Talent wise I agree, but I question whether Patrik Laine is an ideal fit in the defense oriented system that Columbus runs. Tortrorella's teams are traditionally offensive challenged. But you do need someone who can put the puck in the net and Laine can do that. I just don't think it's the best destination for Laine. What led to this trade is you had two disgruntled star players and their teams found them to be distractions and wanted to get rid of them to eliminate the distraction, so they were a trade match in that respect, but not in system fit.
NHL 2021-2022 Thread
- Thread starter EagerBeaver
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it’s was documented that both those players were unhappy so your analysis sounds about right EB ...and even though system wise it might not have been a perfect fit , in the end I still think both teams will be better off
Laine is a mentally fragile player who'll collapse playing under Tortarella. He's on the last year of his contract & i doubt he'll want to return to Columbus next season altough he may very well negotiate a new deal & ask for a trade afterwards (like Dubois just did). As for Dubois he'll soon realize it'll be paradise for him playing for Paul Maurice (a player's coach) instead of the hated Tortorella. He'll be a free agent in two years and although his dad lives in Winnipeg since he's an assistant coach for Winnipeg's AHL team (Manitoba Moose) there's no guarantee that he'll be back in the Peg once his current new contract expires.
The only 'fit' i see with Columbus acquiring Laine is that the GM (Jarmo Kekäläinen) comes from the same country as Laine. So who knows. If the team doesn't go anywhere this season maybe they'll fire Tortorella & Laine may end up negotiating a new contract & chose to stay, after all. As for the other player involved in the trade he's from Columbus so i'm sure the Jackets had this in mind when they acquired him in the trade.
The only 'fit' i see with Columbus acquiring Laine is that the GM (Jarmo Kekäläinen) comes from the same country as Laine. So who knows. If the team doesn't go anywhere this season maybe they'll fire Tortorella & Laine may end up negotiating a new contract & chose to stay, after all. As for the other player involved in the trade he's from Columbus so i'm sure the Jackets had this in mind when they acquired him in the trade.
This reminds me of the chapter or two in Phil Esposito's book in which he said that when he was GM of the Rangers and Michel Bergeron was the coach, Bergeron would constantly harass Esposito to acquire French Canadian players. In the book, Esposito flatly accused Bergeron of favoring French Canadian players over Anglos, especially the washed up established ones. Esposito said he initially gave in to Bergeron's requests and he traded for Marcel Dionne and Guy LaFleur, when both were washed up. He later fired Bergeron because he considered him a backstabber who leaked Esposito's prospective trade deals to the press, causing trade values of players to plunge prematurely, and because Bergeron would stop playing the guys he thought were about to be traded by Espo, thereby sabotaging their trade value and sabotaging Espo's deals in the process. Espo hammered Bergeron really, really good in that book, and I don't think Bergeron had another meaningful job in hockey after that.
I found it hard to believe that for a person running an NHL Team, a player's country of origin should make any difference, as opposed to his hockey talent or character or fit within a system, but it's true that these things do somehow play a role. I was very disgusted by what I read about Michel Bergeron, but since he never got another job in hockey, what Espo said about him most likely was all true.
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The Flower was never TRADED to the Rangers. They lured him out of retirement after an absence of several years from hockey. Esposito was the main driving force behind the move since he saw it as a PR move more than anything else. Flower actually played pretty well for the blue shirts and quickly became a fan favourite.
Espo had the biggest ego in Manhattan and Bergeron accused him of constantly meddling behind the scene. Esposito not only was at the GM but he also wanted to have input into the coaching decisions. Bergie also had a huge ego and it was only a matter of time until the divorce happened. When Espo fired Bergie guess who he named as new coach? Himself. lol
It is true that Bergeron never coached again but the main reason for this was because he had a heart attack and this caused teams like Montreal to shy away from hiring him due to their concern for his health. Bergie eventually became an analyst on the Canadiens' hockey broadcasts and became a huge success all across Quebec due to his presence on hockey broadcasts and especially on sports talk shows on French television. He also had a popular radio show on a local sports radio station.
Esposito later became involved with the new Tampa Bay Lightning franchise and was forced out a few years later. His ego has always been too big for whatever sports venture he's always been involved in. I like Espo but I wouldn't want him running my team or as a business partner, to be honest.
Esposito was known as Trader Phil during his tenure as Rangers GM due to his propensity to make trades. But the worse trade he ever made was trading a first-round pick to the Quebec Nordiques for coach Michel Bergeron. Yes, you heard it: he traded a first-round pick to the Nordiques for the coach he ended up firing after a power struggle between the two. The player the Nordiques drafted with that pick: Joe Sakic, who ended up breaking records, winning Stanley Cups, World Championships, Olympic hockey gold medals and then be inducted into the hockey hall of fame. Thanks Espo! lol
If you read Espo's book he makes it sound like Bergeron continually harassed him to make trades for aging French players (many of which he refused to do), anonymously leaked details of proposed trades to the media that nobody else knew about, deliberately sat out players Espo wished to trade in order to sabotage their trade value, etc. It's clear Espo had no use for Bergeron but he said the reason he fired him was because he couldn't be trusted to shut his mouth about the details of Phil's various proposed trades, or other about private conversations with Espo, which Espo considered to be a Brutus-like betrayal. He describes how he fired Bergeron and his glee in doing so in that part of the book.
