[cferneyh]

In all honesty I never expected the Habs to do much this year..so Im not really that dissapointed.

Wow. You are taking it much better than I would be. If the Leafs had been within striking distance of the Wah-Wahs....errr, I mean the Sabres in January (like the Habs were), but didn't make the playoffs, I'd be even more pissed than I already am with Raycroft.

Gainey's got a chance to remake the roster though - their salary commitments for next year are $25.6 million, and that includes the $3.5 million that Samsonov will steal from them (though he'll likely be bought out). I suppose Markov is gonna get a hefty raise as I'm sure he'll attract a lot of attention.

As for the Leafs, IMO the only thing they really need to do is find an average starting goaltender. I mean they were fine on offense (8th overall) and they went from 22nd in the league in shots against to 8th (so their D is fine), but went from 21st in goals against to 25th. So they cut back on shots against, but allowed more goals - and that simply means your goaltender sucks ass. Correct that problem and there is no reason to believe they can't be a top ten team.

Of course, Captain Clutch will be another year older next season and his lack of scoring down the stretch could mean his age is starting to catch up with him......

[tth_fan]

In all honesty I never expected the Habs to do much this year..so Im not really that dissapointed.

Wow. You are taking it much better than I would be. If the Leafs had been within striking distance of the Wah-Wahs....errr, I mean the Sabres in January (like the Habs were), but didn't make the playoffs, I'd be even more pissed than I already am with Raycroft.

Gainey's got a chance to remake the roster though - their salary commitments for next year are $25.6 million, and that includes the $3.5 million that Samsonov will steal from them (though he'll likely be bought out). I suppose Markov is gonna get a hefty raise as I'm sure he'll attract a lot of attention.

As for the Leafs, IMO the only thing they really need to do is find an average starting goaltender. I mean they were fine on offense (8th overall) and they went from 22nd in the league in shots against to 8th (so their D is fine), but went from 21st in goals against to 25th. So they cut back on shots against, but allowed more goals - and that simply means your goaltender sucks ass. Correct that problem and there is no reason to believe they can't be a top ten team.

Of course, Captain Clutch will be another year older next season and his lack of scoring down the stretch could mean his age is starting to catch up with him......

Let's remember that Souray might be looking for a contract out west so he can be closer to his daughter...

[skippy the wonder dog]

I can think of how they should dispose of Samsonov. "Locked in the Trunk of a Car" is playing in my mind right now....

I don't have a problem with Koivu as captain, but they need to sign some new offensive talent for sure. Captain is about leadership, not how much you put the puck in the net.

Bonk has one of the better +/- records on the team, last I looked. Bonk, Johnson and Perezhogen. Look at the +/- on Kovalev, Koivu, Souray, etc. A big part of the Habs' problem is that their goal scorers, for whatever reason, are actually a liability on the ice. And those numbers (Souray is -28 ) started climbing at the midpoint of the season, when the wheels fell off.

Their defence is disappointingly porous, and they don't have the firepower to make up for it. Look at the shots on goal in the average Habs game. You can't rely on goaltending to win games.

[tommygunn]

Briere would be a great fit in Montreal!
Nashville's Scott Hartnell would be a great addition as well.

[Hard Canadian]

Ed Belfour & Ville Peltonen Arrested.

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[tigerthelion]

HAHAHA, nice one. I love how defensive you get. So now money is a factor is it? Gerber put up better numbers in the time he played this season than Raycroft. Raycroft, by all rights, should be on the bench a lot more. Gerber can't really control that now can he? He has a coach who feels Emery is better. Raycroft has a coach who plays him no matter what.

Also, Luongo was a huge disappointment early on. Everyone with a brain could see that he was playing like an average goalie until the new year.

Canucks, best Canadian team during the regular season. :thumb: :thumb:

Defensive? By reiterating my point? Uh, OK.

Guess what slugger - in a league with a salary cap money is ALWAYS an issue. And if you go find my posts on Gerber vs. Raycroft, I make the point about money then as well. This isn't new, nor is it rocket science.

And yeah, Gerber can control how much he plays, by, you know, playing better than the other goalie. It's really not all that complicated.

Yeah, that Luongo was a HUGE disappointment early in the season. I guess that's why he played in the All Star game.

Slugger? Haha, I like it. Geez, you take it hard when the Leafs fail miserably. You'd think you'd be used to it by now. It's only hockey. :thumb:

So you refused to address my point about Raycroft and his coach. Ya know, the one about Raycroft crapping the bed all year and STILL getting played by his coach. Gerber had better numbers than Raycroft. Just because Toronto has two shitty goalies doesn't mean Raycroft is any better than Gerber. Gerber didn't have the luxury of getting played NO MATTER WHAT but Raycroft did. Raycroft's backup was even worse than him. Ferguson Jr. really knows how to get great depth in goal. His starter is below average and his backup is below below average.

