HardCoreBlue

How exactly do you put dicks in a bag? Do you have to cut them off first? If you have to ask . . .

And whether people like it or not, having Conner McDavid in the fold (i.e., winning the lottery) will cause instant fan and media pressure to show immediate and significant improvements. Statements like trending upwards will have to take on a whole new meaning.

That's actually a great point. The one thing I've come to appreciate about Toby Enstrom is his stick work, especially in the corners, and his ability to change directions on a dime. Was never a fan but now I'm sold on him.

I'm not an ex-Winnipegger, I'm a transplanted Winnipegger (or Manitoban whatever your preference).

As soon as the Jets got eliminated, Hockey was over for me. Go Blue. So what's been happening? :-)

are you going to actually cite Spector as a guy who knows what the **** he's talking about? He's one of those idiots who thinks grit is one certain thing and it's more important than anything else. Listen to what Chiarelli said about getting tougher as a team in his press conference. It's not about being big or even hitting, it's about a mentality and that starts from buying into the coaching. No one bought into Eakins who came up with such marvellous quotes as "the perfect game you throw 0 hits because you always have the puck" Hall would skate through a wall if it meant scoring, Yakupov plays physical a lot, I don't think people realize how much of a chip on his shoulder RNH actually plays with... he'll take shots at guys regularly. Eberle does most of his scoring in close to the net, that takes grit. The problem isn't grit or work ethic or anything like that. The Oilers problems were in this order: Eakins, poor puck moving defence and goaltending. Check the point totals of the oilers D the past few years, it's embarassing. That's the difference between Calgary and Edmonton. Calgary has 4 guys who are real strong puck movers they get the puck going the right way and out of the zone. The oilers had soft as baby **** Justin Schultz and Jeff Petry as guys who could move the puck and they stupidly ran Petry out of town. The NHL game today is all about puck possession and transition. Defensive hockey doesn't really exist, what exists is gaining control of the puck and getting it out of your zone quickly and efficiently so you don't have to play defense. It's not Spector saying it. It's other coaches saying it. And sorry but yes, my opinion is the Oilers as a whole need work in the area of consistent work ethic, bringing it every shift, finishing every check. We're both basing our opinions on observation, mine's different than yours.

Oh please not this. Hall is 6'1 he's not small, Draisaitl is a big kid, RNH is around 6'1 as well and not the skinny kid he was when he was drafted. Again not huge but not small either. Yakupov is on the short side but he's stocky and while not big, he's not small either. Eberle is on the shorter side but again, he's not exactly a small player just not a big one. McDavid is listed at 6'1 as well so once again, not huge but not small either. Simply put the size issue is over blown in a big big way. Those players all have their own type of grit as well. They're not grinders who run around throwing hits, but they stick their noses into the dirty areas all the time. You know what the Oilers really need? They need some guys on the backend who can generate offense. Full stop that is the biggest problem with the Oilers. They lack a serious amount of puck moving ability from the back end and too often forwards are not getting pucks in full flight and it leads to opposing teams being able to defend them easier. Do they have to trade someone? Not right now. Maybe in the future but for next year no they really don't need to trade anyone unless the return is too good to pass up. The biggest thing that will help the Oilers is Klefbom and Marincin continuing to develop and someone like Nurse to be as good as they hope he can be. If they can make a smart free agency signing or get someone in a trade (sort of like the Isles did with Boychuk and Leddy) things look a hell of a lot different. It is quite frankly sickening to listen to people continually harp on the lack of size and grit arguments which have no basis in reality yet keep getting perpetuated. Hmmm, don't know about that. I get a heavy dose of the Oilers living here and, as Spector pointed out , apposing coaches regularly make reference to their skill/youth but not much on their work ethic, lunch box type effort. Big part of work ethic is getting into the dirty areas and finishing checks consistently which size isn't the only requirement.

