NHL 2008-2009 Thread

[Dawn]

I had a great day, my sister (31yrs young) and niece who turned (8) on 12/24/08 enjoyed their 1st game, they both had a great time, my niece got a foam Redwings # 1 foam finger and she was dancing and what not! they also showed her name and birthday on the scoreboard, they gave her a birthday package! it was awesome, she got a redwings lunchbox, a nice size replica banner of the stanley cup banner hanging from the rafters! she got a doctors style redwings scrub shirt, she got an awesome plaque that I didn't get to look @ but it was heavy, it was real glass, and had a metal frame, not some throw away plastic junk trinket!! she got a replica stanley cup ring! and to top it all off she got too shake hands with GORDIE HOWE!! I was like I have been to 35 + games and haven't met any current or former players??? :scream:

Wow. That says a lot about how the Red Wings are a classy organisation. Habs are like that too with kids. But i doubt we can get someone like Gordie Howe to meet the kids (Jean Beliveau is our most classy player still alive but he is a tad old and unhealthy, might be hard for him to do something alike).

:hatsoff: to Detroit!

 

[Dawn]

There is a trade rumor about Vincent Lecavalier to Montreal right now....

http://habsinsideout.com/otherwing/ericengels/13623

All I can say is that it would be the stupidest move ever made if by a team if Tampa really goes through with it . I would definitely stop being a Lightning fan for sure. Also if that happens , I predict the Lightning move away from Tampa within the next 4 years.

:dunno: That's stupid, he's the star player, the guy the team is built around. Take him away and you don't really have a player to turn the fans onto (Save maybe St. Louis or Prospal). That would be one of the dumbest trades in NHL history, especially since the Lightning would not be getting Koivu or anyone in return.

There is solid grounds to that rumor. It's persistent since several days in Montreal, and from reliable source (former TB coach Jacques Demers).

It could be Chris Higgins, Tomas Plekanec, Josh Gorges, a prospect (P.K. Subban been mentionned, Subban was the best defensemen for Team Canada Jr, a real quarterback and with an awesome personality that might makes him the most popular guy in any dressing room) and a 1st round pick...

Important note regarding that. Bob Gainey made the midseason public evaluation and he denied rumors about Lecavalier but also said that the 2 names the most often mentionned on the trade market at the very moment are Gaborik (Minnesota) and Bouwmeester (Florida). Gainey also spoke about the fact that according to his evaluation, Habs are looking for a defensemen...

For sure, the rumors about Lecavalier also talks about that hell is broken loose in TB administration. Some want to trade him, some don't want. There is also economical issues (Lecavalier will earn 10M$ a year from 2009-2010 and on, and his no-trade clause is also starting from 2009-2010 and on) while TB is lacking liquidity... Sounds like TB (and/or their owners) are seriously hurt with the economical crisis.

I will post more as i learn more. Stay tuned.

 

[Thunderbolt]

There is solid grounds to that rumor. It's persistent since several days in Montreal, and from reliable source (former TB coach Jacques Demers).

It could be Chris Higgins, Tomas Plekanec, Josh Gorges, a prospect (P.K. Subban been mentionned, Subban was the best defensemen for Team Canada Jr, a real quarterback and with an awesome personality that might makes him the most popular guy in any dressing room) and a 1st round pick...

Important note regarding that. Bob Gainey made the midseason public evaluation and he denied rumors about Lecavalier but also said that the 2 names the most often mentionned on the trade market at the very moment are Gaborik (Minnesota) and Bouwmeester (Florida). Gainey also spoke about the fact that according to his evaluation, Habs are looking for a defensemen...

For sure, the rumors about Lecavalier also talks about that hell is broken loose in TB administration. Some want to trade him, some don't want. There is also economical issues (Lecavalier will earn 10M$ a year from 2009-2010 and on, and his no-trade clause is also starting from 2009-2010 and on) while TB is lacking liquidity... Sounds like TB (and/or their owners) are seriously hurt with the economical crisis.

I will post more as i learn more. Stay tuned.

Whatever reason they have , that doesn't make it a good trade for Tampa. Instead of destroying the heart of the team why don't they sell and move it to another town ( Quebec would be a great fit ) and stop wasting the fan's money and time.

 

[Mauser98k]

first off, there was a story about the trade rumors on TSN.com :

" Which number is higher: the dollars in Vincent Lecavalier's new contract or the number of times he's heard rumors, many of them from Montreal, that he's being traded?

For the record, the contract, which begins next season, is for $85 million over 11 years. And according to Lecavalier's agent, the Tampa Bay Lightning peg the chance of Lecavalier being traded at zero.

