Drew Doughty

Because picking teams to fail in the playoffs because they failed in the playoffs before is kind of dumb. I don't think the Sharks will do much in the playoffs this year, but that's because they don't have very good depth or rock-solid goaltending (Nabokov is neck-in-neck(-in-neck?) with Turco and Kiprusoff for most overrated goalie in the NHL). Not because they've failed in the past. Carolina/Philly ought to be pretty good.

they have a good shot. which is why i said something like "5-13 is going to be a dogfight in the west."

the canadiens are average. they have a shoddy D and an undersized group of forwards. hal gill and jaroslav spacek both suck. the only way they can join that group of very good teams in the east is if carey price takes a huge step forward. he played great tonight and is the only reason they won. i would ask if a mod could rename this to the "NHL Thread" or something but if a mod actually reads this topic, i'd be stunned. couple of random thoughts: calgary is better on paper than i thought they were. i would actually swap them with vancouver, regardless of what happens in the third period of this game. washington desperately needs a 2nd line center. morrison was completely invisible and the caps never got anything going aside from the first line/pp unit. as a quasi-caps fan, i really hope the forsberg rumors are true and he can play half the games he's signed for. on the other hand, washington's first power play unit is insane. they move the puck better than any pp unit (lol) i've seen in a long time. vesa toskala sucks. i didn't actually see much of his game (mainly because whenever i flipped to that game, the leafs were in control), but he sucks. stupid organization. i hope the leafs fall on their face this year. they really remind me of the cubs going into 07. spent a bunch of money to improve the team, except they did it really, really poorly.

i'll toss my hat in as well east 1. Philadelphia 2. Washington 3. Boston --- 4. Pittsburgh 5. Carolina 6. New Jersey 7. Buffalo 8. Montreal --- 9. Toronto 10. Florida 11. NYR 12. Ottawa 13. Tampa Bay 14. Florida 15. NYI west 1. San Jose 2. Chicago 3. Vancouver --- 4. Detroit 5. Calgary 6. Anaheim 7. St. Louis 8. Los Angeles --- 9. Columbus 10. Nashville 11. Edmonton 12. Minnesota 13. Dallas 14. Phoenix 15. Colorado 5-13 is kind of a clusterf in the west. i will say that i'm pretty sure the top 7 in the west will at least be in the playoffs. 8th spot should be a dogfight though. i think the East is really weak after the top 5.

Is that what instilled all that narcissistic sarcasm in you? :P i don't think narcissistic means what you want it to mean.

If you ask me it's really not worth noting that he was really good for 10-15 games. actually, that wasn't the point. he's been a very good player his entire career but has never played on a seriously high skill line for more than 10-15 games. when he DID, he was exceptionally productive and made one of the better line combos of his career. presumably, he'd play on a more talented line than he has the past few years in LA, which was my point.

it's worth noting that during the one time frolov was on a productive, top end line, he was really good. Frolov - Conroy - Demitra, for a short period in 05-06, was one of the best lines in hockey. at the time, all 3 had injury troubles (something Frolov has MOSTLY moved past) and the line never really stuck after a 10-15 game hot streak. and frolov really is a good two-way player. his only problem is consistency, he tends to go into 5-10 game funks like twice a season. his play at both ends of the ice slips really badly for those stretches of games, then he comes back to normal and plays great. i really like him and would be sad to see him go...but i can't see how we can keep him under the cap either. the trade just doesn't really make sense for the kings. byfuglien isn't really that good; at the very least they shouldn't be trading assets for him, as they have young players (mostly purcell and moller) that they need to look at in the roles he would fill. i wouldn't be shocked if frolov is traded, the hawks might even be a fit, but i don't buy that being the return.

Agreed about Kessel being over rated and Burke sucking. Not sure it was a great trade for the Bruins though it is. they got more than they would've gotten if he signed an offer sheet for the same contract. he wanted out. great deal for them.

kessel is overrated and brian burke is an awful gm. great trade for the bruins imo.

isn't meph a crazy psycho that no one should ever speak of again

it even says "Mitchell wrote". la

It just seems like Brenley talks a heck of a lot and Len just listens and adds to it. Then again I don't have cable or satellite and havent gotten to see a game since like may plus len also like, calls the plays as they happen.

I expected him to never have to face a batter, everyone would just cower away in fear as he stepped on the mound. 162-0 as they could just throw him everyday. cubs win the world series.

hahahahahahaha Please tell me you're joking. Yes, I was. There always should be sport where 60 kids do stand around for and scratch their crotch while 11 play. I'll give basketball its kudos it is good for getting HJ, LJ and Trpl J in shape. The rest I am dead serious, especially number 3 hand job, lip job, and triple job? exciting. tell me more. I'll excuse you this time, you have a hockey player as a sig. understandable. I'll type slow. High Jump. Long Jump and triple Jump :roll: yeah sorry guys i'm clearly the moron here.

hahahahahahaha Please tell me you're joking. Yes, I was. There always should be sport where 60 kids do stand around for and scratch their crotch while 11 play. I'll give basketball its kudos it is good for getting HJ, LJ and Trpl J in shape. The rest I am dead serious, especially number 3 hand job, lip job, and triple job? exciting. tell me more.

poor play? disappointing season? it has nothing to do with effort. it's just bad baseball.

no he didn't

i wonder where cynosure is.

97 can get you a K if the batter's not looking for it. If he is looking for it - so will the outfielder be as he watches it fly over his head. The opposition doesn't get a lot of scratch hits off Gregg. He's a one trick pony that can fool some of the batters some of the time. Heilman has comparable k/ip numbers, perhaps you'd prefer he gets the ball to close? Glad you're comfortable with his contributions. 2) Gregg vs Heilman? Really? Let's see...the k/9ip is 9.24 vs 7.69 - a pretty significant difference in "stuff". Second, the k/bb rate is 2.43 for gregg vs 1.43 for Heilman. Do you want to try again? Significant in "your" opinion? Look dude - if you want to dance a jig because you have Kevin Gregg as your closer - have at it. He doesn't have the talent to get enough outs in the last inning. But you keep hoping ... and it will happen. Try again? To argue the value of Kevin Gregg? Thats time well spent. You're funny. laughing irl

To Ascanio, Grabow, Heilman, some random MR, etc, etc. To me the ONLY value Ascanio had over Grabow is $$$ and that's it. I don't see him as a "long-term" closer, but more of a closer by need (especially when Pittsburgh trades Capps within the next two yrs) and he's steps in as a "temp closer." So saying Ascanio is better then Grabow, is kinda like saying you like black olives over green olives. They both serve a purpose. that's a...bizarre analogy, to say the least.

Id be banned for saying that at GRB, oh wait, Im already banned for saying less than that :D Saying Chicago is a better town than St. Louis is worse than calling an established poster a "whiny little [expletive]?" For someone with over 10000 posts on a similar message board, you really struggle with understanding rules of behavior. Im talking about the comment about Chicago having a terrible baseball team on the North Side, genius. Why would anyone at GRB take exception with you saying the Cubs are terrible? hahahaha

this is your dream come true. wells done.

YESSSSS

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200109020.shtml

Wrong Sanchez. Wasn't that Alex Sanchez he was ga-ga for? uggggggggggh alex sanchez. the cubs could not get him out for some reason. actually maybe that's why sunnydoo would have wanted him so much, he only saw him play against the cubs and therefore thought he was awesome. or more likely it's because sunnydoo was mentally ill.