What are your expectations?

[BOSSMANPC]

As a Sabres fan unfortunately I have little.

The goaltending is obviously great if Miller can play every game. But they have no real snipers unless Vanek wakes up and it seems like they have few guy's as forwards that can score the big goals when needed.

The defense looks pretty good and I still think Myers will be a star for years to come.

That said they need guys like Roy, Pomminville and others to step up. Stafford so far has been a flop and just hoping for the young guys like Gerbe and others to fill the hole. The problem is they are small and come playoff time get pushed around and that's not good.

Miller can't do it alone and that's the bottom line.

What are your takes on your fav team as far as strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[Automattic]

The Cup.

Hearing the players talk as they have trickled back to town from their summer vacays, has let me know that they aren't happy and are more than determined to redeem themselves.

And we're finally rested after about 4 fucking years of playing more hockey than the law allows...

 

[SLY]

As a Sabres fan unfortunately I have little.

The goaltending is obviously great if Miller can play every game. But they have no real snipers unless Vanek wakes up and it seems like they have few guy's as forwards that can score the big goals when needed.

The defense looks pretty good and I still think Myers will be a star for years to come.

That said they need guys like Roy, Pomminville and others to step up. Stafford so far has been a flop and just hoping for the young guys like Gerbe and others to fill the hole. The problem is they are small and come playoff time get pushed around and that's not good.

Miller can't do it alone and that's the bottom line.

What are your takes on your fav team as far as strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks in advance for the input.

Our teams are very similar... Too much weight put on the shoulders of our goaltenders. I feel the Rangers can definitely make the playoffs, however, I think Sather still has some work to do, or else this season will be another let down. If we can get Staal, if Gaborik can stay healthy, if Frolov creates some offense and doesn't get lazy, if Biron can get some wins when Lundy takes time off, if MZA and other newcomers can show some grit... (thats a lot of if's) then I can see my Rangers going somewhere, not sure how far.

And if Sather fucks it all up, and they fall out of contention, then I root for my second EC team...

I can see the Bruins going far this season, and hopefully they learned something from that playoff team meltdown. And Chara has got to go.

 

[dare2be]

Stanley Cup baby!

Nothing less!

New blueliners to gel into the defense they look to be on paper.
MAF to rebound from a shaky previous year.
Shuffling of lines 1-3 in the hopes of maximizing our thin winger situation.
PP to improve with the departure of Yeo...or at least not decline with the loss of Sarge.
Malkin to wing should increase his productivity.

 

[awaz]

Stanley Cup baby!

Nothing less!

New blueliners to gel into the defense they look to be on paper.
MAF to rebound from a shaky previous year.
Shuffling of lines 1-3 in the hopes of maximizing our thin winger situation.
PP to improve with the departure of Yeo...or at least not decline with the loss of Sarge.
Malkin to wing should increase his productivity.

i dont really get that concept.. flyers fans are doing the same thing with carter.. moving a guy out of his natural position shouldn't increase productivity.. malkin's case is a little better cause i assume he'll play with cros.. but i still think it will take time for him to adjust

anywho.. for the flyers..

i expect the defense to be fantastic, and the offense to be capable of scoring 5-6 per game for stretches, and 0-1 per game for stretches.. but if the young guys (giroux, jvr) can pick up the pace and hartnell/leino can play like they did in the playoffs, this team should be scary..

but of course.. the goaltending is a huge question mark.. if the team provides the support for leighton that they did last year, there shouldn't be a problem though

i expect a deep run into the playoffs once again.. how far will depend on how well the defense protects leighton's crease, and forces shots from the outside that he can see.. and of course, if he improved his 5-hole coverage

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Our teams are very similar... Too much weight put on the shoulders of our goaltenders. I feel the Rangers can definitely make the playoffs, however, I think Sather still has some work to do, or else this season will be another let down. If we can get Staal, if Gaborik can stay healthy, if Frolov creates some offense and doesn't get lazy, if Biron can get some wins when Lundy takes time off, if MZA and other newcomers can show some grit... (thats a lot of if's) then I can see my Rangers going somewhere, not sure how far.

