T1B

The last few years I have sort of lost track of Hockey. I think much of it was the lack of goal scoring and the fact that I no longer live close to any team that might appeal to me. Lived in Pittsburgh for a short time but had always been a Penguins fan since I was little and it was the peak of my hockey memories. They won the first Hockey game I ever sat down and watched on television against the Flyers. My father used to hate hockey, before he lived in New York for a year, and wouldn't watch it or even allow me to watch it. While I lived in Central Oklahoma I caught Blazers fever (OKC needs a NHL team and could and would support one better than most NHL cities do) and enjoy the live game.

At any rate I was wondering what the prognosis for the Penns is from the folks around this board. I know we won't be seeing the playoffs again this year but is there any hope for the future or should I just expect for the Penns to fold or be sold and relocated? Financialy they are screwed and Bankrupt basically. :(

Other than Crosby, you team has no young stars. At best this year I think the Penguins have enough talent to possibly grab the eighth playoff spot in the East. They would need a lot of things to go right for that to happen.

Maria gambled that the veterans he signed as free agents this year would help.
On paper they had the potential to be an explosive offensive team if Maria was playing up to his former self.
So far, this 'new' NHL has exploited their weakness as being stocked with a roster full of over the hill vets with no speed.

Sidney is the Penguins future but that future involves missing the playoffs and grabbing one of the top 3 picks for at least another year.

Unless Pittsburgh coughs up the money to give the Penguins a new arena, their days there are numbered.
Winnipeg's poised for a recovery. They have a building suited for them and the province of Manitoba is seeing an increase of over 20% more in people moving to it and the value of the province's oil production has jumped by 177% since 1998.

Otis wrote:Winnipeg's poised for a recovery. They have a building suited for them and the province of Manitoba is seeing an increase of over 20% more in people moving to it and the value of the province's oil production has jumped by 177% since 1998.

Yeah, that's like saying Manitoba had 10 wells in 1998 and have 17 now. There is no oil boom in Manitoba, trust me...

If the NHL ever ends up in Winnipeg again, I'll eat my hat.

As for the Pens, they've got a lot of slick offensive players, and I really think that if Jocelyn Thibeault gets hot, that team could win a lot of games in a short span, maybe even enough to push themselves into the playoff picture. Unfortunately for them, the east is pretty strong this year, so they may be victims of the numbers game.

As for you, Hap, could you be more fucking clueless?? Ryan Malone and Evgeni Malkin would be godsends on the Leafs as far as young stars go. But then again, Malkin isn't playing in the NHL this year, so maybe you're kinda correct....

Over the hill vets with no speed, Otis? Last I checked, Ziggy Palffy and Sergei Gonchar are in the primes of their careers and can skate with the best of 'em... Mark Recchi isn't exactly slow... John LeClair is about the only guy that fits your description.

JD wrote:
As for you, Hap, could you be more fucking clueless?? Ryan Malone and Evgeni Malkin would be godsends on the Leafs as far as young stars go. But then again, Malkin isn't playing in the NHL this year, so maybe you're kinda correct....

Malone is not as good as Stajan or Steen. Even Wellwood is looking like a pretty decent prospect. Malone's a good player but hardly as good as you are making him out be. He's also 26, while that is hardly old I wouldn't classify him as a young star, specially with the 45 or so points he got in the last NHL season.

JD wrote:

Otis wrote:Winnipeg's poised for a recovery. They have a building suited for them and the province of Manitoba is seeing an increase of over 20% more in people moving to it and the value of the province's oil production has jumped by 177% since 1998.

Yeah, that's like saying Manitoba had 10 wells in 1998 and have 17 now. There is no oil boom in Manitoba, trust me...

Maybe not on the same scale as the oil boom currently going on in Alberta.
But it is a slight bit more than 17 wells JD, it's 133 wells and with the record profits that the Alberta government has made on the back of the oil industry, you know that Saskatchewan and Manitoba are taking that much more initiative to follow suit.

If the NHL ever ends up in Winnipeg again, I'll eat my hat.

Why? I mean isn't this new Betteman deal the deal which will make all franchises profitable, even the small markets? That can't be the reason why the NHL wouldn't work in Winnipeg..
Do they have an outdated arena with no luxery boxes? Nope.
At least the fans would show up to games there unlike a couple of other arenas around the league which have had attendance records more suited to a Junior B game than an NHL game.

As for the Pens, they've got a lot of slick offensive players, and I really think that if Jocelyn Thibeault gets hot, that team could win a lot of games in a short span, maybe even enough to push themselves into the playoff picture. Unfortunately for them, the east is pretty strong this year, so they may be victims of the numbers game.

