Official NHL Season 2016-2017 Thread

[MWE]

Blue Jackets lost their streak to the Washing Capitals losing 5-0 in the process.

[nino33]

McCabe hit on Laine...thoughts?
Seemed a legal hit to me, and Laine seemed oblivious to the idea that a D might "step up" rather than back away...

From nhl.com - "No update," Jets coach Paul Maurice said after a 4-3 loss. "I don't have a problem with the hit. They hit heads. It was a straight-on hit." https://www.nhl.com/news/patrik-laine-l ... -285433666




P.S. Hope Laine's OK

[Saapas]

For me it seems that the hit was clean and it was only a matter of time when something like this happens

[philou21]

I hope Laine will not be out for too long. What a season he was having so far.

[philou21]

Watching the typical Habs/Leafs game. Pretty good hockey game so far. Marner is going to be one hell of a player. He just did an amazing pass to VR to make it 3-4.

Nikita Sherback scored his first NHL goal too and it was a good looking one.

[CJ]

I don't think the actual hit did the damage to him, more like the landing on the ice. Probably took his breath away.

[ClassicSwarley]

The hit on Laine seemed legal to me, too. Hope he's going to be okay.

[Peter_Doherty]

Laine out with a concussion

Hit looks really clean to me though, feet on the ice, elbows down, hit chest and no interference. Just a really hard hit and looks like Laine hit his head on the ice.

[CJ]

I just hope his Calder chances didn't go with that hit.

[philou21]

I really hope he comes back fast too. Along the calder he has the chance to reach 40 goals too.

Puljujarvi has been sent in the AHL. IMO the Oilers should have done this faster instead of letting him play less than 10 min per game.

[CJ]

I really hope he comes back fast too. Along the calder he has the chance to reach 40 goals too.

Puljujarvi has been sent in the AHL. IMO the Oilers should have done this faster instead of letting him play less than 10 min per game.

It's a disgrace to have such a calibre rookie a half year without really playing anything?! Really stupid in my eyes. A full force offensive talent playing 4th 3rd line + minutes half a season.

The only thing positive I've heard someone saying (McLellan one of those) is that Pulju has gotten the "feel" of playing in the NHL. C'mon... + they lost one rookie contract year also.

The four other prospects were Matthews, Laine, Tkachuk, Chychrun from the 2016 draft.
Montreal was the only one that even "tested" a prospect. Mikhail Sergachyov (3 games).

A bit off-topic: I still don't get how Chychrun dropped to 16th overall (4th in D.men)?! As much as I followed I thought he was the #1 D-man that year. I even rated him as that, that year. But yeah, too early to say of course.

Columbus is doing great. Better than expected. Werenski this year... maybe P-L Dubois next year?

[philou21]

It's a disgrace to have such a calibre rookie a half year without really playing anything?! Really stupid in my eyes. A full force offensive talent playing 4th 3rd line + minutes half a season.

Yeah I think it's pretty stupid too. They should've have sent him down earlier. If they did this after 10 or 15 games maybe he could have been ready to come up now. Edmonton is being Edmonton.

As for Dubois I don't know. He has a hard time this season and he did not even scored at the World Junior. He's been traded in the Q at the deadline and it seems to have lift up his spirit a bit. (Lots of people said he was lacking confidence since he got back from CLB) He definitely has the shape to succeed but I think he will need a bit more time before been established in the NHL.

[nino33]

I really hope he comes back fast too. Along the calder he has the chance to reach 40 goals too.

Puljujarvi has been sent in the AHL. IMO the Oilers should have done this faster instead of letting him play less than 10 min per game.

It's a disgrace to have such a calibre rookie a half year without really playing anything?! Really stupid in my eyes. A full force offensive talent playing 4th 3rd line + minutes half a season.

The only thing positive I've heard someone saying (McLellan one of those) is that Pulju has gotten the "feel" of playing in the NHL. C'mon... + they lost one rookie contract year also.

The four other prospects were Matthews, Laine, Tkachuk, Chychrun from the 2016 draft.
Montreal was the only one that even "tested" a prospect. Mikhail Sergachyov (3 games).

Puljujarvi played more than 10:00 in 18 of 28 games (he wasn't getting "top line minutes" but then his play didn't warrant it either); I'm sure the Oilers hope he's actually a "full force offensive talent" (at the NHL level)

He came in with a lot of hype, but from what I've seen of him, he certainly isn't anywhere near as good as Matthews, Laine (or McDavid the year before); I haven't seen Tkachuk play really. Puljujarvi signed a contract like he belonged with the players you named...including potential bonuses his contract was only $350K less than Matthews/McDavid, only $150K less than Laine and almost 2 million more than Tkachuk

Maybe he would have been better off playing in Europe...or maybe it did do him some good to be with an NHL team for awhile

[CJ]