Paper is one thing. Practice is another. Its about Chemistry. And it's not minus Buff, plus Postma. if you minus Buff, you add others.And why can't Armia make the team better? Last summer people would say gee we better resign Jokinen or what, we're gonna go into the season with Lowry as our 3C?? And look how that turned out. Re-sign Ladd. Re-sign one of Stafford or Frolik and you're a better team than most of the season this year. Ladd-Little-Wheeler Perreault-Scheif-Stafford Ehlers-Lowry-Armia Stemp-Copp(Slater)-Thorburn Sure, that 3rd line looks young. But it has potential to be very fast, exciting, offensive (in a good way). Not to mention, what does trading Buff get you? What does trading Burmi get you? So we're going to trade Buff and Burmi and get better players back? Or are we going to get draft picks and prospects? the future is nice but I'm not interested in taking a step back now that the team is finally making some progress. It's the difference between GM's and fans. Fans always want the next guy NOW NOW NOW, because they have seen the veterans play and seen their flaws. Guess what? The young guys are going to have flaws too, and they are also going to be working through the inexperience. The best way to bring up prospects is naturally. Let them be the organizational depth that get a chance when there is an injury. Sure your 3rd line of Ehlers, Lowry, and Armia could be good. But what happens when one gets injured? All your best prospects are already on the roster so now you have to rush guys in or bring in AHL duds. Too young, too fast, is what kills teams. And the Jets are already walking that line. Burni likely isn't going to get you a better player back because his bolting to KHL hurts his value and any perceived attitude problem does too. That's the only reason I've speculated he might stay here is because Chevy likely won't give him away. It could be another kane scenario where the Jets tell Burmi "sign with us and increase your value and we will try to accommodate your request " Buff will get you better pieces back. Buff is buff. But on this team he's third on the depth chart behind Myers and Trouba. He will get back players that aren't. Totally disagree with this. He's not behind these players in terms of skill, leadership, durability, productivity and team playing. I think for some people, they won't really understand what he brings to this team until he's gone and all of sudden understand the huge gap we now have. Buff's pro's greatly outweigh his cons.

The Byfuglien and Pavelec opinions are mine and mine alone. The buddy thing was one goal and it was my opinion and my buddies agreed.Byfuglien is a sloppy and just terrible player. He's good when he's motivated but that's like 10 games a year if your lucky. I wouldn't go near him as a GM. A lot of teams would pay top dollar for that sloppy and terrible player. I want to be one of those teams.

Bring out the broom. Jets in four leading after two!

He's an elite hockey player. Good would not be an adjective to describe the plays that man can make at 260 pounds on two blades of steel. Maybe you and I differ on what elite means. By NHL standards, Adam Pardy is an average hockey player.

Sorry but I still have the love for Buff. He is one of the major reasons why we make it tough for other teams to play against us. Every team has one of them, Buff is ours. It's not just about identity. He's an elite utility player that plays on and over the line. I'd hate to give that up, head shot to Katy Perry not withstanding. Loved the chant last night. Well done.

Jets win four straight, take the series in seven. And then I woke up. Hard to swallow, but you're probably right.

Yea Kesler's one for sure, easy target but how about Andersen their goalie? Let's check his mental toughness.

If you're being serious, no way they make that trade. He's one of the best wingers in the league.

I'd add 3. Maurice makes what changes/tweaks to his lineup in adjusting to our two-game third period follies?

I was more amused by the GM from Buffalo and his reaction. Hello Eichel can hear you.

Um no. He's having a heck of a series imo. Put Pardy up on wing and sit Tlusty. If Ladd is playing hurt, sit him and get him better. His 80% is not better than a 100% we have in the bullpen. The mental part of his game just doesn't seem to be there, it's not the same Ladd I'm use to seeing. Pavelec played lights out, I actually feel bad for him, that doesn't happen often for me. I thought the commentators made a good point that we need to balance our heavy game with some energy towards concentrated offence. Kesler, we need to make him a non-factor is how we react to his crap. For the most part Perry was a non factor last night, nice to see. Unfortunately we have to fight thru the non calls, we can't control how the game is officiated. all I ask for is consistency and the refs can't make it about themselves. Tough one to swallow with holding the stick and too many men that led directly to scoring opportunities/goal. Brush it off, clean slate, new game. It's still an even series until someone loses at home.

Also called a bruise.

Okay, I officially hate the Ducks. Can't stand their head coach. Disliked him in Washington, dislike him even more now. Loved how he got the 'what for' from the head referee. Thought Galley made a great point about pacing, short shifts. Buff was taking minute shifts. Jets ran out of gas. We effectively shut down Getzlaf, Kesler and Perry for two periods but missed the third. Our penalty kill seems to be playing tentative, need to go back to that aggressive push. Ladd was definitely off his game, all started in the pre-game skate with Pavelec. If Thorburn and Wheeler's goals go in, we win. Trouba is a monster. If Little finds his game, we'll be fine. The way Thorburn is playing, he's almost deserving of third line minutes. My eleven-year old son reminded me it's only the first game, we can steal one on Saturday.

It can't be the only factor (e.g., video, players history, rules, etc.) but has to be ONE of the factors impacting severity of supplemental discipline. Then, it would control for minimizing a cheap shot with no injury not being appropriately assessed.

Oh, that changes everything.

To neutralize, like we did with Ovechkin, match Meyers on Getzlaf.

You could rotate them to play 1/2 game each.

I assumed you always were based on your posts . . . :-)