Bring Back The Bruise Bros

I'm okay with this. I don't care much for him. Has his periods where he produces and then seems to disappear. Seems like a "show me what you can do" contract.

We knew it was coming. One of the most well-rounded players I've ever watched and it's sad to see him go. Thanks for all the memories, Pav. He'll always be remembered for his uncanny stick-handling skills, but he was also an exceptional defensive player and always carried himself in a humble way. Here's to a happy future in Russia and a #13 in the rafters soon.

Wouldn't be surprised or upset if Helm left. He's had a good tenure here, but he's not top-6 material. I get that he wants an elevated role. Maybe someone else can provide that. Someone will throw more money at him than Holland will. Anyone hear anything on Richards? It'd be silly to bring him back after his performance this year. I think we should let Miller go and look elsewhere for a 4th liner. Again, he's had a solid tenure here, but I think we need to shake up the 4th line and give it some identity. Anyone know whether Holland is considering bringing him back?

This is going to be a very good series. Not sure who I'm rooting for. Might just sit back and enjoy.

I've been dreading this day.

Probably not going to pay much attention to this series. Both teams have players that I seriously dislike. Never want Thornton to win a Cup, Ribeiro is a scumbag, Neal is a ******, Weber is a cheapass, and Couture annoys me.

I don't disagree. It's clear that Blashill mismanaged the team's young talent. Datsyuk and Zetterberg can't carry the team anymore, and guys like AA should have been getting more time.

Agreed. Without Datsyuk, this team will be one of the most boring ones to watch next year. It's clear that the formula hasn't worked for the past several years. There are an abundance of these types of players available via free agency or trade every summer. They should just re-sign Richards and bring Cleary back and get it over with. Garbage coaching from Blashill - on an unbelievable level. He had the most points on a team that scored 8 goals in 5 games, and he was irrelevant in the deciding game. He didn't blow anyone away.

To be honest, I don't blame Datsyuk if he leaves. It's clear that this team isn't going to contend for a while. Some of his and Zetterberg's prime years were wasted with mediocre lineups. This is exactly what happens when you keep applying lame band-aids to underlying problems. 3 years in a row we've gotten bounced in the first round. How the f*** doesn't Athanasiou get playing time in the 3rd? Blashill proved himself to be a ******* joke at times this year. Richards played like garbage the entire series. He better not be back next year. Ericsson looked like hell. Tatar was quiet the whole series. What a lame way to end Datsyuk's career here.

Checking in after a long absence. Smith played a great game last night. Energized the crowd with the big hit on Paquette in the opening minutes. Made a few real nice defensive plays. We need him to play like this every game from here on out. Mrazek stood on his head. We've scored 2 goals every game in this series; Mrazek is going to need to continue to play stellar if we're going to take this series. Good on Abdelkader to leave Boyle and Tampa Bay walking away from game 3 with nothing to rally around. At some point he needs to square up with Blunden after what happened in game 2, but this wasn't the right time to do it. Super pumped that this series has taken on such a physical and nasty tone. Stoked for game 4. Wish I could make it!

What non-Wings have you grown to like as time has gone by? Maybe you hated these players at first, but for whatever reason they've grown on you. I used to hate Scott Hartnell, but he seems to have cut a lot of the antics he was once known for. I like the role he's in with Columbus. Can still produce offensively and continues to play a physical brand of hockey. How about you guys?

MacIntyre's NHL days are long gone. He played in less than 100 games. Got sent to the ECHL last year. Flyers/Penguins will be competitive games, regardless.

I wonder if the physicality of the rivalry will subside for a while. Philadelphia traded Rinaldo and Pittsburgh has seen the departures of Downie, Bortuzzo, Adams, and Sill since the latter half of last season. The Pens are looking to be one of the softest teams, in terms of potential fighting majors, in the league. This largely depends on how much Bobby Farnham plays this season. That said, they'll still be fun games to watch. Just might not be the fight-filled games that we've grown accustomed to seeing between them over the past several years.

Wonder if it'll continue to drop off. A lot of people were convinced that fighting was going to drop even more after the 2005/06 season, which saw little fighting compared to pre-lockout numbers. It rose for a few years until halting and then decreasing over the past couple seasons.

Yeah, Shelley is retired. I meant Boll will reach 500 games this season. Pretty sure Shelley held the franchise PIM record for Columbus before Boll broke it.I'm not sure if Buccigross was projecting that Giroux would put up better numbers than Lindros in the future. Also, considering Neil and Philips have played well over 10 seasons with Ottawa, they should be considered. Neil holds their franchise record for PIM also.

Giroux shouldn't be on Philadelphia's list over Hextall at this point. Pavelski over Nolan for San Jose? I think Chris Neil and Chris Phillips should get serious consideration for the Sens due to their long tenure with the team. Don't agree with Kopitar in for Robitaille. I agree with Nashville. At this point in franchise history, Weber and Rinne deserve to be up there. I do think that this would be even more interesting with coaches allowed. In that case, Trotz has a permanent spot. Columbus will continue to change over the years. What about Jared Boll? Longest tenured Jacket on the roster and holds the franchise record for penalty minutes, passing Jody Shelley recently. He'll reach 500 games with Columbus this coming season.

I think a lot of people have adopted that attitude with Crosby recently. I used to hate Patrick Kaleta, especially in the first few years of his career. All the dirty hits, diving, and spot-picking made him impossible for me to like at the time. As time has went on, especially after he was demoted to Rochester, he seems to have gotten the message from management that they wanted the antics to stop. I watched him last year and he still hits like a truck, stirs the pot, and drops the gloves occasionally. The major difference is he doesn't seem to dive or head-butt or pull any of those antics anymore. It doesn't look like he'll be brought back by Buffalo but I'm really hoping someone picks him up.

Seems like a lot of household names still available. Are teams emphasizing building "from within" more now? Or will we see a ton of camp invites and signings in the next month or so?

Stoked for Quebec, disappointed for Vegas. Maybe within a few years they'll move the Vegas team to somewhere with a fanbase. I can't see them selling out 17,000 seats every night there.

Well it should be taken to an appropriately titled thread. It's annoying how every thread turns into some s***show about the goaltending situation or Franzen. I know it's the offseason, but some people here want to discuss things besides the Wings.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2015/08/06/Penguins-sign-center-Matt-Cullen/stories/201508060197 Matt Cullen to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal.

Yeah, I'm really hoping this doesn't happen in Vegas. I think Seattle out west would be a better option. Is expansion looking likely in Vegas at this point? I haven't been paying a ton of attention to the Vegas deal.

http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2015/08/devils_gm_ray_shero_and_injured_ryane_clowe_talk.html Clowe made his NHL debut in 2005/06 with San Jose. Played in only 13 games with New Jersey last year, recording 4 points. Clowe has played in 491 regular season games and 309 points. Hoping he can return, but it's totally understandable if his doctor finds it dangerous for him to continue.

I want Forsberg, Roy, Foote, and Lemieux playing and I want blood. Any ideas on who will be playing for Colorado?

That won't happen. We'd lose him if he were on waivers. I think it's silly to assume that the #1 tag belongs to either one at this point. Howard has the experience and Mrazek is surely held in high regards by Blashill. Unless an injury takes one of them out or one severely under-performs, there's no reason to believe that they won't split starting time.