He's a hockey player

The team just announced that defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who took a shot off the face at the end of the second period, could return with a face shield ... as soon as they get done with the stitches.

Comments

[hockeytalkie]

flasher -PDs opinion are just that opinions. to those of you that he bothers that much just ignore him.

some people are like Lucy (pd), some are like Linus (leo), but that doesn't mean you have to play the part of Charlie Brown and keep trying to kick the football. be more like Snoopy, steal Linus' blanket once in a while or plant a sloppy wet one on Lucy much to her dismay, sure. but always -ALWAYS!- live life on your own terms when allowed and have fun out there. if not the Lucys and Linuses will drive you crazy.

[hockeytalkie]

that's exactly why feds shined vs Phi and Cal. both teams were so hell bent on shutting down the others VL4 esp, but MSL, stillman and modin as well that a smallish set up man wearing number 19 and an underachieving good sized winger wearing number 17 kept getting lost in the shuffle and as a result started scoring in bunches (12 for each of them in playoffs)

in the SC finals TBL scored only 13 times in 7 games but still won b/c of the variety of weapons.
BR 4 goals, RFed 3, MSL 4, FMo 1, DB 1, VL 0, CStill 0, Dave 0, etc.

[Boltflasher]

That game of "ifs" "ands" or "buts" is a game the Torontoans have played for a long time due to the inept management they have there and also the brief success down here made for some jealous Leafers who have not seen success and can't get tickets to games there , hence, their "want" for a team to fail here so it will move north. Its also the reason for the constant rumour mill up there about this team.

[Boltflasher]

I appreciate PD's view that have helped me to get a better picture of the state of the league and the team financially though I don't come to quite the same conclusions with the same information.

[hockeytalkie]

ajax,

i totally agree w/your opinion on the MSL contract being a bargain for what he brings (which is instant credibility and respect to any line). at the time when NK35's agent snubbed his nose at feaster's offer, they gave it all to MSL as the reining MVP. i remember at the trade deadline we had no wiggle room to add roster b/c of it. but the cap is what, 10-15 mil more now than 2005, i dont even know anymore. richards posted huge numbers w/MSL and Modin and it looked like the sky was the limit. so they paid him. then took away his linemates.

patrick -you're right about MSL on the richards line to some degree. but after modin left, even when MSL was on occasion re-united w/BR their effect was not as great. b/c who was going into the corner for them... feds? perrin? afanasankov? the room may disagree, but i felt modin was a year (maybe two) from being an annual Selke nominee. the boy really knew how to forecheck and was the springboard for many an odd man rush for the guys with the bigger contracts. why do you think hitchcock got him locked up with a new contract as soon as he(hitch) got to columbus? feaster was trying to get him back and may have succeeded if hitch hadn't come to town. too bad he kept getting injured after that.

oh well, just a bunch of "ifs" and "buts" right?

[HockeyBay.com]

wow ajax, what a book you wrote! this is worth a thousand+ words : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFwj-QJ1MCE

[leo]

Little thing, not too important but still,
In the Art of Rhetoric, saying "Even so-and-so said the same thing I did." is NOT a valid argument to sustain your point of view.
Maybe that so-and-so is completely wrong. And if they ARE wrong, they take down ALL your arguments.
Even if that so-and-so is me. Tread lightly.
Just because I'm brilliant doesn't mean I'm right.
P.

[Patrick]

HockeyTalkie,

Back to the point you made above about Richards losing modin - I think that's half it. Losing Marty had to be the other half if not more. Brad had his best seasons on the team skating with him and Vinny's had his best seasons since Marty went to his line. I agree Modin was important in getting the puck from the corners and battling, but Richards ultimately needed someone on his line to finish and he lost that when Marty started skating with Vinny.

[Patrick]

Yes PD, your arguments and reasoning have made it clear you post on this blog so often because you need an easy target.

[PD]

Ajax they have no money..game set match
and no I hardly feel complementing a team that wins 25% of its games should be a regular occurence from me.

That's a task for you and the glass half fullers and you do it well.

[PD]

actually it was Leo pointing out today that OK was late on payments to the non players.
my drums been signalled.

