Goalie

im not talking about atlanta, im talking about the JETS and i honestly doubt the jets would have taken him. The jets take high character guys.. Kane isnt a high character guy. They probably would have taken schenn cuz he does indeed fit the mold of the player the jets seem to like.

the last raptors playoff game was the 2nd highest rated basketball game in tsn history. So people care but... maybe not that much. The ratings are good but compared to hockey and even the CFL, its a fraction. Calgary tho? i dunno. Has to be a combo of things, new people not caring, old people getting tired of the same old same old, regular season champs playoff chokers stuff. Doesnt make sense tho, however i was watching a flames game later in the year and noticed lots of empty seats too. Maybe Calgary just isnt that big of a sports town.

Not really paying that much attention to most games, no teams i really like besides the blackhawks are in it anymore... i was pulling for a team like columbus, just would have been cool to see them atleast get by the pens. But i will say this, the reffing in 2 games ive watched has been absolutely terrible. The non call against the avs for basically tackling the wild player when the avs had noone in net and then 2 seconds later, the missed offside. Brutal. Then tonight san jose vs la, not blaming the refs for the sharks choking, thats what they do but that second goal where stalock was pushed in the net was garbage. Sharks would have lost anyways but still... brutal call. Will also add, been watching the colorado minny series and, i dunno, that is one heck of an exciting series. Everyone talks about how minny plays such a boring defensive style of hockey, i dunno if its cuz they playing the high tempo ultra talented avs but... man thats been probably the best series so far. Very exciting. Annoying that next round we will see another all california matchup. Not a fan of the california teams at all. Sharks gonna lose game 7 so we gonna get kings vs ducks.... i think im gonna make a prediction of avs vs habs final (lol not gonna happen) (but that would probably be the best series storyline wise) honestly, im gonna say boston vs chicago final.

hmm, bc could always go with lulay and a couple rookies. seems a few teams are going that route this year so far (montreal being one, hamilton also) I dont think wally really wants glenn that badly, i dont think he's willing to overpay for him, i guess we will see what happens. I get the feeling tho that glenn starts this season as a redblack.

i agree with the 2nd post of the thread but i do have to say... that i wonder why that isnt used as an excuse here? winnipeg is a very diverse city too, as a matter of fact, we have won awards for being one of the most diverse cities in canada. We got people from all over. I go to bomber games, i see people from all over there, its not just people born in manitoba, there are phillipinos and asians and all sorts of different varities of people. Minneapolis is as close to us (closer) then seattle is to calgary, they got an nfl team, heck so is green bay and chicago for that matter. I dont know what the deal is with calgary but.... id suspect a lot of it has to do with the lack of marketing. The flames suck, the seahawks arent close enough imo for it to be a major factor in calgarys attendance, its also at different times of year so i dont think i buy into that theory too much. I guess, that leaves... people just dont care as much in calgary about the CFL as they used too. Maybe its cuz calgary is always so good in the regular season but choke in the playoffs? i dunno. Id suspect if the stamps won the grey cup that next seasons attendance would be much higher. I dunno tho. Ive been to calgary to see a bomber game and honestly, in my humble opinion, i thought there were more bomber fans in attendance. You never see that here, ive never been to a game here where the visiting fans out numbered the local fans.

was into this big time the first couple weeks but then it became pretty apparent that something was being covered up, the malaysians werent and i dont think still are telling the whole truth on what happened. Heres my theory, i got 2, one was already explained, the massive mechanical failure. The other... it was shot down by the us military base at diego garcia. I heard theories and i suppose conspiracies that the plane was carrying some interesting cargo, something to do with military stuff, there were a few guys from that freescale semiconductors group on there, specializing in military stuff. so its possible the plane was indeed shot down. I dunno and to be honest, i dont care anymore as much because its just been going on and on and on for too long. CNN ruined it for me, too much "breaking news" "developing news". I do tho find it odd that the plane apparently wasnt tracked by anyone. Its all so suspicious. it makes you wonder if the plane ever actually existed even lol (obviously it did)

Nate: whats your issue with kane? the guy is what? 22 23 years old, has put up 30 one year, on pace for 30 lockout year, would have probably had 30 this year if not injured for so long at times, would have had 20 had he not passed it to peluso on the empty net earlier. But as i said b4, if the jets were around in 2009 and were drafting 3rd in that draft year, would they have taken kane? i dunno they would have. Jets seem to value high character guys, guys without attitude issues. say what you will about kane but he does indee have character issues. But outside of what kane does off the ice, cuz really who cares.... what makes you dislike him so much? you talk about wheeler playing with slugs, kane played with jokinen, who is the definition of a slug.

