2018-2019 Around the league thread #3

[Balthazar]

Not super long but both guys leaving it all out there.

Deslauriers should have spent all his energy/attention at getting Miller's helmet off instead of throwing useless punches. Why do they even throw punches on the helmet/visor? They do it for the show aren't they? No effectiveness and plenty of broken hand possibilities.

Also Deslauriers got seriously injured in a pre-season fight so props to him for going at it again.

 

[Balthazar]

Pretty damming article on the Stars. Doesn't sound like things with Benn are going too well

I said it earlier; Benn is fool's gold and was never supposed to become a superstar in this league. He played way over his talent level. Also he's big and battered.... I wouldn't want anything to do with that contract going forward.

 

[Pokecheque]

Pretty damming article on the Stars. Doesn't sound like things with Benn are going too well

Good GOD what a terrible article. I usually don't mind Shapiro but...yikes.

There's a culture of complacency? How about there's a culture of too many shitty players taking up too much cap space? How about Jim Nill taking a fast, dynamic, offensively-geared team and saddling it with too many old, slow guys and Ken Hitchcock? Or the fact that he went out and paid way too much money on old, broken down players like Methot or Hanzal (who was reportedly brought in at Hitch's insistence) who have done nothing but eat cap space while rusting away on cinderblocks in the front lawn of some dirty redneck's house.

The only thing I won't pin on Jim Nill is the Great Finnish Goaltender Implosion. He took a gamble and it nearly paid off. Not his fault his predecessor gave Lehtonen a terrible contract, and he couldn't have known Niemi was just gonna forget how to play hockey there at the worst possible time.

I don't think the world of Jamie Benn, but I'd pick about a thousand things before I'd start in on him. Your best player winning the scoring title is not ever a bad thing "in hindsight." If it was that means you failed miserably in building around him.

I like Nill but he completely and totally lost his way...and the longer this sordid drama drags on the more I'm thinking that ownership is a lot more meddlesome and intrusive than we were initially led to believe. Say what you will about the Kroenkes but I'd take them a thousand times over the dipshits paying the bills in Dallas.

 

[Avs44]

Just on the potential out-of-town trade front, I took a look over at the Bruins board...if ya'll remember Dom from two years ago, apparently quite a credible fellow who's endorsed by all their mods. Seems to think something will go down either tonight or tomorrow (most likely tomorrow since he posted several hours ago). Said "I have a feeling F5 will be the most used key on keyboards tonight and tomorrow. I for one can't put my phone down." Apparently 4 members of the Blues organization - a "management team" and one scout - were at the Bruins game tonight. Wonder if we'll see Schenn traded there.

 

[Balthazar]

Just on the potential out-of-town trade front, I took a look over at the Bruins board...if ya'll remember Dom from two years ago, apparently quite a credible fellow who's endorsed by all their mods. Seems to think something will go down either tonight or tomorrow (most likely tomorrow since he posted several hours ago). Said "I have a feeling F5 will be the most used key on keyboards tonight and tomorrow. I for one can't put my phone down." Apparently 4 members of the Blues organization - a "management team" and one scout - were at the Bruins game tonight. Wonder if we'll see Schenn traded there.

Blues are now just 3 pts away from a wildcard spot with a game in hand so I'm not so sure they are sellers anymore.

 

[PAZ]

I said it earlier; Benn is fool's gold and was never supposed to become a superstar in this league. He played way over his talent level. Also he's big and battered.... I wouldn't want anything to do with that contract going forward.

What exactly do you mean by 'playing over his talent level'? You don't get 630 points in 710 games without being talented or getting on a hot streak. When you're that consistent, you're simply high-end talented.

 

[Pokecheque]

Blues are now just 3 pts away from a wildcard spot with a game in hand so I'm not so sure they are sellers anymore.

They're fools if they're buyers.

 

[Pokecheque]

Going back to that Shapiro article--this part is interesting:

The best-run teams have owners who delegate and don’t interfere. Tom Gaglardi has given his people space, but does intervene too often. When the Stars hired Jim Nill, the deal could have fallen apart because Gaglardi had promised Brian Burke he would give him an interview, and the owner had to be talked out of not interviewing Burke by Stars CEO Jim Lites, in order to not mess up the deal.

 

[Balthazar]

What exactly do you mean by 'playing over his talent level'? You don't get 630 points in 710 games without being talented or getting on a hot streak. When you're that consistent, you're simply high-end talented.

He's a very good player with elite player stats.

 

[Pokecheque]

He's a very good player with elite player stats.

No, he's an elite talent. If anything, he's been accused of not always going full throttle, his talent alone lets him get by on some nights when he's not exactly putting in 110%.

Regardless, he's an elite franchise-level player. Do I think he's an ideal captain? Hell no. But that's not the reason the Stars are an average team. They're average because they have zero scoring depth, an aging roster, three head coaches in three years, and garbage drafting. Many of the things they've said about Benn are some of the same things they've said about Ovechkin, and yet Ovi has his ring. They actually built around him, mostly through the draft. Dallas didn't build properly around Benn. That's the difference.

 

[Foppberg]

He's a very good player with elite player stats.