[ajax]

HockTalk I will be brief(try) SJ I think is one of the "have" clubs. They have always spent near the max and will continue to do so. I like that at least you use some research and facts. We all interrupt facts a bit different, that is the spice of life. I basically think Feaster was given the golden goose and invested it poorly and then when to the owners and said, "I need some more blank checks to fix the mess" and they said "SELL" For me so much of this comes down to, small market, never had Mark Cuban type as owner, Every contract needed to be short term and long term fiscally responsible. Richards was the worst, followed by Vinny and then probably Boyle. There ain't a handful of players in the game today that are better than Marty at his salary the next two years and everyone wants to trade him. Insane. Hockie at least you answer your critics and I respect that your opinion differs with my chain of events. Hard to converse with someone who's answer to everything is:
Owners suck, past and present
The players here suck, the players that left should of been kept, but wait a minute, they sucked when they were "here" too. We had the plus/minus leaderboard last year IN MINUS, yet all of those players should of been kept?? Insane, truly insane statement IMO. I read an article today that said the Richards trade truly was a good thing. Tampa ran an article last week on us finding a goalie for the future.
And when ever we win, PD's immediate post isn't how we played hard, or we are moving the puck better. It is usually about two sentence. Enjoy it while it lasts the rental owners are going to throw their 100 million out the window. PD I say this as nicely as I can say it. You must know very little about business to think they will just go down the drain, as you say. Bear Mountain had 500 million in sales, BEFORE the recession. I guess the rumor is that they have to give it back?? Did anyone see the Atlanta game? There were probably 3500 people there. Yeah we are closing down shop with these owners. Gimme a break. They will keep the 100 million??? Everyone time you write that I say....does he really believe what he prints. If I invested 5000 I would be doing everything I could to find a way to not lose it... but Barrie and Koules are just going to have a cocktail and move on. Please turn down that noise.

[hockeytalkie]

pd

surely, if/when it happens please come back and tell us all you told us so about PSE or Feaster or OKs default or Bear Mountain or whatever else. but...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...

stop banging the same drums over and over.
Surely you have something else to contribute? if you do, i promise i'll stop calling you Shirley.

[PD]

Justine Palace doesn't want the team back but to sell it they had to finance the heavy half because OK came up short. No one would lend the $$

If OK defaults, they (Palace) get the team back but would sell it asap keeping the OK fun money in the process.

[Justine]

I didn't follow the ownership change that closely so I may be wrong, but didn't Palace sell the team because they didn't want to own it????? Why would Palace want to take over ownership from OK? Isn't it much more likely that it would do some sort of loan workout or renegotiation, and not just take over the team if one payment is short?
Again, correct me if I am wrong - many of you are more informed than me - but from a business standpoint, many companies are currently unable to fully pay debt payments right now and many lenders are renegotiating terms to allow the borrowers to stay in possession because they don't want to foreclose and have to take over the ownership responsibilities. Not sure why a sports team would be any different.

[PD]

Patrick I have better sources than ESPN ..who said it Puff Daddy?

That's Ajax's guy

[PD]

If a team is moving to Hamilton it will be the Preds

[PD]

Patrick hearing you stammer will be the most fun
Do stay tuned

[Tackleberry]

Seems like Balsilie is trying to find a team that he can move to Hamilton Ont. He tried with Pitts and is now trying to buy Nashville. He has a track record of trying to get a team into Hamilton.

I think that PSE or the owners will be able to pull some $$ out their bums to cover the $10mil.

Cant see Fester ever coming back, even if he was asked. He would demand too much $$. He would overpay players again.

[Patrick]

Speaking of Jim Balsilie, here's a 2009 prediction on espn.com that doesn't seem to mesh too well with yours:

"In spite of wishful thinking by BlackBerry mogul Jim Balsillie and many Canadian media and fans that pine for days of NHL hockey in Quebec and Winnipeg, no NHL franchise will fold, declare bankruptcy or relocate in the coming year. This doesn't mean things will get appreciably better in places like Atlanta, which may as well be called "Dead Franchise Walking"; or Phoenix, where the team is in desperate need of a new lease, not to mention new ownership; or Long Island, where the Isles continue to play in the league's most embarrassing building. So, like it or not, the current 30-team slate is here at least for the foreseeable future. Balsillie, denied in his bid to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, will announce he has purchased the Liverpool soccer club from Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett and will move the team to Waterloo, Ontario."

