can you imagine Halak had not given up that silly last second goal in that game vs Philly and the Isles had game 7 vs the Caps at the Coliseum?
- jimbro83

The exact reason why even though very talented and deadly I'm not at all afraid of the Isles, Halak is Nabakov 2.0 in the making, that sieve can not win a Cup

I think Leddy is top ten in the NHL.
- James_Tanner

Sorry you think Leddy is top 10?
Ahead of
Keith, Weber, Doughty, Hedman, Karlsson, Seabrook, Suter, PK, Staal, Letang, Giordano, Myers, Byfuglien...

No disrespect to Leddy or the Islanders but top 10???

Sorry you think Leddy is top 10?
Ahead of
Keith, Weber, Doughty, Hedman, Karlsson, Seabrook, Suter, PK, Staal, Letang, Giordano, Myers, Byfuglien...

No disrespect to Leddy or the Islanders but top 10???
- sdoney

He said it himself it's what he wants to read not necessarily sane

The Metro will be by far the best division in the NHL, Rangers, Isles, Caps and Blue Jackets 1-4 and you still have the Pens, the East is taking over
- KreiderBomb

Anaheim, Chicago, LA, st.loo
the 2 best teams in the league are both from the west in Anaheim and Chicago.
a rejuvenated LA and an even the blues who have struggled to make through a brutal west also have to be considered truly elite.

and that's not even mentioning the next tier of Minnesota, Winnipeg, Nashville etc who are all solid teams.

the east has certainly closed what was a huge disparity gap, but until they actually win another cup and show that theyre taking over, id have to disagree wholeheartedly.

as far as divisions go; id agree a case can be made that the metro might be the best now, its close anyway. but def not slam dunk better than the central.
chicago,st.loo, Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg and dallas is an effin tough division

The exact reason why even though very talented and deadly I'm not at all afraid of the Isles, Halak is Nabakov 2.0 in the making, that sieve can not win a Cup
- KreiderBomb

Halak was good for us in the playoffs. You dont need an Elite goalie to win the cup. Two teams who made the finals this year did fine.

Sorry you think Leddy is top 10?
Ahead of
Keith, Weber, Doughty, Hedman, Karlsson, Seabrook, Suter, PK, Staal, Letang, Giordano, Myers, Byfuglien...

No disrespect to Leddy or the Islanders but top 10???
- sdoney

Better than Stall, Byf, Myers for sure.

Halak was good for us in the playoffs. You dont need an Elite goalie to win the cup. Two teams who made the finals this year did fine.
- Danformo

people can say whatever they want to about Crawford, but the guy shows up huge when it matters. hes been phenomenal on many occasions for both of the titles the hawks have won

hes unequivocally proven hes in another class from halak

dont think theres much debate that bishop is far better than halak as well

Better than Stall, Byf, Myers for sure.
- Danformo

not for sure by any means


probably myers, but I think that could change quickly after a full season with the jets.

I take byfuglien over leddy.

stall is debateable. certainly nowhere near the skater and puck carrier leddy is.
but theres some situations I rather have marc stall playin in than leddy

James Tanner: 10 Predictions for Upcoming NHL Season
Miss Cleo is back!
- James_Tanner

Nice rant. When are you going to write a blog?

people can say whatever they want to about Crawford, but the guy shows up huge when it matters. hes been phenomenal on many occasions for both of the titles the hawks have won

hes unequivocally proven hes in another class from halak
- HB77

Must be easy to play goal behind the possession machines in the Bhawks. Hawks also did it with Niemi. I think Halak and Crawford are the same Tier.

If you watched any of the Isles PO games (which I doubt you did), Halak gave us a chance to win every night. I can think of one goal in the whole series that was his fault, and could think of many more that should have gone in that he saved.

Must be easy to play goal behind the possession machines in the Bhawks. Hawks also did it with Niemi. I think Halak and Crawford are the same Tier.

If you watched any of the Isles PO games (which I doubt you did), Halak gave us a chance to win every night. I can think of one goal in the whole series that was his fault, and could think of many more that should have gone in that he saved.
- Danformo

tampa was gangbusters in more than one of the finals games against the hawks and Crawford was absolutely stellar. if you watched (which it doesn't sound like you did) I think it was game 4 that Crawford stole almost singlehandedly. and came back and played great in game 5 too




2 rings and played well during both runs.
halak has proven nothing remotely close to that

not for sure by any means


probably myers, but I think that could change quickly after a full season with the jets.

I take byfuglien over leddy.

stall is debateable. certainly nowhere near the skater and puck carrier leddy is.
but theres some situations I rather have marc stall playin in than leddy
- HB77

Leddys advanced stats were better than some of the "top 10" defensemen last season, including Byf. If he has more seasons like last he'll get the recognition he deserves. The only place Id want stall in over Leddy is for blockshots, otherwise Stall hasnt been close to a top pairing D in some time.
Hes going to be frowned upon by those who dont watch gim everynight for his size, but to be honest most of the best Dmen are the elite D skaters (which he is) and generally around 6'1.

tampa was gangbusters in more than one of the finals games against the hawks and Crawford was absolutely stellar. think it was game 4 that Crawford stole almost singlehandedly.

unless of course you didn't actually watch.....


