Neowin's NHL Discussion Thread

[BMac]

Well, that and he's not playing to his capability. But it's probably more of the injury, as you said.

Remember back when he was drafted the Nordiques traded Lindros for Sundin because of contract disputes and everyone thought Quebec got the short end of the stick. Of how time changes things.

[Steven]

Brian Bouche is about the break the record. he's 3:37 away from breaking it and becoming the all time longest goalie to not give up a goal. :woot:

its 1-0 Phoenix.

[Steven]

It's hard to step up your game when you're not playing like you said.  The Isles also need to re-work their line up with less guys like Yashin and more like Aucoin.  They've got too much salary in one guy they need to spread it out on a few decent players rather than one star.

Yashin isn't even playing until march and parrish is out too. The isles have shown they can still play and winl without these two. :yes:

[BMac]

Brian Bouche is about the break the record. he's 3:37 away from breaking it and becoming the all time longest goalie to not give up a goal. :woot:

its 1-0 Phoenix.

I always thought Boucher was the man that Philly should have kept. He was good then and I bet Clarke's regretting letting him go now. Oh well looks good on the ######. :p

[BMac]

Yashin isn't even playing until march and parrish is out too. The isles have shown they can still play and winl without these two. :yes:

My point exactly. They do better without Yashin then they do when he's in. He's a distraction more than an attraction.

[mparnelly]

I always thought Boucher was the man that Philly should have kept. He was good then and I bet Clarke's regretting letting him go now. Oh well looks good on the ######. :p

haha ya boucher is a great goalie now whos philly got for starting LOL Hackett and Esche pffft, sure they got offense but they got nothing behind the blue line

[Steven]

HE'S DONE IT!!

NEW MODERN ERA NHL RECORD LONGEST SHUTOUT STREAK BY A GOALIE!!

[BMac]

haha ya boucher is a great goalie now whos philly got for starting LOL Hackett and Esche pffft, sure they got offense but they got nothing behind the blue line

It will cost them big in the playoffs again. I'm glad for Bouch though, maybe he'll get some damn respect now.

[mparnelly]

ya no kidding bouch has been a great goalie for a long time no one notices him, philly is retarted for giving him up

[BMac]

ya no kidding bouch has been a great goalie for a long time no one notices him, philly is retarted for giving him up

Philly is retarded for many other reasons too, namely Bobby Clarke. :p

[Steven]

5 Straight Shutouts for Brain Boucher

Phoenix Wins 2-0. :blink:

[CatnipOligarchy]

:omg: damn. that dude is on fire. truly impressive.

[CatnipOligarchy]

ESPN is saying Dany Heatley will return February 10th or 11th :)

[Steven]

Isles sign Cliff Ronning. :D

Jan. 10) When Mike Milbury announced earlier today that he signed free agent center Cliff Ronning to the roster, it gave the Islanders an important tool in their already potent arsenal. Obviously, injuries to offensive stars Alexei Yashin and Mark Parrish added some necessity to the move, but Ronning's addition will be more then just a filling a void in the lineup. The 17-year NHL veteran adds leadership, playmaking ability, and a lefty shot to an Islanders lineup already blessed with talent.

Ronning brings a decade and a half worth of experience to a relatively young team. As the Islanders enter the stretch run for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ronning's 1097 career regular season games boosts a team which already has a quality mix of youth and experience. Two current Islanders have played with Ronning in the past and both are pleased with the acquisition. Team Captain Michael Peca and defenseman Adrian Aucoin teamed with Ronning as Vancouver Canucks and they know first-hand what type of player he is.

"He's a great offensive player," said Aucoin. "He's one of the few players in this league that can make the players around him better. He loves passing the puck and he makes up for his size (5-8, 165) by working hard and being competitive."

Peca had similar thoughts on his newest teammate: "Cliff is a real creative player and he's great for leadership. He works hard and is very disciplined."

Ronning is a playmaking forward who can play both center and left wing. He's a lefty shot, an asset the Islanders have not had in abundance in the past couple of seasons. His versatility and offensive skill will give a boost to the Islanders' attack, which is already fifth in the league for average forward goals per game. As Peca explained, Ronning will fit nicely into the Islanders' attack.

"He's a very creative player on offense," Peca remembered. "He gives us a presence on the left side and he'll give us more options at even strength as well as on the powerplay. I think he'll be most noticeable on the powerplay. He's been around for a longtime and he'll give valuable input both on and off the ice."

Meanwhile, it's not known when Ronning will make his debut in the Blue and Orange. The last time he played NHL hockey was last spring in the Western Conference Finals with the Minnesota Wild. He has been working out in western Canada to keep himself in shape, but no one knows when he'll be in a game shape. His new head coach is excited to have him aboard, but he, like everyone else, will have to wait until he arrives at practice to see when he'll be ready to suit up for the Isles.

"I talked to him briefly on the phone, but I won't know [when he'll be ready to play]until I see him in person," said Steve Stirling. "But he's a veteran guy, so if anyone could do it, it would be someone like him."

Islanders center Dave Scatchard has a unique connection to Ronning. For the past six summers the two skated together in British Columbia to keep in shape. Scatchard might know better then anyone when Ronning can lace up the skates again.

"He's a good guy and he'll come here in great shape," noted Scatchard. "He always works hard so I don't have any doubts that he'll be in great shape when he arrives."

[BMac]

Cliff is a good pickup. Exactly what the Isles need. Leadership. Great signing.

As for Heatley, that would be great. I'll believe it when I see it but nonetheless it sounds fantastic.