[Patrick]

PD,

You left out a couple of people when you said "Tack, the real Q. is why you have to consider the truth and "negativity" to be one in the same".

What you should have said is "Everyone who posts on this blog, the real Q. is why you have to consider the truth and "negativity" to be one in the same".

Almost everyone who posts regularly has remarked at some point about your constant negativity. But it's understating it to call it negativity, because it's intentional on your part. Even Leo made a point of it.

People have also speculated that you hate this team. I'm thinking now it's more that you really liked this team because you thought you were going to get it and you hate the owners for keeping it here and to some extent have some contempt for the people of florida who get to enjoy the team. Something along those lines... I can only assume you are a generally unhappy person to constantly generate so much negativity and ill will.

Maybe go outside and smell the flowers and feel the sunshine and stop obsessing?

[PD]

Tack, I'm sure my credibility will be duly restored.

I did say this team was no better only different in Sept and that they had badly spent the cap $ and would fight it out with the Panthers for 3rd..guilty.

Since you ask, an ideal scenario would be for Palace to have a check waiting on their desk from Jim Balsilie to buy the team as soon as the Cowboys default.

Feaster will come in as interim GM

Its wrong to just assume Balsilie will move the team or that the NHL would let him. He's a great mind (The Blackberry is his) and would bring in competents to run the show here.... hopefully for a long time.

It would establish his creds with the NHL and they would let him have an Ontario team in due course and not necessarily the Bolts.

Is that too much to ask?

I saw through the OK con from the 1st rumors of Melrose.(no pun)

[Tackleberry]

You bring up good points PD, but you have posted soooo much negativity. It has really gotten old. You have lost so much credibility because of that.

I would love to hear what your long term plan for TB would be. Not being mean, just interested.

Also, I have been to about 60% of the home games so far. I have not seen Len in the suite with Koules for some time. I have a great view of Koules/Barrie's suite from my seats. I saw Koules at the Carolina game on Sat.

[PD]

Tack, the real Q. is why you have to consider the truth and "negativity" to be one in the same, when they could be polar opposites.

Fact are facts mam

In addition to what Leo noted and is widely published,( outside of the cone of silence in TBay), surely some here will have noticed that the arena now opens a half hour later than it used to for games. Why?? Too many some folks making a 1/2 hour of too many wages.

NHL payroll I believe is due today actually. 5th and 19th.

Talkie please don't be laying the truth on so thick with Ajax.
He's just going to come back with 2 gigs of no paragraph break drivel to make us assume he has a point.

Koules and Barrie have a bigger issue with Palace because a balloon payment of 10 mill is due this month on the downpayment that they couldnt completely afford. They are trying to get a bailout for that whilst they rent the club.

Anyone seen Cowboy Len Barrie lately?

Justine my sense is you believe things only when the bailiff posts it on the door. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Other just might smell some smoke.

[leo]

Heard it on the Team990.
That's not a credible source, I admit. They said that the players were getting paid but that some folks in working in the organization (equipment, travel, arena personnel) were waiting for their checks.
I wouldn't've repeated it though if it hadn't been something that's come up LOTSA times over the course of the last month or two.
But I'm not a reporter. Never took no oath. That's what they said on the Team990.
And I used it for another of my dastardly incendiary comments. And you know what, Justine?
I'd do it again.
Mwa-ha-ha!
P.

[hockeytalkie]

how is it that SJS can afford Thornton, Boyle and Blake (1 year $5 mil) among others on that team? yes i believe DB would have made more as a UFA, but terms would have been shorter. one question, do you think he wanted to leave?

just for clarification, bolts were up against nhl cap the first cap year with the MSL deal(less than 1/2 mill from limit). had they gone with NK35 instead it would have been the same thing. year two they were told to leave more wiggle room, even with Richards' deal -by getting kuba and loosing modin and kubina- they did. denis' (wasted) money was what pinched them 'cause no one wanted him (rightfully so) as part of a trade package. last year PSE clamped the budget waaay down. dont know when they told jay in each of those two years, so i cant speak to his degree of fault in that.

to me the big move that sealed their fate was modin for denis. that trade effectively neutered richards, who had just had a career season. then they yanked his "working" linemate. modin was a solid two way player as well. THAT deal squarely rests on feaster's shoulders. as does the often mentioned farm system/scouting. (didn't even mention VL4 asking that MSL be moved back to his line [torts' call]. suddenly BR stuck w/perrin and feds)

again, not saying jay or torts wasn't culpable in all of this. it was truly a group effort.

