Things have changed this year, lots of things.

Their defense isn’t as strong without Mitchell or Kuba back there… but they did add Johnsson… They should be able to move the puck up and play a very good transitional game, which will be one of THE most important aspects of this “new” Minnesota team.

With the added talent, I don’t think they have to change their style THAT much. In fact, I think if they made a drastic change it could really hurt them…

Instead, I think they should end up doing what New Jersey did (I see Minn. as a Western mirror of Jersey…) and adopt a positional defensive coverage type game, utilizing the faster skaters they have, allowing for some great puck movement and possession and great transition from offense to defense. I think if they can do that and make that the bread-and-butter of their style, they will do VERY well, because they will still be able to plat a great defensive game, especially with the goalie they have, but they now have the talent to quickly transition the puck, rewarding good positional play with a quick turn-over and quick scoring chance.

If they did that, hell they COULD actually make the playoffs… If not the very least they sure as hell will make it a miserable time late in the season when the other teams are struggling to get points…

this hockey do*****entary on CBC that is being aired … you should watch it. you might learn something.

its a refresher for me but it might actually make you a better hockey fan if you watch it.

i dont see this year being any different.

oh and let me see what your predictions are … hmmm… (looks) … oh yeah, you dont have any predictions. right. so i guess you have nothing to stand on.

i mean come on, let me see what you think the West will look like. its all in fun right? you are such an expert and your crystal ball is so very clear so lets see what you’ve got.

Stick to the east.

well can you give me a specific example that supposedly proves that i ‘know nothing about hockey’?

oh yeah – its because i cheer for the leafs right?

well that excludes a large portion of intelligent hockey fans from being considered knowledgeable.

so here’s the thing. i guess you know a lot about hockey? even though you end your posts with cheers and taunts, even though your bias clouds your opinions so much, that you are not relied upon by ANYBODY on this site for his opinion, EXCEPT gretzkin of course.

oh, and i guess all the predicitons i made last year, of San Jose’s strong season, of New Jersey’s turnaround during that abysmal week in November, of Boston not falling to the Eastern conference basement (last place) after the Thornton trade, etc. etc.

i can tell you one thing JTR, i konw more about hockey history and about the game then you can ever hope to know. i try to talk about the nuances of the game, i take the devils advocate CONSTANTLY (Bertuzzi, womens hockey issues and other issues), because i want to CHALLENGE myself.

all you do is parrot the same old line over and over and over again.

you are pathetic.

the oilers winning the stanley cup in 2007?

how can anyone take you seriously?!?!

GO OILERS GO!!!

Pronger played poorly until the last 6 weeks of the season (but pronger poor play is still better then 80% of all other players great playing). Peca saw little playing time because he made costly defensive mistakes, and couldn’t score. He was good in the dot, but Stoll is better, Reasoner and Horcoff are still way above 50% as well.
Didn’t improve? When they got a starter they almost won the cup. Even with their backup they were oh so close. A loss of a great player hurts but it is not devastating when you have a really good team. The Oilers have the deepest set of offensive forwards in the league. Lupul and Sykora are great additions and will help make up for the backend, as well a Tarnqist who people forget about. He was MINNY second best d-men.

1st in the Division, and Deep in the playoffs this year.