NHL 2010-2011: Rick Rypien

Havlat just never gelled with Koivu. Heatley can actually be an anchor that makes everyone around him worse.

I always liked Heatley; but he was so streaky. Get a bunch of points in a bunch of games, and then suck for a quarter of the season. We'll just have to see what Havlat can do.

Vector wrote:

... Heatley can actually be an anchor that makes everyone around him worse.

Totally made me laugh.

Man, talk about out of nowhere: Canes essentially get Tomas Kaberle and a 4th rounder for Corvo and a ($12.5 million) bag of pucks? Saves the 10 or so fans who bought Frank Kaberle sweaters some effort, I guess. I know Tomas is the defenseman people love to hate on for some reason, but I think he'll be a decent upgrade from Corvo. Really wish we'd picked up Konopka or someone with some muscle, though we've gotten a bit bigger overall. Stewart isn't too shy with the body, but Ponikarovsky doesn't play up to his size and neither of them throw the body as much as Cole did. I fear it'll be another year of getting outmuscled overall. JR likely still isn't done, though.

ColdForged wrote:

Man, talk about out of nowhere: Canes essentially get Tomas Kaberle and a 4th rounder for Corvo and a ($12.5 million) bag of pucks? Saves the 10 or so fans who bought Frank Kaberle sweaters some effort, I guess. I know Tomas is the defenseman people love to hate on for some reason, but I think he'll be a decent upgrade from Corvo. Really wish we'd picked up Konopka or someone with some muscle, though we've gotten a bit bigger overall. Stewart isn't too shy with the body, but Ponikarovsky doesn't play up to his size and neither of them throw the body as much as Cole did. I fear it'll be another year of getting outmuscled overall. JR likely still isn't done, though.

Yeah, it will really be interesting to see how this turns out. Kaberle didn't go crazy in Boston, but he's a decent D and his overall numbers are good from years previous. We'll have to see if he gets back to form this next year, or if he's really declining... But it's his last year on his contract, so he's playing for a new one. *fingers crossed*

Love what the Sens have done so far.... nothing. They are primed to blow up the roster come the deadline (caveat being will they get anything decent back and draft well going forward). I think they are much better off trying to sell hockey in Ottawa with a fresh young lineup that has some hope compared to the current mishmash of going nowhere.

Cap in my opinion seems to moving too fast though. Look at a deal like Spezza's which was brutal when it was signed and hes now suddenly moveable to a team who fools themselves into thinking hes the missing piece in their contending puzzle. Gonchar? why not pick him up at the deadline if you need some powerplay help.

Could be a very ugly season where some teams race to the payroll floor and others are racing to max out and push for the cup.

[quote=Ranger Rick]

ColdForged wrote:

But it's his last year on his contract, so he's playing for a new one. *fingers crossed*

Not sure what you mean. He signed a 3 year contract with the Hurricanes.

Vector wrote:

Not sure what you mean. He signed a 3 year contract with the Hurricanes.

D'oh, you're right. I was thinking of Corvo's. Well, I guess we'll see... =)

Ranger Rick wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

Man, talk about out of nowhere: Canes essentially get Tomas Kaberle and a 4th rounder for Corvo and a ($12.5 million) bag of pucks? Saves the 10 or so fans who bought Frank Kaberle sweaters some effort, I guess. I know Tomas is the defenseman people love to hate on for some reason, but I think he'll be a decent upgrade from Corvo. Really wish we'd picked up Konopka or someone with some muscle, though we've gotten a bit bigger overall. Stewart isn't too shy with the body, but Ponikarovsky doesn't play up to his size and neither of them throw the body as much as Cole did. I fear it'll be another year of getting outmuscled overall. JR likely still isn't done, though.

Yeah, it will really be interesting to see how this turns out. Kaberle didn't go crazy in Boston, but he's a decent D and his overall numbers are good from years previous. We'll have to see if he gets back to form this next year, or if he's really declining... But it's his last year on his contract, so he's playing for a new one. *fingers crossed*

I've always thought Kaberle is a better player than most observers give him credit for. He makes great little plays in his own end when under pressure from the forecheck and has one of the best breakout passes in the league. You'll see him spring forwards loose from your own zone all the time and he'll make it look so easy you won't think he did anything special. Tape to tape, all the time. Kaberle never panics under pressure, and is very consistent. He skates well, passes amazingly well, and generally plays safe, solid hockey. There is a reason Kaberle has consistently produced points on Leafs teams that were quite terrible - to me, there's no question he's an upgrade on Corvo.

