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Post by Willie Dog on Dec 15, 2018 10:41:37 GMT -5
Just in case you guys aren't done your Christmas shopping.... THE LAST GOOD YEAR -- Seven Games That Ended an EraThe blurb from Penguin Books: We may never see a playoff series like it again.
Before Gary Bettman, and the lockouts. Before all the NHL's old barns were torn down to make way for bigger, glitzier rinks. Before expansion and parity across the league, just about anything could happen on the ice. And it often did. It was an era when huge personalities dominated the sport; and willpower was often enough to win games. And in the spring of 1993, some of the biggest talents and biggest personalities were on a collision course.
The Cinderella Maple Leafs had somehow beaten the mighty Red Wings and then, just as improbably, the St. Louis Blues. Wayne Gretzky's Kings had just torn through the Flames and the Canucks. When they faced each other in the conference final, the result would be a series that fans still talk about passionately 25 years later.
Taking us back to that feverish spring, The Last Good Year gives an intimate account not just of an era-defining seven games, but of what the series meant to the men who were changed by it: Marty McSorley, the tough guy who took his whole team on his shoulders; Doug Gilmour, the emerging superstar; celebrity owner Bruce McNall; Bill Berg, who went from unknown to famous when the Leafs claimed him on waivers; Kelly Hrudey, the Kings' goalie who would go on to become a Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster; Kerry Fraser, who would become the game's most infamous referee; and two very different captains, Toronto's bull in a china shop, Wendel Clark, and the immortal Wayne Gretzky.
Fast-paced, authoritative, and galvanized by the same love of the game that made the series so unforgettable, The Last Good Year is a glorious testament to a moment hockey fans will never forget.More bravado from the centre of the universe. Twisted into an underdog team denied a Cup by a missed call. They've been whining about it ever since. Cinderella Maple Leafs? They'd missed the playoffs the previous two years....but they had 99 pts., only 4 fewer than the mighty Red Wings. And why was it just as improbable to beat the Blues? The Leafs finished 14 pts. ahead of them. The Kings finished with 88 pts. Seems the Leafs weren't the underdogs at all. And why did those seven games end whatever era invented to fit Cox's narrative? How about the 5 games in the Finals? And I guess all the records the habs broke that spring dont deserve a mention?? Cox is a card carrying member of Leaf nation... Nuff said' |
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Post by blny on Dec 15, 2018 13:34:40 GMT -5
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 15, 2018 21:09:22 GMT -5
San Antonio Rampage
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Post by blny on Dec 15, 2018 22:41:16 GMT -5
Wow
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Post by seventeen on Dec 16, 2018 1:25:58 GMT -5
Where are the kilts?
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Post by folatre on Dec 16, 2018 9:19:05 GMT -5
I hope management puts a little something extra in their December paycheques because it would take a little inducement to make me willingly want to wear one of those.
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Post by Willie Dog on Dec 16, 2018 15:33:41 GMT -5
The habs should do that and auction them off after the game for a christmas charity
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Post by blny on Dec 16, 2018 18:03:09 GMT -5
The habs should do that and auction them off after the game for a christmas charity A good idea. |
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Post by folatre on Dec 16, 2018 18:30:22 GMT -5
Bad officiating there in the Bruins-Sabres game, though kind of amusing since Boston, and Marchand specifically, got screwed out of what should of been a go-ahead goal.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 16, 2018 22:30:08 GMT -5
Very entertaining tilt tonight between two of the best: Tampa and Winnipeg. Settled in OT by Winnipeg, their third straight OT win. The Jets scored in the last minute of the first, second and OT. Both PPs are quite lethal right now. We can only wish...
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Post by blny on Dec 17, 2018 0:53:23 GMT -5
Very entertaining tilt tonight between two of the best: Tampa and Winnipeg. Settled in OT by Winnipeg, their third straight OT win. The Jets scored in the last minute of the first, second and OT. Both PPs are quite lethal right now. We can only wish... Wheeler is probably the best passing winger in the league. They have that off-wing bomb from Laine. They have another hard shot from Buff. We've got the point shot and a couple of capable passers. Another shooting threat would go a long way. |
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Post by seventeen on Dec 17, 2018 1:12:39 GMT -5
You can also throw Schieffele into that mix, who has both a great shot and is a good passer. Winnipeg is a strong team with no apparent weaknesses. My thinking is goal is the one area in which they might be vulnerable. Hellebuyck hasn't been as good this year as last.
Tampa is right up there, with perhaps not quite as good a defense, but maybe more offensive options.
Then there's Nashville, who if they're healthy match up against anyone.
