Comments on: Blake Available?

By: kamullia

kamullia — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:12:25 +0000

That is understandable, but he has the worst +/- of his entire team. In other words, he is the worst of the worst. And there is absolutely no excuse for that, especially for someone who is a defenseman by trade, and who not too long ago was considered a premier defenseman in the entire league.

Good thing he is not waiving his no trade, it would have been a career long embarrassment for Ray Shero making that trade.

By: BruMagnus

BruMagnus — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 09:26:18 +0000

dont forget that Blake plays many minutes on a terrible team, so he is bound to have a terrible +/-.

By: BruMagnus

BruMagnus — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 09:24:55 +0000

Jason Blake, who as Mike Lange always suggests is a cancer vs the Penguins, would be an absolute fantastic acquisition.

It won't happen as they are the same division, but I would give up Ryan Malone and a 2nd rounder for Jason Blake.

By: BruMagnus

BruMagnus — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 09:22:59 +0000

Gonchar is no longer a defensive liability. He's bought into Terrien's system and is striving to be a much more rounded defensemen, even while putting up career numbers.

By: Williams1505

Williams1505 — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 23:58:27 +0000

Blake is old and slow...needs to retire...

By: wingerxxx

wingerxxx — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 20:02:56 +0000

The logical answer is, you have Gonchar on your team...why on earth would you want Blake? That gives you two potentially disastrous defensive liabilities on your team. Blake needs to be paired with a very steady defenseman, given his play this year.

Miller would be the better fit. He's as steady as the day is long.

By: wingerxxx

wingerxxx — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:59:53 +0000

I expected a really good year from Blake this year. His play in the second half of last year was outstanding for the Avs. But it does look like he has fallen off defensively. He is a real feast or famine guy on defense. He can be either phenomenal or downright brutal on some nights. He's still a top defenseman on a lot of teams, but I don't think he is an elite number one anymore.

As for the Pens...he is not what they need. They don't have any trouble scoring. And the last thing they need is a defenseman who has been shaky in his own end this year.

Plus, Eklund is now saying that he is NOT waiving his no-trade clause. Eklund gets crapped on a lot, but he actually has gotten some reports sooner than some major news outlets, on the internet anyway. He might be sick of being deadline trade bait, especially at his age and this stage of his career. I doubt he came to LA and getting a no trade clause with the thought of waiving it at the deadline and going elsewhere.

By: CrosbyMalkin

CrosbyMalkin — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:55:27 +0000

My fault. Spoke before I read what I needed to read. I do not think that Rob Blake is the answer at all. Leave him in LA

By: AHLoldie

AHLoldie — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:54:10 +0000

The Laraque deal is not going to get done. Phoenix is asking for far too much for him. He's not even dressing on a regular basis. Blake is much too slow to play for the Pens, Even Recchi is having a rough time keeping up, they are that quick. I don't have to tell you what has happened when the Leafs have tried to keep up with the Pens. The last game was an officiating farce. As far as naming a captain, Therrien has already said there will not be a captain this year. Recchi even admitted "We all know who the captain is on this team" He was referring to Sidney Crosby, who has not accepted the captaincy, and likes it that way. Without a doubt, the kid feels very self conscious with guys like Recchi and Gonchar on the roster. As far as Staal winning the Smythe trophy, that is extremely unlikely. He is capable of having big games but either Malkin or Crosby are far more capable of consistently playing over an entire playoff. I don't know if the Pens can get out of the Eastern Division playoffs, but if they do they'll wipe out any team from the west.

By: CrosbyMalkin

CrosbyMalkin — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:52:40 +0000

I think they mean Jason Blake