The Official 2017-18 NHL thread

[EagerBeaver]

Last night in Las Vegas, Elvis sang again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrQYQJ4PP8o

Are we going to be hearing this song all the way to the Stanley Cup finals?

 

[gaby]

Who knows????

 

[EagerBeaver]

Why Bad NHL GMs Are Not Being Fired

This article tells you the how and why of bad NHL GMs, like Bergevin, keeping their jobs instead of getting fired:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...ed-plus-jersey-fouls-week-puck-headlines-more

It says that the fact that Bergevin speaks French is helping him keep his job, even though he speaks both languages with a forked tongue.

 

[gaby]

Flyers bounce back 5-1 yesterday.....on a revu les Flyers de fin de saison.....will be interesting tomorrow in Philadelphia.

Yesssss....Jets 4-1 on the Wild.....please Jets délivrez nous du Wild.....quell équipe terne and non exciting....et leur coach est de plus en plus rouge derrière le banc.....va bientôt exploser....loll

Et que dire des Golden Knights....tout simplement incroyable...et ou sont les Kopitar--Brown--Carter.....invisibles....devront se mettre à l'oeuvre à LA....sinon...

More to enjoy today.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The next two in LA should be interesting.
Guessing that after this round only one Canadian team will be left.

 

[gaby]

Yep...a must win tonight for the Leafs....same for LA tomorrow......we should have exciting games.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Leafs have to replace Kadri in their lineup - replace a guy who brings production with the goon skills. It’s not like suspending Tie Domi for 3 games.....the Leafs are without a very productive player. You may have to go back to Clark Gillies to find a guy like that, who matches very good, exemplary goon skills with significant offensive production. Players like that were more useful in the old NHL than the new NHL, however, and that is why Gillies is in the Hall of Fame.

 

[Doc Holliday]

This article tells you the how and why of bad NHL GMs, like Bergevin, keeping their jobs instead of getting fired......

It says that the fact that Bergevin speaks French is helping him keep his job, even though he speaks both languages with a forked tongue.

My theory is that there is a shortage of quality general managers around the league which is why many borderline/incompetent GM's hold onto their jobs longer than they should. But the real culprit for this is the NHL mindset that you can recycle former NHL players and turn them into management types. I find it ridiculous that one of the criteria to be either a coach or GM in the NHL is to have played in the league as a player. It's an old boys club where buddies give their buddies jobs. Many of the league's most successful GM's and coaches never played a game in the NHL. I think of the likes of Lou Lamoriello, Scotty Bowman, Mike Babcock, Mike Keenan, Sam Pollock & Pat Burns, among many others.

 

[EagerBeaver]

It's an old boys club where buddies give their buddies jobs. Many of the league's most successful GM's and coaches never played a game in the NHL. I think of the likes of Lou Lamoriello, Scotty Bowman, Mike Babcock, Mike Keenan, Sam Pollock & Pat Burns, among many others.

Good point. And contrastt this with baseball, where all the GMs are Ivy League educated nerds who maybe played Little League ball as their highest level of baseball. Brian Cashman of the Yankees played Division 3 college baseball but never sniffed pro ball. I can't think of a GM who did off the top of my head, except for Billy Beane of the As and he was not a good MLB player. In the book Moneyball, which in part changed the GM landscape of baseball, it is suggested that Billy Beane made a great GM because he was a 1st round draft pick who failed to become an established MLB player, and thus his own personal failure enabled him to identify intangible elements that distinguished those who succeeded from those who did not succeed. And one of those intangibles is plate discipline and ability to learn the strike zone, draw walks and jack up the OBP and the pitch counts. Stats first valued by Beane.

In hockey, a book is needed to smash the old boys clubs and bring analytics to the forefront. If the book is then made into a comic film like Slapshot, there will be the same GM revolution as occurred in baseball where, in the immortal words of Goose Gossage, "nerds are running the sport":

https://www.cnet.com/news/yankees-goose-gossage-loses-his-mind-over-nerds-running-baseball/

 

[EagerBeaver]

Sheldon Keefe Soon to Coach In the NHL; Rangers or Stars

The Rangers and Stars are both after Sheldon Keefe, I suspect the Rangers will win this one:

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...ates-replace-ken-hitchcock-dallas-stars-coach

 

[gaby]

Two good games this afternoon,

Preds won 5-4..AVS fought very well....will be interesting at Pepsi Center.

