Around The League 26: Gostisbe-stillhere

[Chrispy]

Damn, Rangers just fired Davidson and Gorton. This shit is getting good.

I can't figure out what is worse: them backtracking on the statement after catching flak from the NHL that they knew would be coming, or them honestly being out of the loop on that statement, which is a failure of the leadership structure itself.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Now some insiders throwing out there it was just time to make a change and they expected more this season. I call bullshit on that. Doing it now instead of after the season? Coincidentally right after recent events? Smells to me like the insiders are trying to cover the tracks for Rangers ownership.

 

[hblueridgegal]

 

[tarheelhockey]

Were they the ones that greenlit the tweet calling out the league?

 

[Lempo]

Seravalli says the opposite if I read him correctly. There's some Game of Thrones shit going on in the NHL right now.

All fun and games until a murderous dwarf shoots someone into balls.

 

[Lempo]

What is company shill doing company shilling, Alex?

 

[bleedgreen]

That statement while well intended was over the top and very much of todays political climate, it's asking to be punished and trying to make a fool of the league. I could easily see Davidson and Gorton being against it - if for no reason other than they dont want to pay the fine or even a draft pick if it comes to that. There are ways to protest without going that route. We don't know how that statement was made, if it was made without those two of course they would pull back. There's nothing wrong with those two being against the statement, and at the same time being pissed about what happened. They have a lot of experience with dealing with the league - and they likely were like "whoa...lets think about this instead of putting something dramatic like that out about an hour later."

Also, this statement that the reason it happened could be as much fake news as anything else.

 

[Svechhammer]

I don't buy for one second that their firing isn't related to this whole thing

What I'm very curious to hear is if they were fired for greenlighting the statement or being opposed to it

If they were fired for greenlighting it, NY media is going to burn that organization to the ground

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

 

[GoldiFox]

*Jack Drury watch intensifies*

 

[bleedgreen]

*Jack Drury watch intensifies*

Everyone saw that coming a mile away, you just never knew when. A fascinating wrinkle to all this.

 

[GoldiFox]

Hopefully at least Drury gives us a couple 2nds or something to get Jack a year early. The Adam Fox special.

 

[Lempo]

*Jack Drury watch intensifies*

I'd rather be in some small market flopping on ice with other jerks than a part of a massive drama, but that's just me.

 

[Svechhammer]

I'd rather be in some small market flopping on ice with other jerks than a part of a massive drama, but that's just me.

So it sounds like Dolan got involved and fired them because of the statement.

Should that end up being true, its only a matter of time before the players ask to be traded 1 by 1, starting with Panarin.

The Rangers just absolutely torched their reputation within the players circles.

 

[Bunch of Jurcos]

The Rangers didn't goon it up after what happened with Wilson. By all accounts they couldn't because they don't have tough guys on their team, but a fringe player could have absolutely taken a run at Wilson and would have been loved in NY. They let the process play out and the process didn't deliver. So now what?

The Rangers protested. Extremely strong statement sent. The thing about protests is that they are supposed to make people uncomfortable. It makes sense that the majority, the NHL, wants this to go away asap. But you have to know that public sentiment has you on the right side of history here. So if the President and GM distanced themselves, it's their fault for not reading the room. Fine, draft pick, whatever, you have a rare opportunity to change the game as we know it and be remembered for it. I think protecting players is far more important than who you draft with the 12th pick in the draft.

 

[tarheelhockey]

One factor to keep an eye on -- Panarin is officially out with a lower body injury, not a head injury. While the Rangers' statement didn't quiiiiiiite specify that he was injured by the Wilson slam, it made a very strong insinuation along those lines. Certainly it didn't suggest that the injury happened while he rolling around on the ground or something.

A misleading statement calling for the head of an NHL official is not the sort of thing that guys like Davidson and Gorton would take lightly. Davidson especially is a member of the Old Boys Club with a lot to lose by aligning against the establishment in such a drastic and public manner.

It's easy to imagine (speculate) that something of that nature would lead to a "either fire him or fire me" type of showdown internally.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

What rule was not enforced in this particular incident?

