Bakanekimiwa

Hey! That's MY line!

I guess there's some semantic issues here. It's not that your point is hard to grasp, I guess we just have different connotations of the words 'good' and 'great' when it comes to hockey coaching. I think you overvalue 'great' and I undervalue it. I'm not meaning to say that laviolette is the 2nd coming of Herb Brooks, I just think he's done a great job with what he's got. This season is a very good example of that. This team is playing very well despite injury problems and goalie issues. But.. Using the islanders as an example of why you think he's not 'great'!? That org has been a mess ever since crazy Wang made Garth snow gm. 15 year deal to dipietro tells you all you need to know about how they operate. No clue.

this is an interesting argument... the isles playoffs losses. i'm just curious why you would also choose to leave out the fact that he won a stanley cup in carolina? every coach loses, but i've never seen a coach win a game... is that it? players do have an effect on the game... the fact the isles made it to the playoffs with their perennial losers is testament enough for me that lavy is a great motivator. i think the thing that strikes me about lavy is that he treats the players with respect. as a coach, he can't get out there and do the little things they need to do, so he's an instructor and motivator. that's all he can do, and from where i sit, he's pretty damn good at it. the interesting thing about 24/7 is to see the contrast in coaching styles with torts. torts manages by fear. he treats them like kids and motivates them negatively. i think lavy is a far better coach in so far as his repoire with the players leads them to want to play for him. not just want to play well to avoid being in the doghouse.

Yeah.. It's reaching for a positive angle a bit. Statisticians also know how to pull out numbers to prove their point.... Any point.

one game back with very limited ice time. i thought the same thing last night, but it is very early to ride the kid.

i think it's actually time to put bob in there and see how he does. give him a string of starts and let bryz go home and think about it for awhile.

I think you meant $73M.

This is how I look at it. But, if stall comes back and gets back into form, I think they've got an edge on us. Especially since they've got a consistent fancy lad in net.

Yah, the thing that worries me most is that the press and fans are turning on him and that will only make it worse.

It's tough to say he should have had it because it was a deflection, but I agree that he just didn't look ready. He wasn't anticipating the play and wasn't in great position. So he *could* have stopped it, but I have a hard time jumping to *should* have. Suffice it to say, he's not been great, and he is being paid to be much better than he is. That said, bob has not been great either. He let in a bad goal the other game and then settled down and played well, but he was guilty of the same thing as bryz... Letting in a bad first goal. We can argue back and forth about being rusty from not starting, but I think everyone realizes its bryz's job to lose, so bobs simply gotta be better before we can talk about sitting our $70m* man. *seems his price just keeps getting higher with every complaint, so there you go.

I must admit... I raised an eyebrow at this signing at first. But, he's been the perfect 'character guy'. Quite frankly, you *need* guys like him on your team... And he's one of the best. Great season for him thus far.

The universe is humongous... Big. We don't have to worry.

Same here... It wasn't as good as the first one. Btw, am I the only one who doesn't give a sh!t about the rangers side of things!? Split the episodes in two... Sorry, but the cripple boy angle is touching and all, but I don't need to see it in this show. It's clear, to me, that lavvy is a great motivator. Torts sucks. Who'd you rather play for? Torts treats them like children.

Once again.. It's rinaldo... I'm surprised a penalty was called, let alone a major. I'm disappointed in shanny on this one as well. Lucic is a repeat repeat offender.

Fire all the things!!!

well... we haven't seen bob start as much as bryz, so who knows how many softies he'd let in. anyway, suffice it to say... we're not getting the goaltending we're paying for. we probably have the highest $'s to goaltending tandem in the league, but i think we are also collectively at the bottom in many of the goalie stat categories.... combined. just terrible. what a disappointment.

even though he's practicing and it looks promising... early 2012 is probably still the likely timeframe for him to return. if there are no setbacks. let's hope, but this is a positive sign.

Stop making sense! Fire all the things!!!

this explains a lot dynamo!!! i kid... i kid. sorry to hear about your continued problems. i had a mild concussion this past summer. who knows how many i might have had as a kid, tackle football with no gear every weekend probably left my head like that watermelon. anyway, i had some of the symptoms that you have mentioned here. albeit, probably a lot more mild than yours, the one very striking thing to me was also the personality changes. that's what was most disturbing to me. i just didn't feel like myself... and, in short, it was really bumming me out. inability to focus, headaches and irritability were pervasive for a few months. i'm still having 'off' days, but my symptoms have pretty much subsided 6 months after impact. suffice it to say... it's a truly awful feeling that i wouldn't wish on anyone. i hope your symptoms fade away. i also hope prongs can have his wear off, but it doesn't seem likely... sadly. people wonder why these guys make so much money to play a game. well, they're very often sacrificing their quality of life later in life. some might say that you couldn't pay them enough to take that deal.

the team is playing very well right now, but no one should be under any illusion here. we're gonna suffer without pronger... over the long haul, but especially in the playoffs. i don't think december hockey is really a good indicator of playoff hockey intensity. but, to your point... i think you're absolutely right. boston is probably the best team in the league right now(not going by records as they stand right now)

i believe schenn's adjusted cap hit is $2,115,000 for this season. EDIT: oh.. forget it... i really don't know. i saw $1,403, 608 as the tracker amount for this year. is that his adjusted hit? man is this stuff confusing.

as much as i'd love to see weber here... he's on the verge of norris trophy and i have a very hard time seeing nashville give him up for anybody. suter might be had, though.

at this point... i'd be surprised if his career *wasn't* over. i've had mild posts-concussion symptoms for a few months and it really sucks. when you don't feel like yourself, it's stressful and very concerning. i couldn't remember the hit to my head that caused the concussion, so i'm not surprised neither could pronger. seems to be one of the tell-tale signs. i think we'll see him go on LTIR, and stay there for 5 years!???, since that way they can use his cap money during the season. i'd be surprised if he just up and retires... the flyers will be pretty screwed if he does.

this is what i'm thinking.... pronger could be done for more than just this season. i could very easily see him LTIR ala lappy, rathje... etc, etc. people wondered how we'd get away from his monstrous contract, well, i know LTIR isn't exactly 'getting away from it', but it's the next best thing. over the summer, i said.. you just never know what can happen. well, i wasn't expecting this either. NOT saying i'm happy about his injury or that i don't want him back. i think pronger is a game changer still.. at his age. i just think that he's got to be thinking more about life AFTER hockey at this point and with the bevy of surgeries, serious eye injury... and now THIS. at 37, being told your season is over with ??? hanging over the beyond... he's not stupid.

and remember that elbow to the head from leino!? wonder how that might have played into it. i mean... i know they have their baseline tests and all that, but let's face it, read's a young guy trying to make it in the nhl and this is the best opportunity for him right here and now. would not come as a shocker for him to downplay any symptoms.