General NHL Stuff

[sak22]

30 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

Huh?  But the kings are playoff bound this season.  Why fire coach in the middle of the season?  What were the expectations?

They were 19-7-4 at Christmas and have gone 4-8-6 since, and while they are in the WC#1 with games in hand on most teams, they are far from a guarantee with how the last month has gone.  The expectations were that they should improve from the 104 points last year with the PLD addition.  They have traded away away their last 2 firsts and are spending at the cap, they are a win now team.

[cross16]

4 hours ago, robrob74 said:

has Blake done a poor job?

 

other than the whole Dubois thing, I think they were on a good track? 
 

id never go for that kid. 

 

Poor might be a stretch but I think you'd be hard pressed to convince me he's done a good job. The majority of the team he inherited. He made good moves to bring in Fiala and Danault but that's kind of it. Hasn't drafted well either. 

 

Mclellan is a good coach but is one that tends to have a shelf life but I do see this as more of a roster construction thing then a coaching thing. I don't think their roster is great. 

[sak22]

Jarmo Kekalainen relieved of his duties as general manager | Columbus Blue Jackets (nhl.com)

 

A little surprised by this, not that the record didn't deserve it, his greatest triumph as a GM goes hand in hand with what has now set the team back.  He went all in just to make the playoffs in 2019 and pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the first round, but when he knew he was losing Panarin and Bobrovsky.  People slam the Flames asset management but it was Panarin and Bob lost for nothing, Duchene rented for a first and lost for nothing, and Dzingel rented for 2 2nds and lost for nothing.  All for 1 playoff series win.

[Thebrewcrew]

Nor surprised CBJ made a change.

 

Two bad seasons in a row after he signed the biggest UFA in team history.

 

The Babcock hire was also a mistake. 

[The_People1]

In hindsight, the Johnny signing did him in because for once in a long time, CBJ had expectations.  Prior to that, nobody wanted to play there and Jarmo survived under the premise of "doing the best job under the circumstances", etc, etc.  As soon as Johnny was signed, CBJ was expected to start pushing for the playoffs.  None of that happened.

[sak22]

Didn't think he had the highest IQ on the ice, but man this guy is dumb.  Good luck in Russia

 

 

Edit:

 

 

[420since1974]

I think that he will try to find a contract with one of the Euro leagues, but this won't help him:

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39584777/coyotes-cutting-adam-ruzicka-apparent-cocaine-video

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, 420since1974 said:

I think that he will try to find a contract with one of the Euro leagues, but this won't help him:

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39584777/coyotes-cutting-adam-ruzicka-apparent-cocaine-video

 

Maybe he fits the culture on the Oilers.

I'm sure they could welcome him there.

[conundrumed]

Is anyone ready to talk about Nashville yet? It's not just the run that they're on, but how they're doing it every way under the sun. After a hard fought 1-0 win over the Wings, Vegas is in cruise control leading 4-1 after 2. Cup champ Vegas. The streak is over, right? Not so fast. Three 3rd period goals and the winner in OT.

Wtf is happening here? 15-0-2 in their last 17?

Sign Ryan O'Reilly. Bahaha he's aged out and washed up. 25g, 35a. Wait. What?

Perennial Backlund-like journeyman Gustav Nyquist, he's about done, right? 20g, 45a.

Will they ever lose in regulation again this year?

I can think up at least 24 other teams. If they were tearing through everyone like hot butter, it's a media sensation. But it's Nashville, it only gets mentions.

Who doesn't love media parity?

I hope they just tear through everything that everyone thought they knew.

 

[sak22]

52 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

Is anyone ready to talk about Nashville yet? It's not just the run that they're on, but how they're doing it every way under the sun. After a hard fought 1-0 win over the Wings, Vegas is in cruise control leading 4-1 after 2. Cup champ Vegas. The streak is over, right? Not so fast. Three 3rd period goals and the winner in OT.

Wtf is happening here? 15-0-2 in their last 17?

Sign Ryan O'Reilly. Bahaha he's aged out and washed up. 25g, 35a. Wait. What?

Perennial Backlund-like journeyman Gustav Nyquist, he's about done, right? 20g, 45a.

Will they ever lose in regulation again this year?

