NHL 2008-2009 Thread

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The Capitals need to bring home a cup. I'm not the one to keep up with much hockey history. Is there any team who has gone with out a Cup?

There is quite a few:

  1. Atlanta Thrashers
  2. Buffalo Sabres
  3. Columbus Blue Jackets
  4. Florida Panthers
  5. Los Angeles Kings
  6. Minnesota Wild
  7. Nashville Predators
  8. Ottawa Senators (expansion)
  9. Phoenix Coyotes
  10. Saint Louis Blues
  11. San Jose Sharks
  12. Vancouver Canucks
  13. Washington Capitals

Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, won 11 Stanley Cup (several pre-NHL) before their bankrupcy in 1934 but ... never won since they are back in the NHL as an expansion team in 1992.
 
Is Kovalev up for a new contract this year?

Yes. UFA at the end of the season. And it's quite hard to predict if Habs are going to try to re-sign him.

Kovalev is actually dominant but... he went throught a worrying 20 games slump without scoring. Also, Habs have a plenthora of players that will become UFA at the end of the season:
  1. Alex Tanguay
  2. Saku Koivu
  3. Michael Komisarek
  4. Steve Begin
  5. Robert Lang
  6. Tom Kostopoulos
  7. Francis Bouillon
  8. Mathieu Dandenault
  9. Patrice Brisebois
  10. Marc Denis
  11. Alexei Kovalev

Also, some RFA:
  1. Chris Higgins
  2. Tomas Plekanec
  3. Guillaume Latendresse
  4. Matt D'Agostini
  5. Kyle Chypchura

So nobody can tell what Bob Gainey will do. We are already almost toe to toe with the Salary Cap - we won't have money to re-sign everybody. :eek:
 

Mauser98k

Closed Account
Yes. UFA at the end of the season. And it's quite hard to predict if Habs are going to try to re-sign him.

Kovalev is actually dominant but... he went throught a worrying 20 games slump without scoring. Also, Habs have a plenthora of players that will become UFA at the end of the season:
  1. Alex Tanguay
  2. Saku Koivu
    [*] Michael Komisarek
  3. Steve Begin
  4. Robert Lang
  5. Tom Kostopoulos
  6. Francis Bouillon
  7. Mathieu Dandenault
  8. Patrice Brisebois
  9. Marc Denis
  10. Alexei Kovalev

Also, some RFA:
  1. Chris Higgins
  2. Tomas Plekanec
  3. Guillaume Latendresse
  4. Matt D'Agostini
  5. Kyle Chypchura

So nobody can tell what Bob Gainey will do. We are already almost toe to toe with the Salary Cap - we won't have money to re-sign everybody. :eek:

i wouldn't be upset if Komisarek ended up with the 'Ning
 
Yes. UFA at the end of the season. And it's quite hard to predict if Habs are going to try to re-sign him.

Kovalev is actually dominant but... he went throught a worrying 20 games slump without scoring.

No wonder he's putting up the numbers again. Trying to interest teams in his ability to rack up the points. Don't complain about his scoring slump. He does that between every last year of contracts.
 
Carolina 3 - Montréal 2 (OT)

A good hockey game again tonight at the Bell Center. Eric Staal (1g, 2a) was definatly the best player on the ice.

It was a first game for Carey Price in 2 weeks. He is obviously back at full health. Cam Ward and him were both stellar.

Tanguay managed 2 assists for the Habs.

Official Scoresheet: http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20082009/GS020488.HTM
 
Don't dream too much about Komisarek. He is seen as the next Habs captain. Unless he really want to leave Montreal, which i doubt, he will sign a very long deal with Montreal. I'm expecting a 5 years deal for 25M$ to 30M$.

Be assured that if Komisarek leaves Montreal, i will boycott Habs and start supporting another team. Komisarek is the Heart, while Koivu and Kovalev share the Soul.

NEWSFLASH:

Two youngsters are facing season-ending injuries.

