End of an era. Rick The Dick is retiring due to concussion issues.

Zappy

Jan 11, 2019 18:36:11 GMT RT said:

End of an era. Rick The Dick is retiring due to concussion issues.

Zappy

It's an end of a Dick.

Was never the same player after his head injuries. Man, he was unstoppable with the combination of his hands, speed, and size when he was attacking the net. Of course his health and everyday lifestyle are more important than hockey.

I think it is safe to say the Islanders are the surprise team of the first half. They have the best record in the league since mid December including an overwhelming win against Tampa.

This Barzal led team is fun to watch. They kill you with speed and puck possession.

Jan 23, 2019 17:48:02 GMT Zappy said:

I think it is safe to say the Islanders are the surprise team of the first half. They have the best record in the league since mid December including an overwhelming win against Tampa.

This Barzal led team is fun to watch. They kill you with speed and puck possession.

They crushed the Leafs at the beginning of their slump too. It was one of the most frustrating games of the season so far because Babcock and the Leafs just had no answer. The Islanders just stood on their blue line and overwhelmed the break out all game, and basically just kept trapping Leafs forwards by turning the puck back into their zone constantly.

Defence couldn’t hold up and Sparks was in net. 4-0 Islanders.

They don’t have the most talent but they’re so well coached it isn’t funny. If Trotz doesn’t win the Jack Adams award this year then nothing makes sense.

...

Chiarelli got fired about a year too late but at least it’s happened. I can’t imagine how much it sucks to be an Oilers fan right now. What an absolute dumpster fire. I think only the Sens rival them for poorest management over the last few years, but the Oilers definitely trump them because they at least had crazy amounts of talent at one point. They should be where the Leafs are right now, if not better.

Auston Matthews has been locked in for five more years with the Leafs!

Can’t wait for this to dominate the media for the next several weeks while they A) talk about the length B) talk about the AAV and 3) talk about how this affects Marner’s contract.

Already I’m seeing a lot more complaints than I am happiness that we just locked up one of the best players in the league for 5 more years. I don’t understand hockey fans. I hope it’s just a vocal minority.

My take is this: several young players signed a 5-year contract after their ELC, one of which being Sidney Crosby. Another was Evgeni Malkin. Maybe you’re seeing a theme here. Also, both took a higher cap hit than Matthews and that was several years ago when the cap was lower.

Another two are Toews and Kane. Lower cap hit, but the theme still stands.

You see where I’m going with this.

Signing Tavares meant Matthews wasn’t getting an 8-year deal. Apparently nobody knew that and I don’t know why. It was obvious. And it’s a deal I take 100 times out of 100.

This deal means Marner probably takes around 8-9 million per, and hopefully signs for at least 6 years, probably 7. Maybe even the full 8! That’s GOOD.

The Leafs just bought themselves about 6 shots at the Stanley Cup. Legit shots. And they can spend most of that time not worrying about their top players’ contracts. What more do you want? If I see anyone complain I’m going to hit them in the stomach.

I thought the Blues were dead but they have had quite the resurgence lately.

10 straight wins? 3 shut outs in a row? Another reason I hope the Jets win the division so they can avoid playing the red hot Blues.

Also, LETS MAKE SOME TRADES NOW PLEASE

Sabres had 10 wins in a row and look at them now. At least the Blues did it at a good time in the season.

They play the Leafs on Tuesday. Going to be a great game. Fully expecting a Bozak hatty.

Hashtag Trade Deadline heating up.

5 players scratched from the Devils/Sens game tonight. Duchene, Stone, Dzingel, Lovejoy and someone else from the Devils.

The Leafs were inquiring about McQuaid today and he was just pulled from the game for "precautionary reasons."

I have a feeling Dubas picked up his phone after the Caps went up 2-0 on a terrible defensive giveaway. :lol:

I thought the Blue Jackets were going to be sellers, but they just acquired Duchene for prospects and picks. And, CBJ and Ottawa face each other tonight.

Hopefully the Rangers continue to clean house, and trade away their vets. Hayes has been excellent all season, but will be too old when the Rangers compete again. No need to hold on to him. Kreider has been his usual blah self. Just a younger version of Rick The Dick. Everyone can go except Zibanejad, and all of the younger players.

I’m very surprised at CBJ. They’re all in this year. No way all the guys they want to keep are there next year. Wow.

Suddenly the Leafs getting bounced early in the playoffs won’t be the most hilarious early exit this year.

Speaking of, no Gardiner at practice today. My rational brain says his back is acting up again but my Internet brain is expecting him to get traded for McQuaid, a prospect and a pick.

I wouldn’t like that trade and I’m sure if Gardiner gets moved Dubas will get a better return, but I get got every single deadline weekend.

That Leafs/Habs game last night was pure fucking insanity. Wow. I’m going to be thinking about it for days. What a game.

Please meet in the playoffs. Please. It’s all I want now.

...

