Official NHL Season 2016-2017 Thread

[nino33]

I agree, but this is nowaday's world. Hardly something we can change

Agreed...IRL

But once Archi and/or Riz complete their Editors I can! HaHa

I've always wanted to play EHM with modern players & things like fewer teams and "reasonable" salaries and tie games again!

[A9L3E]

I don't understand...outside of 3-4 year olds I've never heard of "tying your skates" as "performance"

I mean that if there were rules which mandated a fixed base salary, with only bonuses adding to it, then the teams would manoeuvre around it by crafting contracts where the "performance" bonuses are ridiculously easy to achieve.

[nino33]

I don't understand...outside of 3-4 year olds I've never heard of "tying your skates" as "performance"

I mean that if there were rules which mandated a fixed base salary, with only bonuses adding to it, then the teams would manoeuvre around it by crafting contracts where the "performance" bonuses are ridiculously easy to achieve.

Ah, OK

I guess you could say I was knowingly engaging in "wishful (fantasy) thinking" - that's why I said "doesn't really matter though, as it's never going to happen" (at least not IRL...but in EHM I hope to eventually, via editing, make the modern game/players more palatable to me HaHa)


There's the old saying that even when pizza or sex are bad, they're still at least OK.....I suppose for me I put hockey in that category too

[Peter_Doherty]

lol nino, i agreed with you The hit wasn't bad, what was bad was how they fought right next to him as he was out cold and kicked his head etc, could have easily cut him with the skates. Awful awareness by his teammate to start a fight right next to him like that.

[nino33]

lol nino, i agreed with you The hit wasn't bad, what was bad was how they fought right next to him as he was out cold and kicked his head etc, could have easily cut him with the skates. Awful awareness by his teammate to start a fight right next to him like that.

I know my comments were based on more than that incident, and they're views I've had for many years


One of the things I was noting is such scrums didn't occur for the same reasons "in the old days" and it was less about groups of players pushing/shoving and acting tough and more about one guy responding (often "the goon/tough guys" & often later, the "taking a number" concept); nowadays no one truly "responds" but rather a bunch of wannabes "act tough"


If one player had dropped his gloves and started pounding on Hall there'd have been an instigator penalty, maybe the only major, and maybe a suspension for that player and bad press (and Hall likely would have turtled). The other thing I notice is nowadays "clean hits" cause such scrums...it used to be more the "dirty hits" (and clean hits were even viewed by teammates as "shoulda kept his head up" - many people blamed Lindros for the hit Stevens laid him out with, because it was Lindros who was cutting over the blueleine with his head down); nowadays people have fits over clean hits!



As I've been saying...just my opinions (though I know I'm not alone in thinking the way I do)

[nino33]

Watching Hockey Night in Canada, just watched a clip of McDavid saying the Flyers Brandon Manning indicated on the ice this week that he'd purposely hurt McDavid last year when Manning shoved him into the boards...and then multiple clips from the game where McDavid was clearly willing to fight and Manning wouldn't

I've always had more respect for tough guys than those that "chirp"
In fact, I've always thought those whose game is to chirp to get players "off their game" were the absolute worst (that's mostly what's going on in the fake tough guy scrums that occur nowadays, just a bunch of talk that'll never be backed up with action); I think it's far to common in modern hockey, and to me such players are completely classless and get no respect from me

After watching Manning avoid McDavid multiple times, I have to think if Keith Allen was still alive that would have been the last game Manning ever played for the Flyers...I can't believe a Flyer would ever behave in such a gutless way, and refuse to "answer the bell" (especially against the other team's offensive star!)


EDIT - After the second period now, and the HNIC discussion panel's talking about how stars are being targeted more now (including with the slashes to the hand) because there's no consequences anymore/nothing's being done (due to the instigator penalty/significant fines to those that initiate repercussions)

[philou21]

Avalanche should forfeit the rest of the season at this point. This team has no soul and no combativity.

I miss Forsberg and Sakic.

[nino33]

Avalanche should forfeit the rest of the season at this point. This team has no soul and no combativity.

I miss Forsberg and Sakic.

It's amazing to me the Habs lost 10-0 and win 10-1 (both at home) in the span of about a month!

