What is your take on Thursday? I honestly have no idea up to now the road teams have spoiled the party. This series has been very unpredictable up into this point. The majority of the teams in the NHL are made up of canadians I never understood that either.
Round 2: Pens vs. Craps
- Thread starter DocEER
- Start date
Initial getaway-day comments, courtesy of Trib-Review tweets:
- Letang says he's going to train even harder; says he wants to end his career in Pittsburgh.....said he understands his Game 5 mistake
- GMJR quoted as saying "I think it's fair this will be a different-looking team by the time we get here next season"
- Sid said nothing serious bothering him; normal "wear and tear"
- GMJR says Sprong "will be a regular on the team next year"
- GMJR said Brassard was "more injured than he let on"
- HCMS said he won't disclose any of their injuries
- HCMS said Letang had a "challenge" most players don't go through, which contributed to his up-and-down year
The country club is back.
trade brassard. riley sheahan was a fvck ton better this post season. trade letang or make him retire. he is never going to regain top form and lets be honest, his top form wasn't very good either.
Make Letang restructure (if allowed) or threaten the trade since he has said he wants to retire here. Brass should be excellent trade bait for some blue line help.
I'm taking a lot of pleasure in all the hand wringing about letang (finally) because I have been ready to move him since may of 13.
I disagree completely about Letang. He was well above average for many years. He was excellent in the 2016 cup run imo
in the 16 run he played very well in the finals. He still had more penalty minutes than points that year in the playoffs as well.
The pens are paying him as if he's a number 1 and he's not even close.
Let's be serious, the Pens never had a chance to 3peat. They sealed their fate this year when they won the 2nd Cup in a row. Too many games in a short period of time. Add the parity (a good thing, more parity in NHL than any other pro league IMO) and it's damn near impossible to 3 peat. There's a reason why the Pens were the 1st team to win consecutive titles in 20 years. Just too hard on the body. Too many games in a short amount of time.
Look at football for example. Team wins Super Bowl in early February, no training camp until very late July so pretty much like 6 months of recovery. NHL teams win Cup mid-June. Training camp starts back up in September. Only like 2.5 months off, maybe 3 months max. In NFL, you only play 16 games with 1 game per week. In NHL, you play 82 games with sometimes maybe playing 3-4 games in a weekspan with several games being back-to-back days (Pens played most 19, but please remember NHL favors the Pens). The max amount of playoff games needed to win Super Bowl is 4 and most of the time, it's 3 games due to higher seeds like Patriots winning. In the NHL, you can play a maximum of 28 games before you win the Cup. Pens played over 300 games in 3 years. That's absurd. This is why hockey is more physical than football in a season vs season standpoint, IMO. Sure, football may be more violent in a 1 game vs 1 game comparison but hockey is far more physical taxing on the body when you compare Super Bowl run vs Stanley Cup run. Add in 2 Stanley Cup runs and wowzers
No time for the body and mind to fully recover. When your body is worn down, you're more likely to sustain injuries and those injuries will take longer to heal. To win 2 Cups in a row is almost miraculous in itself, 3peating is just too much to ask. It will never happen again. It's another hockey record like Gretzky points that cannot and will not ever be matched.The Pens never really had a chance besides other teams sustaining serious injuries to key players or goalies shitting the bed. That's ok though, I'll happily take the 2 Cups in a row. Best thing for Pens players is getting away from the ice for a few months, let their bodies heal and minds get fresh so they are actually hungry next season instead of being burned out. A few tweaks to the lineup including bolstering the D-corps and this team will make a serious push for 3 Cups in 4 years.
Look at football for example. Team wins Super Bowl in early February, no training camp until very late July so pretty much like 6 months of recovery. NHL teams win Cup mid-June. Training camp starts back up in September. Only like 2.5 months off, maybe 3 months max. In NFL, you only play 16 games with 1 game per week. In NHL, you play 82 games with sometimes maybe playing 3-4 games in a weekspan with several games being back-to-back days (Pens played most 19, but please remember NHL favors the Pens). The max amount of playoff games needed to win Super Bowl is 4 and most of the time, it's 3 games due to higher seeds like Patriots winning. In the NHL, you can play a maximum of 28 games before you win the Cup. Pens played over 300 games in 3 years. That's absurd. This is why hockey is more physical than football in a season vs season standpoint, IMO. Sure, football may be more violent in a 1 game vs 1 game comparison but hockey is far more physical taxing on the body when you compare Super Bowl run vs Stanley Cup run. Add in 2 Stanley Cup runs and wowzers
No time for the body and mind to fully recover. When your body is worn down, you're more likely to sustain injuries and those injuries will take longer to heal. To win 2 Cups in a row is almost miraculous in itself, 3peating is just too much to ask. It will never happen again. It's another hockey record like Gretzky points that cannot and will not ever be matched.The Pens never really had a chance besides other teams sustaining serious injuries to key players or goalies shitting the bed. That's ok though, I'll happily take the 2 Cups in a row. Best thing for Pens players is getting away from the ice for a few months, let their bodies heal and minds get fresh so they are actually hungry next season instead of being burned out. A few tweaks to the lineup including bolstering the D-corps and this team will make a serious push for 3 Cups in 4 years.
