2010-11 NHL Season Thread

[Lee.]

Huh. All I really know for sure is that right after that trade to Atlanta, Vancouver was trying like hell to get him out of the south. Apparently Gillis covets the guy.

Also, Canucks 4-1 over the Wild. Schneider with 28 saves for the win.

[The Six]

Is there any broadcaster that says Byfuglien correctly?

[Sport]

Is there any broadcaster that says Byfuglien correctly?

Dustin Byfuglien doesn't even say his own name correctly. Buff-lin? He must've went to the Mike Krzyzewski school of name pronunciation.

[TFoA]

The Thrashers were below the salary floor but nobody bothered to say anything about it.

That was pretty much it, lmao. There has been NO money spent on this team, so they can actually afford to overpay someone in a case like this, especially considering that due to the fact that Buff clinched the single-best offensive season by a defenseman in Thrashers (sad) history (BY DECEMBER), they need to cling onto anybody with talent who actually wants to stay in Atlanta.

It honestly reminds me of the Joe Johnson/Atlanta Hawks deal (the first one, not the new one that's probably gonna kill the Hawks later). Joe Johnson signed on with the Hawks when NOBODY wanted to be in Atlanta. That + a strong young core made it an attractive place for free agents, & now the Hawks are a consistent 50-win team in the NBA. I'm hoping that works with the Thrashers, because it's the same deal. They've got what could be a star in Buff, combined with Kane leading a strong young core, and hopefully if Dudley continues to Do-Right (I'm sorry for that), then this could be the catalyst for good things to finally start happening for the Thrashers. It was like that for probably 1 and a half seasons here, but maybe they can finally start being regular contenders for the playoffs instead of being perennial also-rans playing Phoenix in the "Loser Leaves USA/Goes to Winnipeg or Quebec" Game.

So yeah, I don't mind him getting overpaid at all for a number of reasons. Sorry for messing up the market in the rest of the NHL.

[NJTank]

I know how to say Dustin Byfuglien's name The Most Underrated player in the NHL.

[The Six]

I know how to say Dustin Byfuglien's name The Most Underrated player in the NHL.

With the money he just got?

[NJTank]

Well maybe not any more, but I think the Blackhawks will regret many years trading him. I think he should have won the Conn Smythe last year.

[The_Admiral]

Byfuglien disappeared for quite a few playoff games, as he did throughout his regular seasons in Chicago where he never broke 40 points and only had a + once. Toews was a constant presence and broke Stan Mikita's records. Toews deserved the award, but you know what, Tank? I agree with you. I think Byfuglien should've won the Conn Smythe too. You know why? Because Toews was on an ELC and Byfuglien wasn't, and so Toews winning the Conn Smythe triggered bonuses that rolled over to count against this year's salary cap. If Byfuglien won it on his SPC, there'd be no contractual bonus on the books, and the Hawks would've been able to keep Andrew Ladd or perhaps even Byfuglien himself.

Now, of course, Tallon should not have been so freewheeling with the contracts he handed out, but it's pretty ass-backwards that the Blackhawks have been punished for having the captain of the team be their best player en route to a championship, and would've been better off if their MVP had been in his fourth year of service rather than third. Furthermore, the Conn Smythe is, at the end of the day, a subjective award, and so it's not even as if it took hitting concrete numerical thresholds to dick the Hawks over. I don't begrudge Toews his bonus for being our best player, but it should not be Stan Bowman's cross to bear for 2011.

[Don]

What a wild game between the Caps and the Ducks. 2 1/2 mins left in the 3rd tied 6-6. Hopefully whatever the result this will spark the inept Washington offense that we've seen all year.

Edit: 7-6 Caps, hat trick by Alex Semin!

[Still MIGHTY]

What a wild game between the Caps and the Ducks. 2 1/2 mins left in the 3rd tied 6-6. Hopefully whatever the result this will spark the inept Washington offense that we've seen all year.

