travel_dude

Stone runs his own goalie. Nice

There's one. On a 5 on 3 though

Yikes Stone and Ritchie on the PP

No, but we have figured out how to take multiple penalties in a game.

Flames version has sound now.

Fan 960 is airing the game, but I can't sync it up. When I stop the video to have radio catch up, it restarts the game live. So, about 3 minutes behind the play. My usual streaming site not working now. Darn NHL

Welcome to a sneak peak at what a rebuild would look like. Sure we would get lots of picks for Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk etc, but this is what you wwould see for years. No thanks.

Pretty slack coverage. No audio. Leafs get national TV coverage, Nuck game won't even spring for a radio broadcast.

https://cfjctoday.com/2021/04/29/blazers-lose-to-cougars-zary-injured-expected-to-miss-games/ Attached is a link to the hit.... Look at the 2nd video (coach interview around 5:05 point). Not sure how you can say the concussion was preventable. That doesn't make any sense. He didn't have 3-5 seconds to expect the hit. Shoulder to head. Head up, wouldn't matter if he didn't turn his head to follow the play, there was no time to brace for a headshot. How do you even brace for that? Fall under it? Perhaps. Jump up so you get it in the chest? Not even enough time to do that. Pretty easy decision to take him out when he fell over after getting to the bench.

Zadorov will be an interesting case this year. The way they were calling the game, there is not much room for his typical hitting style. Pitlick laid an open ice hit that was called charging. It was an interesting call. TBH, I don't remember a lot of open ice hits called that way before. Hey, I know the refs are adjusting to the new standards, but it seemed off. Saying that, the D did not play well. Ras was going through the motions, which is fine for a pre-season game. A little concerned about pairing him with Zarorov. More concerning is Gudbranson. Unless he is coasting through the pre-season, he has to get better by a ton. Worst D out there perhaps. Was not impressed how he paired with Valimaki; that will ruin him IMHO. Might as well use Kylington or Stone in the RD spot if that's the best Gudbranson can manage. I know it's early, but I think perhaps we have to think about a Zarodov-Tanev and Hanifin-Ras top 4. Would there be enough puck movement from Zadorov-Tanev? I think they could be a decent shutdown pair.

I'm not sure how you prevent an ankle injury blocking a shot, other than not blocking a shot. He needs to learn how to do it with his shin pads if he's going to last. Then again, shouldn't this be D with bigger pads? Like the compete, but doing it in a nothing game is too risky. As far as the concussion, there are douchebags in every league. He was blindsided, so he can't really prevent one.

Familiar content tonight.... "Oilers get away with another one there". We haven't looked that good in this one though.

As much as Hani-Tani was our best pair last year, we should not forsake the other pairs. With Gudbranson in the mix, it kind of messes up the options. Valimaki-Tanev (solid RD with Valimaki) Hanifin-Andersson (best pair from last playoffs we played) Zadorov-Gudbranson (too much size on one pair, but this is really the only problem out of 3 pairs). Perhaps I am being a bit hard on Gudbranson, but I think he messes up what Valimaki will show.

Well, we signed Poirier to a deal, who will be in the AHL next year. There is something to be said about having a mix of players in your roster. Can't just have big tough guys who can't skate. I don't mind Zaddy, and Guddy is okay in some uses, but come on....

He did actually catch a break, albeit a small-ish one. Accounts for Eichel's risk doesn't it? I would suspect he is more of a Backlund than a Monahan. Good offense, but smarter as a two way player. But that is for the future. He's young to the point of being part of a future wave. The 5th wave.... They should be playing the crap out of him in the AHL with Pelletier and find the right RW for them.

Niku signs with MTL for $750k.

Zary out week to week with a fractured ankle.... According to TSN.

Hehe, is that trending?

I for one felt that Ward was the worse thing this team needed. BP had a good regular season with a complete no show in the playoffs. His 2nd year was marked by too much reaction to playoff failure. The complaint about being too soft was familiar with our team the last two years. Lucic bought into Sutter's game. He has some faults but can change the complexion of a game. We should be protecting the players that rely on skill. Even if Tkachuk was wrong to get fired up about the puck flip, where was the team? Anyway, I have some confidence going into the season. We may not have the game breakers that some teams have, but we have players that given some space can dominate. We never punish players for going to our net or running our goalie. Let them fear the Zad and Gud. Keep your head up around Pitlick and Coleman.

Well, they are going with the most effective pair from 2 years ago with a dynamic player that elevates two players he plays with. They are also loading up Tkachuk with an effective RW, to replace Dube. Last year, Tkachuk and Lindholm did pretty well before Johnny played with them. And Tkachuk has put up pretty stellar numbers playing on LW. Gaudreau is adept enough to swap places with Mangiapane in the O-zone. I like when Gaudreau is on the off-wing, as it opens up the ice for him. The other thing is that Monahan had started noticing the effects of the injury 6 games into last season. The big advantage for these two lines is that each has a defensively sound player on it. As far as the presser, what is he supposed to say. He is not talking about it. It's a distraction that he faced with his last negoitiation. No matter when he signs, they will keep asking him questions about it. "You are the highest payed player, do you feel that your current performance should be better?". "It's January and you haven't signed. Do you expect to be traded at TDL?" "Have you directed your agent to take a hometown discount?". Bla, bla, bla....

Archie was a key player last year and spent time on the top line, but you are right. He won't get paid unless he is on the roster as active or in the AHL.

It's all starting to confuse me. Canada will be enacting something that prevents people from flying unless dosed. The US requires a quarantine period now, but will be going fully vaccinated for entry in November (I think). To fly into some provinces, you need to be vaccinated or quarantine (I think ON and QC and MB and BC). I suspect some US states you may have similar rules, especially CA. I admin I am no expert. The rules change and have changed. Nothing is standard anymore.

Stevie Y said that Bertuzzi will not play in the 9 games played in Canada. Is the border crossing the only reason? With Archibald, the Oilers play half of the games on the road. He won't even be able to get on a plane in Canada. Travel to other provinces would be difficult with quarantine rules.

With the NHL, the rules are clear - no vax, you can be suspended by team. The ECHL and AHL maybe not so clear.

I would say that $9m only makes sense for 5 or 6 years. Longer term "should be closer to $8m. At least in my books. 5 years is still in his productive years, while 8 takes him to 36/37. In fact, you really have to compare a 5 year deal with Kaprizov's. Are they worth the same?