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Hockey: News and Discussion Thread
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Not disagreeing at all. Although all players contribution has to be measured in more than points. And who said anything about being the hero? But to say the goals were meaningless? You were kidding right?
Interesting. Interesting.
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Cool. Alternate Captain Serious scores GWG for gold.
It was entertaining. Again, some amazing defense played by Team Canadia.
It was entertaining. Again, some amazing defense played by Team Canadia.
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Trolling Canuckistan
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
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They have some meaning but in the end Toews won it, Crosby had his golden goal in 2010, this year he was mostly a bust.
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
I never said Crosby was the hero of the game, or the olympics, I would give that to Price for the shutout in the gold medal game, and he played amazing all the way through. It just cracks me up how everyone was dumping on Crosby/Kunitz because they didn't have 17 goals each. There is more to a player than goals, and they're both great 2 way players. A lot of these games were low scoring 1 goal games. Crosby was the captain of the team, and according to Babcock brought a lot of leadership and intangibles to the team. It just cracks me up that Crosby was the hero of 2010 and has been hated on since the first exhibition game because he wasn't scoring all the time. Yet, as the captain helped lead the team to Gold. Typical Canadians, not knowing what they have, which is the most stacked team in the Olympics top to bottom.
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dom (02-23-2014)
I am #76,361,211,935
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So he's not a great player? Awesome, the twittersphere in Canadia would love your insightful nonsense...
I never said Crosby was the hero of the game, or the olympics, I would give that to Price for the shutout in the gold medal game, and he played amazing all the way through. It just cracks me up how everyone was dumping on Crosby/Kunitz because they didn't have 17 goals each. There is more to a player than goals, and they're both great 2 way players. A lot of these games were low scoring 1 goal games. Crosby was the captain of the team, and according to Babcock brought a lot of leadership and intangibles to the team. It just cracks me up that Crosby was the hero of 2010 and has been hated on since the first exhibition game because he wasn't scoring all the time. Yet, as the captain helped lead the team to Gold. Typical Canadians, not knowing what they have, which is the most stacked team in the Olympics top to bottom.
I never said Crosby was the hero of the game, or the olympics, I would give that to Price for the shutout in the gold medal game, and he played amazing all the way through. It just cracks me up how everyone was dumping on Crosby/Kunitz because they didn't have 17 goals each. There is more to a player than goals, and they're both great 2 way players. A lot of these games were low scoring 1 goal games. Crosby was the captain of the team, and according to Babcock brought a lot of leadership and intangibles to the team. It just cracks me up that Crosby was the hero of 2010 and has been hated on since the first exhibition game because he wasn't scoring all the time. Yet, as the captain helped lead the team to Gold. Typical Canadians, not knowing what they have, which is the most stacked team in the Olympics top to bottom.
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They have some meaning but in the end Toews won it, Crosby had his golden goal in 2010, this year he was mostly a bust.
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
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Trade time!! Should pick up tomorrow.
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97BlackAckCL (02-23-2014)
Trolling Canuckistan
So he's not a great player? Awesome, the twittersphere in Canadia would love your insightful nonsense...
I never said Crosby was the hero of the game, or the olympics, I would give that to Price for the shutout in the gold medal game, and he played amazing all the way through. It just cracks me up how everyone was dumping on Crosby/Kunitz because they didn't have 17 goals each. There is more to a player than goals, and they're both great 2 way players. A lot of these games were low scoring 1 goal games. Crosby was the captain of the team, and according to Babcock brought a lot of leadership and intangibles to the team. It just cracks me up that Crosby was the hero of 2010 and has been hated on since the first exhibition game because he wasn't scoring all the time. Yet, as the captain helped lead the team to Gold. Typical Canadians, not knowing what they have, which is the most stacked team in the Olympics top to bottom.
I never said Crosby was the hero of the game, or the olympics, I would give that to Price for the shutout in the gold medal game, and he played amazing all the way through. It just cracks me up how everyone was dumping on Crosby/Kunitz because they didn't have 17 goals each. There is more to a player than goals, and they're both great 2 way players. A lot of these games were low scoring 1 goal games. Crosby was the captain of the team, and according to Babcock brought a lot of leadership and intangibles to the team. It just cracks me up that Crosby was the hero of 2010 and has been hated on since the first exhibition game because he wasn't scoring all the time. Yet, as the captain helped lead the team to Gold. Typical Canadians, not knowing what they have, which is the most stacked team in the Olympics top to bottom.
