2019-2020 Around the League Thread - Part III

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

The East is good, the West is bad, that's what you need to know.

Continue here folks.

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[henchman21]

Starting this in a different direction. Rule changes... seems the NHL hit an absolute home run on goalie equipment changes. There was some debate on if there would be an actual impact or not. Right now Sv % is the lowest it has been since 08-09. That year averaged 4.16 power play opportunities per game (this year is 3.01). I'm sure somebody has a good resource on a number, but predictably there would be an even lower Sv% if the opportunities were the same. In fact the last ~5-6 years have brought along some of the fewest power play opportunities the NHL has ever seen in a game... yet scoring is at the highest level since the early 90s (05-06 outlier excluded). That simple change has made the game much more exciting and better. 5v5 hockey means even more. Plus it has made a push for more athletic goalies as they have been impacted less than the positional or just outright big goalies.

On the debatable... the offside challenge. A whopping 70% of challenges have lead to them being overturned on review in the last two regular seasons. 110 goals have been taken back by that rule... a number of those have been pretty trivial. Last season 16 teams had 4 or more goals taken away, with Calgary and the Avs leading the way with 7. This year we already have 7 with 4 or more and 5 more with 3. We are also seeing a tendency to not allow more goals after review. Only one goal this year has been allowed after review vs 7 last year.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Ya goal scoring really is in a near perfect spot right now. It's way up, and its not being driven by PPs which would take away from the 5 on 5 section of the game which is what the game is all about. And even though goalies complained at the beginning about more risk for injury from the changes.... those conversations have pretty much completely died out which basically suggests the injury risk isn't really higher like some of the Tenders might have originally thought would be the case. That adjustment worked out pretty much perfectly for the NHL at least right now.



As for the Offsides... I dunno. My personal opinion is that I am a fan of the rule. It sucks when you're on the wrong side of the call, but at the end of the day 99% of the time it is a very black and white rule and they basically get it right the 2nd time the vast majority of the time(If not 100% of the time). Either you enter the zone after the puck has and are onside, or you enter before the puck does and you're offsides. Aside from some very weird, rare plays, it's just so black and white that I'm fine with keeping the rule.


Funnily enough the one time they probably most obviously got the rule wrong was against us a couple years back when they called an offside on a play that wasn't ultimately the zone entry that led to the goal. But aside from that ruling I cant think of one ruling that they 100% blatantly without question got wrong. 95% of the time its obvious, the other 5% is maybe a little doubt on the play but still a pretty good bet they got it right. Like the one against us a few weeks back where the puck was like 15 feet in the air as it crossed the line.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

I read that as they made the equipment changes but at the same time are now calling fewer penalties to help offset the save %.

 

[Gatorbait19]

I think the offsides challenge is good but needs to be modified. I’m obviously ok with challenging offsides, but it’s gotta be cut off at some point. It’s silly when an offsides occurs, play continues, and then 30+ seconds or a minute later the team scores and then it gets taken away. I think if the defending team gets control of the puck after the offsides, or if 30+ seconds pass after the offsides, the goal should still count. I know 30 seconds is arbitrary and I’m not married to that aspect/timing, but there’s too many instances where a goal is called back where the defense had a legit opportunity to get the puck out.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Just tweak the damn rule so the blue line is like the goal line in football. If your skate is in the air, but above the line, you're still onside. Would help get rid of a lot of the reviews. Also need to tweak it to get rid of the guy changing being offside, like Landy was ruled to be in the playoffs. He had zero impact on that play.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I think the offsides challenge is good but needs to be modified. I’m obviously ok with challenging offsides, but it’s gotta be cut off at some point. It’s silly when an offsides occurs, play continues, and then 30+ seconds or a minute later the team scores and then it gets taken away. I think if the defending team gets control of the puck after the offsides, or if 30+ seconds pass after the offsides, the goal should still count. I know 30 seconds is arbitrary and I’m not married to that aspect/timing, but there’s too many instances where a goal is called back where the defense had a legit opportunity to get the puck out.

I agree with that, and always have. They also need to stick to not overturning the call on the ice if there isn't enough evidence to overturn. I think they've sucked in that regard. There is no convincing me some of the stuff they have overturned had definitive evidence.