I can think up at least 24 other teams. If they were tearing through everyone like hot butter, it's a media sensation. But it's Nashville, it only gets mentions.

Who doesn't love media parity?

I hope they just tear through everything that everyone thought they knew.

 

I guess that Brunette guy knows what he's doing.  The type of team you want to avoid in the first round if your a top seed, like Colorado in 2019, of course only 4 back of Winnipeg for the 3rd spot in the Central.  And Winnipeg seems to be trying to imitate their previous season.  On a side Mark Jankowski has probably had his best stretch of hockey in his career with 10 points in his last 9.

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, conundrumed said:

Is anyone ready to talk about Nashville yet? It's not just the run that they're on, but how they're doing it every way under the sun. After a hard fought 1-0 win over the Wings, Vegas is in cruise control leading 4-1 after 2. Cup champ Vegas. The streak is over, right? Not so fast. Three 3rd period goals and the winner in OT.

Wtf is happening here? 15-0-2 in their last 17?

Sign Ryan O'Reilly. Bahaha he's aged out and washed up. 25g, 35a. Wait. What?

Perennial Backlund-like journeyman Gustav Nyquist, he's about done, right? 20g, 45a.

Will they ever lose in regulation again this year?

I can think up at least 24 other teams. If they were tearing through everyone like hot butter, it's a media sensation. But it's Nashville, it only gets mentions.

Who doesn't love media parity?

I hope they just tear through everything that everyone thought they knew.

 

 

The fanbase is a passionate bunch.  Canadian fans seem like spoiled children when comparing the 7th man in the stands.  They call out any weakness of the other team, and loudly.  They deride the refs when they blatantly miss a call.  They don't seem to spend the time knitting or texting.

 

Half their forwards are making less than $1M.  They signed castaway Janko and he has 12 points in 22 games.  The once vaunted defense is down to one big name.  The talent they have vs us is probably equal, or so it would seem on paper.  We have a $15M shutdown line.  

 

Perhaps coaching is the difference.  We both seem to be able to win games and the odd time the goalie steal one.  Just can't figure out how the so-called top line is a combined minus 41 for just two players.  Kuzmenko is only (!!) minus 10.  So, the blame doesn't fall so much on him.  

[The_People1]

5 hours ago, conundrumed said:

Is anyone ready to talk about Nashville yet? It's not just the run that they're on, but how they're doing it every way under the sun. After a hard fought 1-0 win over the Wings, Vegas is in cruise control leading 4-1 after 2. Cup champ Vegas. The streak is over, right? Not so fast. Three 3rd period goals and the winner in OT.

Wtf is happening here? 15-0-2 in their last 17?

Sign Ryan O'Reilly. Bahaha he's aged out and washed up. 25g, 35a. Wait. What?

Perennial Backlund-like journeyman Gustav Nyquist, he's about done, right? 20g, 45a.

Will they ever lose in regulation again this year?

I can think up at least 24 other teams. If they were tearing through everyone like hot butter, it's a media sensation. But it's Nashville, it only gets mentions.

Who doesn't love media parity?

I hope they just tear through everything that everyone thought they knew.

 

 

It wasn't long ago when the Flames and Preds had the same points in the standings.  The Preds are on a run that the Flames ownership can only dream of.  I hope they go out 4-0 in the first round or else the Flames ownership will start to get some wrong ideas about what they can do next season.  Really.  We have to focus on ourselves and commit to a proper retool, or whatever you want to call it.

[Thebrewcrew]

As someone that stayed up to watch the Sharks last night, the NHL does not need to expand. That is the worst team in the roster and you want to add two more teams?

 

The smallest of the big four leagues, doesn’t need to have the most teams. I get the financial aspect, but adding 2-4 teams is just crazy to me. There will be some absolutely horrible teams if they creat 20-80 new jobs for players.

 

I think you can already argue the league is watered down. Hence the elevated scoring. Adding 2-4 more teams may help the owners wallets,  but it’s certainly not a better product. You’re gonna have some truly awful teams.

[The_People1]

45 minutes ago, Thebrewcrew said:

As someone that stayed up to watch the Sharks last night, the NHL does not need to expand. That is the worst team in the roster and you want to add two more teams?

 

The smallest of the big four leagues, doesn’t need to have the most teams. I get the financial aspect, but adding 2-4 teams is just crazy to me. There will be some absolutely horrible teams if they creat 20-80 new jobs for players.