wheeler is a very good player but he's definitely not a crosby getzlaf perry or whatever tho. However, he can be a point a game player and was for the last 30 or so games of the season. Im not sure how this point a game thing works, cuz guys like crosby getzlaf etc, they all go on these points sprees where they get tons of points in a few games then are invisible for a few. Im not sure anyone is technically a point per game player, maybe crosby but... you also have to look at who he plays with. Crosby is on a stacked penguins team, getzlaf and perry are team and line mates. wheeler dont have a crosby or getzlaf or perry to play with. You put him with one of those guys tho and i think he does become a point per game player. He almost is right now. Is wheeler one of the best players in the league? its debatable, is he the best jet player? for sure he is, would he more then likely be our all star nomination, you bet he would be. Wheeler has improved every year, ever since coming here actually, guys been good, is he crosby or getzalf or perry? no but who is really. Comparing wheeler to those guys are crazy actually.. like i said tho, give wheeler a crosby or getzlaf or perry to play with and he probably is.

rask is one of the best goalies in the league, he does steal games for the bruins, quite a bit actually. Boston is a good team but they arent invincible, they have bad games too and when they do, rask is there for them. Rasks save percentage on scoring chances is 916, the league average on scoring chance save percentage is 880. Yeah he's just average . This idea that boston has this great team is crazy, sure they are good but... their d outside of chara and seidenberg(but hasnt he been injured all year really) consist of rookies like krug, dougie hamilton, matt bartkowski, aint exactly household names outside of chara.

Petan is one of the best players in the WHL, who cares if he's 5'9. mary st louis and a bunch of guys are smaller guys but they dont play like smaller guys. Neither does Petan, ive seen him play actually a few times and the guy is brendan gallagher, he is small but he has no issues going in to the corners, going to the front of the net, is a play maker for sure, put petan with kane and look out actually. I feel kane will be moved tho, and petan probably wont be up here for another year or 2 but if he develops, man he's gonna be a good one. If he was 6' plus tall, he would have probably been a top 20 or at worst top 25 pick cuz he is that good.

Not that it really means much just based on who has been all stars but january has been an all star on the oline for us for a few seasons hasnt he? saying he is a B- i think isnt really giving him much credit, i think he starts on most other teams olines. He's by far our best olineman too. Pencer looked pretty good at tackle last season when he got a shot to play, just for some reason, they never went back to him. Last year was kind of a gong show tho. Pencer still has high potential, think the problem with some of the guys is, people for some reason expect them to start or be an all star immediately, it doesnt work like that really in the cfl draft. Pencer was drafted what? 2 years ago now... isnt he where he should be development wise?

Maybe if he comes up here his nickname could be silent bob.

3 weeks ago quinn smith was a nobody nothing, not even ranked on the top 15 list, now he's #4 and everybody wants the guy? based on a strong e camp it appears, but how much does e camp actually mean? how much do the numbers actually mean? can you repeat those numbers? or is it a one off type day or camp of a lifetime where you just show up and dominate but then you go back to normal and dont. Im curious how much these e camp numbers actually mean to the people in charge of actually making the picks. As a fan, all i really know is... all year there have been guys who have been ranked in the top 5.. all rankings really, LDT,LAVERTU,FOUCAULT being 3... and there was a guy who wasnt ranked at all really, but after the e camp he is ranked top 5. I dunno about guys like that to be honest, go with the sure thing like foucault or lavertu, smith could just be some testing freak... i dont know, havent seen him play... but like i said, as a fan all i know is what the rankings have been and i find it strange he wasnt really ranked until after the e camp. perhaps a red flag of sorts. I just think we need oline help so badly that passing on either of lavertu or foucault (got off the goosen train but still think he's an option)(he becomes probably a bigger one if lavertu and foucault get serious nfl interest), it would be silly. Oline needs help so bad, its vital to our success, put lavertu and foucault with wylie and you got yourself a couple young guys ready to go im sure, pencer too (he has potential still), perhaps wylie gets it out of him. Like the idea of us taking an oline and having wylie coach him up... Think long term, oline is whats needed for this club. Smith? I dunno, not a fan of the testing freaks, see it lots in sports, nhl,nfl,cfl even.. guys who have crazy e camp type things and then proceed to really not do much as a pro. I guess regarding SMITH, is... based on his play on the field agasint competition, he wasnt ranked at all. Based on what he did at a weekend or so at an evaluation camp, he moves up to 4. I think thats a reach of a pick if there ever was one. Do you take a guy at 4 to groom to become a center just based on a weekend of work? Thats a tough one, excellent numbers but scouts didnt have him ranked at all all year really. Well im sure he was just not so high... at all. LDT Lavertu and Foucault were, if no NFL interest we have a shot at one of those 2 (LDT is nfl bound for sure) who have been ranked high all year. Be crazy to pass on one of them if they didnt get nfl interest.