Another day in the life of Lecavalier, the talented 28-year-old center who has heard tales of being headed out of town since being the No. 1 overall pick in 1998. Not surprisingly, most of those rumors have him headed to the Montreal Canadiens. He's from Ile-Bizard, Quebec.

The Lightning's foible-filled season has Lecavalier in the rumor mill again. Mongers point to the team's financial difficulty, as well as on-ice troubles.

For his part, Lecavalier told Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times he will be a Lightning player for life.

And about those pesky rumors? "It's Montreal. It's Toronto," Lecavalier said. "I don't think it's anything new. It's happened in the past."

The no-trade assurance came during negotiations on the new contract from owner Oren Koules. "Oren did tell me I wouldn't be getting traded when I signed this summer," Lecavalier told Cristodero. "It's Montreal. There are a lot of rumors going around."

Lecavalier's agent Kent Hughes also weighed in on the subject. "I don't know where these rumors are starting," he said. "We were assured they would not trade him if we agreed to extend his contract. We haven't heard anything else from them."

Hughes spoke to Lecavalier before Friday's game. "He told me he believes it's just another can of rumors," Hughes said.

Don't expect them to go away. "



secondly, i was at the TB @ LA game last night and that was a helluva fun one. i'll post some pics in a bit

 

[Mauser98k]

Pics:

open ice:


pre game warm up:


Koci and Ivanans scrap:


Artyukhin, Stamkos and Hall celebrate Arty's goal:


The team celebrates their win:

 

[Mauser98k]

an update:

The talk was enough to stoke debate for weeks -- Vincent Lecavalier from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Montreal Canadiens for a package of players and draft picks.

But both Lecavalier and the Lightning said the rumors were just that, rumors.

"I am from there. My family is from there," Lecavalier told Montreal's La Presse. "My friends as well. I grew up with the Canadiens. I understand there are a lot of rumors presently. But they are rumors. I have heard them throughout my career. I like playing in Tampa, I am a loyal person."

Lightning General Manager Brian Lawton also dismissed the reports.

"To suggest we're engaging in conversations to trade him or we're shopping him to all teams in the National Hockey League is completely inaccurate," Lawton told the St. Petersburg Times. "It's false, egregious and it's abusive toward the player. I can tell you if a player of that stature were ever going to be traded, I would go meet with him, face to face, and discuss the situation. That has never happened."

But with the Lightning having struggled this season, Lawton went on to point out "There are no players who are untouchable."

"And that has nothing to do with Vinny Lecavalier," Lawton went on to say. "That has to do with the status of any team I'm managing. It has to do with our macro goal of being committed to winning, being committed to giving our fans a winner. No player supersedes the goals of any team I'm working on."

Lecavalier told La Presse he hadn't been following the grist from the rumor mill, but had gotten calls from family and friends.

can we put this rumor to rest please?

 

[lost1dc]

Watching the Habs and Bruins on RDS. Rumour was Lav and some player for the Kostitsyns, Gorges, Plenkanec, Subban and a couple other things. Sometimes rumours are the worst kept secrets. In a way, I could see Tampa trying to free some cap space so they could sign Stamkos, if he is able to step it up.

BTW, nice to see Montreal win another fight in the past week. :rofl:

 

[Mauser98k]

Watching the Habs and Bruins on RDS. Rumour was Lav and some player for the Kostitsyns, Gorges, Plenkanec, Subban and a couple other things. Sometimes rumours are the worst kept secrets. In a way, I could see Tampa trying to free some cap space so they could sign Stamkos, if he is able to step it up.

BTW, nice to see Montreal win another fight in the past week. :rofl:

never gonna happen. we won't rid ourselves of a franchise player just to bring up a possible franchise player

 

[Dawn]

About TB: Trading Vinny to free cap room and... heading down, down, down, down towards... John Tavares. AKA rebuilding around Stamkos and Tavares. Those thoughts and elements to support the rumor comes from Toronto and been discussed all day in Montreal. The fact that TB management is having difficulties economically provides more ground to the rumor - as well as the fact that Lawton didnt said that Vinny was untouchable.

I don't beleive in rumors usually, but that one have been going on for over a week, from various sources... Besides economical factor, no one in his right mind could trade a franchise player for a handfull of good players and few drafts picks (we did it few years ago with Patrick Roy and it hurted Habs for years, Boston did it with Joe Thornton and they are 1st in Eastern Conference few years later thanks to a solid rebuilding).

I'm on the wait and see minding regarding this rumor. It never been so persistent before. :dunno:

**********

Habs 1 vs Boston 3

A great Habs/Bruins duel, where the Habs were clearly 2nd all game... We can use the injuries as excuses...