And isn't Sakic still (as management) with the Avalanche! Perhaps not for long HaHa





Seems the NHL wants to add more international games/is still trying to extend the current CBA http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl- ... -schedule/

I think the players having to lose about 10-15 percent of the escrow year-after-year clearly shows hockey interest (and thus revenue) has more than peaked in North America, and many North American hockey fans are losing significant interest in the current version of NHL hockey (if the Rogers TV contract was being negotiated now the players/NHL would be getting even less money); personally, I don't think "international interest/money" is out there that'll make up for the lower revenue

[philou21]

Avalanche should forfeit the rest of the season at this point. This team has no soul and no combativity.

I miss Forsberg and Sakic.

It's amazing to me the Habs lost 10-0 and win 10-1 (both at home) in the span of about a month!

And isn't Sakic still (as management?)

I want him on the ice not up there! They should have kept Sakic as assistant GM longer IMO. He's not ready for that.

The team has been playing horribly anyway so it's not really his fault. The talent is there in the net and offensively but they don't do anything. Their defense is atrocious though.

[Alessandro]

Watching Hockey Night in Canada, just watched a clip of McDavid saying the Flyers Brandon Manning indicated on the ice this week that he'd purposely hurt McDavid last year when Manning shoved him into the boards...and then multiple clips from the game where McDavid was clearly willing to fight and Manning wouldn't

I've always had more respect for tough guys than those that "chirp"
In fact, I've always thought those whose game is to chirp to get players "off their game" were the absolute worst (that's mostly what's going on in the fake tough guy scrums that occur nowadays, just a bunch of talk that'll never be backed up with action); I think it's far to common in modern hockey, and to me such players are completely classless and get no respect from me

After watching Manning avoid McDavid multiple times, I have to think if Keith Allen was still alive that would have been the last game Manning ever played for the Flyers...I can't believe a Flyer would ever behave in such a gutless way, and refuse to "answer the bell" (especially against the other team's offensive star!)


EDIT - After the second period now, and the HNIC discussion panel's talking about how stars are being targeted more now (including with the slashes to the hand) because there's no consequences anymore/nothing's being done (due to the instigator penalty/significant fines to those that initiate repercussions)

I can't agree more. The player I could not stand the most in all the hockey history all-time (no names) was an Italocanadian... jeez he was exactly like you said. He was small sized, therefore he was always playing dirty. And he was always on a line with two big players. He always played dirty, when the opposition got crazy at him, he would jump behind the two big linemates and start barking at the opposition, pretending he's a tough guy and "I'll kill you". Unfortunately no one managed to give him a good lesson the year he played with local team here (yes he was playing with my "hometown" team, but was obnoxious anyway). Now, he was of course a world champion in this, but it's some behavior that you see more often than not.

[nino33]

Without doubt Patrik Laine's been fantastic so far, seems to be a world class sniper (an actual sniper! not "just" a goalscorer!) - but that was still quite the own goal last night...I'm not sure I've ever seen one like that before, where I have no idea what the player was trying to actually do

Seems like he literally forgot what end he was in/is such a pure sniper that with an open net and the puck coming to him he instinctively rifled it in!

[CJ]

Without doubt Patrik Laine's been fantastic so far, seems to be a world class sniper (an actual sniper! not "just" a goalscorer!) - but that was still quite the own goal last night...I'm not sure I've ever seen one like that before, where I have no idea what the player was trying to actually do

Seems like he literally forgot what end he was in/is such a pure sniper that with an open net and the puck coming to him he instinctively rifled it in!

Haha, sure indeed was funny, even though I want him to succeed. Wheeler was nice about it and gave him a man-hug after that incident.

[nino33]

Just read this on Sportsnet - "The Jets have played 32 games in 60 days, something never before foisted upon an NHL club. The Oilers have played only one less game."

That's the thing about World Cups and/or Olympics...the condensed schedule can be a real struggle (less practice time) and some say results in more potential for injury (which makes sense to me).


