2017-18 Around the League

[oooooooooohCanada]

Dubas must have been told by Shanahan of this plan for Lou to be GM for 3 years and then move to an advisory role afterwards, otherwise I don't see why he'd stick around.

That was exactly it. Lou was literally signed to a 3 year GM position with another 4 years as an advisor. Lou himself said something along the lines of "If Dubas isn't the GM in 3 years it's his own fault" when Lou was first hired.

I still feel like there might be more behind the scenes than what's currently being talked about. I know that Dubas is very much about analytics and Hunter is very much old-school, and that the two of them have butted heads before. Now, mind you, I think it's good to have some conflict in the room, you can't have one guy surrounded by a bunch of yes-men, but I don't know if Hunter sees himself working under Dubas, and vice-versa.

Then again, maybe it's nothing and they just need to formalize the deal like you say.

The only public information I can find about Hunter butting heads with anyone in the org is when he and Babcock got heated at the draft floor. Babcock was on record as wanting a defenseman (Hanifin/Werenski/Provorov) while Hunter wanted Marner.

 

[Hasbro]

Oh dear God! The Leafs hired a stat whacker in his 30's? The stat fanboys, mixed with their already insufferable fan base is going to make this as bad as the Brian Burke era.

 

[UncleRisto]

Oh dear God! The Leafs hired a stat whacker in his 30's? The stat fanboys, mixed with their already insufferable fan base is going to make this as bad as the Brian Burke era.

They didn't hire him per se, they promoted him as expected, so it shouldn't be as bad, I guess.

 

[Hasbro]

They didn't hire him per se, they promoted him as expected, so it shouldn't be as bad, I guess.

I know Shanny brought in a stats guy, so I'm assuming this is the same one. Just you watch though, Dubas will get credit for Austin Matthews carrying the team to victories and the sun rising in the east everyday and any failures brushed off his shoulders.

Just look at Top 3 GM Chayka in Phoenix.

 

[UncleRisto]

Chayka is the smartest GM in the league.

 

[Balthazar]

Oh dear God! The Leafs hired a stat whacker in his 30's? The stat fanboys, mixed with their already insufferable fan base is going to make this as bad as the Brian Burke era.

Better than 75 year old Lou Lamoriello (Isles) or Don "sabotage" Waddell (Canes).

 

[Ceremony]

Today I learned that the Hurricanes drafted Frederik Andersen and didn't sign him, so he re-entered the draft.



Chortle.

 

[Spleenless Wonder21]

Better than 75 year old Lou Lamoriello (Isles) or Don "sabotage" Waddell (Canes).

At least the latter comes with a cool nickname?

 

[Freudian]

It's going to be interesting to see what Guenzel gets this summer. How many players coming off their ELC have anything near 23 goals and 42 points in 37 playoff games?

 

[Pokecheque]

Oh dear God! The Leafs hired a stat whacker in his 30's? The stat fanboys, mixed with their already insufferable fan base is going to make this as bad as the Brian Burke era.

Well so long as you're acknowledging that the anti-statboys are insufferable in their own right.

At least one thing they're saying is right though. It's ridiculous to call Hunter a "Hockey Guy" as opposed to Dubas who for some reason isn't considered that because he's not some big, burly dude who came into the profession as a player first. He's worked his way up from the bottom, he's every bit the "Hockey Guy" someone like Brian Burke is.

What both sides of the debate need to avoid is using Dubas's tenure as some sort of "test case" to prove once and for all (or not) that analytics work. The numbers work, we all know they do, but they aren't some magical panacea that turns a team into a contender. It'd be just as foolish to point at Dubas's Leafs going forward and say he's proving the stats crowd right as much as pointing at the tenures of Tom Rowe and John Chayka somehow didn't.

 

[Hasbro]

Well so long as you're acknowledging that the anti-statboys are insufferable in their own right.

At least one thing they're saying is right though. It's ridiculous to call Hunter a "Hockey Guy" as opposed to Dubas who for some reason isn't considered that because he's not some big, burly dude who came into the profession as a player first. He's worked his way up from the bottom, he's every bit the "Hockey Guy" someone like Brian Burke is.

What both sides of the debate need to avoid is using Dubas's tenure as some sort of "test case" to prove once and for all (or not) that analytics work..

Sashi Brown already proved they don't.

 

[Pokecheque]

Sashi Brown already proved they don't.

