Listed below is my response to the PPP Salary Cap Challenge. I'd love to hear what you guys and gals think.

Goaltenders:

Jonathan Quick

Jhonas Enroth

Defense:

Duncan Keith - Marc Staal

Tobias Enstrom - Carl Gunnarsson

Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Dmitri Orlov

Andrew Ference

Forwards:

Daniel Sedin - Pavel Datsyuk - David Backes

Alex Tanguay - Claude Giroux - Jordan Eberle

Jeff Skinner - Logan Couture - Stephen Weiss

Matt Cooke - Adam Henrique - Gabriel Landeskog

Jason Zucker

Peter Regin

Detailed information and rationales after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

I've been reading PPP for almost two years now and have been commenting regularly for about a year.  What I've always loved about this community relative to others is the knowledge-base of those that come here and the generally positive atmosphere.  Even when things in Leaf-land seem bleak, I've been able to find respite from all of the bad at PPP.

Then something changed.  The intelligent debate is still there, without question, but the optimism seems to be wavering.  People are down on the coach, down on the GM and down on the team.  What happened?  Things were at least as bad last year and the quality of the team was much, much worse.

Maybe it was the fast start that probably had all of our hopes up a little higher than they had any right to be, maybe it's knowing that this is now a fully Burke team and yet the results still aren't there, or maybe we all just finally cracked.

The Fan Confidence Poll is a brilliant idea and it should have been fun for all of us.  In reality, it's depressing the hell out of me.  Things aren't all bad for our Toronto Maple Leafs despite the standings.  I think it's time we remember what Pension Plan Puppets is all about and really get behind this team.  Consider this post my own personal therapy.  This will be my manifesto and the thoughts that I will cling to for the remainder of the season.  Win, lose or draw, this is my team and these are the things I love about this year's squad.

Continue reading this post »

Last week, following his team’s game 7 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, Brooks Laich demonstrated why hockey players are among the most selfless and humble athletes in the world.  Well, most of them anyway.  Laich stopped and spent just under an hour helping the Wangemann family change a flat tire on their van.  Here’s an account of what else happened that evening prior to Laich’s heroics.

1)    Brian Gionta drove past the Wangemanns.  While he would have been willing to help them out, he realizes that changing a tire on an automobile isn’t the same as changing a tire on his Barbie “Jammin’ Jeep” Power Wheel.

2)    The Kostitsyn’s offer the Wangemanns roadside ‘protection’ for a nominal fee.  After they respectfully declined, Andrei broke the window of the van and declared they would be back later.

3)    Seeing the family standing near him in a huddled semi-circle, Carey Price got angry and shot a puck at them.

4)    Scott Gomez offered the family below average assistance for $8 million a year in perpetuity.

5)    Upon seeing an immobile vehicle after a Canadiens game, a collection of Habs fans gathered in a mob and tried to burn it.

6)    Finally, Laich was not the first altruistic Washington Capital on the scene. Alexander Semin saw the family in distress and decided to try and help them change the tire.  After 44 fruitless attempts he was left to pound the wheel like a bongo in frustration.

It's been a while since we've been in the playoffs.  We're making strides and we have some things to look forward to but like most people, I want something now -- so I started making a list of the positives.

1) We didn't sign Jay Bouwmeester - I hope I'm not the only one that will have to shamefully admit that I was hoping against hope that the Leafs would land the smooth-skating defenseman.  3 goals, 26 assist and a -4.  $6.68 Million just doesn't get you what it used to.  The poor, poor Flames.

Continue reading this post »