CBJ adds Dzingel. Cherry thinks they grab Stone too. Why not? Ottawa is selling and CBJ is dumping all their assets for a deep run this year. They have cap space but it’ll be amazing if they manage to keep everyone next year. But maybe they just let Panarin walk and keep the rest? Who knows.

I’m very interested to see how they do. All eyes are going to be on them in the playoffs now. And it’s likely they either face Washington or Tampa :lol:

So Columbus is just taking everyone now?

Feb 25, 2019 18:55:54 GMT RT said:

So Columbus is just taking everyone now?

They are taking everyone and their mother.  Absolutely going all in.  It is nice to see from a small market team.

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Zuccarello Sauce, Hayes, and McQuaid for 3 conditional picks, 1st round pick, 4th round pick, 7th round pick, and Brendan Lemieux.

So the Rangers definitely have two first round picks in 2019.  And more than likely three second round picks including their own in the second round.

Right off the bat I think the Rangers could have done better for Zuccarello, but it is not horrible.  Those conditional picks more than likely will not become first rounders.  He is a 55 point guy on a relatively weak offensive team.  It took him 13 minutes in Dallas to have a two point and plus three night.  Unfortunately, he got injured.  It would have been nice to see what he could have done with superstars around him.  Otherwise, I'm ok with the rest of the trades.  I love the addition of Lemieux.  His toughness and grit is what we need.  It's going to be fun to watch him and DeAngelo on the ice.

I would have liked to see Kreider go.  Sorry, he is absolutely overrated.  He is Rick The Dick 2.0

I'm also a little surprised that there is not much interest in Marc Staal.  He constantly plays top minutes against the best players in the league.  He is solid on the boards, and still moves around well.  Also, has shown a little bit more offense this year.  He could be the perfect top 6 and penalty killer specialist for a team looking for a deep run.

Despite the past week the Rangers played a hell of a game against the Caps.  Absolutely never gave up, and almost beat the defending Champs.  The line of Strome, Namestnikov, and Chytil have been the best line the past week to 10 days.  Also, with all of the trades Vesey has been moved up to the first line.  I just enjoy this time of the year watching the young Rangers including Lias Andersson get some quality ice time.

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I also love all of the trades the Sens have made.  It certainly will hurt for the next decade and more than likely more that they do not have their first round pick this year.  But, they did acquire some nice pieces.  Stone's 8 year/$9.5 M AAV contract is absolutely ridiculous.  While, I can see Brannstrom and Chabot being the top pairing by next year.

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The Islanders decided to not do anything. And, I'm glad they did.  Their team chemistry is fantastic.  This will help them in the long run.  No need to trade everything away because they had a good 60 games.  Plus, I don't think they are beating Tampa or Toronto in a playoff round with deadline additions.  

Zappy tell me about Hayes. Underlying numbers look great for a 2C on a crappy team. Sounds like he's an excellent passer and good penalty killer. How fast is he? Do you see him playing well with Laine and Ehlers?

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the Jets haul. Lots of depth pieces, plus Hayes. Matt Hendricks for free because the boys in the room love him. Hilarious. I hope he never dresses for the Jets and he makes them practice hard, and is the best popcorn eater in the press box.

RT,I hope you get to see Petan play with some talented players. A couple years ago he got to play with Wheeler for 5-6 games and was just excellent. But Maurice hates him, so he never got to play. What's the deal with Lindholm? Heard he's really soft. Plays 4th line LW, or sometimes C. Anything to know about him?

I heard Petan is basically a small Josh Leivo, or at least has the potential to be. I’m ok with that.

I don’t think he plays this year now that Ennis is back though. Maybe with Kadri hurt he does? I dunno.

As for Lindholm, he’s been underwhelming this year but I hope a change of scenery gets him in a groove because he busts his ass and has moments where you think he’s going to be good. He’s diverse for a 4th liner, but for a guy that’s 6 ft 185 lbs you’d expect some grit, but he isn’t. Not really a slight against him, he’s just not that kind of player.

Babcock seemed to have this dream that Lindholm-Gauthier-Brown were going to be some jacked up shut down 4th line of animals and it failed miserably because that’s just not who those players are. Lindholm is fast, Gauthier likes to stand in front of the net, and Brown is either Zack Hyman lite or pure garbage depending on what he decides he’s going to be that morning.

However, early in the season when Brown was on the 3rd line because Willygate, Lindholm-Gauthier-Ennis looked not too bad. They produced more than they didn’t, they were fast for a 4th line, and they complimented one another more. Moore and Ennis swapped out a few times and those were fun games to watch too. Gauthier just parked himself in front of goalies and Lindholm/Ennis/Moore tried to score.

So yeah...if he’s on a fast line he’ll keep up, and hopefully Winnipeg doesn’t expect a tough grinder or anything.

Feb 26, 2019 2:15:03 GMT Foos said:

Zappy tell me about Hayes. Underlying numbers look great for a 2C on a crappy team. Sounds like he's an excellent passer and good penalty killer. How fast is he? Do you see him playing well with Laine and Ehlers?

