obviously this poll makes me realize Giroux is a product of Voracek. We should trade Giroux for Weber if the Preds feel crazy.
- Winning

We'd be better off with Subban.

I think the demise of Mike Richards is great exagerrated.
- MJL

Well, can you honestly say that Richards will produce at the level he did in Philly ever again?

Alot of the blame has to fall on the club and the coaching. When you have a sniper like that you need to structure the players around him to cover for what he's not bringing to the table. They've chosen to facilitate his scoring by consistently surrounding him with play makers who also ignore the defensive game. They've brought in coaches in the last few seasons to try to change his game and all it did was hamper his offense. You aren't going to alter a guy who's been told all his life his value is putting the puck in the net and he's done it and made millions of dollars off of it.

Can he put in some effort? Yeah, he really needs to and doesn't and that falls at his feet. He can be embarrassing at times.
- mayorofangrytown

Steve Yzerman was told the same things growing up as a player. He went from a one dimensional offensive star, to a two way standout Selke level player while still scoring at a high level. I'm not saying that Ovenckin has to become a Selke winner, but saying he's been told something all his life is just an excuse. He can become a much better all around player. There is plenty of blame to go around. From the GM and management, to the coaches, to the players.

We'd be better off with Subban.
- mayorofangrytown

see if Kings would trade us Carter back

They have been a top team the entire time. They've won 2 Cups in the last 4 years, and have been a contender every year. Not sure why you think he won't have the core player support anymore.
- MJL

Lots of sharp trade talk and still not cap compliant. Bigger ($8 million more in total) contracts kick in for Kane and Toews next season. Aging Hossa on a long untradable 'cap recapture' contract. Lots of RFAs that can't get resigned w/o a huge increase in the cap or clearing out core players.... Maybe 1 projected top 6 prospect (TT) in the system. A lot of projected NHLers though. They don't have 9 years worth of top picks like Toews, Kane, etc left in the cupboard and they just traded Hayes, Pirri, Olson... And are losing the other Hayes.

Still a good team now but I think its going to be rocky. Hope that answered your question.

Well, can you honestly say that Richards will produce at the level he did in Philly ever again?
- GOA88

I don't expect him to become an 80 point player anymore. Especially in LA. But I think he's still a very good player, and is a quality 2nd line center on a lot of teams.

There's no doubt that Ovechkin is a generational offensive player, who is definitely a standout player in terms of goal scoring. There is also no doubt that if he became a more complete player, and paid more attention to the off the puck detail, he would be a better player, and the team would be a better team.
- MJL

Didn't Dale Hunter get that entire team to buy in to a defensive shell system? Didn't exactly get them any closer to the Cup.

I'd would have MUCH rather faced that turtling Hunter-led club than those high-flying Boudreau teams from the previous years... man were they scary.

The first three are had to argue with...the rest just seem to be flavors of the week.
Giroux is capable of playing at the level of or above many of the players on this list, the issue is...does he do it consistently enough?

Richards was more heart than talent. His body broke down pretty fast....
- GOA88

I'll disagree. If you want to a strict comparison to a talented point producer like Carter, he outscored Carter in all 3 junior seasons and led the Flyers in points twice. While he had a ton of heart, he was also extremely talented.

Well, can you honestly say that Richards will produce at the level he did in Philly ever again?
- GOA88

LA's style really hampers point-production... I think any number of their guys could go elsewhere and see an automatic 10-20 pt boost in similar roles. Kopitar and Doughty especially... I could see the latter putting up Karlsson-esque numbers on a less conservative team.

Lots of sharp trade talk and still not cap compliant. Bigger ($8 million more in total) contracts kick in for Kane and Toews next season. Aging Hossa on a long untradable 'cap recapture' contract. Lots of RFAs that can't get resigned w/o a huge increase in the cap or clearing out core players.... Maybe 1 projected top 6 prospect (TT) in the system. A lot of projected NHLers though. They don't have 9 years worth of top picks like Toews, Kane, etc left in the cupboard and they just traded Hayes, Pirri, Olson... And are losing the other Hayes.

