NHL Thread

[Fuck You Jobu]

Wassup?

read threads much?[/quote]

Some...

[Peeps]

So does Hamilton get into Game 2 when Ference gets suspended, or does the NHL decide to turn a blind-eye to type of blatant headshots they've been trying to eliminate from the game because it's the playoffs? I'm leaning towards the latter.

definitley door #2, grabovski (sp?) ducked into it.

yea and Ryan McDonagh ducked into cookes elbow too....

[shinkdew]

So does Hamilton get into Game 2 when Ference gets suspended, or does the NHL decide to turn a blind-eye to type of blatant headshots they've been trying to eliminate from the game because it's the playoffs? I'm leaning towards the latter.

Didn't he do the same thing to somebody on the Caps in last year's playoffs? He won't be suspended, it's the Bruins. Don't poke the Bear.

[philpritchard]

So does Hamilton get into Game 2 when Ference gets suspended, or does the NHL decide to turn a blind-eye to type of blatant headshots they've been trying to eliminate from the game because it's the playoffs? I'm leaning towards the latter.

Didn't he do the same thing to somebody on the Caps in last year's playoffs? He won't be suspended, it's the Bruins. Don't poke the Bear.

I know there was the McDonagh hit last year and the Halpern hit a couple years ago where he kind of glanced the other way to make it look unintentional and then hit him in the head with the shoulder. I thought he was just kind of dirty, then I heard his response to the post-game question about the Grabovski hit and realized he's just a complete moron.

[numbers]

Why would Ference be suspended when the referees didnt give him one of those 10 minute misconducts they were handing outl ike candy?

[philpritchard]

Why would Ference be suspended when the referees didnt give him one of those 10 minute misconducts they were handing outl ike candy?

Apparently they were a bit short on sweets last night, since only Komarov and Orr got misconducts.

[numbers]

The Komarov one was kind of sketchy, I didnt see anything there that doesnt go on every single time the whistle blows with play in front of the goal. The Orr one, I think, was just to get him off the ice for the rest of the game before he got into a fight.

[philpritchard]

The Komarov one was kind of sketchy, I didnt see anything there that doesnt go on every single time the whistle blows with play in front of the goal. The Orr one, I think, was just to get him off the ice for the rest of the game before he got into a fight.

Agreed, pretty much. What I didn't like about the Orr misconduct was that he was only playing so much at the end of the game because he had played really well. He was one of the few players on the team who was doing everything that was expected of him, and Carlyle was rewarding him for it. Then the first time there's a scrum while he's on the ice he gets tossed. I get it, but it was definitely more of a reputation call than anything.

[numbers]

Absolutely, he was sent off because he was who he is.

[elliseamos]

i was just messing w/ you, phil.

it was a shit move by a mostly solid guy. as was posted last page, at least we won't have to wait for dougie. i mean, we wouldn't want toronto & phil kessel to forget about him.

[MattA75]

Hope Eller is ok...hit looked pretty clean though, I think the ice did more of the damage

[philpritchard]

i was just messing w/ you, phil.

it was a shit move by a mostly solid guy. as was posted last page, at least we won't have to wait for dougie. i mean, we wouldn't want toronto & phil kessel to forget about him.

Aw, thanks for reminding me! I completely forgot about that because I haven't heard anyone say anything about it in the last few days!

What I really don't understand is the Boston media's absolute hatred of Phil Kessel. He's guilty of... asking for too much money? It's something players do all the time, and he's spent the last few years proving that he's worth every penny. He seems like he's actually a great guy, just quiet and shy and awkward. I don't really understand it.

[surfndestroy]

What I really don't understand is the Boston media's absolute hatred of Phil Kessel. He's guilty of... asking for too much money? It's something players do all the time, and he's spent the last few years proving that he's worth every penny.

Kessel is an overpaid 2nd line player who plays on the 1st line off a mediocre team. He's good, just overpaid and lacks the constant will to solid two way hockey to be a legit first line player.

[TheDapperGent]

What I really don't understand is the Boston media's absolute hatred of Phil Kessel. He's guilty of... asking for too much money? It's something players do all the time, and he's spent the last few years proving that he's worth every penny.

Kessel is an overpaid 2nd line player who plays on the 1st line off a mediocre team. He's good, just overpaid and lacks the constant will to solid two way hockey to be a legit first line player.

He's a great player on a mediocre team. Imagine if he had a real sniper to set up.

[philpritchard]

What I really don't understand is the Boston media's absolute hatred of Phil Kessel. He's guilty of... asking for too much money? It's something players do all the time, and he's spent the last few years proving that he's worth every penny.

