NHL 2012-2013: Tentative deal early Sunday January 6

I think the alignment was a little flawed and I hated the way they were going to do the playoffs. I am hoping they can come up with a plan that allows for something similar for the regular season that still allows for a top 8 situation for the playoffs.

On another note: God I hope the Jets can get their act together on the road.

I think the current playoff format is fantastic. I don't even have a problem with the current division format. Just need to move a few teams around*.

*Detroit isn't allowed to move. Too big of a draw and the travel is no worse for the Western teams.

Vector wrote:

I think the current playoff format is fantastic. I don't even have a problem with the current division format. Just need to move a few teams around*.

*Detroit isn't allowed to move. Too big of a draw and the travel is no worse for the Western teams.

Exactly, but I would be fine with a 4 conference setup where you end up with an 8 team and 7 team conference making up one division. I just don't want them to do the top 4 within each conference goes to playoffs. Not only will it allow weak teams into the playoffs more often, a friend of mine pointed out that fans would stop paying attention to what even more teams are doing during the regular season. For example, I really don't pay much attention at all to whats going on in the west because it has so little affect to the standings in the east. With the new playoff setting the same could be said for half your division as well. It's a stupid setup that they were right to drop in the first place. They shouldn't be going back to it.

Jesus, Nice to see Burrows is still a cheap shot punk.

**Edit** So is Marchand. What a numbskull move.

Looked like a pretty smart move to me; Marchand might have to sit for a few games, while at this point any injury to Salo puts him in danger of losing weeks, months or the remainder of his career. The league wants bloodbaths, and they shall have them.

Apparently Salo is flying with the team to Florida. I hope he's alright. The guy is having a great season after struggling with injuries last year and looking a lot slower.

SwampYankee wrote:

**Edit** So is Marchand. What a numbskull move.

Indeed - he got away with one during the Cup finals, and now this time it (rightfully) bit him in the ass.

That said, how the hell does a 5 on 1 pile on lead to a 5 on 3 power play for the pilers-on? It would seem that the league's officiating is as consistent and clear as ever.

I'm fine with guys like Marchand and Castillo in Philly getting scrutinized. They have earned it. But I would like to see that sh*tbag Burrows get the same. He reminds me so much of a kid in school who torques up the big kids till he gets his ass kicked then whines to the teacher. I don't like fighting in hockey and I don't like to see injuries to any player, Bruins or foes. Except for Burrows. Him I wouldn't mind seeing laid out.

4xis.black wrote:

Looked like a pretty smart move to me; Marchand might have to sit for a few games, while at this point any injury to Salo puts him in danger of losing weeks, months or the remainder of his career. The league wants bloodbaths, and they shall have them.

What an odd sentiment coming from a Vancouver resident....

Obviously I don't like Brad Marchand very much, but it's pointless to blame him for doing something the league tacitly condones. I imagine Boston and Marchand are just fine with a 5 game suspension at the midpoint of the season in exchange for possibly ending the career of a Vancouver top 6 defenseman. And hey, our Raffi Torres did a lot of the same sh*t during the playoffs last season. The league seems to take the position that goonery is exciting, and is content to pay lip service to player safety without taking any significant measures to enforce it.

I've never really gotten the Alex Burrows thing, though. He's a pest, but I don't think I've ever seen him attempt to injure someone. Meanwhile many of Boston's star players seem to injure people all the time. Maybe the Chara thing was an accident; MAYBE the Lucic thing was an accident. This one was very obviously not an accident.

People get on Burrows for biting. Burrows is a controversial figure in that his well earned reputation isn't very accurate anymore. He's cut his antics and mouth off way down as well as his stick work. The guy is expected to score and be the Sedins' defensive presence.

But yeah, I've never seen him even have a borderline hit. As far as actual hockey play goes he's pretty clean. He's also a great person outside of hockey.

I have no idea how to approach this situation or this season thus far. For god's sake, we've got the #1 record in the NHL. I'm caught between joy and the overwhelming sense of impending doom.

Prederick wrote:

I have no idea how to approach this situation or this season thus far. For god's sake, we've got the #1 record in the NHL. I'm caught between joy and the overwhelming sense of impending doom.

At least you're team is #1. My poor Jets are riddled with injuries. They are 1-3 since New Years, and in 9th place having fallen out of a tie for 6th. We need to get Buff back, and I hope to god Bogo and Glass aren't out for long. Unfortunately I think Glass may be out for a while.

It has been a blast watching the Blues finally achieve the success that has been promised for the last few years.

Jayhawker wrote:

It has been a blast watching the Blues finally achieve the success that has been promised for the last few years.