Still a good team now but I think its going to be rocky. Hope that answered your question.
- moylander

They'll have to make a move to get cap compliant. But what if they make a great trade and get a quality return for a player like Sharp? Hossa is still a quality player. There aren't lots of RFA's that can't get resigned. Not sure where you're getting that from. At the 69M cap number they have about 3.2M in cap space for the 15/16 season. They need to re-sign Saad, Leddy, and Kruger. Oduya is a UFA. I think their Cap situation is being exaggerated.

Well, those Novemeber 20th tickets likely just went up about $50 each on the secondary market.
- jmatchett383

Sell! Sell!

Didn't Dale Hunter get that entire team to buy in to a defensive shell system? Didn't exactly get them any closer to the Cup.

I'd would have MUCH rather faced that turtling Hunter-led club than those high-flying Boudreau teams from the previous years... man were they scary.
- Tomahawk

Coaching is also an issue. It's not all on Ovechkin. But as the team's top player and leader, he needs to have a better all around game.

They'll have to make a move to get cap compliant. But what if they make a great trade and get a quality return for a player like Sharp? Hossa is still a quality player. There aren't lots of RFA's that can't get resigned. Not sure where you're getting that from. At the 69M cap number they have about 3.2M in cap space for the 15/16 season. They need to re-sign Saad, Leddy, and Kruger. Oduya is a UFA. I think their Cap situation is being exaggerated.
- MJL

So they will only be able to resign one of them?

nice to see Lindros going into the Flyers hall of fame. Well deserved.


edit: well deserved for LeClair and Desjardins too, of course ... but it was always in the back of my mind that Snider or Clarke would object to Lindros being there.

So they will only be able to resign one of them?
- Feanor

It's at the 69M number. How much is the cap going to go up? They'll likely going to make some kind of move.

I'd be fine with Doughty, Pietrangelo and JT, not so much on Seguin. He's an excellent player, but I think he's not quite at the level of the other 3.
- BiggE

I'd go with doughty, Mackinnon, or Crosby

Steve Yzerman was told the same things growing up as a player. He went from a one dimensional offensive star, to a two way standout Selke level player while still scoring at a high level. I'm not saying that Ovenckin has to become a Selke winner, but saying he's been told something all his life is just an excuse. He can become a much better all around player. There is plenty of blame to go around. From the GM and management, to the coaches, to the players.
- MJL

Alex Ovechkin will never be confused with Steve Yzerman. That's laughable.

Coaching is also an issue. It's not all on Ovechkin. But as the team's top player and leader, he needs to have a better all around game.
- MJL

In a perfect world, he would improve the rest of his game while not losing one iota of goal production... but it's not imperative.

Guys like Kovalev, Mogilny, Coffee, Pat Kane, and Brett Hull all managed to win Cup rings while cheating up the ice and camping in soft spots with ridiculous frequency... their GM's just did a better job of building a team around them. GMGM has done OV no favors.

They should have done LeClair and Desjardins on 10/11 vs. Montreal.
- Feanor

In a perfect world, he would improve the rest of his game while not losing one iota of goal production... but it's not imperative.

Guys like Kovalev, Mogilny, Coffee, Pat Kane, and Brett Hull all managed to win Cup rings while cheating up the ice and camping in soft spots with ridiculous frequency... their GM's just did a better job of building a team around them. GMGM has done OV no favors.
- Tomahawk

True. If you have a player that only thinks goals you have to structure your team to support that. They've tried to get more out of him defensively and he sank. At this point they should know what they have and should have known it for years now.

New topic: Most underrated player in the league?

My vote: Frans Nielsen

New topic: Most underrated player in the league?

My vote: Frans Nielsen
- Tomahawk

Keith Yandle

New topic: Most underrated player in the league?

My vote: Frans Nielsen
- Tomahawk

My vote. Jeff Carter. Flame on!

New topic: Most underrated player in the league?

My vote: Frans Nielsen
- Tomahawk

For the Flyers, I'd go with Coburn. Take him off last years team and they are lucky to reach 80 pts. League wide perhaps Seidenberg? Add him to the Bruins last Spring and I think they are in the finals and possibly winning the cup.o