Oh boy...the so-called geniuses that were so busy high-fiving one another for acquiring Katherine Webb's husband from Cincinnati they didn't even think to finalize the deal with the league before time expired.

 

[VikingAv]

Today I learned that the Hurricanes drafted Frederik Andersen and didn't sign him, so he re-entered the draft.



Chortle.

Not for a lack of trying, though. It was Andersen who refused to sign with them. Don't remember if it was because they had Cam Ward so he didn't think he'd get any chances or if it was just 'cause, well, Carolina....

 

[Pokecheque]

BTW, take it for what it's worth but I hear there's been clamoring that the Habs might be best served by trading down from the #3 pick. TBH I think that'd be a very smart move. Sure, you miss out on Zadina, but if you get, say, Veleno and another player in the first round as a result that'd be a huge step toward rebuilding on-the-fly. Of course it's frickin' Bergevin so I bet he keeps the damned pick and uses it on Brady Tkachuk.

 

[Freudian]

 

[Balthazar]

BTW, take it for what it's worth but I hear there's been clamoring that the Habs might be best served by trading down from the #3 pick. TBH I think that'd be a very smart move. Sure, you miss out on Zadina, but if you get, say, Veleno and another player in the first round as a result that'd be a huge step toward rebuilding on-the-fly. Of course it's frickin' Bergevin so I bet he keeps the damned pick and uses it on Brady Tkachuk.

Best case scenario for Habs would be to get Hughes and Kotkaniemi.

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

I know Shanny brought in a stats guy, so I'm assuming this is the same one. Just you watch though, Dubas will get credit for Austin Matthews carrying the team to victories and the sun rising in the east everyday and any failures brushed off his shoulders.

Just look at Top 3 GM Chayka in Phoenix.

Quote from an article on Dubas written by someone that worked for Dubas as a video coach on the Marlies

Man, there’s no more common theme when reading about Dubas than that he’s some numbers guy who eschews the eye test for stats. That he relies on numbers first and foremost, that he’s trying to replicate the next Moneyball team of undervalued players who can actually contribute.

Lord no.

He’s a smart, hyper-competitive guy who respects that our eyes often lie to us, but that doesn’t mean he pushes aside his own eye-test based on pure percentages. He’ll happily engage with the numbers that disagree with his opinions, but he’ll still stick with what he believes if the case the numbers make isn’t strong enough. He’s a hockey person who’s grown up playing it and has scouted it and has generally worked in and around the sport for like two decades — he’s not just some pencil pusher. He knows systems and strategy as well as anyone I’ve met.

 

[Hasbro]

Quote from an article on Dubas written by someone that worked for Dubas as a video coach on the Marlies

Assuming they aren't just talking Dubas up, the perception that he's a stat whacker will still have the same effect on the Cult of Moneyball.

 

[Pokecheque]

Hunter is gone apparently, back to London. That's kinda telling to me.

 

[Pokecheque]

Quote from an article on Dubas written by someone that worked for Dubas as a video coach on the Marlies

I assume you're talking about Justin Bourne, one of the most respected writers in hockey, and one of the best analysts of the game. That's a little more than "someone that worked for Dubas."

 

[Avs_19]

Time to get haircuts and shave that facial hair.

 

[Avs44]

I think that's a good hire for the Isles. Lou is oldschool, but well respected. Snow has had some good moments, but in general his tenure on the Isles has just been complete failure in terms of on-ice success. Apparently Lou already met with Tavares last week...I'd say there's a large uptick in the chances Tavares re-signs there now. He seems to love the Isles, the arena situation seems settled, and if he's confident in Lou's abilities then I don't see why he'd leave.

 

[Foppa2118]

So now both guys the Avs were pursuing last summer for high level positions in the organization, Kyle Dubas and Paul Fenton, have been hired as GM's by other teams.

Expect the Wild to build an amazing blueline through the draft now.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I wonder if the Wild dont go through a bit of a re-tool now. They could really use it and with Fenton at the helm they could have a quick turnaround if they jumped head first into it.


Especially that Defense. I think it's become obvious that while they've always had a decent group of Defenders, they've struggled to take that next step and it could use some changing IMO. Move out Dumba and Brodin and try to draft some good young Dmen to take over for Suter in the next few years.

 

[agentblack]

I thought Dumba was a keeper, he was like the only good defender they had against Winnie