Puljujarvi played more than 10:00 in 18 of 28 games (he wasn't getting "top line minutes" but then his play didn't warrant it either); I'm sure the Oilers hope he's actually a "full force offensive talent" (at the NHL level)

He came in with a lot of hype, but from what I've seen of him, he certainly isn't anywhere near as good as Matthews, Laine (or McDavid the year before); I haven't seen Tkachuk play really. Puljujarvi signed a contract like he belonged with the players you named...including potential bonuses his contract was only $350K less than Matthews/McDavid, only $150K less than Laine and almost 2 million more than Tkachuk

Maybe he would have been better off playing in Europe...or maybe it did do him some good to be with an NHL team for awhile

Pulju is a "big kid". What I would call him. Dominates "everyone" his age (as he has proven). But they should have seen this much earlier! OR just played him in top lines. Average 11 minutes 3rd or so doesn't do it for a player like that. He's no McDavid; McD it didn't matter what team that guy ended up in. He'd dominate everywhere, anytime, just like Sid.
Pulju ended up for now, 4th best in EDM +/- with +5 so far shared with Lander. 41 shots, 1 goal = 2.4 shot%. Not good at all.

Auston, a #1 pick belongs in a NHL team. Usually #2 also...

Laine went just before Pulju at the finish line in the draft, gotta remember that. "Everyone" expected Pulju to go third to CBJ.

[nino33]

Pulju is a "big kid". What I would call him. Dominates "everyone" his age (as he has proven)

How often has he played against those his age?

Looking at eliteprospects it seems he was good in the World Juniors last year (was he playing with Laine?)...maybe he should have come to NA and played Major Junior last year (rather than finishing 59th in Liiga scoring) or like I mentioned, stayed in Europe this year - if he too thinks he's dominated and is a full force offensive talent, maybe that's why he was kept with the Oilers for so long (to "open his eyes" to reality); like I said, there was a lot of hype and his contract matches the hype but his performance didn't

I wonder if his being drafted by a KHL team affected things?...I hope he does well in the AHL

[A9L3E]

maybe he should have come to NA and played Major Junior last year

Name one Finn who has gone to CHL without flopping as an adult.

[nino33]

maybe he should have come to NA and played Major Junior last year

Name one Finn who has gone to CHL without flopping as an adult.

Sorry, I don't follow things that closely, wouldn't have a clue...

I also said maybe he should have stayed in Europe, and I hope he does well in the AHL

[philou21]

The AHL will help him IF his moral isn't too affected by being sent down. We'll see what he's made of.

[CJ]

maybe he should have come to NA and played Major Junior last year

Name one Finn who has gone to CHL without flopping as an adult.

Olli Määttä?

[nino33]

From Terry Jones, an Edmonton sports reporter who's been around since 1982, about Puljujarvi...


"When it comes to Puljujarvi, the Oilers’ fourth pick in the draft, the way Chiarelli has handled that has been beyond curious. Especially considering if he had made this move one game earlier, he wouldn’t have burned an entire year in terms of the time until he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Unlike his World Juniors linemate, Patrik Laine, who thrived with the Winnipeg Jets until suffering a concussion on the weekend, the kid with the Joker-like giant grin had language problems, was having trouble adapting to the smaller ice surface and had developed confidence problems.

The Oilers clearly wanted to keep him under their care here, including learning the language and to help lessen the homesick factor for the 18-year-old. But in attempting to become a playoff team, the Oilers couldn’t provide him with the soft minutes and power-play time.

Puljujarvi spent 14 games in the press box including Sunday’s game in Ottawa and played just 3:27 in his previous outing in Boston, the game that used up his year toward free agency.

Maybe the idea there was to deliver the message to him that when he goes to the AHL, it’s totally for his development and not for contractual concerns.

Being a European who didn’t play major junior in Canada, Puljujarvi wasn’t as easy to deal with as Leon Draisaitl, who played in Prince Albert.

Draisaitl was shipped to the Kelowna Rockets in junior, where he thrived and went on to become Memorial Cup MVP.

The AHL is a big boy league but unlike the NHL players aren’t always where they are supposed to be. It provides it’s own adjustment problems.
Puljujarvi ended up with one goal and seven assists in his 28 games.

By comparison, Draisaitl played 37 games and had two goals and seven assists when he was sent back to junior. Draisaitl, a third pick overall in the draft, returned last year to have a 19-goal, 51 point season and so far this year has 15 goals and 35-points.

There’s every reason to expect Puljujarvi to return to the Oilers and have similar success."


