2019-2020 Around the League Thread - Part III

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[henchman21]

Since Huska left, Kelowna has been a revolving door of coaches. Don't get me wrong, Footer has been bad there... but other problems exist up the chain.

 

[Balthazar]

Coyotes suck

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Coyotes suck

 

[BaconNater]

Coyotes with a 5 minute powerplay upcoming, please bury the Stars

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Iracundia]

Benn gonna serve some time for that one

 

[Avalanche]

 

[The Abusement Park]

What the f*** was that.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

What the f*ck was that.

Awful goaltending

 

[Gatorbait19]

It looks like the NHL already pulled it, but this gem was up for auction on the NHL site (spoiler - it was a Colin Wilson “game used” jersey from the outdoor game and said it was worn during the first period. I’m shocked it didn’t say “Complete with Nacho cheese stains”, but it’s probably because Colin didn’t have enough time to wait in the concessions lines):

 

[JLo217]

Might be slightly off topic, but after watching the NHL road to the Winter Classic and listening to a portion of an upcoming interview with Rick Bowness(from 31 thoughts), I gotta say he's a stand up guy and incredibly humble. Wasn't he in line for the Avs job when Bednar got hired?

I know the Stars will likely become the Avs mortal enemies in a couple of months, but they have a heck of a head coach when it comes to who he is as a person.

 

[Congo Jack]

It looks like the NHL already pulled it, but this gem was up for auction on the NHL site (spoiler - it was a Colin Wilson “game used” jersey from the outdoor game and said it was worn during the first period. I’m shocked it didn’t say “Complete with Nacho cheese stains”, but it’s probably because Colin didn’t have enough time to wait in the concessions lines):

Maybe the NHL did some grave robbing?

 

[UncleRisto]

Imagine buying cases of bad vodka because you listen to a podcast.

 

[Pokecheque]

Benn gonna serve some time for that one

Doubt it. They always act like getting a major is punishment enough. Kinda ridiculous.

 

[Pokecheque]

Doubt it. They always act like getting a major is punishment enough. Kinda ridiculous.

See? Toldja.

Dallas Stars' Rick Bowness: Jamie Benn hit on Oliver Ekman-Larsson 'looks a lot worse than it is' - TSN.ca

 

[Balthazar]

See? Toldja.

Dallas Stars' Rick Bowness: Jamie Benn hit on Oliver Ekman-Larsson 'looks a lot worse than it is' - TSN.ca

Well his coach isn't going to say that it's a lot worse than it looks...

Edit: No discipline though

 

[sethro109]

Benn not getting time is horse shit. I hate the DOPS. "Let see, we gotta take away some games because he was given a game misconduct on the play. Oh and he's a high profile name, that another 2 or 3 games off."

 

[Pokecheque]

Benn not getting time is horse shit. I hate the DOPS. "Let see, we gotta take away some games because he was given a game misconduct on the play. Oh and he's a high profile name, that another 2 or 3 games off."

It's a f***ing joke. They just galaxy-brain every single situation and as a result they arbitrarily mete out punishment.

This really isn't that hard. Benn is a good player, he's also dirty as f***. He focused the force of his hit RIGHT IN THE NUMBERS. Pretty clear this is suspendable, but they somehow find some weird bullshit excuse to avoid any further involvement.

 

[Gatorbait19]

I won’t believe that the Leafs will miss the playoffs until I see it, but if they do, I don’t know what’s more embarrassing:

1. Just missing the playoffs with the talent they have; or

2. Missing out on the playoffs to the Panthers.

I mean no one should ever miss the playoffs with the roster they have, but it’ll be downright shameful if the Panthers make it and the leafs don’t.

 

[jaems]

I said many months ago I have no idea why they did the Barrie trade. Yes, he's an RD but they already have so much offensive firepower that they would've been better served acquiring someone more defensively responsible. I get that it's easier said than done, but surely a better strategy would be to wait till a better fit comes since Kadri was signed for several more seasons. It's also not as if there haven't been Cup winners whose top pairing had the same handedness.

That Leafs team is not too dissimilar to the shambolic defense we endured throughout most of the 2010s. Their defense is being held together by Muzzin, Barrie, and youngsters who need more years under their belt to be reliable in tight situations.

 

[Metallo]

See? Toldja.

Dallas Stars' Rick Bowness: Jamie Benn hit on Oliver Ekman-Larsson 'looks a lot worse than it is' - TSN.ca

Ridiculous. Benn could have 100% went shoulder-to-shoulder with OEL there but he decided to let him get to the puck first in order to ram him from behind into the boards. It doesn’t get more obvious than that...

 

[Pokecheque]

I said many months ago I have no idea why they did the Barrie trade. Yes, he's an RD but they already have so much offensive firepower that they would've been better served acquiring someone more defensively responsible. I get that it's easier said than done, but surely a better strategy would be to wait till a better fit comes since Kadri was signed for several more seasons. It's also not as if there haven't been Cup winners whose top pairing had the same handedness.

That Leafs team is not too dissimilar to the shambolic defense we endured throughout most of the 2010s. Their defense is being held together by Muzzin, Barrie, and youngsters who need more years under their belt to be reliable in tight situations.

They really didn't though. They had just lost Gardiner, leaving Rielly as their top puckmover, and pretty much only puckmover. Holl is a RHD with offensive ability, and obviously Dermott and Muzzin can handle the puck adequately, but Barrie was, at least on paper, addressed all their needs on the back end perfectly. It just didn't come together for a whole host of reasons.

I get they could've used a more all-around guy, but who was really available? No, they wanted a dynamic puckmover with a right-hand shot who could QB the power play. And that's precisely what they went for when they traded for Barrie.

Also, they couldn't afford to "wait" either. Their window is now.

I get that the trade did not have the desired effect, but I think it's too easy to say the deal was a bad one. There are several reasons Toronto's in the kind of trouble it's in.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I get that the trade did not have the desired effect, but I think it's too easy to say the deal was a bad one. There are several reasons Toronto's in the kind of trouble it's in.

I think a lot of that is locker room culture. Now that's hard to say without being in the room obviously, but your leaders need a certain mentality and they don't seem to have it. I mean take Mac vs Matthews, having someone that is as competitive as him that's your best player is huge. If he's pissed you're losing games you know everyone else is gonna be too. I just don't see the will to win and competitive edge that a lot of top teams have. But I say this not being in the locker room so that could be off base.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

This is going to be a very controversial opinion and I expect to get flamed for it. Even though I agree Benn should have been suspended, OEL deserves a lot of the blame on this hit. The second replay in the .gif shows that OEL was very aware that Benn was closing in...they are both angling straight for the puck. OEL was definitely going to get to the puck first. Instead of just chipping the puck deeper into the O zone or back toward the blue line to Chychrun, he continued to turn his back to Benn, came to a full stop just a few feet from the boards and tried to take possession of the puck. I see more and more players turning their back to oncoming hits and it's driving me nuts. If he just played the puck instead of stopping and turning his back to Benn, it would've resulted in hard but clean hit. Like I said, I do believe the hit was was dirty but it would never have happened if OEL was more aware and responsible for his own safety.

Yes, players have a responsibility to not deliver the hit in this situation. I do believe Benn should have been suspended. I just happen to believe players also have a responsibility to quit turning their backs to a hit and take more responsibility for the way they play a puck in this situation. OEL was an idiot in this regard.

Flame away.