Lord Humungous, if you have not seen the Comicon trailer to Mad Max Fury Road, sir- you will be impressed. Will be the Best. Movie. Ever.
- roland_hazard

I have seen it and it looks outstanding.

Just finished watching the game (PVR) - what's to say really, they looked tired and slow. What happened to Hamhuis's foot speed? Weber and Bieksa looked terrible, Sbisa is an 8th dman.

Without the twins this team would be in serious trouble. Hank and Dany are 3rd and 4th in NHL scoring
- LeftCoaster

Agree. Outside of highlight reels, I pay little attention to CO. For all our losses this season, all except that would I flat out say we were one hundred percent outplayed. I didn't see us win a single foot race, anywhere on the ice. Last night, I suspect the Avalanche might have downed any of the other 28 teams in the league though. They were On.

Just finished watching the game (PVR) - what's to say really, they looked tired and slow. What happened to Hamhuis's foot speed? Weber and Bieksa looked terrible, Sbisa is an 8th dman.

Without the twins this team would be in serious trouble. Hank and Dany are 3rd and 4th in NHL scoring
- LeftCoaster

But they're old.

I bet Sbisa would clear waivers.
- thundachunk

Even better if he didn't...

Even better if he didn't...
- PetrolSexual

Even if we want him gone I would rather get a late round pick for him than nothing

This is my thinking. Frankly, I'd rather coho on our second and Bonino on the third. Assuming Kessler was a goner after last season, who do you think would be more dangerous, Matthias/Richardson or coho?

Anyways, I take people's point that coho is not necessarily what the team needs in terms of more scoring vs. defensiveness. Still, I'd feel a lot better about the team with him in the mix versus Kassian. He'll, if Gillis had done Coho for Myers or a defensive stud that would have been worth it or a least would have made some sense.
- Ronning4ever

When exactly did Myers become a defensive stud? Good rookie year, hard to watch afterwards. A huge D man is only good if he's mobile.

Where Gillis went wrong with Hodgson is not letting every gm know that he was available. All I heard after that trade was 28 Gms saying they had no idea he was up for grabs. Kesler handcuffed Benning by only waiving for two teams, one of which didn't have the cap space to get him. With Hodgson, Gillis did that himself.

Gotta look at the bigger picture here.

We were 29-9 the last 40 games or so that Kesler was OUT of the lineup last season plus his injury time in the prior season. The guys don't want him in the room and the stats show it.

CoHo has NEVER shown the same potential since his surgery...period. Plus all of the sideshow antics with him and his Dad.

Lou was done here in 2012 but it got dragged on and on.

It's not gullibility just reality. We don't need those clowns/crybabies in the room anymore.

Three years ago I may have thought differently but true colors always shine through and yes I think we are much better off without Lou, Kes or Coho in the lineup.
- LordHumungous

Maybe those guys were bad in the room, maybe they weren't. Maybe the dressing room is better off without them, maybe it's not. One thing I do know, if your trading your best assets for pennies on the dollar, you are not better off.

Agree. Outside of highlight reels, I pay little attention to CO. For all our losses this season, all except that would I flat out say we were one hundred percent outplayed. I didn't see us win a single foot race, anywhere on the ice. Last night, I suspect the Avalanche might have downed any of the other 28 teams in the league though. They were On.
- roland_hazard

If they keep it up, I will agree with you. For now, I think that we made them look good.

He defends the team, plays gritty and leads. His intangibles outweigh everything else. Sbisa and Edler don't bring much else when they are playing bad.
- Scooby_Doo

I understand the cliche about him leading. BUT, because he is a leader makes it all the more inexcusable when he goes huge stretches of the season as our laziest player.

Dont kid yourself,,, his off the ice personality has paid for a hell of a lot of smoke.

I like Tanev but he does have trade value. Simple fact here is that Tanev may be too soft to play long-term in the west. Corrado worries me somewhat here too. Yes Sbisa, Bieksa and Edler are gaffers right now but at least they have a bit of that mean streak we need on the back end.

But you are correct one or two more injuries to the D and it could be tanknation

- LordHumungous

The whole team is too soft to be playing in the west.

Goes back to the whole identity of the team. The bottom 9 is full of utility players that lack consistent scoring and when they aren't scoring they aren't doing anything else.

The Bourdon tragedy has left a gaping hole on D. Tanev's development has been a blessing. The only way we should trade Tanev is if we are getting scoring and a pick or d prospect coming back.

That mean streak is nice to have as long as it is disciplined to some extent and is consistently present. I would rather we trade Bieksa than Tanev but neither trade, unless part of a bigger deal, will fix any of our shortcomings.

Sbisa has been interesting at times. I don't know if he can get much worse, just hoping he can play a little safer. He's not so bad when he doesn't touch the puck.

Gotta look at the bigger picture here.

