i can see B Schenn becoming a clone of Patrick Sharp if we trade him...
- eshake

They'd be getting a guy with big upside. It's not like they'd be dumping Schenn because they don't see him getting much better.

No. Let Gardiner do Brayden Schenn himself.
- tangent_man

No. Let Gardiner do Brayden Schenn himself.
- tangent_man

Elbow quote...

Bill Meltzer ‏@billmeltzer 7m
Super Series: Congrats to @Laughts21 (Scott Laughton) for being named captain of Team OHL. Also @morin055 and Team QMJHL in action tonight in Sherbrooke.

We got a good one here.

Bill Meltzer ‏@billmeltzer 7m
Super Series: Congrats to @Laughts21 (Scott Laughton) for being named captain of Team OHL. Also @morin055 and Team QMJHL in action tonight in Sherbrooke.

We got a good one here.
- JAKEw1234

Televised?

No. Let Gardiner do Brayden Schenn himself.
- tangent_man

Well done, Paulie!

HA! My coffee's on my keyboard! Thanks, jerk!

- AllInForFlyers

I can officially call today a success, then.

No. Let Gardiner do Brayden Schenn himself.
- tangent_man

good stuff, sarge

Televised?
- PhillySportsGuy

http://chl.insinc.com/canadavsrussia/
that might work.

Elbow quote...
- mayorofangrytown

I still don't have a copy of that picture bookmarked. Or do I...?

good stuff, sarge
- BulliesPhan87

How is the new MGS? I see you playing it often.

How is the new MGS? I see you playing it often.
- tangent_man

When you made the joke, did you know it would be this successful?

How is the new MGS? I see you playing it often.
- tangent_man

It's actually pretty good. I have no idea why I let it sit on the shelf entirely unplayed for the past couple years. I'm glad they improved the combat, because I'm about as stealthy as a dump truck.

Yes or no: Would you do Brayden Schenn for Jake Gardiner?

Just curious.
- AllInForFlyers

No.

When you made the joke, did you know it would be this successful?
- PhillySportsGuy

You can never tell with this crowd.

It's actually pretty good. I have no idea why I let it sit on the shelf entirely unplayed for the past couple years. I'm glad they improved the combat, because I'm about as stealthy as a dump truck.
- BulliesPhan87

It's that old? I guess I haven't been paying attention to that franchise.

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Good Start to Homestand
- bmeltzer

Great pod cast Bill, it really got me thinking about two things. Faceoffs and penalty killing.

Faceoff wise in recent years, it would seem that our best faceoff man in most cases have been our fourth line center. Not in all cases because Giroux was really good last season and Jeff Carter became good over time until we oddly moved him to the wing, which I still wonder why. For the most part though, Jimmy Dawd, Blair Betts and now Adam Hall. I think the last time we had consistently good faceoff men who played top minutes was when Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau were around. Than you can add Adam Oates to that time and a season later. Michael Handzus. I think signed Lecavalier was a real surprise for most of us instead of buying into the rumours and going after a wing like Bobby Ryan, while living and dying with Giroux, Schenn, Couturier and Talbot who all struggled last season.

What I think we are missing is a legit PK pair. For along time we've had such pairs as Kent Manderville and Paul Ranheim. Blair Betts and Ian Laperiere, which quickly turned into Betts and Powe after Lappy's injury. Richards and Gagne, which became Richards and Giroux after Gagne had a long term injury. Without question in my mind I thought Talbot and Giroux looked settled in together and it looks like Couturier and Read are an improve pair right now but the key word to me is "settled in". I've seen a lot of Giroux off and on the PK. We just traded Talbot, so we don't look settled in to me. I think we need that legit PK pair, where those two play mostly play the fourth line 5 on 5. Maybe Raffl and/or Rinaldo might settle in there but I miss guys like Manderville, Lapointe, Powe, Dawd, Ranheim and Betts, where you knew exactly what to expect from them. I like the Talbot trade but he was one of those guys.

Great pod cast Bill, it really got me thinking about two things. Faceoffs and penalty killing.

