General Hockey Talk - Injuries, signings, factoids + other news from around the league

SpezDispenser wrote:Jesus, Jason Smith charged with assault on his wife apparently.

Didn't see you posting this (was patiently waiting in the draft) so I just put up a new thread.

PKC wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Jesus, Jason Smith charged with assault on his wife apparently.

What are the chances he has dementia from all the career concussions?

a la Chris Benoit?

Wow, Boston just set up an affiliate in Finland. Bye bye Ryder and Thomas, hello cap relief I think.

Sens should get in on this - and they will, I'm sure.

Sens Chirp has the Sens finishing 2nd? What a surprise...it's hard to take him seriously when he lets bias get in the way of his blog.

Big Ev wrote:Sens Chirp has the Sens finishing 2nd? What a surprise...it's hard to take him seriously when he lets bias get in the way of his blog.

We'll finish 2nd alright, 2nd in the NE.

Is it really that far off to say the Sens could finish in 2nd place?

The NorthEast is one of the weakest divisions in all of hockey, so if one team steps up they could really run the table and feast on weaker opposition.

I still think Boston and Buffalo could finish ahead of us, but really every team in the division got considerably weaker than last year (except for Ottawa and Toronto imo)/.

We COULD win the NE (I don't think so), but even then we're not finishing ahead of the SE and ATL division winners.

We are barely a lock to make the playoffs and we are suddenly going to finish 2nd in the East? That could happen, but on paper it doesn't look so good. C'mon SC!

How did Boston get weaker? If anything they improved. They needed some more offensive punch so they went out and got Horton. Plus they now have Seguin and a healthy Lucic and Savard (well who knows if he's healthy actually) I really don't see how they have regressed. They lost Dennis Wideman but he wasn't a difference maker anyway.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm not a fan, I'm just trying to be realistic.

I think Boston got better big time in Seguin, Horton and re-signing Seidenberg. Not sure if it'll be enough to get out of Julien's suffocating style, but I think in the end, they walk away with the NE.

Hope I'm wrong though.

Habs: one goalie or injury away from 10-15th
Leafs: one kessel injured away from 10-15th
Buffalo: one Miller injured away from 10-15th

Yes, Sens have a good chance finishing 2nd in division. BUt like all things in hockey, there's a lot of conditions.

stempniaksen wrote:Is it really that far off to say the Sens could finish in 2nd place?

The NorthEast is one of the weakest divisions in all of hockey, so if one team steps up they could really run the table and feast on weaker opposition.

I still think Boston and Buffalo could finish ahead of us, but really every team in the division got considerably weaker than last year (except for Ottawa and Toronto imo)/.

I think that's very untrue. This is the only division in the NHL where all five teams could make the playoffs.

I think the NW might be the weakest other than Vancouver, but the NE is nothing to write home about either.

The best division by far is the Central.

Marakh hit the nail on the head, but I'll go into a bit more detail.

Boston: I think they'll finish ahead of us in the NE, but they have a few massive questions. They have a deep offence, but play a style that limits offensive chances so I don't think they'll be as good as people think. They also have one of the weaker defences in the league, and Chara will need to be amazing if they wanna go anywhere.

Buffalo: I'm prepared to say they have the weakest defence in the entire NHL and if Myers goes into a sophmore slump they will be in huge trouble. Miller is Miller but I have a hard time seeing him put up similar numbers with a weaker defence.

Montreal: Lost their end of season/playoff MVP. I trust in Carey Price and his potential (I'm a fan) but the loss of Halak will be huge. If they stay healthy (especially Cammy and Markov) then they could improve though.

Toronto: Have obviously improved, but that offence still looks like Kessel surrounded by unproven players or fringe top-sixers. Their defence and goaltending look good on paper, but that's been the case for years.

Big Ev wrote:I think the NW might be the weakest other than Vancouver, but the NE is nothing to write home about either.

The best division by far is the Central.

I think the Northeast, Northwest and SouthWest are the 3 weakest divisions in hockey. The difference being that the NW has Vancouver and the SE has Washington (legitimate cup contenders) whereas the NE doesn't have any top end team, let alone a team who are considered locks for the playoffs.

stempniaksen wrote:

Big Ev wrote:I think the NW might be the weakest other than Vancouver, but the NE is nothing to write home about either.

The best division by far is the Central.

I think the Northeast, Northwest and SouthWest are the 3 weakest divisions in hockey. The difference being that the NW has Vancouver and the SE has Washington (legitimate cup contenders) whereas the NE doesn't have any top end team, let alone a team who are considered locks for the playoffs.

Who plays in the southwest again?

Tuk Tuk wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:

Big Ev wrote:I think the NW might be the weakest other than Vancouver, but the NE is nothing to write home about either.

The best division by far is the Central.

I think the Northeast, Northwest and SouthWest are the 3 weakest divisions in hockey. The difference being that the NW has Vancouver and the SE has Washington (legitimate cup contenders) whereas the NE doesn't have any top end team, let alone a team who are considered locks for the playoffs.

Who plays in the southwest again?

Don't be a donkey, haha

Toronto's getting Giggy with it. Ron Wilson is saying Giguere is getting the no. 1 nod over Gustavsson to open pre-season.

stempniaksen wrote:

Tuk Tuk wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:

Big Ev wrote:I think the NW might be the weakest other than Vancouver, but the NE is nothing to write home about either.

The best division by far is the Central.

I think the Northeast, Northwest and SouthWest are the 3 weakest divisions in hockey. The difference being that the NW has Vancouver and the SE has Washington (legitimate cup contenders) whereas the NE doesn't have any top end team, let alone a team who are considered locks for the playoffs.

Who plays in the southwest again?

Don't be a donkey, haha

Amnesia021 wrote:Toronto's getting Giggy with it. Ron Wilson is saying Giguere is getting the no. 1 nod over Gustavsson to open pre-season.

Really? What a stupid quote to make if in fact he said that.

Camp hasn't even opened yet, he has no idea what shape they are coming in game-wise and doesn't even know many judgemental factors that could/would influence such a decision.

What a great way to eliminate any competitive fire that every professional athlete has heading into training camp.