[Tackleberry]

Take PD's posts with a grain of salt. He is the "Mr Negativity" blogger. He would love to see the team fold and move to Toronto.

That is just it, there is no "proof", just rumors.

[Justine]

Leo, How do you know that "some folks aren't even gettin' their checks"? I have read the articles posted by PD that speculate that OK is in financial trouble and will default, etc. but I have seen no evidence that this is happening or will happen. I'm not saying it isn't true, but I was just wondering if you could point me to the source of your info. Thanks

[leo]

Chic,
Ain't no Canadien buddy of a leaf. You should know better than that. I'm'a forgive you this time cuz you an awright gal but uh...careful, yeah?
As for Boyle, nuts, I just posted somethin' on it on the other page and I hate repeatin' meself so I'll just continue after where I left off,
"Problem upstairs".
I mean, doesn't matter what a PARTICULAR bonehead move was, MOST of the moves have been boneheaded and have contributed to the fact that some folks aren't even gettin' their checks!
Drastically speaking, would it HURT your organization if the NHL stepped in, took control, dumped the cowboys and named proper succesors?
P.

[Steve R]

Ajax,

Ov's contract is 9.5M avg per year. The cap max is 20%, no? That would make him 1.7m under the current max.

[ajax]

Hockey your blog is dead on about everyone giving up, but the fall of this club started way before your time line. Way before. I have only one problem with your theories on Jay vs. Palace. You act as if he was blindsided by the budget?? He was in charge since day one. He and Torts made the decision to go 3 forwards/ 50% of budget. Palace always said they were losing money. Under your argument, Jay was shocked when he couldn't spend max cap?? I'll never buy that, never. Time after time he himself said in the paper we have budget restrictions. So in what world did he think 3for20mil and the other 17for20mil was going to work?? Some people will never admit that the Richards contract was an anchor. Richards is a nice player but his contract strangled a small market/tight fisted owner. Only a few markets in the NHL could afford 3 of the top 20 paid guys all on the same team, in a salary cap world. What in heavens made Jay and Torts think Tampa was one of those teams?? That is the basis of my whole "zen" about the fall of the organization in the last three years (and a F- farm system to boot...see Jay on that one also) If Feaster hadn't bet the farm on the 3 Amigo's the rest would never even be conversation. In simple terms I think Feaster's plan/bet was a total failure and the rest of the dominoes can be traced right back to that fateful day. No?? Richards and Ovechkin are the only two contracts since the new CBA that were max contracts against the cap. Ya think something in the statement might be amiss?? You don't agree with me, but then you say Davidson closed the checkbook after the early playoff exit. I agree. They signed big checks and got little return. Maybe we do agree?? That was Jay's fault, not Palace. Maybe Palace wanted to sell cause they saw the the direction of Jay was bringing even bigger losses?? And you say Boyle took less. W-H-A-T... you mean someone else was going to give a 32yr old 7-8?? million for more years??? I would have been fine with 7 million for 2-3 years but do you really believe Boyle took less??? I have always stated the contract was too looooong. He is a top 50 player in this league but 6 years, at his age was the ouch in that one. Brad's was gobs to much and Vinny's is way way to long. Way to long. Way way to long. Boyle's contract meant "groundhog day" Tampa can't support two of the top paid players in the game. Going back to last year, all I wanted was billionaire owners that wanted to win at all cost. We had the Billionaire owner who could care less, now we have owners who want to win but aren't billionaires. I for one knew the Boyle contract was a killer not because of Danny but becausae of common $$$$ sense.

[PD]

Talkie 100% correct on Palace and the Bolts room last year.

Hopefully the revisionist historian will figure it out..(not you Chic)

Feaster and Torts were left to swing in the wind and Vinny and Marty threw in the towel for all the right reasons.

