The official NHL thread

[Llamas]

I still don't see Minnesota as a contender. They probably even won't manage to pass Vancouver in Northwest next year.

Hey fuk u!!!

Also, lulz to Jagr/Dallas.

And fuk dallas

[jacknife737]

Good for the Wild: will be interesting to see how well they do.

That said, i really, really hope the league cracks down hard on these ridiculous contract lengths/payment structures (ie both of them getting like 12 million dollars in their first year) in the new CBA. Either have a max contract lengths of like 5 years, or get rid of the average annual cap hit, and make it based on yearly salary (ie if a player makes 4 million dollars one year, they then have a cap hit of 4 million). It gives certain teams an incredibly unfair advantage (and i'm saying this as a fan of the wealthiest team in the league).

I was happy with what the leafs did on free agency (ie mostly avoiding overpaying for mediocre players): but the dude we did pick up seems like he'll be a perfect fit (big bodied, defensive minded center whose specialty is the penalty kill) and even better his salary is only 1.5 which is awesome for a third liner.

[XYlophonetreeZ]

Definitely agree. I was happy that the Canes got Jordan Staal, but 10 years??? I'm surprised that as one of the poorest teams in the league, who already has his big bro as the 4th highest paid player in the NHL, that they could swing that.

Also, Joe Corvo again? The Canes take the whole "family" business model a little too far. I can't believe how many players come back for second, third, and fourth stints with the team. Not to mention Paul Maurice. If he comes back a third time I'm killing someone.

[coke_a_holic]

lol Joe Corvo

[Smash punker]

Go Sharks go Can´t wait to battle Dallas with Jaromír Jágr on it hope the guys in Teal will be victorious

[XYlophonetreeZ]

lol Joe Corvo

Like one game out of 8, you can see glimpses of how good he was supposed to be. It's really too bad that he's always such a zombie for the other 7.

And that was like 3 years ago. I don't even know if we can rely on him to play that one good game every now and then anymore.

[bighead384]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectbrowse.htm

Seth Jones has made history by being the first black hockey player rated number 1 in the draft.

Also: big night tonight as far as playoff implications go. Playoffs should be interesting. I wonder if the Rangers can finally get all that talent together and be working on all cylinders.

[jacknife737]

Seth Jones does look like he's going to be a heck of a player: though drafting a defenceman as #1 is risky business since they do seem harder to predict on how they will develop later on in their careers - ie a defencemen who develops (from a physicla standpoint) quicker may dominate in the junior levels, but when it comes to the nhl when you're playing against the world's toughest players things aren't so easy. Forwards are easier to guess since they mostly come down to their scoring potential.

As a leafs fan, i'm fucking overjoyed at the moment: first time in the playoffs in like nine years. If we face Montreal i'm confident we will make it to the second round; Boston however would be more of a concern.

[bighead384]

Gonna be:

Vancouver vs Chicago in the Western finals
Pittsburgh vs Montreal in the Eastern finals

No teams I really like that much.

[bighead384]

The OT game last night between the Wings and Ducks was fucking AWESOME. That is all.