In their 202nd consecutive sell-out game at home, the Blackhawks come back to beat the scrappy Colorado Avalanche, 3-2. Captain Jonathan Toews's short-handed goal tied it; with 49.3 left, Dan Carcillo scores his first goal of the season to put them in front for good. This marks their twenty-fourth straight game with at least one point in the standings to start the season (twenty-ninth overall dating back to last season). It's also their eleventh consecutive win, continuing their longest winning streak in franchise history. Ugh don't even mention this.... Can't believe that game didn't go to OT or better yet that the Avs didn't win... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share #183 Posted March 7, 2013 Back to on the ice action. The Blackhawks continued their league breaking 22 straight game unbeaten streak to start the season by beating their Midwest rival Red Wings 2-1 in shootout Sunday (3/3/13). Chicago maintains their record shattering start to the season. http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2012020311&navid=nhl:topheads My question is why is this amazing streak not gotten more national media attention here in US? Man guys igorne me. Posted this way before RTS lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 7, 2013 Share #184 Posted March 7, 2013 Man guys igorne me. Posted this way before RTS lol. If you're still wondering it's simple... It's hockey so it's not going to be high on the priority list in terms of the major sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted March 7, 2013 Share #185 Posted March 7, 2013 My question is why is this amazing streak not gotten more national media attention here in US? .....This marks their twenty-fourth straight game with at least one point in the standings to start the season (thirtieth overall dating back to last season). It's also their eleventh consecutive win, continuing their longest winning streak in franchise history. As long as (any) attention is diverted away from sidney crosby & the prissy penguins, I'm good... The longer the blackhawks keep this streak up, the better AFAIC.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share #186 Posted March 8, 2013 As long as (any) attention is diverted away from sidney crosby & the prissy penguins, I'm good... The longer the blackhawks keep this streak up, the better AFAIC.... Man good Isles/Rangers game tonight (3/7/13). Blueshirts in OT beat the "Icelanders" 2-1 after being down 1-0 late in 3rd period by Garboik. Meanwhile back to the Chicago NHL team. You know it's getting "serious" lol when sportscenter is sending a reporter and having segments on the Blackhawks "streak." Here one from yesterday with NHL Analyst Barry Melrose and Stephen "screaming a' Smith having a debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share #187 Posted March 10, 2013 Latest Coaches Corner with Don Cherry for 3/9/13. Includes the Canada/Mexico brawl in world baseball classic. And never ending argument on whether fighting belongs in NHL Hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share #188 Posted March 11, 2013 Latest Coaches Corner with Don Cherry for 3/9/13. Includes the Canada/Mexico brawl in world baseball classic. And never ending argument on whether fighting belongs in NHL Hockey. PS The Blackhawks streak ended on Friday Night in Denver vs the Avs. I am sure VG8 is very happy right now lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 11, 2013 Share #189 Posted March 11, 2013 PS The Blackhawks streak ended on Friday Night in Denver vs the Avs. I am sure VG8 is very happy right now lol. Truth be told, that was the BEST game they played all year... Really great effort... Now if Sacco could get them to play like that regularly, I wouldn't be of the opinion that he should be fired... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokkemon Posted March 12, 2013 Share #190 Posted March 12, 2013 Stupid Canucks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 12, 2013 Share #191 Posted March 12, 2013 Stupid Canucks.... You guys are toast without Kessler.... The Sedin twins will choke as always... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted March 29, 2013 Share #192 Posted March 29, 2013 This concept of superteams being built in sports has gotten out of hand..... I heard about this yesterday (Iginla leaving the Flames), didn't think he was still in the league to be honest..... Solid/consistent 30+ goal scorer he is.... I was thinkin to myself, do the Pens even need this guy - they light up the scoreboard like every game as it is..