• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2019-20 Miscellaneous NHL/Hockey News Thread

Tampa evened the series last night on the strength of 3 goals in the 1st, including 2 on the PP, which broke an 0-14 schneid. Tampa hasn’t lost consecutive games in the playoffs. Kucherov had 2 assists to give him 28 points in the playoffs, breaking Brad Richards’ team record from the 2004 playoffs. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jamie Benn hears from player safety for an egregious head shot on Kucherov in the 1st.

Steven Stamkos, who was injured before camp and hasn’t played, skated yesterday morning. He may return at some point in the series although Cooper wouldn’t predict when.
 
Game 2 of the Finals complete ... and Tampa hangs on for the 3-2 win to square the series at a game apiece. What have we learned? Here's what I've got:

The refs still suck, and they largely play to Dallas' strengths when they go long stretches with their whistles stuck in silent mode. The pace of play slowing down a notch also plays right into Dallas' hands. That can cut both ways, since Tampa is also adept at the bump and grind. Bottom line, it doesn't make for particularly pretty hockey.

Tampa was shot after the Conference Final and took too long to get going in Game 1. Dallas also had a bumpy ride in their Conference Final but seemed to come out of it in better shape.

People talk a lot about goaltending, especially with regards to Khudobin's Game 1 performance, but Game 2 showed that he's still just Dobby ... ever lovable, quite capable and also quite human. Dallas' team D isn't getting enough credit for their goals against being so low. When they showed some cracks in Game 2, there were less theatrics and more twine popping behind their keeper. It's a thing ... it's easier to credit one dude than it is to dig in and see that the credit goes to 19 guys.

I think this one is going to be a long slog. Dallas has enough skill and poise to fight back when Tampa hits the gas, and Tampa has enough bottom 6 grunt to hold up to Dallas' heavier attack. Both teams are playing with a ton of team confidence and belief in their systems and that doesn't look especially likely to crack in either case.

Now ... watch somebody reel off three in a row.
 
Some more awards handed out last night.

Leon Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsey Award
Roman Josi won the Norris. Jaccob Slavin was 5th, Dougie Hamilton was 7th
Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina
Cale Makar won the Calder.
 
cmon3 said:
Man though. When Tampa smells blood they are deadly. Dallas better not bleed.
Click to expand...
Yeah ... they're predatory, for sure. It's a team built for pretty much this exact scenario, and it shows. They haven't played a lot of fancy hockey in these playoffs, but they HAVE been effective in creating just enough space to make a series of pretty negative teams pay ... eventually. Honestly, I don't care about Tampa specifically winning so much as I care about somebody (anybody) dedicated to attacking and scoring winning. I really, really don't want to see a trend towards the re-emergence of teams that play the way Columbus, Dallas and the Islanders do. I think it's fine to have a few of those kinds of teams for diversity's sake. I do NOT want to see 26 of them the way we did in the 90s.
 
Going to be very interesting to see how free agents, salary caps etc. are handled if we have a bubble season.
I can’t believe there’ll be no adjustments if the go that route. Also player buy in for playoffs is one thing but for a whole bubble season? Plus spare players in the bubble... guessing players won’t approve a salary reduction given their situation is harder than normal without family. But the owners can’t (or won’t) all just absorb the costs with far less revenue. Plus they’re going to have to refund season tickets at some point.
Plus they need a plan that allows for when normalcy returns.
 
Due to CV it Looks like the Stanley Cup will stay in the home city for the winning team and the players will have to keep it in the area for their day.
 
Sharks remove the interim tag from Bob Boughner. Rocky Thompson and John Madden were named assistant coaches. Thompson had been head coach of the Chicago Wolves, clearing the way for Ryan Warsofsky to move from Charlotte. Madden had been head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets AHL affiliate. Roy Sommer and Mike Ricci had been Boughner’s assistants after DeBoer was fired, Sommer moves back to the Barracudas in the AHL, Ricci is the development coach.
 
Whew ... that's really slumming it by the Sharks standards. Boughner did nothing of note with that roster after he got the job and it would look for all the world like they're setting up to tank while they rebuild ... except for those massive long term salaries they're stuck with. Hard to tank while you pay Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson almost $20 million a year for the next 5 or 6 years. Plus the $15 combined million you're paying Couture and Kane for the same timeframe. And the youngest of those four guys is 29. What a freaking mess.
 
cmon3 said:
Going to be very interesting to see how free agents, salary caps etc. are handled if we have a bubble season.
I can’t believe there’ll be no adjustments if the go that route. Also player buy in for playoffs is one thing but for a whole bubble season? Plus spare players in the bubble... guessing players won’t approve a salary reduction given their situation is harder than normal without family. But the owners can’t (or won’t) all just absorb the costs with far less revenue. Plus they’re going to have to refund season tickets at some point.
Plus they need a plan that allows for when normalcy returns.
Click to expand...
I just do not see how another bubble season is going to work. These teams and players are going to have a hard time agreeing to another bubble season of any kind...especially a full season.
 