Derick Brassard (Colombus Blue Jackets) is officially out for the rest of the season. Brassard was helding his place in the Calder trophee race... but now can forget it. It's a big loss for the Blue Jackets which were on the road to make their first Playoff apparition in Colombus franchise history. Hard to forsee how they will cope with such a big loss. It might cost as much as a Playoff spot.

Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins) who missed 9 months of action last year thanks to cerebral commotion... got another cerebral commotion. The news regarding Bergeron aren't clear yet but it doesn't look good. While he wasnt playing as well as he used to play prior to his first cerebral commotion, it is still a big loss for the Bruins. While Boston are throning in the 1st place in Eastern conference, it's hard to forsee if it might cost them the title in the Division to the Habs... as well as the Championship. Of course, with a wizard coach like Claude Julien, who really knows how the Bruins will cope with this loss? Claude Julien would be my choice, so far this year, for the Coach of the Year award - he always have tricks out of his hat to face difficulties.
 
Don't dream too much about Komisarek. He is seen as the next Habs captain. Unless he really want to leave Montreal, which i doubt, he will sign a very long deal with Montreal. I'm expecting a 5 years deal for 25M$ to 30M$.

Be assured that if Komisarek leaves Montreal, i will boycott Habs and start supporting another team. Komisarek is the Heart, while Koivu and Kovalev share the Soul.

NEWSFLASH:

Two youngsters are facing season-ending injuries.

Derick Brassard (Colombus Blue Jackets) is officially out for the rest of the season. Brassard was helding his place in the Calder trophee race... but now can forget it. It's a big loss for the Blue Jackets which were on the road to make their first Playoff apparition in Colombus franchise history. Hard to forsee how they will cope with such a big loss. It might cost as much as a Playoff spot.

Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins) who missed 9 months of action last year thanks to cerebral commotion... got another cerebral commotion. The news regarding Bergeron aren't clear yet but it doesn't look good. While he wasnt playing as well as he used to play prior to his first cerebral commotion, it is still a big loss for the Bruins. While Boston are throning in the 1st place in Eastern conference, it's hard to forsee if it might cost them the title in the Division to the Habs... as well as the Championship. Of course, with a wizard coach like Claude Julien, who really knows how the Bruins will cope with this loss? Claude Julien would be my choice, so far this year, for the Coach of the Year award - he always have tricks out of his hat to face difficulties.

Montreal already have 2 defencemen earning 5 million + salaries and there is a rumor that they are after Jay Bouwmeester , so even though I agree that Komisarek is an important player for the habs , they might not be able to sign him.One thing for sure is that Bob Gainey is going to have a tough time managing his salary cap , the canadiens are going to have a very different look next year.:2 cents:
 
Montreal already have 2 defencemen earning 5 million + salaries and there is a rumor that they are after Jay Bouwmeester , so even though I agree that Komisarek is an important player for the habs , they might not be able to sign him.One thing for sure is that Bob Gainey is going to have a tough time managing his salary cap , the canadiens are going to have a very different look next year.:2 cents:

Yes, it seems Gainey have a look at Bouwmeester. Which is a good idea :D

Regarding Komisarek: if Gainey doesn't resign Dandenault, Bouillon and Brisebois, that's 5M$ right there for Komisarek. We have few d-men youngsters at minimal wage which should be ready for next season to replace them.

I'm expecting to see a lot of departures in the forwards UFA. We can't keep Lang, Koivu, Kovalev and Tanguay. There will be some tough choices there.

With Gainey at helm, i'm really expecting him to invest a lot of money on d-men at the cost of forwards.

But for sure, with so many UFA, the Habs will be very different next season.

I wouldnt mind Gainey having 4 d-men with 5M$+ a year (Markov, Komisarek, Hamrlik and... Bouwmeester if we get him) and let go some aging forwards. With 4 d-men of that caliber along with Price in goals, we should be able to be serious contenders for the following years :)
 

PlasmaTwa2

The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
^ Yeah, that was a good game by Tampa.