We all know that the All Star game is always based on play and NEVER A POPULARITY CONTEST! Good try, slugger. :wink:

[cferneyh]

So you refused to address my point about Raycroft and his coach. Ya know, the one about Raycroft crapping the bed all year and STILL getting played by his coach. Gerber had better numbers than Raycroft. Just because Toronto has two shitty goalies doesn't mean Raycroft is any better than Gerber. Gerber didn't have the luxury of getting played NO MATTER WHAT but Raycroft did. Raycroft's backup was even worse than him. Ferguson Jr. really knows how to get great depth in goal. His starter is below average and his backup is below below average.

We all know that the All Star game is always based on play and NEVER A POPULARITY CONTEST! Good try, slugger. :wink:

Refused to address your point? Man, you are really thick sometimes. Go re-read my post. And if you don't understand what "And yeah, Gerber can control how much he plays, by, you know, playing better than the other goalie" means and how that applies to Raycroft and Aubin, well, I'm not going to draw you a picture.

So let me make this as basic as I can for you: in the question of who was a bigger bust between Raycroft and Gerber, I chose Gerber because (a) he has a fatter contract, and (b) he played himself into a backup role. Gerber may very well be a better goalie than Raycroft (they both suck), but Raycroft wasn't being paid $3.7 million to sit on the bench, was he? Get it?

Yeah, I guess Luongo would be exceedingly POPULAR if he was playing in a brand new city in the other conference, signed a huge contract, but was playing average. I hear that's how players get popular all the time, especially in new cities. Better luck next time, slugger.

[Lizard King]

Ed Belfour & Ville Peltonen Arrested.

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Belfour is such a meathead, why doesnt he just pack it in already.

In more positive news, classy Joe is back for one more year..

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That guy is what every hockey player should strive to be like, even though I hated the Nordiques as rivals growing up, I always respected Sakic. A class guy and one awesome hockey player.

[tigerthelion]

So you refused to address my point about Raycroft and his coach. Ya know, the one about Raycroft crapping the bed all year and STILL getting played by his coach. Gerber had better numbers than Raycroft. Just because Toronto has two shitty goalies doesn't mean Raycroft is any better than Gerber. Gerber didn't have the luxury of getting played NO MATTER WHAT but Raycroft did. Raycroft's backup was even worse than him. Ferguson Jr. really knows how to get great depth in goal. His starter is below average and his backup is below below average.

We all know that the All Star game is always based on play and NEVER A POPULARITY CONTEST! Good try, slugger. :wink:

Refused to address your point? Man, you are really thick sometimes. Go re-read my post. And if you don't understand what "And yeah, Gerber can control how much he plays, by, you know, playing better than the other goalie" means and how that applies to Raycroft and Aubin, well, I'm not going to draw you a picture.

So let me make this as basic as I can for you: in the question of who was a bigger bust between Raycroft and Gerber, I chose Gerber because (a) he has a fatter contract, and (b) he played himself into a backup role. Gerber may very well be a better goalie than Raycroft (they both suck), but Raycroft wasn't being paid $3.7 million to sit on the bench, was he? Get it?

Yeah, I guess Luongo would be exceedingly POPULAR if he was playing in a brand new city in the other conference, signed a huge contract, but was playing average. I hear that's how players get popular all the time, especially in new cities. Better luck next time, slugger.

You never talk this way outside of your home, do you? You seem like a loud internet talker. You're funny. You at least finally admitted that Gerber may be better than Raycroft.

You do know that you are wrong a considerable amount of time here on hipbase, right? You use stats to prove things YOU WANT to prove. Stats can be used to prove almost anything and they can be manipulated every which way. You do know that, right? You do know that Mats Sundin has never had any tangible success in the playoffs with the Leafs, yet you still maintain that he's "Captain Clutch" because he scores a few game winners in the regular season. Captain Clutch scored something like one goal in the last 20 games of the season when his team needed him the most this season and only turned it on last year when the Leafs were out of contention. You're aware of that, correct? A superstar leader doesn't score one goal in the last 20 games of the season. You rail on about how Buffalo would be knocked out by the Leafs but, as much as I hate Buffalo, deep down you know that if the Leafs made it into the playoffs, then Buffalo would have dusted them off in five games.

