Well there are probably five people that my post here but what the hell :lol: I'll be talking Islanders this year. I Like the team we're slowly building and am hopeful we can snag a 7th or 8th seed. More importantly, do better than the Rangers :angry:
We just got D James Wisniewski from the Ducks and though its not a world shattering event I think he could help us out on the 2nd line. Here's a little tidbit about him
http://www.anaheimcalling.com/2010/7/31/1598956/dont-wiz-on-the-electric-fence
But let's be clear when it comes to a smallish offensive defenseman with heart like James Wisniewski. The positives were obvious: a quick and accurate wrist shot from the point, strong character player, and always willing to block a shot or throw a hit. Unfortunately, the negatives were equally obvious: zero hockey sense, ineffective one-on-one defender, injured (to some degree) on every single blocked shot (and some hits), and a telegraphed slapshot that seemed to never make it farther than three feet in front of him.
The greatest tragedy is that Wisniewski wasn't allowed to be the third pairing guy he was in Chicago, the energy guy who could move the puck, throw a big hit, get a key block, put a solid puck on net and then rest for a few shifts. He couldn't be the energetic off-the-bench point guard. The Ducks asked him to be a starter, and what's more, they asked a player who has suffered perennial major injuries (even in the offseason) to be a healthy starter in order to earn his contract. Suddenly, covering major minutes and vital game situations, Wisniewski was exposed on a nightly basis. And his game seemed to get worse under the pressure. He couldn't receive a D to D pass on the power play, he hit less, even blocked shots a little less and soon his value to the team (at 2.75M) went down the tubes.
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unifiedtheory and Boik14 like this.
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The epic collapse last postseason not withstanding -- I love me some Bruins hockey. I really like the look of the team on paper for next season. Horton and Seguin along with a healthy Savard should really add some goal scoring ability to what was an anemic offense. I love the top pairing along the blue line with Chara and Seidenberg, especially when you consider the recent emergence of Johnny Boychuk.
And what more can you say about the goaltending. Two U's, two K's, two points.
Go B's.unifiedtheory likes this. -
i enjoyed last year's season and was impressed by the runs Boston, Montreal and Chicago made. I felt like it was time to bust out the eight track machine and play some Boston tunes. "More than a Feeling" :lol: You guys improved from what I can tell. I'm just starting to catch up to what other teams did in the offseason so I'm not sure how you stack up against other teams. Hopefully the Rangers collapse :lol:
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:lol: how the hell did that happen? did you get into hockey when gretzky entered the league?
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In 1989-1990 I was in junior high school, dating this chick who was a DIEHARD Bruins fans. I could have cared less about hockey at that point, anywho in junior high you do the talk on the phone all night, party line 3-way, and the occasional meet at the mall to make out in the pet store, as nobody had drivers licenses back then....We used to talk all night back then from like 7-8 until midnight, this chick was always watching the Bruins games (I got to give her credit) with her old man...She would get so into it, that she would forget about me talking to her on the phone, and sometimes would fall asleep.
That year Boston was good, real good...and once the playoffs started I said to her "Whoever beats Boston is my favorite team in hockey from this point forward".....Edmonton did in the finals that year. To my credit while I dont watch tons of hockey games like I do, baseball, football, and college bball, I definately watch my fair share, and I always am up on the news and movements with Edmonton. In 2006 when they made it to the Finals as an 8th seed was nuts....I very well could have been the only person in Rhode Island rooting for Edmonton...oh well...adamprez2003 likes this. -
two Islander fans, in one thread? No way! :hi5:
Found this little nugget:* There are also rumors of the Islanders working on a deal with Edmonton. I wasn't told much yet but was promised more this afternoon. The possible deal is reportedly, "Big enough to keep both sides talking for a few days." But with two of the best fanbases in the NHL, to me, that could mean anything.adamprez2003 likes this. -
WE PROBABLY HIT OUR QUOTA NOW :lol: DAMN I HATE THAT VAGUENESS. NOW I'M EXCITED AND I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT WHAT :lol:
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orange and black til i die
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Bengals fan? :lol: nah just kidding. what did you guys do this offseason
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just found this and though its about a month too late i couldnt stop laughing
The World Cup: If you see a guy wearing flamboyant clothing who is struggling to communicate with you in English, he is likely a diehard fan who was travelled from an exotic foreign land to attend the game.
The NHL: If you see a guy wearing flamboyant clothing who is struggling to communicate with you in English, he is likely Don Cherry.
The World Cup: The sport is called "football", although Americans often refer to it as "soccer".
The NHL: The sport is called "hockey", although Americans often refer to it as "something to watch if there's no baseball, football, basketball, golf, Nascar, poker, MMA, fishing or bowling on TV".
The World Cup: "Injury time" refers to the additional playing time added to the end of each half at the discretion of the referee.
The NHL: "Injury time" refers to whenever Rick DiPietro steps on the ice.