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the Jets haul. Lots of depth pieces, plus Hayes. Matt Hendricks for free because the boys in the room love him. Hilarious. I hope he never dresses for the Jets and he makes them practice hard, and is the best popcorn eater in the press box.

RT ,I hope you get to see Petan play with some talented players. A couple years ago he got to play with Wheeler for 5-6 games and was just excellent. But Maurice hates him, so he never got to play. What's the deal with Lindholm? Heard he's really soft. Plays 4th line LW, or sometimes C. Anything to know about him?

Hayes has really elevated his game this year to the point that he carried the Rangers on the ice, and made a noticeable difference.  His hands have been super impressive to really an elite level.  Created a lot of offense and space for his teammates.  Hayes' has solid speed certainly well enough to keep up with his Jets teammates.

Hayes playing with Laine and Ehlers.  Similar to Zuccarello Sauce and Seguin.  What they desperately needed on the Rangers are on their new teams (I know Zucc is injured).  As long as he is not sent down to the 4th line I expect Hayes to produce.

Tonight The Captain makes his long anticipated return to Long Island. I expect a lot of booing.

Feb 28, 2019 23:37:03 GMT Zappy said:

Tonight The Captain makes his long anticipated return to Long Island. I expect a lot of booing.

It would give me great satisfaction, if Tavares scores a Hat Trick at the Vet tonight.

They're already chanting "asshole" at him during warm-ups. Joe Bowen tweeted a picture of a crowd of fans screaming at him while he skated by the glass.

I love it. Your team is in 1st place and you're more concerned with the guy that left. Man I hope we meet in the playoffs and the Leafs just crush them.

Well I was hoping the Leafs could dig deep and win this game but it's been an uphill battle the whole way.

-2nd game of back-to-back
-Backup in net (even though he's been great tonight)
-Two of their top defencemen hurt
-Kadri also hurt and is the guy you need in a hostile environment like this

Oh well. Hope the Isles fans enjoy this team while it lasts and stop thinking about the guy that left.

Embarrassing. I don't know if I'd want Toronto facing the Isles now in the postseason.

They can't meet until the conference finals so I'll absolutely take a Leafs/Islanders series.

Feb 28, 2019 23:44:44 GMT RT said:

They're already chanting "asshole" at him during warm-ups. Joe Bowen tweeted a picture of a crowd of fans screaming at him while he skated by the glass.

I love it. Your team is in 1st place and you're more concerned with the guy that left. Man I hope we meet in the playoffs and the Leafs just crush them.

Can you blame them? The same would happen in Toronto or any other city. This was his first time back, and really there is no other way to display your displeasure for someone as a fan of a sports team than going to the game. This is going to happen every time he is back similar to Yashin in Ottawa.

Don't underestimate the Islanders. They can roll out four lines (and two goalies) with ease, and have no problem out working you or going to the dirty areas of the ice. And, that crowd is a huge advantage.

I don’t think anything in my post implied that I blame them or underestimate them.

They’re first in their division and a great team. And I cheer for the team who’s fans booed Jake Gardiner for missing the puck a couple times while playing with back spasms. :dunno:

Man, Ottawa is a dumpster fire. This was probably the worst week in their entire franchise's history.

They dumped three of their best players, two of them to the All-In Blue Jackets, their new downtown arena prospects appear to be in the dumps, they lost to the lackluster Oilers, and fired their head coach today.

They're the worst team in the whole league, and their attendance numbers are near the worst.  Might as well ship the team to Quebec City already.

Mar 1, 2019 22:47:49 GMT RT said:

I don’t think anything in my post implied that I blame them or underestimate them.

They’re first in their division and a great team. And I cheer for the team who’s fans booed Jake Gardiner for missing the puck a couple times while playing with back spasms. :dunno:

It seemed like you did since you said they are more concerned with one player than the win that's all.

Tomorrow is going to suuuuuuuuck.

Leafs still down two key defencemen. Kadri JUST came back. Kapanen is out with the flu and Hyman was questionable before the game for the same reason (meaning he’s playing sick).

Matthews scored the nicest goal of his career so far and it’s meaningless because Tampa is just rolling them tonight, as they should be. Not even Andersen standing on his head was going to stop this onslaught tonight. Everyone should have seen this coming.

But oooohhh no. The Toronto Media (TM) you all love to complain about so much is going to fucking destroy this team tomorrow because they’re as critical as they are stupid. Fire Babcock! Trade Nylander for Alzner! Don’t sign Marner! Sign some 34 year old grit! BuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhFUCK

SHIT, MAN!!! The Leafs game tonight was enough to give even the most strong-hearted fan a coronary.

Started the game down 5-0, then makes a comeback, only to fall short by a goal after a huge flurry of attempts in the final 90 seconds.

And worse, we failed yet again to catch up to the Bruins in the standings.