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 29, 2013 Share #193 Posted March 29, 2013 This concept of superteams being built in sports has gotten out of hand..... I heard about this yesterday (Iginla leaving the Flames), didn't think he was still in the league to be honest..... Solid/consistent 30+ goal scorer he is.... I was thinkin to myself, do the Pens even need this guy - they light up the scoreboard like every game as it is..... lol... They got him for a steal of a deal and didn't have to move any current guys off of the roster so why not? He's probably a rental unless he re-signs next year for less money, but all they gave up were some prospects. Kind of a Ray Bourque situation where they traded him to give him a chance to win the Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted March 29, 2013 Share #194 Posted March 29, 2013 lol... They got him for a steal of a deal and didn't have to move any current guys off of the roster so why not? He's probably a rental unless he re-signs next year for less money, but all they gave up were some prospects. Kind of a Ray Bourque situation where they traded him to give him a chance to win the Cup. Forgot that Bourque went off to the Avs.... Anyway, that only reinforces my point; the fact that they didn't have to give up much to get a quality player like Iginla.... The notion behind building "superteams" to try to win championships is becoming more & more apparent.... It even got annoying to me as a yankee fan (esp. when they went off & got A-roid)..... Now the mindset has migrated over to the NBA w/ the heat & over to the NFL now as of this upcoming season w/ the 49ers.... Was hoping that the NHL wouldn't go down that road though - I'd say the Pens were/are a strong favorite to take it all with/without Iginla..... Ah well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 29, 2013 Share #195 Posted March 29, 2013 Forgot that Bourque went off to the Avs.... Anyway, that only reinforces my point; the fact that they didn't have to give up much to get a quality player like Iginla.... The notion behind building "superteams" to try to win championships is becoming more & more apparent.... It even got annoying to me as a yankee fan (esp. when they went off & got A-roid)..... Now the mindset has migrated over to the NBA w/ the heat & over to the NFL now as of this upcoming season w/ the 49ers.... Was hoping that the NHL wouldn't go down that road though - I'd say the Pens were/are a strong favorite to take it all with/without Iginla..... Ah well. Actually, the superteams have existed for a while now... The only difference is that now we're in the salary cap era in the NHL, but before then the big market clubs or the wealthier clubs would just go and buy who they wanted, similar to what they do in soccer and the argument was that the smaller market clubs couldn't compete. I mean Colorado for example, when they traded for Ray Bourque, they already had a solid core of defenceman (Rob Blake, who was a great two way defencemen, Adam Foote, a nasty gritty hard checking guy, John Klemm and Greg De Vries, both two good stay-at-home specialists for a solid top four) and then you add Bourque to the mix... Just crazy... There was some truth to the small market clubs' claims though, as was evidenced by the breakup of the great Edmonton Oilers teams... I get shivers watching those old classic games on NHL Networking seeing that they have Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Marty McSorley AND Esa Tikkanen either as youngsters or entering their prime. I mean that is one hell of a lineup with just a few of them, let alone all of them and they had to ship out all of those guys due to a lack of money. Those Edmonton teams easily rivaled some of the great Montréal Canadiens teams of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted March 29, 2013 Share #196 Posted March 29, 2013 Actually, the superteams have existed for a while now... The only difference is that now we're in the salary cap era in the NHL, but before then the big market clubs or the wealthier clubs would just go and buy who they wanted, similar to what they do in soccer and the argument was that the smaller market clubs couldn't compete. I mean Colorado for example, when they traded for Ray Bourque, they already had a solid core of defenceman (Rob Blake, who was a great two way defencemen, Adam Foote, a nasty gritty hard checking guy, John Klemm and Greg De Vries, both two good stay-at-home specialists for a solid top four) and then you add Bourque to the mix... Just crazy... There was some truth to the small market clubs' claims though, as was evidenced by the breakup of the great Edmonton Oilers teams... I get shivers watching those old classic games on NHL Networking seeing that they have Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, Marty McSorley AND Esa Tikkanen either as youngsters or entering their prime. I mean that is one hell of a lineup with just a few of them, let alone all of them and they had to ship out all of those guys due to a lack of money. Those Edmonton teams easily rivaled some of the great Montréal Canadiens teams of all time. Right, but what I'm more getting at is, franchises (in other sports) are intentionally going out compiling stars/superstars in their primes at an increasing rate.... Not that I'm accusing Bourque of this, but Iginla isn't gonna lay back & rely on the youngsters (crosby, malkin, letang, etc) to aid him into gettin his first cup.... He's still gonna put some pucks in the back of the net..... Bourque, while still a HOF caliber defenseman, was on