"Bubble", no... Wyshinski's new article in The Athletic giving the players' inside the bubble perspective indicates they'd have a very hard time getting the players to agree to that again despite how well it worked in this case. But I think the general gist of cmon's query still holds for jetting around between empty home arenas, which may be the only way they are able to at least start the next season; the impact on revenue will be massive.
 
jeffbear said:
Whew ... that's really slumming it by the Sharks standards. Boughner did nothing of note with that roster after he got the job and it would look for all the world like they're setting up to tank while they rebuild ... except for those massive long term salaries they're stuck with. Hard to tank while you pay Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson almost $20 million a year for the next 5 or 6 years. Plus the $15 combined million you're paying Couture and Kane for the same timeframe. And the youngest of those four guys is 29. What a freaking mess.
Click to expand...

They also have 33 year old Marc-Edouard Vlasic for 6 more years at $7 million AAV. They just paid him his $5 million bonus for 2020-21. He has 3 more bonus payments due in 2022, 2024 and 2025, albeit for lesser amounts. And they have 30 year old Martin Jones for 4 more years at $5.75 million.

But wait, it gets worse. Karlsson has a full NMC for the duration of his contract. Vlasic has a NMC until the 2023-24 season when it converts into a NTC with 3 teams he’d accept a trade to. Jones, Burns, Couture and Kane have the same NTC for the duration of their contracts.
 
Roman Josi won the Norris. Jaccob Slavin was 5th , Dougie Hamilton was 7th
Click to expand...

Glad to see Slavin getting love for the Norris. That playoff run last year put the Canes and its individual players on the map again.
 
Martin Necas was a distant 5th among forwards for the All-Rookie team. Dominik Kubalik, Victor Olofsson, Nick Suzuki and Denis Gurianov finished ahead of him. He was 4th in goals and points and 3rd in assists among rookies.
 
andyt said:
They also have 33 year old Marc-Edouard Vlasic for 6 more years at $7 million AAV. They just paid him his $5 million bonus for 2020-21. He has 3 more bonus payments due in 2022, 2024 and 2025, albeit for lesser amounts. And they have 30 year old Martin Jones for 4 more years at $5.75 million.

But wait, it gets worse. Karlsson has a full NMC for the duration of his contract. Vlasic has a NMC until the 2023-24 season when it converts into a NTC with 3 teams he’d accept a trade to. Jones, Burns, Couture and Kane have the same NTC for the duration of their contracts.
Click to expand...
Insanity ... seriously. That's officially the worst GM job going right now and at least Doug Wilson is still around to try and dig himself out of the gargantuan hole that he dug his own self. Welcome to the Hall of Fame Doug ... enjoy your day job.
 
andyt said:
Martin Necas was a distant 5th among forwards for the All-Rookie team. Dominik Kubalik, Victor Olofsson, Nick Suzuki and Denis Gurianov finished ahead of him. He was 4th in goals and points and 3rd in assists among rookies.
Click to expand...
Yeah ... Makar and Quinn Hughes sucked all the air out of that room, and I don't put a lot of stock in how much actual thought the rank and file PWHA clowns put into their down ballot votes for secondary awards like the Calder. I mean, you might take some flack for a 5th place vote for some shlub from your hometown team in the Hart voting but who really cares if you homer it up in the Calder voting? Kubalic had a heck of a season, Suzuki had a heck of a second half. Olofsson had a heck of an October. Necas was just steady, with flashes of real brilliance mixed in. That's not the kind of season that's going to resonate with the (mostly) old farts who vote for this award ... unless you were the favorite going in.
 
Kevin Weekes tweeted that the Pens and Panthers are making a trade.

Pens send Patric Hornqvist to the Panthers for dman Mike Matheson. If that’s the case, Hörnqvist waived his NTC. He has 3 years left at $5.3 AAV, all actual. Mathewson has 6 years at $4.875 AAV. He has an 8 team NTC that doesn’t kick in until next season. He has $ million in bonuses due in the last 3 years of the contract. His contract is back loaded, he’s only made $6.5 million in the first 2 years between salary and bonus but will make $32 million over the last 6 years.

The Panthers only have 6 forwards under contract before the trade and have Dadonov, Hoffman, Boyle and Haula as UFAs and 4 RFAs including our old friends Saarela and Wallmark.

Edit: LeBrun tweeted that the trade has not gone through yet but doesn’t know what the holdup is, could be Hornqvist’s NTC.
 
Last edited:
andyt said:
Kevin Weekes tweeted that the Pens and Panthers are making a trade.

Pens send Patric Hornqvist to the Panthers for dman Mike Matheson. If that’s the case, Hörnqvist waived his NTC. He has 3 years left at $5.3 AAV, all actual. Mathewson has 6 years at $4.875 AAV. He has an 8 team NTC that doesn’t kick in until next season. He has $ million in bonuses due in the last 3 years of the contract. His contract is back loaded, he’s only made $6.5 million in the first 2 years between salary and bonus but will make $32 million over the last 6 years.

The Panthers only have 6 forwards under contract before the trade and have Dadonov, Hoffman, Boyle and Haula as UFAs and 4 RFAs including our old friends Saarela and Wallmark.

Edit: LeBrun tweeted that the trade has not gone through yet but doesn’t know what the holdup is, could be Hornqvist’s NTC.
Click to expand...
Old JR is a madman when it comes to pulling the trigger on those trades! I love watching Jimmy go nuts, he is not afraid to shake things up...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top