I tend to agree with you here... he was also much talked about as a potential Norris finalist for that year. That doesn't happen by accident. He had a monster second half as I recall...Given that...he has fallen off a cliff this past year or 2 imo....if they dont find a way to trade him before fall, the boo birds will be all over him at season start would think...
If Schultzie can develop that shot just a bit further I like him as our #1 with a fairly fleet of foot partner. Dude has turned out huge imo. Drop Tanger to 3-4 if we must. Or simply hang him from the town square if it were you're decision
![[roll]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/roll.r191677.gif "roll [roll]")
if he was so good why did he never play for team canada? outside of juniors of course.
If Schultzie can develop that shot just a bit further I like him as our #1 with a fairly fleet of foot partner. Dude has turned out huge imo. Drop Tanger to 3-4 if we must. Or simply hang him from the town square if it were you're decision
To be honest, I'd like to run him.
Imo there were many that were better. Could say similar for Subban...dude has talent but is a liability at times. He's made the roster twice but never seen the ice, outside Junior....which is fine with me. Keep him in the press box.
If you can figure out how to "make" a player restructure a contract he and the team voluntarily signed of their own free will, let every GM in the NHL (including GMJR) know the secret......
See how much he “wants to stay in Pittsburgh”. Threaten the trade and be willing to eat some coin in the process. I’d take a cut as opposed be forced to play in Buffalo or for some other shithole.
I wonder what happens if they just cut him?
lets also be honest, no one is going to give much for him right now. I'd be in favor of just letting him walk if it freed up the cap space.
Well...in before its too late lol...
IMO If Nashville scores one or two in first or early second I see them trapping it up and completely strangling Peg, game over. However if Peg gets to Rinne early? Well IMO it's over then too. I'll honestly take The Preds in this one. I like the overall experience they have over the fairly young Jets....then again I'm puttin my money on Rinne? That is kinda scary ..
Preds 4 Jets 1.
Good luck....have your boys make it out alive without getting a Peg pinhead cross check to face or similar as well...dirty F'ers.
PS : I love the game but still pine for my boys to be there...ugh.
Oh thats for sure...I'd think the Pens would have to retain $ AND take some dead contract back in return too...
The Leaves managed to trade PhaNOOF so I suppose it's possible...although I think his term (similar $) was less ...
I agree with much of what you say here...in todays day and age 3 is ALMOST impossible, 2 is a damned impressive feat.
I'll add that in the age of the Oilers and Habs there were 21 teams, now with 31? That spreads the talent thinner across the league no matter if it's still 16 teams. Also back in that day alot of these guys were obviously training but not like now. Mario, Guy Lafleur et al were smokin cigs in the locker room lol...you'd NEVER see that now. It was based more on pure raw talent.
As I guy who has played both Football (vs former NCAA/CFL/Cdn University players) and Hockey (vs former Jr B and C players) I can honestly say my injuries in football were far more lengthy to recover from than in hockey (although I did sustain one real wicked one to my tailbone of all things there which has affected my back).
Two torn PCL's in both knees, broken wrist, one concussion, broken fingers multiple times, over all in football.
Hockey a cracked tailbone , back issues afterward and mamy bruises...
In my experience football was much tougher on my body long term injury wise.
I play slo-pitch now lol at 45 although I am trying to convince myself that knees/back will take another few seasons of football. We'll see...
Anyway...just my half assed take. Jets up 2 wow!
Cool handle btw...
Maybe we'd all feel better with Pekka Rinne in our crease around here...oh wait...pressure? Folds like a suit from Wal Mart...honestly, when it matters this guy is an f'n sieve of epic proportion. I'll happily take our guy with his faults....Rinne will NEVER win a damned thing....zero ice in his viens.
Im not that surprised. He was getting exposed towards the end of last year. That hellyubeck isn't that good either just plays on a good team. The Predators need to add more size. Last year they had more size up front with Fisher and Neil playing in the top 6. They might have not produced many goals but they were big guys that could get to the front of the net and that's what you need come playoff time. Turris and Fiala are to small. Fiala did alright in the playoffs before he got injured last year but played with two guys who had size. I would rather be Jim Rutherford at the moment than David Poile. For Rutherford its All about the Blue Line. If he can get 2-3 solid D man The pens will be back in the game. I think the Preds need a power forward someone with size that can score 15 or more goals a season. They need to get a physical D man. To many offensive minded D man without enough size. Lastly they need a goalie that can get it done in the post season. Rinne is too old he should be a back up at this stage. Saros is to small he is a career back up. The pens and Preds both have good cores but I think the pens only really have to fix the D while the preds have to fix 2 or 3 areas. The guras said they preds needed a top 6 foward at the deadline some speculated they would be after Patrick Maroon. That really would have helped them. He will be a free agent I hope they make a play for him.
If Rinne played on the Pens with your D he probably would give up 3-4 goals a period.
Not to worry everyone...they are still on high after beating the champs...reality check soon when the Bolts finally decide to assert themselves...this was a one off...
