2011-2012 NHL Thread

[southsider2k5]

If the Hawks do hang on to Crawford, our only real hope is that he pulls a Jimmy Howard. Really good rookie season, sophomore slump, then ascends into a top goalie in his 3rd full year in net. It's not likely, but that's what we need. It's not like Crawford hasn't shown flashes.

 

He doesn't even need to be a top flight guy. Second tier starter would be a good start.

[Steve9347]

He doesn't even need to be a top flight guy. Second tier starter would be a good start.

Yeah, something better than, you know, the worst starter in hockey.

[LittleHurt05]

If the Hawks do hang on to Crawford, our only real hope is that he pulls a Jimmy Howard. Really good rookie season, sophomore slump, then ascends into a top goalie in his 3rd full year in net. It's not likely, but that's what we need. It's not like Crawford hasn't shown flashes. He's 9 months younger than Howard too.

 

Crawford yr 1: 2.30, .917, 4 SO

Howard yr 1: 2.26, .924, 3 SO

 

Crawford yr 2: 2.72, .903, 0 SO

Howard yr 2: 2.79, .908, 2 SO

 

Or he can become the next Brian Elliott or Mike Smith. Elliott was nearly the worst goalie in hockey last season, now he's almost a Vezina candidate. Two years ago, Smith was battling Huet & Khabi for worst in the league, now look at him.

[CanOfCorn]

Or he can become the next Brian Elliott or Mike Smith. Elliott was nearly the worst goalie in hockey last season, now he's almost a Vezina candidate. Two years ago, Smith was battling Huet & Khabi for worst in the league, now look at him.

 

According to Steve...there's absolutely no chance of that.

[RockRaines]

He actually wasn't too unreal. He just made every save he should have. The Hawks, for whatever reason, weren't elevating the puck, and when they did they missed the net.

 

Crawford, however, was brutal.

LOL, dont let your emotions skew your vision. Smith was the reason they won the game last night. The Hawks should have had at least 2 in the first and then packed it in for the rest of the game. Outside of the first goal, Craw didnt have a chance at the others. Defense was weak, but mostly because we were trying as hard as possible to break out and score. Hot goalies win cups.

[Steve9347]

According to Steve...there's absolutely no chance of that.

I'd prefer to not waste any more years with a loaded team in front of a crap goalie. The last two seasons have been completely wasted. Last year wasting our time with Marty Turco's corpse and this year with the revolving door of suck have been inexcusable.

 

Your point was we should give Crawford more time. My point was we've had Crawford for 9 f***ing years, and that's enough time.

[Steve9347]

LOL, dont let your emotions skew your vision.

Yeah, I'd already admitted as much if you'd kept reading.

[southsider2k5]

Luongo apparently just said he would waive his no trade if the team asked him...

[Steve9347]

Luongo apparently just said he would waive his no trade if the team asked him...

Doesn't he have like 10 years left? It's more fun to laugh at his collapses in the playoffs than to root for him, I imagine.

[GoSox05]

He is due something like 6 million a year for the next 7 years.

 

2011-12: $6.716 million.

2012-13: $6.714 million.

2013-14: $6.714 million.

2014-15: $6.714 million.

2015-16: $6.714 million.

2016-17: $6.714 million.

2017-18: $6.714 million.

2018-19: $3.382 million.

 

 

He is 33. LOL.

Edited April 24, 2012 by GoSox05

[southsider2k5]

Doesn't he have like 10 years left? It's more fun to laugh at his collapses in the playoffs than to root for him, I imagine.

 

That wasn't a serious suggestion. Cap room alone kills that idea.

 

[RockRaines]

I'd prefer to not waste any more years with a loaded team in front of a crap goalie. The last two seasons have been completely wasted. Last year wasting our time with Marty Turco's corpse and this year with the revolving door of suck have been inexcusable.

 

Your point was we should give Crawford more time. My point was we've had Crawford for 9 f***ing years, and that's enough time.

Technically we do have a developmental goalie "waiting in the wings"

[Steve9347]

Technically we do have a developmental goalie "waiting in the wings"

Yeah, from the Skille trade, Salak. Lord only knows how good he'll be, as he was nothing special in Rockford this season.