[Coach Bill]

Nan- You said all we need is "a few veteran defenseman. Not sure how" That was my point. I was showing how. It will take a few years to rebuild this team. By that time MSL will be out of the NHL ( age), and V4 will be up there and no longer as marketable as he is now.
Brit- I've said right along that V4's problem is more mental due to that "C" and his inability to respond to that role. If he were to give it up, or even let someone else take over the motivational part ( which might be already happening), he'd be relieved and might return to his old self, if that new "leader" can push him. I hope his shoulder is OK. If you're right on that one, it would be a more serious problem to overcome.
Steve and Tack-The fact that ANY changes made must begin with a solid GM was my prerequisite and first point.
PD-sorry I excluded you from commenting on my post. Please do. I do value your oopinion.
Hockey Talkie great meeting you. Wish the eating machine and the lawyer were with you.They plus my grandson and Minnie Vinny are our future. I can't wait for Jaiden to be old enough to drive.

[Coach Bill]

Nan- You said all we need is "a few veteran defenseman. Not sure how" That was my point. I was showing how. It will take a few years to rebuild this team. By that time MSL will be out of the NHL ( age), and V4 will be up there and no longer as marketable as he is now.
Brit- I've said right along that V4's problem is more mental due to that "C" and his inability to respond to that role. If he were to give it up, or even let someone else take over the motivational part ( which might be already happening), he'd be relieved and might return to his old self, if that new "leader" can push him. I hope his shoulder is OK. If you're right on that one, it would be a more serious problem to overcome.
Steve and Tack-The fact that ANY changes made must begin with a solid GM was my prerequisite and first point.
PD-sorry I excluded you from commenting on my post. Please do. I do value your oopinion.
Hockey Talkie great meeting you. Wish the eating machine and the lawyer were with you.They plus my grandson and Minnie Vinny are our future. I can't wait for Jaiden to be old enough to drive.

[hockeytalkie]

ajax -i'm not inclined to agree w/PD on most things, but Dan Boyle did not want to leave Tampa. AT ALL. PERIOD. END OF STORY. so your notion about him coming back early b/c of UFA market is simply inaccurate and baseless.

the contract he signed last march was the second time he "chose" to make less than what the open market would have paid him.

as for the Davidson group. after the 1st sale was announced everything hit limbo. and i mean EVERYTHING (not just player decissions)! offices that were scheduled to be remodeled, locker room upgrades, infrastructure, you name it -limbo! PSE hiring freeze also hurt b/c it meant using subcontractors on jobs that would have been done in house right away.

(look at it this way... if your master plumber leaves, you're not allowed to even interview for a new one. then there's a problem in the locker room plumbing. but it doesn't get addressed right away b/c you have to call in a sub-cont. so what impression does this leave on the players as an overflowing john stinks up the whole locker b/c Roy ate mexican last night and nobody's fixing it right away. got it?)

the resulting the culture of limbo was felt by everyone in the organization from the GM, to the players and right on down to the secretarial pool. then the sale didn't happen in Dec. ok, now what? it only forced everyone to twist for 5 more months. that's what REALLY was happening.

the closing of the PSE checkbook a few years back had everything to do with a first round playoff exit in 2006 and the subsequent drop off in season tix renewals. PSE's moves have always had everything to do with the bottom line; i.e. the financial end of it not on ice success. if they had 17,500 loyal season tix or a great deal w/Sunshine Network, PSE would still be at the helm. you can bank on it! (sorry about the pun)

Davidson is all about making money, not collecting trophies like DeBartalo, Jerry Jones and those guys. Did anyone here even know what he looked like before May/June 2004?

Richards deal was too much agreed, but regardless PSE kept tbl budget $4 or $6 million (i forget) under the nhl cap after the 05-06 remember? in that regard Jay wasn't even allowed to window shop. so the blame lay with both i think. PSE forced Jay to go after AHLers for the bottom 6.

[Boltflasher]

I think Feaster did a good job pre-CBA, they won the Cup (but did little for the minors). He ran into problems post CBA making the big 3 mistake, bad trade for Denis and also had his legs cut out from under him by Palace. Partly his fault, partly not. He might be back somewhere but unlikely here...

