The official NHL thread

[WOLF]

Tim Thomas moved his family to Colorado and is thinking about not playing next season. This will get messy. He's probably played his last game as a Bruin.

Respected ESPN columnist, Pierre Lebrun, says Thomas is thinking of taking a year off. I don't see a 38 year old goalie, who isn't known as being a fitness buff, taking a year away from the game and then coming back. He's either going to retire, or he's trying to force a trade. It may be better for the B's anyways; Rask is ready and it will free up some $ to shore up other positions. May be a blessing.

I also think his White House stunt last year derailed the team a bit.

[chungasrevenge]

Tim Thomas moved his family to Colorado and is thinking about not playing next season. This will get messy. He's probably played his last game as a Bruin.

Respected ESPN columnist, Pierre Lebrun, says Thomas is thinking of taking a year off. I don't see a 38 year old goalie, who isn't known as being a fitness buff, taking a year away from the game and then coming back. He's either going to retire, or he's trying to force a trade. It may be better for the B's anyways; Rask is ready and it will free up some $ to shore up other positions. May be a blessing.

I also think his White House stunt last year derailed the team a bit.

Seems like a stretch, but Tim is an odd cat. Tuuka is much more of a team guy.

[Facedown]

Bruins give Daniel Paille and Chris Bourque contract extensions.

[chungasrevenge]

Bruins give Daniel Paille and Chris Bourque contract extensions.

Bourque was worth it just to see Ray's son in a B's uniform. Not excited about the Paille signing. He was the man to let walk. Give his money to Kelly. Chia really needs to up the offer to Kelly. He's an important piece. And Campbell. They've obviously rejected the B's proposals at this point.

Thanks Tim for a job well done and good luck in the bunker.

Tuuka Time!



Wolf, does Roy have a shot at the Habs job? That would be fun to have him back in the rivalry. I can hear the "Roooooooooooah" chants now.

Just bought a sweet original six tshirt, but I'm deeply conflicted about wearing anything with the Habs logo on it. It's something I'm going to have to come to terms with or it's never going to leave the drawer.

[Facedown]

For a guy that struggled and clawed to get himself to the NHL, for Thomas to decide to take a year off screams of retirement.
On Felger & Mazz the other day, Chiarelli said that if he sat out, the 5mil hit on the cap would stay but they wouldn't have to pay his salary. Then he said they could long term DL Savard and the cap hit between the two would be a wash.
Why don't they do that to Savard anyways?
One guy called in and suggested this, not sure if he was correct or not.
Bruins could trade Thomas to a team that needs to get up to the cap floor.
He'd be sitting out anyways so the new team wouldn't have to pay him, they would get the 5mil hit to raise their cap and the Bruins would get rid of his cap hit.
They signed that Swedish? goalie last week so it seems they are prepared to cut ties.

[WOLF]

Bruins give Daniel Paille and Chris Bourque contract extensions.

Wolf, does Roy have a shot at the Habs job? That would be fun to have him back in the rivalry. I can hear the "Roooooooooooah" chants now.[/quote]

I think he's the darling of certain media French types, but I don't think he has a shot. It looks like it's down to Marc Crawford and Michel Therrien. I'm hoping for the former, but rumor has it Therrien might be hired as early as tomorrow.

I trust the new management team, but not thrilled with the coaching choices. It shows what happens when you limit your options to the best french speaking coach, vs the best coach.

[pieceofme]

Fuck the Stanley Cup playoffs has been boring since the end of the first round.

[Aerosmith87]

Welp, seems the Devils met their match this time.

[pieceofme]

Welp, seems the Devils met their match this time.

Yep.
Fair play to the Kings. They have been impressive. Very impressive. I remember at the beginning of the season thinking they would be strong. Then they hardly set the league alight during regular season and they just managed the playoffs. And then bam, all the pieces clicked. Helps that they have Quick who has just been ridiculous.

[alecjonsludge]

Well Wolf,looks like it's round two for Michel Therrien and the Habs.
This time he doesn't have Gilmour telling him to shut up and get down from the boards,so he can get as many bench minors that cost the team playoff series as he wants(yeah,yeah, a stick to Koivu's eye played a part in that as well).

Never understood,with last change,why he continuously put Crosby out against Datsyuk in the '08 Finals.Datsyuk being the premier defensive forward that he was,kept Crosby in check as well as destroyed him in faceoffs....meanwhile Kennedy,Ruutu are out against the Wings 4th line doing nothing.He was severely outcoached.


I have to assume that Therrien was not their 1st choice.He can't be the guy they were doing this "exhaustive,thorough" search for. I think it was Hartley,and when Feaster played his "you're my child's Godfather" card,Hartley bowed out and went to Calgary.Roy is holding out for the Nordiques job,where he will probably also be GM..As it is,he enjoys being in control at his Remparts job,something he would not have in Montreal. There is just so many better coaches,French speaking coaches even, available at the moment,this just doesn't make sense.Bergevin's first mistake,IMO...not off to a good start.


