OT: NHL Offseason (All non-Stars NHL talk here)

[LT]

Boston doesn’t even look that strong on paper to me. It’s so weird that they’ve become a machine.

 

[brighteststars]

Boston doesn’t even look that strong on paper to me. It’s so weird that they’ve become a machine.

Bos has a lot of forward depth and their top line is at worst top 3 in the league. To add, Rask is now on his game and their D-men play low risk hockey.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

Yeah Boston is basically made to play playoff hockey. The whole team is very solid at two way play, they’ve got a very hot goalie, and they don’t allow a ton of high danger chances. They can grind you out or beat you with skill.

 

[ugrakarma]

I can't see the Bruins being bullied to the extent that Sharks got man handled alas it will be interesting. I'll have to root for the furries.

 

[serp]

Sharks at the end just had too many injuries. Just couldn't hold it together anymore towards the end of the series against the Blues. Wonder if the same thing would've happened against us.

 

[Webster]

The fact that the Blues are in the finals also shows that the Stars are pretty good team. We took them to game 7, and they were a puck on the goal line from being eliminated in 2OT. But they moved on and killed the Sharks in game 6.

Next season can be a very exciting one for Dallas fans, if they can land Zucc and some other upgrades. There's plenty of cap space.

 

[Benneguin]

The fact that the Blues are in the finals also shows that the Stars are pretty good team. We took them to game 7, and they were a puck on the goal line from being eliminated in 2OT. But they moved on and killed the Sharks in game 6.

Next season can be a very exciting one for Dallas fans, if they can land Zucc and some other upgrades. There's plenty of cap space.

All it means is we played well against them. The 93 points in the regular season is a far better indicator, IMO.

 

[brighteststars]

I think the Stars could finish a bit higher next year than this year as they'll have a full year of Hintz, improved role Dicky, and hopefully Zucc and some other FA upgrades.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

The second line is still full of question marks in my opinion. Can Hintz maintain a 50 point pace for 82 games? Can Dickinson play that well for 82 games?

Sure they were awesome for the playoffs, but for an entire season I'm not as confident.

 

[Kcb12345]

The second line is still full of question marks in my opinion. Can Hintz maintain a 50 point pace for 82 games? Can Dickinson play that well for 82 games?

Sure they were awesome for the playoffs, but for an entire season I'm not as confident.

Hintz should be fine in a 2nd line role and I see very few reasons to think otherwise unless his effort level or something goes down. Dickinson though ideally goes down to the 3rd or 4th line. He could be a good depth option for us but I'd love to see us get Zucc + another top 6 forward in free agency but I doubt it'll happen. Dickinson could play in that spot and probably do just fine and put up decent numbers but I'd like to see someone like Gurianov get a shot up there first if we don't get another top 6 forward.

 

[Webster]

Well Zucc just changed his profile and pic on his twitter account.
No more Rags...now it says "Forward for the Dallas Stars".

That's a good sign

Mats Zuccarello (@zuccarello36) | Twitter

 

[Kcb12345]

Well Zucc just changed his profile and pic on his twitter account.
No more Rags...now it says "Forward for the Dallas Stars".

That's a good sign

Mats Zuccarello (@zuccarello36) | Twitter

Could be just letting Stars fans enjoy it for a bit while it lasts

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

Even if Hintz struggles a bit, better than the de facto 2 C we had this year - Spezza, Faksa, Shore, etc.

 

[Zrhutch]

Well Zucc just changed his profile and pic on his twitter account.
No more Rags...now it says "Forward for the Dallas Stars".

That's a good sign

Mats Zuccarello (@zuccarello36) | Twitter

If this just happened, then it’s happening. No reason for him to change it otherwise.

 

[ElGuapo]

All it means is we played well against them. The 93 points in the regular season is a far better indicator, IMO.

The amount of points a team has at the end of the regular season doesn't mean much as long as you qualify for the postseason.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

If this just happened, then it’s happening. No reason for him to change it otherwise.

It was changed weeks ago.

 

[Blindsummit]

I'm fascinated by the national media love-in with the Blues.
Seemingly the Blues fans are the most passionate and loyal and are always there...... The media must have missed the first half of the season, and when they booed their own team during Game 5 against us.
Also they had to bravely overcome the adversity of having one of the worst ever refereeing decisions against them..... the media must have missed the multitude of favorable decisions in their favor and the strange imbalance in penalties in the series against us.
And apparently Jordan Binnington (Peace be upon him) is the greatest goalie in the history of goalieing.... Unflappable, calm, level-headed and the ultimate professional.... the media were looking the other way when he attacked Ben Bishop and did his "calm" AHL antics.
I do hope Jordan is keeping his strength up following all this media love on his groin area!
Roll on the draft and free agency so I can enjoy listening to and reading national hockey media again.

 

[serp]

Blues are the most Canadian team in the playoffs so once all the Canadian teams got eliminated the entire NHL media and especially the Canadian ones instantly became Blues fans.

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

Took the Bruins all of one period to shake off the rust of a long layoff, then they made the Blues look silly. I guess the Stars aren't as close to SC caliber contention as we hoped, although they played about to our expectations and maybe a bit above. Nill has some work to do.

I texted an STL buddy during the game that most of the Blues penalties weren't penalties in the first three rounds, LOL. And, noted Binnington got a quick whistle when his glove came off, for "safety" even though he could have been called for interference. Judgement call, but Bishop sure didn't get it.

Lastly, I see the Blues still think they are playing Esa Lindell. Cross check a Bruin in the face and give the WTF shrug when he goes down, cross check him again for good measure, trying to call attention to "diving."

Was rooting for the Blues because I have friends rooting for them. After last night's game, I am on the Bruins bandwagon.

 

[Satan]

f*** the Blues

Bruins are elite

 

[Satan]

Torey Krug laying out Rob Thomas was sick

Torey f***ing Krug lmfao

he's the same size as Tyrion from Game of Thrones

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

Yeah, it was a clean and great hit, after him having gotten the business in front of his own net. That is the way to get payback in hockey. It did seem like the Bruins fans helped the refs make a few calls against STL, and sure cheered their teams big hits, legal or not. Not sure I agree that NE hockey fans are more knowledgeable than those of us in southern markets. We're all the same, basically.

 

[serp]

And Dave Tippett is now officially the Oilers coach. I don't exactly have fond memories of him. To be he was allways slightly worse version of Hitch that was more liked by the players.

 

[LT]

Dave Tippett wins, though. But I’m not sure even he can rescue the abomination of that Edmonton roster.

 

[Satan]

And Dave Tippett is now officially the Oilers coach. I don't exactly have fond memories of him. To be he was allways slightly worse version of Hitch that was more liked by the players.

Tippett wasn't that bad. The years that followed Tippett's firing were way worse.