Comments on: Oil Spill, NHL's Cap for 2008-2009, Weekend of the Rat

By: CraigSTAR

CraigSTAR — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:50:27 +0000

You're on the money brother. We aren't too much closer to the play-offs (on paper), but we are MUCH further ahead than we were from last year. We're not even bottom ten, let alone bottom five. I think that if we play well divisionally, we have a shot at the play-offs because Minnesota, Colorado, Vancouver, and Calgary still have to play each other eight times each as well.

By: mikster

mikster — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:16:47 +0000

E finalmente non mi rompi i santi coglioni miei!!! Aleluya!

And yes, i think the rats will be sold there and also at Incredible Ice when training camp opens.

By: canuck67

canuck67 — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:31:04 +0000

Not comparing anyone, but whos to say penner couldnt get 40+.
Flames got rid of Hull and look what happened!

By: brianc689

brianc689 — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:40:31 +0000

Did you seriously just compare Dustin Penner to Hull and Bossy?

By: TheDonkey

TheDonkey — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 07:08:10 +0000

I think that yours is a pretty fair assessment. The real wild card is the young guys. Young Guys that had decent years two years ago and sucked last year need to step it up. And can any of Nilsson or Schremp stick and do something decent?

Comparing defence to last year - the goals against might go down simply because they should actually be able to move the puck out of their own end for a change.

By: canuck67

canuck67 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:24:37 +0000

Hull and Bossy weren't setup guys either, and they did okay in the league! Time will tell all.

By: brianc689

brianc689 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:12:47 +0000

I would say withot question their defense is worse, not better. Their offense from their defensemen is greatly improved, but Souray and Pitkanen had two of the worst +/- in the league last year. They are both liabilities in their own end. If they get Penner, I don't see a bottom five finish. They've added a second line forward, two good offensive defensemen, and a good backup to help out Roloson in Garon. If their young forwards like Hemsky step up their play, this team will not be as bad as some people think, but probably not a playoff team.

By: TheDonkey

TheDonkey — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:13:01 +0000

If Lowe is such a moron, nobody else will sign any guys for that $$. I did not notice that teams could not get anyone to sign for less than a 15 year deal after the Isles inked DiPietro.

By: Halibut

Halibut — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:12:53 +0000

How? The cap is the cap, you cant pay over it. If you are going to pay $4 million for Penner you cant spend it else where. Even if the aribtrators start awarding that kind of money teams can walk away. If another team picks up the tab then the player was obviously worth it, if not then he's going to have to accept whatever is offered.

Older players as well will have to accept less money then they are getting now. If good young players are taking more money out of the pot then there's less to go around. The cap system keeps this all in check and if the teams as a whole overspend escrow payments from the players to the teams balance it out. Lowe is not screwing up the league he's just dealing with life in the new CBA.

By: oilaintdoneyet

oilaintdoneyet — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:27:10 +0000

People are pretty confident about the Oils lack of success in the 2008-2009 season. Very rarely will I read an article not predicting a bottom 5 finish. Are the Oilers really looking that bad? I would say without question that their defense is better. Power play, well can't be worse and have had some upgrades their. So really you look at a need to replace Ryan Smyth, is Penner that guy? Who knows? Is he going to be over paid? For sure, but it does take a lot to pry an RFA from another team.

Will the Oil make another surprise cup run this year? I'm willing to be realistic; their chances of making the playoffs are at best slim. But I would take a bet that they will not finish bottom 5.

P.S. Stupid Nylander!