[Lizard King]

We find out tomorrow night which team gets Steve Stamkos. Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Atlanta, St.Louis & the NY Islanders all have a shot.

..poor kid.

Would it be that horrible to be picked by Tampa?? They have Lecavalier, St.Louis, Boyle, and they now have Mike Smith, who now has a legitimate chance to be a starter.
I think the Lightning's future is bright. If I was Stamkos, I would hope for TB over the others!

Tampa has some good players and decent future if Smith pans out, but it still wont be anything like playing in Canada or the northern U.S. If it was me Id be praying for TB or NY, its not the Rangers but its still NY.

[Corpse]

Another year, another heartbreak. Kinda like the tourture the Sabres put me through every year. About the only consistency my life has anyway :thumb:

So with that I'm throwing my hat into The Habs ring and hoping they take the cup this year. And with most teams I cheer for they probably have no chance so for all you Hab fans ya might want to pray a little harder........ :lol:

[ryan93]

He'd have a lot of really good players to play with if he goes to Los Angeles as well, guys like Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, Michael Cammelleri, Jack Johnson, Patrick O'Sullivan, etc.

[Lizard King]

So with that I'm throwing my hat into The Habs ring and hoping they take the cup this year. And with most teams I cheer for they probably have no chance so for all you Hab fans ya might want to pray a little harder........ :lol:

Thanks...I guess. :?

[opiated]

Go Caps

[cferneyh]

This might be my favourite hockey article ever. It's hilarious.

So, to recap, the Leafs are going to get better come October, but it is a slow process, so don't expect it to happen overnight (i.e. by October). And the Leafs have a plan in place, but they haven't compiled a list of GMs yet, which means that the plan they have in place was put in a place by a guy who won't be the GM. Sounds like a helluva plan!

Jeebus.

[tigerthelion]

Time to pay the piper Tiger....as per our rules I hope to see the appropriate changes made to your signature by the beginning of the playoffs. Antropov pots 26 goals in 72 games while Nazzy goes the whole season and puts in a mere 25 goals. It was a very close bet but in the end there can only be one winner.

ONE LOUSY GOAL!! :x :x

[tigerthelion]

This might be my favourite hockey article ever. It's hilarious.

So, to recap, the Leafs are going to get better come October, but it is a slow process, so don't expect it to happen overnight (i.e. by October). And the Leafs have a plan in place, but they haven't compiled a list of GMs yet, which means that the plan they have in place was put in a place by a guy who won't be the GM. Sounds like a helluva plan!

Jeebus.

In other words, the Leafs are praying that Brian Burke comes in to save the franchise. If he refuses, the Leafs are up shit creek without a paddle.

[tigerthelion]

This might be my favourite hockey article ever. It's hilarious.

So, to recap, the Leafs are going to get better come October, but it is a slow process, so don't expect it to happen overnight (i.e. by October). And the Leafs have a plan in place, but they haven't compiled a list of GMs yet, which means that the plan they have in place was put in a place by a guy who won't be the GM. Sounds like a helluva plan!

Jeebus.

You thinks that's bad? Try reading, "Dave Nonis says the Vancouver Canucks are closer to becoming a Stanley Cup contender than they were a year ago" at the top of an article and keeping a straight face.

The Canucks made the 2nd round of the playoffs last season. This season, they missed the playoffs. Yeah, what Nonis says make sense to me. cratch: cratch: He talks about "depth" and "cap space" as big reasons why they are better. Yeah, now the Canucks have more mid-level prospects who will never turn into top tier talent than they did a year ago. Great! Let's throw a parade! Now, they have more cap room. Great. They had cap room last season and donut eating Nonis signed the likes of Isbister, Ritchie, and 100 year old Miller. Excellent. hock: The Sedins couldn't muster up a point a game average this season, but will probably be looking for raises. Great. :roll: Ohlund and Salo are injury prone, older, and overrated. Great. If the Canucks don't get some serious scoring upgrades, Luongo will ask out as soon as next year in all likelihood. Great. Yep, I'd say the Canucks are in great shape. I mean, cap space always translates into wins, right? hock:

[cferneyh]

Each and every day, I think it is impossible for me to hate Jason Blake more than I already do. Then I read/hear/see something that makes me hate him even more. Apparently he is claiming that he "wasn't used properly?!?" WTF?

So I just took a gander at the time on ice stats at NHL.com. Blake was third among Leaf forwards for total icetime this season (behind Stajan and Sundin). A little more digging shows that he actually led the team in non-shorthanded icetime. That's right - he spent more even strength time or PP time on the ice than any other Maple Leaf forward this season.

But he wasn't used properly. Did he want to play goalie? Did he expect his pop-gun shot to be used from the point? Tell us Jason Blake, how exactly were you not used properly?

F*ckhead.

At least Maurice fired back with "I know he played with four different centremen."

[sean.bonner]

Looks like Tampa Bay will get Stamkos.

[laliber]

Looks like Tampa Bay will get Stamkos.

Now they have to find a way to broker a deal and get Luongo (closer to his family)… perhaps not this year, but next?

[grimes]

If I'm Cliff Fletcher I'm spending the next two months trying to convince the Lightning to trade me that pick. Improbable, yes. But not impossible. I don't think Mike Smith solves Tampa's goaltending problems long-term, so a package that begins with Toskala might get their attention.

[ryan93]

Tampa wouldn't be interested.

I was never a fan of Jason Blakes, and was disappointed when the Leafs gave him all that money & term. As a fan of the New York Rangers, i've seen Blake play plenty over the years & he simply wasn't worth it.

[schaggs]

Jason Blake had 332 shots this year (5th in the NHL), a little over 4 shots a game, and finished the season with a whopping 4.5% shooting percentage. That puts him on par with other snipers like Matt Ellis of Los Angeles, and Steve Begin of Montreal, who combined for a whopping 6 goals and 16 points this year.

Even Wade Belak had a better shooting percentage, and if you'll recall, he scored his first goal in something like a decade this year. I don't think that Jason Blake has much to complain about other than his own performance.