Around the League 14: PLAY GLORIA!

[My Special Purpose]

The idea of a Gretzky saving the Oilers again is pretty poetic, actually.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

That seems like the wrong direction to go.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That seems like the wrong direction to go.

Were all those guys in place before Fenton got there? If so, it makes some sense. The guy in charge wants his guys there.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Were all those guys in place before Fenton got there? If so, it makes some sense. The guy in charge wants his guys there.

The AGMs I can understand, but firing the analytics guy doesn't seem like a smart move.

 

[HisIceness]

Good hire for Florida and for Coach Q, he can be for them what David Cutcliffe is to Duke Football. They make the playoffs more than not and even win a round or two they'll build him a damn statue, win-win for both,

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

The AGMs I can understand, but firing the analytics guy doesn't seem like a smart move.

Not all analytics guys are good at what they do though. If they are getting rid of analytics all together, then I agree with you. If they are replacing one guy with a different analytics guy, then I can understand it.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Not all analytics guys are good at what they do though. If they are getting rid of analytics all together, then I agree with you. If they are replacing one guy with a different analytics guy, then I can understand it.

Andrew Thomas was the founder of War on Ice. I can’t pretend to know what info he’s given the Wild, or whether he was successful at his job, but his reputation and his work got him (and the other guys on War on Ice) hired in the first place, so there must have been something there.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Andrew Thomas was the founder of War on Ice. I can’t pretend to know what info he’s given the Wild, or whether he was successful at his job, but his reputation and his work got him (and the other guys on War on Ice) hired in the first place, so there must have been something there.

I get that, but running a website and running the analytics for a team aren't the same. I worked in technology for many years and knew some brilliant statisticians who couldn't turn analysis into meaningful actions. Maybe Fenton has a different analytics guy in mind that he likes better and thinks he can work with better. Maybe Thomas was a 1 man show and the team wanted a more collaborative approach. Maybe he and Fenton had personalities that were oil and water. Maybe he's a back-stabber.

Of course I'm exaggerating some for effect, but my point is that without knowing why they fired a guy and what they will do going forward, it's hard to say pass judgement on it.

Anyhow, I don't find a new GM making changes after a year with guys that were there before he took the job that unusual. He probably used his 1st year as a way to gauge which guys made sense to keep.

Edit: now, if Fenton just doesn’t believe in the benefit of Analytics so he’s doing away with it, that would be troublesome for me.

 

[My Special Purpose]

If I had to choose between Fenton and the analytics group as far as credibility, I'm going with AC Thomas and his team. I'm pretty sure the analytics group didn't sign off on Niederreiter-for-Rask. As a matter of fact, that could have been a breaking point between Thomas and Fenton. I wonder if Thomas warned it was a bad move and was ignored, leading to friction between the two -- or maybe just a lot of muttered "toldja's" during meetings.

 

[DougieSmash]

Forward Brian Gibbons played under four coaches this season

LOL.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If I had to choose between Fenton and the analytics group as far as credibility, I'm going with AC Thomas and his team. I'm pretty sure the analytics group didn't sign off on Niederreiter-for-Rask. As a matter of fact, that could have been a breaking point between Thomas and Fenton. I wonder if Thomas warned it was a bad move and was ignored, leading to friction between the two -- or maybe just a lot of muttered "toldja's" during meetings.

That very well could be. And like I said, if it's a case of Fenton doesn't believe in analytics and is not investing in them, then it would be troubling.

 

[Negan4Coach]

I get that, but running a website and running the analytics for a team aren't the same. I worked in technology for many years and knew some brilliant statisticians who couldn't turn analysis into meaningful actions. Maybe Fenton has a different analytics guy in mind that he likes better and thinks he can work with better. Maybe Thomas was a 1 man show and the team wanted a more collaborative approach. Maybe he and Fenton had personalities that were oil and water. Maybe he's a back-stabber.

Of course I'm exaggerating some for effect, but my point is that without knowing why they fired a guy and what they will do going forward, it's hard to say pass judgement on it.

Anyhow, I don't find a new GM making changes after a year with guys that were there before he took the job that unusual. He probably used his 1st year as a way to gauge which guys made sense to keep.

