You would honestly put an unproven, early player like Steen in your shootout? Sorry, but I think all Steen's good for is trade bait. He's decent, for an early player, but he's not shootout material. There's more to shootouts than just being fast. I'll give you Czerkawski, but I would never put Antropov or Stajan in a shootout over Allison. He may not be the best choice, but like I said, I don't see many other options on Toronto's current squad. Yes, Hasek can be good on dekes, but he's been an unreliable goaltender recently. By "unreliable" I do not mean bad, but I do mean he's given up quite a few soft goals since he's well past his prime. Hasek won't lead Ottawa or any other team to the Cup finals, I can promise you that. Like I said: Allison isn't a top pick for the shootout by any means, but he's a decent one. I suppose you can make a case for everyone you mentioned, but I just don't see a reason for it. They don't have the experience Allison does, and they haven't seen Hasek as much. I'd ease younger players (like everyone you mentioned but Czerkawski) in. And, what I seen of Steen and Antropov didn't show me a hard, accurate shot, or a ton of speed. Neither of them were horrible in either area, but they weren't too far above par. Obviously I don't watch the Leafs everyday, though.
The Wings played much better last night in their 5-2 victory over LA. I saw a huge improvement from Sunday's game. On Sunday, they looked extremely tired and everyone was really slow, even Datsyuk, but last night, they were spot-on and back to their old winning selves. 4-1 record. Not bad, Not bad at all.
I know this team and their players very well, believe me. You weren't there last season in the AHL when Stajan scored in a few shootouts. I was there, at the arena, when it happened. He has a great shot, and although he doesn't get much playing time, he's an incredibly smart player. I would, honestly, put Steen in that situation. I've seen him do it before. In addition, he played in the Swedish Elite League with grown men for the last few years. He's not just some new kid. This guy has experience. He's quite adept at scoring and has great speed. You're judging him by a few games in the NHL. On the Maple Leafs forums, somebody posted a link to a Swedish Elite league site that had highlights of league games. I've seen quite afew of Steen's goals, and he's got a great shot. He also scored one of the best goals I've ever seen. This kid's got a bright future and the skills to compete in a shootout. I also watched Antropov a few years ago when he was sent down to the St. John's Maple Leafs. In addition, I've seen nearly every Leafs game on Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday since about 98. I know talent when I see it, and when I saw Antropov down here, he lit it up. When he gets the puck in the slot, you can be almost sure it's going under the bar. 35 points in 34 games isn't too shabby at all. He averaged a goal every 3 games. He's not a top 10 entry draft pick for no reason. And this pre-season and regular season has been his most improved to date. Allison's slow skating leaves him vulnerable to poke checks and makes him very predicatble. If he's going to be in shootouts, it needs to be against a goalie who's not too great on dekes, because they'll rob him up high every time. Usually shootouts are split second decisions for the goalies, but Allison gives them too much time to react. I say these types of things on the Leafs forums and even the Leafs fans don't disagree with me. You may have put Allison in instead of those other players, but I can guarantee you 90% of Leafs fans wouldn't. He's certainly not a top 3 pick for shootouts. Not even top 7. Maybe below the top 10. Being a hockey player myself who's been in the situation before and knows the situation very well, speed matters. If I had a depth chart for Leafs shooters in a shootout, it'd be; 01 - Sundin 02 - Wellwood (Amazing skills) 03 - O'Neill 04 - Lindros 05 - Czerkawski 06 - Antropov 07 - Stajan 08 - Kaberle 09 - Steen 10 - Tucker 11 - Allison 12 - Ponikarovsky
Of course other Leafs fans aren't going to disagree with you -- when a team's doing bad, and someone suggests a minor change, everyone agrees. It's on the Red Wings forums all the time, but that doesn't make it right just because someone agrees with you. As I said, I'm not Leafs expert. I can just call it like I see it. And I've seen Antropov play, and if you ask me, if he were on another team in the NHL, he'd probably be a career second- or third-line player. He's a good player, don't get me wrong, but shootout material? He's done nothing at all to impress me. I've seen highlights of Steen (they were on Red Wings message boards when Leafs fans made up the rumor that the Wings would trade Zetterberg for Antropov and Steen... boy did that work out ), and he too does nothing at all to impress me. He's got some good moves here and there, but he too seems like a career second-liner. And, like I said, I know the least of Stajan. But I would never put someone of his experience on a shootout unless he's a hockey protege (such as Crosby). I've never seen him play in the AHL, no, but since when did AHL production translate to NHL production? You can't judge a person off their minor league statistics. That's how you determine if they get a shot at the big-time, true, but it doesn't mean they'll produce at the big-time. This is why you have players who will play their entire careers in the minor league, get thousands of points, and never make it to the big-leagues. It just happens. It's happened with Detroit a number of times.