[mparnelly]

and be sure to vote for ilya kovalchuk, hes soon to be, if not already, the best player in the game

what Kovalchuk ok i admit hes good but he aint the best in the league your joking right,?? im a canuck fan and i have to say that pavel Yzerman or Hull someone that has actually made a milestone in there career is the best, i give it to kovalchuk that he is on an unbelievable hot streak dont think it will end to be honest but sorry i cant say hes the best player in the league today

[mparnelly]

ESPN is saying Dany Heatley will return February 10th or 11th :)

Danny Heatly is a #@$hole a straight up !$%%hole i cant believe that Dan snydar's parents dont blam him for the accident, DANNY HEATLY SHOULD BE IN JAIL FOR LIFE Vehicle Manslaughter Drinking and Driving going 160km in a residential area give me a break that guy should be banned from the NHL, and if he isnt banned then why is theo fleury?? huh he only did drugs, he didnt kill anyone else just himself give me a break Heatly a great player but not so sure about his personal life....

[BMac]

First off Kovalchuk is good but by no means the best. Like mparnelly said he doesn't have enough experience to have earned that title. IMHO, the best player in the NHL right now is..... Markus Naslund. He has had consistently good numbers for a while now.

Now for the Heatley issue. mparnelly, you are nuts. Heatley's a young man and made a mistake. If Dan Snyder's parents had the compassion to forgive him then none of us have the right to criticise their decision. Their son died here, if they were forgiving why can't you be? What did you lose in it all? Nothing! I'm betting we don't even know half the details that would explain why the Snyder's were so forgiving.

[Ayepecks]

First off Kovalchuk is good but by no means the best. Like mparnelly said he doesn't have enough experience to have earned that title. IMHO, the best player in the NHL right now is..... Markus Naslund. He has had consistently good numbers for a while now.

Now for the Heatley issue. mparnelly, you are nuts. Heatley's a young man and made a mistake. If Dan Snyder's parents had the compassion to forgive him then none of us have the right to criticise their decision. Their son died here, if they were forgiving why can't you be? What did you lose in it all? Nothing! I'm betting we don't even know half the details that would explain why the Snyder's were so forgiving.

I'm with BMac except for I think it's too hard to decide who the best player right now is.

Heatley made a mistake. But if you think he was alone in that mistake you're just lying to yourself. Snyder wouldn't have been in that car if he didn't want to be. You've got to remember he wasn't being held hostage in the car or anything. Did they both make a mistake? We don't know if Snyder told Heatley to slow down, but for some reason I doubt he did.

Am I saying Heatley is a bad guy or Snyder was a bad guy? Not at all. Heatley made a mistake, but he has to deal with that for the rest of his life. Snyder was one of his best friends that Heatley had, if not the best. Now tell me how sending him to jail would make it any worse on him. I think him having to know that Snyder died because of him is enough. And, I doubt Snyder would even want him to go to jail, as his parents do not.

[BMac]

I'm with BMac except for I think it's too hard to decide who the best player right now is.

Heatley made a mistake. But if you think he was alone in that mistake you're just lying to yourself. Snyder wouldn't have been in that car if he didn't want to be. You've got to remember he wasn't being held hostage in the car or anything. Did they both make a mistake? We don't know if Snyder told Heatley to slow down, but for some reason I doubt he did.

Am I saying Heatley is a bad guy or Snyder was a bad guy? Not at all. Heatley made a mistake, but he has to deal with that for the rest of his life. Snyder was one of his best friends that Heatley had, if not the best. Now tell me how sending him to jail would make it any worse on him. I think him having to know that Snyder died because of him is enough. And, I doubt Snyder would even want him to go to jail, as his parents do not.

Glad to see someone else has a compasionate side for Heatley. He made a mistake and he's young. Young kids with fast cars is a bad mix. I'm really sympathetic towards him because he's only a few years older than I and he has achieved far too much success far too fast. He needs to grow and mature and sadly I think it took this to make him realise this.

[bayrider]

putting all morals and beleifs aside... what he did was a crime, drinking & driving and manslaughter and he deserves punishment.

[Steven]

Isles vs. Rangers. ABC! Now. :D

[Ji@nBing]

just saw boucher got the modern day record for a shutout streak. 5 games and 325 mins, 45 seconds. that's insane!! :woot:

[Steven]

just saw boucher got the modern day record for a shutout streak. 5 games and 325 mins, 45 seconds. that's insane!! :woot:

Hold on to you hats.. if he can keep going he'll break the all time record. of like 416Min+ :p

[CatnipOligarchy]

Danny Heatly is a #@$hole a straight up !$%%hole i cant believe that Dan snydar's parents dont blam him for the accident, DANNY HEATLY SHOULD BE IN JAIL FOR LIFE Vehicle Manslaughter Drinking and Driving going 160km in a residential area give me a break that guy should be banned from the NHL, and if he isnt banned then why is theo fleury?? huh he only did drugs, he didnt kill anyone else just himself give me a break Heatly a great player but not so sure about his personal life....

k first of all he wasnt drunk. he had a couple of drinks but he was well under the legal limit. he didnt even register a score on the breathalyzer. 2nd, he was going 80mph, which is almost 130kph, not 160. the road he was driving on was a 4 lane road with a 35 mph speed limit. 80 is way too fast, but like scorpio, i also doubt snyder told him to quit. they were both young kids having fun with a ferrari. Snyder and Heatley were best friends. Snyder is dead. Heatley is going to have to live with the fact that he killed his best friend for the rest of his life. The Snyder family thinks a lot of Dany and they dont think he needs to suffer any more than he already is. If the family of the victim doesnt want to press charges, then theres no need for it. He has learned his lesson. The DA is not likely to press any charges and hopefully he will be back in a month like they are saying.