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http://ebloggy.com/douglasrayyc

We have (supposedly) one of the best goaltending coaches around in Allaire. I would think that he ought to be able to teach Henrik about puckhandling, composure and focus, no? I’m not saying that Henrik couldn’t learn from a veteran backstop, but who will be out there that is qualified to mentor Henrik?

I’d really like to hear your definition of “suck” though, because your standards must be pretty high.

Look, like I’ve been saying. Prucha isn’t going to replace Shanahan. Butl et’s be serious, who can? You can’t go into the summer thinking that you have to replace a 600+ goal scorer and future hall of famer. You go out thinking “Who’s going to be my #2 RW, or #3 RW” and I think if Prucha has a strong camp, he can be either.

Either way, to keep Shanahan on the roster for SO’s, which may or may not happen, or to contribute to a PP that he’s currently not really helping, doesn’t make any sense to me. You like him in the locker room, hire him as a coach.

As for Vally, Lundy isn’t a rookie anymore. He doesn’t need a backup to coach him. We have Benney Allaire for that. Was Healy coaching Richter? Was Brygalov coaching Giguere? YOu think Gerger was “coaching” Ward after he was so bad that he lost his job to Ward? Even if you think Gerber was giving Ward advice, if you’re Ward, do you listen to that? I don’t.

A veteran b/u is in no way necessary to have a Cup winning goalie.

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If you get the PP actually working, it makes a FEATHERLOAD of sense. The Power Play should have been this teams bread and butter this year. Can you Imagine if it was actually half the threat it should have been? We’d be golden.

Also, Shanahan is not meant to “go to the net” amymore. He’s a puck firing machine. He still has one of the best releases in the NHL. Look how well he’s been playing since he’s been rested. You use Shanahan sparingly, and you see better results. However Tom Renneys got him running around on the 2nd line, PP and PK…. no feathers he’s gonna get worn down.

Shanahan @ $3M w/ a couple of real incentives = no brainer. NO BRAINER!

and it’s about Avery, so a lot of you should go and get your vaseline before you read it.

Yeah thats what I was saying. He doesn’t have an NHL contract for this year, but rather an AHL contract. As you said they have 1st shot at signing him though.

And Prucha27, straka is doing something. Just because he’s not putting points up doesn’t mean hes not important to that line. Callahan and Drury are getting points because of what Marty is bringing to that line. The lines are clicking right now and there is no reason to bring Prucha in unless you wanna rest one of the older guys for a game or two. I like Prucha, he fits well with the future of this team, but he lost his spot to Dawes and a healthier Ryan Callahan so he must wait his turn.

If you watched Prucha this year, you’ll notice his offensive game was not there. Not sure if thats a product of playing with different centers OR the fact that he just couldn’t get it done. I mean to me it looked like he didn’t have that confidence with the puck that he had the last 2 seasons. Also its his 3rd year and the goalies adjusted to him.

Dawes might hit a sophomore slump, but not for a whole season. He’s too skilled and has such a great and accurate shot that its very doubtful he’ll have a really shitty 2nd year. Same for Dubi. Reason we hyped up Prucha is because he got a bunch of garbage goals on the PP that first season and we thought he was one of our top prospects/young players when in reality maybe we just overrated him. Either way I’d like to see him as a 2nd or 3rd line winger next year.

I said Shanny as PP/SO specialist, but I would want him compensated as such. So Prucha, your argument that Prucha would be paid 3/4 million less fails, because I would only want him if he were being paid 3/4 million less than he is now. As for Prucha being money in the shootout, that’s just false. Prucha went 0 for 6 last year. He is 1 for 3 this year and was 1 for 3 his rookie year. That makes him 2 for 12 lifetime. He officially sucks in the shootout.

That said, Shanahan can no longer play an effective even strength role over an entire season. And if the choice is between having Shanny at full cost (aka, his current salary or close to it) and not havibng him at all, I choose not having him at all, and spending the money to bolster our defensive corps.

Now, buckmeister has accused me of being in Sather’s pocket because I said that. Well, allow me to retort:

First, Baranka sucks. He is another middle to bottom pairing defenseman. We have 6 of them for 4 spots. I’m talking about a top guy. So forget Baranka.

You also mention Sanguinetti. Well, Two problems with him. First, he is going to spend at least one year in Hartford because he is lousy defensively. Second, he is an offensive defenseman, and the type of defenseman I think we should be trying to acquire is a hard hitting shutdown defenseman. Our defensive corps is too soft overall, and we lack a defenseman capable of individually shutting down star players.

So yes, spend the money to bolster our defensive corps.

As for bashing Valliquette, I will continue to do so. It’s nothing personal against the guy. I think he’s a good teammate and an adequate stand-in. But I still think we should get a veteran back up because I think it will make Lundqvist better. Do you think Hank can learn anything from Vally besides how to keep a bench warm? A solid veteran can teach Hank about maintaining composure, focus, and maybe a thing or two about the actual playing of the position (PUCKHANDLING!!!). So, no, I am not for bringing back Valliquette for another season.