Be prepared for some frustration though. Kaberle refuses to shoot the puck. I can't count the number of times I've watched him on the powerplay where he's had an open shot and he just didn't take it. He also doesn't hit and doesn't get hit, which means sometimes he doesn't go into dirty areas to make the play that needs to be made. He plays such a safe game that at times its just not creative (though, again, he makes passes that others aren't capable of).

Basically, he's too one-dimensional, but really good at what he does. Put him in a position where he knows what is what and he'll thrive. Ask him to branch out, and.. he just won't. I think that's basically what happened in Boston, and is also why by the end of the playoffs he started producing for them. He found his niche. Having Maurice there as coach should help him.

nihilo wrote:

Be prepared for some frustration though. Kaberle refuses to shoot the puck. I can't count the number of times I've watched him on the powerplay where he's had an open shot and he just didn't take it. He also doesn't hit and doesn't get hit, which means sometimes he doesn't go into dirty areas to make the play that needs to be made. He plays such a safe game that at times its just not creative (though, again, he makes passes that others aren't capable of).

Shot attempt data isn't easily available (and I'm too lazy to compile it) but Kaberle shoots at an average to above-average rate for a defenseman... 40th amongst defensemen in shots on goal last season, 24th in 09-10. Him not shooting is more of a narrative myth from broadcasters/sportswriters rather than the reality.

The not hitting stuff is spot on, though with the way the NHL counts hits I really question their utility as they are defined... but that's another discussion.

Having taken a look at Kaberle's underlying numbers over the past few years he's a guy I'm having trouble getting a handle on. When the Leafs hired Ron Wilson he Kaberle went from a top-matchup, hard-opposition defenseman (what i would define as a #1 guy) to a low-competition guy. It's not as if he was bad in the tough matchups either. Perhaps Wilson overvalues physicality over possession and shot-prevention, or Kaberle regressed greatly over one off-season and Wilson made the necessary adjustments. I'm interested to see how he does in Carolina.

Incidentally Corvo along with Gleason seemed to have been the Canes #1 pairing last season ( if you look at the quality of opposition they faced) and they did okay. Boston really needed to get some help on defense and getting him for so little is, unfortunately, a coup.

Vector wrote:
Ranger Rick wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

But it's his last year on his contract, so he's playing for a new one. *fingers crossed*

Not sure what you mean. He signed a 3 year contract with the Hurricanes.

I DIDN'T SAY THAT, DUMMY!

I imagine it was easy to accuse Kaberle of never shooting when he was paired with Charazard McThundershot in Boston.

Kaberle had that problem in Toronto when he was paired with McCabe or Phaneuf.

Isn't the problem with Kaberle not just that he never shoots but when he does it is usually weak and in the goalie's chest?

Vector wrote:

Kaberle had that problem in Toronto when he was paired with McCabe or Phaneuf.

Isn't the problem with Kaberle not just that he never shoots but when he does it is usually weak and in the goalie's chest?

He's really tentative with his shots - it's never his first choice of action. It always seemed to me that Kaberle only shot the puck if he didn't have any other option available. He wasn't hungry to score.

Kaberle got a ton of power play time in Toronto and was always paired with a shooter. He did a great job one year of setting up McCabe on the pp and made him look really good. The thing is, teams figured out in a hurry that Kaberle doesn't want to shoot, so they started just covering the other D-man and they were both neutralized. If Kaberle finally shoots the puck, it's after hesitating first.

Here's an image from PPP of Kaberle's shot locations (away games only), and of Phaneuf's (also away games only):
IMAGE(http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/648453/Untitled11.png)IMAGE(http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/648485/Untitled19.png)

Kaberle shoots a lot less, yes, but he's also sitting as far back towards the blue line as he can and hardly ever encroaching forward to take a shot. If he did pinch, he was looking to pass. Phaneuf on the other hand is shooting the puck from everywhere, crossing to the other side of the ice, and sneaking down for a better shot. They're very different players.