I'd like to see the players (who allegedly value the Olympics so much) "step up" and suggest a schedule reduction, and of course a corresponding pay reduction for the lost revenue (with the lost revenue being split 50/50 with the owners as it's HRR); this would also certainly reduce injury potential (something player's also allegedly care about) and increase the opportunity for off days/time with family - I say "allegedly" regarding the players as I don't see their greediness as any less than the owners (and IMO given some owners do think long term/for the good of the game, I suspect a good percentage of players are greedier than anyone involved in the game except for agents)

[Manimal]

At least Laine didn't celebrate his goal like this Japanese player...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLt1ESy0S7U

[philou21]

I think he tried to clear the puck but it definitely look like he was taking a shot rather than clearing it. I don't know what happened in his head!

That chinese player knew he dishonored his family the very second he "scored" the goal.

[Tasku]

I think I heard the commentator say the word "harakiri" on that one.

Philou, he was Japanese, not Chinese.

[philou21]

Bha, Chinese or Japanese they are all dishonoring their family in that corner of the world.

Like the guy in Shogun 2 said in defeat, shameful display!!!

[A9L3E]

The bushido code started as a samurai ideal, and to this day influences the Japanese honour culture. While the family's honour is important to the Chinese as well, their culture does not encourage such drastic measures to re-purge it.

[CJ]

At least Laine didn't celebrate his goal like this Japanese player...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLt1ESy0S7U

I always remember that goal. I was a kid and happened to see that game on television.

[nino33]

I thought this was interesting, from Elliotte Friedman's most recent 30 Thoughts column, on defensemen/scoring (the San Jose VS Ottawa game tonight being the inspiration for the musing)


You look at how Burns and Erik Karlsson score at such higher rates than their peers and wonder how it compares to all-time.

Last season, Burns scored 21 more goals than the average NHL defenceman. My crack research staff indicates the best-ever performances in that category were Bobby Orr in 1975 and Paul Coffey in 1986, both 40 above (the next-best number is plus-32, done four times. Included on that list is Sharks GM Doug Wilson, in 1982).

Overall, Coffey had seven seasons where he was 20 goals above average — one better than Orr. What’s interesting about Burns’ 2016 number is that there’s been only one other occasion since 1994 where a defenceman was 20 goals better than the mid-line. That was Mike Green, plus-26 in 2009. Burns is en route to a second consecutive season of plus-20, which would make him the first defender to do it multiple times since Ray Bourque, Phil Housley and Al MacInnis.

As for Karlsson, we’re looking at his points totals. He was 57 better than a league-average blueliner in 2015-16, the best number since Brian Leetch in 1996. Not surprisingly, Orr has the record with an obscene plus-114 in 1971. Injuries limited the awesome Mr. Orr to six plus-50 seasons, tied for second-best all-time with Leetch (Bourque and Coffey lead with 10).

Karlsson is trying to do it for a third time. Only seven have ever done that — Bourque, Coffey, Housley, Leetch, MacInnis, Orr and Denis Potvin. What it proves is that both Burns and Karlsson are incredible producers in what has become a harder-scoring era. At 26, I’m curious to see how high the latter will get on this list.

[ClassicSwarley]

Burns and Karlsson are up there as some of my favorite d-men to watch in this league. I love offensively productive blue-liners and I certainly hope they keep on scoring goals/points at this pace. Break some records!

[CJ]

On a side note; Burns has most shots also in the NHL right now this season.

Shea Weber (0.220) and Dustin Byfuglien (0.219) has scored more "goals per game" than Karlsson (0.211) and Burns (0.185).
PS: Both Burns and Buffy has played some Forward position also.

[philou21]

Andrew Shaw seems to think Krug should've been suspended for his hit to the head on him.

IMO Shaw should've kept his head up instead of leaning foward at the very last second.

[nino33]

Andrew Shaw seems to think Krug should've been suspended for his hit to the head on him.

IMO Shaw should've kept his head up instead of leaning foward at the very last second.

IMO another example of a player (Shaw) causing the dangerous hit by playing ringette style hockey, and expecting not to be hit (while Krug just made a hockey play that D have been making for many decades); way to many guys nowadays think they're better than they are, and try to "make plays" that put them in danger of getting hurt

[philou21]

He was just trying to reach the puck but IMO he should've easily seen Krug coming to his right.


I heard that Tallon is back as the Panthers GM. This team is a joke.