Better luck next year, Leafs. :thumb: Geez, for being such a storied franchise, they've been missing the playoffs a lot lately haven't they? :twisted:

[tigerthelion]

"I love being part of the organization, I love the challenge that is for this team to win a championship," Sundin said as he and his teammates cleaned out their lockers Monday. "The challenge of the Toronto Maple Leafs not winning the Stanley Cup since 1967 is a huge positive thing in my opinion for motivation to come back and get better every year."


:lol: :lol: Get better every year? AHAHAHAHAHA!

"He's our leader," said defenceman Bryan McCabe. "We need him back.

"He means absolutely everything to this team," said Raycroft.

:lol: :lol: :lol: Where would the Leafs be without Sundin? Two years and no playoffs. Good track record. :lol: :lol: :lol:

"We haven't had a full roster throughout the whole season. It's a bitter feeling knowing that I think we had a good enough team to do well in the playoffs."

hock: Cferneyh, look away. Sundin is making injuries an excuse. I thought only Buffalo fans and players used injuries as an excuse. Gold, pure gold! :thumb: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

"Obviously, you don't want that to happen but at the same time I had 37 wins this year," said Raycroft. "Being in this city, I know there's going to be a lot analysed in the next week . . . but the bottom line is that there's not many people that plays goalie in the National Hockey League that get 37 wins in a year - top 10 in the league. I'm happy with that.


:lol: :lol: HAHAHAHHA! Raycroft is happy with his season. Priceless. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[cferneyh]

You never talk this way outside of your home, do you? You seem like a loud internet talker. You're funny. You at least finally admitted that Gerber may be better than Raycroft.

You do know that you are wrong a considerable amount of time here on hipbase, right? You use stats to prove things YOU WANT to prove. Stats can be used to prove almost anything and they can be manipulated every which way. You do know that, right? You do know that Mats Sundin has never had any tangible success in the playoffs with the Leafs, yet you still maintain that he's "Captain Clutch" because he scores a few game winners in the regular season. Captain Clutch scored something like one goal in the last 20 games of the season when his team needed him the most this season and only turned it on last year when the Leafs were out of contention. You're aware of that, correct? A superstar leader doesn't score one goal in the last 20 games of the season. You rail on about how Buffalo would be knocked out by the Leafs but, as much as I hate Buffalo, deep down you know that if the Leafs made it into the playoffs, then Buffalo would have dusted them off in five games.

Better luck next year, Leafs. :thumb: Geez, for being such a storied franchise, they've been missing the playoffs a lot lately haven't they? :twisted:

How the hell do you know how I talk at my house or outside of my house? Sorry champ, I say what's on my mind, in person and online. If you don't like it, don't read my posts.

Secondly, find me a post where I said Raycroft was better than Gerber. Please. Someone asked who the bigger bust was. I said Gerber because (a) he gets paid more and (b) he's sitting on the bench. Is this really that difficult for you to comprehend? I'm not sure how I can make it any more basic.

But I do love that since you have no comebacks you have to drag Sundin's disappointing stretch drive into a discussion of Raycroft. That's ever so relevant.

You rail on about how Buffalo would be knocked out by the Leafs but, as much as I hate Buffalo, deep down you know that if the Leafs made it into the playoffs, then Buffalo would have dusted them off in five games.

Uh, rail? One post, tongue planted firmly in cheek is railing? You love the overstatements, don't you?

And, no, I don't know deep down what would have happened, and neither do you. Here's what I do know: the Leafs went 3-5 against them in the regular season and two of those losses were by one goal, one loss was by two goals and another loss was by three goals with two of the goals being empty netters. There was only one game where the Buffalo blew Toronto out (6-1). So other than one game out of eight, the Leafs were in every game they played against Buffalo.

I would assume that given the strength of Buffalo's roster versus Toronto, and given who plays goalie for the Leafs, that Buffalo would win the series. But there were plenty of people who assumed that Detroit would demolish the Oilers last year, weren't there. That's why they play the games.

[thedarkcanuck]

you guys are funny

[Hard Canadian]

looking forward to TSN's playoff preview tonight, mainly for Maggie the Monkey's picks. She always does better than the rest of the guys. That is her name right? :roll:

[Lizard King]

The Blackhawks sure lucked out today..

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Montreal is picking 12th, thats not too bad, Toronto's next at 13.

[tth_fan]

The Blackhawks sure lucked out today..

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Montreal is picking 12th, thats not too bad, Toronto's next at 13.

Still, I think they would have preffered getting the 1st pick when they were supposed to...when Ovechkin & Malkin were in the draft.
This year isn't the strongest draft year in recent memory.