New England Hockey Talk

[bethandlouis]

So I wanted a place that I could talk about hockey and not get yelled at. This season is really shaping up to be a great one. The Flyers are in last place (whooo) and the Caps aren't (Whoooo) (still can't figure that one out). The Sabres are having an amazing year (undefeated!) So here's a place to "air out" hockey frustrations and tribulations.

Have Fun.

[MGB Boy]

Ohhh, now you know I can't contain my hockey talk to just one little thread!

-Ricardo

PS - Night of the long knives; By the time I got up this AM, Ed Snider (owner of the Flyers) had cleaned house, GM Bob Clarke "voluntarily resigned" (cough cough) and coach Ken Hitchcock got an early morning "how's the coffee? by the way, you're fired" phone call. Loooooooong overdue. Bobby Clarke continued to pursue a "big, slow, old guys" mindset to building his team even when it became readily apparent to everyone else in league that the way of things in the new NHL was speed and skill. A team of bruisers in their late 30s isn't how you win in the NHL anymore. Hell, look at the Red Wings. I can't tell if they are supposed to be a hockey team or a senior citizens cribbage club....

[MGB Boy]

Oh, and while I commend the Sabres for going back to the nice old-school blue and gold that they were meant to wear, I cannot stand the new "buffaslug" logo.

GOOD:


BAD:


Where are the legs? Why is one horn yellow and one white? Why does it look like an angry gastropod, or perhaps Donald Trump's toupee?

-Ricardo

[MGB Boy]

Subject-appropriate hat trick.

-Ricardo

[bethandlouis]

It's about time they realised that this is a new NHL. I also forgot to mention that it wasn't Lindross that I was concerned with the multiple concussions it was Jeremey Roenick. He's still playing hockey (though at the moment it escapes me with who).

I too do not like the "Buffaslug" logo of the Sabres. It really looks strange on TV from far away. Do they have a 3rd?

I fell asleep last night during the Bruins game and woke up during the period breaks to hear they were losing. I think that Buffalo has it figured out this year.

[yellowmininy]

It's a mutant Buffalo. It's what happens when you live close to Lake Erie for too long.

[bethandlouis]

It also may have rabies (the mean red eyes). It sort of looks like a banana slug.

[yellowmininy]

It does. I've only seen a few, but I have learned one of life's important lessons- do not walk barefoot after it rains in the Pacific Northwest. That slug may have had red eyes after I met it, come to think of it. Not too many banana slugs in Buffalo that I've seen yet, which may explain why they think that looks like a buffalo. I do have a University of Santa Cruz Banana Slug T shirt, though.
UC Santa Cruz - Campus Mascot

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

It's about time they realised that this is a new NHL. I also forgot to mention that it wasn't Lindross that I was concerned with the multiple concussions it was Jeremey Roenick. He's still playing hockey (though at the moment it escapes me with who).

Lindros is in Dallas now. It amazes me that he can even get medical clearance to play, the guy is one good hit away from not knowing his own first name. His brother (Brett Lindros, played for the Islanders) actually had to retire due to persistent post-concussion syndrome. Those Lindros boys have thin skulls, apparently. Either that or very small brains which rattle around loosely in thier heads, like those toys with the little pebbles you have to get in the holes...

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

I too do not like the "Buffaslug" logo of the Sabres. It really looks strange on TV from far away. Do they have a 3rd?

They use the cool old school logo as a "third jersey". Oughta just use that and ditch the slug, like the Islanders did a while back when they changed their logo to that silly looking "angry fisherman" thing....

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

I fell asleep last night during the Bruins game and woke up during the period breaks to hear they were losing. I think that Buffalo has it figured out this year.

Yup. The Buffaslugs are the sole remaining undefeated team in the league. It ought to be an interesting season, a lot of the "traditional powers" are going to be anywhere from "nothing to write home about" to "just plain bad", teams like Colorado, Detroit, Philly, Ottawa, etc. If the playoffs started right now, none of those teams would be in. It's early days, of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if Detroit and Ottawa ended up being "middle of the pack" and Colorado and Philly missed the playoffs altogether. San Jose, Anaheim, Minnesota, and the Buffaslugs (if Ryan Miller stays healthy) should be strong teams. Likewise the Thrashers ought to do better than they deserve if Kari Lehtonen stays healthy. And the Flames will ride Mikka Kiprusoff until he collapses from exhaustion, and then the remaining "Calgary just got off to a slow start, they'll come around" people will realize just how weak a team the Flames really are...

-Ricardo

[bethandlouis]

That angry fisherman is very scary. It''s really funny, I don't pay any attention to the west (save the canadaian teams (mostly all the CA teams I forget exisit)). I think that the C-A-P-S are actually doing pretty good this year. They are middle of the pack right now but with Semin and Ovechkin on the same line (as well as being on the PP line (the caps have always had a fgoof PP line)) they are scoring points. The lightning gave them a good trouncing. (a quick check of the standings the caps are in last place (they weren't last night)). They are also in a tough division with lots of young teams.

I was really shocked (well not terribly) about the shake-up at the Flyers. They have been an old slow team the longest. I think that the Rangers were still an old slow team a couple of years ago. (before we dumped Jagr) It's a new game and you can't have a goon squad in the new NHL. The Flyers have always relied on intimidation with the big bruisers. ( I was going to put "like Brashear" but he plays with the Caps )

Jeremy Roenick is playing for the Coyotes. Maybe not as concussion prone as Lindross but he missed nearly a month for one concussion.

[Actual Size]

Quote: Originally Posted by MGB Boy (original)

Yup. The Buffaslugs are the sole remaining undefeated team in the league.

-Ricardo

...and the only team to have a center that killed a bat with his stick during a game.

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Actual Size (original)

...and the only team to have a center that killed a bat with his stick during a game.

Oooh, oooh! I know that one! Jim Lorentz! Scott Mellanby of the Panthers is a close second, having used his stick to kill a rat in the locker room before a game (slap-shot it against the wall, if I recall correctly)...

-Ricardo

[Actual Size]

Yeah, but he didn't do it in the fog.

Bats...Rats...What's next...Cats?

[MGB Boy]

Quote: Originally Posted by bethandlouis (original)

I was really shocked (well not terribly) about the shake-up at the Flyers. They have been an old slow team the longest. I think that the Rangers were still an old slow team a couple of years ago. (before we dumped Jagr) It's a new game and you can't have a goon squad in the new NHL. The Flyers have always relied on intimidation with the big bruisers. ( I was going to put "like Brashear" but he plays with the Caps )

Yeah, it's looooooooooong overdue. Bobby Clarke is such a folk hero in Philly from his playing days that you knew they wouldn't outright fire him, this resignation looks to me like a stage-managed "we don't want to fire you so we suggest that you resign" sort of thing. Clarke was one of the old time "Broad Street Bullies" from the 70s, so it's no surprise he'd build a team in that image. They had some success with it in the 90s, back when they had the "legion of doom" line with Lindros, LeClair (the pride of St Albans VT), and Renberg, but they never quite got over the hump to win a Cup. Now they are going to have to tear that team right down to the ground and start over with a whole different philosophy...

-Ricardo

[snid]

So, what team do I hitch my wagon to? I've been without a team to follow for quite a while. Growing up, it was the Bruins, of course. When Ray Borque went to Colorado, that was a no-brainer. Since Ray retired, I'm lost. Is Tie Domi still playing and acting insane (or did we find out at some point that he truly is insane?)?