Edit: now, if Fenton just doesn’t believe in the benefit of Analytics so he’s doing away with it, that would be troublesome for me.

You are absolutely correct. Analytics and stats are two different things. You need to have analysis through the lens of experience.

For instance, I had a piece of software in Iraq that would allow me to do pattern analysis on all the IEDs that went off. Some analysts were all like "Hey, most of them go off around 0800 in the mornings" and I was all like "Yeah because 0800 is when the engineer route clearance patrols all start rolling and report hitting them, that doesnt mean they are planting them all right before 0800, you'd still have hit it at 0400."

 

[Joe McGrath]

The AGMs I can understand, but firing the analytics guy doesn't seem like a smart move.

What if his analytics told Fenton Viktor Rask wasn’t dogshit?

 

[Svechhammer]

What if his analytics told Fenton Viktor Rask wasn’t dog****?

Then we need to take advantage of those analytics every year from now on.

 

[DougieSmash]

What if his analytics told Fenton Viktor Rask wasn’t dog****?

Then let's do Fleury for Zucker.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Taylor Hall laid down the gauntlet in NJ.

"There is only so much patience you can have at this age," the 27-year-old said. "The League is getting younger and Father Time is undefeated. You only have so many years left, so for me to be done halfway with my career and to only have played five playoffs games is disappointing. You want to try to make up for that. It's a huge part of it, but you want to be cognizant of the process and not go chasing after the wrong situation. That's stuff I have to think about and I really haven't done that, so we'll see what happens. It's hard but I want to win for sure."

"We have the culture and character in our locker room but at this point in time, in my opinion, we lack some talent in positions," Hall said. "Whether it's the players on our team getting better and improving, or from the outside. Certainly, when you finish 29th, you're lacking some skill and lacking some talent. The great part is we have a culture in our locker room that's fun to be around and conducive to success and hard-working people. Now it's about filling those gaps where we might have lacked this season.

 

[MinJaBen]

Taylor Hall laid down the gauntlet in NJ.

So, by July 4th we should know if Hall is staying in Jersey or going to UFA (or I guess trade before that). Shero has a lot of work to do.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Not that you're saying he is, but he's not wrong. They only made it last year with several players overachieving and Hall going into God mode. They don't appear to have a sure fire answer in goal (though Blackwood was very promising), their defense needs a ton of work, and there are still questions up front with guys that have regressed or never took a step forward.

I'm not sure if they really have the assets to go all in to appease Hall at this point either. They need those guys they have to take the next step or recover from their bad seasons, they need luck in the lottery, and they need to figure out a lot in goal and on D. It'll be a difficult offseason to pull off to convince him it's worth staying. If I were him I'd probably just look for a "sure thing" either via trade or just waiting it out for free agency. At least for their sake, it sounds like he's open to seeing if they can put a good team in place.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

It's refreshing to read/hear a player not bullshit. In a lot of cases, it's not underperformance that holds a team back. It's the lack of talent that does it. Coaching, leadership, team chemistry, etc. means only so much. Where would the Canes have been this season if the Finns had combined for 130 points instead of 159?

 

[robbieberns]

Good for Hall, he deserves to be in the playoffs. If you’re a top 20 player in the league, you deserve to ask for a competitive roster, or to look for a way out. It would’ve been nice to hear E Staal put major pressure on Rutherford/Karmanos all of those years ago.

 

[HisIceness]

Taylor Hall has had an unfortunate career for a player of his caliber thus far. Yeah he won the MVP last year but other than that he's been on some of the worst teams in recent memory.

 

[Svechhammer]

Winning the Jack Hughes lottery might help ease some of those worries

 

[SvechneJerk]

With Hughes skating with Hall during the summer, it's not likely Hall is leaving NJ.

 

[DougieSmash]

They still lack reliable goalie, secondary scoring and at least two good dmans. Meh prospect pool. Devils are new Oilers.

 

[Lempo]

With Hughes skating with Hall during the summer, it's not likely Hall is leaving NJ.

I wouldn't assume that 27 years old Hall is making his essential career choices based on some unproven kiddo being in NJ.