A great game.

Zdeno Chara leaded Boston offense with 2 goals.

Official scoresheet: http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20082009/GS020631.HTM

 

[Thunderbolt]

About TB: Trading Vinny to free cap room and... heading down, down, down, down towards... John Tavares. AKA rebuilding around Stamkos and Tavares. Those thoughts and elements to support the rumor comes from Toronto and been discussed all day in Montreal. The fact that TB management is having difficulties economically provides more ground to the rumor - as well as the fact that Lawton didnt said that Vinny was untouchable.

I don't beleive in rumors usually, but that one have been going on for over a week, from various sources... Besides economical factor, no one in his right mind could trade a franchise player for a handfull of good players and few drafts picks (we did it few years ago with Patrick Roy and it hurted Habs for years, Boston did it with Joe Thornton and they are 1st in Eastern Conference few years later thanks to a solid rebuilding).

I'm on the wait and see minding regarding this rumor. It never been so persistent before. :dunno:

**********

Habs 1 vs Boston 3

A great Habs/Bruins duel, where the Habs were clearly 2nd all game... We can use the injuries as excuses...

A great game.

Zdeno Chara leaded Boston offense with 2 goals.

Official scoresheet: http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20082009/GS020631.HTM

They don't need to trade Vinny to finish last. Even though they have been playing better lately , they still have a very good chance of sucking enough to end up drafting first overall.

 

[Marlo Manson]

They don't need to trade Vinny to finish last. Even though they have been playing better lately , they still have a very good chance of sucking enough to end up drafting first overall.

I only quoted you thunderbolt cuz your talking about what place they are likely to finish in this season, I am not trying to rub any tampa bay fans or mock them for what they were talking about in the off-season, about how great the lighting looked on paper, and how well they might be or should be ???

the only reason I bring this up is cuz I was getting kind of worried tampa was gonna be an unstoppable force this year and if Detroit actually does make it out of the wild, wild, west, I thought we were gonna have to deal with a cinderella story going from terrible to great, that being lighting team in the finals!!

Too my surprise and I am sure everybody else's that team in the east that has been turning heads and twisting necks is the Beantown Bruins!! I can't believe the way the lightings season has turned out?? melrose can be a good bench boss? I don't know why things didn't work in tampa?? I am not trying to rub salt in your wounds I was just reminiscing about the pre-season excitement, hoopla and disscussions..etc..:eek::dunno:

 

[Dawn]

They don't need to trade Vinny to finish last. Even though they have been playing better lately , they still have a very good chance of sucking enough to end up drafting first overall.

True. I just reported what i'm hearing constantly on the sport radio channel in Montreal. As i said, i don't buy into that rumor... even if i would like to see Vinny in Montreal. Nobody in his right mind could trade a franchise player.

But we all remember that even Gretzky been traded. And Roy. And Thornton. I just can't beleive Lawton will become the man-who-traded-Vinny...

I only quoted you thunderbolt cuz your talking about what place they are likely to finish in this season, I am not trying to rub any tampa bay fans or mock them for what they were talking about in the off-season, about how great the lighting looked on paper, and how well they might be or should be ???

the only reason I bring this up is cuz I was getting kind of worried tampa was gonna be an unstoppable force this year and if Detroit actually does make it out of the wild, wild, west, I thought we were gonna have to deal with a cinderella story going from terrible to great, that being lighting team in the finals!!

Too my surprise and I am sure everybody else's that team in the east that has been turning heads and twisting necks is the Beantown Bruins!! I can't believe the way the lightings season has turned out?? melrose can be a good bench boss? I don't know why things didn't work in tampa?? I am not trying to rub salt in your wounds I was just reminiscing about the pre-season excitement, hoopla and disscussions..etc..:eek::dunno:

Everyone here thought it was the year TB will get back into the top 3 teams in the East, easily winning their division. We had interrogations about goaltending (but Smith have been a true star) and defense (especially after the departure of Boyle).

While i can see the defense being something TB would like to strenghten, i also saw so bad management behind the bench (we just start to see a real play system in TB and we are already halfway in the seasons!) and so poor stability (too many new faces in a short amount of time) that it might explain the drop.

Smitty have been up to what was expected, if not better.

Stamkos was poorly managed... and might have needed more development before the big show.

The lack of offense was not expected. But i blame more the management, the team play system than players themselves.

I really wish, honestly, too see TB either slumping to get a very high draft pick (i guy like Hedman at the defense could be welcome i think) or rise up the standard and become a force in the 2nd half of the season.