And if Sather fucks it all up, and they fall out of contention, then I root for my second EC team...

I can see the Bruins going far this season, and hopefully they learned something from that playoff team meltdown. And Chara has got to go.

Jeff do you think this is Sathers last kick at the can? It seems that he has made a few choices that are rather questionable.

 

[Automattic]

Stanley Cup baby!

Nothing less!

New blueliners to gel into the defense they look to be on paper.
MAF to rebound from a shaky previous year.
Shuffling of lines 1-3 in the hopes of maximizing our thin winger situation.
PP to improve with the departure of Yeo...or at least not decline with the loss of Sarge.
Malkin to wing should increase his productivity.

I had first dibs on the Cup! Maybe next year...:p

 

[devs30rko]

as far as the devils go many of you may disagree with my expectation but it is to at least win the division in the second round, and advance to the 2nd round minimum


i think this team is again underrated, the forward corps are very deep and most likely will stay that way depending who get dealt out to make kovy room. they usually don't get the credit they deserve due to the style of play, but under sutter for 2 years the offense was very solid, and now they have far better personell then they did at that time.

its hard to argue the defense didn't improve either.
we lost martin yes, but if you really look at last season we really didn't have martin then either. he missed A HUGE chunk of games and Andy Greene quietly and unrenounced to the rest of the hockey world effectively took his job, while providing a sense of urgency martin never did.

so when you look at in the way that we had martin for realisticaly about 20 games last year, our d was this

greene salvador
white mottau
skoula fraser/salmela.....

and this is the group that won the friggin jennings last year. think about that. even i ask myself how the fuck did that happen

mottau is gone (thank GOD), skoula is gone (thank GOD), salmella won't be back in time for the start of the season, and fraser i believe is destined for 7th or 8th d slot anyway.

now compare that group to this, which is the concensus projection by most devils fans

greene, volchenkov
tallinder, salvador (tho subject to trade for cap room)
white, urbom/corrente


i personally feel this group right off the bat, even with 2 rookies is much better than the last.




its no disrespect to the flyers and pens. both improved as well and both are already great teams but i think this new look devils team is built the way successful teams are post lockout, and maclean will be allowing more offensive flow.

i just thought the past 2 years, hence the reg season division crowns, the devils were at least as competitive as the flyers and pens. now they've upgraded and IMO have a better shot at repeating the regular season success and improving upon the playoffs lack of

 

[devs30rko]

besides.... we all know the atlantic divisions big 3 stole all the defense this offseason

 

[SLY]

I dunno, I really dont see Philly being that great this season. I definitely see Pens and Devs taking the first two spots in the Atlantic, with Rangers and Flyers battling it out again for one of the last two spots.

 

[puckhead]

Canucks:

I expect to win the division, and make it to the western finals.
anything less is a disappointment, anything more is a bonus.

Adding Hammer, Ballard, Malhotra and Torres addresses our needs from last year.
- grit, truculence, intestinal fortitude, etc. on defense and the bottom two lines.
Offense is fine, and I expect a MUCH better season from Luongo.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

This is what I like about this as to the "other board" The posters here are honest and give a very precise description of there team without the homerism (if that's a word) with an objective view.

I love talking hockey here.

You guys and gals are the best !!

I don't think I have seen a topic about "Who is better OV or Crosby" It's a nice change to talk the sport without the BS. Although some seem to like it. Hockey fans like to talk hockey and not the same old bullshit day in and day out.

From me, I thank you all.

BTW: the Sabres will win the cup and "own", "rule" and "pwn"., Every team in their path !

J/K obviously this is a great forum.

Again, thank you all.

 

[devs30rko]

I dunno, I really dont see Philly being that great this season. I definitely see Pens and Devs taking the first two spots in the Atlantic, with Rangers and Flyers battling it out again for one of the last two spots.

i can agree in part with that, as we saw it for all of last year until the playoffs started

but then i think of how much (until the playoffs) the flyers were considered underachievers.

i think a lot of their success actually hinges on zherdev. as injury prone was he is i personally would love to have a player like gagne and i always liked him unless he was scoring on the devils but... i think he was critical in their run so life without him could be interesting.