Kessel is an overpaid 2nd line player who plays on the 1st line off a mediocre team. He's good, just overpaid and lacks the constant will to solid two way hockey to be a legit first line player.

I can't tell if you're making a joke or you just don't want him play at all...

[elliseamos]

Another thing to remember is how young Kessel was (and still is). when he was in Boston he immediately endeared himself to the fans with his testicular cancer and a year or so later scoring 30 goals (unheard of in Boston to this day). I'm pretty sure that type of attention & success caused him to act & play a certain way which the team (Julien) didn't approve of. I'd also venture a guess that if Kessel backchecked the way that Seguin does, he'd be around still (I'm thinking of his days in Boston, not necessarily currently).

That said, Kessel was overpaid the first year or two of that contract. Consider, when Kessel was on the Bs (making 2.2M on his entry level deal) he only had the one season of 30 goals before the trade. To then ask the team for 5.4M when Ryder, Savard & Krejci were producing almost as many goals seems foolish. Savard & Chara were the top dogs, also Thomas won his 1st Vezina in Kessel's last season and the Bs finished atop the Eastern Conference. With all that in place it always felt like Kessel (and Blake Wheeler) didn't have complete buy-in to the team's scheme. I'd say it took the trading of Kessel and Wheeler to get the team the cup.

[Peeps]

Hope Eller is ok...hit looked pretty clean though, I think the ice did more of the damage

agreed, while it looked clean the fact that the head absorbed so much of the hit on the follow through i think is where a 1 or 2 game comes down just to show they are serious about protecting guys upper extremities

[MattA75]

i was just messing w/ you, phil.

it was a shit move by a mostly solid guy. as was posted last page, at least we won't have to wait for dougie. i mean, we wouldn't want toronto & phil kessel to forget about him.

Aw, thanks for reminding me! I completely forgot about that because I haven't heard anyone say anything about it in the last few days!

What I really don't understand is the Boston media's absolute hatred of Phil Kessel. He's guilty of... asking for too much money? It's something players do all the time, and he's spent the last few years proving that he's worth every penny. He seems like he's actually a great guy, just quiet and shy and awkward. I don't really understand it.

While in Boston, Kessel always struck me as a “me first” guy. That very well could’ve been because of his age/immaturity/inexperience, but I think if it was just that, the Bruins would’ve found a way to keep him. I think Julien had a lot to do with his wanting to leave (not that I blame Kessel for that…Julien’s having a hard time taking the leash off Seguin too, just like with Kessel), as I’ve heard stories that the Bruins were offering 4 million a year and he wanted 5, so it’s not like there was this huge difference in terms of salary. Plus, fans here think of Kessel as a very soft player with zero grit; he’s exactly the type of guy Bruins fans will tolerate if they’re on the Bruins and producing, but despise when he plays anywhere else because he’s all skill and no grit. The media buys into that as well and harps on it I think.

[shinkdew]

What I really don't understand is the Boston media's absolute hatred of Phil Kessel. He's guilty of... asking for too much money? It's something players do all the time, and he's spent the last few years proving that he's worth every penny.

Kessel is an overpaid 2nd line player who plays on the 1st line off a mediocre team. He's good, just overpaid and lacks the constant will to solid two way hockey to be a legit first line player.

FYI - there are only 2-3 players that have more points than Kessel over the last two seasons. He's only 25 and has played most of his career by himself.

[philpritchard]

Another thing to remember is how young Kessel was (and still is). when he was in Boston he immediately endeared himself to the fans with his testicular cancer and a year or so later scoring 30 goals (unheard of in Boston to this day). I'm pretty sure that type of attention & success caused him to act & play a certain way which the team (Julien) didn't approve of. I'd also venture a guess that if Kessel backchecked the way that Seguin does, he'd be around still (I'm thinking of his days in Boston, not necessarily currently).

Fair enough. He still shies away from physical play as much as ever, but his backchecking and overall defensive game have come a long way. There were a couple of points (one in particular that I remember, and I think it was actually on Seguin) in Game 1 where he put his head down, charged back into the play and prevented Boston from getting a good scoring chance. I find his all-around game (aside from the physical aspect) has improved to the point where he's an underrated defensive player because people just assume he's still terrible. He's also become easily one of the top playmakers in the league. I guess I just assumed the media would at least pay attention to what he's done lately, but they seem to be stuck on what he was like before leaving Boston and they just assume he's the same guy with a different jersey.

What I really didn't get was the number of articles talking about how he's never been able to step it up in important moments. That's something he actually managed to do when he was in Boston in the playoffs.