League News: 2015-16 Around the League VI (NHL News n' Scores n' Stuff)

[Corby78]

Here's the Simmonds sucker punch

lol, "then he brings the stick up to protect himself." All of a sudden people are acting like cross checks are a way to protect yourself?!?! First Wideman now this. Take the hit, you can't cross check a guy in the neck.

 

[twabby]

I mean it's a cross check on McDonagh for sure, but there was no expectation for McDonagh to receive a hard punch to the head (which knocked him out of the game). Their gloves weren't dropped and Simmonds already gave him a slash to the leg.

He should get a game just like Lucic did, though the league might give him time served since he was ejected.

 

[OVs Gold Chain*]

Oscar worthy by McD, only better performance today was by the islanders All of a sudden their team has no talent per their posters, just yesterday they were a bad bounce away from being as good as the caps.

 

[twabby]

Oscar worthy? He left the game and didn't return.

Guess it was a really long con.

 

[hockeykicker]

Looks like the blackhawks are in the winter classic again next year. Come on nhl

 

[4thTierSport]

I mean it's a cross check on McDonagh for sure, but there was no expectation for McDonagh to receive a hard punch to the head (which knocked him out of the game). Their gloves weren't dropped and Simmonds already gave him a slash to the leg.

He should get a game just like Lucic did, though the league might give him time served since he was ejected.

McD should get double whatever Simmonds gets, and it's McD's own fault for not expecting retaliation after that true cheap shot.

Oscar worthy? He left the game and didn't return.

Guess it was a really long con.

From an AV team… wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Corby78]

Looks like the blackhawks are in the winter classic again next year. Come on nhl

Good for the Blues, they deserve one IMO, and Busch stadium under the arch is a great venue. I was looking at who has played in the outdoor games and I was surprised that this Feb will be Minnesota's first. But yeah, with so many teams still having not played for Chicago to be rewarded its 5th is a little sad.

 

[RandyHolt]

I thought he was an Oscar nominee.

Missing the rest of the game doesn't change that. All knew if he stood up he would have likely been finished off proper.

The modern concussion era has changed things. Many players first reaction is to milk injuries in the 3-2 era. Later after finishing milking back in the safety of the bench/dressing room, they are held out as precautionary. I expect more of that after the Wideman incident.

I bet he misses no games, and may have even been held out as "precautionary" since he was likely facing more retaliation for his dirty play.

 

[twabby]

Or maybe he was just hurt. Why don't people take concussions seriously?

 

[4thTierSport]

Or maybe he was just hurt. Why don't people take concussions seriously?

I unlike a lot of other people do, but that is one hell of a glass jaw if he has any type of injury from that hit. Just very suspicious of the reaction there.

 

[MEfreak]

I unlike a lot of other people do, but that is one hell of a glass jaw if he has any type of injury from that hit. Just very suspicious of the reaction there.

Appears he gets clocked on his lower jaw from the side with jaw open (middle of talking). Thats a pretty crappy way to get hit. I wouldnt be surprised if the problem here was his jaw (fracture, dislocation), not "concussion". 100 pct speculation on my part.

I dont see a flop really. Hands went right to the jaw (vs the typical "ill hold my helmet" bs), went down pretty quick in what looked like an "oh crap I need to not get hit again" type of reaction (vs being dazed).

Anyone see the game? Chippy afterward? Worth watching?

 

[hockeykicker]

saw this on the main boards

 

[trick9]

Oilers are terrible.

Kassian was looking for blood there.

 

[txpd]

Good for the Blues, they deserve one IMO, and Busch stadium under the arch is a great venue. I was looking at who has played in the outdoor games and I was surprised that this Feb will be Minnesota's first. But yeah, with so many teams still having not played for Chicago to be rewarded its 5th is a little sad.

The teams capable of carrying the game are relatively few. Its hard when use one team outside that short list. two is doom.

Its really hard to have a St Louis v Wild game attract an audience. For St Louis to have the game, Chicago or Detroit had to be the other team.

 

[RandyHolt]

Who here doesn't take concussions seriously....

If RM was too concussed to go back into the game, common sense tells me a critically acclaimed internet doctor that he should not play his next game. Let's see if he plays.

Maybe its the league that doesn't take them seriously. Or, the players.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Oilers are terrible.

Kassian was looking for blood there.

I will legitimately be pissed if they land a 1st overall pick again. Somehow the league has to stop rewarding mediocrity.

 

[Corby78]

I will legitimately be pissed if they land a 1st overall pick again. Somehow the league has to stop rewarding mediocrity.

Hey, if we can't have it, I'd rather Arizona/Edmonton/Buffalo to have it, then say a Pitt/Phil/NYI

 

[hb12xchamps]

Hey, if we can't have it, I'd rather Arizona/Edmonton/Buffalo to have it, then say a Pitt/Phil/NYI

Yeah but how long until Edmonton becomes a powerhouse with all these guys? They don't even need Matthews at this point (if that's the way they go) with RNH, McDavid and Draisaitl down the middle already. Once Edmonton gets a few solid D to mesh with their core they are going to be scary.

 

[Acallabeth]

NHL absolutely has to do something. At least make a rule that one team can't pick 1st 2 years in a row.