We were 29-9 the last 40 games or so that Kesler was OUT of the lineup last season plus his injury time in the prior season. The guys don't want him in the room and the stats show it.

CoHo has NEVER shown the same potential since his surgery...period. Plus all of the sideshow antics with him and his Dad.

Lou was done here in 2012 but it got dragged on and on.

It's not gullibility just reality. We don't need those clowns/crybabies in the room anymore.

Three years ago I may have thought differently but true colors always shine through and yes I think we are much better off without Lou, Kes or Coho in the lineup.
- LordHumungous

What side show antics from his father? We never saw any of that and Coho and agent called Gillis a liar about it... What makes Gillis more believable? Gillis also said that he spent more time on the phone negotiating with Luongos wife than his agent? Sound familiar? Ya, thats Gillis' way of deflecting heat. His track record on deflections creates enough doubt for me. There has been so much poop Gillis has been called on that Id say his credibility is worse than any of them. Not that Gillis had credibility when he arrived... his own peers seem to have had little respect for him and they way he conducted business.

I dont think Coho should be lumped in with Lu and Kesler as cancers. His rumored trade request had never been confirmed by anyone but Gillis. Cody never went public about anything. This is what Im talking about. You hold way too much value in what Gillis has said.

Maybe those guys were bad in the room, maybe they weren't. Maybe the dressing room is better off without them, maybe it's not. One thing I do know, if your trading your best assets for pennies on the dollar, you are not better off.
- CubanBuffet

Exactly.

What do you think Lefty? Should they dress Corrado for a couple of games. If not, they may as well call up a nobody to sit in the press box. Corrado needs to play hockey somewhere....
- boonerbuck

Yes I do - him and Stanton would be a nice third pairing. Getting concerned about Stanton not staying healthy.

Yes I do - him and Stanton would be a nice third pairing. Getting concerned about Stanton not staying healthy.
- LeftCoaster

Have to think D is near the top of the list come UFA season. I still think Benning will pursue a C with 1st line potential in the draft though... followed by a flood of D after that.

Well said. We don't need CoHo back or his old man's ridiculous management skills. We just got rid of two of the biggest crybabies in Lou and Kesler and are way better off for it.

Benning's task is basically a right hand shot D that can slot into the top 4 that can manage PP time...Myers?

Also need a scoring/passing winger to play with Bonino. Most of Bonino's great play last year was with Perry/Getzlaf and the last time I checked Burrows and Higgins aren't Perry/Getzlaf. Bonino centered arguably the best third line in hockey for a season or two with Winnick and Cogliano and Burrows plus Higgins on the second line with Bonino may not work. We'll see what Horvat brings soon enough I hope.

I'm new to the blogs and have been reading you all for quite awhile now I hop it's ok if I chime in.



- LordHumungous

Welcome aboard.

Don't mention last season's coach by name and you'll be fine.

Bieksa gets a pass from you guys again....funny. When he was -4 the other night, people talked about Edler. Now its Sbisa who had a night like Bieksa's Dallas performance and he gets the focus. Even after Carol brings KB up... no one else does.

Its funny. In the pre game they talked and talked about how well Bieksa is playing and how this is now his team and he's leading by example.

Make people laugh when the cameras are around and rag doll a chump once in a while and you create a teflon coating.
- boonerbuck

You're right!

Not saying it's right but people might have overlooked his game because he finally came to Daniel's defense......... about 4 years too late.

Maybe those guys were bad in the room, maybe they weren't. Maybe the dressing room is better off without them, maybe it's not. One thing I do know, if your trading your best assets for pennies on the dollar, you are not better off.
- CubanBuffet

Fair enough But I wouldn't put Lou and Hodgson in the 'best asset' category at the time of their trades. Their trade value was what it was at the time. Having said that there are some TBD's here as I think Horvat is gonna be great. 200' game all three zones plus faceoffs and can be tough when needed. Not gonna be a 30 goal guy but I can see 20 consistently once he matures. I'm ok with Horvat for Schneider. Markstrom and Matthias for Lou sure could have been higher but since Lou wanted out after 2012 he certainly played like it and Gillis was severely handcuffed. I'd say dumping 90% of Lou's salary and his crybaby attitude was a massive victory IMO. Kassian for Hodgson well...Kass still may work out but he really appears to be a long term wingnut that may not develop...so I totally get what you are saying to a point...

Welcome aboard.

Don't mention last season's coach by name and you'll be fine.
- Marwood

Last year was a lock-out year.......

Last year was a lock-out year.......
- kneughter

Is there anyway we can get Matthias from that shortened season where he played 48 games and had 14 goals and 7 assists?