Crosby may be a great offensive talent but I think he's lacking in a complete game. I'd take a Bergeron or a datsyuk over Crosby any day. For 10 years I've watched people roll through bergerons line and they all become better players. Meanwhile Pittsburgh and Canada is looking for someone who can play with Crosby.
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I'm gonna disagree with the claims of his leadership abilities. I think the fact that Canada had a lot of captains and alternate captains on their team was more of a factor than crosbys leadership alone.
Crosby may be a great offensive talent but I think he's lacking in a complete game. I'd take a Bergeron or a datsyuk over Crosby any day. For 10 years I've watched people roll through bergerons line and they all become better players. Meanwhile Pittsburgh and Canada is looking for someone who can play with Crosby.
Crosby may be a great offensive talent but I think he's lacking in a complete game. I'd take a Bergeron or a datsyuk over Crosby any day. For 10 years I've watched people roll through bergerons line and they all become better players. Meanwhile Pittsburgh and Canada is looking for someone who can play with Crosby.
This suffocating team D played by the Canadians was built on speed and puck-possession...something we know Babs likes to use. So, not like some of the more plodding approaches by the other Euro squads.
While Sid did not score at the clip we are used to, you must give him his due for sticking to the system and not being a liability despite not putting in goals. I think he did well. Would I have liked to see him score more? Sure, but he played a pretty decent series of games for Team Canada and often kept the puck in the opponents end...
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dom (02-23-2014)
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I'm sure after drug-testing, the Canadians and Swedes will relinquish their medals and gold will go to Finlandia.
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Anyhow, let's get started with the NHL season again!
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They have some meaning but in the end Toews won it, Crosby had his golden goal in 2010, this year he was mostly a bust.
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
I felt like I watched a coach constantly trying to find someone who could play with Crosby. If Crosby was the great player he's supposed to be he would be able to adapt to his line mates instead of them adapting to him. He should be able to use his "superior" skills to highlight the skill of his line mates regardless of who they are.
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Watching the replay a bit...
Waldorf, can your Kings trade Carter to Chicago? He's awesome next to Serious...and given Carter can't score in LA, why waste his talent and abilities?
Waldorf, can your Kings trade Carter to Chicago? He's awesome next to Serious...and given Carter can't score in LA, why waste his talent and abilities?
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Mmmm...I'll say this, black label: The Canadians strategy in this tournament was all-out defense. Period. We now all know D wins titles, golds, and etc. Not run and gun offense. This applies for all sports.
This suffocating team D played by the Canadians was built on speed and puck-possession...something we know Babs likes to use. So, not like some of the more plodding approaches by the other Euro squads.
While Sid did not score at the clip we are used to, you must give him his due for sticking to the system and not being a liability despite not putting in goals. I think he did well. Would I have liked to see him score more? Sure, but he played a pretty decent series of games for Team Canada and often kept the puck in the opponents end...
This suffocating team D played by the Canadians was built on speed and puck-possession...something we know Babs likes to use. So, not like some of the more plodding approaches by the other Euro squads.
While Sid did not score at the clip we are used to, you must give him his due for sticking to the system and not being a liability despite not putting in goals. I think he did well. Would I have liked to see him score more? Sure, but he played a pretty decent series of games for Team Canada and often kept the puck in the opponents end...
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97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
Trolling Canuckistan
Agreed, their D was the strongest part of their game for sure. I never said he was a hero, just that he's not getting any credit for captaining the team to the gold. Johnnie Walker's blind hatred agrees with my points. And an insurance goal in a gold medal game isn't nothing
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You could argue that "leadership" was a by-committee thing. Sure...I'm with you there.
But, still, a distributed leadership model does not discredit Sid's commitment to team D and thus, we should not say he had a bad Olympics. To be honest, I have never seen Sid back-check like this. He really bought into the team D concept. That in some ways is leadership and very likely, the other players also contributed too...but, still Sid didn't try to do too much and by accident, jeopardize Canada's chances.
As Serious said in his interview afterwards today, even when games were extremely tight and close, no player on Team Canada tried to get too cute and give up their defensive responsibilities to get that insurance goal. Giving up just 3 goals all tournament is something...and 2 straight shutouts in the 2 biggest games.
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97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
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Just an insurance goal, not like it mattered
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You guys are wasting your bandwidth. I don't think there's anything you can say that will convince Black label that Crosby was a key contributor. The hate runs too deep.
I thought Jupes hated Crosby. Obviously not as much as BL.
Now pardon me as I go bask in the glory that is Double Olympic Gold medals in the 2 key sports.