It does seem odd the decision wasn't made without burning the contract year...and now that I know he was on Laine's line in the World Juniors, I'm less impressed with his stats/history; seems to me he's definitely a "prospect" and not someone who'd actually had significant success before being drafted...again, for me being 59th in Liiga scoring (in 2015-16) is not significantly impressive

Maybe he needed the "wake up call"
IMO it seems to often that in modern hockey players are praised for "talent" without performance + organizations/coaching are often blamed for a player's lack of success/performance, and so maybe in today's game you sometimes need to do things like burn a contract year to get a player to realize they're not as good as they think/they'll need to put some work in


P.S. Edmonton has two daily newspapers...Terry Jones writes for one of them, here's an article on the current Puljujarvi situation from the other http://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/nhl/fro ... ailsignout

[CJ]

...and now that I know he was on Laine's line in the World Juniors, I'm less impressed with his stats/history; seems to me he's definitely a "prospect" and not someone who'd actually had significant success before being drafted...again, for me being 59th in Liiga scoring (in 2015-16) is not significantly impressive

Do you want me to reveal something else to you.
Sebastian Aho played center on that line. The guy who is now 3rd in points in Carolina, 7th in rookie scoring). Aho did 1 PPG in Liiga last season, + Over 1 PPG in the playoffs and scored the OT goal that won Kärpät their championship.

[nino33]

...and now that I know he was on Laine's line in the World Juniors, I'm less impressed with his stats/history; seems to me he's definitely a "prospect" and not someone who'd actually had significant success before being drafted...again, for me being 59th in Liiga scoring (in 2015-16) is not significantly impressive

Sebastian Aho played center on that line. The guy who is now 3rd in points in Carolina, 7th in rookie scoring). Aho did 1 PPG in Liiga last season.

The article I linked above referenced possible language/adjustment issues...I wonder if Laine and/or Aho were any better than Puljujarvi with English? I also wonder if there other Finnish speakers on any of the three teams?



The Oilers in their glory days had Esa Tikkanen, who had special "language issues" From Wikipedia...

Tikkanen is famous for his Finnish-English, sometimes referred to as "Tikkanese" or "Tiki-Talk." Even members of his team often did not understand what he was saying. Wayne Gretzky once commented, "He brings something special. I don't know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn't understand his answer." Former Edmonton Oiler coach and teammate Craig MacTavish said, "Esa talks twice as much as anybody else. That's because you can understand just half what he says."

Even fellow Finn Jari Kurri was not immune from the confusing language. During their tenure with the Oilers, Tikkanen let go with a particularly colorful pronouncement, after which another player turned to Kurri and asked, "What did he just say?" Kurri simply shook his head "I have no idea"

[CJ]

The article I linked above referenced possible language/adjustment issues...I wonder if Laine and/or Aho were any better than Puljujarvi with English? I also wonder if there other Finnish speakers on any of the three teams?

Laine and Aho can speak relatively good English. A LOT better than Pulju. He even needed a translator when they interviewed him in the beginning. Which I'm very surprised of... We should all understand and should be able to speak English here in Finland nowadays. I guess Pulju skipped his English in school and played hockey instead.
Laine has Joel Armia in WIN. Aho has Teräväinen in CAR. Pulju has Iiro Pakarinen who just goes back and forth between NHL and AHL.

The Oilers in their glory days had Esa Tikkanen, who had special "language issues" From Wikipedia...

Tikkanen is famous for his Finnish-English, sometimes referred to as "Tikkanese" or "Tiki-Talk." Even members of his team often did not understand what he was saying. Wayne Gretzky once commented, "He brings something special. I don't know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn't understand his answer." Former Edmonton Oiler coach and teammate Craig MacTavish said, "Esa talks twice as much as anybody else. That's because you can understand just half what he says."

Even fellow Finn Jari Kurri was not immune from the confusing language. During their tenure with the Oilers, Tikkanen let go with a particularly colorful pronouncement, after which another player turned to Kurri and asked, "What did he just say?" Kurri simply shook his head "I have no idea"

Yeah Tikkanen is very famous here in Finland, everyone knows his "language".
What I know about Kurri is that he couldn't really speak English when he arrived. Wayne has said that he didn't need to talk at all, they just knew how to play.

[philou21]

Tikkanen is famous for his Finnish-English, sometimes referred to as "Tikkanese" or "Tiki-Talk." Even members of his team often did not understand what he was saying. Wayne Gretzky once commented, "He brings something special. I don't know what it is, but if you ask him, you couldn't understand his answer." Former Edmonton Oiler coach and teammate Craig MacTavish said, "Esa talks twice as much as anybody else. That's because you can understand just half what he says."

Even fellow Finn Jari Kurri was not immune from the confusing language. During their tenure with the Oilers, Tikkanen let go with a particularly colorful pronouncement, after which another player turned to Kurri and asked, "What did he just say?" Kurri simply shook his head "I have no idea"

This is hilarious!

[Ukko]

All star teams announced !

I'm surprised Toews is there instead of Panarin, especially in a 3 v 3 format, but I'm happy to see 4 Hawks and 3 Sharks will play


And... Suter ??? Really ?

Complete lineups :