OT: 2021-22 NHL Regular Season Thread
- Thread starter Ronnie_B
- Start date
And one of the youngest. But this trough is nothing new. Those “Mickey Mouse“ years were some of the worst on record. But look what blossomed from that turd? Cups. This is what some orgs do. Often to great success.
Contrast that with the PHI fan. Over the past 50 years, he/she has very rarely had to suffer the indignity of finishing below .500. And only once in 2007 did the bottom really drop out. They saw mostly winning hockey. But no cups.
Would you rather have a solid team that never really embarrasses you but never/rarely gets to the top OR a laughing stock for a few years followed by a few years of glory?
You just gotta ride the wave.
I can get that if there was a real connection to the culture or people. But I don’t see it here as it pertains to this particular player.
I would only care if the player would have been an asset for USA
Well, since we aren’t using the NHL guys, and he plays for a Chinese team in the KHL…maybe that is the case?
That is very highly doubtful, I can't imagine anyone would rather play for China, a team that is hoping to win a game, than USA, a team that expects to compete for a gold medal, especially when the person in question is from the US. To your previous post, I don't really know how closely connected he is to China, but I'm sure some relative is Chinese, and look at how many Americans become proud Italians for every World Cup or Euro tournament.
Also, think about it from the player's perspective. If you know you're not on the radar for Team USA, but you're eligible to play for a different country that wants you on the roster, why would you decline it? Personally, I looked into seeing if I was eligible for Ireland's national roller hockey team when I was in my 20s because I'm pretty sure I would have had a decent chance of making the team, but wasn't eligible because my grandmother didn't get her Irish citizenship before I was born. If she had, I would have jumped at that opportunity in a heartbeat because I'm not even remotely close in skill to the first guy being cut at Team USA tryouts. Doesn't make me "ungrateful" like someone else said, or any less of an American. I mean even Herb Brooks coached France in the 2002 Olympics and nobody holds that against him.
The CCP is engaged in genocide. These athletes could, and if they had principles should, find another league to play in!!! It is not like they are playing for Finland for example. Now, considering they generally all have or come from money, they have options. There is a holocaust happening now in China. It is just sickening to me to see these athletes, like the woke multinational corporations, working hand in glove with the evil CCP!!!
Every country has their own rules and interpretation on this subject. The only connection for this particular player is he has lived and worked there the required time to be eligible according to China.
And I could play for Ireland as I qualify…paternal grandparents are Irish born. 😝☘️🇮🇪
Give me a break, how are the athletes working with the CCP? I'm pretty sure most of the players on the Chinese team play in the KHL for a team based out of China. Finding another league, or team, to play on isn't nearly as easy as you make it seem. I believe the KHL, like other European leagues, has rules limiting the amount of players you can have on your team that aren't from the country the team is based out of, so most of them wouldn't make another pro team. As for the Olympics, this is the only chance in their life of playing on this stage because China is never even close to qualifying, they're only in it automatically this year by virtue of being the host country.
And again, there is more to a country than its government, and this is a hockey tournament we're talking about, geopolitics are pretty far removed from hockey. And if you disagree with that sentiment, I'm curious as to where you draw the line. Are people working at P.F. Chang's endorsing the CCP? Should the conservatives on Team USA who aren't happy with a Democrat president stay home? I'm sure we both have a ton of things that are produced in China, are we voicing support for the CCP by buying it? As evil as the CCP is, this is just sports and it's an honor for any athlete to make it to the Olympics.
Well I'd say having lived there is actually more of a connection that many players who play for the weaker countries have. There are a lot of Canadians on Team Italy that have never actually been there for example.
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But might have some Italian ancestry in them.
This is not the case for Chelios. Good for him getting the chance as I have no problem with it since he is playing by the rules. Chinese rules, but still it’s okay I guess.
I just think it’s not the same as becoming a naturalized citizen or having a genetic connection.
This is the exact debate I used to have with my friend who was a life long KC Chiefs fan. Under Schottenheimer they made the playoffs almost every year, but would lose in the first round of the playoffs. He said this was better because his season mattered every year. I told him I would rather be the Giants who stunk, then went on to win 2 Super Bowls in 5 years and then stunk again. After about 8-10 years of this, he finally agreed it was better to ride the wave and win a title than be very good every year.
Nothing "blossomed" from those turd years. Newark got lucky with hiring Lou and Lou got lucky drafting MB. IIRC, MB was drafted in the bottom half of the 1st round, so it wasn't like sucking got them the #1 pick.