[LittleHurt05]

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle...he-nhl-playoffs

 

Nothing Makes Sense in the NHL Playoffs

By Sean McIndoe on April 24, 2012 3:15 PM ET

 

So did you hear the one about the NHL playoff series that went according to script?

 

No, you didn’t, because this year, that isn't happening. The favorites are struggling, the underdogs are winning, the dynasties are imploding, and a bunch of guys you’ve never heard of are dominating. As a wise man once said, everything is happening. And nothing makes sense.

 

Let’s summarize.

 

The Vancouver Canucks, with the best record in the league, were eliminated by the 8-seed Kings in five games. The other top seed, the Rangers, needed a narrow road win on Monday against the underdog Senators just to force a Game 7. And the reigning Cup champs and Eastern Conference 2-seed Bruins are facing a Game 7 of their own against a Capitals team that couldn’t even clinch a playoff spot until the season’s final week.

 

The consensus Cup favorite Penguins got their doors blown off, the always-dependable Red Wings were the first team out, the Coyotes team that everyone picked as their trendy upset didn’t get upset, and something probably happened between New Jersey and Florida but nobody is actually watching that series.

 

The only favorites to win their first-round matchup easily were the St. Louis Blues, who beat the San Jose Sharks in five games. Which is fine, except that before the season everyone had the Sharks as a Cup contender and the Blues as an also-ran. Even when the expected happens, it’s completely unexpected.

 

Why? What’s going on? Well, here’s what he know …

 

The standings don’t matter.

 

Sure, the top seed earns home ice throughout the playoffs. But this isn’t the NFL, where home-field advantage actually means something. These days, home ice means you get to start the series at home, lose Game 1, and then listen to every expert say, “They spent all season gaining home-ice advantage and then lost it in 60 minutes," because apparently that’s what every expert is legally obligated to say.

 

That’s not to say that the regular season doesn’t matter — it does. The regular season is where teams find their identity, young players emerge, role players earn their spots, and coaches hone their strategies. It’s just that it doesn’t really seem to matter how much you actually win during all that. As long as you can sneak into the top eight, you’ve got as good a shot as anyone at going on a long run.

 

And how do you go on a long run? Simple …

 

It’s all about goaltending.

 

If there’s one thing we know about every playoff series ever, it’s this: The team whose goaltender plays best wins the series. Your starting goalie has to be excellent, or at least very good, or (if you’re the Flyers) able to make one or two saves more than Marc-Andre Fleury, which is to say one or two saves.

 

All of which actually sounds just about right. It’s almost common sense. The world is as it should be. Except …

 

Goaltending doesn’t make sense anymore.

 

The Blackhawks were shut down by Mike Smith, who wasn’t good enough to play goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning even though there’s a very good chance that right now, you’re good enough to play goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning. And that was the one series where the goaltending battle went according to plan.

 

The reigning Vezina winner as the league’s best goaltender is Tim Thomas of the Bruins, who almost single-handedly beat the Canucks in the finals last year while outdueling Vezina finalist Roberto Luongo. But this year, Thomas is being equaled by Braden Holtby, an unheralded Capitals rookie who barely played all season, and Luongo lost his starting job after two games in which he wasn’t even that bad.

 

Meanwhile, this year’s likely Vezina winner is the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, but he’s been outplayed by Craig Anderson, who’s been so inconsistent over the past few years that last season he was traded to the Senators for Brian Elliott, who at the time was widely recognized as one of the worst goalies in the league. That’s the same Elliott who is now widely recognized as one of the very best goalies in the league, by the way, because like I’ve been trying to tell you none of this makes any sense.

 

The bottom line: The best goalie always wins, but we have no idea who the best goalie will be until the series is over and we know who won. Flip a coin and you’re probably one step ahead of the rest of us.

 

Wait, what about my team’s star center/winger/defenseman?

 

He doesn’t matter, because by the end of Game 2 of every playoff series he’ll either be (a) concussed, (b) suspended for concussing somebody, © mired in an impenetrable once-in-a-lifetime slump, (d) mired in a random two-game pointless streak that the media has turned into an impenetrable once-in-a-lifetime slump for narrative purposes.

 

The point is, your multimillion-dollar superstar franchise player sucks. Sorry. You should have spent the money on a goaltender. And no, we have no idea which one.

 

So what does it all mean?

