Friedman's 30 Thoughts - Dec 19

[sureLoss]

Cory Sarich wants another NHL chance:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/3...e-shot-at-nhl/

19. Forgot this one from two weeks ago, Brad Treliving on Josh Jooris: “He might be the first player to get a contract extension before his own place.” Good line, but the apartment came first.

5. If your team is looking for defencemen, watch Anaheim. Ben Lovejoy’s return gives them eight blueliners, with Eric Brewer (expected to be back in January) making nine. That gives Bob Murray some flexibility. Winnipeg added Jay Harrison to stop the bleeding, and Minnesota is another team looking for depth there.

9. The Oilers will continue to look for centres, defencemen and a goalie, and I asked around to see who might be a fit should they decide to try something significant. There were a lot of votes for Pittsburgh, with a plethora of young defenders. One exec said if he was Edmonton, he would target Brandon Sutter, although he added he thinks the Penguins hold on to Sutter until the salary cap makes it impossible for them to do so. But you know who got a couple of votes? Florida. It’s a good theory: cap room, a need for wingers and two promising defence prospects — 2012 first-rounder Michael Matheson and 2013 second-rounder Ian McCoshen, both at Boston College (McCoshen will be at the world juniors for Team USA). Anyway, worth watching.

14. If there’s one thing Arizona needs, it’s young forwards who can score. That’s the key to Keith Yandle (A nice, high draft pick wouldn’t hurt, either). But Don Maloney is making it clear that he will not do anything with Yandle unless it provides a long-term solution. It’s also possible some teams who don’t desperately need a centre take a look at Antoine Vermette. He can play the wing, and versatility never hurts.

Also a lot of stuff on Boston's targets

[saillias]

We could use Cory Sarich!

[Huntingwhale]

I had no idea that happened to Sarich. Poor guy, hope he recovers well and can make a comeback at some point.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by saillias

We could use Cory Sarich!

I thought that at first, but unfortunately, he really wouldn't bring anything Engelland or Smid don't already offer. And given the nature of his injuries and the layoff, I doubt he would be better defensively.

Really hope he makes it back somewhere though. Even if that is in Edmonton.

[sureLoss]

Sarich doesn't like Hartley anyways

[Street Pharmacist]

Oilers should offer Sarich a practice contact like Brodeur had with the Blues

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Sarich doesn't like Hartley anyways

Hartley's done a great job to date but some of the old player regime didn't exactly love him. He and Kipper were barely on speaking terms.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Hartley's done a great job to date but some of the old player regime didn't exactly love him. He and Kipper were barely on speaking terms.

That's probably not a bad thing. Based on what we've seen, Hartley clearly inherited a team with a culture problem, and that problem was clearly caused by the old regime. Not saying the old regime to a man are poison players, I think it's just what happens when as an organization you don't accept your reality and keep trying to force something that just isn't working, turns things sour.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle

That's probably not a bad thing. Based on what we've seen, Hartley clearly inherited a team with a culture problem, and that problem was clearly caused by the old regime. Not saying the old regime to a man are poison players, I think it's just what happens when as an organization you don't accept your reality and keep trying to force something that just isn't working, turns things sour.

Oh I totally agree that the old regime wasn't working out and change was needed. You only have to look at the effort and entertainment value of what is a salary cap floor team today under Hartley vs the salary cap ceiling teams of the old regime where it looked on most nights where the team was just going through the motions. Hartley definitely knew a culture change was required and it's no surprised some veteran players weren't enamored with him.

[Buster]

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is contacting teams with space, seeing what it will cost for them to take players off his roster, so he can free up room to do what he wants.

Why is there always talk of this, but never seems to happen.

Why don't we take some deadweight off Boston, that wouldn't ruin the room, and have a nice draft pick come back this way too.

[Igster]

The Oilers will continue to look for centres, defencemen and a goalie

LOL...So basically they need a hockey team.

[Steve Bozek]

Wish the Flames would/could give Sarich a minor league chance - a good team guy with a great work ethic.

[CliffFletcher]

Lovejoy would be an upgrade on the Flames' third pairing.

[Phanuthier]

The fan side of me would give Sarich a contract and help him get that 1000 games (I believe there is some pension he gets?).... he deserves it. I don't think he should be a problem, he was a bit upset about not getting ice time (which player isn't?) but I'm sure his expectations are a lot lower now, and the only other problem he had was with a forward who wouldn't backcheck, but that is no longer a problem either.

[Finger Cookin]

I really appreciate these summaries. Thanks!

[flamesfever]

I wish we had kept Hannan.

[Machiavelli]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

I wish we had kept Hannan.

Ugh, would much rather have Sarich back.

[DOOM]

Id rather have neither.

Both were fine as Flames, just don't think we need either of them back.

[Machiavelli]

Originally Posted by DOOM

Id rather have neither.

Both were fine as Flames, just don't think we need either of them back.

Oh, I actually agree. But Sarich I could at least stomach.

[Scoutski]

Tip of the hat to Hartley

18. Let’s go back to Nov. 12, when the Kings blew 3-1 and 5-3 leads, losing 6-5 to the Ducks in a shootout. Darryl Sutter held an interesting scrum, saying, “I don’t think we let it get away, we never had a lead,” then, “I know you define it by goals having the lead, but we really never had the lead. Wasn’t for (Jonathan Quick), it wasn’t even close.”

His brother Rich, who does some work for Sportsnet, explained a few weeks later that Darryl Sutter was solely concerned about big picture. Maybe the Kings were winning, but he couldn’t stand the way they were playing. He didn’t think they were good enough to win that night, no matter the score. I was reminded of that Wednesday, when Calgary extended Bob Hartley during a six-game losing streak. The Flames’ young players are improving. The team is in better shape than expected. He’s done much better than expected, despite recent fumbles.