let me be clear, im not saying the organization is a joke, but a few months ago, it was quite the gong show for a while... for a few years really it was a gong show, sure we may not be as much of one right now as we were, but... it doesnt take 3 months to fix what took years to get too. We are still a gong show of sorts, and probably are known as one throughout the league, why would coaches want to come here? cuz recent history suggests you come here and your career is ruined. Oshea hired ETCH, so be it. its his choice. If etch fails, he fails but i think basing thoughts on his past and what he says in media written articles or opinion colums like doug browns, i dont like that. Lets see what he does as a blue bomber first then we can crucify him if he fails. I think after last year and the previous regime, i think based on last season, if anything, this year will/should be entertaining. say what you will about etch and the coaches and all that but ones things for certain. Last year was boring dull not exciting, we sucked so bad and were losing so bad that games were over by half time most games. This year... say what you will but i think the entertainment factor will be high. Yes we all want the team to do well and win win win but if not, i think most of us just want to be entertained. 60$ a ticket, give me something to cheer for or get excited about . Last year, i had nothing. This season, im betting ill have a few things to entertain me.

Just curious but who would you have put a gun to and forced them to come here to be the defensive coordinator instead? cuz seems to me, the guys we wanted (stubler for sure) didnt want to come here. So sure maybe ETCH is a bit of a crazy person or strange i guess, maybe the phrase best used to describe etch would be "not normal" but... he came here. Stubler didnt, others didnt. why is that? cuz others didnt want too probably. So basically, seems like ETCH was the best we could get. Oshea trusts the guy, honestly osheas opinion should mean more then a bitter doug brown who has done nothing but crap on the team who paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to play and not win for. So just curious, who would you have made come here? cuz i think oshea tried to get other guys but they didnt want to come. Happens when you fire coaches every year. Guess you get the reputation that your organization is a joke... who would you have wanted to come join the joke of an organization?

1.Lavertu 2. Goosen 3. Foucault Foucault at 3 due to possible nfl interest. If he hasnt signed by draft time and is commited to signing up here, he's ahead of goosen on my list if im kyle walters and staff. Lavertu, just makes sense. we probably want him. We need him. He probably will start right away. He's a perfect fit for what we lack. Goosen. Same as Lavertu, just not as good right now, probably not ready to start but.. he's an olineman and we need that badly plus he's a center and well, like lavertu, we need that. Foucault, ahead of Goosen if no NFL interest, might project to be tackle but can start and probably will at guard for whoever drafts him. Gotta think he would for us. We need OLINE guys, we need center olineman. There are 2 available. We probably will take one. Foucault would be nice too, he fits a need. Guys like Coomb,Gill... Sure, Gill might be nice but not at 2 when you need to fix your oline. You dont pass up on one of those 3 for Gill i dont think.Coombs? Lets not even go there, like the guy... he's good, but.. he's very small. If he's there in round 2, maybe i look at making a trade to move up to take him then but not at 2, not even close to 2.

I expect our D to be decent, cuz they normally are. I expect our O to be atleast competent, last year we werent at all. I expect some excitement and some disapointment. I expect us to have atleast 1 1000 yard receiver. I expect our Running Game to be good to very good (IT SHOULD BE) (if not, we need to get better players) Record Wise, Honestly with some offensive production, we should be good for 6 wins, so im gonna say we pull a couple miracles off this season, maybe on some special teams players or Defensive plays, Big plays, INTS to end games, Kick Return TDS etc, so im gonna say 8-10 but Im not naive to think it could very well be a 4-14 season too, hopefully if it is, its with progress. Like 2010 really, sucked but were close, was progress. LOL.