The World Cup: Watching a game can be almost unbearable thanks to the "vuvuzela", a South African noisemaking horn that produces a horribly annoying noise that drones on nonstop for the entire game, leaving you fighting the urge to hurl the remote through your TV screen.
The NHL: Pierre McGuire.
The World Cup: The games can start as early as 7:30 a.m., due to differences in international time zones.
The NHL: The games can start as early as 7:30 a.m., due to NBC not wanting to preempt any important infomercials or horse racing pregame shows later that afternoon.
The World Cup: In 1986, the "Hand of God" sent Argentina into the semi-finals at Mexico City.
The NHL: In 1993, the "Hand of God" sent Marty McSorley's eyeball into the fifteenth row at Maple Leaf Gardens.
The World Cup: A player will occasionally be granted a "penalty kick", presenting him with so much open net to shoot at that he's virtually guaranteed to score as long as he doesn't miss the net or hit the post.
The NHL: This is known as "shooting against Vesa Toskala".
The World Cup: The last thing anyone wants to see is a referee holding a red card.
The NHL: The last thing anyone wants to see is Chris Neil holding a credit card.
The World Cup: In an embarrassing display that any self-respecting sports fan would feel nauseated by, players will often react to even the slightest contact by pretending to be injured while rolling around pathetically on the grass.
The NHL: Completely different. The game is played on ice instead of grass.
The World Cup: Riot police must often use tear gas, armoured vehicles and water cannons to subdue reckless perpetrators of violence known as "hooligans".
The NHL: Riot police must often use tear gas, armoured vehicles and water cannons to subdue reckless perpetrators of violence known as "Chris Pronger".
The World Cup: Canadian teams never win.
The NHL: Same.
The World Cup: If you notice a player wearing a different jersey than his teammates, it's because he is the goalie.
The NHL: If you notice a player wearing a different jersey than his teammates, it's because he arrived five minutes late and his team had already done another jersey redesign.
The World Cup: A game which is played under standard rules but won't have any actual impact on the final standings or eventual champion is known as a "friendly".
The NHL: A game which is played under standard rules but won't have any actual impact on the final standings or eventual champion is known as a "Maple Leafs regular season game after mid-November".
http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2010/06/hockey-fans-guide-to-world-cup.html -
THE Dipietro line still makes me laugh and its been more than 24 hrs since i posted :lol: oh wait I'm an Islanders fan :cry:Boik14 likes this.
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I'll spend time in this thread next year when the NHL wakes up and brings a team back to Winnipeg
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Pens fan here. Looking forward to the start of the season almost as much as the Fins one.
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cool. we got a decently diverse group of fans here. With the way they keep changing rules in football to protect the players and turn it into flag football, this could end up being the last sport where you can still hit people :lol:
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Not much just this nugget on the isles offering Lee Stempniak 3yr/9M
I'm sure people will whine that it's too much in either term or cash, but I don't think so. He's arguably the best name left standing, still young and he could be a solid 25-30 goal top 6 forward.
Source: http://www.islandershockeyblog.com/2...r95m-deal.html
Player Profile:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id...d=nhl-keymatchadamprez2003 likes this. -
Improved for sure. Nathan Horton adds some offense. David Krejci will be healthy at the start of the year.
Last year Milan Lucic was hurt all year, Mark Savard was hurt all year, Krejci started the year hurt, Zdeno Chara had a bad thumb all year, Blake Wheeler had a sophomore slump, the 4th line was a disaster area and every forward (accept 100 year old Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron) had bad/terrible years. Chara (as I mentioned) had a bad thumb (effecting his shooting), Dennis Wideman was AWFUL (essentially replaced by Dennis Siedenburg) Mark Stuart was hurt and Matt Hunwick slumped all year, the defense was patchwork but allowed the 2nd fewest goals in the league.
There are still issues though. They are over the salary cap right now. They wil nbe placing Marco Sturm on LTIR which puts them below the cap but when he returns they need to clear cap room. There has been a rumour for 2 months they will trade Marc Savard to clear cap room (I think it was a crap rumour). I think it is more likely they dump Mike Ryder and his underachieving 4 million a year *** in Providence before the season, putting them under the cap.
Another issues is they are hoping for improvement from within. They are hoping a lot of guys who had BAD years (Hunwick, Lucic, Krejci and Savard to certain degrees and Horton) come out of it. That can lead to disaster.
They have strong goaltending, their penalty kill will be top 5 again and they are young (Seguin, maybe Alexandrov on defense, Colborne on his way).
I think they win the Northeast division and fight for the top seed in the East. Their division has not done a whole lot to improve in the offseason. The Leafs have no centers, overrated defense, a horrible bottom 6 at forward and mediocre goaltending. The Senators are the same (hate their goaltending). The Sabres did nothing accept lose 2 of their top 4 defensemen and the Habs are relying on Carey Price to play 60 games and carry them.
Early East predictions:
1.) Caps (Built for the regular season. Will they ever figure out playoff hockey?)