 

[devs30rko]

This is what I like about this as to the "other board" The posters here are honest and give a very precise description of there team without the homerism (if that's a word) with an objective view.

I love talking hockey here.

You guys and gals are the best !!

I don't think I have seen a topic about "Who is better OV or Crosby" It's a nice change to talk the sport without the BS. Although some seem to like it. Hockey fans like to talk hockey and not the same old bullshit day in and day out.

From me, I thank you all.

BTW: the Sabres will win the cup and "own", "rule" and "pwn"., Every team in their path !

J/K obviously this is a great forum.

Again, thank you all.

i'll be honest boss i'll admit to being a homer of late... i think just this close to the season and with the excitement of kovy being locked up just recently well its hard not to


but i'll always give teams their due credit...

like your sabres for example.. i actually think their d has the potential to be solid... i just think its up front your hurting... vanek may be at times the most unmotivated player i've seen, then all of a sudden he'll be a force. its like he's a young (but not as bad) kovalev

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Canucks:

I expect to win the division, and make it to the western finals.
anything less is a disappointment, anything more is a bonus.

Adding Hammer, Ballard, Malhotra and Torres addresses our needs from last year.
- grit, truculence, intestinal fortitude, etc. on defense and the bottom two lines.
Offense is fine, and I expect a MUCH better season from Luongo.

I have a feeling you will be happy puck. The Canucks should do well this year. They had a few injuries that cost them last year and if they stay healthy should do fine.

Hey, a 70's brother SCF would be great but unlikely. I should say on the Sabres part .

 

[dare2be]

i dont really get that concept.. flyers fans are doing the same thing with carter.. moving a guy out of his natural position shouldn't increase productivity.. malkin's case is a little better cause i assume he'll play with cros.. but i still think it will take time for him to adjust

I'm going on a limb assuming he will still be on the 2nd line centered by Staal. Taking away some of Malkin's centering duties might allow him to focus more on the offensive side of his game. For instance, the projected improvement in faceoff percentage for his line (40% for him last year) just might generate more scoring chances for him and his line.

 

[SLY]

This is what I like about this as to the "other board" The posters here are honest and give a very precise description of there team without the homerism (if that's a word) with an objective view.

I love talking hockey here.

You guys and gals are the best !!

I don't think I have seen a topic about "Who is better OV or Crosby" It's a nice change to talk the sport without the BS. Although some seem to like it. Hockey fans like to talk hockey and not the same old bullshit day in and day out.

From me, I thank you all.

BTW: the Sabres will win the cup and "own", "rule" and "pwn"., Every team in their path !

J/K obviously this is a great forum.

Again, thank you all.

Who's better Cindy or Ovachicken?

 

[BOSSMANPC]

i'll be honest boss i'll admit to being a homer of late... i think just this close to the season and with the excitement of kovy being locked up just recently well its hard not to


but i'll always give teams their due credit...

like your sabres for example.. i actually think their d has the potential to be solid... i just think its up front your hurting... vanek may be at times the most unmotivated player i've seen, then all of a sudden he'll be a force. its like he's a young (but not as bad) kovalev

Nothing wrong with that at all. I want my team to win it all every year but what I see here is honest evaluations of our teams and it's a welcomed change.

There is a difference between being a passionate fan and an honest fan that gives a true evaluation. I didn't see that on the other board that was more like a circus my team is better than yours without substance. Here the posters seem more analytical and honest and not looking to create the mindless back and forth BS that goes on there.

Just take a peak every now and then and you wil see it's just poster tough guy's posting mindless shit and others following them.

Well, enough for the rant but I'm happy to be here and not there.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Who's better Cindy or Ovachicken?

The Miller !

 

[mattola]

Canucks:

I expect to win the division, and make it to the western finals.
anything less is a disappointment, anything more is a bonus.

Adding Hammer, Ballard, Malhotra and Torres addresses our needs from last year.
- grit, truculence, intestinal fortitude, etc. on defense and the bottom two lines.
Offense is fine, and I expect a MUCH better season from Luongo.

what he said...