[Boltflasher]

Brittany, I guess I'm not doing a good job of explaining myself. I'm not talking about the upper body-lower body thing...I understand that, I've been following this game over 20 years..besides everybody knows where his injuries are anyway and, notice, no one is trying to hit Vinny there. (playoffs might be different...)

I'm talking about the expectations that the team (managment) keeps putting on Vinny and Vinny's line to be more productive. If he can't do it, why the pressure? I suspect they think he can do it and he is not. He doesn't have Torts here pushing him.

[PD]

Ajax on that F rating

Why quibble but Feasters peers, the other NHL GM's voted him top GM as did Forbes Magazine.

[PD]

http://mapleleafshotstove.com/index.php/2009/01/04/recession-relocation-and-retraction/

Pretty solid article on the coming cap hit and the leagues financial/ cap issues

[ajax]

Feaster got an F for negotiating. Feaster got an F for player development/draft. In the 6 years he was GM the farm system was a zero, this isn't even an argument let alone a discussion. And no one got fired/replaced, despite nada, zilch. Years of wasted drafts. I was always 100% sure that Palace was hands off and Feaster had the keys to the shop. Richie Danny and Vinny all got to much money and to many years. Two of those three belonged to Jay.
PD, with all respect, the new owners have invested 100,000,000. They will use every resource they have. I would bet some big big bucks that you are 110% dead wrong on them losing "us" Way way too many options to ever throw in the towel. I am sure they got about 10 back-up plans "IF" needed. Think of just some of things they have done. At one time payroll was 50+ million. They are paying Torts Feaster and Smellrose. If they were on the high wire they would of done none of the above. You are dead wrong on that constant drumming. And between you and me, they gave Jay the checkbook and they saw diminishing returns and that is what prompted them closing the checkbook. Think about it. IF the "star" plan would of worked (deep runs into the playoffs etc etc) we wouldn't even be on these subjects. Everyone would be happy with 4 straight years of great hockey and you would be on some other blog, Florida or Atlanta, busting their people over losing. No PD, backstep a bit. Jay and Torts made the decision to sign the big 3 and I am quite sure they both thought they had goals goals goals guarenteed. If you followed this team the past three years you got to know that undisputeably almost everyone in hockey circles almost immediately threw up a red flag when they gave RIchards the max and the pure numbers told everyone with half a brain that they would be chopping the bottom 8 players down to nothing. It happened, the team was chopped to 6 NHL and 14 AHL and the freefall happened quicker than anyone, ANYONE, could ever imagined. Torts was dragged down by Feaster, I will give you that. But his arrogance and definace I am sure has cost him some golden opportunities in this league. Feaster will never in my lifetime or yours be a GM again. Guarentee.

[PD]

Jax not remotely a Palace Fan , they shrank the payroll and the roster every year leaving Torts with less and less to work with.
The club however still is titled to them and when OK defaults,(couple months), Palace gets to sell it and they will in a flash , pocketing Oks downpayment to boot.

Hopefully they sell it to Balsilie who actually will give it at least 4 years here.Forever if supported.

A good, AUTONOMOUS, GM can do wonders in that time.

I do like Feaster, he would have not made the Boyle trade nor the Mesaros deal if it included that 1st pick.

No way he would have used the cap money to sign those sad forwards either, he would have added defence instead and likely traded down with Stamkos and grabbed two blue chippers.

You know my respect for Torts
Vinny is lost without him.

[ajax]

Pd, as usual you never focus on the tough questions. You did bail out Torts by saying everyone quit cause of sale (duh, ya think), is that an admission that past owners aren't the good ole boys you paint them as? In my opinion Danny came back for only one reason. UFA, dying to show his goods before the market opened. You also said hire a real GM. The last week you kept posting, Jay back in charge. Very subtly you are giving answers that conflict with prior posts. But even though it was slight of hand, good to see you really don't believe Palace Jay n Torts are the cure all (more like part of the disease) Pithy of me!!!

[PD]

HockeyChic you aren't in that league and I say that with my utmost respect for my adversorial friends.

twas not you, but if the shoe fits, slip it on.

Ajax, simple, i'd like to see someone come in with money say Balsilie, , buy if from Palace,who will get it back. hire a real GM and reboot here..these guys are drama queens and have taken the franchise two long steps back.

