Have to disagree on Polak being a bad thing coming back. One year contract, servicable and known commodity who already knows and worked ok in Babcocks system. As this year proved, a tradable asset at the deadline if not before.

Thing is Leafs have been pretty smart for a change, didnt go nuts with stupid signings, and are also sticking to the plan of overseasoning the kids in the minors ala the detroit model before tossing them to the wolves.

As for Steve Simmons this clown hack has been around for far too damn long. All the way back to the 80's this guy has been pulling his gutless attacks and bad mouthing which honestly the Toronto Sun likely has a dozen warehouses of petitions and hatemail demanding they fire this clown. Can't believe they give him any print time still, let alone airtime. He's utterly useless.

The ONE time you say something good about a Blackhawks player its about David (frank)ing Rundblad and how "underrated" he is.








You are too much my friend. You're actually very good at what you do(click baiting by saying outrageous things that you know aren't true but will cause a heated debate). Props. You're a master of your craft.

But will you just please admit that its all an act? Just for my satisfaction?

He's a hawk fan they are easily one of the most offended fan bases in all of sports when something negative is said about their team.
- KINGS67

You would defend him on this.


You're pathetic

Man, you really hate Rundblad. Maybe he isn't great, but based on the numbers he puts up, I'd really like to see him get a chance playing some real minutes. There are so many players in the NHL who are bad and who get signed year after year that I just can't see why a guy who measures out as above average can't get a decent chance. A lot of it is that most teams won't even consider playing a puck mover on the bottom pairing.
- James_Tanner

You didn't comprehend a thing he wrote. I know this because your primary argument is 'numbers he put up'. Wow!

You didn't comprehend a thing he wrote. I know this because your primary argument is 'numbers he put up'. Wow!
- blackhawk24

He's acting, its all fake.

Its simply impossible for anyone to be that stupid/wrong. Think about it. He knows what he's doing. Its all for show/clicks/debates. And here we are falling for it again....

Polak and Martin signings were smart signings by the leafs management. They now have the protection needed for the young guns coming up next year. They now have 3 of the top 5 guys for hits from last year to when you add Uncle Leo to the mix. Its going to be fun to watch for sure.

Do you even watch hockey? Virtanen is going to be a beast and, if you have seen him play you would know that, for someone who is only 19 years old, the future looks fantastic.

The Sedins have confirmed they will be signing short term deals as concerns going forward - so there will not be any 'anchor' contracts the Canucks have to contend with. They have at least 2-3 good years left in the tank, possibly more.

Loui is actually 31 and is coming off one of his best years - 30 goal scorers are a rare commodity these days. Also factor in the excellent chemistry he's had with the Sedins internationally and the signing looks that much better.

The only comment which I agree with you is that Miller is no longer a top 10 goaltender. However, if you had watched any of the games (I know this seems to be a foreign concept for you apparently) goaltending has NOT been the Canucks problem.

Oh, and lastly, when the Schneider for the 9th overall deal happened, I was not impressed. Since that time, however, Horvat has proven he's going to be a stud and the deal looks pretty damn good in retrospect.

Again, check out the facts before you post.
- Zogg

it does. but we did deserve more at the time. As did EDM for Hall. Despite both deals helping all 4 clubs involved. VAN still doesn't have the Hank succession plan in place. But Bo is going to be a great #2.

There was more to why Schneider was traded. Nothing to do with Lou. Unfortunately, it was a move Gillis didn't wanna make. Good thing Demko was breaking Schneiders records at BC. Should be ok in the long run. Some teams never find goaltending.

He's a hawk fan they are easily one of the most offended fan bases in all of sports when something negative is said about their team.
- KINGS67

You're a work of art. You female dog and whine like a little baby about the 'Hawks blowing $600k on Rozy for ONE damned season. And you have recently stripped of captaincy, Dustin (frank)ing Brown there in the land of fruits and nuts, with an IN-SANE $5.875M AAV hit for the next SIX seasons. And a mofified NTC for good measure. On God's green earth, what drugs are you on and why are you not sharing with the rest of us? Wow!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled acid trip.

Tanner, why the Avalanche hate? I'd say Sakic has been pretty successful during the last couple days - not signing a bunch of slugs, buying out Stuart, and signing a handful of role players to one- and two-year contracts. Not too much to complain about there.

Now, if Landeskog goes for Trouba straight up, then you have a point. But you can't count a single Hockeybuzz rumor against Sakic.
- manchester33

He likes to hate on alot of teams. Gets people talking tho. Gotta give him that.

Polak and Martin signings were smart signings by the leafs management. They now have the protection needed for the young guns coming up next year. They now have 3 of the top 5 guys for hits from last year to when you add Uncle Leo to the mix. Its going to be fun to watch for sure.
- viperxt

Polak? Meh, OK. Would be great 5-6 years ago. OK for his game now.

Martin? A tad high AAV but a really good guy to have! Friday was stupid money day anyway. If your guys didn't sign him, someone else sure as hell would.

Hit leaders are OK, unless they're running around just doing that. Then it'll be an issue, a big one. And it will show up in GF-GA in a bad way.

'Hawks recent title years had them always being out hit, by big margins too at times. How'd that work? Ask that little punk female dog Ryan Kesler about the 'Hawks not withstanding Anaheim's amazing physical attack in the '15 WCF. Why he was planning his next golf outing, The Captain was lifting the Silver Chalice on UC ice.

That said, Polak can be OK if he stays on task with defence. Martin will be a beast, though too if he doesn't get carried away. Overall for the two, those are nice pickups.

