The Ditch part deux

Not sure about Lu's contract either, but I doubt he'd have any interest in leaving. He and his family are pretty firmly entrenched down here. He's a great ambassador and leader for the team. I could very easily see him leaving the ice and taking an active role in the organization elsewhere, as other players have done. I think he's a Panther til retirement, and honestly, I don't think I'd want it any other way. He's playing well enough right now (when he's on the ice) that it's not a worry. An upgrade would always be nice, but I don't want to see him leave.

My concern is not "now", it's "later". Lu is going to be retiring at some point, and I'm not sure Reimer is a championship goalie - specifically, if he's leading the charge all season long. Meanwhile, Montembeault is our only real prospect, and I'm awfully dubious of his chances. This team has needed to invest in D and G from the bottom-up for a long time, now, and they continue to fail to do it. At some point, having a billion talented F's and absolutely nothing on D or at G is going to catch up to them.

Hell, I think it's a sound assessment to say that they're a good D away from being serious challengers right now. The issue with scoring last year wasn't that they didn't have good F's - it's that they had to play conservatively as much as possible to keep their D from getting shellacked. The difference between the first half of the season and the second was them deciding to play a more conservative game, and try to take advantage of the O when they could. If they can get their D right, this is a dangerous team. I just don't think they have the personnel to do it, and they certainly don't have the prospects coming up to make the difference.

I want Lu to win a Cup before he leaves. If the D was right, that might not be a far-off hope. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they'll get there. But I hope Lu stays to the end, and the team gets the contingency plan right, first.

 

You're spot-on with that, Will, that the additions will help, and the young talent is in a position to potentially contribute this year. The only problem is that all the considerable young talent is at F, and that is the position that needs the least help. In fact, there's such a logjam there, I've been expecting a trade from that considerable pool. Wouldn't surprise me if they get close to the trade deadline and move an expendable F for a key D-man. I think it makes so much sense, I would put money on it. Hopefully they'll be in a real position to contend, at that point.

 

We’ll see about that Russian Dman. I only know what I read about him and that most 28 year old KHLers don’t typically fair well in the NHL.

Would like to see Borgstrom succeed, I think he needs to either play big minutes this year or marinate in the AHL.... not a terrible option.

I think the Panthers and Bruins will both be scrapping to get in to the postseason. Toronto improved too much with Tavares and those kids should improve making Toronto a beast. Hoping they choke in the playoffs, don’t have many guys with playoff success yet on that roster. TB has such an elite roster, forget catching them this season.
Boston and Florida really need to beat up the other Atlantic teams.

 

I agree on all of that. I'm equally not as optimistic about Kiselevich - I think best-case scenario is that he's a solid 2nd-pair option next to a more athletic, offensive D-man. Realistically, I just think he's there to make up for inadequacies on our bottom pair. But I'm gonna hope for the best - worked out well so far with Dadonov's return.

And yeah, Boston/Florida is going to be the race to watch. I hate those damn Bruins, so it'll make this season all the more fun. Here's to a good one.

I honestly think their chances of both getting in this year are better than last. Both improved/stayed the same, while several Metro teams got worse. Florida missed by one point. I think it's a better shot this year that both are in than it was last year.

 

Atlantic has something like 3 of the top 6 favorites (betting-wise) to win the Cup. I really don’t think the Bruins are there yet but Vegas does..... probably based on all the local Sullys throwing their money around on the home team.

 

It's hard not to see the Bruins as being eminently dangerous. Some exciting offensive players on the squad, defenders that give hope they'll keep getting better, and a goalie that is known for his high-end play. I don't see a reason why they wouldn't have a real shot at being in the Final - they weren't far off this year. Question is just whether they can improve enough without having made big improvements / changes to the roster. Gonna rely on continued development of the talent that's already there.

I know they're the games I'll probably be most closely watching, but that's always true, save for maybe Tampa.

 

Sometimes that's not a bad thing either. Bruins are going to be more experienced and know what to expect from each other... good club.

 

hey matty - is tukka rask headed out of town ?? saw an insane article about him leaving ?

 

Bruins need more secondary scoring, in a bad way. That’s ultimately what did them in against TB. The right guy on Krejci’s side could waken the monster.... until he gets hurt of course. At first it looked like Rick Nash was a good fit but then the concussion came and it was all over I guess.
Bruins also need another top 4 D but so does everyone. Interested to see how John Moore fits, Sweeney thought highly enough to pay him over 5 years.
I think the Bruins are kinda close but still need pieces.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/jarome-iginla-to-announce-retirement-with-calgary-flames/

Jarome Iginla retires with the Calgary Flames. With 625 goals, he's probably a first ballot Hockey Hall of Famer !

 

Zach Boychuck, currently of KHL fame and formerly a mostly-AHL member of the Hurricanes and Penguins, now follows my company's Twitter account, which I run. I don't know why in the hell he's interested in what we have to say, but apparently what I say matters. So let that be a lesson to the rest of you.

Edit: we're a company specializing in a very niche real estate investment market, providing unique legal services to our investors' benefit. So, super hockey-related.

 

Maybe ZB is preparing to make a sizeable purchase?

 

https://www.pensburgh.com/platform/...gh-penguins-goals-per-game-2018-sidney-crosby

This is an article discussing new goalie pad regulations, specifically up around the neck and shoulder area. It's out of particular interest to me, because of Roberto Luongo - it has been a not-infrequent sight to see him pausing because of a puck he caught up in that area. He doesn't wear the extra neck protection that a lot of goalies do, and I wonder if this will leave him even more vulnerable.

 

I think less padding in any area is going to make the goalie more vulnerable. I also think the NHL isn't having the goalies health in best interest here, but would love to see GPG increase some more.

Too badd the average viewer or fan needs to see a 7-5 game to be satisfied. This seems to be a the cancer behind a lot of different changes.

On the other hand... you guessed it, im old school. The goalies when I was growing up didn't have the equipment, but still stood tall in the net. I think its healthy for the over-all growth of the game to start creating goalies that can stop pucks in their underwear... defenses that can limit shots is a great place to start too.

 

he may not be in his undies, but he doesn't have on much else.

 

@KilkennyDan - hanging out in front of the Cornell Club waiting for my gf to return from a work trip in Ithaca. Then hitting the tequila bar down the street.

Go Red!

 

i've seen this comment 3 times in the last week. the Flyers are sitting on $14 + million under the cap, but they are not going to spend it this year. No. "They have to resign Provorov, Patrick and Konecny NEXT YEAR and need the money." Wait a minute. Saving money to not help the team in their current season but for a season a year and 3 months from now? And lets slow down on Patrick and Konecny. They only got hot in the last month of the season. Lets not give them the vault keys. I understand having enough money to resign them and other players, but shouldn't you want to add to this year's team FIRST ? Won't there be contracts expiring next season to help out with the money situation ? If they trade Simmonds, you lose his money too. Seems odd to hoard that money for a season 15 months away when the current team needs a winger or a good 4th line center.

 

Happy Birthday to Evgeni Malkin, the second best player in the NHL.