I may be hated for that but who cares? its true and bothers me not.

The team last year quit, mostly because of the impending sale so Torts and all became meaningless

Boyle played with one arm and Ranger..that's no arms.

[hockeytalkie]

close ajax
-2003-4 players elsewhere in NHL 4.5 years later

1. JC5 fla
2. EP9 atl (minor contributor at best)
last 4 games of reg season, first 12 of playoffs, 1 assist 6 PIM)
3. PK13 tor
4. RF17 pit
5. BR19 dal
6. CS21 cal
7. DB22 sjs
8. FM33 clb
9. NK35 chi
10. AR36 cal
11. BL37 sjs
12. DS55 dal
13. CS61 fla

(IMHO, really only 12.5 players from that season still active. sorry perrin, but rumble, svitov and willis all played as much or more of that reg season as you did)

[Brittany]

Flasher, I don't think you will see them saying that Vinny is trying to work through an injury because Vinny himself won't use that as an excuse. Also, if they come out and say that Vinny is hurting enough to completely throw off his game, you might as well paint a huge bulls eye right on his shoulder and wrist with a flashing sign telling everyone to hit him there. There is a reason why everything is "upper body" or "lower body" these days.

I also don't really see Toc calling Vinny out, he is more like calling everyone out. He is telling Vinny that he can't look down because then the team loses all hope and he has to play as hard as he can, even when it hurts him. But I get what you are saying, I just don't think you will see anyone trying to use that as an excuse, even if it is.

I think if they start to make excuses then they might as well completely give up. Every team has to deal with adversity so saying our star player is hurt and can't play like his normal self is kind of a copout. I like that he doesn't use any excuses for the season so far, even when there are so many things we can blame it on. We had to deal with Melrose, the Prague trip, short-to-nonexistent training camp, half of the team being new players, young d-men, injuries, new owners, etc, but no one has used any of that as an excuse.

[olin]

...Ajax, you are always so right with your post's, but I wish you could clic minimize sometime's, when I see a long post I know it's alway's you,(some day we'll get to meet)and your alway's right on, I alway's agree since long before we won the cup. Good job. Lot's of apostrophy's ....'''''Coach Billll''''LOL.

[Tackleberry]

The key to better season would be #1: Get an excellent GM. Dont trade V4 or MSL or pick up anyone until you get a good GM. If you do all this in reverse, it will be de-javu.

Someone said that there may not be any takers on V4's contract. That is a big chunk of $$$ for any team. MSL is more marketable. BUT, he plays with more hear than anyone on the team. I would like to see him stay because he is the heart of the team. The young players will need to see that in a vet/leader. I am all for getting 3-4, true, TOP, Blue-liners.

Get rid of the dead weight, no heart players and get some energetic players in here.

ps. PD (or is it Penile Deficiency?) Your posts are a waste of trons. I am not the most "hockey savvey" of bloggers, but I can see the waste your blogs produce. Take off eh.

[Boltflasher]

My point about Vinny is that if his injuries are inhibiting his play, then should Tocchet keep talking about and saying he's expects more out of his top line and Vinny than we've been seeing? It creates an expectation that won't be met...instead we should be hearing that Vinny is trying to play through his injuries and whatever we get from Vinny is good but we are not hearing that...

[Steve R]

Coach Bill,

Y'all have totally gotten hosed on the trades that have happened this year. Without a good GM, a rebuild is doomed before it can start.

[ajax]