I am pretty sure Espo at that time privately told every GM in hockey what he stated very publicly in that book, which is that Bergeron was a backstabbing, betraying, insubordinate, anti-Anglophone blabbermouth, and these character questions had as much to do with Bergeron not getting hired again as concerns about his health. GMs in hockey have no use or patience for such nonsense.
There is no doubt Espo had a huge ego and a ton of pride that was easily hurt, and he quickly wore out his welcome in management of several hockey teams. However, those "flaws" are somewhat apparent in the way he writes about his life in his book. You don't get the sense that he is a liar, however. I think from his perspective this is how things went down. He probably saw Bergeron as a yes man who would bow to his authority, and was genuinely stunned to find out he wasn't.
I am pretty sure Espo at that time privately told every GM in hockey what he stated very publicly in that book, which is that Bergeron was a backstabbing, betraying, insubordinate, anti-Anglophone blabbermouth, and these character questions had as much to do with Bergeron not getting hired again as concerns about his health. GMs in hockey have no use or patience for such nonsense.
There is no doubt Espo had a huge ego and a ton of pride that was easily hurt, and he quickly wore out his welcome in management of several hockey teams. However, those "flaws" are somewhat apparent in the way he writes about his life in his book. You don't get the sense that he is a liar, however. I think from his perspective this is how things went down. He probably saw Bergeron as a yes man who would bow to his authority, and was genuinely stunned to find out he wasn't.
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I read Michel Bergeron's autobiography and he pretty much said the same thing about Esposito. There are always two sides to a story and more often than not the truth lies somewhere in between. The irony is that trading for Bergeron and then firing him likely led to Esposito's stint with the Rangers coming to a premature end. As i mentioned earlier the Rangers gave up a first-round pick and money in order to acquire Bergeron. That first-round pick turned into one of the all-time greats in Joe Sakic. And then after giving away that 9th overall pick for Bergeron he fires him only to replace him with himself? Not good optics. Esposito had fired Bergeron with only two games left to go in the regular season just before the playoffs were about to start. Never a good move, especially if the team meets an early exit from the playoffs. During the offseason the Rangers announced that they had fired Philipe Esposito as its coach, GM & Vice-President. Esposito's career with the Rangers had come to an abrupt end. Had he waited until the season was over to fire Bergeron he very likely would have been able to stay on at least as the team's vice-president. Considering all the bad trades he made it's also quite possible that his days were numbered. But a very good coach like Michel Bergeron may have been able to work his magic during the playoffs, especially with all the experience he had coaching in the playoffs. But Esposito had only coached for one season in the past and after replacing Bergeron for the regular season's final two games he lost them all. The players were likely demoralized and had lost their will to win under Esposito.
Esposito wore out his welcome everywhere he went, it seems. He was a co-owner of the new Tampa Bay franchise and he was eventually pushed out. I don't believe he ever found another job in hockey again. As for Bergeron i see him on tv every day and he also is a regular, familiar face on NHL broadcasts shown on TVA Sports. He no longer has any interest in coaching due to his age. But he was once a serious candidate to coach the habs but health reasons prevented him from doing so. He spends his time alternating between his home in Florida and the one he has near Montreal, spending his spare time on the golf course. He is living a good life and has never been happier. Esposito? No clue. I haven't heard anything about him years other than the book he came out with.
Speaking of books there are three books that i recently purchased that i'm anxious to start reading once i'm done with the one i'm currently reading: Brian Burke's book, Nick Kypreos' book & the most recent one written by Rick Vaive.
NHL hockey is back & it's been extremely entertaining so far. The Habs have been playing great hockey, so have the Leafs. Both teams are tied atop the Northern division with 10 pts each. Habs fans and the media are on cloud 9 yet Leafs fans and the Toronto media are somewhat disappointed that the Leafs haven't had a better start the season. Yet the Leafs are tied with Mtl and have only lost two games altough already battling prolonged injuries to some of their players. I conclude that the habs' success was possibly unexpected while in Toronto it's the other way around. I'm intrigued by the all-Canadian division and surprised that Ottawa hasn't been better. But not as surprised at how poorly Vancouver and Edmonton have been playing.
Go Leafs Go!
Esposito wore out his welcome everywhere he went, it seems. He was a co-owner of the new Tampa Bay franchise and he was eventually pushed out. I don't believe he ever found another job in hockey again. As for Bergeron i see him on tv every day and he also is a regular, familiar face on NHL broadcasts shown on TVA Sports. He no longer has any interest in coaching due to his age. But he was once a serious candidate to coach the habs but health reasons prevented him from doing so. He spends his time alternating between his home in Florida and the one he has near Montreal, spending his spare time on the golf course. He is living a good life and has never been happier. Esposito? No clue. I haven't heard anything about him years other than the book he came out with.