Remind me again, how do we stack up against the powerhouses of the league? Isn't that the standard we should be aiming for and not simply making the playoffs, which means beating out teams that are not anywhere near the abilities of the three above? There are a few other teams that approach those 3 as well, San Jose, the Leafs. I hate seeing us settle for something so far below those teams. I can't be happy sweeping the Senators.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 17, 2018 8:46:35 GMT -5
Scieffele scored the OT winner last night and now has 14 points in his last five games. As seventeen mentioned, their weakness is in goal. Hellebuyck does not always look in control in the crease. I guess when you can score at will, that is less of an issue. All they need is for him to find his playoff form again.
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Post by CentreHice on Dec 17, 2018 12:33:50 GMT -5
You can also throw Schieffele into that mix, who has both a great shot and is a good passer. Winnipeg is a strong team with no apparent weaknesses. My thinking is goal is the one area in which they might be vulnerable. Hellebuyck hasn't been as good this year as last. Tampa is right up there, with perhaps not quite as good a defense, but maybe more offensive options. Then there's Nashville, who if they're healthy match up against anyone. Remind me again, how do we stack up against the powerhouses of the league? Isn't that the standard we should be aiming for and not simply making the playoffs, which means beating out teams that are not anywhere near the abilities of the three above? There are a few other teams that approach those 3 as well, San Jose, the Leafs. I hate seeing us settle for something so far below those teams. I can't be happy sweeping the Senators. I'm of the camp that thinks our best shot at being in the next wave of perennial contenders is to get a Top pick this year. Somebody elite to mature along with KK. Otherwise, Kotka will be another Koivu--the #1 centre on a roster never good enough to get it done. Haven't we learned from recent history? One more elite player through the draft, and I think there are many on this board who could build a winner from there! |
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Post by BadCompany on Dec 17, 2018 13:24:37 GMT -5
You can also throw Schieffele into that mix, who has both a great shot and is a good passer. Winnipeg is a strong team with no apparent weaknesses. My thinking is goal is the one area in which they might be vulnerable. Hellebuyck hasn't been as good this year as last. Tampa is right up there, with perhaps not quite as good a defense, but maybe more offensive options. Then there's Nashville, who if they're healthy match up against anyone. Remind me again, how do we stack up against the powerhouses of the league? Isn't that the standard we should be aiming for and not simply making the playoffs, which means beating out teams that are not anywhere near the abilities of the three above? There are a few other teams that approach those 3 as well, San Jose, the Leafs. I hate seeing us settle for something so far below those teams. I can't be happy sweeping the Senators. I'm of the camp that thinks our best shot at being in the next wave of perennial contenders is to get a Top pick this year. Somebody elite to mature along with KK. Otherwise, Kotka will be another Koivu--the #1 centre on a roster never good enough to get it done. Haven't we learned from recent history? One more elite player through the draft, and I think there are many on this board who could build a winner from there! All depends on how good Kotkaniemi, Domi, Drouin, and Suzuki are going to be. Right now, it's looking like we could have three 65+ point players on the roster already (possibly 70+), and who knows what Suzuki will be. If he can join Gallagher as a 30+ goal scorer... With Price and Weber behind them, there is a pretty good foundation there. Now, if one of our defensive prospects can pull a Subban (or Weber for that matter) and become a top 3 player, and a top free agent or two thinks there is potential there (or likes the dump truck full of money Molson backs up into their driveway), we could be on our way. |
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Post by blny on Dec 17, 2018 13:42:36 GMT -5
