Official NHL offseason thread

[Halladay_is_God]

I have the Pens Season Opener on my calender October 5th 7:00 @ New Jersey, I can't wait and it is hard to get tickets to the Home opener the 9th Vs. Boston but still trying

I would think so the home opener would sold out quickly, cause of the hype around the new players especially Sid the Kid Crosby

[realmofotalk]

Think the Florida Panthers will kick themselves for passing on Rick Nash to take Bouwmeester?

[Halladay_is_God]

got to love shoot-outs

the recap of the SO for Oilers/Canucks game tonight, each team had their spilt squads playing
Richard Park........Missed the net (ran out of room)
Yan Stasney........Saved by Johnson
Hendrick Sedin.....Saved by Conklin
Ales Hemsky.........Saved by Johnson
Jovo Cop.............Saved by Conklin
Peca for the win.........Lost possession....

Sudden death Shoot out...

Federov.........Conklin saves it (or wide of the net)
Horcoff..........Save by Johnson
Daniel Sedin.........Conklin saves it
Ethan Moreau.......Shot wide
McCarthy.........Save by Conklin
D-Vo..............SCORES!!!

Oilers win 5-4 by SO

[Halladay_is_God]

Think the Florida Panthers will kick themselves for passing on Rick Nash to take Bouwmeester?

who knows

without Bouwmeester, Florida has no future #1 d-men and right now without Bouwmeester their defense would be the worst in the NHL

[missionhockey21]

Think the Florida Panthers will kick themselves for passing on Rick Nash to take Bouwmeester?

If they havent already, then they got some kicks to make up for. Being a casual Jackets fan, trading up for that pick was the best thing the organization could ever do for it's future. Nash will be one of the elite players in the game for quite some time. In a couple years, he will be scary good. And outside of the hockey community, he really doesn't get the praise that he deserves (not even in Columbus). The strides he showed last season were huge.

[missionhockey21]

who knows

without Bouwmeester, Florida has no future #1 d-men and right now without Bouwmeester their defense would be the worst in the NHL

That's true. But as good as Bouwmeester will be, it's even rarer to find a guy of Nash's talent.

[realmofotalk]

#1 Defensemen are as hard, if not harder, to find than goal scorers. That said, Columbus stole Rick Nash because the deal consisted of a swap of the 1st and 3rd overall picks, who were Nash and Bouwmeester, respectively, and a swap of the following year's draft at Florida's option. The latter part of the deal was unnecessary due to Florida receiving a higher pick in the 03 draft. So the deal was basically Nash for Bouwmeester.

[Halladay_is_God]

the top 3 picks of 02 could be the best draft class ever taken 1, 2, 3.

Nash has already proven his worth in the league, time for Bouwmeester to do the same, and Lehtonen will finally be given his chance in Atlanta this season

although Nash still has to work on his defensive game , scoring 41 goals (19 on the PP) and having a -35 isn't good even if +/- isn't a good stat at all

also Florida or Columbus (i think Columbus) gave Atlanta a draft pick to NOT draft Bouwmeester too

[Halladay_is_God]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=137756

Left wing Jeff Friesen was traded to the Washington Capitals by the New Jersey Devils on Monday for a conditional 2006 draft pick.


countdown to start of the season: 8 Days

[go_bucs2000]

capitals trying to do something don't want them to be too good though ....I can't wait till Sunday I am going to the last Pens pre-season game against the Capitals

[MarinersFan87]

I think the Panthers are a lot better off with Bouwmeester, just being a casual hockey fan I think it is pretty easy to see. They've got enought guys to put the puck in the net in Horton, Jokinen, Weiss, Hagman, and Huselius (all of whom are 26 or younger). They've got one of the 5 goalies in the league in Luongo, they needed someone to put in front of him for a little help. But even with Bouwmeester Rob still had to stop a record number of shots last year.

[Halladay_is_God]

I think the Panthers are a lot better off with Bouwmeester, just being a casual hockey fan I think it is pretty easy to see. They've got enought guys to put the puck in the net in Horton, Jokinen, Weiss, Hagman, and Huselius (all of whom are 26 or younger). They've got one of the 5 goalies in the league in Luongo, they needed someone to put in front of him for a little help. But even with Bouwmeester Rob still had to stop a record number of shots last year.

I agree and you forgot to mention Anthony Stewart and Rostislav Olesz for the Panthers, which could be a dangerous team in 3-4 years, once they get a better defense support for Bouwmeester and Van Ryan to play with (Alex Karpovtsev and Sean Hill don't count which they reek) and someone who can stop the shots coming and clear the crease to lighten the load for Luongo

and it seems like Weiss could be traded since Keenan signed Stumpel and Nieuwendyk as centres to go with Jokinen

[Halladay_is_God]

6 more days to lift off

Oct 5th everyone, every team is playing

[MarinersFan87]

I agree and you forgot to mention Anthony Stewart and Rostislav Olesz for the Panthers, which could be a dangerous team in 3-4 years, once they get a better defense support for Bouwmeester and Van Ryan to play with (Alex Karpovtsev and Sean Hill don't count which they reek) and someone who can stop the shots coming and clear the crease to lighten the load for Luongo

and it seems like Weiss could be traded since Keenan signed Stumpel and Nieuwendyk as centres to go with Jokinen

I hope they don't trade Weiss, I like his potential, but if they do they better get a defenseman in the deal.

[awefullspellare]

Alright, I'm ready for this now! It's a new season, the Avs aren't as good, but it's gonna be fun!