Edit: 7-6 Caps, hat trick by Alex Semin!

Absolutely crazy game. Tie broken with just under 2 minutes left. I can't believe that the Ducks lost that one.

But with the Ducks loss, Calgary win, and Kings win, the West is completely insane.

3. 69 pts - 58 GP - Coyotes

4. 68 pts - 57 GP - Ducks

5. 68 pts - 57 GP - Predators

6. 68 pts - 58 GP - Sharks

7. 68 pts - 58 GP - Stars

8. 68 pts - 60 GP - Flames

------------

9. 67 pts - Kings

10. 65 pts - Wild

11. 64 pts - Blackhawks

Completely ridiculous. 5 Teams with 68 pts. The Ducks are 1 point out of first in the Pacific, but 1 point out of the playoffs.

Dear Lord.

[Sport]

What a wild game between the Caps and the Ducks. 2 1/2 mins left in the 3rd tied 6-6. Hopefully whatever the result this will spark the inept Washington offense that we've seen all year.

Edit: 7-6 Caps, hat trick by Alex Semin!

Absolutely crazy game. Tie broken with just under 2 minutes left. I can't believe that the Ducks lost that one.

But with the Ducks loss, Calgary win, and Kings win, the West is completely insane.

3. Coyotes 69 pts

4. Ducks 68 pts

5. Predators 68 pts

6. Sharks 68 pts

7. Stars 68 pts

8. Flames 68 pts

------------

9. Kings 67 pts

10. Wild 65 pts

11. Blackhawks 64 pts

Completely ridiculous. 5 Teams with 68 pts. The Ducks are 1 point out of first in the Pacific, but 1 point out of the playoffs.

Dear Lord.

What's also crazy about the west is that pretty much all of these teams are on hot streaks right now (with the exception of the Stars and Preds). Even the Blue Jackets are 6-3-1 in their last 10, but can't gain any ground because everybody else is on fire at the same time. Though, a two point win in Chicago on Friday and they're tied with the Blackhawks at 64 points.

Oh how I envy the Eastern Conference. The West has one truly bad team. The East has the Senators, Islanders, Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Devils (yeah, I know they're hot right now, whatever). Put any one of the western teams from 3 through 12 or 13 and they're probably all in the East's top 8. It's like the NBA circa 2003.

[TalktoChuck]

What a wild game between the Caps and the Ducks. 2 1/2 mins left in the 3rd tied 6-6. Hopefully whatever the result this will spark the inept Washington offense that we've seen all year.

Edit: 7-6 Caps, hat trick by Alex Semin!

Absolutely crazy game. Tie broken with just under 2 minutes left. I can't believe that the Ducks lost that one.

But with the Ducks loss, Calgary win, and Kings win, the West is completely insane.

3. Coyotes 69 pts

4. Ducks 68 pts

5. Predators 68 pts

6. Sharks 68 pts

7. Stars 68 pts

8. Flames 68 pts

------------

9. Kings 67 pts

10. Wild 65 pts

11. Blackhawks 64 pts

Completely ridiculous. 5 Teams with 68 pts. The Ducks are 1 point out of first in the Pacific, but 1 point out of the playoffs.

Dear Lord.

What's also crazy about the west is that pretty much all of these teams are on hot streaks right now (with the exception of the Stars and Preds). Even the Blue Jackets are 6-3-1 in their last 10, but can't gain any ground because everybody else is on fire at the same time. Though, a two point win in Chicago on Friday and they're tied with the Blackhawks at 64 points.

Oh how I envy the Eastern Conference. The West has one truly bad team. The East has the Senators, Islanders, Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Devils (yeah, I know they're hot right now, whatever). Put any one of the western teams from 3 through 12 or 13 and they're probably all in the East's top 8. It's like the NBA circa 2003.

With Duchene now hurt, the goaltending going down the drain, and the inexperience of the Avalanche now being incredibly eveident you might want to add them to that list as well.

