How many points will Crosby score his rookie season?

[The Shtick]

They're probably negotiating with Pavel Bure as we speak!.

They could package up Bure and let's say.... Mark Messier!! Hell, bring back Brett Lindros just for fun! Ferguson is my hero!!!

[Big Johnny69]

As for NA players dominating in Russia, from what I gather most of the quality players went to play in the European Elite league because the money was better there than in the Russian league. I never looked at stats but from what I heard at the worlds most of the NA players faired quite well playing in Europe. And as for biases towards styles of hockey, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I personally prefer NA style hockey as well over European. We can all see you prefer European hockey and with your European heritage I don't blame you. I am a true blooded Canadian (all family members born and raised here) and unless our hockey programs suddenly become doormats for the rest of the world, I will always prefer NA (especially Canadian) hockey.

[broken27]

As for NA players dominating in Russia, from what I gather most of the quality players went to play in the European Elite league because the money was better there than in the Russian league.

This couldn't be farther from the truth... RSL is paying more money NET (it's all tax free) to average players than any league in the world (avg salary of around $1.4M). European leagues pay a fraction of that.

Here's a list of the players who played in Russia during the lockout (Canadians bolded). Note that none of them accomplished much of anything, and I think Richards was actually CUT by AK BARS KAZAN:
RUSSIA
Player: League: Team:
Antropov, Nikolai RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Arkhipov, Denis RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Brathwaite, Fred RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Heatley, Dany RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Kasparaitis, Darius RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Khabibulin, Nikolai RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Kovalchuk, Ilya RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Kovalev, Alex RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Lecavalier, Vincent RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Morozov, Aleksey RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Richards, Brad RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Salei, Ruslan RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Zhitnik, Alexei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Zinovjev, Sergei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE AK BARS KAZAN
Frolov, Alexander RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE CSKA MOSCOW
Kvasha, Oleg RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE CSKA MOSCOW
Nikolishin, Andrei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE CSKA MOSCOW
Saprykin, Oleg RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE CSKA MOSCOW
Strbak, Martin RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE CSKA MOSCOW
Zherdev, Nikolai RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE CSKA MOSCOW
Afinogenov, Maxim RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE DYNAMO MOSCOW
Chubarov, Artem RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE DYNAMO MOSCOW
Datsyuk, Pavel RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE DYNAMO MOSCOW
Markov, Andrei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE DYNAMO MOSCOW
Rosa, Pavel RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE DYNAMO MOSCOW
Samsonov, Sergei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE DYNAMO MOSCOW
Allen, Bryan RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Brylin, Sergei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Kozlov, Vyacheslav RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Legace, Manny RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Piros, Kamil RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Ponikarovsky, Alexei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Vishnevski, Vitali RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE KHIMIK VOSKRESENSK
Afanasenkov, Dimitri RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Kondratiev, Max RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Kozlov, Viktor RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Markkanen, Jussi RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Novoseltsev, Ivan RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Semin, Alexander RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Zubrus, Dainius RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LADA TOGLIATTI
Korolev, Igor RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Lamothe, Marc D. RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Rachunek, Karel RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Safronov, Kirill RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Schastlivy, Petr RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Shvidki, Denis RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Yashin, Alexei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE LOKOMOTIV YAROSLAVL
Nabokov, Evgeni (John) RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METALLURG NOVOKUZNETSK
Nazarov, Andrei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METALLURG NOVOKUZNETSK
Elias, Patrik RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METTALURG MAGNITOGORSK
Fedorov, Fedor RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METTALURG MAGNITOGORSK
Gonchar, Sergei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METTALURG MAGNITOGORSK
Kalinin, Dimitri RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METTALURG MAGNITOGORSK
Sykora, Petr RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE METTALURG MAGNITOGORSK
Bednar, Jaroslav RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE OMSK AVANGARD
Jagr, Jaromir RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE OMSK AVANGARD
Koltsov, Kirill RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE OMSK AVANGARD
Zyuzin, Andrei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SEVERSTAL CHEREPOVETS
Skrastins, Karlis RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SIBIR NOVOSIBIRSK
Varlamov, Sergei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SIBIR NOVOSIBIRSK
Kuznetsov, Maxim RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SKA ST. PETERSBURG
Nylander, Michael RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SKA ST. PETERSBURG
Semenov, Alexei RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SKA ST. PETERSBURG
Tyutin, Fedor RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE SKA ST. PETERSBURG
Fedorov, Sergei SECOND DIVISION Spartak Moscow
Koltsov, Konstantin SECOND DIVISION Spartak Moscow
Karpovtsev, Alexander SECOND DIVISION Vityaz Chekhov
Korolyuk, Alexander SECOND DIVISION Vityaz Chekhov
Markov, Daniil SECOND DIVISION Vityaz Chekhov
Zhamnov, Alexei SECOND DIVISION Vityaz Chekhov

[Big Johnny69]

Heatly had an eye injury which limited him if I am correct. And as for Richards and Lecavalier, well that is only two other players. And if they didn't accomplish anything so be it. But look at how many played in Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and any other country. I don't have numbers so I am not going to speculate but I'm pretty sure more than 3 impact players played in each of the leagues I mentioned. And once again if I am not mistaken both Thornton and Nash had outstanding seasons regardless of where they played. I will do some leg work to back up my claims but this is just off the top of my head. Don't want to say anything to outrageous without proof to back it up.

[broken27]

Heatly had an eye injury which limited him if I am correct. And as for Richards and Lecavalier, well that is only two other players. And if they didn't accomplish anything so be it. But look at how many played in Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and any other country. I don't have numbers so I am not going to speculate but I'm pretty sure more than 3 impact players played in each of the leagues I mentioned. And once again if I am not mistaken both Thornton and Nash had outstanding seasons regardless of where they played. I will do some leg work to back up my claims but this is just off the top of my head. Don't want to say anything to outrageous without proof to back it up.

Thornton and Nash had what I would term decent seasons in the SWISS LEAGUE.

Thornton:
40gp 10g 44a 54pts 80pim

Nash:
44gp 27g 20a 47pts 83pim

That's a league that is on par with the ECHL. It is improving it's standing overall in the world, and because of certain tax treaties is more apt to attract certain players.

Believe me, I've done my research on this. On bigger ice, a large number of impact players who play the hard-nosed style common to North American hockey find themselves negated because they can't hit what they can't catch.

Not to suggest that they are useless, but you're talking about two of the premier players in the NHL and they really weren't overly impressive.

Anyways, I'm going to enjoy the new rules. Hopefully they have the desired impact and take guys like Farce-E Tucker out of the game completely.

Cheers,
Dan

[powerlefty]

This couldn't be farther from the truth... RSL is paying more money NET (it's all tax free) to average players than any league in the world (avg salary of around $1.4M). European leagues pay a fraction of that.

Here's a list of the players who played in Russia during the lockout (Canadians bolded). Note that none of them accomplished much of anything, and I think Richards was actually CUT by AK BARS KAZAN:

Dan,


Your statement is way off base on Richards, unless your reference to "CUT" is to the surgical kind ...

From ESPN.com
Tampa Bay Lightning playoff MVP Brad Richards had surgery Wednesday to repair a tear in his abdominal wall and will be out at least six weeks, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday.

Richards

Even if the NHL lockout is resolved by Feb. 1, that still puts Richards out until at least mid-March.

"I feel pretty lousy," Richards said Thursday in a telephone interview. "It just kept getting worse and worse. I knew that if tried to play with it, I would only be playing at half-speed for fear of it getting worse. I figured it was just best to go ahead and have it now."

While playing in Russia during the lockout, Richards noticed a dull pain in his hip and lower abdomen. The pain became severe enough that he had trouble lifting his leg and it forced him to return to North America on Dec. 16. Originally diagnosed as having a sports hernia (a weakness in the abdominal wall), Richards rested the past month, but the pain did not go away.

"The thinking was to have the surgery now rather than having Brad try to play at 50 percent or whatever and it eventually breaking down," Richards' agent Pat Morris said. "We didn't want it to get worse and then have him pull out in mid March and be lost for the playoffs, if there are playoffs this year."

[Big Johnny69]

[QUOTE=broken27]Thornton and Nash had what I would term decent seasons in the SWISS LEAGUE.