Agreed.

To say it is objectively the worst trade in NHL history is moronic. Weber is still a beast, will he be a beast for the rest of his contract? Probably not. Was it a loss for the Canadiens, yes, but not by the margins that some people are suggesting.

The Mcdonaugh trade is way, way worse than this trade.
- Leafs43

100%

The Courtnall for Kordic trade was worst than this.
Hell, every year there are multiple trades worst than this one.

James is as wrong as ever in his assessment of this trade.

I am not nearly as amazed at the Hall trade as many.
Did NJ win this trade as of today, no question.

But Larsson is a perfect add for Edmonton. Overpaid for him, it seems. But 4yrs down the road, Oiler fans might be thanking their lucky stars for this trade.

I think Larsson is going to be awesome...

I was hoping the Leafs could get Larsson for JVR + (obviously not enough).

Polak? Meh, OK. Would be great 5-6 years ago. OK for his game now.

Martin? A tad high AAV but a really good guy to have! Friday was stupid money day anyway. If your guys didn't sign him, someone else sure as hell would.

Hit leaders are OK, unless they're running around just doing that. Then it'll be an issue, a big one. And it will show up in GF-GA in a bad way.

'Hawks recent title years had them always being out hit, by big margins too at times. How'd that work? Ask that little punk female dog Ryan Kesler about the 'Hawks not withstanding Anaheim's amazing physical attack in the '15 WCF. Why he was planning his next golf outing, The Captain was lifting the Silver Chalice on UC ice.

That said, Polak can be OK if he stays on task with defence. Martin will be a beast, though too if he doesn't get carried away. Overall for the two, those are nice pickups.
- blackhawk24

Polak signing was a good one for the Leafs. They aren't contending for anything this year and the only reason for Polak's presence is as a deterant to rough up the kids.
1yr deal with a chance at moving him for another 2nd pick at the deadline, sure....good singing by Lou.

Tanner, love your writing and have all the time in the world for your blogs but PK subban is a top 5 NHL dman?

Come on man. He may MAY crack the top 10 but that would be a barely. I don't have him as top 10 in the league but that can be debated.

You clearly hate this argument and I know that Team Canada took guys who are better suited to play certain roles, but not being top 7 in Canada completely eliminates him from top 5 in the world discussion.

Is #4 retired on the Devils?
- James_Tanner

Oh boy

You would defend him on this.


You're pathetic
- SimpleJack

Lol ok

I've said multiple times you people get offended over the stupidest poop.

Ummm, you don't get a vote in this! But I would gladly hug it out with you!
- EklundRocks

Personally, I think Tanner is the best on this site. And it's not close. I'm not saying he's right all the time. I'm saying his blog is must read stuff.

"Debating stats vs eye-test is like debating global warming: the science is in and at a certain point, denial just makes you look like a crazy person. "

Since you are also a scientist please show me the peer review papers that have empirical evidence that shows what I am assuming you mean by global warming as being an anthropogenic CO2 driven climate event.

Let me save you the trouble of bothering to actually read the science papers and what we know about how the climate system functions and what we do not know about that system. There is no empirical evidence for your global warming.

But you like consensus science, so allow me to introduce to the subject of eugenics. This was also touted as a scientific consensus. The good thing is that scientific consensus is not a logical argument nor is it accepted mode of proving a hypothesis.

Stats have their place and are good tools, but they are also highly limited tools. They do not tell the whole story. nThey do help one make sense of phenomena because as humans we are limited in our ability to pereceive multiple events occurring at the same time. This is an evolutionary consequence of survival.

So please stop trying to push your over-simplified view of the world as if you sit on some seat of higher intellectual capability.

The humor in what you write simply comes from your speaking like you are an eltitist when you aren't even a third-rate intellectual.

Kucherov is going to sign a bridge deal in TB with a reasonable cap hit.

"Debating stats vs eye-test is like debating global warming: the science is in and at a certain point, denial just makes you look like a crazy person. "

Since you are also a scientist please show me the peer review papers that have empirical evidence that shows what I am assuming you mean by global warming as being an anthropogenic CO2 driven climate event.

Let me save you the trouble of bothering to actually read the science papers and what we know about how the climate system functions and what we do not know about that system. There is no empirical evidence for your global warming.

But you like consensus science, so allow me to introduce to the subject of eugenics. This was also touted as a scientific consensus. The good thing is that scientific consensus is not a logical argument nor is it accepted mode of proving a hypothesis.

Stats have their place and are good tools, but they are also highly limited tools. They do not tell the whole story. nThey do help one make sense of phenomena because as humans we are limited in our ability to pereceive multiple events occurring at the same time. This is an evolutionary consequence of survival.

So please stop trying to push your over-simplified view of the world as if you sit on some seat of higher intellectual capability.

The humor in what you write simply comes from your speaking like you are an eltitist when you aren't even a third-rate intellectual.
- BluemanGuruu

Check and mate.

I don't think I ve ever heard subban called better defensively then webber by anyone

Personally, I think Tanner is the best on this site. And it's not close. I'm not saying he's right all the time. I'm saying his blog is must read stuff.
- yzermaneely

Gonna print this out and frame it on my wall.

I don't think I ve ever heard subban called better defensively then webber by anyone
- Yeti1181

Are you kidding? Did you read anything at all after the trade?

Gonna print this out and frame it on my wall.
- James_Tanner

Don't forget to email the link to mom & dad

I think James Tanner is awesome. He is not afraid to go against the grain and stand up for his opinions. I always enjoy reading his analysis.

James keep up the great work