Without pay and for zero salary cap hit, which makes it even more intriguing
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That's fascinating.Comment
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And there I was thinking I couldn't like the Sedins anymore than I already did.Comment
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Yeah. I'm a bit worried about their front-office appointments though. The track-record for beloved ex-players in suits hasn't been great at Rogers Arena.Comment
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Though there is a definite argument that a primary issue has been the owner's unwillingness to cede control of major decisions.
I don't see them sticking around if they find themselves similarly hamstrung by Aquilini, who strikes me as the problem in much the same way as Dolan is the problem in New York (though much less visibly).Comment
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True enough. He doesn't like others playing with his toys.Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostComment
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As Steve Dangle points, out GM of an NHL team is the most secure job in Canada.
But I think it's fairly likely that none of the current seven will have their current jobs in three years. If the Leafs make a run in the playoffs, Dubas will last a bit longer, and Holland probably has some more rope if the Oilers can also make some progress, but otherwise, they all need to go.
Hockey needs its Theo Epstein/Billy Beane figures to step up and transform these tradition-bound teams. Dubas is supposed to sort of be that and the Leafs are a lot better with the Shannaplan than before, but their payroll is so top-heavy I don't think it's going to work.
Another good point from Dangle was that it would be a real Moneyball-esque breakthrough if some team could figure out how to succeed with a relatively cheap defense corps. Good defensemen are so expensive. For example, look what the Devils are paying Doug Hamilton (and what the Canes weren't willing to). And apparently right handed D are worth more. If I'd known that as a kid, I would have asked to play D.*
BTW, it's also occurred to me that the names for the positions in hockey are wrong.
"Wing" doesn't make sense given that every forward plays all over the place and the wings are usually in the corners. And "defenseman" is wrong, not only because it's gender-specific but because everyone is supposed to play both defense and offense.
I suggest:
Left forward, right forward, center forward, left back, right back, guardian
LF, RF, CF, LB, RB, G
*Americans tend to play hockey with their dominant hand lower because we learn baseball first. Canadians tend to have their dominant hand higher.Comment
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Excellent post
The point about the position names is why Basketball has almost completely moved to 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 rather than guard, forward and center.Comment
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The defencemen/defensemen were originally called "point" and "cover point" and there was a "rover" in the middle in addition to the center forward.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_...ion_(1912).jpg
In IM floor hockey in college, the defensemen were not allowed to go past the center line and the wings could not go behind it, but there was a position called rover that could go anywhere. I guess whoever came up with that rule borrowed it from lacrosse or Iowa high school girls basketball.Comment
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Another NHL standard arena comes to Europe
https://twitter.com/Sz1909_Szemberg/status/1451612281641570353?t=GfTcq7DG-lOO3t_zj1jTeg&s=19]
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Looks good.
What is a "media cube?"Comment
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I think he means the replay screens/scoreboard thing that hangs over centre iceComment
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Had no idea - Everyone is talking about the Bulls…Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostComment
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Certain United Center tickets are going to be much easier to get then othersComment
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I have a good pass on anything at United but no doubt that the preferential rate is subject to some absurd inflation (Blackhawk Redwings tickets were immediately at a 150% premium)Comment
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Blackhawks have now taken the bold move to remove their GM and VP of Hockey Operations after being implicated in an external investigation into a player's assault in 2010.
Just the eleven years. Bowman has collected about $77 million over the time period since the assault and there finally being an investigation that resulted in him being invited to leave.Comment
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I read the report. Basically, everyone just blamed everyone else for not “handling the situation.”
Lots of people on the internet calling for everyone involved, including every player on the team to take the fall, but the evidence isn’t there, as far as I could tell. Lots of conflicting accounts. I think a lot of facts about the case will be lost to time.
However…
The unnamed head of HR and the general counsel waited until after the Stanley Cup playoffs to tell the offender he could avoid an investigation by just resigning.
That is unacceptable.
As in many of these cases, it’s clear that so many people do not take sexual assault seriously, especially if the target is a man.
Because even if we assume, for the sake of
argument, that everyone who worked for the Blackhawks is evil, they should have known that handling it the way they did was exposing them to a massive lawsuit. But they didn’t. They just let him walk. They apparently didn’t think it was a crime.