Having a team full of Red Wings on the Fantasy League is proving to be a good thing. I just moved up two ranks thanks to the 2-0 victory over Phoenix.
Hell yah the fricken Oilers are going to the shitter just as i expected. A 3-0 start was just to much for em they had to cool off although they have been hit by a few injuries and Peca and Pronger have played like shit. Well not like shit but definitly not worth the 10 million that thye make between the 2 of them. The Oilers have to do a few things if they want to go anywhere. Get rid of Laraque, this guy gets paid to fight and I havn't seen him drop the gloves in god knows how long, and they need to get rid of Pisani, now that there are some injuries they are playing this guy in the top two line he is no more than a 4th line player so frick MacTavish quit giving him so damn much ice time. Few bright spots I do see in the Oilers is Hemsky and Torres, these two kids are amazing give em a few more years and I think they will be a force. Is it just me or is everyone just pinned on Crosby and Ovechkin for the Calder? Cause in my opinion I would pin Deon Phaneuf high on the list in candidates. He has been solid on the Calgary defense especially in the time that they were struggling. Quit possibly one of their best players to start the year. So yah how is that LPA draft doing, who is winning now?
Like, at first, I didn't want all Wings because if/when they lose I'll pretty much be screwed but the points are so spread amongst the team, I had to take Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Samuelsson because they've been a huge part of our team. Besides that, Manny Legace is arguably one of the best goalies in the league.
I'm sure you do know the team better than I do... doesn't make you correct, however [/b][/quote] Exactly, Mark the leafs do not have much depth when it comes to shootouts. If you consider Czerkawski a a sniper then I tihnk you sohuld re-evaluate his ability. The guy is long past his prime and his production is steadily declining. I mean i tinhk he should be good for a 20 goal seaosn, but can you consider a 20 goal guy a sniper? I tihnk not. I can tell you right now if my team needed an extra point due to a shootout I would not rely on Antropov or Steen to go out there and get me a goal. I mean sure they are good young players but to say that that gives the leafs depth in a shootout is a pretty far fetched statement. Either way I hope the leafs have their worst season in recent memory.
Awesome night on the pool! Jagr scores 2 goals in a 4-0 win, Legace stops 26 shots in a 3-2 win, and I belive Williams had an assist on one. HELL FRICKIN YES!
Hey listen to the leader of the pool here. Shootouts in the NHL are a tough thing. It would be stupid for anyteam to have a set list of players for thier shootout situations. I mean if the leafs had to go to a shootout one night and Steen has just played amazing all night and potted a couple of nice goals and been up and down the ice making plays. Why not throw him in the shootout? It's not like since Sundin is an all-star player I would throw him in a shootout any given night. If he is playling like shit there is no way he would be in the shootout. Anyways anyone see that elbow that McCarty gave to Nash tonight. Man I think he will get a suspension for that especailly is Havlat got 5 games for kicking. I thought that suspension was bullshit but I know Mark will disagree.
Oh yeah Especially because Samuelsson scored our second goal and he's my extra attacker on top of the fact that I have Legace and he had 26 saves last night. EDIT: SECOND PLACE!!! muahahaha. It's just a matter of time before I move into first.
Oh yeah Especially because Samuelsson scored our second goal and he's my extra attacker on top of the fact that I have Legace and he had 26 saves last night. EDIT: SECOND PLACE!!! muahahaha. It's just a matter of time before I move into first. [/b][/quote] Good luck getting into first.
I saw that Ryan, that was absolutely vicious. You could see his head snap back. Havlat got 5 games becuase it was his third suspension, but I don't know how many suspensions McCarty has had. If he has a history, then it should be a max of four (teleconference). I don't think they'd have an in person hearing (minimum of 5 games) unless he had a history. Man, I fell down to fourth because, like, one of my players have played since Saturday night. Thursday nights going to be a big night for me, though. Watch out.
I haven't seen any NHL highlights yet. Have there been a lot of shootouts? And has the legal 2 line pass made the game better or worse?
There's been a decent amount of shootouts. They're great for the fans but not a worthy way to end a usually hard-fought 65 minute game. Shootout losses are always the ones hardest to swallow. The elimination of the red-line is the most brilliant rule input in the NHL this year, in my opinion. It makes the game so much more exciting.
I could imagine. Personally, being a casual fan, the hope for a shootout would keep me interested in the game so I'd watch to see if it will happen. So if it gets me, it's gotta get a bunch of new fans into the sport.