So how badass will the Flyers be come playoff time?
Amonte reunited with JR, and presumably they’ll have LeClair and Gagne back. Should I, as a Devils fan, be worried about this terror squad, or will the no-good dirty Flyers just blow it again, as per status quo?
Well with the Devil’s blockbuster trades, second only to the Islanders’ shipping off of Lapointe :rolleyes: the Flyers will have a ton of competition.
Yay! Richard Smehlik and Grant Marshall!! Then again, I’ve learned not to question Lou Lamoriello…
Although, earlier this year, there was a rumor we were gettin’ Tanguay and Martin Skoula from the 'lanche for Elias. Really wish that’d gone through, I’ll take two 23 year-old high-flyers for an (at that time) underachieving aging winger. Oh well.
You can’t wage against the Devils as long as they’ve still got Marty, though.
You all are forgetting one thing. It does not matter what Philly, Jersey, or any other team does.
The Detroit Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup again. The Wings rule the NHL…get used to it!
You mean like the Wings said they did back in 1995? Oh wait :p.
Hmmmm, the hamsters ate my previous post. This is what I had:
As a Devils fan I would feel much better heading into the playoffs with Martin Brodeur than with a Roman Cechmanek.
The Flyers may win a round this year and maybe even average more than a goal a game, but it won’t be until next year that Hitchcock has that team humming along.
All this speculation is moot anyways. The Stars are going to win the Cup this year.
The Devils don’t have to worry about the Flyers, they have to worry about the Senators, who were already good and have made some terrific trades.
Here’s how the East playoffs will go down:
Ottawa beats the #8 seed, probably the Islanders
Jersey beats either Boston or Tampa Bay
Washington beats either Tampa Bay or Boston
Philadelphia beats Toronto
Then,
Ottawa beats Philadelphia, again
New Jersey beats Washington
And it’s Devils vs. Senators for the Eastern championship. The Devils and Flyers will never face each other. You’ve got to like the Sens, but the Devils have been that far before…
…Oh, and you heard it here first; This is the year the East caught up to the West. The Cup finals will be a 7-game war. I predict it’ll be Dallas vs. Ottawa, and the winner will be whomever has home ice in Game 7.
I’m kind of salty at this point because, as you may know, the Devils didn’t make the “blockbuster” move that every fan desires. Apparently there was a trade on the block for Selanne, but Teemu exercised his trade-veto clause (I don’t think any player would play for Burns unless he absolutely had to).
There was also a rumor of Miro Satan comin’ over from Buffalo. How amazing would it be to have a guy named Satan on the Devils? I think I’d have already pre-ordered a jersey.
Lastly, what’s with Barry Mulletrose getting all wet over the damn Maple Leafs? They add two 40 year-olds and suddenly it’s a foregone conclusion that they win the East?
The Leafs are SCARY now. They have grit, leadership, skill, heart, and the ability on every line to not only score, but pound you into the ground. Gilmour won’t win the Stanley Cup on his own but the motivation he brings is priceless.
Housley won;t be a Top2 D-man, but he can play the PP and also show the others how to make a crisp pass up the middle to the skilled forwards. He may have lost a step, but Quinn will place him where that won’t get taken advantage of.
Owen Nolan is Grit, Speed, Size, Touch, and presence. Fantasiic pick up. Try knocking him down in front of the net.
Wesley is a great stay at home D man that the Leafs needed. All the holes they had are plugged.
Add to this that they have Sundin, Mogilny, Roberts… Toughness in Domi, Tucker, Corson (Roberts, Nolan, etc) and they suddenly look damn scary.
Belfour is playing phenominally well this season.
As far as leadership goes, look at all the former Team Captains (and assistants) on this team: Sundin, Roberts, Gilmour, Nolan, Wesley (asst cap’n), Fitzgerald, Corson, Mogilny (Asst)…
Tell me again why you think the Leafs are not a team to be respected in the playoffs?
Assuming, of course, that he doesn’t miss the playoffs due to a suspension for one of his notoriously cheap, I mean tough, shots…
Cheap my ass. Arvedson goaded him on then ran like a sissy when Domi took exception to being jabbed in the crotch with a hockey stick.
How can you go to the dressing room and face your team knowing that you couldn’t even put your hands up to defend yourself after asking for it all game.
Listing all of Domi’s “tough” hits here would eclipse the space available on the board…
-Still bitter over the hit on Neidermeyer two years ago
Scotty can dish em out as well just the same as he took that one… 
He is someone I would have loved to have on the Leafs… what a great player…
This was the most active trade deadline in NHL history with every single team making at least one trade. Toronto made the most noise picking up four high profile, though aged, players and I think they’re the ones to worry about (along with Ottawa).
Amonte may help Philly, but I don’t think he’s the one to put them over the top. Amonte’s having a very sub-par season and he’s not a proven playoff performer. The last time he scored a goal in the post season was 1997.
I’m still bitter about that hit too. That seemed to be a rallying point for the Devils and ultimatley it did cost the Leafs the series that year. :mad:
Not to mention that Domi was having the game of his career that night. He was a force in both ends creating several scoring opportunities, blocking numerous shots and was virtually guarunteed to be the game’s first star. Then he had to pull that stupid, thuggish, downright dangerous elbow on Niedermeyer. Without defending his actions, my heart broke a little and so, it seems, did the Leafs’.
Also, CuriousCanuck, I agree with your assessment of Toronto. Sadly, I don’t think this is their year. Assuming Cloutier can stay healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were an all-Canadian Stanley Cup Final, Ottawa vs. Vancouver. I’d bet Bettman would be shitting bricks at the prospect.
Ah, Vancouver. The other contender to actually show some restraint during this year’s blitzkrieg (Brad May in VAN and the two aforementioned new Devs notwithstanding of course).
Could this be the most-discussed hockey thread of all time on the SDMB (bear in mind, I’m new around here, so pardon my excitation at the prospect of this title)?
[hijacking my own thread] How is it that the Vancouver NHL franchise can retain its essentially bigotted nickname while every American team that has even remote Native American connotations in regards to their name is viewed as just short of scions of Adolf Hitler? [/self-hijack]
Since we’re talking about cheap shot guys, I’m really curious about the Marchment to Avs thing., and if the Avs and Wings meet in the playoffs again. I doubt Marchment can make it through the whole series without taking at least one questionable check. And with the blood history, the series could turn even uglier than usual.
The only thing that scares me as a Wings fan this year is that I’m not sure we have the toughness to survive a war of attrition like that. But with Schnieder and Lidstrom our powerplay should be damn amazing.
I will agree that Ottawa looks tough (and I am not just saying that since I live here now). But Toronto is still my team, and I stil lthink they are the team to beat now in the East. I think it will be an Ott/Tor Eastern final. And I think Toronto will wear them out over the series. But wow… they ARE a scary team this year. And I am pulling for Van to come out of the West, but there are 4 teams that have a great shot out there… This is a year that is so tough to call…