eldag

This has turned into a bit of a soap opera which is not surprising when politicians get involved. A deal will get done and if Mayor Nenshi doesn't stop posturing and get something moving there are always alternatives available in the upcoming Calgary civic election. If Edmonton can negotiate and build a new arena as they have done there is no reason Calgary cannot do the same. It's not rocket surgery Mr. Mayor ......

Excellent post

This is a line-up designed to bring the "fun" back into winning the lottery ........ One might pose the question ... if management wasn't even considering being competitive for the foreseeable future .... why keep Price and give him that ridiculous contract?

I think the Bennett signing is a good bridge deal ... Team still needs a little more offense in my opinion to be a solid contender.

Watch the Bob Mac interview with our stunning General Manager on the TSN site if you have the stomach for it. I couldn't watch any further after the 6 minute mark. Basically, he thinks the team has a chance at competing for the playoffs. Then .. if we make the playoffs ..... anything can happen. Like last year ... remember when we were embarrassed by a mediocre NY Ranger team????? We had the scoring says Bergevin ... it just went dry at the time ....... Then Bobby asked him why he felt it necessary to completely turn over his defense with only Petry left from the core group. This is when it gets muddled and confusing ... he says something about needing young studs like the Leafs' Morgan Reilly ...... HUH???????? PK won the Norris but he does not qualify as a stud I guess........ Then he was asked who would pare with Weber ...... Good question said our fearless leader .... he is not sure ... we'll find out in training camp. This is when I turned it off ... maybe the evil genius has a plan that came out in subsequent minutes of the interview but I heard all I needed to know. Absolutely incredible!!!!!

Sadly .... quite true.

Not sure what to make of my hometown Flames who have a dearth of scoring wingers. Love the defense and the addition of Smith in goal. Need big years from Johnny Hockey and Monaghan and maybe a rookie or two to step up for top nine duty.

Sigh ..... I wish such might be the case but I have just about given up on seeing les glorieux win another 'Cup. Just too many people happy with the status quo of mediocrity and language politics among the media, management, and even the fans.

It will be interesting to see how the Leafs do this year. They have young talent coming out their ears and Leafs management has done an amazing job putting great talent and great coaching together with a focussed plan. One wonders if some of the youngsters may take a step back in their development as often happens in the early stages. As much as I despise the organization they appear to be doing everything right these days which is a break from their long and unhappy decades just past. I envy Toronto fans for having so much to look forward to this season and for years to come .....

So ..... big ..... good shot ...... 26 years old ..... French speaking ....... and he signs a PTO with Montreal ...... YUP ... I see no way this can go wrong!!!!!! H1952 ...... can you help me with this parade barricade? Can never plan too early in the year .......

I see Bourque is going to the "K" .... how did Bergevin miss that one????????

What are the odds that we could have a high lottery pick next year and Bergevin would still be presiding over who we pick for the franchise's future? My God what a chilling thought ........

Patches gets 60+ points in the regular season and 30+ goals consistently. That makes him a good player and top 6 on most teams. His playoff record in 39 games is 10 goals, 9 assists and a minus 1 ... definitely not elite nor a leader in that category. Last season disappeared in the playoffs and had one assist as team captain against the Rangers ......

I agree with you that grit and character are good things to have but especially when combined with high skill levels of the true stars who have led their teams to victory. I think of the teams that have won the cup over the past say 10 years and then look who led them to greatness. In that time ... three teams won multiple cups..... Pittsburgh/Chicago/Los Angeles .... Names like Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Kessel, Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Carter, Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, plus many others come to mind. Elite talents like Crosby/Malkin/Toews/Hossa/Keith/Carter/Doughty/Brown brought greater degrees of grit but mixed with elite talent that allowed them to beat you in many different ways plus carry themselves in leadership roles that almost transcended the game. Montreal does not have anyone at these elite levels of skill and leadership except you might argue for Carey, but goaltenders are a different animal and cannot lead or have the same impact as an elite goal scorer or even a defenceman. The teams mentioned above were championship caliber because they were built with a plan and developed with a focus and a commitment to winning. Interestingly, all had good goaltending but none had what might have been described as elite goaltending. Carey has elite goaltending skills ... no one can argue that BUT ... in 10 years he has not even made a Stanley Cup final and he turns 30 this month. He has an enormous contract that kicks in next year and ties him to the team for an additional 8 years. Shea Weber is now 32 and also has an enormous contract for similar term remaining .... this is the problem as I see it. There is no plan ... no focus ..... we have a bunch of 2nd and 3rd tier players with varying levels of skill when thrown together can scrape into the playoffs some years then quickly they exit for early tee times while the contenders play on. This is what 5 years of Bergevin have brought and trying to pry a John Tavares away from the Isles will not get this team over the hump let alone lesser talents like Nugent Hopkins or Duchene. We need a new management team with a plan and focus and commitment and with time to turn this thing around. Until we get that ... this team is going nowhere and especially so under the current GM.....