NHL 2006-07

[Jesse James]

My old man is rooting for Ottawa, and I'm leaning towards Anaheim...  Makes for some fun conversations.  I'm just not that into the finals this year though. 

On a Penguins note there's rumors going around that they're eyeing up a high scoring right winger right now.  Cool beans.

[JangoTat]

no offense to pens fans but i think they made the crappiest decision in making Crosby captain. completely stupid. hes way to young.

in terms of the playoffs...Ottawa disappointed me:(

[Morgbug]

Stick a fork in 'em, they're done.  No doubt about who the better team was in this round.  Happy for Teemu.

[Jesse James]

no offense to pens fans but i think they made the crappiest decision in making Crosby captain. completely stupid. hes way to young.

in terms of the playoffs...Ottawa disappointed me:(

Your age isn't what determines you getting the C...  It's your leadership on and off the ice as well as your ability to deal with your teammates, the officials, and things.  Crosby's been noted as being one of (at times the only) more vocal players on the team trying to fire everyone up, he clearly is seen calling the shots on the ice a lot too...  Mario Lemieux got the C early here too and that seemed to work out quite well.  I think it was a solid move since they clearly are building their franchise around the man they named captain.

[JangoTat]

no offense to pens fans but i think they made the crappiest decision in making Crosby captain. completely stupid. hes way to young.

in terms of the playoffs...Ottawa disappointed me:(

Your age isn't what determines you getting the C...  It's your leadership on and off the ice as well as your ability to deal with your teammates, the officials, and things.  Crosby's been noted as being one of (at times the only) more vocal players on the team trying to fire everyone up, he clearly is seen calling the shots on the ice a lot too...  Mario Lemieux got the C early here too and that seemed to work out quite well.  I think it was a solid move since they clearly are building their franchise around the man they named captain.

although you raise a good point i still think players like gonchar and rechi(spelling is wrong i know) deserved it more. i just find crosby too full of himself and bent around publicity more then hockey itself. dont get me wrong hes a great player..i just dont find him captain material.

[Jesse James]

Recchi's definitely deserving of an A I think, but he didn't step up in the slightest in the playoffs and really he's made it clear that he's just looking to finish out his career, maybe be on a winning team, but ultimately I think he stays in Pitt because he likes it here and just isn't as competitive as he used to be...

Gonchar though?  You're kidding right?  He was one of the biggest drains on the team in the playoffs, he played like a 3rd year peewee defenseman, he put up zero numbers, he was at best a handicap on defense when we needed him to play both ways...  Dude's a chump and I keep hoping we unload him in the off-season honestly.  He had a good regular season for points, but when the playoffs came he turned into a Washington Capital with his game play...  I'd not shed a tear if we lost him honestly.

He's displayed NO desire to lead too...  I wouldn't let him tell the stick boy what to do, much less expect him to have good things to say to uplift the team.  A prime example of age not meaning ****...

Crosby's forced into the spotlight, so it's not his fault there...  Hell other arenas sold out that didn't have good crowds all year, just to see him, so the media spotlight is thrust upon Crosby, not the other way around...  If anything he's every bit the mature, quiet, and knowledgeable player Lemieux was as a leader.  He keeps his nose clean, he doesn't cause any stir...  He even still lives with Mario.  What better person to take the C then someone with a live-in mentor who's showing him the ropes of the NHL and helping him adjust to all the intensified pressure?  Seems the perfect fit to me.

Congrats to the Ducks too...

I'd say congrats to Anaheim but I think most of them weren't paying attention till a couple weeks ago about their team, so they don't really deserve a round of applause.

[Darth Kenobi]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!  I know I haven't posted in this thread but glad my Ducks Won.  I kind of wish the Sen would of scored one more just to get reid of that freebie.  Happy for Teemu and the rest of the guys.  

[Jeff]

Happy for Teemu.

Yeah, that's about it for me...

I can't say I admire the Ducks style of play after the way they jacked us in the first round (they just seemed "dirty" the whole way through the playoffs with suspensions in each round  ) but in the end it got the job done.

But, I am happy for Teemu to finally get the chance to hoist the cup...

[Morgbug]

Yup, happy for Teemu; happy for Carlyle; happy for Dustin Penner who grew up about a half hour from where I work (his hometown was firmly behind the Ducks). 

Not happy the Ducks won because I only had to wait until this morning for the first media pundit to bring up Disney and the movie

Not happy the Ducks won because I like the Senators and would have liked to have seen the cup reside in Canada (duly acknowledging there are more Canadians on the Ducks than the Sens). 

Not at all happy to see Pronger the goon hoist the cup if only because of his lame-ass explanation of his elbow to the head play in game 3.  It's not my fault because I'm too tall?  You sound like a six year old that lives in my neighbourhood, not a professional hockey player and adult

Jesse,
I'm on your side, no way should Gonchar have anything but a ticket out of town.

[JesseVader08]

Not at all happy to see Pronger the goon hoist the cup if only because of his lame-ass explanation of his elbow to the head play in game 3.

Normally, I'm a pretty big fan of Pronger because he's usually a lot smarter than that.  2 suspensions in the playoffs?  That just doesn't seem like him.

i just find crosby too full of himself and bent around publicity more then hockey itself. dont get me wrong hes a great player..i just dont find him captain material.