Was only a matter of time and getting an actual coach. Getting Perron back helps. If only Andy McDonald can stay healthy.

With everyone healthy the Blues have a very deep offensive group. Backes, McDonald, Oshie, Perron, Steen, Stewart, Berglund, and Arnott. D'Agostini and Langenbrunner are pretty solid as well. The defence is the only aspect that leaves me concerned. Jackman is the oldest at 30 then Colaiacovo at 28. Polak is 25, Shattenkirk and Cole are 23, and Peitrangelo is 22. I'd like to see another veteran d-man added. Still, a very well built team.

"Here's what I don't understand. I don't understand how a team can be so hated … I understand they have a couple of vexing guys like Burrows and Lapierre. They're agitators, just about every team has a couple of them. But they have no toughness. Normally, teams that are hated have a horde of tough guys that just maraud and punch other teams into oblivion. How can you be hated when you have no toughness?"

- Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Providence

This is, perhaps, the greatest window into the soul of the Vancouver Canucks we've seen in quite some time.

- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy.

Full piece complete with Sean Thorton flushing Gallagher's toilet online.

See, I don't think it's just me or Bruins fans in general that think the Canucks are whiney Female Doggoes....

SwampYankee wrote:
"Here's what I don't understand. I don't understand how a team can be so hated … I understand they have a couple of vexing guys like Burrows and Lapierre. They're agitators, just about every team has a couple of them. But they have no toughness. Normally, teams that are hated have a horde of tough guys that just maraud and punch other teams into oblivion. How can you be hated when you have no toughness?"

- Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Providence

This is, perhaps, the greatest window into the soul of the Vancouver Canucks we've seen in quite some time.

- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy.

Full piece complete with Sean Thorton flushing Gallagher's toilet online.

See, I don't think it's just me or Bruins fans in general that think the Canucks are whiney Female Doggoes....

From the article:

Tony Gallagher is the biggest promoter of the "woe is us"/Vancouver against the world/"It's a C-O-N-spiracy!" nonsense that makes their team and its fan base seem like tin-foil hat wearing crackpots.

So one Canuck's reporter is a whiny Female Doggo (which, by the articles linked in the Puck Daddy blog, I won't dispute) and all of a sudden the Canucks and their fans themselves are whiney Female Doggoes?

Does that mean I get to call Boston Fans {ableist slur} now because of Jack Edwards? Because that's what this kind of comment is telling me I can do. I won't, because it's stupid to judge a team and a fan base by this kind of crap. One journalist does not a fanbase make. (Actually, from the comments I've seen, most Vancouver fans have dismissed him as irrelevant long ago).

And sorry, but Puck Daddy is a huge hack himself, who goes out of his way to trash Canadian teams given any opportunity. (Which means that all New Jersey fans are, too! Whee!)

Here, let me try it: It's not just Habs and Canucks cards that think that the Bruins play the victim when it suits them, too.

My freaking Kings are mind boggling.

They have gone 6-1-3 under Darryl Sutter. And only 3 of those wins did the Kings score more than 3 goals.

They beat Vancouver quite handily 4-1. Shutout Chicago in Chicago. And there one loss is to get this.... Columbus Blue Jackets who 2 days later fired their head coach.

Jonathon Quick for Vezina!

Dysplastic wrote:
SwampYankee wrote:
"Here's what I don't understand. I don't understand how a team can be so hated … I understand they have a couple of vexing guys like Burrows and Lapierre. They're agitators, just about every team has a couple of them. But they have no toughness. Normally, teams that are hated have a horde of tough guys that just maraud and punch other teams into oblivion. How can you be hated when you have no toughness?"

- Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Providence

This is, perhaps, the greatest window into the soul of the Vancouver Canucks we've seen in quite some time.

- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy.

Full piece complete with Sean Thorton flushing Gallagher's toilet online.

See, I don't think it's just me or Bruins fans in general that think the Canucks are whiney Female Doggoes....

From the article:

Tony Gallagher is the biggest promoter of the "woe is us"/Vancouver against the world/"It's a C-O-N-spiracy!" nonsense that makes their team and its fan base seem like tin-foil hat wearing crackpots.

So one Canuck's reporter is a whiny Female Doggo (which, by the articles linked in the Puck Daddy blog, I won't dispute) and all of a sudden the Canucks and their fans themselves are whiney Female Doggoes?

Does that mean I get to call Boston Fans {ableist slur} now because of Jack Edwards? Because that's what this kind of comment is telling me I can do. I won't, because it's stupid to judge a team and a fan base by this kind of crap. One journalist does not a fanbase make. (Actually, from the comments I've seen, most Vancouver fans have dismissed him as irrelevant long ago).