Speaking of books there are three books that i recently purchased that i'm anxious to start reading once i'm done with the one i'm currently reading: Brian Burke's book, Nick Kypreos' book & the most recent one written by Rick Vaive.
NHL hockey is back & it's been extremely entertaining so far. The Habs have been playing great hockey, so have the Leafs. Both teams are tied atop the Northern division with 10 pts each. Habs fans and the media are on cloud 9 yet Leafs fans and the Toronto media are somewhat disappointed that the Leafs haven't had a better start the season. Yet the Leafs are tied with Mtl and have only lost two games altough already battling prolonged injuries to some of their players. I conclude that the habs' success was possibly unexpected while in Toronto it's the other way around. I'm intrigued by the all-Canadian division and surprised that Ottawa hasn't been better. But not as surprised at how poorly Vancouver and Edmonton have been playing.
Go Leafs Go!
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NHL Suspends Ex Coyotes GM Chayka Through End of 2021; "Conduct Detrimental To League and Game"
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Source: NHL suspends ex-Coyotes GM Chayka
Ex-Coyotes GM John Chayka has been suspended through the end of 2021 due to his pursuit of other opportunities while under contract with Arizona and terminating his contract with three years remaining on it, a source said.
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Wow...les CANUCKS avaient hâte que les HABS quittent 
...se sont bien vengés hier 7-1 vs SENS....kids have fun and BRANDON SUTTER with hat trick....i like watching this young team playing....de gros trous à la défensive et un gardien HOLTBY qui a connu ses meilleurs jours....mais quand même....
...se sont bien vengés hier 7-1 vs SENS....kids have fun and BRANDON SUTTER with hat trick....i like watching this young team playing....de gros trous à la défensive et un gardien HOLTBY qui a connu ses meilleurs jours....mais quand même....Gaby,
Ottawa sucks donkey balls, as I already said they are the one Canadian division team you can count on playing golf once the regular season ends. It's really a 6 team division, with 6 teams competing for 4 playoff spots.
Ottawa sucks donkey balls, as I already said they are the one Canadian division team you can count on playing golf once the regular season ends. It's really a 6 team division, with 6 teams competing for 4 playoff spots.
Edmonton is in at the moment, but whether it's defense holds up over 56 games remains to be seen.
I am concerned by the Rangers' very slow start. LaFreniere is pointless in 6 games, the team is struggling to score, and Igor Sheshsterkin, who has a .886 save % in 4 games, is said to be dejected and depressed. This is not what you want:
nypost.com
Igor Shesterkin ‘dejected’ as Rangers pressure mounts
During training camp this month, Igor Shesterkin said he wouldn’t consider himself the No. 1 goalie on the Rangers. But the rookie netminder expressed his insatiable desire to earn that title. Fast…
nypost.com
Gaby,
I realize it is a young team the NY Rangers have, but after 6 games is it unreasonable for me to expect that Alexis LaFreniere should have at least one point? I mean this guy was compared to Sidney Crosby, all I heard about was he tied Crosby's records in the juniors and that he is Quebec's answer to Crosby. And after 6 games, no points? I thought this kid, unlike Jack Hughes who was not physically ready last year and put up an unimpressive 21 point rookie season, was supposed to be physically tough and ready? What should I be expecting?
I really thought the Rangers would have a much better start than this. It's very disappointing. And I look at this division and I am not sure there will be an easy path to the playoffs. They could even end up with another high pick:
I realize it is a young team the NY Rangers have, but after 6 games is it unreasonable for me to expect that Alexis LaFreniere should have at least one point? I mean this guy was compared to Sidney Crosby, all I heard about was he tied Crosby's records in the juniors and that he is Quebec's answer to Crosby. And after 6 games, no points? I thought this kid, unlike Jack Hughes who was not physically ready last year and put up an unimpressive 21 point rookie season, was supposed to be physically tough and ready? What should I be expecting?
I really thought the Rangers would have a much better start than this. It's very disappointing. And I look at this division and I am not sure there will be an easy path to the playoffs. They could even end up with another high pick:
NHL Power Rankings: Vegas 1, TB 2, Toronto 3, Montreal 4:
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NHL Power Rankings: Best new face for all 31 teams
Here are our updated rankings for this week, plus the hot rookies and valuable free-agent additions who are already paying dividends.
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Toronto backup goalie Jack "Soup" Campbell is out so guess who is back? Much like Jason in the Friday The 13th movies, he returns when you think he is long gone.....
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Leafs goalie Campbell out 'weeks' with leg injury
Maple Leafs backup goaltender Jack Campbell will be out "weeks" with a leg injury, says head coach Sheldon Keefe.
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Michael Hutchinson Career Stats - NHL - ESPN
Complete career stats for the Detroit Red Wings Goaltender Michael Hutchinson on ESPN. Includes goals, assists and points per NHL season.
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