Ok. Lets try. We will just go top 5 tho. Ottawa - Lavertu - not really a need, just desjardins likes to screw other teams over Winnipeg - Goosen - since lavertu isnt available Edmonton- Foucault - because like us, they desperately need oline badly Montreal - Bailey - because i dont see any non import receivers on their roster really BC- Gill - i could see them taking coombs here also, harris/coombs is a nice combo but i suspect gill goes here as they have westerman and need a guy who can play for him at times too. Plus westerman refused to sign an extension so maybe he's gone this next off season.

anyone remember the anaheim game? we dont win that if not for pavs. You cant just throw out his bad games and say he sucks, you have to throw in his good ones too, There were plenty of games we won just because of how pav played, that anaheim game is one that just sticks out. What seems to be the case is the entire team, not just pavelec, but the entire team is inconsistent. Its not just one player, it never is in pro sports. Its the entire team. You can blame pav for a few bad goals sure, but... what about the games he won pretty much all by himself? What about the powerplay that sucked so badly all year, if our powerplay was any good, some of those 1 goal games might have gone the other way for us. You cant really blame one guy, You can but... when you look at the team as a whole, well... what it shows is that they are all inconsistent (everyone except ladd little and wheeler really) 3 players are pretty consistent game in game out, the rest arent. You can blame the goalie, you can blame the bottom 6 lack of scoring, you can blame the powerplay... but if you do just blame one of them, you are ignoring the other issues the team has. Would a new goalie make a difference? maybe, maybe not tho. Maybe tho. But would that new goalie make the bottom 6 put up more goals and points? would it improve the powerplay? would it make most our players any less inconsistent? I dont think so.

because if we sign a better goalie or one of the youngsters come up and show they are ready, where else is he gonna go? why buy him out when u can put him in st johns. Maybe he doesnt accept that and goes back to play in the khl or czech leagues or something. I really dont think a buyout on pavelec is something TNSE will even think about. Sometimes, it makes me wonder. Buyout Pavelec he sucks, get rid of him, he sucks... but... you think burying his contract in the minors is awful? how can the jets trade someone who is awful? why would anyone pick him up if he's as awful as some make him out to be. Why waste a buyout on pav when you dont need too. You either trade him if you sign someone or one of your young guys step up or you bury him in the minors. He has no trade value according to those who think he sucks.

I wonder if maybe the thinking with Pavelec is that he's got 3 years left on his deal. Thats probably when a guy like Helle or/and Comrie will be ready, perhaps sooner even. The thing with going out and buying out pavelec and maybe signing a halak or a greiss or whoever is available or making a trade, (have to be a vet probably tho, dont want him but cam ward might actually make sense, not really money wise but how many years does he have left? if its 1 or 2? or even 3 like pav maybe you try to get him here, I dont think the goaltending answer long term for this team is in a trade, Its Helle or Comrie maybe both so you cant go out and get a goalie on a super long term deal. Just 2 or 3 years, Thats what PAV is on. Maybe the solution is PAV plays less games and Hutch or whoever the backup is next season (NOT montoya) play more games and when you feel Hutch or Helle or Comrie or Pasqualle is ready to take over from PAV, well maybe in a couple seasons the cap will be much higher and pav is our backup veteran goaltender. Plays limited games.

and if this was Chad Johnson 5 years ago too.

well, he has the right attitude then. I wish him luck. It would be good for the league actually, i just am not convinced he will be that great up here.

and lets not forget, if they dont buy out pav, they could always try to trade him if we sign another guy or they could bury his contract in st johns. There are ways around this, you dont need to buy him out, you dont need to trade him. You can bury him in the minors, yup that involves him going through waivers but if he's as terrible as some suggest (im not convinced he is) If you break his games down in to 10 game segments, i think what you will see is... he's pretty decent at times but pretty crappy at other times. I wonder if part of pavs problem is if... maybe he plays too many games. maybe our coaches dont have confidence in the backup goalies. There is always that possibility, if pav is so awful but the coaches play him the most, what does that say about montoya? says the coaches dont really have confidence in him to get the job done. Who knows, season just ended. Lets see what happens.

Do the als even need american receivers? This seems to be a huge PR move. Get the feeling he gets cut in training camp If not, i dont know how long he will last up here. I dont know how good he will be either, he's gonna have a target on his back. Hate saying this, but... i love when former "nfl stars" come up here and fail. Ricky Williams was supposed to come up here and dominate, he didnt. Akili Smith is another, got cut in camp didnt he? So many former NFL guys come up here with this attitude that they are gonna just light it up big time.... but then reality kicks in and they realize,oh crap these guys up here are actually pretty good. If johnson comes in with the attitude that he is gonna do amazing things because he was a former NFL player, he will fail. If not, he might have a chance but... i have to question whether the als actually need another american receiver, Richardson,Green among others... I dont know if CJ even makes it out of camp. Seems to be an annual thing, JIM POPP brings in some american player who gets all this hype only to see him be cut during camp. The other thing, How far has johnson fallen, what has he done with all his money? the guy was making millions upon millions upon millions of dollars, where did all that money go? Is he playing now for the love of the game or because his millions are now gone and he needs the money?