2.) Flyers (They have TOP end talent up front and on the back end but that goaltending has to haunt them at some point).
3.) Bruins ( Deep down the middle, strong top 4 on defense and excellent goaltending. They are hoping for a lot out of some players who were bad last year).
4.) Penguins (Tough division. They are a lot like the Flyers. Tons of high end players but the back half of the roster is mediocre).
5.) Devils (If Kovi signs they will fight for the division. If not they still have enough to be a playoff team).
6.) Sabres (Best goaltender in the World and good depth up front. Not enough high ceiling players).
7.) 'Canes (If Cam Ward plays 60+ games they are a factor. Last year they were ravaged by injury)
8.) Thrashers (I have a funny feeling about them. They will be a pain in the *** to play against all year.)
The 7th and 8th seeds are a huge toss up. The Rangers (with Lundy in goal they always are), Habs (all depends on Price), Sens (growth from younsters and goaltending), Lightning (goaltending....notice a trend?), Thrashers (they need to find goals), 'Canes (healthy Cam Ward) and Islanders (they might be young and talented and stupid enough to find themselves in it at the end of the year, always dangerous) are all in the mix for the bottom 2 seeds in the East.
The only two teams I see as out of it are the Leafs and the Panthers. -
Uni, in regards to Philly I have Niemi linked to them as well as NYI. Philly has a clear need, the Isles may have a need if they are not confident in Dipietro's knees and hips and I see no reason why they should be even though I like The Rick.
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I'm a San Jose Sharks fan...
My Canadian team: Vancouver Canucks
Hometeam: Florida Panthers -
A lot of stupid **** :(
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Nice read on garth snow for any islander fans out there besides me and adam.
http://www.hockeyjournal.com/news/2010/08/13_islanders.php
Who am I kidding? Me and adam are the only two Islander fans here. :)adamprez2003 likes this. -
This is a good piece on Kyle Okposo: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=537105
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Very nice find. I really think we have a shot at a 8th or 7th seed. Okposo is a nice story. If Tavarez can make that leap to 50 goals scored I'm confident we'll be that playoff team fianlly
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50 goals is rare. I know Stamkos did it last year but if Tavares gets 40 I'll be elated. 40goals/50 assists and Ill be thrilled.
Okposo I think we are looking at something more like 30 goals/35-40 assists/between 65-70 points. He had an exceptionally low shooting percentage last year, hit a ton of posts and was just robbed more then normal it seemed.
Id like to see us get a playoff spot but mainly I wanna see some of the guys like Matt Moulson repeat last year, maybe someone like a P.A. Parenteau emereges, improvement from Okposo, Tavares, Bailey, Nielson, Comeau who finished the year at nearly a PPG clip over the last 15 or so games...and further development from Andy MacDonald, Matt Martin, Jesse Joensuu, Calvin De Haan, Travis Hamonic, Kirill Petrov, Matt Donovan etc. -
Islanders lose Mark Streit for up to 6 months and Kyle Okposo til at least December with shoulder surgeries. Ugh, that playoff dream was nice while it lasted...now its the Adam Larson race for #1 pick. Almost hope we get it cause this would be pretty devastating.
Top 6 forwards:
El Nino - Tavares-Okposo
Joensuu-Bailey-Comeau
Top 6 D:
Larson-Streit
De Haan - Hamonic
Wisniewski-Martinek/Gervais -
Not 100% sure what NHL stands for but just to be safe I'll go with:
Brazil. -
Will I ever see the Panthers in the playoffs again? :sad:
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Panthers' season starts tomorrow against the Oilers...can't wait.
No seriously, I CAN'T WAIT. -
Isles 1-0-1
Beat the Rags today 6-4 :)
Tavares got a concussion the other night vs Dallas; should be back soon.
Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey are looking like studs early!adamprez2003 likes this. -
you see that pass from josh to comeau? man that was sweet. we're in first place! can we strart the playoffs tomorrowBoik14 likes this.
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I was at the game so yes I did see it. I also saw Wiz flip off avery. Hes gonna get suspended for it and in the meantime he can use the downtime to pull his head outta his behind in his own end. :up:adamprez2003 likes this.
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Islanders got a big win last night and are sitting atop the division for now. The line of Josh Bailey, Comeau and Parenteau had a great run while Tavares was injured. Bailey, especially has really turned it up this season. I think we have a playoff run this year
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been playing lights out so far
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Yeah, and his trade stock keeps on rising each game. If it is another non playoff season (which is most likely) I'll miss him when he gets traded :sad:adamprez2003 likes this.
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This thread needs to be bumped.
Just some news since the last post:
The Bruins recently extended both Chara and Bergeron.
The Chara deal was for 7-years and the cap hit will be $6.917 million in the first six years of the deal and $4 million in final season. The new Kovalchuk rule applies.
The Bergeron deal was 3-years @ $15 million
Its so great to have hockey back.
Bruins - Caps tonight. Go B's! -
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