I thought Jupes hated Crosby. Obviously not as much as BL.
Now pardon me as I go bask in the glory that is Double Olympic Gold medals in the 2 key sports.
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97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
BL, don't worry, north of the border, they are brain washed with reporting like this...
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/spo...246775291.html
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/sidn...1156--nhl.html
The captain's unbelievable play throughout the first five games would've likely gone unappreciated were it not for his highlight-reel, breakaway goal against Sweden in the final. Crosby finished with a goal and two assists, but he was good early on and started flying when the playoff round started. Canada clearly followed its leader.
Sidney Crosby delivers dagger with second-period breakaway goal in Olympic final
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Ok, maybe Jupes does hate him as much.
So the second goal wasn't a dagger?
Maybe the Swedes were simply mis-quoted? Or the Canadian media made this up.
Crosby wasn't the best player or the key guy, it was a team effort. But that second goal did the Swedes in IMO. He may not have delivered the points, but he was a factor most of the time. As were many players on that team.
So the second goal wasn't a dagger?
Maybe the Swedes were simply mis-quoted? Or the Canadian media made this up.
"When they got that second goal, I think it kind of took the air out of us a little bit," said Swedish forward Gabriel Landeskog.
Added Swedish coach Par Marts: "I think the second goal let us down the most. If you were 1-0 down and one period left, you could handle that but two goals down and 20 minutes left against a team that doesn't let a goal in, that's really tough."
Crosby wasn't the best player or the key guy, it was a team effort. But that second goal did the Swedes in IMO. He may not have delivered the points, but he was a factor most of the time. As were many players on that team.
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And who the fawk reads the Winnipeg free press outside of Winnipeg?
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97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
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Nope, not reading the Peg Free Press. But, here's ESPN (and TSN) analyst Lebrun's take on Canada's win...sums it up nicely: http://espn.go.com/olympics/winter/2...ivers-win-ages
Winning in Salt Lake City ended a half-century slump. Winning in Vancouver was the party of a lifetime. Winning in Russia?
"It feels great," said Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, his second Olympic gold medal hanging from his neck. "No matter where this game would be played, I think you get up for it. But obviously we all know, being Canadian, the amount of history with Canada-Russia. I think ultimately to come here, bigger ice, different challenges than Vancouver -- everything wasn't perfectly set up for us as it was in Vancouver. But we had to adjust to the ice and everything else. Yeah, it feels great to be able to find a way to win."
Who else but Crosby and Jonathan Toews would you expect to lead the way with a goal apiece Sunday as Team Canada captured Olympic gold with a 3-0 win over Sweden in perhaps its most significant hockey achievement since the 1972 Summit Series.
Why?
Because this wasn't a Canada Cup or a World Cup won at home. It wasn't an Olympic gold medal won in North America. It was proving hockey supremacy on the other side of the ocean for once, erasing the painful memories of Nagano and Torino and finally slaying the perception that Team Canada couldn't win on big ice.
"It's nice to win [overseas] after how many years and after such a depressing situation in Torino and everyone saying that was the reason why, to come back here and win it and prove to everyone that Canada can play on big ice," said forward Rick Nash, a Torino holdover.
"That's one thing that obviously Canada has been scrutinized for in the past," added center Ryan Getzlaf. "It's nice to put that to rest and come over here and play a solid tournament."
To finally solve the big-ice puzzle, Team Canada approached the Sochi tournament with a single, devoted focus: how to defend on the larger ice surface. Nothing else mattered. The offense would flow on its own once a defensive foundation was laid and the players absorbed it.
Three goals against in six games, including back-to-back shutouts in the semifinals and final? Yeah, I'd say the plan worked.
"That was a defensive clinic," said Canada and Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter.
Was that the most impressive defensive effort by a Canadian team in best-on-best competition ever?
"I believe so," said the team's architect, GM Steve Yzerman, who is not often associated with such statements. "As far as defensively, pucks staying out of the net, quality scoring chances, shots on goal, it was a pretty dominant performance by these guys.
"The coaching staff and players were phenomenal. The Russian national teams through the '70s and '80s were pretty spectacular. I don't know that I can say that, but I watched these six games and even though our team didn't score as many goals as we'd have liked, every other facet of our game was fantastic."
No question they got some breaks too. Nicklas Backstrom's ban from the gold-medal game was a huge blow for the Swedes, who were already without Henrik Zetterberg, Henrik Sedin and Johan Franzen. But let's be honest: Sunday's game was a total crush job. Utter domination. While you feel bad for the Swedes and especially Backstrom, his presence in the lineup in the gold-medal game does not change the outcome.