Faceoff wise in recent years, it would seem that our best faceoff man in most cases have been our fourth line center. Not in all cases because Giroux was really good last season and Jeff Carter became good over time until we oddly moved him to the wing, which I still wonder why. For the most part though, Jimmy Dawd, Blair Betts and now Adam Hall. I think the last time we had consistently good faceoff men who played top minutes was when Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau were around. Than you can add Adam Oates to that time and a season later. Michael Handzus. I think signed Lecavalier was a real surprise for most of us instead of buying into the rumours and going after a wing like Bobby Ryan, while living and dying with Giroux, Schenn, Couturier and Talbot who all struggled last season.

What I think we are missing is a legit PK pair. For along time we've had such pairs as Kent Manderville and Paul Ranheim. Blair Betts and Ian Laperiere, which quickly turned into Betts and Powe after Lappy's injury. Richards and Gagne, which became Richards and Giroux after Gagne had a long term injury. Without question in my mind I thought Talbot and Giroux looked settled in together and it looks like Couturier and Read are an improve pair right now but the key word to me is "settled in". I've seen a lot of Giroux off and on the PK. We just traded Talbot, so we don't look settled in to me. I think we need that legit PK pair, where those two play mostly play the fourth line 5 on 5. Maybe Raffl and/or Rinaldo might settle in there but I miss guys like Manderville, Lapointe, Powe, Dawd, Ranheim and Betts, where you knew exactly what to expect from them. I like the Talbot trade but he was one of those guys.
- Schenn2shine

Carter didn't play much wing here.

And he actually is a full time wing in LA.

It's that old? I guess I haven't been paying attention to that franchise.
- tangent_man

Came out in 2008, actually. It definitely doesn't seem that long ago. Looks like the next one is coming out next spring, it looks pretty good. Open world Big Boss game? Sign me up.

They'd be getting a guy with big upside. It's not like they'd be dumping Schenn because they don't see him getting much better.
- PhillySportsGuy

Gardiner seems like another in a long line of over-hyped Leafs prospects/young players: Gustavsson, Aulie, Frattin, Stalberg, Stajan, White, Tlusty, Pogge, Stralman, Antropov, Robbie Earl, Brendan Bell... etc etc. Maybe Luke Schenn's in this list, too.

Aside from Tuukka Rask, who barely got any press, I can't really think of another youngster the Leafs traded away that actually went on to be any good.

I wonder if the PK issues are due to using Rinaldo more when down a guy. It's anecdotal, but in each of the last three games, he's been on the ice for a PPG against in each one.

Follow-up question: We need at least one defenseman, if not now, then for next season, with Timonen's implending retirement.

Just say the Flyers decide not to wait for the guys in the pipeline -- which they may very well do -- but for the sake of the question, say they don't. And that Brayden Schenn gets traded for a defenseman.

The question: What defenseman out there do you think he is worth, straight-up? No picks, no extras. Just a 1-to-1.

If not Jake Gardiner, that's fine. But who would you be comfortable with?

um....maybe Steve needs to stop watching porn as part of his game day prep?

Follow-up question: We need at least one defenseman, if not now, then for next season, with Timonen's implending retirement.

Just say the Flyers decide not to wait for the guys in the pipeline -- which they may very well do -- but for the sake of the question, say they don't. And that Brayden Schenn gets traded for a defenseman.

The question: What defenseman out there do you think he is worth, straight-up? No picks, no extras. Just a 1-to-1.

If not Jake Gardiner, that's fine. But who would you be comfortable with?
- AllInForFlyers

Kulikov would be one, doubt Florida does a straight up deal, though

I wonder if the PK issues are due to using Rinaldo more when down a guy. It's anecdotal, but in each of the last three games, he's been on the ice for a PPG against in each one.
- Jsaquella

At the risk of sounding crazy -- and because I publicly supported the use of Rinaldo on the PK, and still do -- I guess I'm not that concerned with the PK just yet, whether Rinaldo's on it or not, or because Maxime Talbot's gone.

I mean, let's look at this honestly. Some of the PPGs they've given up have been from Malkin-to-Crosby, two rockets from Dustin Byfuglien, and an odd bounce off a backboard right to a guy's stick.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it wouldn't be nice to have killed them all.

But I just can't worry about the PK just yet. It's gonna get scored on at some point, and for example, those two bullets from Byfuglien...I don't think it would've mattered if John Madden and Patrice Bergeron were killing those penalties. Those two shots were going in.