I'd imagine the time cutoff would need to be more like 15 seconds. Just based on the end of games 30 seconds is a long time. If a team pulls off setting up a cycle on a marginal enough offsides that the linesman misses it, bitching about offsides is hilariously sad. It basically needs to be applied to offsides rush plays that score, and those only IMO.

At least they've been way better about goalie interference.

Goalie equipment was badly needed. I'm glad its working. Shit was out of control entirely.

 

[Qurpiz]

Can't help it, but a tire fire Leafs team is entertaining as hell.

 

[RockyMtnRedhawk]

Devils use us as leverage in the Hall and Coleman deals, then trade Coleman and Greene just before they play the Blues, then start Domingue instead of Blackwood against the Blues...thanks a lot.

 

[dahrougem2]

I still believe that the offside challenge needs to be taken out of the game completely.

 

[Spleenless Wonder21]

Devils use us as leverage in the Hall and Coleman deals, then trade Coleman and Greene just before they play the Blues, then start Domingue instead of Blackwood against the Blues...thanks a lot.

Clearly payback for the ‘01 SC Finals.

 

[McMetal]

I'm totally fine with a "break the plane" type rule for offsides where the idiotic "is his back skate .5 millimeters off the ice?" rulings are thrown out the window. It will go back to the spirit of the rule, where you determine if somebody is clearly well ahead of the play or the puck completely left the zone. But as it is now, the offside challenge is nothing but a nit picky way to slow down games and take away goals.

But from everything that's come out, it seems like the owners don't even think it's a problem, so I don't expect a change anytime soon.

 

[Chiarelli]

San Jose got our second rounder for Dillon. The one used with a third to acquire burakovsky.

Come to think of it that’s the same trade we made but they’re getting Brendan Dillon on an expiring contract. That in a nutshell is deadline buying

 

[dahrougem2]

I'm totally fine with a "break the plane" type rule for offsides where the idiotic "is his back skate .5 millimeters off the ice?" rulings are thrown out the window. It will go back to the spirit of the rule, where you determine if somebody is clearly well ahead of the play or the puck completely left the zone. But as it is now, the offside challenge is nothing but a nit picky way to slow down games and take away goals.

But from everything that's come out, it seems like the owners don't even think it's a problem, so I don't expect a change anytime soon.

And that right there is the major problem. When you start listening to owners/GM's regarding on-ice rule changes and not the actual players, the game suffers.

 

[jaems]

The Eastern Canadian teams are complete tire fires right now.

Leafs look lost defensively. Montreal is still trying to chase a playoff spot while being swept by the Red Wings. Sens are in a rebuild mode.

 

[the_fan]

Devils use us as leverage in the Hall and Coleman deals, then trade Coleman and Greene just before they play the Blues, then start Domingue instead of Blackwood against the Blues...thanks a lot.

Devils weren't gonna beat the Blues tonight no matter what. Blues lost 5 in a row, they weren't gonna lose that one too at home against NJ

 

[McMetal]

And that right there is the major problem. When you start listening to owners/GM's regarding on-ice rule changes and not the actual players, the game suffers.

Or the fans, for that matter. If anybody loves what the offside challenge has become, I haven't heard them say so. You can't blame the coaches and players for taking advantage of a stupid rule to win games, that's their job, but the owners whose pockets we fill should have some clue as to how vastly unpopular the application of the offside challenge has been.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Pokecheque]

I still believe that the offside challenge needs to be taken out of the game completely.

Everyone believes that EXCEPT the GMs and league officials who can actually do something about it.

 

[Avalanche]

 

[UncleRisto]

I hope he does poorly, since I've already taken 493 shots at @cgf about Meloche busting.

 

[Gatorbait19]

The wings have 15 wins and 34 points, but swept all 4 games against the Habs this year. So basically, detroit obtained 1/4th of their wins/points from games against the Habs.

But I definitely think that a 32yo Price at $10.5m/year for the next 6+ years is worth Byram. Maybe I should make a trade proposal on the main board.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[henchman21]

Melo has been pretty bad in the AHL this year, but San Jose is entering evaluation mode on expiring contracts. They will be bringing up nearly all their RFA/UFAs to get a look. Might only be 3 or 4 games, but I'd expect all of them to get a viewing.

 

[Balthazar]

Obviously we only have one side here but it sure doesn't look good on Scheifele.

Jets star Mark Scheifele sued by former personal chef