Anyone that puts any faith in Thibeault getting hot to turn around a franchise is either trolling or completely blind. Look up over rated in the dictionary and you'll find Thibeault's picture.

Over the hill vets with no speed, Otis? Last I checked, Ziggy Palffy and Sergei Gonchar are in the primes of their careers and can skate with the best of 'em... Mark Recchi isn't exactly slow... John LeClair is about the only guy that fits your description.

Okay, well perhaps you can explain why their supposedly offensive machine is being beat to the puck all the time then eh?

Even Recchi thinks so...
"We have to be more willing to beat people in puck races."

Apparently I'm not the only one who sees it that way either...

Otis wrote:Maria gambled that the veterans he signed as free agents this year would help.
On paper they had the potential to be an explosive offensive team if Maria was playing up to his former self.
So far, this 'new' NHL has exploited their weakness as being stocked with a roster full of over the hill vets with no speed.

Sidney is the Penguins future but that future involves missing the playoffs and grabbing one of the top 3 picks for at least another year.

Unless Pittsburgh coughs up the money to give the Penguins a new arena, their days there are numbered.
Winnipeg's poised for a recovery. They have a building suited for them and the province of Manitoba is seeing an increase of over 20% more in people moving to it and the value of the province's oil production has jumped by 177% since 1998.

It's my understanding that the Gaylords have been interested in the Penns for years now; since before Mario made the purchase and saved Pittsburgh. The Gaylords got royaly fucked in the whole scenario after the Penns deal fell through (Super Mario showed up with a borrowed bag of cash) and Leipold shoved it even further when he screwed them with the Predators. The Gaylords want a team in OKC now if for no other reason than to shove a pile of crap down Leipold's pants, and killing thier revenue, with the ticket controll. In the end it comes down to the Gaylords feeling that nobody else is allowed to own anything in either Tennessee or Oklahoma.

Otis wrote:

JD wrote:

Otis wrote:Winnipeg's poised for a recovery. They have a building suited for them and the province of Manitoba is seeing an increase of over 20% more in people moving to it and the value of the province's oil production has jumped by 177% since 1998.

Yeah, that's like saying Manitoba had 10 wells in 1998 and have 17 now. There is no oil boom in Manitoba, trust me...

Maybe not on the same scale as the oil boom currently going on in Alberta.
But it is a slight bit more than 17 wells JD, it's 133 wells and with the record profits that the Alberta government has made on the back of the oil industry, you know that Saskatchewan and Manitoba are taking that much more initiative to follow suit.

I wasn't literally saying they have 17 wells. I'm saying that in the grand scheme of things, in terms of a region's economic prosperity, the number of production in Manitoba is too small to make a difference. And that isn't changing. As of October 11, there were all of 5 drilling rigs operating in Manitoba. All of them are in the southwest corner, making their effects pretty unnoticeable in Winnipeg, other than a small amount of royalty that the government sees. To compound matters, the wells in Manitoba are owned, operated, and serviced by Albertan companies. Oil in Manitoba is probably helping the Flames and Oilers more than it would ever help to bring hockey back to Winnipeg.

By the way, Manitoba has 2033 wells capable of producing or already producing oil. Alberta will drill that many in a quarter.

If the NHL ever ends up in Winnipeg again, I'll eat my hat.

Why? I mean isn't this new Betteman deal the deal which will make all franchises profitable, even the small markets?

Yes, but not the tiny markets.

Do they have an outdated arena with no luxery boxes? Nope.

Their arena, while glimmering and new, doesn't hold enough people for the NHL. 15,015 can't possibly be enough, unless they managed to charge Leafesque ticket prices. Can't see that going over very well in Winnipeg.

Don't the Penguins have a new arena on the way anyhow? I could have sworn I read that somewhere...

At least the fans would show up to games there unlike a couple of other arenas around the league which have had attendance records more suited to a Junior B game than an NHL game.

Let's not get Nashville confused with Winnipeg, eh? Just because hockey's not viable somewhere else doesn't make it viable in another place.

As for the Pens, they've got a lot of slick offensive players, and I really think that if Jocelyn Thibeault gets hot, that team could win a lot of games in a short span, maybe even enough to push themselves into the playoff picture. Unfortunately for them, the east is pretty strong this year, so they may be victims of the numbers game.

Anyone that puts any faith in Thibeault getting hot to turn around a franchise is either trolling or completely blind. Look up over rated in the dictionary and you'll find Thibeault's picture.

Well, I'll agree that Thibault sucks, and you'll notice I used the word "if". I wouldn't say that's putting faith in him. However, he has been known to get hot for stretches, and if he can do that for a long enough stretch this year, the Pens could win a pile 'o' games in a short period.

