Darling's 5-hole is becoming an issue. Not sure what he can do given his 6'6 frame.

He could go get Jean-Sebastien Giguere's pre-lockout pads out of storage.

_________________

He'll just borrow Luongo's old ones.

I think its TSN that conducts a Gm poll every year where they ask them to rank the top X amount of players in the league...Toews came in 2nd this year. In a different poll where they specifically asked which player you would start a franchise with and Toews finished 1st.

People who truly know the game really appreciate how important Toews two way game is to a hockey team.

Its funny, you go on HFboards.com and most posters there barely rate him as a top 10 player because they have no appreciation for the game, just scoring.

One thing to keep in mind is that even when Toews isn't scoring he is still outscoring the guy he is matched up against. Last year in the playoffs he didn't score much, but he also shut down every big time center he was matched up against.

_________________

Kopitar might be as good or even better than Toews at this point, though. He just gets docked for being Slovene. Even his own team has some American fuck wearing the C instead of him. If his name were Andy Kimball and he grew up in Mississauga, you'd have to pry the CBC off his dick with a bucket of ice and a crowbar. You know that's true.

_________________

Last night aside, I am sick of all the little things Toews does argument. When the team loses 1-0 at home, the little things got us, well, very little. When the power play consistently sucks because they can't enter the zone properly with the most skilled players in the league, the little things don't seem to be working so well.

In any case, Toews is obviously a great player. But I need to see more consistent scoring from him and the team as a whole.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

I not sure that Toews is just all that great an offensive player from jump street rather than a guy who gets a lot of try hard outworked his man goals which is why he goes into prolonged slumps scoring wise. Its not like he has a wicked shot or phenomenal one on one moves ( though he is pretty good one on one) . Difference to me in the example you put forth Denis is that you still notice Toews in those 1-0 games because of his defense and face off skills moreso than a piece of garbage like Bickell who gives you nothing in those games and you notice every fucking turnover, bad pass, outworked to the puck that he does.

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I definitely appreciate Toews's defense, but I guess I still subscribe to the orthodoxy that as far as forwards go, you take your defense where you can get it and pay a premium for scoring. The premium we're paying for Toews is virtually unprecedented at eight figures a year. He has to score a lot. Stamkos is going to get similar or more money, and we know he can score. I like to think that he's going to enter his prime as a scorer soon.

_________________

I am with CH here 100%. I am not downplaying the importance of Toews. He is getting paid like a top player. He has won the Cup twice. Still, the Hawks with all their talent have longs spells where they can't score. Your top and best paid player has to take some responsibility for that. He is great at the dot and very responsible on defense. He mixes it up in front of the net from time to time, and that netted him a goal last night on the spin move. But when the Hawks can't get to three goals consistently, who am I supposed to blame, Morin? The power play continues to baffle me.....

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

My point is that I think you do get the most out of him offensively . He's never going to be a 40 plus goal guy every year. He's trended to what, 25 to 35 every year with 40 to 50 assists ? I think thats his ceiling, Im not sure how he's supposed to give you more than what he's already shown to be what his numbers are. I understand for the money he's being paid you'd like to see more production but he's not necessarily being paid all that just for offense. Its his all around game that has gotten him that contract.

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

The power play hadn't been too bad before last night, but going 0/6 in a game will bring you down. I've basically given up on this team ever knowing what to do with a man advantage. That's fine, whatever, but I'm more worried by how worthless they've all been at even strength.

On the other side, I'm very pleased with the penalty kill, even though they coughed up that goal with three seconds left on the clock. Third-ranked kill rate of 90.6%, league-leading 7.6 PIM per game, but that's admittedly skewed by a lack of penalties that don't lead to time shorthanded (fighting majors, 10-min misconducts).

_________________

Then Toews shouldn't be paid more than Corey Perry, who is used as a shutdown forward just as much as Toews but scores much more. However, Perry is a total Caller Bob and will never be accused of getting paid for his conscientious leadership.

_________________

That's happened once since 2009. One time in 5+ years.

_________________

We won't get more scoring out of him, which is kind of my point. Everyone tells me how great he is and how he would be your top pick if you were starting a team. I am not so sure he ranks in the top 10 for me, but admittedly, I am hockey stupid and don't see enough of the rest of the league to know.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

And a pair of 3-2 losses on the road. 2-1 against Calgary at home. They have all this firepower, and they can't get to three goals. Who should I blame? The guy with the C on his jersey or an old Hossa or 4th liners who get 5 minutes of ice time.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

They're 1 point out of 1st

_________________

Some of these thoughts on Toews are just ridiculous.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Fans become spoiled quickly.
OMG the best all-around player in the conference (league? world?) isn't leading the world in PP goals! He sucks!

_________________

How many points do you feel Toews should have as the first-line center on a high-talent team? Not even goals, just points.

How is Toews the best all-around player in the conference, to say nothing of league and world, when Kopitar is virtually his statistical equal and also plays in the conference?

_________________

Toews has a higher ppg average than Perry.

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

All of them.

_________________

Hockey is tough to compare to other sports because tangible personal stats are basically points and goals. But you guys are essentially saying that .290 hitter with 25 home runs is the same as a .330 hitter with 40 because he has won two championships and plays great D.

For all the love he gets, I expect more.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

His first two seasons where he wasn't a top-six forward bring his average down. Toews was our best center from day one. Start from the time both players were in the league and Perry leads 490 to 448, .928/gm to .907/gm. Perry has outscored Toews in four seasons ('09, '10, '11, '14) with one 50-goal season, two PPG seasons, and an MVP. He's an equivalent defender and superior scorer making about 80% of what Toews will because he either cares more about the long-term composition of his team than Toews does or because his agent is a crappier negotiator.

_________________

CH, been meaning to ask you, what is your favorite book? I can tell you're pretty cultured by certain things you have written. I assume you read a lot of books.....

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Novel: Philip Roth - Portnoy's Complaint, Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow
Essays/short stories: David Foster Wallace - A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
Nonfiction: Robert Caro - The Power Broker
Grey-area nonfiction: Norman Mailer - The Executioner's Song
Young adult: C.D. Payne - Youth in Revolt

_________________

I had you pegged correctly!

My all time favorite author is Alexander Dumas....so you can guess the books I love. Historical fictions are my favorite genre, and I am halfway through War and Peace. I also have a huge interest in modern financial books, so Michael Lewis and Roger Lowenstein rank highly for me.

I may look into that Power Broker.

Thanks.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

So to put it another way you pegged CH?

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Robert Caro is an American treasure just for writing The Power Broker before you even take into account his utterly amazing and still ongoing biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, which one day I will embark upon.

Here's a good piece on the sacrifices he made to write the book.

_________________

I am starting to get the idea that during these slumps Q should just say screw balance and got Kane-Toews-Saad/Hossa for a game and get a good feeling back in the room.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Saad-Toews-Kane on the first line, Sharp-Richards-Hossa on the second, Shaw at #3 LW, and shake out the rest however. Give Richards one last chance to prove himself with legit linemates, and if he's just a boat anchor for them, then, well, I don't know anymore.

_________________