Round 2 Thoughts
by Connie Kim on May 2, 2010 2:23 PM PDT
in Playoffs
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PrintNow that the Los Angeles Kings are out of the running for the Cup (as is my final pick, the Buffalo Sabres), I have to decide how I think the rest of the season is going to go. The flu bug hit me for a few days, which is why this post a bit late-coming, but here goes. With the remaining eight teams in the playoffs, would it be safe to just say the Penguins will take it all the way again? I don't know, but I'm not feeling them for a repeat; especially if they face the Red Wings again. I found it a bit boring last year when both teams were in the finals again. I can say with certainty that I'll be more bored watching a third match up in a row in the finals. Let's just hope the other six teams prevent that from happening.
San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Detroit Red Wings (5)
Chicago Blackhawks (2) vs. Vancouver Canucks (3)
At this point, it comes down to who I want to see fail rather than who I want to see win. For instance, I inadvertently found myself cheering for the Phoenix Coyotes over the Red Wings in Round 1 because I was kinda over it. "It" being Detroit advancing in the playoffs again. It would have been insanely interesting if the Red Wings didn't make the playoffs, so I wanted the next best thing of the Wings being taken out in the first round. My initial bracket had them moving on, but as the games occurred, I wanted nothing more than to see Shane Doan regulate. Clearly, the better team won and they now face the San Jose Sharks. In this series, I want nothing more than to have Detroit absolutely pound them to the pavement.
My desire to see the Blackhawks (and Flyers) move on may be overridden by the reality of the match ups. Can Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp equal the Sedins and Mikael Samuelsson? Perhaps, but after watching the latter three up close and personal, I can't say for sure. At the same time, Roberto Luongo against Antti Niemi/Cristobal Huet? Of course! In the end, I'm going to say I want to have the Blackhawks move on to the next round. Will it be easy? No, I'm saying seven games for this one.
Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
Boston Bruins (6) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7)
In the Eastern Conference, I'm a little less committed to my picks, but I believe the Penguins will win out over the Habs and the Flyers will trounce the Bruins. Am I confident? Nope, but if they prove me wrong, I can't wait to see the great playoff hockey.
P.S. I just saw Mike Cammalleri whiff on a one-timer. I laughed. Why? Because I've seen that whiff more times than I care to remember.
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whiffle puck
Cammalleri is O’Sullivan with a different personality flaw. One never gets his due respect the other is too good to care
Canucks lose game 2
After leading the game 2-0, Chicago comes back with 4 UNANSWERED GOALS!!! Why couldn’t Vancouver collapse like this against the Kings?
L'Affaire Cammalleri is now history
And it has been sufficiently documented so that there should be little, if any, room for revisionism. If anyone is still crying bitter tears into his or her pillow over Michael Cammalleri, just ask Dean Lombardi why he lost confidence that he could re-sign him. I thought DL was very clear and logical about why the two sides were so far apart, i.e., Cammy was asking for terms that were unprecedented for a player of his age and track record. And this, in a salary cap environment, from a team that needed to keep salaries within reason so they could have room for what DL is about to do now: lock up a group of quality young players to form an enduring core of a contending team.
In short, Cammalleri might still be a King, except he was an *ss about it.
And then he got hurt, and when he came back he sucked.
End of story.
As soon as he hit arbitration, I knew he was soon on his way out, ungracefully. The trade on draft day hit the season ticket holders congregated in Nokia Theater like a blast in the face (with LOTS of cheering), but publicly he didn’t seem heartbroken. Then again, I don’t know him personally so I have no idea what he really thought.
The biggest problem was we weren’t a great team then and it would have been foolish to keep him for another year if we thought he wasn’t going to re-sign with us in the offseason(which I’m pretty sure everyone thought). This year we could afford to hold onto Fro because we were a team competing for playoffs but it would’ve been foolish to do so back then
“In short, Cammalleri might still be a King, except he was an *ss about it.”
… Really? Welp, keep reciting the same tired DeanSpin if it gets you through the night.
I understand the playoffs must be tough to watch right now for those who admired Lombardi blindly and believed every word he said, and as a result made Cammalleri out to be a selfish and greedy “ass”.
And, it was always a nice touch that those who wanted Cammalleri to go are always so quick to judge him off of his work in 07-08, when he clearly wasn’t 100%, rather than his two solid seasons before that. Not surprising, but I suppose it’s amusing all the same.
The fact of the matter is that Lombardi simply didn’t think much of Cammalleri as a player. And now, he’s being proven wrong in front of a lot of people. I don’t have anything against Ryan Smyth, but for Dean to be willing to pay someone clearly over the hill like Smyth the same amount he wouldn’t pay for a prime player like Cammalleri just shows he’s capable of missing the boat as often as any other GM. Imagine that.
Even though the amount of salary is similar than not with the two players you’re referencing, that doesn’t mean Lombardi would have paid for Smyth at the same time as Cammalleri was looking to get paid. I’d say he would have said no, hands down. The Kings were in two different places as an overall roster when they moved Cammalleri and when they acquired Smyth.
“I’d say he would have said no, hands down. The Kings were in two different places as an overall roster when they moved Cammalleri and when they acquired Smyth.”
… They were in two different places as an overall roster by design. Not only did Lombardi not think much of Cammalleri as a player, the decision beyond that was twofold — A) keeping Michael around might improve the team to the point where he wouldn’t get another lottery pick, and B) it was just another chance to get rid of guys who weren’t part of his regime and free up cap space to get guys who people would identify with HIM and not the previous GM.
The decision to sign Smyth was short-sighted but Dean was coming up on the end of his deal and knew he needed to show SOME success; after all he had shown nothing but utter failure in the three seasons prior to this one and (rightfully) felt his job might be in danger if that continued. It’s not like Lombardi was going to make an effort to win unless he absolutely needed to; it’s why he held Bernier back THIS season, after all. Keep the progress slow, keep expectations low … it’s not a bad plan for a GM to follow, but he wouldn’t get away with this plan in a real hockey city; out here, there isn’t going to be a media to keep him in line, and most of the fans here know comparatively little about the sport and haven’t any expectations, given the team’s sad history. That so many self-proclaimed hockey experts out here blindly follow Lombardi is evidence enough that his plan has been effective for his self-preservation.
It’s not like Lombardi was going to make an effort to win unless he absolutely needed to; it’s why he held Bernier back THIS season, after all. Keep the progress slow, keep expectations low
Did you read this in an interview somewhere? Source?
You seem very angry in your comment. Are you unhappy with Lombardi for these reasons? What do you want to see happen for the upcoming few months?
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