NHL Thread

[FRED HALE SR.]

Originally Posted by Ninetales

He had a really great sv% all throughout the playoffs and held them in games in the finals when the bruins were really pressing (eg 1st period of game 7)

Kane was great but was invisible at times during the playoffs. its not like he had a ridiculous stat line either. Im not complaining about it just I wouldve voted for crawford is all

Game 7 what series were you watching? Kane was absolutely their best player throughout the playoffs and also during the regular season.

[Laces Out Dan!]

The only reason I was glad to see a skater win the Conn Smythe is because it seems like in the last few years, the goalie wins it no matter what. And I know some do deserve it as being the best player and anchor for the team...Jonathon Quick is the perfect example...but I just don't wanna see it become a trend, where a goalie plays well and does his job..so he gets the trophy. I personally think Keith was the best chicago player throughout the entire playoffs.

[Thom Yorke]

Well, that was a heartbreaker.

At least the Bruins played well last night though. Games 4 and 5 were downright awful for Boston, but last night they brought about 58 minutes of good hockey, and the first 20 minutes in particular was incredible. I knew something was going to go wrong when they were only up by 1 after the first period after absolutely dominating though.

I can't really get over how poorly Chara and Seidenberg played. Just an awful showing by both of them in this series, and particularly in the last 3 games. The Bruins as a whole had a pretty bad showing though. I thought only Bergeron (outside of last night, but credit to him playing through all of that), Lucic and Seguin were consistently good on a game-to-game basis.

As for the Hawks, great series. They didn't try to get into the physical game with the B's and used their forecheck to give the B's D fits, and had a great transition game. Like Dan, I thought Keith deserved the Conn Smythe (I thought Keith deserved it in 2010 as well), or maybe Sharp.

[FRED HALE SR.]

Originally Posted by Thom Yorke

Well, that was a heartbreaker.

At least the Bruins played well last night though. Games 4 and 5 were downright awful for Boston, but last night they brought about 58 minutes of good hockey, and the first 20 minutes in particular was incredible. I knew something was going to go wrong when they were only up by 1 after the first period after absolutely dominating though.

I can't really get over how poorly Chara and Seidenberg played. Just an awful showing by both of them in this series, and particularly in the last 3 games. The Bruins as a whole had a pretty bad showing though. I thought only Bergeron (outside of last night, but credit to him playing through all of that), Lucic and Seguin were consistently good on a game-to-game basis.

As for the Hawks, great series. They didn't try to get into the physical game with the B's and used their forecheck to give the B's D fits, and had a great transition game. Like Dan, I thought Keith deserved the Conn Smythe (I thought Keith deserved it in 2010 as well), or maybe Sharp.

I was stunned the way it ended but I figured the B-hawks were the better team throughout. Keith was certainly very good, but Kane brought that consistent scoring throughout that wins the Smythe usually. Not too many D-men are gonna raise the Smythe without a Niedermayer on their back. Good series all things considered, getting amped up for the draft already.

[Thom Yorke]

Originally Posted by FRED HALE SR.

I was stunned the way it ended but I figured the B-hawks were the better team throughout. Keith was certainly very good, but Kane brought that consistent scoring throughout that wins the Smythe usually. Not too many D-men are gonna raise the Smythe without a Niedermayer on their back. Good series all things considered, getting amped up for the draft already.

Speaking of Niedermayer, I thought that was the worst Conn Smythe winner in recent memory. He did not deserve that one at all.

I dunno about Kane. He's not a bad Conn Smythe winner, but he didn't bring consistent scoring at all. He was huge to close out the Kings and was great in games 4 and 5 against Boston, but what else did he really do? He racked up a good deal of assists when Chicago was firing on all cylinders against Minnesota and got a couple goals in the first few games against the Wings. There were a few times in these playoffs where people were really getting on him for not producing (which, let's face it, is his whole game as he's not exactly a complete player), and it's tough to give a playoff MVP to someone like that. I thought Keith was a very consistent factor throughout the whole playoffs.

And yeah, the draft should be great. I can't get too excited right now because of the way the Bruins went out and because they lost their first rounder for Jaromir ****ing Jagr, but objectively, it'll be a hell of a draft. There's some great top-end talent and it looks really deep. It's a nice change-up for what was probably a bit of a down-year last year. Plus, with all these compliance buyouts happening over the coming days and with teams having to shed salary in other ways, I'm wondering if there will be more trades.

[Paul Smeenus]

Originally Posted by Thom Yorke

Well, that was a heartbreaker.

At least the Bruins played well last night though. Games 4 and 5 were downright awful for Boston, but last night they brought about 58 minutes of good hockey, and the first 20 minutes in particular was incredible. I knew something was going to go wrong when they were only up by 1 after the first period after absolutely dominating though.