[Sport]

What a wild game between the Caps and the Ducks. 2 1/2 mins left in the 3rd tied 6-6. Hopefully whatever the result this will spark the inept Washington offense that we've seen all year.

Edit: 7-6 Caps, hat trick by Alex Semin!

Absolutely crazy game. Tie broken with just under 2 minutes left. I can't believe that the Ducks lost that one.

But with the Ducks loss, Calgary win, and Kings win, the West is completely insane.

3. Coyotes 69 pts

4. Ducks 68 pts

5. Predators 68 pts

6. Sharks 68 pts

7. Stars 68 pts

8. Flames 68 pts

------------

9. Kings 67 pts

10. Wild 65 pts

11. Blackhawks 64 pts

Completely ridiculous. 5 Teams with 68 pts. The Ducks are 1 point out of first in the Pacific, but 1 point out of the playoffs.

Dear Lord.

What's also crazy about the west is that pretty much all of these teams are on hot streaks right now (with the exception of the Stars and Preds). Even the Blue Jackets are 6-3-1 in their last 10, but can't gain any ground because everybody else is on fire at the same time. Though, a two point win in Chicago on Friday and they're tied with the Blackhawks at 64 points.

Oh how I envy the Eastern Conference. The West has one truly bad team. The East has the Senators, Islanders, Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Devils (yeah, I know they're hot right now, whatever). Put any one of the western teams from 3 through 12 or 13 and they're probably all in the East's top 8. It's like the NBA circa 2003.

With Duchene now hurt, the goaltending going down the drain, and the inexperience of the Avalanche now being incredibly eveident you might want to add them to that list as well.

That may be true now, but I was talking about since the beginning of the season. The East has a handful of teams giving points away and they've been giving them away all year. My point was that they West is undeniably more difficult to play in.

[oddball]

Someone please tell me that there were no goaltenders in that Washington-Anaheim game. Holy cow! Talk about killing your GAA. So, if the Kings win tomorrow night, and everything falls right, they could be 1st in the Pacific and 3rd in the West. Yeah, talk to any Kings fan in the middle of January and convince them of that!

[TalktoChuck]

That may be true now, but I was talking about since the beginning of the season. The East has a handful of teams giving points away and they've been giving them away all year. My point was that they West is undeniably more difficult to play in.

Yeah, I completely agree that the west is definitely the harder conference by a long shot. The fact that the Pacific is (most likely) going to have at least 4/5 teams in the playoffs is mind-boggling. With only two points separating third from ninth the end of the season should be real exciting.

[NEW.ERA]

Well at least the Flames game played won't matter come Sunday as these four days off will let everyone catch up. Too bad a couple really good teams will miss out on the party but I really doubt it will be this nuts come late March. Somebody is going to fall off. Just checked the Flames schedule out and after they play Montreal and Boston the rest of their games come against Western Teams. Detroit is the only one that we don't play.

Man to believe just before Xmas it was really truly the end of the Flames, see how things change.

[IceCap]

The Leafs beat the Sabres 2-1. They're also only six points out of the number 8 seed in the East. Even if they don't make the playoffs the season's been a marked improvement.

[BrySmalls]

Someone please tell me that there were no goaltenders in that Washington-Anaheim game. Holy cow! Talk about killing your GAA. So, if the Kings win tomorrow night, and everything falls right, they could be 1st in the Pacific and 3rd in the West. Yeah, talk to any Kings fan in the middle of January and convince them of that!

It was an optional game for the goalies and defensemen last night.

[DEAD!]

The Leafs beat the Sabres 2-1. They're also only six points out of the number 8 seed in the East. Even if they don't make the playoffs the season's been a marked improvement.

Well, just as long as the Bruins don't get a really high draft pick, right?

[Brendan]

Kevin Bieksa is now out with a reported hairline fracture. Christian Ehrhoff is now the only D-Man left from the opening night lineup. Sami Salo and Aaaron Rome are the only other defenseman to play more than 12 games in the NHL.