the very ass end of his career after playing an umpteen amt. of years in Boston & had those guys on defense you listed (who I'd say were all semi-stars, outside of Blake).... Now had they had Bourque, Blake, Chelios, (ulf) Samuelsson, MacInnis, Leetch, etc. on defense, then I could see dubbing those Av's teams as a superteam... Granted they had Sakic, Forsberg, & Haydook (Hejduk), but this Pittsburgh team is god damned loaded (nothin like those 80's oilers though).... How many more goals a night do you need (I'm saying this as a fan of offense too)?? It's not like Fleury's like, say, Bryzgalov, who couldn't consistently stop pucks being shot from 5 year olds - man does he suck.... Speaking of those Oilers teams, man I wish I was put on to hockey at an earlier age.... Now that was a freakin epic superteam... I don't know though if those guys were bred through the Oilers system or if that team was compiled..... I remember (seeing) those Gretzky LA Kings teams w/ Kurri, Blake, etc., but I never saw Kurri, Gretzky, Messier, (and the rest of the elite players that squad had) playing whilst on the Oilers..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 29, 2013 Share #197 Posted March 29, 2013 Right, but what I'm more getting at is, franchises (in other sports) are intentionally going out compiling stars/superstars in their primes at an increasing rate.... Not that I'm accusing Bourque of this, but Iginla isn't gonna lay back & rely on the youngsters (crosby, malkin, letang, etc) to aid him into gettin his first cup.... He's still gonna put some pucks in the back of the net..... Bourque, while still a HOF caliber defenseman, was on the very ass end of his career after playing an umpteen amt. of years in Boston & had those guys on defense you listed (who I'd say were all semi-stars, outside of Blake).... Now had they had Bourque, Blake, Chelios, (ulf) Samuelsson, MacInnis, Leetch, etc. on defense, then I could see dubbing those Av's teams as a superteam... Granted they had Sakic, Forsberg, & Haydook (Hejduk), but this Pittsburgh team is god damned loaded (nothin like those 80's oilers though).... How many more goals a night do you need (I'm saying this as a fan of offense too)?? It's not like Fleury's like, say, Bryzgalov, who couldn't consistently stop pucks being shot from 5 year olds - man does he suck.... Speaking of those Oilers teams, man I wish I was put on to hockey at an earlier age.... Now that was a freakin epic superteam... I don't know though if those guys were bred through the Oilers system or if that team was compiled..... I remember (seeing) those Gretzky LA Kings teams w/ Kurri, Blake, etc., but I never saw Kurri, Gretzky, Messier, (and the rest of the elite players that squad had) playing whilst on the Oilers..... Well the thing with the Penguins is Lemieux, Shero and the rest of the Penguins management/front office must've felt like they got pushed around by the Flyers last year. Remember they were heavily favored to win the cup in 2011-2012 and even I was shocked that they got their asses handed to them the way that they did, but the playoffs are a whole different animal and the Flyers were definitely nasty to play against... A typical Bobby Clarke team... Nasty with a scoring touch.... Usually scoring decreases and things get pretty nasty in the playoffs. Crosby nor Malkin are fighters and guys went after Crosby regularly because they felt they could rough him up and get away with it and literally knock him out to keep him out of the line up since he was vulnerable with the concussions and now Malkin has been suffering from similar situations. They went out and got not one captain, but basically two captains in addition to already having Crosby... Brendan Morrow was the captain of the Stars. Morrow doesn't score a lot but adds grit and leadership and is probably a rental player. Then they got Douglas from the Sharks... Douglas is a big nasty defencemen who can lay guys out in the corners, take care of the dirty work to protect Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz and the other skilled wingers and make life miserable in front of the net. Add Iginla to the mix who can certainly take care of himself and is a true leader and I don't see anyone pushing them around, including the Bruins, who are known to be a very physical, nasty team with Chara and Lucic in particular. If you notice, the Kings are a big and physical team and they really pushed Phoenix around in the playoffs to win that series in addition to having a scoring touch and finally getting to Smith in net. These days teams are being built with not just scoring but with grit because they'll need it for the playoffs. The situation with the Penguins was that they actually had freed up some cap space for last offseason during the Suter and Parise sweepstakes and the Staal trade to Carolina, so they had money to spend at the trading deadline this year. Feaster had already made a deal with the Bruins and it was supposed to be a done deal, but Iginla had a no-trade clause and in the end he decided he preferred the Penguins over