I'm slagging on Kaberle right now, but really I do think he's a good player. Just.. shot numbers don't tell the whole story. Kaberle was never a shooter. He's a sublime passer and a very consistent defenceman and he's great at what he does.

Watching Kaberle during this past season after he came aboard, I was not impressed. He was obtained to help the PP and that never really happened. Julien had to make a lot of adjustments trying to get the PP to work because Kaberle failed to make an impact. I think most B's fans are not sad to see him go, especially for that much wheat...

IMAGE(http://a.yfrog.com/img737/4568/8sidx.jpg)

IMAGE(http://l.yimg.com/lk/api/res/1.2/owpm0_cWbx0fVbvOaE2OyQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW1lZGlhO2g9MzI5O3c9NjEw/http://mit.zenfs.com/206/2011/07/JETSLOGOS.jpg)

Makes sense, but makes them look too much like they're CFB Winnipeg's rec team. And what happens when the F-35 enters service? Does that amalgam CF-18/F-16 get replaced?

I like the circle one, the rest look really clip-art-ish to me.

For our American friends, the Canadian Forces Air Command roundel:

IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/RCAF-Roundel.svg)

Gravey wrote:

For our American friends, the Canadian Forces Air Command roundel:

IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/RCAF-Roundel.svg)

Personally, I'm quite familiar with it; this place is crawling with Candadians. As for the Winnipeg Jets, who the hell are they, exactly? And why does their logo suck so badly?

The old logo:
IMAGE(http://www.yourwinnipegjets.com/pictures/wpg.gif)

The new one's not bad.. a bit too busy for my tastes, but not everyone can have a classic old school logo.

At least they didn't go with this one...

IMAGE(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/Roke11/Jets.png)

I'm actually a huge fan of the logo. Glad they stuck with the traditional colours too. Think I now have a new third favorite team.

Ranger Rick wrote:

I like the circle one, the rest look really clip-art-ish to me.

The small clip-art on top is probably for those shoulder logos, the bottom one I think they said it was for the crest.

Not bad...

I was reading today that Alexei Yashin's agent is apparently in negotiations with the NY Islanders about a possible return to the NHL. Could anything be more ridiculous? The Isles are already paying Yashin $2 million a year from his last contract there that was bought out, and now Garth Snow is thinking about signing him again?!?

Snow is such a comically bad GM, I'm almost convinced he's doing it on purpose. Right? Nobody is that bad.. the Islanders organization must be operating in a sealed off echo chamber - oblivious to anything other than their own ideas.

The Islanders are operating with a sealed checkbook, Charles Wang has just about had it. Now that his Lighthouse is gone, and the cleverly-scheduled August 1st vote for a new arena is being forced on the area, it's either swim or Quebec/Kansas City here they come in 2015.

The August 1 vote is being mocked as something they are trying to put over on the area, and they are counting on people to not vote against it combined with low voter turnout due to summer vacations and travel.

I'll be extremely sad and disappointed if the Islanders move. Especially if the NHL doesn't do everything they can to keep them there. Would be a bloody shame to have the failing Coyotes propped up yet let the rich history of the Islanders skip town.

The Islanders have been mismanaged for a couple decades now. Sure, they won four cups in the 80s with some really dominating teams - you have to respect that. But the last time they won a playoff series was 92-93. And before that their last successful season with 87-88.

I still feel like with good ownership the Isles could be successful franchise, and I hate to see a cup winning team move. But the Isles have been struggling for a long time now.

nihilo wrote:

The Islanders have been mismanaged for a couple decades now. Sure, they won four cups in the 80s with some really dominating teams - you have to respect that. But the last time they won a playoff series was 92-93. And before that their last successful season with 87-88.

I still feel like with good ownership the Isles could be successful franchise, and I hate to see a cup winning team move. But the Isles have been struggling for a long time now.

As relevant as all that is, it'd be an embarrassment to see the NHL buy a team in a market where hockey had little potential of working and do everything they can to keep it there, then let a iconic franchise leave.

I hope this is just needless worrying, on my part.