NHL Hockey thread

[viper37]

And I don't think Vegas is going to be competitive at all.  They have a handful of nice players - but then they made a ton of deals to pick low-rent players in exchange for tons of draft picks.  Which may pay off for them in 5 years, but the 2017-2018 version of the Golden Knights will be dreadful.

they have, I think, 4 extra defencemen, so I'm pretty sure they will be active on the trade market before the season begins.

I haven't check the details, but I'm pretty sure they have a lot of room under the salary cap.

[viper37]

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/marc-andre-fleury-thank-you-pittsburgh/

[Valmy]

Who?

Well if you're going to make me explain the joke, that'll take all of the humour out of it.



Big televangelist.  He is probably the biggest proponent of "prosperity gospel", which preaches that faith in God will bring health and prosperity to your family.  Which seems pretty opposite to almost all of what Jesus was saying.  And which I'm sure you don't believe in, hence the joke.

Ah I missed this. That guy! No if you give money to your church God will reward you with 20 Stanley Cups for the your favorite NHL team!!11

[viper37]

change to coaches' challenges

4 – "Fixing" the coaches' challenge, which just as a spoiler: It still sucks really bad

Oh wow you know how everyone hates the coaches' challenge? The NHL has a plan to fix it.

No, they're still going to enforce the "a guy had his skate a quarter-inch off the ice nine minutes before the goal was scored" rule. And they're still gonna make every review take goddamn forever. But if you're wrong, now you're gonna lose a timeout AND get a penalty for delay of game.

To which I say:

"................ cool."

Turns out, the things any rational human being hates about the rule? That's still in there. But now, there's something that's going to piss even more people off about it! What a change!

Obviously the idea here is that the penalty will in some way deter coaches from using the challenge, but let's be honest: Probably not. Especially in the playoffs, when the stakes are higher and the goals are rare. And especially especially if the opponent power play is as bad as Nashville's was in the Final.

And by the way, even this basic, common-sense change, Colin Campbell still said one team out of 31 was like "Whoa, hey, let's not do that." That team is awful. I hope they go 0-82 next year. They're bad, morally.

[Grey Fox]

WTF are the flames doing?

[Barrister]

WTF are the flames doing?

I'm really not sure.

Not really sold on them trading for Mike Smith in the first place, but Lack is even worse.  Murphy bounces between the NHL and AHL without much success in either, while the player going the other way I've never heard of, and appears to be an ECHLer.

I'm just waiting for tomorrow.  Jets have made no moves so far this offseason (they traded down in the 1st round in order to keep all their players from Vegas), but badly need a goalie.  Steve Mason and Brian Elliott have both been rumoured to be coming to Winnipeg, but I'm always nervous about signing free agents to the Peg - the risk is we have to vastly overpay to get them to come.

[PRC]

Lack will be a fine backup.  Glen Gulutzan had him in Vancouver the last year they went to the playoffs and Lack had lot's of starts and good numbers.  His issues in Carolina were more team related and unfair to place solely on him.   If Smith wets the bed, and he may very well, then Lack will be fine to start 40+ games.

[viper37]

BB's team makes a strange move:
Dmitry Kulikov to the Jets

1 – Dmitry Kulikov, Winnipeg Jets
That hearty laugh you heard during the afternoon of July 1 where Buffalo Sabres fans and media hearing about Kulikov getting a three-year deal worth $4.33 million annually from the Jets.
Maybe this is a change-in-scenery type deal. Kulikov seems to believe so. The Jets better hope so, because he's been abjectly terrible over the last few seasons. In what should have been a "show us" contract, the Jets went three years with him. So Happy Canada Day, or something.

[viper37]

In other news, the Habs have chosen to protect Andrew Shaw and let go of Alexander Radulov.

What makes you think they've let go Radulov? Dude doesn't have a contract, can't protect him.

I'm pretty sure they will get rid of him in favour of some defenceman or two.

See?  What did I say?  They let him go.  Not even a question of money or duration of contract, since they offered him the same, after the ridiculed him thinking no one would want him.

Montreal is anti-offence.

[Grey Fox]

It's a good move. 5 years is 4 years too long.

[Barrister]

BB's team makes a strange move:
Dmitry Kulikov to the Jets

1 – Dmitry Kulikov, Winnipeg Jets
That hearty laugh you heard during the afternoon of July 1 where Buffalo Sabres fans and media hearing about Kulikov getting a three-year deal worth $4.33 million annually from the Jets.
Maybe this is a change-in-scenery type deal. Kulikov seems to believe so. The Jets better hope so, because he's been abjectly terrible over the last few seasons. In what should have been a "show us" contract, the Jets went three years with him. So Happy Canada Day, or something.

I have my doubts about Kulikov, but to be fair he is not being signed as an offensive defenceman.  The Jets needed a left-handed D-man to play alongside Tyler Myers or maybe DUstin Byrufglien are take care of the puck in our own end.

It does seem rather rich, but perhaps the Jets had to overpay to fill the need.  If the player still fills the role you need how much does it matter if we overpaid him a bit since we're not at the cap anyways.

[viper37]

It's a good move. 5 years is 4 years too long.

yet, they were prepared to give it to him.

oh, well, not my team, so I don't care.  Enjoy another year of misery

[katmai]

My family friend took a job with the Islanders.

[Grey Fox]

Name dropping without naming anyone, good work.

[viper37]

Name dropping without naming anyone, good work.

ex habs player, quite disliked in Montreal after his 1st year.
He's assistant coach for NYI now.

good luck to him