I'd have to disagree with that statement about Crosby.  He's one of the most mature players out there!  At his age, a lot of guys 'hit the wall' trying to keep up with the pace of the season, plus he had the pressure of the C on top of that.  I have a lot of respect for a guy that can perform not only on the ice but off it as well.

[Jesse James]

Anyone really give a **** about the draft?

Pens picked up Esposito who I am surprised he was available.  There's been doubts about him but the Penguins seem confident they can get his toughness up and that if he works at it he could shine with other young players ont he team.  I was thinking that a youthful team full of "stars" is a good thing for a kid like that who's had his confidence shaken and who is timid (or so they say).  He really could step up to the plate I think.

In other Penguins news they signed Roberts and Recchi to one year deals and Recchi's is largely performance based, thank the lord on that.  He needs incentive.  Roberts said he loved Pitt and wanted to stay and felt "rejuvinated" by the young team's performance.  He went over great here.  Pittsburgh loves any sports team that can beat the **** out of you...  Hell I heard they were gonna start a new trend in baseball by introducing Baseball goons.  Guys that can't play, they just run on the field and beat people up.

I'm already pumped for next year and hockey again.  Yay!

[Jeff]

Interesting start to FA things today...

- The Wild kept Skoula and Koivu, which are decent deals I guess, and we dumped Manny's contract for a prospect and a draft pick.  Not really excited about that, but if they use the $$ they would have paid Manny to get us a decent FA, then I'll care.

- It must royally suck to be a Sabres fan tonight.  It sounds like they lost both Drury (NYR) and Briere (Phi). 

- Man Philly is shaping up nicely - decent Goalie in Biron, then adding Briere, Jason Smith, Joffrey Lupul, all along with the Preds they scooped up earlier. 

- Man, sounds like the NYR are re-loading as well.  Drury and Jagr should pair well together, and Gomez is a nice steal from a division rival.

[Morgbug]

Player - Team signing - Team from
Paul Kariya St. Louis Blues Nashville Predators
Ryan Smyth Colorado Avalanche New York Islanders 
Jed Ortmeyer Nashville Predators New York Rangers
Daniel Briere Philadelphia Flyers Buffalo Sabres 
Denis Grebeshkov Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers
Pascal Dupuis Atlanta Thrashers Atlanta Thrashers
Barret Jackman St. Louis Blues St Louis Blues
Todd White Atlanta Thrashers Minnesota Wild
Brett McLean Florida Panthers Colorado Avalanche
Cory Sarich Calgary Flames Tampa Bay Lightning
Mathieu Schneider Anaheim Ducks Detroit Red Wings 
Yanic Perreault Chicago Blackhawks Toronto Maple Leafs 
Shawn Thornton Boston Bruins Anaheim Ducks
Brian Rafalski Detroit Red Wings New Jersey Devils 
Richard Zednik Florida Panthers New York Islanders
Radek Dvorak Florida Panthers St. Louis Blues
Scott Gomez New York Rangers New Jersey Devils 
Chris Drury New York Rangers Buffalo Sabres 
Jonathan Sim New York Islanders Atlanta Thrashers
Scott Hannan Colorado Avalanche San Jose Sharks
Tom Poti Washington Capitals New York Islanders
Viktor Kozlov Washington Capitals New York Islanders
Jason Blake Toronto Maple Leafs New York Islanders
Eric Perrin Atlanta Thrashers Tampa Bay Lightning
Michel Ouellet Tampa Bay Lightning Pittsburgh Penguins
Jeff Hamilton Carolina Hurricanes Chicago Blackhawks

Rangers got stronger.  Devils lost a lot, as did Buffalo

Not on that list is that Pittsburgh gave Ryan Whitney a big contract extension.  Smart.

[Jesse James]

Yeah, Whitney was a huge signing, we got Roberts and Recchi tied up, young stars are getting tied up, I have hopes for Esposito, and Letang coming back into line-up could be a good thing for the blue line.  I'm a happy Pen's fan though I wouldn't have minded seeing us looking hard for a strong winger, and a strong defensive defenseman.  Same things we lacked going into the playoffs that hurt us.

Also in Pen's news, they are in jeopardy of leaving...  again.  Long story short, Pennsylvania's Senate blocked the bill needed to pass to get the funding for the new arena freed up so things can procede.  It's usual political BS so not many are "scared" about this, it's just annoying, and a lot of it is being touted (appropriately) as political posturing that is using Pittsburgh like a pawn, and pissing lots of people off in the process.  They say if it's not a done deal within I believe the next week or two, it could push the constructon of the new arena back a year and thus puts the team's future in jeopardy, yada yada yada.

Otherwise, interesting day in FA...  Lots of people leaving lots of disappointed markets, though I don't get the Buffalo unloading as they did.  Almost seemed like it wasn't as much a cap issue or anything, as it was a lack of happiness with playoff success...  Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.

If NYR's don't do dick next year, like this past year, I couldn't fathom how pissed people would be...  They're really loading the team, it's like the Yankees over there it seems, and they're still prone to choking.