GDT: Biggest Game Of The Year (Birds that don't fly vs Canes)

[Lempo]

BS, if evolution is true then how come monkeys aren't out there right now turning into people

Scratching balls and eating bananas is winner's choice IMO.

 

[Stickpucker]

Murray is starting to look a lot like Ward 2.0 without Fleury there.

 

[Unsustainable]

BS, if evolution is true then how come monkeys aren't out there right now turning into people

It’s called the Higher Primate Theory:

 

[Unsustainable]

Any interests in Duclair @Boom Boom Aho

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Yeah, I was wondering about Duclair as well. Sounds like he's definitely done in AZ. Don't know much about him though.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Yeah, I two game losing streak coupled with a two game winning streak by either the Isle or the Pens and we are back out of the playoff picture. I'll celebrate when I get my playoff tickets.

No, that's too early. If you recall, they will send out playoff strips beforehand if it looks like they're close. Celebrate when they're mathematically in, and not a second before.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Any interests in Duclair @Boom Boom Aho

I honestly don't know enough about him.

 

[StiffSquid]

But yeah. How bout that Saarela Kid huh? He had one hell of a game last night , agree?

 

[MinJaBen]

Any interests in Duclair @Boom Boom Aho

I don't think we need him. He doesn't seem to offer anything that our other middle six forward talent doesn't already give us. I mean, if Arizona wants to give him away for peanuts, fine, but otherwise he doesn't fix our problems.

We need to go after bigger fish.

 

[geehaad]

I honestly don't know enough about him.

 

[Lempo]

Yeah but the previous Duc guy who had publicly had enough with his western team.

[insert some insightful pointer about dukes]

Dukes are hazard.

 

[NotOpie]

The last piece to fix is Darling.

If he can't find his game, I think it will be tough sledding. We can't expect '06 Ward for the rest of the season.

But can we expect the '09 Ward....or even the 2011 Ward? I'd take either of those guys....for reference in 2011 Cam Ward played in 74 games and posted a .923 SV%, best of his career....even better than his Cup performance.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

You honestly don't trust that I'm being honest?

 

[bluedevil58]

But can we expect the '09 Ward....or even the 2011 Ward? I'd take either of those guys....for reference in 2011 Cam Ward played in 74 games and posted a .923 SV%, best of his career....even better than his Cup performance.

I am wondering if Ward is doing better due to not being overplayed?

 

[NotOpie]

I am wondering if Ward is doing better due to not being overplayed?

Ward has always played better with a heavy workload....but all of that is relative, of course. Depends on what your definition of better is.

 

[Ole Gil]

Ward has always played better with a heavy workload....but all of that is relative, of course. Depends on what your definition of better is.

When has he not had a heavy workload?

 

[bluedevil58]

When has he not had a heavy workload?

2005/2006

 

[The Faulker 27]

BS, if evolution is true then how come monkeys aren't out there right now turning into people

Zoos are like resorts these days. Who wants to be a human.

 

[NotOpie]

When has he not had a heavy workload?

Fair point.

 

[Ippenator]

For me it depends on what it takes. My view is the 1st round pick and Necas are completely off limits in a rental type situation, especially if we are barely holding on to the last WC spot. I realize there are more options than just rentals, but for reference, here is a list of some of the UFAs that might be available based on the assumption that their team may not be competing for a playoff spot. A thing I forget sometimes is that we will be getting Stempniak back. He's streaky, but he's been a 40 point player the last few years.

Sedin's
Plekanec
E. Kane
Filppula
Backlund
Stajan
Vrbata
Maroon
Vanek
Versteeg
Jagr

Goalies
Chad Johnson
Antti Ranta

Good and informative post! Thanks for that.

With my knowledge of these players, my opinions would be the following:

Sedin’s = maybe, but probably not worth it, too much on the decline already

Plekanec = maybe, not sure though if he has enough of heart for me to want him to the Canes

E. Kane = a definite NO, a bad attitude and a selfish player, would need his own puck if he would play for the Canes

Filppula = maybe, although I’m not really a fan of his, not at least selfish at all, and could be maybe useful as a third line player, quite mediocre puck handling skills, but good attitude and relatively good hockey IQ

Backlund = a definite YES, very useful player from the Canes perspective

Stajan = maybe, I have not followed him as a player enough to have a clear opinion on him

Vrbata = quite possible yes, I think he could be a useful and potentially productive player for the Canes

Maroon = I don’t think so, pretty bad skater whom is also a pretty much on/off player, don’t see much of use for him in the Canes

Vanek = pretty much a no no, quite much a power play specialist whose defensive play and skating are that questionable that I wouldn’t really want him in the Canes

Versteeg = probably yes, he seems like he could be a pretty useful 3rd or even 4th liner, and if needed, he could relatively well substitute for top six players missing in action

Jagr = he is the greatest European player of all time, and I have the biggest respect for his career, still a huge NO, as his time in hockey as a player has passed and I see absolutely no use for him in the Canes

Johnson = quite a big maybe, somehow I have a feeling that he wouldn’t be any better for the Canes than Darling has been, but you never know for sure with goalies, sometimes a team change can radically jumpstart a goalie’s career, maybe worth a try if he is available

Raanta = a definite YES, a very quick and agile goalie, although a bit small though, I think he is anyway very good and has the potential to be amazing in a defensively good team that the Canes definitely are, he is also used to playing most of his NHL career as a number two goalie, so I don’t think that having to compete for the number one spot with Ward would be that strange for him. Could make a very nice duo with Ward, and could maybe even take the number one goalie spot gradually, he would be a great signing in my opinion anyway

Of course these are only my personal opinions and I perfectly understand if people disagree with me, but if you do, would be nice to hear a bit more about the reasons why you disagree about any of these players?

Oh, and of course Tavares would be a jackpot, and also Stempniak could be a pretty useful player for the Canes. Personally I think that after Tavares Raanta would be the next best signing that the Canes could really do, but very interested to hear other opinions!

 

[geehaad]

You honestly don't trust that I'm being honest?

There's a trending recently to shove some form of "honest" into everything, IMHO. I mean, it's almost as bad as using the crutch "I mean" to begin every sentence.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I mean, you can go f*** yourself, to be honest.

 

[Ole Gil]

There's a trending recently to shove some form of "honest" into everything, IMHO. I mean, it's almost as bad as using the crutch "I mean" to begin every sentence.

I think the H is for humble.

 

[Canes]

Where's the fun in being cautious and skeptical about our playoff chances? Becoming full on delusional about it is more fun.

 

[Roboturner913]

I remember thinking that "to be honest" was getting totally overused when American Chopper was a thing back around 15 years ago. Every time one of those goddamned idiots got their little one-on-one piece with the camera they started off their sentence with it. "To be honest I think Paulie is being a punk b****"