I'm of the camp that thinks our best shot at being in the next wave of perennial contenders is to get a Top pick this year. Somebody elite to mature along with KK. Otherwise, Kotka will be another Koivu--the #1 centre on a roster never good enough to get it done. Haven't we learned from recent history? One more elite player through the draft, and I think there are many on this board who could build a winner from there! All depends on how good Kotkaniemi, Domi, Drouin, and Suzuki are going to be. Right now, it's looking like we could have three 65+ point players on the roster already (possibly 70+), and who knows what Suzuki will be. If he can join Gallagher as a 30+ goal scorer... With Price and Weber behind them, there is a pretty good foundation there. Now, if one of our defensive prospects can pull a Subban (or Weber for that matter) and become a top 3 player, and a top free agent or two thinks there is potential there (or likes the dump truck full of money Molson backs up into their driveway), we could be on our way. Agreed. I think there are a plethora of good to excellent supporting cast. KK has the potential to be a leading cast member. It would be great, however, to have that second "leader" of a youthful age. Looking at what we do have, I think KK is in better shape than Koivu was. Drouin, Domi, Gallagher, the potential for Suzuki, are better than what Koivu had to deal with after Damphousse and Recchi were dumped and before Kovalev. |
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Post by blny on Dec 17, 2018 14:03:21 GMT -5
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Post by CentreHice on Dec 17, 2018 21:55:47 GMT -5
All depends on how good Kotkaniemi, Domi, Drouin, and Suzuki are going to be. Right now, it's looking like we could have three 65+ point players on the roster already (possibly 70+), and who knows what Suzuki will be. If he can join Gallagher as a 30+ goal scorer... With Price and Weber behind them, there is a pretty good foundation there. Now, if one of our defensive prospects can pull a Subban (or Weber for that matter) and become a top 3 player, and a top free agent or two thinks there is potential there (or likes the dump truck full of money Molson backs up into their driveway), we could be on our way. Agreed. I think there are a plethora of good to excellent supporting cast. KK has the potential to be a leading cast member. It would be great, however, to have that second "leader" of a youthful age. Looking at what we do have, I think KK is in better shape than Koivu was. Drouin, Domi, Gallagher, the potential for Suzuki, are better than what Koivu had to deal with after Damphousse and Recchi were dumped and before Kovalev. I'd much rather take the chance on a top pick this year being a "can't miss". Improve our young core immediately, and a couple of our prospects/established players become trade bait to legitimately strengthen the D. Start dealing from a position of strength....and get off the Habster wheel! But in Year 7, I doubt Berg's the guy to engineer it. EDIT: At this rate, Los Angeles and Chicago will get such picks and build back to contention status before we do. |
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Post by blny on Dec 18, 2018 6:48:31 GMT -5
Agreed. I think there are a plethora of good to excellent supporting cast. KK has the potential to be a leading cast member. It would be great, however, to have that second "leader" of a youthful age. Looking at what we do have, I think KK is in better shape than Koivu was. Drouin, Domi, Gallagher, the potential for Suzuki, are better than what Koivu had to deal with after Damphousse and Recchi were dumped and before Kovalev. I'd much rather take the chance on a top pick this year being a "can't miss". Improve our young core immediately, and a couple of our prospects/established players become trade bait to legitimately strengthen the D. Start dealing from a position of strength....and get off the Habster wheel! But in Year 7, I doubt Berg's the guy to engineer it. EDIT: At this rate, Los Angeles and Chicago will get such picks and build back to contention status before we do. LA? Yes. They're old and slow. Their core group was built for 12-14. The Hawks? Cap hell is a problem. Still, I think they bounce back next year. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Dec 18, 2018 11:28:36 GMT -5
Wow.
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Post by jkr on Dec 19, 2018 8:22:49 GMT -5
I believe it was Holmgren that traded Bobrovsky. What was he thinking?  He helped perpetuate Philly's goalie problem. |
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Post by folatre on Dec 19, 2018 20:22:44 GMT -5
Bad blood between the Capitals and Penguins. Oleksiak dropped the mitts with Wilson and took a vicious right to the face. Crosby and Ovechkin jawing.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2018 12:58:42 GMT -5
Bad blood between the Capitals and Penguins. Oleksiak dropped the mitts with Wilson and took a vicious right to the face. Crosby and Ovechkin jawing. Crosby shouting at Ovechkin asking why he didn't fight Oleksiak instead. Ovechkin countering asking why Crosby doesn't flat out fight him. |
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Post by folatre on Dec 20, 2018 21:07:58 GMT -5
I was just flipping through a bunch of games and I swear that Carolina literally has no one not a single human being sitting in the upper bowl of their arena.