I can't really get over how poorly Chara and Seidenberg played. Just an awful showing by both of them in this series, and particularly in the last 3 games. The Bruins as a whole had a pretty bad showing though. I thought only Bergeron (outside of last night, but credit to him playing through all of that), Lucic and Seguin were consistently good on a game-to-game basis.

As for the Hawks, great series. They didn't try to get into the physical game with the B's and used their forecheck to give the B's D fits, and had a great transition game. Like Dan, I thought Keith deserved the Conn Smythe (I thought Keith deserved it in 2010 as well), or maybe Sharp.

What was Chara's plus/minus for the series? Seems like he was on ice for practicality every Blackhawks goal. He looked lost out there

[Thom Yorke]

Originally Posted by Paul Smeenus

What was Chara's plus/minus for the series? Seems like he was on ice for practicality every Blackhawks goal. He looked lost out there

Not sure off hand. I think the stat was that they were on for 10 of the last 12 Hawks goals or something. I don't generally put much into plus/minus but Chara and Seidenberg single-handedly were at fault for most of those goals. It was an incredibly bad series by two guys that are two of the more reliable defensive players in the league.

[Thom Yorke]

Just a few comments on the draft:

- I do not understand what Colorado is doing. If you like Mackinnon, fine, but I don't understand why they're coming out and saying that they are dead-set on taking a forward. Personally, I think Jones is the definite #1 player in this class. I'm not 100% sold on Mackinnon. I sort of get that sense that he'll be a nice player, but doesn't have what it takes to get to that superstar elite-level status. I could see him turning into a Parise type player, which isn't bad by any means, but you can get a lot more with Jones.

It's a lot more rare to get a defenseman of this quality than it is to get a forward. His size/skill/speed combo is pretty deadly and he really looks like the best d-man to come along in a long time. I just don't know how you can pass that up if you're Colorado. I'm not a believer in picking for position needs, but it doesn't hurt that the Avs are loaded at center and are very poor on the blueline. If the Panthers pass on him as well because they feel their set on their blueline with all the young talent they have there, the Lightning hit the jackpot.

- Lindholm is going to be/already is incredible. It's very rare for an 18 year old kid to be this complete and polished of a hockey player. Whatever team gets him is going to get a steal that could step into the NHL very soon. When you're evaluating young talent coming into the draft, I really think hockey sense is the most important thing to look for, and I think Lindholm has the best hockey sense in the draft.

- How far will Nichuskin, Domi and Shinkaruk slide? Nichuskin looks like a huge offensive talent but the Russian factor is always at play. The Sabres didn't shy away from this with Grigorenko last year, so I'd bet they'll take him. Domi and Shinkaruk are two guys that suffer because of the size factor. Both are still projected to go in the top 20 at least, but I think we could see one of them slide.

- I think you could see someone jump on Zadorov earlier than expected. Someone's going to be enamored with his size and physicality. Somewhat similar to McIlrath a few years ago.

[Laces Out Dan!]

I disagree with you about Seth Jones..I honestly don't think he's close to the player that either Mackinnon or Drouin are. If you look at some of recent history, with high drafted, highly scouted defensemen, it hasnt worked out. All of these guys were drafted in the top 4 in the last couple years. Rostislav Klesla, Joni Pitkanen, Cam Barker, Zach Bogosian, and of course Erik Johnson. Thats just my opinion though, time will only prove either of our arguments. But just remember Mackinnon's performance in the memorial cup in comparison to Jones'. 5 points with a hattrick I believe in the finals.

[Thom Yorke]

Originally Posted by Laces Out Dan!

I disagree with you about Seth Jones..I honestly don't think he's close to the player that either Mackinnon or Drouin are. If you look at some of recent history, with high drafted, highly scouted defensemen, it hasnt worked out. All of these guys were drafted in the top 4 in the last couple years. Rostislav Klesla, Joni Pitkanen, Cam Barker, Zach Bogosian, and of course Erik Johnson. Thats just my opinion though, time will only prove either of our arguments. But just remember Mackinnon's performance in the memorial cup in comparison to Jones'. 5 points with a hattrick I believe in the finals.

You can't just base it on past d-men though. Yes, defensemen are harder to evaluate and they usually take longer to develop, but it doesn't mean they can't. Seth Jones reminds me a lot of Pietrangelo. He doesn't look quite as good defensively, but he looks to have more offensive upside. Both play very similar styles though and his size and speed should translate well to the NHL, as it did with Pietrangelo.

As for Mackinnon's performance in the Memorial Cup, yes it was great but I think people are too enamored with these small sample sizes. Just look at what people were saying about Mackinnon after the World Juniors. He had a poor performance and Jones and Drouin were great; all of a sudden people started to question everything. When you look at what people were saying going into the Memorial Cup, Jones was #1. For 4 games to completely flip that opinion, it just seems crazy to me.