the Bruins, so Feaster was stuck giving Iginla up for next to nothing since there was no guarantee that they could sign him as a unrestricted free agent come next year. As for the Oilers, those guys all pretty much started with the Oilers... Gretzky, Messier, Tikkanen and Coffey were all youngsters as was Fuhr... Messier and Coffey were both drafted by the Oilers... Freaking crazy... They also had Adam Graves too who eventually they had to let leave due to money issues. Kurri had already played for a few years in Finland before the Oilers signed him, but even he is was still pretty young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted March 30, 2013 Share #198 Posted March 30, 2013 Well the thing with the Penguins is Lemieux, Shero and the rest of the Penguins management/front office must've felt like they got pushed around by the Flyers last year. Remember they were heavily favored to win the cup in 2011-2012 and even I was shocked that they got their asses handed to them the way that they did, but the playoffs are a whole different animal and the Flyers were definitely nasty to play against... I get that play in the NHL playoffs is heavily defense-based/focused.... But yeah, the way they went out last year that definitely explains it (regarding the penguins)... Wasn't thinking about what happened to them last year, with those prior posts..... Throughout last year's playoffs (hell, even before that... during the middle of last season), that's where I came up w/ dubbing them the "prissy penguins" - sore ass losers that had little to no grit when they got beat.... On the larger scale though, I'm still growing sick of these manufactured superteams.... If you happen to have talent brought up w/i the system, that's one thing.... But to go out & try to intentionally compile an all star starting lineup (well, in this case, the 1st line) to me is making sports less & less watchable.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted March 30, 2013 Share #199 Posted March 30, 2013 I get that play in the NHL playoffs is heavily defense-based/focused.... But yeah, the way they went out last year that definitely explains it (regarding the penguins)... Wasn't thinking about what happened to them last year, with those prior posts..... Throughout last year's playoffs (hell, even before that... during the middle of last season), that's where I came up w/ dubbing them the "prissy penguins" - sore ass losers that had little to no grit when they got beat.... On the larger scale though, I'm still growing sick of these manufactured superteams.... If you happen to have talent brought up w/i the system, that's one thing.... But to go out & try to intentionally compile an all star starting lineup (well, in this case, the 1st line) to me is making sports less & less watchable.... Well for some sports like baseball and basketball, I'd agree, but with hockey it's different now with the new salary cap era. It's going to be more difficult for teams to buy players. You build your team around key players and then the rest is based on drafting which the Penguins have done well... Staal which they traded to Carolina, Crosby and Malkin and then they've made trades early before the deadline, which have allowed them to get key pieces without giving up much... Very smart... They've also had guys sign for less to free up monies for other players because those guys want to win a Cup. Now the Blackhawks would probably be in the middle of a dynasty had it not been for the salary cap. After they won the Cup they had to literally dismantle the team and pick and choose which players to re-build around. They were loaded upfront and on the back end...Campbell, Ladd, Byfuglien and several other big names were either traded or not re-signed. They had to look to bringing in guys that they drafted to mature quickly and fill voids, which to degree they've done and then take a gamble on guys that had failed to play up to their potential. Emery was a gamble and he's been great... Was out of the league for a while and then Crawford they bought up through the system and he's been better this year, so that's the new NHL and I think you're seeing that with the exception of a few teams no one is running away so to speak. Even the Blue Jackets with a no name team is in the playoff hunt. LOL Unless a guy like Iginla were to re-sign for less money with the Penguins, he probably will just be a rental player and considering what they paid for him (a few college no name players), I'd say they did great. They didn't give up any of their core players which are still very young and unless they exit early, those picks will be low ones anyway for the Flames. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted April 3, 2013 Share #200 Posted April 3, 2013 Speaking of the Blue Jackets.... Marian Gaborik is gone.... Let them have that waste of space.... Don't know shit about this Ryane Clowe guy we just picked up, but I'll take anyone over Gaborik right now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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