 

I think you can already argue the league is watered down. Hence the elevated scoring. Adding 2-4 more teams may help the owners wallets,  but it’s certainly not a better product. You’re gonna have some truly awful teams.

 

100% agree.

 

I guess more teams in the league will help the NHL market the game to the USA and add rinks and youth programs locally.  It will turn out to be a good long term investment for the NHL because you tap into an expanded talent pool.  I don't know the Utah hockey scene but a new team there could spur building more rinks and get more kids in Utah to play hockey.

 

One thing that appears to have failed is NHL's ventures into China.  We don't see a Yao Ming of hockey come out of China or anything.  Otherwise, that's one country that can turn out some hockey talent and justify the NHL expanding to so many teams.

 

And yes, the SJS are basically 90% AHLers.  No hope against the Flames who are already a pretty bad team.  And we want to water them down further?

[travel_dude]

4 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

100% agree.

 

I guess more teams in the league will help the NHL market the game to the USA and add rinks and youth programs locally.  It will turn out to be a good long term investment for the NHL because you tap into an expanded talent pool.  I don't know the Utah hockey scene but a new team there could spur building more rinks and get more kids in Utah to play hockey.

 

One thing that appears to have failed is NHL's ventures into China.  We don't see a Yao Ming of hockey come out of China or anything.  Otherwise, that's one country that can turn out some hockey talent and justify the NHL expanding to so many teams.

 

And yes, the SJS are basically 90% AHLers.  No hope against the Flames who are already a pretty bad team.  And we want to water them down further?

 

Phoenix really messed up the team.  Perfectly fine stadium to play in and they whined about it being too far to drive.  Then they want to go to Tempe, nope too close to the airport lands?  Next they want to enter the land draw in Phoenix, but nope too close to Scottsdale and water concerns?  Give me a break.

 

Bettman forced the issue with the current stadium being too small, so they got backed into a corner.

Should have just let the Blackbery guy put it in Hamilton and it never would have gotten to this stage.

But anyway, the league is just the right size.

16 in, 16 out.

Revenue only got messed up due to Covid.

But Bett-man wants more money, or so he is being told.

 

Utah needs a team like I need an extra hole in my head.

Nice that they played the Olympics there one time.

They also played in Sarajevo.

 

Rant rant.  By the time the next winter games comes around, the NHL will pull out because of terrorist threats.  Paris will be the start of it.  Olympics is not political.  Tell that to Munich.  

 

[cberg]

6 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

Phoenix really messed up the team.  Perfectly fine stadium to play in and they whined about it being too far to drive.  Then they want to go to Tempe, nope too close to the airport lands?  Next they want to enter the land draw in Phoenix, but nope too close to Scottsdale and water concerns?  Give me a break.

 

Bettman forced the issue with the current stadium being too small, so they got backed into a corner.

Should have just let the Blackbery guy put it in Hamilton and it never would have gotten to this stage.

But anyway, the league is just the right size.

16 in, 16 out.

Revenue only got messed up due to Covid.

But Bett-man wants more money, or so he is being told.

 

Utah needs a team like I need an extra hole in my head.

Nice that they played the Olympics there one time.

They also played in Sarajevo.

 

Rant rant.  By the time the next winter games comes around, the NHL will pull out because of terrorist threats.  Paris will be the start of it.  Olympics is not political.  Tell that to Munich.  

 

Yeah, crazy times.  So, it looks like the NHL is going to add a Utah franchise while “relocating/loaning” the players to it, instead of an expansion draft? While allowing Arizona to continue the land auction process.  Very strange.

 

Also, a new team back in Atlanta, for the third time?  That should not be allowed.  Also, if they get it, to “repatriate” the “Atlanta franchise” history/records back from the Flames and Winnipeg?  NHL has given over to greed and ridiculousness… though they are not alone among the major leagues.  
 

(Political comment)Anything I guess to divert and satiate the masses from other things going on…

[Thebrewcrew]

12 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

100% agree.

 

I guess more teams in the league will help the NHL market the game to the USA and add rinks and youth programs locally.  It will turn out to be a good long term investment for the NHL because you tap into an expanded talent pool.  I don't know the Utah hockey scene but a new team there could spur building more rinks and get more kids in Utah to play hockey.

