yave1964

   He is a mess right now, the whole team is fragile and out of sorts, a month ago, I really thought they were going to battle for a lower seed in the East, now they are in the twilight that no team wants to be in , not a contender even for a low end spot, not a lottery team and not very interesting, and they have lost the fans to boot, a difficult task in Toronto where just about everything is forgivable. I simply do not understand the firing of Carlyle, Obviously he is not the problem.

Chris Stewart fell off the face of the earth the last few years, he is too streaky and not always defensively responsible so Hitch chased him out and buffalo is the Siberia of hockey. He looks disinterested, no way i want him on my team.

Goligoski supposedly is on the block in Dallas with the emergence of Klingberg, the development of Daley and the trade for Demers Goligoski is seing a drop in his quality minutes and may be moved for a second line winger to play with Spezza with a low cap hit. This is the rumor that I have heard a few places.

another great write up as usual!

One I would probably change is Tyler Toffoli for Schwartz. They are both having solid years but Toffoli had kind of a meh rookie year last year while Schwartz was a 20 goal scorer so the fact that Toffoli is so hot is a bit more of a shocker. But why quibble, they are both doing great.

I would list the Bruins in the bad surprises as well, very mediocre start for a team many picked to come out of the east. Good surprise, ignoring my obviously slanted view of the Wings, i will instead go with Florida. Bobby Lu has been nothing short of magnificent and is keeping the team in the thick of things as they search for offense from somebody.

I'd avoid Niemi if you are hoping he plays a lot of games Yave. Granted, yes, as a Shark fan who has seen him play 40 playoff games and get zero shutouts, I am a bit hating on him.

 

But management wants youth to get a bigger role this season and the specifically mentioned Stalock would be playing more games this season, so Niemi will not get the same volume of games he did in past years. Stalock might not get the starter position, but he will definitely see a more even split, which will affect Niemi's numbers.

I wouldn't slate Quick in the 2 slot, as a NHL goalie, heck yes, as a fantasy goalie, heck no. Defensive team that allows very little shots, and he is notorious for playing fewer games doe to surgery, which he is also coming off this year once again!

I agree! Quick is an amazing goalie during the postseason but only a very good one during the season.

I like a veteran goalie who gets the vast majority of his teams starts. And also, a goalie gets credit for a win whether he plays well or not, so a really good team with a meh goalie, the meh goalie gets wins.

  Niemi is on my sleeper list, everyone seems down on him but he has a cup and plays for an outstanding regular season team and his backup, Stalock, who everyone is in love with is what, 27?

 Lundqvist for obvious reasons, winning team, 60 or so starts is my choice as a regular.

 And i totally disagree with Varly. Giguere moved on, no real backup, it is his team, sink or swim. 60-65 starts and 35 or so wins. Take him any day of the week and twice on sunday.

as far as Marty, I personally think he has enough left in the tank to start 20-25 games for someone like the Bruins, but I cannot see him in my minds eye with anyone except the Devils. Retire Marty, its been great. Reimer, he blew it for the Leafs last year down the stretch, was rotten, if anyone is dumb enough to take him good riddance. Johansen? It's July. It will happen. Relax.

This team cannot be taken serious until they add forwards, as in multiple as in forwards, forwards forwards. Hodgson is the only true top six forward on the club and that is still up in the air. Several kids have shown promise but the odds are they will still need time.

Ryan Callahan has been rumored as going to Buffalo for a while now, he would be a good signing, he is a good player but they need more than just him. And even though he is a hometown boy he still will command a big salary.

I agree the defense is okay, the netminding isn't horrible but my God the forwards are the worst in the game and arguably the worst on any team in a decade. That has to be fixed for them to go anywhere.

Ill eat crow later if I am wrong Yave, but I think this is the right move.

like I posted elsewhere starting Stalock stinks of panic. It is almost like the Kings are winning the series 2 games to 3.......

Yes I understand you`re upset that the Avs and Wings aren`t #1 but that rivalry is also fading slowly but I agree it was very spirited and that's why it was on my top ten. As for the Leafs and Habs rivalry, it is the one that brought Canadian hockey tradition together and it still impacts how it is TODAY and it has the most fanfare involvement more than the other rivalries and the fans from each others respective teams in that particular rivalry get heavily into it.

 

My survey on my website showed only 1 vote out of 8 chose the Colorado and Detroit rivalry as their favourite, the Montreal and Boston rivalry has the lead so far with 3 but that's just the results so far.

 

I thank you for reading my article and voicing your opinion and I hope you have a nice day.

