Lups is not a sure thing to be durable. which has been noted by burn and lou.

I don;t know what to tell ye. im skeptical he can stay healthy. I hope he does. obviously.

But none of us know the future..the chances of me being right compared to you are 50-50
- Lee Denault

i'm not sold on the he isnt durable argument just yet

his main issue was a huge setback in his career.. one which he has overcome.. roberts went through a very similar point in his career as well.

if lupul focuses on staying in great shape he will be fine moving forward.. i think this will simply come down to his personal conditioning

didn't you know.. grass is always greener on other side?...
- Lee Denault

What side?

Whats the consensus on the Lupul resigning? I'm pretty well indifferent right now.

That's a lot of dough for a guy that needs a great supporting cast to be productive.
Toronto has to re-sign Kessel now.... or just sign Ryan, Getzlaf and Perry as planned
- SotaPopinski

And in 8 years you will hate the deals you gave Parise and Suter.

Gary Roberts played 82 games once in his whole career. He got hurt a lot. But it was mostly because of his all out style. Coming back from that neck injury though was miraculous. Freak of nature.

You can't really compare Roberts to Lupul though. Roberts played at an insane pace and was always putting his body on the line. Lupul isn't anywhere near as physical and has still missed a lot of games over his career.
- Two_For_Truth

i was equating missing a large chunk of time due to one injury only

not saying lupul is roberts by any stretch of the imagination

just saying that with todays healthcare.. and enough drive and desire.. a major injury can be overcome. does lupul have that drive and desire? thats the question.

- AdamFrench

This Lupul contract shows that the team is not purposely bottoming out... but I still feel they finish bottom 5.

Looking at things from the Leafs perspective, who feels they can actually attract top free agents? I don't.... Getzlaf and Perry are a fantasy.
In Lupul they have a guy that has played well since he joined the team, was an all star last year is a fan favorite and adds some veteran presence that they need.
- Mr_Smokey

They arnt signing in TO unless u got like 7 mill for each guy maybe one of them not both lol

It was a pretty major injury.

Just the same way if Crosby gets hit in the head again, he's done for a long time, if somebody decides to cross check Lupul across the back, he could be done for a long time.

Back injuries usually become chronic, especially with a guy who is entering his 30s. Back spasms could become a common thing as he gets older.
- Two_For_Truth

Jake Gardiner is a beauty, I'm worried that he's now vulnerable to head injuries. I really like Gardiner.

They arnt signing in TO unless u got like 7 mill for each guy maybe one of them not both lol
- arnpriorguy

Neither is signing here for a multitude of reasons number 1 being that Anaheim can offer more term.

One more hit to Crosby's head and I'm convinced he's finished.

My only hope is that Crosby's still able to play in Sochi, which would basically guarantee we'd win the gold
- AngryWhiteMale

Far too many great NHL players have had their careers shortened by injury. It would be a travesty if that happened.

A little off topic, but I just want to throw my preliminary Sochi team out there to see what you guys think

Iginla - Crosby - Neal
Tavares - Stamkos - Nash
Giroux - Toews - Perry
E. Staal - Spezza - J. Staal
X: M. Richards, Getzlaf, Bergeron

Weber - Doughty
Seabrook - Keith
M. Staal - Pietriangelo
X: Myers, Letang

Price
Ward

Far too many great NHL players have had their careers shortened by injury. It would be a travesty if that happened.
- Two_For_Truth

I'm not even a huge crosby fan, but I agree it'd be such a shame if a generational talent like him has his career cut short.

Guys like Lindros and Lafontaine come to mind

Just to rehash a prior argument- I also wasn't a fan of the play late in the game...they sat back. Same as they did with Wilson. Their ability to block out Montreal was better, but overall that strategy will hurt them.

Don't think it was Carlyle, either. I think they just sat back as they have in the past.

fair enough, however, they havent been an issue for him as of yet. sp until it proves to be a major problem (which in fairness could happen in 3 or 4 years) it should be a non discussion.. and if it does creep up when he is 33-34.. there will only be a year or two tops left on his contract.
- Dozzer

Nonis has decided that his core is going to be Lupul, Kessel and Phaneuf. Expect the other two to get big extensions too. Not a convincing core but that's what he's going with.

- prock

LMAO

I'm not even a huge crosby fan, but I agree it'd be such a shame if a generational talent like him has his career cut short.

Guys like Lindros and Lafontaine come to mind
- AngryWhiteMale

Crosby took a solid shot yesterday and he was fine.

who cares?

what because his surgery went bad and he got an infedction that must mean he is injury prone right?

the number of games has NOTHING to do with the number of injuries.

he has been injured twice. and once was nearly career ending

i guess by your logic gary roberts was injury prone because he broke his neck and only played 104 games out of 368 over the course of 4 years right?
- Dozzer

You can't deny he is infection-prone.

Just to rehash a prior argument- I also wasn't a fan of the play late in the game...they sat back. Same as they did with Wilson. Their ability to block out Montreal was better, but overall that strategy will hurt them.

Don't think it was Carlyle, either. I think they just sat back as they have in the past.
- Feeling Glucky?

Probably got tired.

Nonis has decided that his core is going to be Lupul, Kessel and Phaneuf. Expect the other two to get big extensions too. Not a convincing core but that's what he's going with.
- Two_For_Truth

well he has decided on lupul, no guarantees on the other two, but you're probably right

You can't deny he is infection-prone.
- Atomic Wedgie

nope, cant deny that.. i will worry if he ever has major surgery again

Whats the consensus on the Lupul resigning? I'm pretty well indifferent right now.
- Leafland

If he stays healthy and on the 1st line with Kessel I think he'll be a steal at that price. Great guy though, top class hockey player.

Nonis has decided that his core is going to be Lupul, Kessel and Phaneuf. Expect the other two to get big extensions too. Not a convincing core but that's what he's going with.
- Two_For_Truth

I really hope Dion doesn't get a raise.

I personally don't think he deserves one in the first place. 6.5 is just too much.
5-5.5 at most

Kessel will be a big question mark. Esp. if we don't make the playoffs. He'll never have made the playoffs with us, going into the last year of his deal, and may not be all that thrilled about continuing in TOR in the first place.

If we could move him for Mackinnon at the draft I'd be all over that. Sadly, I doubt he'd put Columbus as a desired destination on the list of teams he'd be willing to move to

i was equating missing a large chunk of time due to one injury only

not saying lupul is roberts by any stretch of the imagination

just saying that with todays healthcare.. and enough drive and desire.. a major injury can be overcome. does lupul have that drive and desire? thats the question.
- Dozzer

I would say the back is much more likely to be hit or re-injured than the neck though.

This Lupul contract shows that the team is not purposely bottoming out... but I still feel they finish bottom 5.

Looking at things from the Leafs perspective, who feels they can actually attract top free agents? I don't.... Getzlaf and Perry are a fantasy.
In Lupul they have a guy that has played well since he joined the team, was an all star last year is a fan favorite and adds some veteran presence that they need.
- Mr_Smokey

I agree

Chances on getting either one of those guys is somewhere between slim and none, but a lot closer to none. Us Leaf fans do this every year when it come to attracting FA's, we say this one is available, and that one is available, but they always either sign with their current team or another team that has a better chance of success and less pressure to do so.

The term is a year or two longer than most would like but if the leafs want to attract any FA's at all in the off season they have to show them that they are serious about improving the team.

I'm not even a huge crosby fan, but I agree it'd be such a shame if a generational talent like him has his career cut short.

Guys like Lindros and Lafontaine come to mind
- AngryWhiteMale

Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux...

There are a number of extraordinary players who didn't get the luxury of playing a full career.