Is there anyway we can get Matthias from that shortened season where he played 48 games and had 14 goals and 7 assists?
- hillbillydeluxe

This is the Matthias I would like to see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06_yLWdWXlE

Amazing national anthem tonight. Best ever for Canada

What side show antics from his father? We never saw any of that and Coho and agent called Gillis a liar about it... What makes Gillis more believable? Gillis also said that he spent more time on the phone negotiating with Luongos wife than his agent? Sound familiar? Ya, thats Gillis' way of deflecting heat. His track record on deflections creates enough doubt for me. There has been so much poop Gillis has been called on that Id say his credibility is worse than any of them. Not that Gillis had credibility when he arrived... his own peers seem to have had little respect for him and they way he conducted business.

I dont think Coho should be lumped in with Lu and Kesler as cancers. His rumored trade request had never been confirmed by anyone but Gillis. Cody never went public about anything. This is what Im talking about. You hold way too much value in what Gillis has said.
- boonerbuck

“Cody’s Dad made him go through 3 agents til they finally found one that antagonized MG (Mike Gillis) enough that Cody (was) moved.”

Winter (@hockeyagentdad) responded with this:

“Third time luck they say.”

That's not a carnival to you?

Not sure who the gullible one is here.

Look I'm not condoning the majority of what Gillis has done effectively dismantling a pretty good team in less than three seasons.

But when Rich Winter and Hodgson's old man started in on Gillis and AV it was on. Here you have a ROOKIE basically demanding 'play me or trade me'...maybe in not so many words in his meeting with AV but you know damn well that was what was implied. So what happens next is that it filters through the room so guys like Hank and Kes say "wow..this kid is unproven and he is trying to pry ice time away from us"? It doesn't fly and you can bet your next paycheck that AV had a meeting with a certain few players after the Hodgson meeting and asked if they have a problem with this kid. Sure the rest can be subject to speculation but man I've been around hockey long enough to realise when this kind of stuff is happening...it's not rocket science.

Bottom line is Hodgson had been blacklisted a whiner by mngt and coaching. Doesn't matter whether you agree with it or not or whether you believe Gillis or AV or whatever...what you can believe is that that trade started MINUTES after that meeting with AV. If he was a problem then Coho would be a problem now. So i have absolutely no issues with him being gone regardless of how well he performs in Buffalo.

This is the Matthias I would like to see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06_yLWdWXlE
- bezz44

Great effort, didn't give up.

It is hard to look at the players, their contributions and not wonder if they are being put in a position to succeed according to their skill set and if they will be given the opportunity on this team.

Matthias put up okay numbers in Jr. but hasn't given any indication he can be as offensive in the NHL. So where does that leave him? He isn't 1st line material. Is he the same as a Higgins? I don't know. But he isn't a 4th liner...

Makes me think of Bouwmeeser and players saying it is nice playing against him because he doesn't hit. We lack size and the size we have doesn't use it.

Was hoping to see Hansen play a bit more physical but he isn't.

I wish some of these guys would play more like Richardson who shows more heart and plays bigger than most of the guys that are bigger than him on the team.

Fair enough But I wouldn't put Lou and Hodgson in the 'best asset' category at the time of their trades. Their trade value was what it was at the time. Having said that there are some TBD's here as I think Horvat is gonna be great. 200' game all three zones plus faceoffs and can be tough when needed. Not gonna be a 30 goal guy but I can see 20 consistently once he matures. I'm ok with Horvat for Schneider. Markstrom and Matthias for Lou sure could have been higher but since Lou wanted out after 2012 he certainly played like it and Gillis was severely handcuffed. I'd say dumping 90% of Lou's salary and his crybaby attitude was a massive victory IMO. Kassian for Hodgson well...Kass still may work out but he really appears to be a long term wingnut that may not develop...so I totally get what you are saying to a point...
- LordHumungous

It was supposed to be Schroeder stepping into the hole Hodgson left according to Gillis. More bullpoop.

Great effort, didn't give up.

It is hard to look at the players, their contributions and wonder if they are being put in a position to succeed according to their skill set and if they will be given the opportunity on this team.

Matthias put up okay numbers in Jr. but hasn't given any indication he can be as offensive in the NHL. So where does that leave him? He isn't 1st line material. Is he the same as a Higgins? I don't know. But he isn't a 4th liner...

Makes me think of Bouwmeeser and players saying it is nice playing against him because he doesn't hit. We lack size and the size we have doesn't use it.

Was hoping to see Hansen play a bit more physical but he isn't.

I wish some of these guys would play more like Richardson who shows more heart and plays bigger than most of the guys that are bigger than him on the team.
- hillbillydeluxe

We have a couple of guys who play bigger than they are - Richardson, Higgins, Dorsett, just very hard working guys who give us some backbone. Hansen was the same type of player but I just don't know what is wrong with him. Kassian and Matthias are two players with size that don't play a heavy game and it is too bad because as you said we could use some of that