 

If you’re the NHL, it means the salary cap worked. After a few post-CBA years to settle in, we’re now officially in the era of parity. Anyone can beat anyone. This is what the league told us they wanted, and now they’ve got it.

 

Is that a good thing? Hard to say. If you own a small-market team that was struggling to get by under the old system, it’s great news. If you’re one of the big-market teams and you’re watching your competition knock you out of the playoffs with players your own fans paid for via revenue sharing, you’re probably less thrilled. And if you’re a TV executive who just realized that we seem to be heading toward a Phoenix-Florida finals matchup, you’re probably waiting in the parking lot outside Gary Bettman’s office with a lead pipe.

 

And if you’re a fan? Then it means you never know. If you’ve dreamed of seeing your team build a dynasty, you’re going to hate the new reality. But if all you want is a puncher’s chance, and you like to be surprised, then you’re probably going to love it.

 

Anything can happen. So flip some coins, ignore the experts, and enjoy the ride. Because none of this makes sense.

 

 

[SoxFan1]

Technically we do have a developmental goalie "waiting in the wings"

Doesn't seem like the organization is as high on Salak as they were in the preseason. 2.69 GAA and .903 SV% in 21 AHL games.

[CanOfCorn]

I'd prefer to not waste any more years with a loaded team in front of a crap goalie. The last two seasons have been completely wasted. Last year wasting our time with Marty Turco's corpse and this year with the revolving door of suck have been inexcusable.

 

Your point was we should give Crawford more time. My point was we've had Crawford for 9 f***ing years, and that's enough time.

 

Alright...I just looked at Crawford's statistics since 2000. I concede. he isn't getting better. In fact, he hasn't improved at all. Yikes.

 

I concede.

[Steve9347]

Alright...I just looked at Crawford's statistics since 2000. I concede. he isn't getting better. In fact, he hasn't improved at all. Yikes.

 

I concede.

HOORAY!

 

Since he seems somewhat "new" to the Hawks, it's easy to mistake Crawford as "young". The same thing happens with Alexei Ramirez.

[The Critic]

Yeah, Crawford kind of came out of nowhere and now seems to be headed back there.

He played well at times and played really not-well at the worst possible times.

I don't know what to expect from Salak, but he doesn't seem worth the gamble right now.

Of course, the whole salary cap thing makes acquiring a "surer thing" a little tricky.

I was kind of hoping they would make a play for Ben Bishop at the deadline. He's an RFA, I think, but he'd be a bit of a risk, too, in his own way.

[SoxFan1]

There aren't a ton of UFA goalies this summer, but the RFA crop is interesting. Carey Price, Tukka Rask, Ondrej Pavelec, Corey Schneider.

 

I wonder if a competitive offer to Pavelec would prevent Winnipeg from re-signing him. He had a bit of a down year, but they also have a ton of cap space.

[southsider2k5]

Another reason to like Bollig, he hates the Cubs...

 

Brandon Bollig

@Bollig87

 

Headed to Wrigley tonight to watch my @Cardinals go yard on the little Cubbies. Almost feel bad for them. #DefendingChamps

 

[SoxAce]

There aren't a ton of UFA goalies this summer, but the RFA crop is interesting. Carey Price, Tukka Rask, Ondrej Pavelec, Corey Schneider.

 

I wonder if a competitive offer to Pavelec would prevent Winnipeg from re-signing him. He had a bit of a down year, but they also have a ton of cap space.

 

Hawks can't get a RFA this summer due to not enough draft picks. (from the Oduya deal) Schneider would be amazing, but Hawks have to go to the UFA route. Perhaps a guy like Montoya if they trade Crawford.

[SoxFanForever]

What are the chances one of our forwards (Sharp, Kane, etc.) gets traded for cap relief/Crawford relief?

[southsider2k5]

What are the chances one of our forwards (Sharp, Kane, etc.) gets traded for cap relief/Crawford relief?

 

Probably much higher than it was two weeks ago. It is going to be an interesting off season for these guys. With them pretty much being caplocked, if they want to do something big, they are going to have to take the risk of dealing someone big.

[RockRaines]

I'd drive Seabrook to the f***ing airport myself if they could unload him.

[GoSox05]

I'd drive Seabrook to the f***ing airport myself if they could unload him.

 

 

Are you serious?