Lightning fan

They should merge with the Sens in order to ice a respectable team.   

They are done. Was fun while it lasted. This core is prone to mental collapses, something has to give.

Nolan must hate him at this point.

Okay. I want a young, young player - ideally 25 at the very most; the younger the better. I'm a fan of the "build from the net out" philosophy, but I just don't see a goalie who is head and shoulders above his peers. Rask is great but probably not worthy of being the guy to build around if you can choose any player from the league. Wingers, I would not build a team around a winger; it'd have to be an out-of-this-world winger, which currently is not in the league. That leaves a defenseman or a center. There are some elite young Dmen in the league these days: Hedman, OEL, Karlsson, Subban, Pietrangelo, Doughty; then you have the likes of Brodin, Lindholm, etc., who haven't proven themselves yet. As for centers I'd consider Crosby, Stamkos and MacKinnon. I know, one is not like the other, but I firmly believe MacK is going to be a monster, and is by far the youngest. I like Seguin, too, but I'm not 100% sold on his commitment to the game.

So for me, it'd come down to:

Crosby

Stamkos

MacKinnon

Hedman (homer pick, he's turning into a beast this season though)

Karlsson

Doughty

Pietrangelo

In all honesty, I like the three centers better.

Crosby is the best but is 26. Stamkos is 2 years younger. MacKinnon is still 18.

I'd likely go Stamkos>MacKinnon>Crosby -- yes, it is a big gamble. If MacKinnon turns out to be as good as I predict then it can be MacK>Stamkos>Crosby easily.

*I may be overrating MacK's potential*

@jammer2 It makes sense, thanks! I must have missed he got injured.  

My brother has accepted the Leafs are not making the playoffs and is calling for a full-blown rebuild. I too don't see the Leafs winning with their current core; it may be the best option.

Anybody can shed some light on what's happening with Adam Larsson? He has played just 20 games for the Devils. Has he not been good enough to stay up? 

@yave1964 You nailed it for the Bolts. Lindback has been plain bad and Malone is a buyout candidate.

For the Leafs maybe add Lupul? He plays like he doesn't care and it shows in his stats, a complete U-turn compared to what he looked like just a season ago.

  Funny. Definitely not a good idea to do this.

LOL, my brother is a Leafs fan and he's going nuts.

@flyerrod Hi there!

@AlaskaFlyerFan Sorry.   Feel free to merge the two threads!

Is Detroit getting their injured guys back for the playoffs, assuming they make it? If so, a Bruins - Wings series would be fun to watch.

Hey, I was just wondering if any of you guys have a second team. My brother is a big Leaf fan, but I'm obviously not cheering on a division rival. <_< I like a number of teams out West though, and I have a soft spot for Dallas. I can't say they are my 'second' team as I don't care enough to watch their games on a regular basis (and I don't necessarily have the time), but they are as close to being my second team as it gets for me. I know that many people hate the concept of second teams, so I hope I didn't offend anybody.  

Also, if you don't have one, what are the teams you like/have respect for/look up to?

Don't look now but Seguin has 2 less points than Kessel in 4 less games, and Hamilton plays 20 minutes a night for one of the best defensive teams in the league.

I was just thinking about this earlier today and I believe the Flyers are the second beast team in the Easter Conference, only the Bruins are clearly better IMO.

I thought they would tighten up too, and that Carlyle would never allow them to continue down this path of pond hockey. But he has. I don't understand what's happening, but it's not pretty. If he's lost the room, he needs to be replaced.

 

 

Reimer's a good goalie I think, but he has been brutal lately. He's just lost his will to compete in Toronto...or something. It's crazy.

 

Not that his team has been helping him out, but the soft goals are backbreakers.

You'd have to think Reimer is as good as gone after this season.

I just don't get it. Why are the Leafs seemingly always so mediocre? When I look at that franchise everything about it screams mediocre. Is it because, while being in the largest hockey market and being Hockey Mecca, there is not much pressure to actually win the Stanley Cup? It seems to me the fans are just hoping to squeeze into playoffs year after year... Is it because the ownership doesn't give a damn about winning? The Leafs have the most loyal fanbase in the league; it is not a fickle crowd, the games are guaranteed to be sold out and the TV ratings will always be great no matter what kind of on-ice products the fans get to watch.

Is it the scouting? They seem to lean to drafting 3rd line grinders with their 1st round picks.

The Leafs are a big mystery to me.

One hypothetical, would anything change if Toronto got a second NHL team?

Looks good to me.

Beautiful.

Hard to argue with what Chia has done so far; Boston is pretty good and the favourite to come out of East. Still, it looks like Dallas 'won' the deal. Seguin is a great player, but maybe he truly needed a change of scenery to live up to his potential - it certainly was a wakeup call for him. And Smith hasn't been to shabby for the Bruins so far. 

Kessel has matured and improved by leaps and bounds since his Boston days IMO, and it makes the trade easier to stomach for Leafs fans. Still, I reckon the Leafs would be quite a bit better off having Seguin AND Hamilton on their roster. As of right now I'd take Seguin over Kessel, no questions asked, but maybe that's just me. Hamilton is developing nicely, too; I very much doubt Hamilton would be where he is now in the Leafs' messy defensive system, but I'd like to think he would make the Leafs better.

This may be helpful.

http://www.nhlplayoffsbracket.com/2014/

LOL.

That's some bad luck. So who's replacing him? He was having a good year too, it's a shame.  

Honestly, I'd like to see the Flames win the Cup but that's just my pure preference. While I don't dislike any of the Canadian teams in the East (heck, I'm fine with all the Canadian teams) I'd rather see a team out West win a Cup - just because my team is in the East. So that leaves the Oil, Canucks, Jets and Flames. Canucks had their window, it didn't work out for them. Oilers' front office makes it hard for me to cheer for them to go anywhere in the playoffs, let alone win the Stanley Cup. That leaves Flames and Jets. I'm indifferent between the two, I guess I like Calgary just a bit more for some reason. ^_^

I'd think Roy has it in the bag. The award seemingly goes to coaches who manage to improve their team's standings most as compared to the previous year... Yes, there are many other factors besides coaching, and yes, it shouldn't be the only factor when deciding the winner but in this case it will be. From finishing second to last to making playoffs in the tough West (and currently sitting in 4th in the conference), that will get a lot of votes.

Cooper should get some votes, too. 

@hf101 In hindsight it was a great trade for us, at least it appears to be as of now, which is funny because the general consensus when the trade went down was that the Sens fleeced us big time. Funny how it works. That being said, I find it hard to believe Conacher's performance in Ottawa was waiver worthy. :blink: