i'll take willie mitchel anyday. the amount of goals he is DIRECTLY responsible for saving, is vastly greater than the highest-offensive d-man out there.

i would pay top dollar for a top shutdown d-man.

I disagree. While I like Mitchell, he can only do one thing, and that is play a shutdown role. He is slow, can't move the puck and has no offensive ability. Would you pay top dollar for a younger version of him? I wouldn't.

With that being said, I'd take him over say Mike Green who disappeared in the playoffs. If I was paying top dollar for a dman, they'd have to have some offensive ability, or at least be able to move the puck well.

hawks looking damn good.

Sharks are way too slow for the Hawks, it's a must win next game or the Hawks are going to the cup final.

damn... this is ridiculous. All my predictions going to shit.
Was right 7/8 on the first round
got 0/4 in the second
and it looks like Sharks and Habs aren't gonna advance maybe... =/

Agreed. Like i said before it will be nice to add a big 2 way dman that can skate. Of course thats not cheap and will probably need a trade to get one, so its unlikely gonna happen.
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Not to get ahead of myself, but a Flyers Hawks Stanley Cup Final would be crazy.

They met once this season, and guess who was in net for the Flyers...??












Yup...


Michael Leighton.

And can't hold the blueline for shit. He's a stay-at-home defenseman that cheats defensively.

When he's on the ice, the team is just a 1 shot rush when on the offensive end.

2 way defensemens are definitely worth more.

lol we all kno what that 1/8 that you missed in the 1st round was.

Actually you bring up an interesting point. Players who are expected to put up points can and often disappear in the playoffs. But a defensive guy like Mitchell, he can't exactly "disappear" in the playoffs, right? He'll just continue being the shutdown guy he is.

it works both ways. guys that are expected to shut guys down also can 'disappear' if they are unable to shutdown the top line of the opposition.

I see what you are saying. Mike Green and Willie Mitchell are on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of what they bring to the table. Give me a guy that has the ability to play against the other teams top lines, but also can contribute offensively, say on the powerplay. That is the type of dman I would pay top dollar to. If they disappear on one side, at least they are doing something else.

It will be tough for the Canucks to get a Hamhuis or a Volchenkov by signing them. Canucks have players that are good trade bait, so getting a dman through a trade could be the route they go.

I think the Canucks should go after Dan Girardi who is a RFA, or a Roman Polak who is 24 and has one year left on his contract.

sorry for being a bit late but I was out of town during the latter portion of the canuck's second round. But after elimination, were there any injury disclosures such as burrows, kesler, luongo??? Just seems they were off their game during they playoffs.

kesler and burrows - shoulder

henrik - shoulder

daniel - hand

sammy - back/groin

edler - foot/knee (from game 6)

POSSIBLE glove hand injury for luongo but it could be just speculation.

That being said, no one's usually 100% during the playoffs.
And Kesler did say it's no excuse regardless.

Unless you're injured as bad as Salo during game 6, who should have not even been dressed,
you're expected to play and perform still.

True, but in those cases, critics will often say the top line raised their level of play.

At the very least, Mitchell would still be clearing pucks out of the crease, playoffs or regular season, instead of doing pirouettes like #3! :)

Seeing how Blackhawks have a pretty strong chance to win the Cup now, only thing that will stop them is themselves (Hossa jinx).

And they're gonna run into salary cap issues next season.

Would you rather have the Canucks go all the way and win the cup and then completely tank for the next half decade or whatever. Or would you rather see a consistent divisional champions every season, but never get anywhere past 2nd round?

I would rather pick "C".

Also known as option - Detroit Red Wings.

haha, same here, except that doesn't happen to anyone but the Red Wings.

I would trade 10 years of missing the playoffs for 1 cup.

If the Canucks never wins the Stanley Cup before I die.. I won't be dying peacefully thats for sure!

habs and sharks are getting owned... holly shit

Same.

Seeing all those old people who have been fans since 1970 and not witness a cup win shows just how rare winning a cup is.

I'd trade more than 10 years for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I would take the Canucks winning 1 cup if it meant sucking for the next 5 years. In those 5 years they'd get high draft picks which could result in them being consistent in the playoffs.

Do people think the Flyers match up well against the Hawks if they do meet in the finals? Pronger torturing Toews or Bufugly?

FLyers can play the run and gun style....I'm officially on their bandwagon, cause the sharks suck Hawk balls.

If Habs should win the series... Blackhawks will get the cup...
Cinderella run will only last for so long.

I think Flyers will have a better chance stopping them.

I haven't written off the Sharks yet though...