In other news, looks like Gretz found a way to keep his daughter in line...sit her beside Messier.

[WOLF]

Well Wolf,looks like it's round two for Michel Therrien and the Habs.
This time he doesn't have Gilmour telling him to shut up and get down from the boards,so he can get as many bench minors that cost the team playoff series as he wants(yeah,yeah, a stick to Koivu's eye played a part in that as well).

Never understood,with last change,why he continuously put Crosby out against Datsyuk in the '08 Finals.Datsyuk being the premier defensive forward that he was,kept Crosby in check as well as destroyed him in faceoffs....meanwhile Kennedy,Ruutu are out against the Wings 4th line doing nothing.He was severely outcoached.


I have to assume that Therrien was not their 1st choice.He can't be the guy they were doing this "exhaustive,thorough" search for. I think it was Hartley,and when Feaster played his "you're my child's Godfather" card,Hartley bowed out and went to Calgary.Roy is holding out for the Nordiques job,where he will probably also be GM..As it is,he enjoys being in control at his Remparts job,something he would not have in Montreal. There is just so many better coaches,French speaking coaches even, available at the moment,this just doesn't make sense.Bergevin's first mistake,IMO...not off to a good start.


In other news, looks like Gretz found a way to keep his daughter in line...sit her beside Messier.

I'm not thrilled, by any means, but by all accounts he interviewed well and was a legitimate candidate from the get go. I'm hoping he's learned something in the decade or so since he's been here, having worked in Pittsburgh, and more recently for Minnesota as a scout. The guy couldn't be the chain smoking on the team bus, mustard under his fingers, poorly dressed, hot head he once was?

Bergevin, Dudley, and Mellanby are respected hockey guys, so I couldn't see them not doing their homework. Nor do I think they panicked. They could have taken longer with this, if they wanted to.

Time will tell, but I hope he's going to be surrounded by good assistants.

[Facedown]

Wow, didn't realize the Kings have a worse PP than the Bruins did last year.

[chungasrevenge]

The US ratings for the finals have been abysmal this year. 66 shows ranked ahead of the game. Most were re-runs.

[alecjonsludge]

R.I.P Vladimir"Tank" Krutov.

[Aerosmith87]

Wow, didn't realize the Kings have a worse PP than the Bruins did last year.

Please refer to this link for the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMRrNY0pxfM

[LAglamrocker]

funny thing not all NBC local stations even cover the game. The city i saw it in wasn't even on. Had to watch NBC Sports on the dish!

[chungasrevenge]

funny thing not all NBC local stations even cover the game. The city i saw it in wasn't even on. Had to watch NBC Sports on the dish!

I think only games 1 and 2 and 6 and 7 are on NBC and the rest are on NBC Sports.

[johnk5150]

Welp, seems the Devils met their match this time.

Yep.
Fair play to the Kings. They have been impressive. Very impressive. I remember at the beginning of the season thinking they would be strong. Then they hardly set the league alight during regular season and they just managed the playoffs. And then bam, all the pieces clicked. Helps that they have Quick who has just been ridiculous.

The Kings are very good to great in just about every aspect on every line. They're loaded.

[NeverSurrender]

R.I.P Vladimir"Tank" Krutov.

RIP, brother. Thanks for the greatest sports memory i will ever have, even if you were on the losing end. You and your whole team handled it with class, and gave us a new view on the Russians.

[Facedown]

Bruins are "close" to signing Gregory Campbell and Chris Kelly to new deals.

[chungasrevenge]

Bruins are "close" to signing Gregory Campbell and Chris Kelly to new deals.

Great news.

[Facedown]

Signed.
Kelly 4yrs/12mil
Campbell 3yrs/4.8mil

[chungasrevenge]

Signed.
Kelly 4yrs/12mil
Campbell 3yrs/4.8mil

Awesome. Now it's time to take care of Tuuka and they're good to go for next season.

[Lardbucket]

Welp, seems the Devils met their match this time.

If the Devils win tonight, I can't see them losing Game 7.

[Kings1967]

Looking great for the Kings right now. Hope they can keep the pressure on.

[Aerosmith87]

Total shit show tonight.

[Anne_Thrax]

Fuckin Bernier.

[Rorysfan]

LOL @ the front running Kings fans. 90% of whom had no idea LA had a team 3 months ago.

[Royal Dudeness]

Fuckin Bernier.

Even though I wasn't too thrilled about the Kings winning, as a diehard Canucks fan, I would way rather see Mitchell hoist the cup than that turd on ice Bernier.

He was supposed to be "the right guy" for the Sedins a couple years ago. Total bum

[Aerosmith87]

MOTHAFUCKAS! I'm going to bed. This sucks.