2013 NHL "Around the League" Talk - Pt 1

[Antaris]

Hahaha that's a good one!

 

[M0NTY26]

Kovalchuk and Datsyuk staying in Russia for the ASG! Kovy might not even come back...


If you're friends with any New Jersey Devil fans, keep a close eye on them. That'd be rough to not only lose Parise, but then lose Kovalchuk! Ouch.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

They'll be back, they're just going to wait until the last possible moment.

 

[M0NTY26]

They'll be back, they're just going to wait until the last possible moment.

If you're replying to me, both Dats and Kovy are still in Russia and WILL be playing in the KHLASG.

 

[The Underboss]

Surprised at the Burke news.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

If you're replying to me, both Dats and Kovy are still in Russia and WILL be playing in the KHLASG.

Yeah, I know. I'm not expecting them to be back in North America until about the 17th.

The KHL All Star Game is on Sunday...theoretically they could be back in time for the vast majority of the abbreviated training camp and still play in it.

 

[M0NTY26]

Datsyuk I 100% expect back. I'm not so sure we will see Kovy. Until next season, at least. There's a LOT of reports coming out of Russia that he is going to stay. With Parise being gone and Marty on his last legs, maybe he's soured on the NJD. Pure speculation, of course.

 

[Shrimper]

Both Datsyuk and Kovalchuk will come back they're just waiting until the optimum time.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Would Kovalchuk be willing to throw away the Olympics in Russia next year for this cause?

The IIHF would ban him from international competition if he goes against his contract without consent from his NHL team.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Really came out of left field. Did not expect Burke to be fired. I guess he didn't want Luongo?

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Datsyuk will be back after the All-Star Game.

No surprise there.

 

[Antaris]

I don't see Kovalchuck staying, I'm positive he'll return to the NHL after the all-star game.

 

[Black Label]

I expect Datsyuk and Kovalchuk to come back, but I'm not so sure about Visnovsky. Apparently he will only come back if the KHL forces him to now.

 

[HuskerTornado]

Lol apparently my thread was missed from yesterday.

Odd timing for a GM firing.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I can't believe people are getting riled up about Kovachoo and Dats staying a couple extra days. So they loved playing in Russia with all their friends and family closer to them, speaking their own language, and they want to play in ASG vs. Day 1 of NHL camp. Shocking.

Those guys will be here for the whole season and whatever their contract status after I'm willing to bet they'll both stay in the NHL for several more years. Granted, living in Russia is probably better than New Jersey and especially Detroit but....

 

[ColePens]

On top of it, I bet both guys called their coaches and took care of it.

 

[Frederick Stanley]

If the Flyers really trade for Luongo, what are they doing with Bryz?

 

[Captain Hook]

If the Flyers really trade for Luongo, what are they doing with Bryz?

Supposedly there are ways they can squeeze both of them in until the off-season when they can buy Briz out. There's also a chance they can find a trade partner and maybe eat part of Briz's cap hit to make him more moveable.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Thought I'd place this here in addition to GDT thread.

[According to] Bob McKenzie, teams will participate in intra-conference contests only. Each squad will play against two teams within its division four times, and against the other two teams in the same division five times.Then, to round out the schedule, each team will play three games against each of the other teams in the same conference.

For us that would likely mean:

Philly, NYR - 5x
NJ, NYI - 4x
Rest of East - 3x
No games vs. Detroit, Chicago

 

[Shockmaster]

Thought I'd place this here in addition to GDT thread.



For us that would likely mean:

Philly, NYR - 5x
NJ, NYI - 4x
Rest of East - 3x
No games vs. Detroit, Chicago

Are there actually viable rumors that the Penguins would play both the Rangers and Flyers twice, or is it just speculated because they're the biggest competition in the division to the Penguins?

 

[Darth Vitale]

Are there actually viable rumors that the Penguins would play both the Rangers and Flyers twice, or is it just speculated because they're the biggest competition in the division to the Penguins?

100% my guess, based on the fact the league wants rivalry games and excitement and one of our biggest rivals is arguably the biggest TV draw in the league (PIT-PHY). Philly and NYR is too obvious in our case. Hawks will be DET, STL probably, and so on.

 

[Darth Vitale]

You guys check out the Ryan Whitney video on this page. Pretty funny for a giggle-drops. SI, in their infinite hockey wisdom, picked EDM 3rd in NHL power rankings.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=413251

 

[Shockmaster]

Looks like ProHockeyTalk is hyping up the Rangers as the team to beat in the East. For some reason, I'm just not that scared of them.

I know, on paper they do look scary. Gaborik, Richards, Nash, etc. Keeping two things in mind though: a) Gaborik may not be ready for the start of the season with that injury he suffered in the playoffs last year, and b) Torts shuts down his own forwards. There's more emphasis on shot-blocking then scoring. Everybody has to trap and play defense first and try to win every game 2-1. If you don't block shots, no matter how skilled you are, you get benched. Torts did that with Gaborik in the playoffs.

 

[Shady Machine]

I think the Rangers are the team to beat. The best goalie in the league IMO, a great top 4 defense, and now another scoring threat plus the maturation of Kreider.

That said, and maybe this is just my personal gut feeling, I'm less concerned about a playoff match-up against them than I am against the Flyers.

 

[Antaris]

Geno has Lundqvists number so I wouldn't worry about that.
The Flyers get underneath everyones skin and that's what makes them dangerous.