King beat the Jackets 3-0. Not what I wanted to see. Terrible game by the Jackets...
 
:glugglug: to Mike Smith for his shutout on the Pens!


Phoenix Coyotes - It have been reported that the Phoenix Coyotes announced to the NHL authorities that they expect a 30M$ deficit this year. It leaves wide open all the speculation about the future of the franchise. Personnally, my first thoughts on the matter are: why don't let them go back to Winnipeg now that Winnipeg have an ice-center that can compete with the most beautiful ones of the NHL franchises? :dunno:

Another scenario would be sending them to... Las Vegas. Why? Gary Bettman have a fantasy about that town. Plenty of money there, for sure, but hockey fans? :confused:

Tampa Bay Lightnings - The Bolts are also bleeding economically. Rumors are that the new ownership won't be able to afford the next payment... and the former owner might take back ownership. A step in the good direction for Tampa? :dunno:
 
Phoenix Coyotes - It have been reported that the Phoenix Coyotes announced to the NHL authorities that they expect a 30M$ deficit this year. (...)

It's not 30M$ but 90M$! And it's not the expected loss for the season but the actual loss since the beginning of the season! At lot worste than what i have heard earlier...

The NHL is actually providing money or Phoenix will be already shuting its doors... The franchise is maintained artificially alive to end the season. Bettman didn't announced anything regarding the future of the Coyotes but it seems obvious they will be transfered elsewhere next season.
 

PlasmaTwa2

The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
It's not 30M$ but 90M$! And it's not the expected loss for the season but the actual loss since the beginning of the season! At lot worste than what i have heard earlier...

The NHL is actually providing money or Phoenix will be already shuting its doors... The franchise is maintained artificially alive to end the season. Bettman didn't announced anything regarding the future of the Coyotes but it seems obvious they will be transfered elsewhere next season.

I can't wait to hear that Hamilton idiot start blabbing his gums now...

The only hockey town I can think of that would be good might be Seattle. For God's sake, don't try to put another team in the South. Kansas City is your only real option down there, and even that is questionable.

Personnally, my first thoughts on the matter are: why don't let them go back to Winnipeg now that Winnipeg have an ice-center that can compete with the most beautiful ones of the NHL franchises? :dunno:

Another scenario would be sending them to... Las Vegas. Why? Gary Bettman have a fantasy about that town. Plenty of money there, for sure, but hockey fans? :confused:

Having an arena is only one of the bare minimums for getting a team now (And Winnipeg's arena would be the smallest in the NHL by over a thousand). What really matters is the potential for tv ratings. Winnipeg would be the smallest city by far, and their potential for ratings is small cause there are so little people. If the cities in Southern America with 3 million people can't keep teams when they have 13,000 people attending, what makes you think a city with 700,000 can keep one if 15,000 people attend?

Vegas is interesting because there are no other pro teams. They might be so starved for pro sports that they will support an NHL team - that is, until the NBA moves in and they push the NHL aside.
 
I can't wait to hear that Hamilton idiot start blabbing his gums now...

The only hockey town I can think of that would be good might be Seattle. For God's sake, don't try to put another team in the South. Kansas City is your only real option down there, and even that is questionable.

Why not Winnipeg?

Jets left to became Coyotes.
Winnipeg financed a top-level arena.
Coyotes left to become... Jets

:D
 

Mauser98k

Closed Account
so for Christmas i got a white authentic Mike Smith jersey. it's still on it's way from Canada, but if it gets here before January 12th, i'll be wearing it at the Kings game. keep an eye out for me in the audience ;)
 
so for Christmas i got a white authentic Mike Smith jersey. it's still on it's way from Canada, but if it gets here before January 12th, i'll be wearing it at the Kings game. keep an eye out for me in the audience ;)

Cool! :thumbsup:
 
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