"We were dominant," said Team Canada coach Mike Babcock. It started in August with players in running shoes playing ball hockey. "[Getzlaf] said before going out for the third period, 'It's all about the ball hockey, guys. It's all about the ball hockey,'" he added, chuckling.
And what of said coach? Make it two Olympic gold medals, a world junior championship and a men's world title to go along with a Stanley Cup for the Detroit Red Wings coach.
Half the battle in these tournaments is getting the players to buy in. Babcock and his all-star cast of Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins, Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues, Lindy Ruff of the Dallas Stars and former Edmonton Oilers coach Ralph Krueger found a way to sell NHL offensive stars to play an unselfish, defensive game that sucked the life out of the opposition.
"I think he instills a lot of confidence in the group," Crosby said of Babcock. "He leads by example and I think you can see that he trusts every guy out there, and the situations he puts them in, he puts them in for a reason. Definitely to have a group come together this quick isn't easy, and everyone's kind of laughing at the ball hockey in August, but you know what, all those little things go a long way sometimes. He definitely did a great job, his whole staff, of preparing us and getting us ready for all the adjustments we needed to make on the big ice."
That buy-in, however, happens only if the leaders show the way. Crosby and Toews were sensational in that vein, sacrificing offensive stats to focus on their two-way games and keeping their best for last, both scoring Sunday in the biggest game of all.
"They're leaders for a reason," said Carter. "Jonny and Sid, they brought it every night. When you've got your top guys going like that, it's pretty easy for us to follow."
It's simple, said Toews.
"Guys want to win," said the Chicago Blackhawks captain. "I think that's the bottom line. For people to be talking about our team and saying we don't score goals, we're not doing this, we're not doing that, you look at the offense we have, especially up front, our forwards weren't scoring goals, but we could easily go out there and start cheating and trying to make plays and making mistakes and opening ourselves up to give up scoring chances. Guys didn't panic, guys didn't get away from what they were doing. We stayed committed to playing the team game, and we knew that was what it was going to take to win a gold medal. So here we are, standing here with the gold around our necks, and it feels great."
Babcock, perhaps, said it best in his final comment before racing to catch the closing ceremony: "Does anybody know who won the scoring race? Does anybody care? Does anyone know who won the gold medal? See you, guys."
And with that, the Canadian coach got the last word after spending two weeks defending why his team wasn't scoring.
Certainly, people will remember not just Toews and Crosby but Drew Doughty and Shea Weber for their monster performances on defense, the calm and confident Carey Price in goal and the contributions of forwards Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Marleau ... heck, you might as well name every player on the roster.
"It is amazing to see the guys that have the raw talent and ability commit themselves to doing all the little things right," said Toews. "We knew that's what it was going to take in this tournament to win the championship. And guys were willing to do that. So I would say it's a great team to be a part of and unlike any other team I've really been a part of."
And here's the crazy part. Team Canada is better than ever and is not going away anytime soon. Not with Crosby, Toews, Price, Weber, Doughty, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Getzlaf, Benn, Corey Perry, Alex Pietrangelo, Carter and Matt Duchene still in their 20s. Throw in a healthy Steven Stamkos, sprinkle the odd Claude Giroux or James Neal in there and wait on Nate MacKinnon and Connor McDavid ... you get the picture. These guys aren't going anywhere. This is the golden generation of Canadian players.
Canada will be the team to beat in South Korea if the NHL decides to participate again. But selecting Team Canada will be a job for someone else. Following his news conference Sunday, I approached Yzerman and asked him if he would take another whirl at it for 2018. The answer was no. It's time to let someone else take a crack at it, Yzerman said.
The stress of this particular assignment was obvious, the Tampa Bay Lightning GM having to deal with not originally naming Lightning captain Martin St. Louis to Team Canada only to put him on when Stamkos had to pull out with an injury. It put a heavy strain on Yzerman, who has always put his country first, made the most difficult decisions and goes out in style with two Olympic gold medals in two tries.
How can you beat that? You don't.
And nobody was going to beat Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics.
"It feels great," said Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, his second Olympic gold medal hanging from his neck. "No matter where this game would be played, I think you get up for it. But obviously we all know, being Canadian, the amount of history with Canada-Russia. I think ultimately to come here, bigger ice, different challenges than Vancouver -- everything wasn't perfectly set up for us as it was in Vancouver. But we had to adjust to the ice and everything else. Yeah, it feels great to be able to find a way to win."