Nonsense. They had top picks (well earned from losing horribly) a half dozen times. Those picks/players set the stage. The MB luck was icing on the already made cake.
Fair point, I can see a case being made for either side of the coin. Maybe how much a person aligns with a country they lived in vs. a country their ancestors moved from varies from person to person too.
Lol how was hiring Lou lucky? They thought he was the right man for the job, and he proved he was. If getting Brodeur late in the first round was lucky, then what do you call the Rangers picking Lundqvist in the 7th round?
A couple points:
1. The "they" you are talking about are no longer part of the franchise. So for Newark, it is all about luck again. :)
2. MB was lucky
3. HL was very lucky
4. Tom Brady was very, very lucky
Why points 2, 3, and 4? Because if people though they were going to be so good, they would have drafted them earlier.
Isn't life about luck? Every rag you ever cheered for was there because of luck.
If there was luck with the NJ Devils, it was when they got Stevens.
They REFUSED to pay Shanahan (I believe the number was $900,000), and when St. Louis signed him it went to arbitration where both sides put compensation packages together. I don't remember what the Blues offered, but Cujo was definitely one. The arbiter sided with the Devils requested package which included Steven's. But, my point being had it gone the other way, the Devils would have had a goalie and probably would've delayed Brodeur's rise, and Stevens would have been with the Blues still.
Who knows how it would have gone, but that was more out of their hands then who they hired or drafted.
They REFUSED to pay Shanahan (I believe the number was $900,000), and when St. Louis signed him it went to arbitration where both sides put compensation packages together. I don't remember what the Blues offered, but Cujo was definitely one. The arbiter sided with the Devils requested package which included Steven's. But, my point being had it gone the other way, the Devils would have had a goalie and probably would've delayed Brodeur's rise, and Stevens would have been with the Blues still.
Who knows how it would have gone, but that was more out of their hands then who they hired or drafted.
One big difference is the Devils had the 11th pick that year, traded it to Calgary because they knew Trevor Kidd was more sought after, allowing the Devils to still get the goalie they wanted at 20. Of course there were 8 other picks in between though, so it was a bit of a risk I suppose. On the other hand, the Rangers were most likely not expecting Lundqvist to make the team. They drafted Filip Novak, Dominic Moore, Premysl Duben, Nathan Martz, Brandon Snee, and Sven Helfenstein before finally drafting Lundqvist. Have you ever even heard of any of those guys other than Moore?
This is a ridiculous argument anyway. If drafting a franchise goalie in the first round is luck, that leaves very little that isn't luck. The draft is always somewhat of a crapshoot, nobody is a sure thing except for usually the first few picks, and even then you get the occasional Alexandre Daigle or Nail Yakupov, and there are always guys taken later that end up being key contributors.
Great point, that one arbitration decision really set up the core of the team for their Stanley Cup years.
IMO, I doubt that. MB was an all time great, but not sure how many of those playoff series he “stole”. That D was a machine back then. I think if you swapped any of the top 15 goalies from that period, NJD probably would have still won a few.
The answer is they are all luck. The reality is that each one of these guys where passed over by the team that drafted them. So, there was no “master plan” for any of this. If any of these teams had an inkling of what these players would become and still had NOT taken them as soon as they could, that entire front office should be banned from ever even watching a pee wee game, lol. It would be the single biggest blunder in all of sports.
If you added up in feet the amount of space between puck and the goal line on all 33 Kreider goals, you might not reach the blue line….lol.
He’s got at least 10 in the circle.
He’s got at least 10 in the circle.
The equivalent of the Keith Hernandez trade.
And by that I mean the effect he had on the team and the organization.
What about the best skater I’ve ever seen, right there with Paul Coffee….Scott Neidermeyer
Give me a break, they are propping up this genocidal regime. Just like Hitler used the games of '36, the CCP will use these games to the detriment of freedom loving people everywhere. The CCP want world domination. They have already compromised enough people and places. We should not have even gone. These players should have their 🇺🇸 citizenship taken. They will be used for propaganda.
Stand with the Lao bi Xing!!!!! Remember all the Americans and pets the CCP has killed in the last decade, with a pandemic and poison pet food. They are evil.
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GREAT memories!This is when a pair beats a full house…
Dynamic Duo Devils
Ok, if the skills competition is going to include shoot outs (break away competition) they’ve got to try, this is embarrassing!
We already know the game is just for fun.
We already know the game is just for fun.
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On the other hand, I think these were the best all-star uniforms since the 90s.
