Exactly! I heard the same thing about MLB. Hell, the new MLB commissioner is discussing stopping all of the infield shifting that teams are doing these days.

No elite player will get close to 100 points this year and that is terrible news for the NHL and fans. I can't believe they're not panicking at the league offices.
- madmike71

Yeah my flag goes up when no superstar(s) in the NHL aren't hitting 100 points

They should ban all strategies.
- Feds91Stammer

Yep. That's what I said.

Oh no no no... Lacrosse is for guys not tough enough to play football, but not in good enough shape for soccer. And spoiled rich kids
- Guile

Yes.

- Guile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytfhzcSF-Y

Yeah my flag goes up when no superstar(s) in the NHL aren't hitting 100 points
- arichardson22

Abdelkader has 20 goals so I don't feel scoring is down.

Abdelkader has 20 goals so I don't feel scoring is down.
- Feds91Stammer

Yeah but his name is so stupid

Yeah but his name is so stupid
- eichiefs9

Applicator?

Abdelkader has 20 goals so I don't feel scoring is down.
- Feds91Stammer

Should be 19 goals. Scoring, or even playing the puck, with a broken stick is forbidden. But only in the NHL that accurately enforces rules.

http://9gag.com/gag/ap02E3E

Sid's still a different player post-concussion. And he's overall a better player than Malkin. But he's not better than Geno Machino.

In the last three seasons, Sid has lead the NHL in point production and is one of only four players to have scored 200+ points. Obviously the man is the most consistent point producer in the league and has been- here it is: the dreaded- when healthy.

The real question is: so what? Does it mean anything? We all know that Ovie has scored a ton of goals and points but that his playoff career highlight remains that one outstanding match up against the Penguins in 2009, a series loss for the Caps.

When Sid was initially injured on 1/1/11, Nick Lidstrom was the best player in the NHL. 87 was, as you well know, dear reader, in and out of the lineup from the 2009-10 season until the 2013-14 season. Lidstrom retired before the 2012-13 season. Has Sid been the most effective player in that window? Or have things looked pretty futile when the games mattered? Couldn't it be said that Kopitar or Toews have been more effective? Or that, since scoring is down, the quality minutes of top defenders is more important? I'm biased in that I think the league's most effective defensemen are the most prime players. Then it's a conversation of Doughty, Keith, or McDonagh.

Carey Price, by the way, is the NHL's best player.

meh .....might as well
- Alexzanki

Sid's still a different player post-concussion.
- YouMeAndDupuis9

Yeah, he's older.

Yeah, he's older.
- jfkst1

Ha, okay.

In the last three seasons, Sid has lead the NHL in point production and is one of only four players to have scored 200+ points. Obviously the man is the most consistent point producer in the league and has been- here it is: the dreaded- when healthy.

The real question is: so what? Does it mean anything? We all know that Ovie has scored a ton of goals and points but that his playoff career highlight remains that one outstanding match up against the Penguins in 2009, a series loss for the Caps.

When Sid was initially injured on 1/1/11, Nick Lidstrom was the best player in the NHL. 87 was, as you well know, dear reader, in and out of the lineup from the 2009-10 season until the 2013-14 season. Lidstrom retired before the 2012-13 season. Has Sid been the most effective player in that window? Or have things looked pretty futile when the games mattered? Couldn't it be said that Kopitar or Toews have been more effective? Or that, since scoring is down, the quality minutes of top defenders is more important? I'm biased in that I think the league's most effective defensemen are the most prime players. Then it's a conversation of Doughty, Keith, or McDonagh.

Carey Price, by the way, is the NHL's best player.
- Johnny Wrath

I entirely agree that in this NHL with the rules not enforced, dmen are of greater importance than wingers. They also play more minutes so I think their impact on games can be even greater. And dmen tend to have longer prime years as well. Which is part of the reason I don't agree with the "all-in" concept just because Malkin and Crosby are still in their primes. The team might have stood a better chance of multiple SC wins with Letang, Pouliot, and Maatta in their primes than Malkin and Crosby.

Looks like it's confirmed, no Dupes for the rest of the year.

“Pascal Dupuis won’t play for us this season,” Pens head coach Mike Johnston explained. “There’s a certain timeline where he cannot have contact. Even when he gets beyond that point, where he can have contact, there’s going to be a lot of discussion with doctors.

“That’s better kept for later in the year and offseason, to figure out where he’s at as far as his playing career and being able to rejoin us.”

Pens GM Jim Rutherford is optimistic Dupuis will be able to rejoin the club next season.

“He’s not going to be cleared until June,” Rutherford explained. “I do feel very confident he’ll return to the team next year.”

Yeah my flag goes up when no superstar(s) in the NHL aren't hitting 100 points
- arichardson22

100pts isn't the norm anymore. Too many teams, salary cap, Free agency, new rules.......take your pick. pt. per game is now the mark of NHL "superstars"

Finnish source says Ilya Kovalchuk is eyeing a return to the #NHL in 2016-2017, after his #KHL contract expires.

Finnish source says Ilya Kovalchuk is eyeing a return to the #NHL in 2016-2017, after his #KHL contract expires.
- znagle

I hope he doesn't get back in. All 30 GMs have to approve it before he can.

I hope he doesn't get back in. All 30 GMs have to approve it before he can.
- jfkst1

Only if he wants to return within 5 years of signing his retirement papers I believe. After that, he doesn't need approval.

Only if he wants to return within 5 years of signing his retirement papers I believe. After that, he doesn't need approval.
- rangerdanger94

Yeah, if he comes back after 35 he is fine. I just want him to suffer the consequences of his decision. He can stay close to home in a league that is potentially insolvent in a less stable country with massive economic issues.

Yeah, if he comes back after 35 he is fine. I just want him to suffer the consequences of his decision. He can stay close to home in a league that is potentially insolvent in a less stable country with massive economic issues.
- jfkst1

Damn dude that's some evil ass poop

Yeah, if he comes back after 35 he is fine. I just want him to suffer the consequences of his decision. He can stay close to home in a league that is potentially insolvent in a less stable country with massive economic issues.
- jfkst1

He made his money, and then some. He will be fine living wherever he chooses.

He made his money, and then some. He will be fine living wherever he chooses.
- znagle

Kovy was a beast, still a dbag for what he did though.

87 still the best even though many think he needs to do more. LOL.

Pens were whining so much vs Detroit, they get 0 PP's from the refs as punishment, i also think the Yotes threw that game Sat night, no goalie makes that play trying to win a game by shooting it off Sutter.

Kovy was a beast, still a dbag for what he did though.

87 still the best even though many think he needs to do more. LOL.

Pens were whining so much vs Detroit, they get 0 PP's from the refs as punishment, i also think the Yotes threw that game Sat night, no goalie makes that play trying to win a game by shooting it off Sutter.
- sammy87

I think Toronto evaluated the merits of that goal on the premise that it was scored by Sutter less than 20 feet from the goal line.