Who else but Crosby and Jonathan Toews would you expect to lead the way with a goal apiece Sunday as Team Canada captured Olympic gold with a 3-0 win over Sweden in perhaps its most significant hockey achievement since the 1972 Summit Series.
Why?
Because this wasn't a Canada Cup or a World Cup won at home. It wasn't an Olympic gold medal won in North America. It was proving hockey supremacy on the other side of the ocean for once, erasing the painful memories of Nagano and Torino and finally slaying the perception that Team Canada couldn't win on big ice.
"It's nice to win [overseas] after how many years and after such a depressing situation in Torino and everyone saying that was the reason why, to come back here and win it and prove to everyone that Canada can play on big ice," said forward Rick Nash, a Torino holdover.
"That's one thing that obviously Canada has been scrutinized for in the past," added center Ryan Getzlaf. "It's nice to put that to rest and come over here and play a solid tournament."
To finally solve the big-ice puzzle, Team Canada approached the Sochi tournament with a single, devoted focus: how to defend on the larger ice surface. Nothing else mattered. The offense would flow on its own once a defensive foundation was laid and the players absorbed it.
Three goals against in six games, including back-to-back shutouts in the semifinals and final? Yeah, I'd say the plan worked.
"That was a defensive clinic," said Canada and Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter.
Was that the most impressive defensive effort by a Canadian team in best-on-best competition ever?
"I believe so," said the team's architect, GM Steve Yzerman, who is not often associated with such statements. "As far as defensively, pucks staying out of the net, quality scoring chances, shots on goal, it was a pretty dominant performance by these guys.
"The coaching staff and players were phenomenal. The Russian national teams through the '70s and '80s were pretty spectacular. I don't know that I can say that, but I watched these six games and even though our team didn't score as many goals as we'd have liked, every other facet of our game was fantastic."
No question they got some breaks too. Nicklas Backstrom's ban from the gold-medal game was a huge blow for the Swedes, who were already without Henrik Zetterberg, Henrik Sedin and Johan Franzen. But let's be honest: Sunday's game was a total crush job. Utter domination. While you feel bad for the Swedes and especially Backstrom, his presence in the lineup in the gold-medal game does not change the outcome.
"We were dominant," said Team Canada coach Mike Babcock. It started in August with players in running shoes playing ball hockey. "[Getzlaf] said before going out for the third period, 'It's all about the ball hockey, guys. It's all about the ball hockey,'" he added, chuckling.
And what of said coach? Make it two Olympic gold medals, a world junior championship and a men's world title to go along with a Stanley Cup for the Detroit Red Wings coach.
Half the battle in these tournaments is getting the players to buy in. Babcock and his all-star cast of Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins, Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues, Lindy Ruff of the Dallas Stars and former Edmonton Oilers coach Ralph Krueger found a way to sell NHL offensive stars to play an unselfish, defensive game that sucked the life out of the opposition.
"I think he instills a lot of confidence in the group," Crosby said of Babcock. "He leads by example and I think you can see that he trusts every guy out there, and the situations he puts them in, he puts them in for a reason. Definitely to have a group come together this quick isn't easy, and everyone's kind of laughing at the ball hockey in August, but you know what, all those little things go a long way sometimes. He definitely did a great job, his whole staff, of preparing us and getting us ready for all the adjustments we needed to make on the big ice."
That buy-in, however, happens only if the leaders show the way. Crosby and Toews were sensational in that vein, sacrificing offensive stats to focus on their two-way games and keeping their best for last, both scoring Sunday in the biggest game of all.
"They're leaders for a reason," said Carter. "Jonny and Sid, they brought it every night. When you've got your top guys going like that, it's pretty easy for us to follow."
It's simple, said Toews.
"Guys want to win," said the Chicago Blackhawks captain. "I think that's the bottom line. For people to be talking about our team and saying we don't score goals, we're not doing this, we're not doing that, you look at the offense we have, especially up front, our forwards weren't scoring goals, but we could easily go out there and start cheating and trying to make plays and making mistakes and opening ourselves up to give up scoring chances. Guys didn't panic, guys didn't get away from what they were doing. We stayed committed to playing the team game, and we knew that was what it was going to take to win a gold medal. So here we are, standing here with the gold around our necks, and it feels great."
Babcock, perhaps, said it best in his final comment before racing to catch the closing ceremony: "Does anybody know who won the scoring race? Does anybody care? Does anyone know who won the gold medal? See you, guys."
And with that, the Canadian coach got the last word after spending two weeks defending why his team wasn't scoring.
