The Ottawa Senators, the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who will finish 1st in their respective divisions.
Tampa??? Funny.
With their AHL defense and 2-lines team, I don'T think they'll make the playoffs. Sure, Denis is a huge improvement over Grahame and Burke, but the rest of the team is worse than last year.
The team can end up anywhere from 4th to 12th imo. They aren't elite by any means, but a lot of things can happen to a team, good and bad.
It seems Gainey decided to go with 6 solid guys rather than step back, get a name, and fill out the roster with lesser players.
This could be for a few reasons, he couldn't get a guy for what he could afford. The status of our 3 impending ufa's lowers the value of these players making next year the time to sign a big name D.
Bouillon's signing seems to indicate the solid group theory rather than adding a Kubina type player. Of the big names that were out there, I don't see any that had Mtl. on their radar, so maybe they decided to go with what they had and see what develops, in terms of need.
Montreal's better, so's Boston, Toronto's D looks better on paper, let's see how it unfolds. In October, everyone looks better.
If this team don't go out and sign or trade for a d-man, sorry guys, I think we well be struggling to make the playoff's this year, unless we score lots of goals. Will we ever be an elite team again ??
Anything is possible, but the major problem is not on D. We are not going to compete for home ice with Mike Ribeiro as our second centre.
If this team don't go out and sign or trade for a d-man, sorry guys, I think we well be struggling to make the playoff's this year, unless we score lots of goals. Will we ever be an elite team again ??
With their AHL defense and 2-lines team, I don'T think they'll make the playoffs. Sure, Denis is a huge improvement over Grahame and Burke, but the rest of the team is worse than last year.
I remember Tampa Bay winning the Stanley Cup with a similar team.
Kubina is only a slight upgrade over Kuba, and Sydor leaving is a good riddance. Look for Paul Ranger to improve on last year. The only guy that hasn't been replaced is Freddy Modin, and yes he's valuable, but I don't think the Canes or the Thrashers will beat them for the division champs. It will be tight, though.
I don't share the opinion that were not good on the backend...We were fine defensively last year, we just couldn't score goals. I think we'll be a much better and creative offensive team this year with the additions of two right handed shots. That in itself should make a huge difference.
The Ottawa Senators, the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who will finish 1st in their respective divisions.
I seriously doubt that. I think that the Lightnings will struggle this year. They didn't do that much to improve, I don't see Denis as a savior for them and they also lost Kubina. Anyways, we'll see.
wait until the habs first slump of the year and clvms has his first of many panic attacks and a garaunteed projection to miss the playoffs 15 games into the season
have a look at his previous posts. He's a little whacky.
I may be whacky...but I sure no the game of hockey !!!
can back it up with all my hardware over the years.
I took part in a hockey pool a couple of years ago and went 16 for 16, picking the teams that would win each serious, can you say that??
The game is in my blood !!!
Anything is possible, but the major problem is not on D. We are not going to compete for home ice with Mike Ribeiro as our second centre.
You don't think the 70-80 points Ribs will get this year is enough for a 2nd line center?
I do think defense is the biggest potential problem for this team. I like the D as it stand but if we loose 2 or more d-men to injuries, we just don't have the depth to properly replace them. That could prove extremely costly.
That pretty much fits how I feel right now... of course, considering how loopy it's been the last few years, you never know how it'll end up. I do get the feeling it's going to be a catfight from top to bottom.
You don't think the 70-80 points Ribs will get this year is enough for a 2nd line center?
I do think defense is the biggest potential problem for this team. I like the D as it stand but if we loose 2 or more d-men to injuries, we just don't have the depth to properly replace them. That could prove extremely costly.
1) There is no guarantee that Ribeiro will score 70 to 80 pts this year. In his best season to date he has only scored 65.
2) I assume people think he will score 70-80 pts because he will be playing with Kovalev and Samsonov. As good as that sounds, Ribeiro is still the weak link on that line and will only be leetching off of those other players. If a risky line like that survives long, or if it ever exists, I will be surprised.
3) Even if Ribeiro had proved to be a prolific point getter, which he has not, there's a lot more to winning hockey games than attaining elevated point totals. Because of his soft, weak playing style, I do not care if he scores 90 pts in the regular season. This type of player does not help you win against tough opponents in the playoffs when the chips are down as we saw last year against Carolina. We need skill but as importantly we need grit, clutch scoring, speed and toughness (ie, NOT Ribeiro).
4) See the Stanley Cup winning roster every year for the last decade. Find me their top 2 centres and tell me if you see one who is a soft, one dimensional, offense-only centre like Ribeiro. (Ray Whitney is NOT a centre and he was NOT on the 2nd line.)
Let me repeat, I do not care how many points he scores. I know the "Ribeiro is Stronger Club" is circling...just waiting for him to score his first pre-season assist so they can launch another assault on common sense by instantly casting aside 4 years of evidence depicting a very mediocre career, and turning it into a romantic sequel appropiately called "The New Ribeiro II." I don't want to see it. No matter how many times he is reborn in the eyes of those who already like him for numerous political reasons, he is the same type of player...a type that is a dime a dozen.
Centre is the most crucial player (ie. not goalie) position. Unless Ribeiro's playing style is completely different, I do not think we will be a home ice team and we will certainly not win the cup.
If this team don't go out and sign or trade for a d-man, sorry guys, I think we well be struggling to make the playoff's this year, unless we score lots of goals. Will we ever be an elite team again ??
Sign a D-Men right now?
Two words for you
Alexander Khavanov.
1) There is no guarantee that Ribeiro will score 70 to 80 pts this year. In his best season to date he has only scored 65.
2) I assume people think he will score 70-80 pts because he will be playing with Kovalev and Samsonov. As good as that sounds, Ribeiro is still the weak link on that line and will only be leetching off of those other players. If a risky line like that survives long, or if it ever exists, I will be surprised.
3) Even if Ribeiro had proved to be a prolific point getter, which he has not, there's a lot more to winning hockey games than attaining elevated point totals. Because of his soft, weak playing style, I do not care if he scores 90 pts in the regular season. This type of player does not help you win against tough opponents in the playoffs when the chips are down as we saw last year against Carolina. We need skill but as importantly we need grit, clutch scoring, speed and toughness (ie, NOT Ribeiro).
4) See the Stanley Cup winning roster every year for the last decade. Find me their top 2 centres and tell me if you see one who is a soft, one dimensional, offense-only centre like Ribeiro. (Ray Whitney is NOT a centre and he was NOT on the 2nd line.)
Let me repeat, I do not care how many points he scores. I know the "Ribeiro is Stronger Club" is circling...just waiting for him to score his first pre-season assist so they can launch another assault on common sense by instantly casting aside 4 years of evidence depicting a very mediocre career, and turning it into a romantic sequel appropiately called "The New Ribeiro II." I don't want to see it. No matter how many times he is reborn in the eyes of those who already like him for numerous political reasons, he is the same type of player...a type that is a dime a dozen.
Centre is the most crucial player (ie. not goalie) position. Unless Ribeiro's playing style is completely different, I do not think we will be a home ice team and we will certainly not win the cup.
I only made that comments to see if you would overreact about Ribiero again... LOL!
You really outdid yourself!
We all know how you feel about the guy. You can stop repeating yourself... We got it. You have a hate-on for Ribs and, to be honest, I'm starting to get a little worried for him. I just hope you don't act out on any fantasies you have about "getting rid of him"...