 

[Corby78]

Yeah but how long until Edmonton becomes a powerhouse with all these guys? They don't even need Matthews at this point (if that's the way they go) with RNH, McDavid and Draisaitl down the middle already. Once Edmonton gets a few solid D to mesh with their core they are going to be scary.

Isn't that kinda the point of the system though? To help keep some parity? Would you rather the worst team pick last and live in the basement even longer?

 

[trick9]

Yeah but how long until Edmonton becomes a powerhouse with all these guys? They don't even need Matthews at this point (if that's the way they go) with RNH, McDavid and Draisaitl down the middle already. Once Edmonton gets a few solid D to mesh with their core they are going to be scary.

Their wingers after Hall and Eberle are terrible. Those 2 are offensively good but if they aren't scoring, they bring nothing to the table. Even for wingers they are below-average defensively and seem to lack effort often. C depth is good obviously with 3 top-3 picks there.

I've been hearing for years now that Edmonton only needs few D's to be contender. I don't see that, or atleast see that happening. Getting top-pairing D's is not an easy task, and Edmonton needs couple of those. They dropped the ball when they refused to trade down or trade one high pick entirely to get help defensively. Drafting Nurse over Ristolainen was a putrid decision aswell. Their top pairing now is Sekera (solid #4 in contender) and Fayne (good bottom pairing D), which is pretty laughable, as both are acquired from FA and heavily overpaid due to that. Davidson-Gryba pairing doesn't belong in the NHL. Nurse is good but i don't see him ever progressing as top-pairing guy with his lack of hockey IQ. Klefbom is a good one, they made the right call when they signed him long-term. He's better and more promising than Nurse IMO.

On top of that they have backup goalie that is paid like a starter in their net. Talbot isn't going to carry them anywhere and they have nothing in their pipeline to help them in the net.

I don't see them making the playoffs next year either.

On top of that you'll have Chiarelli as a GM who (although a solid GM) is known for one thing only and that's the brutal trade in which he gave up Tyler Seguin. If (and when) Oilers miss the playoffs they'll be sweating over who gets traded in the summer and i wouldn't be shocked if that trade ended up bad for them long-term.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Chiarelli's success in Boston was entirely down to him having the opportunity to sign, and then signing, a dominant #1 defenseman. That's an exceedingly rare occurrence in today's NHL. The other key cogs of the Cup run (Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Thomas) were acquired prior to his time in Boston. Beyond that, he essentially just needed to find the supporting cast.

While Edmonton's got the key cogs offensively, they've got next to nothing defensively if Nurse doesn't become a true #1. So I'm not sure how good of a fit he is there. The good news for Edmonton fans re: Chiarelli is that he's not afraid to do something bold (see: Kessel and Seguin trades). That's exactly what the need. Two of Hall, Eberle, and RNH need to be moved for defensive help. I'd make Don Maloney turn down RNH for OEL.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The Oilers need three top-4 defensemen and four or five more legitimate NHL forwards to become relevant in the west. It's actually an embarrassment how bad and devoid of talent they are with the unprecedented luck they've been afforded.

 

[trick9]

Chiarelli's success in Boston was entirely down to him having the opportunity to sign, and then signing, a dominant #1 defenseman. That's an exceedingly rare occurrence in today's NHL. The other key cogs of the Cup run (Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Thomas) were acquired prior to his time in Boston. Beyond that, he essentially just needed to find the supporting cast.

While Edmonton's got the key cogs offensively, they've got next to nothing defensively if Nurse doesn't become a true #1. So I'm not sure how good of a fit he is there. The good news for Edmonton fans re: Chiarelli is that he's not afraid to do something bold (see: Kessel and Seguin trades). That's exactly what the need. Two of Hall, Eberle, and RNH need to be moved for defensive help. I'd make Don Maloney turn down RNH for OEL.

He did do a pretty good job with his trades before that 2nd Seguin trade. He brought in Boychuk, McQuaid, Soderberg, Recchi, Paille and Jagr for pretty much nothing. He won the Horton and Seidenberg trades comfortably, and robbed Leafs in that Kessel -trade.

Checking his trade history it seems pretty funny that the late draft picks he traded away have struck gold for other teams. McQuaid for 5th rounder is a great trade but that 5th rounder ended up being Jamie Benn. In the deal they acquired Ference and Kobasew they gave up Stuart, Primeau and 4th round pick. Guess who that ended up being? TJ Brodie.

Peter Chiarelli has no idea how to draft players. I think his drafting record is the worst in the NHL and the few times he has hit the mark with his draft picks, he has traded them away. No wonder he kept trading picks away in his final years in Boston.

 

[txpd]

NHL absolutely has to do something. At least make a rule that one team can't pick 1st 2 years in a row.

why? the capitals are a prime example of the damage you do to a rebuilding team with your draft manipulation schemes. it was ok for the Pens to draft Malkin and then Crosby but not ok for the Caps to take Ov and then Crosby. so the Caps pick 14th.

The difference between the Pens having 1 cup and the Caps zero at present is that draft very likely.

Further, picking first doesn't guarantee a dominant player. Some years the 5th pick is better than the 1st pick another year.

And....because the Oil suck, they should be penalized to be worse? they are not tanking EVERY year. They players they get aren't good enough to help them. How many of their top picks are difference makers?