The implicit rule, assumed by reasonable people everywhere, that when you punch someone in the back of the head after the whistle, and then you slam someone into the ice by their hair, that you get actual consequences, especially when you're a repeat offender.

A one game suspension was the obvious absolute minimum, and the reaction you're seeing is because the DOPS couldn't even be bothered to do that.

 

[DaveG]

That statement while well intended was over the top and very much of todays political climate, it's asking to be punished and trying to make a fool of the league. I could easily see Davidson and Gorton being against it - if for no reason other than they dont want to pay the fine or even a draft pick if it comes to that. There are ways to protest without going that route. We don't know how that statement was made, if it was made without those two of course they would pull back. There's nothing wrong with those two being against the statement, and at the same time being pissed about what happened. They have a lot of experience with dealing with the league - and they likely were like "whoa...lets think about this instead of putting something dramatic like that out about an hour later."

Also, this statement that the reason it happened could be as much fake news as anything else.

I mean, it's James Dolan. As much as the statement WAS badly needed (imo) the guy isn't exactly known to be the brightest analytical mind before he goes off and does something controversial. Just ask any Knicks fan. Team management not being in the loop and reacting to their disagreement with an ultimatum is beyond on brand for him.

 

[hockeynjune]

So it sounds like Dolan got involved and fired them because of the statement.

Should that end up being true, its only a matter of time before the players ask to be traded 1 by 1, starting with Panarin.

The Rangers just absolutely torched their reputation within the players circles.

Yepp, the entire organization just folded in the national spotlight. Would suck to be a fan or player right now.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yepp, the entire organization just folded in the national spotlight. Would suck to be a fan or player right now.

The one upside to this is that the players have absolutely zero reason to even attempt to play hockey tonight. This is going to be a made-for-TV shitshow. Bring popcorn.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

I recommend listening to Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks. Dolan's style has bred chaos. If he starts to play a more active role in the Rangers, we could be in store for a lot of entertainment.

 

[Svechhammer]

Hey remember when everyone thought Dundon was the most meddling owner in the NHL?

Hell, you can't tell me that he wouldn't absolutely be on board with the Canes issuing the kind of statement that the Rangers did last night. He relishes the ability to go against the grain with the way things have always been done in this league.

 

[Wolfpuck]

Thankfully Dolan is an idiot, so this should help to hobble the Rangers and keep them from being a threat to us for the next several years.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

So it sounds like Dolan got involved and fired them because of the statement.

Should that end up being true, its only a matter of time before the players ask to be traded 1 by 1, starting with Panarin.

The Rangers just absolutely torched their reputation within the players circles.

Oh, word? I read that as "Dolan made the statement and fired them for disagreeing with it." Is there any clarity here?

 

[bleedgreen]

The Rangers didn't goon it up after what happened with Wilson. By all accounts they couldn't because they don't have tough guys on their team, but a fringe player could have absolutely taken a run at Wilson and would have been loved in NY. They let the process play out and the process didn't deliver. So now what?

The Rangers protested. Extremely strong statement sent. The thing about protests is that they are supposed to make people uncomfortable. It makes sense that the majority, the NHL, wants this to go away asap. But you have to know that public sentiment has you on the right side of history here. So if the President and GM distanced themselves, it's their fault for not reading the room. Fine, draft pick, whatever, you have a rare opportunity to change the game as we know it and be remembered for it. I think protecting players is far more important than who you draft with the 12th pick in the draft.

I don’t believe anything that happened or was said was going to change the game, so I don’t know that I agree that they missed a window of opportunity. We really don’t know how their management felt or actually handled this. We don’t know who made the statement, or who decided the timing of it, we don’t know if everyone agreed, we’re really not sure which side the two guys fired were on and therefore have no idea of which side Dolan is even on. Or what he was trying to accomplish with the firings.

Lots of baseless speculation pointing the “truth” in whichever direction you want it to go in. This situation really reminds me of our political climate. I don’t know if we’ll get the true story here, or just the winners version of it after the fact.