Over the hill vets with no speed, Otis? Last I checked, Ziggy Palffy and Sergei Gonchar are in the primes of their careers and can skate with the best of 'em... Mark Recchi isn't exactly slow... John LeClair is about the only guy that fits your description.

Okay, well perhaps you can explain why their supposedly offensive machine is being beat to the puck all the time then eh?

Even Recchi thinks so...
"We have to be more willing to beat people in puck races."

Apparently I'm not the only one who sees it that way either...

Nothing in that article or quote is contrary to what I said. Seems to me all they're saying is that the Pens are sucking right now and aren't working hard. It doesn't say they don't have the speed, only that they're not using their speed. I'm not sitting here telling you the Pens are suddenly as good as 1991, but they've got a helluva lot more promise for this year than they've had in recent hockey seasons.

As for you Hap, Ryan Malone is hands down better than Stajan.... I haven't honestly seen Steen play, so I can't comment on him.

JD wrote:
As for you Hap, Ryan Malone is hands down better than Stajan....

That's your opinion. It's completely wrong, but it's your opinion.

Hapday wrote:

JD wrote: As for you Hap, Ryan Malone is hands down better than Stajan....

That's your opinion. It's completely wrong, but it's your opinion.

Well as long as you don't include stats and accomplishments in forming your opinion, I guess I would tend to disagree with you more often than not... :?

What stats do you want? Malone in his first NHL season, at age 25, on the first line and the first power-play unit for the Pengiuns getting 45 points? Stajan played only 69 games and got 27 points the same season. Keep in mind he played on the Leafs third line and barely saw time on the power play. Stajan was also 20 years old when he first played in the NHL.

Stajan still seeing third line minutes, but has Allison, Lindros, and Sundin (when he is healthy) playing in front of him. This year Malone is on the Penguins second line, behind Recchi and ahead of such Super Stars as Konstantin Koltsov and Andre Roy.

So tell me why Malone is hands down better than Stajan? Who do think has more upside?

Hapday wrote:What stats do you want? Malone in his first NHL season, at age 25, on the first line and the first power-play unit for the Pengiuns getting 45 points? Stajan played only 69 games and got 27 points the same season. Keep in mind he played on the Leafs third line and barely saw time on the power play. Stajan was also 20 years old when he first played in the NHL.

Isn't 27 points vs. 43 points enough? 1.5 times the points of your guy! On top of that, he broke the 20-goal barrier, a nice year for a rookie. 69 games, oh, then he was on the breakneck pace of 32 points for 82 games. Stajan has the youth factor working for him, but let's see him actually accomplish something before we start calling him superior to players who've actually pushed their way into an NHL team's top six.

But then again, I'll give Stajan a pass since Patty Quinn seems to hate young players.

JD wrote:
Patty Quinn seems to hate young players.

You are preaching to the choir.

Well, with the 4-3 win last night over the Caps, the Pens clinched a playoff birth. Fightin' w/NJ for tops in the division.

Who'da thunk it? I don't think there's any team in the East that would want to face the Pens in the playoffs. I'd guess they are at least one of the top 3 that no one wants to face.

The Pens this year are poised for a deep playoff run this year and a serious run at the title next year. W/the team so young this year, I just don't think they can make it all the way.

Props to the Pens on the playoff berth and props to Ken on the 2-year-old thread bump...

Holy hell, it was a two year bump, eh? Didn't notice that I just figured it was from Oct. 2006.

Considering we don't have a lot of threads in here other than my threads for the SNC, you probably didn't have to dig far to find that thread from November '05.

Page 16, I think it was.

Ken wrote:Holy hell, it was a two year bump, eh? Didn't notice that I just figured it was from Oct. 2006.

Don't you HATE when that happens? Bwahaha!

We have some fuckstick "Sabresfan" over in the SN hockey forum that's been diggin' up 1+ year old threads like there's no tomorrow.

I'd invite him HERE, if I knew that he'd quit posting overe THERE. Hahaha!

You folks would HATE me for it though. He ends all his posts with a "make the world a better place, punch a (enter player/coach name here) in the face....out/late".

Disturbing, really.

I would like to see this forum a little more active but we've got a good group here...no trouble-makers. (Knocking on the proverbial wood)

Shoalzie wrote:I would like to see this forum a little more active but we've got a good group here...no trouble-makers. (Knocking on the proverbial wood)

No doubt. I said the same about our forum over there, until that dingle-slap showed up.

You have a good thing going here. Real insightful.

BTW, Jack Johnson's making his debut for the Kings tonight. I'm a little geeked. Haven't had much to be excited about since Fukufugi's debut......and what a DISASTER that turned out to be.

Oy gevalt!

I'll definitely be tuning in after the Wings-Preds game to watch JMFJ's debut.