the Penguins are STILL gonna suck

blackhawks sign khabibulin. since when do the blackhawks ownership care about winning?

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
blackhawks sign khabibulin. since when do the blackhawks ownership care about winning?

question: if they get to the Stanley Cup Finals, will the games be televised?

Originally posted by sonickteam4:

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
blackhawks sign khabibulin. since when do the blackhawks ownership care about winning?

question: if they get to the Stanley Cup Finals, will the games be televised?

NBC has agreed to televise some, but not all, of the Final Series.

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by pip:
Worst news ever for Devils fans. The only way it could possibly be worse is if Scott Stevens decides to retire.

My disdain for the Devils knows no boundaries…

Still bitter over the 2003 finals?

Looks like Rafalski has re-signed with the Devils. And we've still got the best goaltender in the league. It's not a complete disaster, but the loss of Niedermayer and the uncertainty over Stevens is still enough to scare me. I suspect Lou's already got one of his rapid rebuilding plans brewing, and he's been pretty good with replacing star players before. The Devils defense may not be as good as it's been in the past, but I think they'll be good enough to make the Devils competitive.

pens sign ziggy palffy.

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by sonickteam4:

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
blackhawks sign khabibulin. since when do the blackhawks ownership care about winning?

question: if they get to the Stanley Cup Finals, will the games be televised?

NBC has agreed to televise some, but not all, of the Final Series.

i was making a joke about the city of Chicago's love for TV blackouts.

I just picked up a 20 game pack of Pens tickets.

How much fun is this team going to be to watch?!

Mario
Sidney
Ziggy
Sergei
Evgeni

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:
I just picked up a 20 game pack of Pens tickets.

How much fun is this team going to be to watch?!

Mario
Sidney
Ziggy
Sergei
Evgeni

Hot rumours have CuJo heading to Pittsburgh in net. That team could be pretty darn good.

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
Hot rumours have CuJo heading to Pittsburgh in net. That team could be pretty darn good.

Either him or Sean Burke to mentor Fleury.

IF they enforce the new rules it'll be early 90's deja vu all over again

the Pens may make the playoffs, but i think you're a little "sidney-struck" if you think the Pens are going to win the Cup in the next couple years.

they have much improved on a horrific team of last year. but theres no guarantee Sidney is going to have a phenomenal rookie year, and we all know Mario wont play after the Olympics anyway so.

do they have any big Fwds? seems like if i was in Philly's division, I would grab a big fwds cause I dont see Crosby and Palffy lasting too long against Forsberg, Hatcher and Rathje. yikes!

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:
IF they enforce the new rules it'll be early 90's deja vu all over again [/QB]

I wouldn't make them favorites to win the cup (let's not get ridiculous), but they are a top 4-6 team in the east.

Everyone's saying "balance of power" and all that, but other then Pittsburgh, no team really appears much better or worse then they did 2 years ago. Sure, a few superstars have moved, but take Philly for example - Forsberg alone doesn't make that team any better then 2 years ago, that's foolish. And people keep saying Detroit and Colorado are "screwed" and it's true they don't have the cap room other teams do, but still their core teams are better then anyone elses. The Wings and Avalanche still have HoFers on their 3rd lines. I don't think things will be all that different other then a few select teams.

Honestly - my feelings about this team have very little to do with Crosby. Whatever he adds is bonus.

I won't be surprised if they do add a bigger forward - but even as is they'll be fine:

Don't forget about Recchi who plays a lot bigger and tougher than he is & this kid - Ryan Malone - who was one of the better rookies last season.

That Philly formula for success is old news - it's done nothing for them in the past 30 years.

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:

That Philly formula for success is old news - it's done nothing for them in the past 30 years.

yeah? whens the last time the Pens beat the Flyers in the playoffs?

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
they have any big Fwds? seems like if i was in Philly's division, I would grab a big fwds cause I dont see Crosby and Palffy lasting too long against Forsberg, Hatcher and Rathje. yikes!

mckenna and andre roy. roy might play with crosby and mario, or so the rumor goes

Originally posted by sonickteam4:

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:

That Philly formula for success is old news - it's done nothing for them in the past 30 years.

yeah? whens the last time the Pens beat the Flyers in the playoffs?

I think you have to go all the way back to……….NEVER

Tho I meant it hasn't helped them (Flyers) win a cup since the early 70's.

Don't try to derail my enthusiasm with sobering facts.

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:

Don't try to derail my enthusiasm with sobering facts.

oh, thats Vansmacks job isnt it ;)

I wont even start to make predictions about the NHL season other than:

a) the Bruins will be better than people think

b) the Flyers will be worse than people think

c) the Caps AND Avalanche will both miss the playoffs.

d) the Penguins will play 41 games in Pittsburgh.

I agree on a, b, & d (especially B), but the Avs are still an elite team in the West.

d is way off

i'd like to add e) fantasy hockey is going to be really really hard

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
d is way off

i'd like to add e) fantasy hockey is going to be really really hard

for REAL!

Originally posted by The Artist Formerly Known As grotty:
I just picked up a 20 game pack of Pens tickets.

How much fun is this team going to be to watch?!

Mario
Sidney
Ziggy
Sergei
Evgeni

Do the Pens still give out the $16 Student Rush tickets? I used to love that when I was still in college in Pittsburgh. It was one of the best deals around and I scored seats in the first five rows on more than one occasion. I'd love to see it continued and even expanded to other teams. It would be great way to bring at least some of the fans back to hockey.