2013 NHL Season Thread: TUUKKA RASK, HE'S FROM FINLAND, AND IS INELIGIBLE TO BECOME MAYOR

[Brill Weave]

Anton you should have been here with us the whole time!!!

[Brill Weave]

Shame on you!

[BadKarma]

Quiet Brill.


On a sidenote Sunday night will be my girlfriends first ever hockey game. She gets to go to a game that potentially end up as a blowout for either side. Woo boy..

[Brill Weave]

Quiet Brill.


On a sidenote Sunday night will be my girlfriends first ever hockey game. She gets to go to a game that potentially end up as a blowout for either side. Woo boy..

I'm not listening to some 13 year old. You go away!

[Ratatapa]

PEDO

[bluefan]

http://img.allvoices.com/thumbs/imag...ckey-fight.jpg

I just came across it lol.

Think I'll print it and bring it blown up to my first game.

[Anton]

I just feel that something is wrong in Toronto

That mls thing
Burke firing and of course nonis who showed soooooo much enthusiasm about his new job

That's up to Bell and Rogers, the Demonic union.

I get the Burke firing. Despite his prospect picks and doing generally well (the Marlies haven't been this good in decades), and some awesome trades (Beauchemin for Lupul, Gardiner, and a pick. Brett Lebda, Slaney, and a 4th for Lombardi, Franson. 2nd rnd pick to COL for J.M. Liles. And Hagman, Mayers, Stajan, White to CGY for Aulie, Phaneuf, Sjostrom.), he made some stinker trades, the team has got *a lot* younger from JFJ's crap but hasn't seen success, and his free-agent signings were mostly bad.

And even though Kessel is doing really well - he scores, that's all we ask and he gives - trading two first rounders, at that time, set the planned Burke-era leafs rebuild backwards not forwards. Too much given too fast, even though we got a top talent in return.

What confuses me greatly is:
a) This is a little over four years now into a rebuild. It hasn't bared fruit yet, but the team is getting better and better. Isn't that the point?
b) Nothing has changed fundamentally since last summer, so why fire the GM right before an already shortened season? The team iced is the one the old GM picked, with the old GM's coach. Even if you don't like him, why not let him have a 48 game season?
c) Brian Burke hired Dave Nonis to his Leafs thinktank. Brian Burke mentored Dave Nonis early in his career. Everyone at that level knows each other, and we know Dave Nonis operates a lot like Burke. So what's the difference?
d) Brian Burke is staying in the Leafs organization - this, really, I don't understand at all. All this hooplah just before a season, and it's like nothing has changed at all.

-----------------------EDIT------------------
Tim Connolly cleared waivers. Lol.

Rielly, Frattin cut from training camp.

Current Lines:
Lupul - Bozak - Kessel
MacArthur - Grabovski - Kulemin
van Riemsdyk - Kadri - Komarov
Orr - McClement - Brown

[Ratatapa]

It's Pierre Gauthier and Bob Gainey Toronto Version

[Anton]

Here's a funny one. The Evolution of a Caveman:



He used to smile.

[Brill Weave]

Anton are those what you're projecting their lines to be or what has been officially released? If it's their official lines I don't get it. I don't know much about Komarov so I won't comment on him. But Kadri I get the feeling is in his make it or break it year with the Leafs. He's either going to produce or get shipped out. He's not going to do that on the third line. Trading for JVR and then dumping him on the third line seems asinine to me as well. I thought the initial plan was to revert him to center? Imo JVR is top six forward potential. Neither one of those two are going to get enough minutes on the third line to produce beyond a typical third line plugger.

[Ishido]

[Brill Weave]

Burns went fucking nuts for that picture. I love it.

[Melena]

Burns looks like he's auditioning to be the new Geico Caveman

[Melena]

Bleh so had to break the news to the wife about tickets. Fucking prices shot up about 20% compared to last years tickets. May try to surprise her if I can find a good deal on stub hub, otherwise just like every leaf's fan says, "wait till next year".

[Ratatapa]

Henrik Lundqvist ‏@HLundqvist30
New season means new mask.. pic.twitter.com/LaGMVTIg

[Anton]

Well Leo Komarov is the definition of third line plugger - New kid, tall and well built, likes to throw the body around. Only projected at like 30 points or less, but also - young.

The first line probably won't change. Lupul/Kessel work very well. The duo was one of the top... what, 7 scoring duos in the league? At their best, they can score on a Sedin-Sedin rate - which sounds ridiculous, but it was proven last year. It also comes with the worst goals-allowed of any duo on a first line, and Joffrey Lupul is a twig-man.

Likewise, MGK probably won't change either. Even in an "off" season, the trio was solidly our second line scoring. Often our most responsible two-way line in a game.

Which gets to your point - Why in the world did we trade for JVR? And the answer is: I'm not sure yet. Depth maybe? I don't know too many JVR talents on the third line. Someone for Kadri to feed? That's probable, I doubt Komarov will provide many goals. These lines are not set in stone but these are the players we'll have to draw from.

-Our D line pairings (purely a guess) probably look like
Phaneuf - Gunnarson
Gardiner - Liles
Komisarek - Franson
And then who knows

Also, we have two prospect goalies. Playoffs, onward!

[bluefan]

My best friends just had their first kid like an hour ago. This is going to be an amazing weekend of hockey and baby poop.

[Cail]

less than 24 hours to go!

[Cail]

oh god the laughs

[BadKarma]

oh god the laughs

lmfao