GAFlyer

Well, we didn't see Read last night and Welly played well (haha). I would just as soon keep Read sitting if he's even remotely hurt. And this is not to bash Read, the kid can play! But he's gonna hit a wall this year, 100% sure. He's never played more than 35 games. Let's keep him fresh, let him sit till he's 100%. (Cap-strapped, too -- Welly is much cheaper than Read)

This team is gonna be up/down all year, I think. Some major upside and some serious flaws too. 1. Too close to being a one-line team. Jagr-Giroux and whomever will always dominate. But not as much chemistry yet from the other lines. OTOH, JvR, Brier, Voracek, Simmonds and Scooter can be expected to chip in most of the time. Hell, even Talbot. 2. Defense is potentially a major weakness, beyond the 2nd pair again. If Timo and Pronger wear down over the year, the Goals Against will inflate, and it's already too high. OTOH, if everyone's healthy, and if Walker is kept off the NHL roster in favor of Gus, our d-corps is potentially as good as it needs to be. 3. Bryzy hasn't been as solid as Homer and Snider likely thought but the D has been wildly inconsistent too. Bob has been mostly sharp except the Jets game, but that whole thing was just weird. I just hope Lavy doesn't ride either goalie too hard, and gets Bob about 1 start every 3 or 4 games, so both guys have some kind of rhythm and they each get work.

Hey guys! Nice to chat with y'all again. I hear ya on the Jagr hate. It was sooooo weird for me this summer when he signed. But after a week or so I started looking forward to see what he could bring. And pre-season had me totally excited. I thought about the history but let it all go -- we root for the Crest and anyone who works hard on the ice and brings whatever talent they have all time is gonna get my support. See also Simmonds, Wayne - but that should not be a surprise.

Scooter has the best Corsi on the team right now. Been a very strong contributor and is not playing an easy role for a rookie. He may well hit the wall in January but even if he does, he's earned an NHL job and will certainly keep it.