 

One thing that appears to have failed is NHL's ventures into China.  We don't see a Yao Ming of hockey come out of China or anything.  Otherwise, that's one country that can turn out some hockey talent and justify the NHL expanding to so many teams.

 

And yes, the SJS are basically 90% AHLers.  No hope against the Flames who are already a pretty bad team.  And we want to water them down further?

There is quite a bit of money in Utah, so it is a smart play for the league. 
 

I also understand the idea of wanting to expand further in the US. The theory makes perfect sense. The issue though is that hockey isn’t a very financially inclusive sport. It’s so expansive. Just look at what equipment does for a at Pro Hockey Life. Tack on another 1500 bucks for minor hockey fees, minimum. 
 

It’s never going to grow as much as soccer, baseball, basketball or football, because not everyone can afford to play. Which brings me back to 34-36 teams, there’s not enough NHL caliber players in the world to do that.

[cross16]

I like Salt Lake as a market for the NHL. Be interesting to see how it goes in Utah with some of their rules/religious beliefs but it's a beautiful place and in a pretty central location. Utah Jazz have had a pretty great following for many years and are a well run club so having that owner is a good thing for the NHL. 

 

I can also understand why the NHL doesn't want to leave Phoenix. It's a great market for the NHL to be in and I think the struggles there relate more to ownership/land then they do the market. But also count me in the camp that is not for expansion. 1 more team, ok.. 2 or more than that's going to go poorly I think.

 

What could make this work is if the NHL can re engage with the KHL, or just expand overall internationally. I think there are still quite a few players that play outside the NHL that could still play here so if the plan is to expand I think the NHL needs to reach out to the international community to try and entice more players to come to the NHL earlier. 

 

[sak22]

NHL to Houston: Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is 'working on it' (houstonchronicle.com)

 

I think the league is banking off the early successes of Vegas and Seattle, the expansion rules changed from those teams from the ones in the '90's.  So I get the thought of if you can create a better following in Atlanta if you get a better team off the bat.  The problem is more teams only means more teams out of the playoffs, Carolina, Tampa and Florida seem fine now, but wasn't long ago that Tampa went through 2 ownership changes shortly after winning a cup and Carolina and Florida were definitely struggling financially during their playoff droughts.  San Jose was a great market for years, their crowds are definitely down, how would they look if the drought gets close to a decade?

[travel_dude]

13 minutes ago, sak22 said:

NHL to Houston: Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is 'working on it' (houstonchronicle.com)

 

I think the league is banking off the early successes of Vegas and Seattle, the expansion rules changed from those teams from the ones in the '90's.  So I get the thought of if you can create a better following in Atlanta if you get a better team off the bat.  The problem is more teams only means more teams out of the playoffs, Carolina, Tampa and Florida seem fine now, but wasn't long ago that Tampa went through 2 ownership changes shortly after winning a cup and Carolina and Florida were definitely struggling financially during their playoff droughts.  San Jose was a great market for years, their crowds are definitely down, how would they look if the drought gets close to a decade?

 

If they add more teams, there will be more likely a play in round.  Maybe like the Covid Cup.  

Gotta make the 82 games even less important, right?

Add an extra week into the schedule and you are close to July.

 

Seattle made sense because of the under-represented Pacific NW.

Houston is cool, but only happens if Utah gets a team.

Quebec City gets nothing because it is all French and the league is scared of the rules.

MTL is one thing, but that's original six.

 

Utah may end up with Arizona's team, but expansion takes a long time.

Teams need enough lead time to plan for it.

NHLPA would love it because the mid players get more money and keep talent in NA.

Owners love it because the revenue for a new franchise coming to them is nice.

 

I prefer to keep to 32.

 

[sak22]

27 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

If they add more teams, there will be more likely a play in round.  Maybe like the Covid Cup.  

Gotta make the 82 games even less important, right?

Add an extra week into the schedule and you are close to July.

 

Seattle made sense because of the under-represented Pacific NW.

Houston is cool, but only happens if Utah gets a team.

Quebec City gets nothing because it is all French and the league is scared of the rules.

MTL is one thing, but that's original six.

 

Utah may end up with Arizona's team, but expansion takes a long time.

