Stanley Cup Picks

ok sweatcell

7


http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/boxscore;_ylt=AvKtTww.uJVBYIWmjDa8AnN7vLYF?gid=2010051216

Julian, wrote:

James wrote:
What's your next conspiracy theory, Jaguar?

Julian, wrote:
What's the O/U on penalties called on the Habs in Game 7? I'd set it at 8.5.

Yeah, crazy me, setting the O/U at 8.5 when the actual number turned out to be a paltry 8. What was I thinking?

clearly the best way to fix a game for a team is to call two penalties on them in the first 40 seconds of a game

godsshoeshine wrote:

Julian, wrote:

yinzer wrote:
steelers season just started.

I wondered how long it would take for a Pittsburg fan to reference the Steelers in the aftermath of that loss. 12 hours apparently.

i almost was going to call this a fair shot, even after you spelled pittsburgh incorrectly

then i realized you havent posted about the wings exit yet

I have a long-standing tradition of spelling Pittsburg incorrectly because the few days I spent in the city made me want to get the H out of there as quickly as possible.

And the wings went out in the second round as I predicted before the playoffs started. Ultimately, Howard lost 3 games for us in which we scored 3 goals. Rookie goaltending = fail. Can't say I liked the ridiculous disproportion of penalty calls in the Sharks favor, but ultimately, I'm not too unhappy for a "rebuilding" year and breaking in a kid who looks like he can backstop us the next 10 years.

James wrote:
7

My apologies. My drunken bar count was 8 last night.

i had a feeling you spelled it incorrectly on purpose

Julian, wrote:
I have a long-standing tradition of spelling Pittsburg incorrectly because the few days I spent in the city made me want to get the H out of there as quickly as possible.

You live in Ricmond, right?

and hes from micigan

vansmack wrote:

Julian, wrote:
I have a long-standing tradition of spelling Pittsburg incorrectly because the few days I spent in the city made me want to get the H out of there as quickly as possible.

You live in Ricmond, right?

Pittsburg and Morgantown, WV far and away are the two worst decent-sized cities in America. Detroit and Richmond, despite their faults, couldn't come anywhere near the overwhelming shitty-ness of those two.

i've never been to detroit, but ricmond is easily the 2nd worst city i've ever been to. nothing compares to pilladelpia

i wouldnt even count morgantown as a city

godsshoeshine wrote:
i've never been to detroit, but ricmond is easily the 2nd worst city i've ever been to. nothing compares to pilladelpia

i wouldnt even count morgantown as a city

Philly at least has some nice areas. Regardless, this tangent really has nothing to do with hockey, so let's get back to that and if anyone wants they can start a "terrible places in north america" thread.

pittsburgh has plenty of nice areas and is the forbes magazine most livable city in america
http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/cities-livable-pittsburgh-lifestyle-real-estate-top-ten-jobs-crime-income.html
pilly has people that try to fight you for no reason

but agreed, lets move on

Back to hockey, GSS: any talk on whether the Pens are going to resign Gonchar or is he on his way out of town? Are the Pens thought to be going after Volchenkov if Gonchar is gone? Any thoughts on Gonchar's play this season?

number one question around the pens

someone is going to offer him around what he's making this year. he's 36, gets hurt all the time and made $5.5m this year. having said all that, i love the guy. he had a shocker in game 7 for sure, but the power play always suffers when he's not there, and he does so many little things well. my feeling is if he wants to make $2m next year, he's back. if he wants to make $5m someone in the nhl will pay him. the word i hear is he doesnt want to go back to russia, so that could be a good sign

if he goes, they have to sign someone to replace him, volchenkov being the obvious fit. i'm a big believer in letang, but he's just not ready yet. gogo was up and down all year. they lose guerin, ponikarovski, fedotanko and cooke too. of those four i really only want cooke back but the other three have spent time on the top 2 lines and need upgrading. so there's really a lot to accomplish in the offseason

of course if you go on letsgopens.com or what have you its all "trade everyone"

godsshoeshine wrote:
of course if you go on letsgopens.com or what have you its all "trade everyone"

Yeah, Malkin, for example, is clearly in decline. We'll give you Filppula and Helm for him and your third round pick in 2012.

Gonchar has never been a dead-solid lock-down defender, imo, as much as he's been an elite PP QB. He's getting too much grief for that fourth goal, but again, that's always been Gonchar: bigger difference maker on the offensive end. I don't think you're getting him at 2million, but 3.5-4 million per for 2 seems reasonable. Heck, if he can be got at that price, I wouldn't mind the Wings taking a run at him instead of Volchenkov. It's just such a terrible year to want to go out and get a D-man, ya know? Once you get past Lidstrom (retire or Detroit), Niedermayer (retire or Anaheim), Vochenkov and Gonchar, who is left that you really want to throw cash at? Dan Hamhuis? Zbynek Michalek? Adrian Aucoin? A 40 year old Rob Blake?

The Wings also sound to be in the Volchenkov sweeps (although the persistent rumour of Kenny Holland going after Jack Johnson via trade continues to rear its head), but I don't think they're going to throw some ridiculous $6 mil per contract out there after him. Ultimately, they can go with Lidstrom/Rafalski/Kronwall/Ericcson/Stuart/Lilja (at the same cash as this season) and Meech or Janik again and take their cap space to go chase Frolov or Plekanec (or heck, even Kovalchuk if he's willing to go for 6-7 million over 4-5 years to play for a contender).

he must have thought he had help on the fourth goal is all i can think of

youre right he's not a shutdown dman, but he's an underrated defender, especially post-lockout. his bread and butter is the powerplay. even apart from the points, his ability to hold the puck in the offensive zone is excellent. i looked at the free agents this morning, and the pickin's are slim, i agree. but still, only way the pens keep him is with a hometown discount

lots of trade malkin talk. sports fans in general make me want to bang my head against the wall

godsshoeshine wrote:
lots of trade malkin talk. sports fans in general make me want to bang my head against the wall

Ridiculous. Just look at the last three playoffs: the two years Crosby was the Pens best performer, no cup; the year Malkin was their best performer, cup. Geez.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f02Bs8HkHeg

^^^^ Ahahahahahaha.

Julian, wrote:

godsshoeshine wrote:
lots of trade malkin talk. sports fans in general make me want to bang my head against the wall

Ridiculous. Just look at the last three playoffs: the two years Crosby was the Pens best performer, no cup; the year Malkin was their best performer, cup. Geez.

i dont know if its quite that simple, but no way you trade a conn smythe winner coming off his worst season. buy low sell high

godsshoeshine wrote:
i dont know if its quite that simple, but no way you trade a conn smythe winner coming off his worst season. buy low sell high

I'm saying there's no way they win that Stanley Cup sans Malkin. Despite the NHL's marketing team's seeming insistence, it's not like Sidney Crosby is carrying 21 pieces of dead weight through the playoffs annually.