If you are talking over the entire quarter of a century, obviously the Wings/Avalanche burned bright and was gone. yes, the East coast original six teams are more storied with history bot for just under a decade there was nothing better in my lifetime.

Okay, any list of top rivalries over the past twenty years that does not have the Wings and Avalanche number one is simply wrong. It was a rivalry that burned brightly for near a decade and burned out but if you see the players interviewed from that era, even today they hate each other. I saw Roy interviewed by Osgood earlier this year and thought Roy was going to straight up punch Ozzie.

  Hall of famers were on the ice on every shift. A true hatred between Shanny, Forsberg, Lemieux, Mccarty and the rest. Even the non combatants brought it night in and night out when they met each other. I tell you there has not been anything like it for a quarter of a century.

  Leafs and Habs? puleeze. You are living in the past, fifty years ago. I still get up for the games between these two but the rivalry died a long time ago. It is fun hockey, so is Sens and Leafs in the battle for Ontario, the Flames and Oilers in the battle of Alberta but the Wings./Avalanche for near a decade was war.

Very nice blog Thanks!!

Nice blog. I love fighting in Hockey, but not fighting for fighting sake, clowns like Colton Orr, Mike Brown and Jordin Tootoo who cannot play the game and are their for the entertainment part of the game are ridiculous.

  Give me a good old fashioned hate like the Wings/Avalanche from not that awful long ago, where everyone fought everyone (What a lot of folks seem to forget is the fight that started the Mccarty/Lemieux war was actually between Forsberg and 'The Professor, Igor Larionov) and everyone was accountable. I think the instigator rule has ruined hockey in sooo many ways, allowing guys like Matt cooke to run rampant knowing he will never be held accountable without the other club being forced to play a man short.

  So lets leave fighting alone, if we remove it then slugs like Cooke can do as they damn well please without risk of any retribution at all. Fighting gives teams a chance to police the game and actually keep it clean.

Glad to see Nolan back in the game, there is no way you can convince me that there are 30 better coaches in the game.

Nice read.

I traded Lupul in my fantasy hockey league, not because he cannot play, I like him, but he has nobody to pass him the puck. They need to deal Reimer, IMHO for a top six center. Edmonton seems like a perfect match.

This is a dreaful organization that has Lee Stempniak as its best offensive player. Monahan was a great pick, but wow is this club bad. Maybe not 1974-75 Capitals bad but IMHO the worst team in hockey today by a large amount. Good blog, keep them coming!

The problem with players like Clowe, Jagr and Ryder is the are not Parise, Kovy and Clarkson. The skill level is down these guys are in big trouble

Well we have the Hockey package so we watch some hockey every night, we watch more West than East, being Wings fans.

But in answer to your question, we have watched two or three whole games plus switched over a half dozen times during intermission of Wings games, so it is fair to say we have watched more Habs than anyone in the East except the Penguins.

Carey Price is finally playing up to the hype, he has been a God back there. The most underrated player on the team, IMHO flying under the radar is Raphael Diaz, a puck moving d-man who makes the second pair go.

If I could describe the Canadiens in one word, it would have to be ENERGY. They fly arund, looking for opportunity, knowing if they get caught in a 2 on 1 the other way that Price has their back. Subban hip checking (A lost art) anything that moves, little Desharnais waiting to pounce, Ryder finding new life in his second time around. Markov rising out of the ashes for a chance to prove he still can play.

Maybe I was wrong with energy. Resilient may be more appropriate. So many players came in to this season considered to old, too short, too hobbled, overrated, and together they have made a team. Congrats to you and all Habs fans on a great and magical season.

That sound you are hearing is me eating my hat.

I have never been a Subban fan, I did not think he would develop to the level that he has, I thought he was a chronic whiner, a malcontent who could not lead a playoff caliber team. Boy was I wrong.

He is a point a game blue liner(!) who drills people all over the ice with a wicked slapper. Congrats, he is everything you hoped he would be including a team leader.

Will you pass the Ketchup please? I just got to the bill.....

Nobody from Florida was mentioned, neither was big Buff. Other than that, good blog

I picked them to run away from the west, I thank them for not making me look too foolish, lol.

I think the Blues benefited from flying under the radar last year, this year with great expectations and no way possible Halak and Elliott can possibly be as good this year, I have them finishing third, behind the Hawks and Wings. Good luck this year.

JVR could be like when you boys added Versteeg, a solid player who was a square peg in a round hole. Uniting the Schenn boys was a good move for Philly, personally I think JVR will have a good career, and Philly overpaid. That said, if Toronto plays around with a young players head and tries to convert him to a fish out of water position, JVR could be a wreck in Toronto, just another casualty of Brian Burke, who will find it all when he moves to his next team.