Lightning 5-3...tous les trios ont contribué BUT les Devils n'ont jamais abdiqué et ont été en contrôle de la 3ème période....and at home les Devils dominent la ligue pour le plus de victoires à la maison...we should have good spectacle....

Tonight 2 games....Bruins-Leafs...les Leafs peuvent-ils rebondir??? Sûrement que oui mais les Bruins chez eux sont les maîtres......Sharks--Ducks.....again am going with the Sharks....ENJOY...

 

[EagerBeaver]

Freddy Anderson allowed 3 goals on 5 shots and has been yanked out of the nets. I said a long time ago, he is not a championship calibre goalie and now everyone is seeing it.

Does anyone remember around 4 years ago the Flyers and Penguins played a series which set a record for goals in a playoff series? I recall Philly started 3 different goalies in that series and all 3 eventually got pulled from the nets and relieved by the others. It was a total comedy show. I can't even remember who the 3 different goalies were but I do not think any of them are still in Philly.

 

[gaby]

Bruins 7-3....ouchhhhh....Pastrnak with 3 goals - 3 assists a battu à lui seul les Leafs....avec Machand et Bergeron ont récolté 14 points....c'est l'histoire de ce match. Les Leafs son mystifiés-figés....et que dire de leur poreuse défensive et de leurs douteux gardiens....it looks very very bad for them.

Sharks 3-2...am very happy....j'ai un gros faible pour eux--long story...

4 games today..it starts at 3 oclock....enjoy.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Pastrnak has developed into a point a game player at the age of 21. When I looked at the Bruins at the beginning of the season, honestly, I thought they had a shit team with one capable line. I thought they would be about equally crappy as the Habs. I never would have predicted they would be bulldozing the defenseless Leafs in the playoffs, as they are. This series could be over very quickly........the Leafs are on their heels, and a quick turnaround is needed, physically and mentally. Freddy Anderson needs to get a toilet plunger and find his game in the mess that is in there, if it can be found.

 

[gaby]

Egzactly same here....was not expecting nothing good from the Bruins this year....was not sure about Bergeron....not sure about Rask....not sure about Chara who is getting older....only one good trio...that's all..BUT here they are serious contenders for the Cup. In this team LEADERSHIP is the key word....and i guess

the coaching's team is doing a hell of a job.....congrats, I will never cheer for them BUT i recognise their intense determination to WIN....they should inspire some other teams.......

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Hoping for a fast exit with the ducks, still pissed that the refs gave them the first series last year.

 

[gaby]

Easy win for the Pens 5-1...Crosby 1 goal 3 assists....7 points in two games....wow....it smells good for the Pens.

3 good games tonight...at 7 Jets-Wild....go Jets go...i

 

[gohabsgo]

Freddy Anderson allowed 3 goals on 5 shots and has been yanked out of the nets. I said a long time ago, he is not a championship calibre goalie and now everyone is seeing it.

Anaheim also knew that when they decided to keep Gibson instead.

edit: wow - forgot the Leafs gave up a first and second rounder ! On the bright side , that wasn't as bad as Rask for Raycroft - LOL !

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Leafs wouldn't be in the playoffs were it not for Freddie Andersen's heroics throughout the season.

He didn't have a chance on the three goals scored against him last night. Babcock yanked him to wake the team up. It was strategic and had nothing to do with his performance. It seems to have worked since the Leafs pretty much dominated play from there. The difference was that the Bruins capitalized on all their chances. Kudos to them. Special teams have been the difference so far in this series. The Bruins have a killer powerplay and very tough penalty killing unit.

I expect a better overall performance by the Leafs tomorrow night when they'll be back in familiar surroundings. They may even win both games at home before heading back to Boston.

I still don't expect the Leafs to win this series. I have a lot of money riding on the Bruins making it to the Stanley Cup final. That's a heck of a good hockey team with a great mix of veterans and youth. They're also a very well-coached team and thank god for them for getting rid of Claude Julien.

If the Bruins manage to win the Stanley Cup i'll now have enough money to retire. Go Bruins!!!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Vegas Puts LA On The Brink!!!!!!!!

http://www.espn.com/nhl/recap?gameId=401029171

1 game away from a Vegas Sweep in what soon could become the Vegas Sweepskates. The road to Lord Stanley's Cup may go through both Nashville, Tenn, and Las Vegas, NV