Teams need enough lead time to plan for it.

NHLPA would love it because the mid players get more money and keep talent in NA.

Owners love it because the revenue for a new franchise coming to them is nice.

 

I prefer to keep to 32.

 

What rules?

[travel_dude]

11 minutes ago, sak22 said:

What rules?

 

Perhaps I misspoke.  I was referring to French language rules enacted in Quebec that are different than the other provinces that have NHL teams.  I won't pretend to understand how they would or may impact a NHL team.  Are there rules about advertizing in Quebec that would preempt NHL plans with gambling sites and new promotions on player jerseys?  Is Montreal grandfathered to older rules that existed that would not be available to a new team?  By comparison, the USA is the wild west.  Some states have things that may prevent a NHL team from thriving, but mostly they seems to be falling over themselves to welcome a new team.  

 

I don't see Bettman falling over himself to even talk about Quebec as a real player.  When pressed, he talked about Kansas City, Utah and Houston in more concrete terms.  

[sak22]

3 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

Perhaps I misspoke.  I was referring to French language rules enacted in Quebec that are different than the other provinces that have NHL teams.  I won't pretend to understand how they would or may impact a NHL team.  Are there rules about advertizing in Quebec that would preempt NHL plans with gambling sites and new promotions on player jerseys?  Is Montreal grandfathered to older rules that existed that would not be available to a new team?  By comparison, the USA is the wild west.  Some states have things that may prevent a NHL team from thriving, but mostly they seems to be falling over themselves to welcome a new team.  

 

I don't see Bettman falling over himself to even talk about Quebec as a real player.  When pressed, he talked about Kansas City, Utah and Houston in more concrete terms.  

Okay, I was unaware of those.  

 

It's a market issue, Quebec presents nothing it was the 2nd smallest North American pro market when they left and hasn't done much since besides build a new arena.  I don't even think SLC would be a top destination over Houston, Atlanta, or even Kansas City, they just have a prospective owner with a building that at the moment serves better than the Mullet and plans to build a new arena, and has been playing the game more to the NHL's liking, much like the Atlanta-Winnipeg situation it moved quick because True North worked along with the league and the timing of how the Thrashers needed to be sold they were the easiest option, but I'm sure they would've rather had a Houston or KC option then and Winnipeg's attendance drops don't help the case for QC IMO.

[cross16]

30 minutes ago, sak22 said:

Okay, I was unaware of those.  

 

It's a market issue, Quebec presents nothing it was the 2nd smallest North American pro market when they left and hasn't done much since besides build a new arena.  I don't even think SLC would be a top destination over Houston, Atlanta, or even Kansas City, they just have a prospective owner with a building that at the moment serves better than the Mullet and plans to build a new arena, and has been playing the game more to the NHL's liking, much like the Atlanta-Winnipeg situation it moved quick because True North worked along with the league and the timing of how the Thrashers needed to be sold they were the easiest option, but I'm sure they would've rather had a Houston or KC option then and Winnipeg's attendance drops don't help the case for QC IMO.

 

While all pro sports do to a certain extent, I think the NHL has had the most checkered past when it comes to perspective owners and ownership in general. If a motivated billionaire with experience running a pro sports team and what looks to be a very clean past comes calling, the NHL (and really any league) isn't going to say no. sometimes the market comes second to the quality of the owner.

 

Bettman's job is to grow the business and teams in 2 of the biggest markets in the US grows the game more than in Quebec City. I get why he doesn't want a team there. 

[robrob74]

8 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

There is quite a bit of money in Utah, so it is a smart play for the league. 
 

I also understand the idea of wanting to expand further in the US. The theory makes perfect sense. The issue though is that hockey isn’t a very financially inclusive sport. It’s so expansive. Just look at what equipment does for a at Pro Hockey Life. Tack on another 1500 bucks for minor hockey fees, minimum. 
 

It’s never going to grow as much as soccer, baseball, basketball or football, because not everyone can afford to play. Which brings me back to 34-36 teams, there’s not enough NHL caliber players in the world to do that.

that depends though. Is hockey that much expensive in the States? I assume things are cheaper outside of Canada because you pay for the demand here. It's the Canada tax. Equipment might be expensive, but maybe the play and other parts of the game are cheaper? I wouldn't know... just spitballing...