Here are pictures of every all-star uniform
Here are pictures of every all-star uniform
Thought the unis were good. I still don't like the format, but that's me.
I wasn't crazy about the idea at first but I do find the games more entertaining to watch than with the regular 5-on-5 format. Also, I'm glad they ditched the glitchy electronic targets and went back to the regular targets for the shooting accuracy event.
There is a lot wrong with the Devils. Here are a few of my thoughts.
1) The coaching, the scheme they play does not suit that team at all. Ruff's system is unique and they are the only team playing this scheme. They are not strong enough along the boards which leads to a lot of lost pucks and easy high danger attempt's between the circles. They need a little size on the wing.
2) They are young, they make bad decisions every night when trying to clear the zone. Good coaching will correct this with time. For example, Adam Larson, struggled until Scott Stevens joined the staff. The next year Larson started looking like a top defensive prospect with time spent under Stevens.
3) Goaltending - Awful is being nice, Blackwood has too many gaffs per game, bad angles, and dropping to butterfly too early. The two AHL guys need time but both seem promising. Drafting a high-round goalie now still would not help the team in the next 2 to 4 years as he develops. Need someone in the system now to step up.
4) Severson, needs to be traded. People love him for his offensive ability but his defensive issues are greater than his plus on the offense side. Yes, every defenseman makes mistakes, but Severson's mistakes always lead to great scoring chances and most likely a goal. The 2-1 shorthanded goal against the Leafs is Severson at his best being bad. Not only does he misplay the puck on the point. but back on defense he looks confused on who to take, then moves over late to take away the pass. Only to stop and let leafs player behind him for an easy tap-in for a go-ahead goal.
5) Ty Smith, needs to go to the AHL and gain some confidence back. He constantly gets lost when the puck is in his feet and gets pushed off the puck behind the net and along the boards. He seems to be gripping the stick way too tight and misses easy passes, especially on the power-play point.
6) Pavel Zacha experiment has to end, he needs a fresh start somewhere. I liked him even when he wasn't scoring, now it seems his defense is hurting with his inability to produce offense, heck I would be happy if he would miss way fewer shots and get some on the net.
7) The obvious! they need 2-3 players to step up and show they can score goals. Hughes\Bratt can't be our main hope every night. Less missed shot on the net from the whole team would be a good start.
A ton of other crap can be listed, but long reads suck so I will stop with one last issue(Drafting, we need more mid-round draft picks to become contributors for this team. Oilers are a great example of what happens if you don't draft well after the first round)
1) The coaching, the scheme they play does not suit that team at all. Ruff's system is unique and they are the only team playing this scheme. They are not strong enough along the boards which leads to a lot of lost pucks and easy high danger attempt's between the circles. They need a little size on the wing.
2) They are young, they make bad decisions every night when trying to clear the zone. Good coaching will correct this with time. For example, Adam Larson, struggled until Scott Stevens joined the staff. The next year Larson started looking like a top defensive prospect with time spent under Stevens.
3) Goaltending - Awful is being nice, Blackwood has too many gaffs per game, bad angles, and dropping to butterfly too early. The two AHL guys need time but both seem promising. Drafting a high-round goalie now still would not help the team in the next 2 to 4 years as he develops. Need someone in the system now to step up.
4) Severson, needs to be traded. People love him for his offensive ability but his defensive issues are greater than his plus on the offense side. Yes, every defenseman makes mistakes, but Severson's mistakes always lead to great scoring chances and most likely a goal. The 2-1 shorthanded goal against the Leafs is Severson at his best being bad. Not only does he misplay the puck on the point. but back on defense he looks confused on who to take, then moves over late to take away the pass. Only to stop and let leafs player behind him for an easy tap-in for a go-ahead goal.
5) Ty Smith, needs to go to the AHL and gain some confidence back. He constantly gets lost when the puck is in his feet and gets pushed off the puck behind the net and along the boards. He seems to be gripping the stick way too tight and misses easy passes, especially on the power-play point.
6) Pavel Zacha experiment has to end, he needs a fresh start somewhere. I liked him even when he wasn't scoring, now it seems his defense is hurting with his inability to produce offense, heck I would be happy if he would miss way fewer shots and get some on the net.
7) The obvious! they need 2-3 players to step up and show they can score goals. Hughes\Bratt can't be our main hope every night. Less missed shot on the net from the whole team would be a good start.
A ton of other crap can be listed, but long reads suck so I will stop with one last issue(Drafting, we need more mid-round draft picks to become contributors for this team. Oilers are a great example of what happens if you don't draft well after the first round)
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