So either rebuilding with younger players (no more Recchi and other 40+) or become what everyone expected in the 2nd half of the season to rise to division champ... and become the team nobody wants to face in the playoffs!

 

[Baill Inneraora]

Blue Jackets defeat Colorado last night and move into the 8th spot int he West.

 

[Mauser98k]

7-1 Sharks over the Lightning. that was ugly. the last 5 minutes or so Prospal and Koci were kicked out of the game and you could clearly see the Lightning snap.

 

[Baill Inneraora]

7-1 Sharks over the Lightning. that was ugly. the last 5 minutes or so Prospal and Koci were kicked out of the game and you could clearly see the Lightning snap.

How does a San Diego guy become such a big Lighting fan?

 

[Mauser98k]

How does a San Diego guy become such a big Lighting fan?

i really have no idea. i think i liked their logo when i was a kid and i just kept following them.

 

[Marlo Manson]

Wow. That says a lot about how the Red Wings are a classy organisation. Habs are like that too with kids. But i doubt we can get someone like Gordie Howe to meet the kids (Jean Beliveau is our most classy player still alive but he is a tad old and unhealthy, might be hard for him to do something alike).

Detroit prides itself on being a classy outfit! Ask the players and former players of Detroit, I don't think I've ever heard anybody disliking their playing days in Detroit!!! a few guys might have been pissed for getting traded eg. (kieth primeau, and paul coffey) to name a couple..etc..

Although the gifts and swag were great!! I think the handshake from Gordie was just a right time, right place situation! other than that, the gifts were very impressive!

I have NO doubt in my mind la habitants (plz forgive if I didn't nail the spelling) I am american! are just as classy! although I am not rich in montreal canadiens history, other than they've won the most stanley cups!! and they've got a rich tradition of having some of the BEST players of ALL-TIME!! just like the REDWINGS! and the canadiens prolly even more so?? not sure?? depends on the opinions of the ones who would know!! :dunno:

I also love other teams other than the RED WINGS! I love and have allot of respect for 4 of the 6 canadian teams! and I love a few of the american teams as well! but REDWINGS 1st and foremost before any other 100% of the time!!! ya heard!!

I love watching most of the NHL!! I can watch almost any other teams / games!! if I had my druthers / choice, I wouldn't nor do I care to watch two suck ass teams playing unless its extemely chippy and full of scrums and fights!! :hatsoff:

 

[Thunderbolt]

I only quoted you thunderbolt cuz your talking about what place they are likely to finish in this season, I am not trying to rub any tampa bay fans or mock them for what they were talking about in the off-season, about how great the lighting looked on paper, and how well they might be or should be ???

the only reason I bring this up is cuz I was getting kind of worried tampa was gonna be an unstoppable force this year and if Detroit actually does make it out of the wild, wild, west, I thought we were gonna have to deal with a cinderella story going from terrible to great, that being lighting team in the finals!!

Too my surprise and I am sure everybody else's that team in the east that has been turning heads and twisting necks is the Beantown Bruins!! I can't believe the way the lightings season has turned out?? melrose can be a good bench boss? I don't know why things didn't work in tampa?? I am not trying to rub salt in your wounds I was just reminiscing about the pre-season excitement, hoopla and disscussions..etc..:eek::dunno:

I am very surprised to see them having such a horrible season. With the team they had on paper they where supposed to at least battle for first place in the south east division. But , some stupid moves in the off season like trading Dan Boyle and hiring Barry Melrose as head coach contributed to the team having an awful start to the season and now they have lost a lot of confidence and it shows. I still think they have a good enough team to make the playoffs and have a chance to win but definitely not this year.

 

[Mauser98k]

I am very surprised to see them having such a horrible season. With the team they had on paper they where supposed to at least battle for first place in the south east division. But , some stupid moves in the off season like trading Dan Boyle and hiring Barry Melrose as head coach contributed to the team having an awful start to the season and now they have lost a lot of confidence and it shows. I still think they have a good enough team to make the playoffs and have a chance to win but definitely not this year.

precisely why Lecavalier should never leave this team

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

Blue Jackets defeat Colorado last night and move into the 8th spot int he West.

:nanner: That's one of my hopes for this year: Blue Jackets in the playoffs. Hope they can do it!

I still think they have a good enough team to make the playoffs and have a chance to win but definitely not this year.

It would be one hell of a Cinderella run if you guys could make it in. I'd like to see the Lightning surge and end somehwere, if not in, the playoffs. Tampa in the alst few years have been the best example since the Gretzky-era Kings (And ignoring Dallas, of course) that Southern NHL teams can thrive.