He's an elite player.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Pretty damming article on the Stars. Doesn't sound like things with Benn are going too well

I kind of feel like this is a funnys section article aimed at what we're about to pay Mikko. Except Mikko is young and good, which is why it is in the funny section.

Either way it is a funny section level article.

 

[PAZ]

He's a very good player with elite player stats.

That makes zero sense.

Benn hasn't been playing with McDavid his career leeching off points. He has been top 2 in scoring on his team since the 2011-12 season and 12th overall in points since he's entered the league. It's fine if you don't like the guy, but your argument is nonsense.

 

[Balthazar]

That makes zero sense.

Benn hasn't been playing with McDavid his career leeching off points. He has been top 2 in scoring on his team since the 2011-12 season and 12th overall in points since he's entered the league. It's fine if you don't like the guy, but your argument is nonsense.

He wasn't elite before entering the league (5th round pick) and won't age well like a true elite player either (already started to decline and he's not even 30). Whatever happened in-between was the anomaly.

 

[PAZ]

He wasn't elite before entering the league (5th round pick) and won't age well like a true elite player either.

TIL Gaudreau, Martin St. Louis, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Alfredsson, Lundqvist, Rinne, Bure, (Theo) Fleury, Hasek are not elite players because they were undrafted/drafted low.

 

[Balthazar]

TIL Gaudreau, Martin St. Louis, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Alfredsson, Lundqvist, Rinne, Bure, (Theo) Fleury, Hasek are not elite players because they were undrafted/drafted low.

Yep. That's exactly what I said. Fleury, Hasek, Lundqvist, Rinne...they didn't age well at all. They're all like Jamie Benn.

 

[PAZ]

Yep. That's exactly what I said. Fleury, Hasek, Lundqvist, Rinne...they didn't age well at all. They're all like Jamie Benn.

Your only argument is that he was drafted low so he isn't an elite player and won't age like an elite player... unless there is more?

 

[CobraAcesS]

He wasn't elite before entering the league (5th round pick) and won't age well like a true elite player either (already started to decline and he's not even 30). Whatever happened in-between was the anomaly.

Marty St. Louis says hi, and so does Nicklas Lidstrom drafted in the 3rd round 1989.

Dude I really enjoy some of your posts, but you're going out too lunch with some of these takes.


Edit... Btw one of the reasons you're an enjoyable read a lot of times is because you sometimes offer a different take on things most would take the baseline view of. Which is awesome, but sometimes that means you're pushing it, and this is one of those times IMO.

Just saying, I'm not trying to trash you without giving credit for previous performance.

 

[Balthazar]

Marty St. Louis says hi, and so does Nicklas Lidstrom drafted in the 3rd round 1989.

Dude I really enjoy some of your posts, but you're going out too lunch with some of these takes.


Edit... Btw one of the reasons you're an enjoyable read a lot of times is become you sometimes offer a different take on things most would take the baseline view of. Which is awesome, but sometimes that means you're pushing it, and this is one of those times IMO.

Listen...In my opinion Jamie Benn doesn't have the elite talent to match his elite numbers. I'm also convinced that he will not age well due to many factors, and I fully agree that the Art Ross was not good long term for the Stars.

You don't have to agree...if I'm wrong and he ages like Martin St Louis or Lidstrom then I'll be wrong. It won't be the 1st nor the last time. I'm not throwing random opinions out there just to have a different take.

 

[PAZ]

Listen...In my opinion Jamie Benn doesn't have the elite talent to match his elite numbers. I'm also convinced that he will not age well due to many factors, and I fully agree that the Art Ross was not good long term for the Stars.

You don't have to agree...if I'm wrong and he ages like Martin St Louis or Lidstrom then I'll be wrong. It won't be the 1st nor the last time. I'm not throwing random opinions out there just to have a different take.

There is nothing wrong with having differing opinions, but when your (one) argument of why you think he's not elite is because he was drafted low doesn't really make sense. If it's intuition I get that, everyone has a gut feeling that they can't always rationalize. But it's hard to see where you're coming from when all you say is 'low draft pick = low talent'.

 

[Ivan13]

Blues are now just 3 pts away from a wildcard spot with a game in hand so I'm not so sure they are sellers anymore.

Blues sold last year having been in a much better spot then they are now.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Listen...In my opinion Jamie Benn doesn't have the elite talent to match his elite numbers. I'm also convinced that he will not age well due to many factors, and I fully agree that the Art Ross was not good long term for the Stars.

You don't have to agree...if I'm wrong and he ages like Martin St Louis or Lidstrom then I'll be wrong. It won't be the 1st nor the last time. I'm not throwing random opinions out there just to have a different take.

I'll address this with my full opinion later today ( I will be passing out soon lol), but I view Benn as the closest thing to Forsberg we've seen in this era. I'll expand more later.

Hopefully even though I've given you shit, you can see that I also wanted to tell you that I respect your opinions and judgement in general.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Ivan13]

The video of the two of them is hilarious.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I took the Blues on a crazy futures bet to win the cup just because of the odds. If they win I win almost 2 grand. So yeah, I hope they don’t sell lol.