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Post by jkr on Dec 20, 2018 21:18:16 GMT -5
I was just flipping through a bunch of games and I swear that Carolina literally has no one not a single human being sitting in the upper bowl of their arena. I don't know how the league goes on with teams like the Canes and the Panthers playing in empty buildings. Just not sustainable. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 21, 2018 12:24:27 GMT -5
All depends on how good Kotkaniemi, Domi, Drouin, and Suzuki are going to be. Right now, it's looking like we could have three 65+ point players on the roster already (possibly 70+), and who knows what Suzuki will be. If he can join Gallagher as a 30+ goal scorer... With Price and Weber behind them, there is a pretty good foundation there. Now, if one of our defensive prospects can pull a Subban (or Weber for that matter) and become a top 3 player, and a top free agent or two thinks there is potential there (or likes the dump truck full of money Molson backs up into their driveway), we could be on our way. Agreed. I think there are a plethora of good to excellent supporting cast. KK has the potential to be a leading cast member. It would be great, however, to have that second "leader" of a youthful age. Looking at what we do have, I think KK is in better shape than Koivu was. Drouin, Domi, Gallagher, the potential for Suzuki, are better than what Koivu had to deal with after Damphousse and Recchi were dumped and before Kovalev. Not to mention Ryan Poehling ... he's a big, strapping kid in a man's body and I'm very interested in seeing how he competes at the NHL level ... that said, I'd still like one of those top-5 picks, but I won't lose any sleep over it if we don't get one ... as for Saku Koivu, well, I always respected what he brought to the team ... he really was a warrior but he never was a #1 centre and his best years were when he was playing second-fiddle ... there were a couple of times the team got close under his watch but they always seemed to implode for some reason or the other ... Alexei Kovalev had a two good seasons in Montreal but in other years he'd give you just enough to keep you interested ... and just to pile it on, every so often he'd become a media magnet for some new controversy ... that was before and after the woulda-coulda-shoulda, 100th Anniversary team ... oh yeah, our centres of attention; unless there's a huge shift in talent, I see a lot of last year's centres populating the AHL and ECHL, but there are a few gems coming up ... even if he ends up as a #3 centre, I'm hoping Poehling is better than what we have right now ... Max Domi, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki and Poehling is a good start to the future, but they'll have to keep feeding the system with talent up the middle ... Cheers. |
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Post by blny on Dec 21, 2018 12:38:57 GMT -5
Agreed. I think there are a plethora of good to excellent supporting cast. KK has the potential to be a leading cast member. It would be great, however, to have that second "leader" of a youthful age. Looking at what we do have, I think KK is in better shape than Koivu was. Drouin, Domi, Gallagher, the potential for Suzuki, are better than what Koivu had to deal with after Damphousse and Recchi were dumped and before Kovalev. Not to mention Ryan Poehling ... he's a big, strapping kid in a man's body and I'm very interested in seeing how he competes at the NHL level ... that said, I'd still like one of those top-5 picks, but I won't lose any sleep over it if we don't get one ... as for Saku Koivu, well, I always respected what he brought to the team ... he really was a warrior but he never was a #1 centre and his best years were when he was playing second-fiddle ... there were a couple of times the team got close under his watch but they always seemed to implode for some reason or the other ... Alexei Kovalev had a two good seasons in Montreal but in other years he'd give you just enough to keep you interested ... and just to pile it on, every so often he'd become a media magnet for some new controversy ... that was before and after the woulda-coulda-shoulda, 100th Anniversary team ... oh yeah, our centres of attention; unless there's a huge shift in talent, I see a lot of last year's centres populating the AHL and ECHL, but there are a few gems coming up ... even if he ends up as a #3 centre, I'm hoping Poehling is better than what we have right now ... Max Domi, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki and Poehling is a good start to the future, but they'll have to keep feeding the system with talent up the middle ... Cheers. He and Evans certainly have potential. Ryan's a great skater, and I think projects to be a very solid middle six player. I don't think either have the offensive upside of KK or Suzuki though. It will be interesting to see where the scouts lead the club on this. We desperately need talent on the left side of the defense. Juulsen and Brook are rhd. So is Cale Fleury. Tyszka is a lhd, but he's likely years away from having a real shot at making an impact. That said, adding pure goal scorers is a must as well. Nick is by far and away the best scorer in our system not in the NHL. We need to find more of that. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 21, 2018 13:04:28 GMT -5