Certainly, people will remember not just Toews and Crosby but Drew Doughty and Shea Weber for their monster performances on defense, the calm and confident Carey Price in goal and the contributions of forwards Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Marleau ... heck, you might as well name every player on the roster.
"It is amazing to see the guys that have the raw talent and ability commit themselves to doing all the little things right," said Toews. "We knew that's what it was going to take in this tournament to win the championship. And guys were willing to do that. So I would say it's a great team to be a part of and unlike any other team I've really been a part of."
And here's the crazy part. Team Canada is better than ever and is not going away anytime soon. Not with Crosby, Toews, Price, Weber, Doughty, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Getzlaf, Benn, Corey Perry, Alex Pietrangelo, Carter and Matt Duchene still in their 20s. Throw in a healthy Steven Stamkos, sprinkle the odd Claude Giroux or James Neal in there and wait on Nate MacKinnon and Connor McDavid ... you get the picture. These guys aren't going anywhere. This is the golden generation of Canadian players.
Canada will be the team to beat in South Korea if the NHL decides to participate again. But selecting Team Canada will be a job for someone else. Following his news conference Sunday, I approached Yzerman and asked him if he would take another whirl at it for 2018. The answer was no. It's time to let someone else take a crack at it, Yzerman said.
The stress of this particular assignment was obvious, the Tampa Bay Lightning GM having to deal with not originally naming Lightning captain Martin St. Louis to Team Canada only to put him on when Stamkos had to pull out with an injury. It put a heavy strain on Yzerman, who has always put his country first, made the most difficult decisions and goes out in style with two Olympic gold medals in two tries.
How can you beat that? You don't.
And nobody was going to beat Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics.
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Agreed, this was all I was trying to say, never said he was the difference maker or the sole reason they won, god forbid I praise one of my favorite players
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Its as if Sid was as unlikeable as Alfreddson.
Last edited by dom; 02-24-2014 at 01:25 PM.
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97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
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Hey Yummy, they're hating on your favorite LePlayer...
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If Lebron played for LeFinlandia, they'd win gold medals in ALL the events. Including figure skating.
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97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
The sizzle in the Steak
Bylsma. Your Olympic tenure is done.
Keep coaching like that, and the Pengoons will never touch The Cup again.
Meanwhile.....Brad Doty did not catch his flight back home.
Eye witness accounts say they saw him talking with a man who was driving a Kia Optima parked near the airport. Officials say to be on the look out for the driver of said car.
Keep coaching like that, and the Pengoons will never touch The Cup again.
Meanwhile.....Brad Doty did not catch his flight back home.
Eye witness accounts say they saw him talking with a man who was driving a Kia Optima parked near the airport. Officials say to be on the look out for the driver of said car.
Senior Moderator
So for chuckles I went back and read through the posts from 4 years ago, during and after the Olympics. Starting at about page 535.
And boy was Yummy ever pissed at me for the goalie stuff
And boy was Yummy ever pissed at me for the goalie stuff
The sizzle in the Steak
Don't bring up goaltending with Yummy.
It's the gateway to insanity.
It's the gateway to insanity.
Senior Moderator
Bylsma. Your Olympic tenure is done.
Keep coaching like that, and the Pengoons will never touch The Cup again.
Meanwhile.....Brad Doty did not catch his flight back home.
Eye witness accounts say they saw him talking with a man who was driving a Kia Optima parked near the airport. Officials say to be on the look out for the driver of said car.
Keep coaching like that, and the Pengoons will never touch The Cup again.
Meanwhile.....Brad Doty did not catch his flight back home.
Eye witness accounts say they saw him talking with a man who was driving a Kia Optima parked near the airport. Officials say to be on the look out for the driver of said car.
I...I mean I heard that Toews and Crosby were also picked up by said Optima.
The following users liked this post:
97BlackAckCL (02-24-2014)
Senior Moderator
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Regional Coordinator
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iTrader: (6)
Bylsma. Your Olympic tenure is done.
Keep coaching like that, and the Pengoons will never touch The Cup again.
Meanwhile.....Brad Doty did not catch his flight back home.
Eye witness accounts say they saw him talking with a man who was driving a Kia Optima parked near the airport. Officials say to be on the look out for the driver of said car.
Keep coaching like that, and the Pengoons will never touch The Cup again.
Meanwhile.....Brad Doty did not catch his flight back home.
Eye witness accounts say they saw him talking with a man who was driving a Kia Optima parked near the airport. Officials say to be on the look out for the driver of said car.