Although i hope that we will see the Niinemaa of past and have a top Defender, I gotta say I'm a little sad to see Streit taken out of the lineup. He worked so hard this preseason and played really well. I was hoping that would give him a chance to prove he could do it during the regular seasons.
But I'm all for the best players playing, and if Niinemaa is better than Streit, then so be it, at least we now have the depth at D in case some of our boys get injured.
I agree with you Skandel, I was looking forward to seeing what Streit can do, but I am also very eager about seeing the Niinimaa who was considered a "shade under elite" by pro scouts just a few years ago. Let us hope he is our Selanne for this year!
Habtastic, maybe we should start to nominate him for the Bill Masterton trophy......lol
First Koivu wins it, now fellow counrtyman Niinemaa. Next thing you know, every Fin will be coming to Montreal (or Anahein in Selanne's case) to recharge their career...
I heard on the Team 990 that Niniima will play on Friday and will be paired with Dandenault.
So, I think the lines will look something like this for the first game of the year:
Higgins Koivu Ryder
Sammy Pleks Kovy
Perez Bonk Johnson
Lats Begin Murray
Markov Komi
Souray Rivet
Niniima Dandy
Huet
We need to keep the bad penalties to a mimimum or it could be game over early.
I don't see any big time special player up front but what I do see is balance! Something we've not had since 93'. Also, we probably have one of the better fourth lines around.
Habtastic, maybe we should start to nominate him for the Bill Masterton trophy......lol
First Koivu wins it, now fellow counrtyman Niinemaa. Next thing you know, every Fin will be coming to Montreal (or Anahein in Selanne's case) to recharge their career...
Just joking, but it would be nice....
If he does, they can re-name it the "Bill Master-Finn trophy"... sorry... that was bad... :)
Habtastic
P.S. Hey Ab! You trying to win most new threads or beat Nil's post records or BOTH?! :)
The problem I see in this is that in the past Ninima has indicated that he would not be happy on a team unless he was on the first or second pairing. Not sur eho whappy he will be if he is the last pairing, but maybe he has changed and is now a team player. And like another poster, I do not see him as a significant upgrade top Striet but he is bigger.
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I'm as confused as a starving baby in a topless bar!