2 rings and played well during both runs.
halak has proven nothing remotely close to that
- HB77

Agree to disagree

Leddys advanced stats were better than some of the "top 10" defensemen last season, including Byf. If he has more seasons like last he'll get the recognition he deserves. The only place Id want stall in over Leddy is for blockshots, otherwise Stall hasnt been close to a top pairing D in some time.
Hes going to be frowned upon by those who dont watch gim everynight for his size, but to be honest most of the best Dmen are the elite D skaters (which he is) and generally around 6'1.
- Danformo

i can agree that he'll need more than 1 season to be truly considered anywhere near the top ten by most. myself included.
especially since his game play before last season couldn't be considered anywhere near the same stratosphere as top ten in the game

but I don't agree that his size has much to do with that narrative. as u say; many of the guys who I consider to be elite arent monsters by any stretch.
keith, karlsson, suter, subban, stralman etc etc

The Metro will be by far the best division in the NHL, Rangers, Isles, Caps and Blue Jackets 1-4 and you still have the Pens, the East is taking over
- KreiderBomb

lol. Since the division change, no team in the Central has missed the playoffs by more than 7 points and everyone has been good enough to make playoffs at least once in the last 2 years. Central has won 2 of the last 3 Cups. Meanwhile the Metro always has a couple teams missing the playoffs by 20+ points, has yet to be good enough to grab both wild card spots, and every other current division has a team that won the Cup more recently. Metro's good teams aren't as good as the ones in the Central, and it's bad teams are far, far worse. Things could change, but Metro has not been the toughest division and it hasn't really been close.

Sorry you think Leddy is top 10?
Ahead of
Keith, Weber, Doughty, Hedman, Karlsson, Seabrook, Suter, PK, Staal, Letang, Giordano, Myers, Byfuglien...

No disrespect to Leddy or the Islanders but top 10???
- sdoney

Myers?

Better than Stall, Byf, Myers for sure.
- Danformo

I am not dissing leddy i just dont think he is top 10. I actually like Leddy's game but i would take those guys before him, plus some other guys like Trouba & Jones

Better than Stall, Byf, Myers for sure.
- Danformo

Yep. He certainly was last season hopefully he can replicate it or do better everyone forgets how young he is.

I am not dissing leddy i just dont think he is top 10. I actually like Leddy's game but i would take those guys before him, plus some other guys like Trouba & Jones
- sdoney

Staal, Myers, and Buff? To each their own I guess.

lol. Since the division change, no team in the Central has missed the playoffs by more than 7 points and everyone has been good enough to make playoffs at least once in the last 2 years. Central has won 2 of the last 3 Cups. Meanwhile the Metro always has a couple teams missing the playoffs by 20+ points, has yet to be good enough to grab both wild card spots, and every other current division has a team that won the Cup more recently. Metro's good teams aren't as good as the ones in the Central, and it's bad teams are far, far worse. Things could change, but Metro has not been the toughest division and it hasn't really been close.
- Antilles

It's the Oshie effect.
The division he went to is automatically the toughest now.

Staal, Myers, and Buff? To each their own I guess.
- Cptmjl

that's for sure......

not for sure by any means


probably myers, but I think that could change quickly after a full season with the jets.

I take byfuglien over leddy.

stall is debateable. certainly nowhere near the skater and puck carrier leddy is.
but theres some situations I rather have marc stall playin in than leddy
- HB77

You'd actually consider taking Staal over Leddy? Byfuglien? No homerism here I wouldn't even have to think about it.

that's for sure......
- HB77

Different strokes for different folks I guess? I wonder how many games some of you guys caught last season of Leddy. Granted we all have less exposure to these teams from the other conference. Leddy was arguably our best defenseman. Guy was incredible. Now dont get me wrong im not saying he's Weber or anything else thats in this blog but id take him over buff, staal, and myers is not even in the conversation.

You'd actually consider taking Staal over Leddy? Byfuglien? No homerism here I wouldn't even have to think about it.
- Cptmjl

I would take Leddy over Staal but not Buff or Myers. Again its no disrespect to Leddy but Tanner said he was top 10 D, i do not believe he is top 10. That is all

i can agree that he'll need more than 1 season to be truly considered anywhere near the top ten by most. myself included.
especially since his game play before last season couldn't be considered anywhere near the same stratosphere as top ten in the game

but I don't agree that his size has much to do with that narrative. as u say; many of the guys who I consider to be elite arent monsters by any stretch.
keith, karlsson, suter, subban, stralman etc etc
- HB77

This I agree with. He needs to replicate or do better to deserve elite status. Im pretty confident he will we shall see.