if these two can..........

NEWFIEHABSFAN · Senior Member

if these two can..........

AB Habman · Guru

The difference is the depth in our skill department. Those teams have it...we don't.

It really does depend on Gainey pulling up his socks and working hard this off season to improve the over all talent and skating of his roster.

Also one elite defensmen like a Pronger would make a huge difference.

Ando · Guru

AB Habman wrote:

...one elite defensmen like a Pronger would make a huge difference.

Hey AB...make no mistake...Pronger is THE difference!

The Oilers are waayyyyyyyyyyy over-rated!

Cripes, they are not likely to make the playoffs next year...they almost didn't this time around.

Don't worship these MAJOR pretenders!!! The Edmonton fans should enjoy this...because they are heading back down the ladder!!!

Habs and Avs Fan · Veteran Member

Ando wrote:

AB Habman wrote:
...one elite defensmen like a Pronger would make a huge difference.

Hey AB...make no mistake...Pronger is THE difference!
The Oilers are waayyyyyyyyyyy over-rated!
Cripes, they are not likely to make the playoffs next year...they almost didn't this time around.
Don't worship these MAJOR pretenders!!! The Edmonton fans should enjoy this...because they are heading back down the ladder!!!

If Roloson was there since the beginning of the season instead of having Conklin and Markannen switching, then Edmonton would have ended up with a better seed.

barry33 · Guru

jim Rutherford has taken the other GM's (yes including Gainey) to school. He has drafted very well, made key trades to fill holes, and stuck with Laviolette instead of canning him when things were not going so well. When Eric Cole went down this year he could have simply said "oh well there goes the year". Instead he goes out and gets Doug Weight. He went out and got Marc Recchi. Many on this board felt that these players were not worth having in a Hab uniform and laughed when Rutherford went and got them. Who is laughing now? These guys have been the difference in a team that is relatively young.

Rutherford deserves all the credit for this one boys and girls. As far as how far the habs are away from competeing with these guys..we are a long way. We are a big center, power forward, and at least one stud dman away. And that is assuming that Huet was not a flash in the pan. As for Edmonton, they are a good team and they work hard. But they are not near as talented skill wise as 'lina. One other thing that is beating them is coaching. Mctavish is being badly outcoached by Laviolette. He has been unable to find a way to get his team's power play to work and that, my friends, is coaching.

wright · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

jim Rutherford has taken the other GM's (yes including Gainey) to school. He has drafted very well, made key trades to fill holes, and stuck with Laviolette instead of canning him when things were not going so well. When Eric Cole went down this year he could have simply said "oh well there goes the year". Instead he goes out and gets Doug Weight. He went out and got Marc Recchi. Many on this board felt that these players were not worth having in a Hab uniform and laughed when Rutherford went and got them. Who is laughing now? These guys have been the difference in a team that is relatively young. Rutherford deserves all the credit for this one boys and girls. As far as how far the habs are away from competeing with these guys..we are a long way. We are a big center, power forward, and at least one stud dman away. And that is assuming that Huet was not a flash in the pan. As for Edmonton, they are a good team and they work hard. But they are not near as talented skill wise as 'lina. One other thing that is beating them is coaching. Mctavish is being badly outcoached by Laviolette. He has been unable to find a way to get his team's power play to work and that, my friends, is coaching.

Rutherford deserves full credit in the manner in which he rebuilt the Hurricanes. Whether it was visionary or forced economic circumstances, he gutted the payroll a couple of years ago giving him great financial flexibility. The low payroll enabled him to make great ufa pickups over the past two years, Stillman,Whitney Cullen, Kaberle. Great drafting, obviously, Ward in '02, Stahl in '03. The trade deadline deals for Recchi and Weight gave depth to their third line, although don't agree that they have been difference makers for the Canes. Weight and Recchi are a combinbed minus 8 in these playoffs, and Weight must lead the league in complaining about penalty calls.

Despite all the great moves Rutherford has made the margin between playoff sucess and failure is thin. The Canes were 10 minutes away from falling behind 3 zip to the Habs before Brindamour scored a soft goal on Huet and changed the monentum in the series. Buffalo with a healthy defence could have knocked out the Hurricanes.

Yes the Habs have holes, but with the level of parity in the league now, they may not have to address all their needs to be strong cup contenders. One strong ufa signing and the continued development of the younger players may be enough. Afterall the Canes may win the cup without an elite level dman. Edmonton got to the cup finals with a relatively thin offense.

AB Habman · Guru

As much as I would of liked to see Oilers win this thing, I feel that Canes deserve it more. Good managing and a team that worked hard all season to stay near the top of the standings.

Good for them!