So...with foosball I saw players that I loved growing up. I don't think or haven't seen a replacement for them and the game has changed. Is that true for hockey?


I had a quasi interest in hockey in the 80's and really early 90s when my dad was still interested. Then I went to a game in 2008 and thought it was better than any bulls, sox, cubs, or bears game I'd been to. It's where my child's interest is. Can they turn things around like they did before or did they catch lightning in a bottle for the last decade?

"Lightning in a bottle" isn't the right term for it: they were one of the best teams in the league for nine years, which, under a hard salary cap with guaranteed contracts, is really hard to do. Every team but the Penguins would envy the run we had.

I don't think there can ever be another turnaround on par with the addition of Toews and Kane: the lows will never get that low, and you're probably not going to add a first-ballot Hall of Fame #1 center and the best American player of all time at once ever again. I think roster construction going forward will be similar to what the Predators have been doing: swing for the fences on big trades (the Strome deal, for instance), get free agents to take pay cuts to come here, and hope your AHL affiliate can be a steady assembly line of above-average plugs. The best days are behind us now, but they can still continue on as a formidable organization. The Canadiens will never ever be The Canadiens again but people still haven't given up all hope.

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lighting in a bottle for this team wasn't fleeting or quick and I know it's how it's suppose to be. It was Toews, Kane, and Hossa. With Keith and Hjalmarsson and begrudgingly Seabrook. Then Sharp, Byfuglien, Shaw,..then the lesser players but they contributed. Bollig, Bolland,Burish, Campbell,Bickell, even Versteeg sometimesish. There was something great about the championship teams that I don't know that can be reproduced. It really was the right place at the right time for everybody.

Spaulding et al,

CH is 100% right about we were the envy of everyone but Pens and a distant second Kings maybe. If you look at it now though we are mirroring the Pens actually. One difference is they won one and lost one before their period of rebuild and we went 3-0. If you line up the years, the keeping a few guys and going young coach that was their minor league one etc. Hell for different reasons even getting rid of Fleury and Crawford matches.

Anyway, still cheer for your team and I hate tanking. In hockey sure it can help but hockey is so weird that you can find great players after #1. This isn't the NBA.

Lastly, I don't view the downfall as much with the Seabrook or other contracts now as the biggest cause of where we are now. The biggest fault was a young and full of himself, not yet a master Stan misreading the Canadian dollar and cap future. Giving out Byfuglien, Bickell and some others contracts and getting rid of young talent is my main reason.

PS of course Q played a part. Having to watch the Pens here I am still pissed off mightily about Trevor Daley for Scuderri.

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Elections have consequences.

That 3rd period was the Hawks run of wins in a nutshell. Get dominated with shots against but then *boom* maximize your opportunities by suddenly scoring 2 goals. winner winner.

KANER!

1-1

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

and then there was fucking Ward, and fucking Murphy...

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Not a mult.

Well, that sucked. 3-1 Columbus after 1.

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

I'm not sold on Murphy being this great stay-at-home defenseman who deserved to replace Hjalmarsson. He coughs up a lot of really bad games, and the rest of the defense is so bad that when he does, it shows. Like I've said, these Phoenix/Florida guys are all fool's gold.

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Murphy's the tallest midget of the d-men.

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

Fuckin' Murphy


That Panarin...he ain't nuthin' wittout Kaner!

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Not much Ward could do there

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Nice goal Toews

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

Ugly game

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Cool Stat.

First time the Hawks have lost since Oct of 2013 when 19/88 both scored goals.

Can that be right?

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Winning is fun but this team needs to lose, sell off some guys and get a somewhat better pick. The first thing I would do is get Crow on the ice with a few games under his belt and get him the fuck out of here for the first offer. Most years making the playoffs would be cool but this defense and the bottom 6 are still a shit show and in the playoffs they will get murdered.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

This roster is tank-proof and the lottery is tank-proof, all they can do is play the games.

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Who the fuck is going to trade for Crawford?

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Trading Gustafson, Saad and Anisimov would make this team worse. It would definitely help them get closer to a top 10 pick.

Any good team is going to devour the Hawks defense.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Gus sure does score alot but he isn't very good at anything else.

My trade list is:

Kruger
Forsling
Kunitz
Crow (unless a LTIR/retirement thing is going to fuck them if he gets his bell rung again)
Perlini
Anisimov
Murphy (i just don't like him and there are too many young guys that need to play D with too few spots for them)

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Perlini and Anisimov would be good trades to make but they won't make the team appreciably worse. You kind of have to commit to Saad at this point. I'd hold on to Gustafson until draft day and see what he fetches then. But Forsling is one of the worst players in the league, what would you get for him?

One for time for the people in the back, these are the lottery odds: http://www.tankathon.com/nhl/pick_odds

It just doesn't make sense in what's understood to be a one-player draft. You can't fight the current here; the league wants everyone more or less in it as long as possible now. Even Ottawa isn't as bad as they should be. Long Island was supposed to be the worst team in the league and they'll probably win their division.

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Gus has 1 more season at 1.2 M then he becomes a UFA. So you trade him now when his value is the highest. If he keeps getting matched with the top line and PP, he'll get 50+ points this year and the same next year with this deployment. I think teams will overpay for that production at that salary cap hit. Let's not fool ourselves. He's doing this with Kane and Toews. If you can get a good asset for him, move him. Like the guys on the Faxes podcast said, you're not going to resign him in a year since you don't pay what he will command on the open market.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

It's not a 1-player draft. While Hughes is clearly #1. Kakko is an excellent prospect at #2 and there is a nice, deep group of forwards that look to make up the top 10. Pronman recently said the draft went 10-12 deep.

On this note, the Faxes podcast really need to get their shit together about prospects. McClure doesn't really know what he's talking about.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Speaking of prospects. I want to see more of this Entwistle cat.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Great bass player!

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3-2 already? I am stuck at a modestly entertaining class 1A regional game.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Some sort of trade with NY happened.

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Elections have consequences.

KANER !!!

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

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

I haven’t seen these alternate Hawks unis. They’re fucking awesome .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

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

JFC - 4-3 with 5 to go in the FIRST ?!?!?!?!?!

Cam Ward must be Cam Warding.

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Not a mult.