However, as far as I can tell, the report didn’t find any evidence that he got a recommendation or any references from the Blackhawks. That raises questions about the hiring practices of his future employers. If I had a candidate that I knew worked in the NHL, I’d be very curious about why he wasn’t using that as a reference.
The $2m fine from the league is fucking embarrassing. They’d be better off fining them nothing and claiming somehow that they don’t have the ability to fine teams for stuff like this.
But, contrary to popular belief, it’s not because Bettman is a Hawks fan. It’s more likely because all the other owners fear that the next big clusterfuck will be in their organization and they don’t want to set a precedent for big fines.
They’ll hand out big fines for salary cap violations, because they care a lot about containing player salaries, but they don’t have much confidence that they will avoid future sexual assaults within their organizations - I guess because they don’t plan to do much to prevent it - so they keep the fines low.
Owners are parasites.
There is also a situation brewing with the Pens and Wild.
The former coach of the Pens AHL team in Wilkes Barre allegedly assaulted the wife of an assistant coach. Bill Guerin, who was the Pens AGM at the time, allegedly told the coach to be quiet about it. That might be ok if the Pens ever did much about the assault but the lawsuit says they did not. The offender was allowed to just quit.
The coach whose wife was allegedly assaulted was let go in 2020, reportedly because of Covid. (That is probably legit. I can’t imagine the AHL needed a lot of assistant coaches when they weren’t playing games.)
Guerin is the GM of the Wild and an assistant GM for USA Hockey. Now that Bowman is out as GM of the Olympic team, Guerin is the logical choice for that job, but he’s under investigation over this Pens thing. So…
Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 27-10-2021, 02:39.Comment
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And then went out and smoked the Habs 5-1
https://twitter.com/davyjoneslr/status/1453179703200665603?s=21
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The Habs are in a bad way. 1-6-0 through 7 games and they've only managed 1 game with more than 1 goal scored.
I actually like Jake Allen as a goaltender, but he's getting absolutely no help from his team. Turnovers. Sloppy play. Mistakes. Poor defending. Weber is finished and won't be back - who is there amongst the Montreal blue liners who can help stop the rot? Up front you've got majorly slumping forwards. Gallagher couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo (to mix 2 sayings). Toffoli seems to have been replaced by a clone who can't play hockey. Colefield has been poor. There are numerous issues in that Canadiens team and its difficult to see how they change things? They don't really have any attractive players to trade to try and change the chemistry and balance.Comment
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Yes, it is a mess, and the only saving grace in the minds of many Habs fans is that the Leafs have been even more disappointing (due to much higher expectations).Comment
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Some were hoping that the game would count as the decider of the 1919 Stanley Cup.Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
I saw that there were some people in their 80s or 90s there to unveil the Metropolitans' banner, but I didn't catch the announcement on who they were. I assume they were the children or grandchildren of players on that team.
In retrospect, it seems so ridiculous that Dallas, Phoenix, Miami, Orange County, Tampa, Nashville, Atlanta, Raleigh (fucking Raleigh???) got NHL teams before Seattle, but as the Sonics 'experience showed, there were some issues getting the arena built. But its good for Seattle now that it turned out as it did. Better to have the right arena in the right location than panic and build one out in the sprawl that the owner will want to replace in 15 years.
It looks like CPA is fantastic, albeit pricey. Water is $7. Beer is like $15. Supposedly it's more expensive than at the Seahawks or Mariners, but that's just how it goes now. The upside is that it might help the business of nearby taverns and cafes if people know they need to eat before or after the game rather than at it.
But it's all "touchless."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbM5jRHTsug
This is remarkable.
Don't read the comments, of course. I for one would gladly give up my "privacy" to skip lines. Nothing I hate more than a long line to check out. Besides, Amazon already knows everything about me and I have no expectation of privacy in a big arena.
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Any thoughts from our resident legal expert on the CBH mess?
I don't know if I entirely trust that report. It seems designed to be a circular firing squad that lets Bowman take the fall and lets Wirtz completely off the hook.Comment
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