Thornton:
40gp 10g 44a 54pts 80pim

Nash:
44gp 27g 20a 47pts 83pim

27 goals in 44 games.. regardless of level of competition (it is still pro hockey, and NHL only upped the level of play) I would say was a great season. Guys only score about 45 goals in an 82 game season so goals/game ratio is still very comparable.

And 54 points in 40 games is a great season to me as well. St. Louis led the league with 94 (may be off by a point or two) over an 82 game season. Do the math, points/game ratio is very similar as well.


I too am hoping the new rules work that way as well. Hopefully more skilled players will be making impacts and less of those hanger-ons will be getting the ice time.

[mberube]

The fact is that Canada and Russia have been dominating world hockey from the beginning except for a few hiccups here and there. Both are excellent hockey nations. Who is the best? Opinions will very. My Opinion is that it depends on the year. The skill level is so high that you can flip a coin to see who will win.

I personally love to watch both nations go at it in national tournaments. To me it’s the most exiting hockey to watch.

As for Canadian player not performing in Europe, well a lot of Russian players don’t do squat in our arenas. The fact is that it is two different games all together. All I know is that Canadian teams in world class tournaments dominate more often then not.

Can’t wait for the Olympics.

Go Canada Go!!!

[broken27]

As for Canadian player not performing in Europe, well a lot of Russian players don’t do squat in our arenas. The fact is that it is two different games all together. All I know is that Canadian teams in world class tournaments dominate more often then not.

Can’t wait for the Olympics.

Go Canada Go!!!

Personally the Olympics (with NHLers or without) have always been my favourite brand of hockey.

I agree that hugely talented Russians (Swedes, Czechs, Finns, et al) are shutdown in the North American game. Just ask Pavel Brendl, Dainius Zubrus, or Alexandre Volchkov. But as I have stated repeatedly, I prefer European hockey, on the big ice, with less hitting (although it's getting rougher over there).

Hockey is meant to be a fast game, not this BS clutch-grab-slash stuff. The slashing is more of a Finnish thing, although that clip of Ryan Smyth at the World Championships was pretty classic...

Cheers,
Dan

[mberube]

Personally the Olympics (with NHLers or without) have always been my favourite brand of hockey.

Cheers,
Dan

And World Juniors.

[broken27]

Yeah, I realized that after posting it. Someone was cut (now I can't remember who) and sent packing... At any rate, there's no arguing with the stats.

Regardless, I am humbled to be corrected on this. *Applauds*

Dan

Dan,


Your statement is way off base on Richards, unless your reference to "CUT" is to the surgical kind ...

From ESPN.com
Tampa Bay Lightning playoff MVP Brad Richards had surgery Wednesday to repair a tear in his abdominal wall and will be out at least six weeks, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday.

Richards

Even if the NHL lockout is resolved by Feb. 1, that still puts Richards out until at least mid-March.

"I feel pretty lousy," Richards said Thursday in a telephone interview. "It just kept getting worse and worse. I knew that if tried to play with it, I would only be playing at half-speed for fear of it getting worse. I figured it was just best to go ahead and have it now."

While playing in Russia during the lockout, Richards noticed a dull pain in his hip and lower abdomen. The pain became severe enough that he had trouble lifting his leg and it forced him to return to North America on Dec. 16. Originally diagnosed as having a sports hernia (a weakness in the abdominal wall), Richards rested the past month, but the pain did not go away.

"The thinking was to have the surgery now rather than having Brad try to play at 50 percent or whatever and it eventually breaking down," Richards' agent Pat Morris said. "We didn't want it to get worse and then have him pull out in mid March and be lost for the playoffs, if there are playoffs this year."

[powerlefty]

Yeah, I realized that after posting it. Someone was cut (now I can't remember who) and sent packing... At any rate, there's no arguing with the stats.

Regardless, I am humbled to be corrected on this. *Applauds*

Dan

I think Brian McCabe was cut from, I think, a Swedish team.

[broken27]

I think Brian McCabe was cut from, I think, a Swedish team.

That may well be... But I am positive someone was cut from either AK Bars or CSKA Red Army in the Russian league... Oh well, no matter. None of those guys will be over in Russia this season (except for marginal veterans like John Leclair perhaps).

Cheers,
Dan