PD, Feaster will never have a job again. Torts? 9 job openings, 1 interview. New owners that spent 8 million more. EXACTLY. At least they are trying. You unwittingly blessed the new regime. Billionaire boy wouldn't spend a penny, and the last two years of total front office ineptness is forgotten and forgiven?? WOW... Last years team played 32 games against the SE, we play a much tougher schedule this year. Vinny coming back from a very serious injury. Halpern coming back from a very serious injury. Huge mistake with Melrose, can't argue there...but we basically in my opinion lost two months of getting the new team ready cause of that. With everyone healthy they are a much better team, my opinion. Got rid of the most critical part of the team?? Please tell me you meant Boyle, and if so say it, but you couldn't possibly of meant Richards. The two year running undisputed king of plus/minus MINUS?? You go in circles PD. Richards and Boyle were 828/829 out of 830 NHL players in minus last year. SO then you argue it was because they had no help, but in the very next statement you say, we were a better team last year. You use one reason for one thing and then totally forget about the very statement in your next paragraph. 12 guys no longer in the NHL PD, in other words A total makeover needed. How can you rationalize that statement and not hold past management HUGELY(ha) responsible for the state of the union. Better team?? 12 players no longer in the NHL. That is the definition of cleaning house. How can you ever say that the team didn't quit on Torts last year?? Everyone from here to Vancouver acknowledges that but you. And Torts own words "maybe I am not the guy to turn this around" Even his identical twin Jay had to fire him for that. You know what I remember most about last year?? 1,000,000 wrap arounds. Never even an attempt to play real hockey. And Torts never ever ever dreaming to try something different. Just pedal to the medal, with blame for everyone but himself. Teams were so use to our style of play we couldn't even advance the puck. The other thing I remember? Playing our stars 27 minutes a night with absolutely zero respect for them or this game. He could of cared less about their careers. Danny Boyle was like -29 in just 37 games last year PD. How can you possibly ignore this stuff PD?? Give it a shot? Boyle minus 29 in 37 games, that equates to minus 60 for a full year. Please explain?? I for one sat game after game last year and said we have no chance of winning, and we had probably 20 games where we gave up 4-5-6 goals. We weren't competitive. The day Brad Richards was traded he said "I felt like I had been let out of jail" What did he mean by that PD. The new owners weren't even on board yet. Maybe the jail of playing with Jason Ward as a 2nd line forward?? Jason Ward and Brad were killing penalties together every game PD, how can you ignore the big picture statement by that little sentence. We got 70 points cause Tortorella played 6 guys half the game. Every PPlay Every PK and at about game 60 they physically and mentally shut down and the team won 6 out of the last 23 losing by 4 goals like 5 times. How could you possibly forget about last March PD?? Everyone, EVERYONE, had abandoned the team. And worse, we were all begging for new owners cause Davidson and Company left us out to dry. Months of nothing but a for sale sign on the door and Jay marching up to the podium weekly to say, We are continuing to run this team and make it as strong as possible with the whole room snickering. PD have you ever thought about this scenario. What if all that you write, pray, and wish for, really does comes true. Davidson gets the team back. Then the "for sale" sign goes back up...maybe to another city...Maybe that really is "YOUR" wish PD, but for me you know what hell is?? Going back to the same formula that brought a Stanley Cup winner to rock bottom in three short years. yeah give me that crew back for try number two. The night we won the cup 4 years ago....Probably 15 of those guys are still in the NHL. 12 guys from last years roster, 12 guys who played 60 games or more....are out of the league PD. And you want Palace and Jay back??? You look at everything bad and nothing good about this years circumstances. And yet all you print about the last two years is everything good and nothing bad. Bring up a graph of the DJIA in 2008, it mirrors the graph of the Tampa Bay Lightning since we won the cup. We got the number one draft choice cause why?? Oh yeah we had the worst team in the league. Worst team playing easiest schedule, net/net: by far worst team. 40 games of new faces and chaotic coaching and injuries etc etc. I for one will never ever ever renew if they get it back. I will carry a sign "No more Jay" I remember Jay before the 2007 playoffs doing an interview and he said, I quote, "I think we have the best D corp of any team in the playoffs" was he dillusional or just pumping us full of bull for the zillionth time. I remember our big signings to help the playoff push in 2007. Ward and Stewert, and Jay at the podium saying they loved these guys and Stewert was a ball of fire. Did he even play one game for us??? And then does everyone remember the players we signed last February when we were 6 points out of a playoff spot...Oh yeah the door was slammed tight, and Jay said we like our team for the playoff push. That is the crap you want back??? I looked it up and Kuba, last year was like -33 in his last 55 games PD, yet you love the guy and want him back. Why was he a -33??? Cause the team sucked right....but then the next thing you type is, we were sooo sooo close last year. I wish I had all of these studs back that were all -25 and last place. It wasn't management. It wasn't Torts. We had a much better roster. And we finished dead last!!!!!
What was it then, really what exactly was it???