The NHL Thread (16 Viewers)
- Thread starter Bjerknes
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I think today was a pretty huge day for the Leafs. Pulling Giguere out of Anaheim for Toskala and Blake was a beautiful move by Burke. Anaheim fans have gotta be questioning this move. Burke immediately sheds the team of a terribly inconsistent goaltender, and another small forward who has underperformed and still has 2 seasons left at 4M - I am not a Blake fan... although we'll see if Blake can rebound now that he will actually be playing with some talented players. Toronto finally has a consistent goaltender! This one was long overdue.
The Phaneuf trade is obviously more complicated, but I think the Leafs might have hit it big. I like the pieces that Toronto got back, even the ones not named Phaneuf. Sjostrom is similar to a Paille type (to reference my bruins); can't score for the life of him, but has speed and is excellent on the PK. Solid, responsible third line player. This Aulie kid is a huge lad (6'5") and has potential...
I think Hagman and White are decent enough, Stajan and Mayers are both UFA's and weren't coming back... frankly, Jamal Mayers is rubbish.
I think Toronto fans have something to get excited about... they probably got knocked back a peg today in the short term, by moving 3 of their top 6 forwards, but over the long haul these were nice moves.
And this from a Bruins fan. Peter Chiarelli, go get your phone, it's time to move some of those fucking picks, and buyout Michael Ryder!
I get the feeling that my Bruins are going to have to let this one slide. Unless we can move some of our larger contracts, then we don't have a shot at keeping Kovy, and realistically, we're more than one player away from making a cup run.
In an ideal world, we'd ship Wideman, Ryder, and a prospect like Colborne to Atl (the organization is so deep down the middle)... maybe even Minny's second rounder that we own next year. Frankly, just to get out of those contracts would basically make the deal worth it, even if Kovy was a rental.
Unfortunately, there's no way in hell that ATL would want Ryder at 4M next year... I bet they'd take a chance on Wides... it was only last year that I was thinking this guy was about to become an elite D-man in the league... 50 pts, over +30...
He's gone about as far backwards as a player can, and having watched all but 1 Bruins game this year, I can safely say that Dennis Wideman has been our worst or second worst player - easily. He's constantly a spectator, with his back to the play as the puck enters the net. No grit, and too many stupid mistakes. Pure and simple: he's been a space cadet. I used to think that he had a great contract... but at almost 4M a pop for the next two years after this... well, hopefully he turns it around.
The other worst or second worst player on the team this year (I really can't decide... but Wideman's mistakes tend to hurt the team more, so he should probably get the honor) is Michael Ryder.
I laughed my ass off today when I saw the news on TSN that Ryder was available... I mean, no fucking kidding Michael Ryder is available. The guy is absolutely useless without the puck, doesn't stickhandle well (although he seems to love to try, while entering the zone... so many fucking turnovers), no grit, no vision, constantly disappears during games, and hasn't been able to finish at all this year - which is really all he was ever good for.
If Boston is unable to trade him this year, or in the summer, they should buy his ass out.
In an ideal world, we'd ship Wideman, Ryder, and a prospect like Colborne to Atl (the organization is so deep down the middle)... maybe even Minny's second rounder that we own next year. Frankly, just to get out of those contracts would basically make the deal worth it, even if Kovy was a rental.
Unfortunately, there's no way in hell that ATL would want Ryder at 4M next year... I bet they'd take a chance on Wides... it was only last year that I was thinking this guy was about to become an elite D-man in the league... 50 pts, over +30...
He's gone about as far backwards as a player can, and having watched all but 1 Bruins game this year, I can safely say that Dennis Wideman has been our worst or second worst player - easily. He's constantly a spectator, with his back to the play as the puck enters the net. No grit, and too many stupid mistakes. Pure and simple: he's been a space cadet. I used to think that he had a great contract... but at almost 4M a pop for the next two years after this... well, hopefully he turns it around.
The other worst or second worst player on the team this year (I really can't decide... but Wideman's mistakes tend to hurt the team more, so he should probably get the honor) is Michael Ryder.
I laughed my ass off today when I saw the news on TSN that Ryder was available... I mean, no fucking kidding Michael Ryder is available. The guy is absolutely useless without the puck, doesn't stickhandle well (although he seems to love to try, while entering the zone... so many fucking turnovers), no grit, no vision, constantly disappears during games, and hasn't been able to finish at all this year - which is really all he was ever good for.
If Boston is unable to trade him this year, or in the summer, they should buy his ass out.