And sorry, but Puck Daddy is a huge hack himself, who goes out of his way to trash Canadian teams given any opportunity. (Which means that all New Jersey fans are, too! Whee!)

Here, let me try it: It's not just Habs and Canucks cards that think that the Bruins play the victim when it suits them, too.

Sure, you can add Winnipeg to the list.... Hmmm. Something is common here...

I suspect most NHL players dislike the Canucks because they are very good. The Sedins play a style of hockey that is enormously frustrating to defend against, and we have possibly the best checking line in the league at the moment (in terms of actually playing hockey). I suspect the reason players dislike Boston is that they are also very good hockey players, though unlike Vancouver their style involves doing a tremendous amount of physical damage to the other team. Some of the Sedins' signature plays inhabit the gray area of the rulebook, where it's questionable who has what skating lane and whether they're running 'picks'. Much of Boston's play inhabits the gray area of the rulebook where it's unclear what you do or don't call between the whistles and whether this player intended to shatter that guy's spinal column.

Everything beyond this is narrative generated by sports media. In truth, Vancouver dives no more often than other teams; we have about the same number and quality of agitators, as well as a few middling fighters; our coach and GM whine about penalties just as often as every other coach and in exactly the same way. The job of sportscasters then becomes differentiating us from the other 29 hockey teams, and this is where the fun begins.

The star players on Vancouver have been Swedish for like ten years, and one thing about Swedish hockey players is that they don't tend to have larger-than-life personalities on the ice. (Occasionally they do amusing post-game interviews.) Markus Naslund didn't even celebrate his goals. One rung down the ladder, however, you have such gentlemen as Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, and the not-then-infamous Todd Bertuzzi. If you're a Sportscaster sitting on a panel comprised almost exclusively of former low-level goons, which players do you think are going to make for a more interesting story? (And what is that story going to be?)

True, most of the hate is between fans - During the buildup to last Saturday's games I heard that a lot during interviews of the B's - stuff like 'Yes, it's big for a regular season game, but we don't get worked up as much as the fans or media', and comments about how the animosity between the teams is overplayed by the media.

That said, I doubt players dislike other players based on their skill levels. If there is dislike based on what I have read and heard it has more to do with play style. That's why guys like Marchand, Carcillo and that douche Burrows are reviled by most of the league except for their teammates (and likely some of them who just don't talk about it).

Swamp, could you please stop beating around the bush and just tell us what you really think of Alex Burrows?

Spoiler:

WINKY SMILEY

SwampYankee wrote:

Sure, you can add Winnipeg to the list.... Hmmm. Something is common here...

So I guess Vancouver has an "it's us against the world!" conspiracy theory and now we have a "Canada vs Boston!" theory?

My point wasn't to point out that other people hate Boston to. The point was to show that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. The reaction coming out of Boston for the Marchand suspension is the exact same thing everyone hates Vancouver for doing. I can totally see the argument that the Canucks whine and are hypocritical, I just think that Boston does it too, hell Montreal and likely every other team does it too! I think it's foolish to pretend that your own team is saintly and beyond reproach just for the sake of a hate-on.

I can understand a dislike of a particular player and the way he plays, trust me. I just don't like it when that gets used to paint an entire organization and fanbase with the same brush.

All I know is that the Blues are going to kick the Sedin Sisters ass tonight and take over first place in the Western Conference.

Jayhawker wrote:

Sedin Sisters

Sigh.

Gravey wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Sedin Sisters

Sigh.

Speaking of ads not sure if you non-New Englanders would have seen this but it is practically a window into Brad Marchand's soul:

The new Molson era of the Habs begins like the old one ended: Panic-trading one of the marquee players because he didn't like the insane head-coach behind the bench and made it known publicly.

The injury situation has been dreadful (6 games with the roster of healthy players above the cap floor) but between the coach firings (the Martin firing shook my faith) and now this it's been a clusterf*ck of a season.

Roke wrote:

The new Molson era of the Habs begins like the old one ended: Panic-trading one of the marquee players because he didn't like the insane head-coach behind the bench and made it known publicly.

The injury situation has been dreadful (6 games with the roster of healthy players above the cap floor) but between the coach firings (the Martin firing shook my faith) and now this it's been a clusterf*ck of a season.

The more things change the more they stay the same, eh?

Jayhawker wrote:

All I know is that the Blues are going to kick the Sedin Sisters ass tonight and take over first place in the Western Conference.

How'd that work out for you?