Actually both teams got called for some phantom penalties. The second half of the 1st period was a joke. There were 20 penalty minutes handed out. It was hard to keep up with who was short handed.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif
We're out of the playoffs, that much is all but certain. The simple answer is money; he just wants too much. He was asking for a 5 year contract at 5.75 million per year. If we signed him we'd have to drop our second leading scorer(tied) in Sykora, with no money left over for UFA's to come. Smyth is a UFA at the end of the year. If they didn't come to a deal before the deadline then he could walk at year end and we'd have nothing. This way we get two prospects (two 15ths overall, one in '03 and one in '05) and a first round pick for something that would probably have left us holding our dicks on July 1st (just like Doug Weight and Curtis Joseph in times past). And we also have money left over from the cap increase, and no Smyth contract to buy for UFA's like Souray, Fisher, Hannan, hell, even Blake from the isle, although he's not a D-man. People wouldn't ***** if we got Souray in the off season. He's got more points than Smyth, and he's what we need more than another forward. We still have a lot of depth on the team, the problem we're having boils down to coaching style. Edmontonians should hire me, but I don't think that'll happen.
I know you're not a Detroit fan, in fact you might hate them for all I know. But what do you think of the Bertuzzi move?? Only giving up draft picks for him. On top of that, can you believe how Holmstrom and Zetterberg are playing?? They are lights out. One of the best lines in the NHL is Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Holmstorm.
its a good trade for them if he gets healthy. If they go deep in the playoffs, with Bertuzzi Healthy, Detroit will be a tough team to beat. Just be happy you guys arent in Buffalo's position. 7 regulars out, we just traded away Biron, I do like the fact we picked up Zubrus Though. I think Regier knows its impossible to get both Drury and Briere back next year, so he did kinda what he did with Briere, Brought in Zubrus as a replacement for who ever leaves. No offense to Zubrus though, I rather have Drury and Briere back next year. Those 2 could be the start of something very special here in Buffalo if they would take a paycut and stay.
Bertuzzi, like with Forseburg, unfortunately to a greater extent, is a gamble. Detroit has great offensive depth with the likes of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holstrom, Lang, and Cleary, as well as some excellent positional defense in Lidstrom, Chelios, Schneider, Lebda and Markov. If you haven't already, take a look at Lidstrom's hit totals this year. He's right on par with Zetterberg and Datsyuk. It's not too often you can be the best in the league as a defenseman and pull those kind of low numbers. All that tells you is his percentage play is absurdly high and he has tremendously effective stick work to complement that positional angling. Bertuzzi has played all of 7 games this season and hasn't proven himself. The trade is pending him passing a physical, but I doubt that will be a problem. Bertuzzi's gameplay can be adapted to the Wings without much issue. What it boils down to is chemistry, and health. You need both, and if one is missing I'd be hoping for those draft picks back. But it could be worse...you could be Florida.
what sucks with the nhl is if everything goes accordingly, then detroit and nashville meet in the second round instead of the conference finals. however there are always upsets.