Not to mention Ryan Poehling ... he's a big, strapping kid in a man's body and I'm very interested in seeing how he competes at the NHL level ... that said, I'd still like one of those top-5 picks, but I won't lose any sleep over it if we don't get one ... as for Saku Koivu, well, I always respected what he brought to the team ... he really was a warrior but he never was a #1 centre and his best years were when he was playing second-fiddle ... there were a couple of times the team got close under his watch but they always seemed to implode for some reason or the other ... Alexei Kovalev had a two good seasons in Montreal but in other years he'd give you just enough to keep you interested ... and just to pile it on, every so often he'd become a media magnet for some new controversy ... that was before and after the woulda-coulda-shoulda, 100th Anniversary team ... oh yeah, our centres of attention; unless there's a huge shift in talent, I see a lot of last year's centres populating the AHL and ECHL, but there are a few gems coming up ... even if he ends up as a #3 centre, I'm hoping Poehling is better than what we have right now ... Max Domi, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki and Poehling is a good start to the future, but they'll have to keep feeding the system with talent up the middle ... Cheers. He and Evans certainly have potential. Ryan's a great skater, and I think projects to be a very solid middle six player. I don't think either have the offensive upside of KK or Suzuki though. It will be interesting to see where the scouts lead the club on this. We desperately need talent on the left side of the defense. Juulsen and Brook are rhd. So is Cale Fleury. Tyszka is a lhd, but he's likely years away from having a real shot at making an impact. That said, adding pure goal scorers is a must as well. Nick is by far and away the best scorer in our system not in the NHL. We need to find more of that. I keep forgetting about Jake Evans ... he had two very good years with Notre Dame the last two seasons and I thought he might have been ready for an audition, but not quite yet, I guess ... hopefully he gets a shot eventually ... ref Kovalev, I'm looking over his stats and he actually had two decent years in Montreal and one great season ... that was the year he wore the "C" ( Saku Koivu was injured) and Kovalev literally carried the team on his back ... see 2007-08 ... Cheers. |
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Post by blny on Dec 21, 2018 13:41:31 GMT -5
He and Evans certainly have potential. Ryan's a great skater, and I think projects to be a very solid middle six player. I don't think either have the offensive upside of KK or Suzuki though. It will be interesting to see where the scouts lead the club on this. We desperately need talent on the left side of the defense. Juulsen and Brook are rhd. So is Cale Fleury. Tyszka is a lhd, but he's likely years away from having a real shot at making an impact. That said, adding pure goal scorers is a must as well. Nick is by far and away the best scorer in our system not in the NHL. We need to find more of that. I keep forgetting about Jake Evans ... he had two very good years with Notre Dame the last two seasons and I thought he might have been ready for an audition, but not quite yet, I guess ... hopefully he gets a shot eventually ... ref Kovalev, I'm looking over his stats and he actually had two decent years in Montreal and one great season ... that was the year he wore the "C" ( Saku Koivu was injured) and Kovalev literally carried the team on his back ... see 2007-08 ... Cheers. Re Evans, I would say his sophomore through senior seasons showed steady improvement. Drafted in the 7th round out of the OJHL, I think he's already in that "steal" category because I think he'll be a good pro. If your 7th round picks only get to the AHL, but are top level minor league players, that's nothing to sneeze at from a developmental and scouting pov. He's having an effective first pro year in Laval. He's tied for second in team scoring. Kovalev had what I would consider to be 3 strong seasons. While he could always leave you wanting, he was undoubtedly a leader on the team. That '08 team deserved a better fate imo. They thrived on the PP and a speed game throughout his tenure. In today's league, they'd have been equally lethal. If the league didn't pocket whistles in the playoffs, that team goes deep in '08 imo. 2005-06 = 23g, 42a in 69 games. 2006-07 = 18g, 29a in 73 games. 2007-08 = 35g, 49a in 82 games. 2008-09 = 26g, 35a in 78 games. He led the team in scoring in all but 06-07, and that was the only year they didn't make the playoffs. He was a virtual ppg player in 4 playoff appearances, putting up 31 points in 33 playoff games. He was clutch, and it was all after turning 31. Many teams are crying for that sort of production now from kids ten years younger than he was. |
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Post by CentreHice on Dec 21, 2018 21:19:00 GMT -5
Kovalev was beyond frustrating for me. 06-07 is a prime example.
After beating Boston in Game #80, we had two games to go....fighting for our playoff lives.
@ Rangers; @ Leafs.
Kovalev had just said that playoff time was HIS time....or something to that effect.
Game 81. We lost to the Rangers 3-1....with Souray scoring late on a PP to break the shutout. Kovalev was -2 with 2 shots.
Game 82. April 7th. The very day I had my Habs' memorabilia signed by Jean Beliveau in my city. As I thanked him, I added, "I wish you could lace them up tonight!" He said, "Me, too! I loved those type of game!" (I kept the French-English plural-singular the way he said it....it's etched in my memory.)
Now, with help from hockey-reference.....
A must win in Toronto. We fell behind 3-1, then Ryder's natural trick and a goal from Higgins put us up 5-3. Leafs made it 5-4...then Begin took a dumb penalty at the end of the second period. Koivu was called early in the third, and the Leafs got 2 power-play goals to go up 6-5.
We'd scored 5 goals and Kovalev hadn't been in on any of them. In fact, he was -2 with 0 shots on goal when Carbonneau benched him at some point in the third period. He played only 13:14. I don't think Carbo even put him out with the extra man.
Kovalev was electrifying. And he could go on streaks of "MEH" at the most inopportune times.
EDIT: The only good thing was that the next day the Islanders beat the Devils in a shoot-out....and Toronto also missed the playoffs.
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