Around the NHL 2019-20

[BigFatCat999]

So is the top of this draft Ovechkin/Malkin good or Hischer/Patrick meh?

Most are saying Ovi.Geno great. Alexis was CHL player of the year twice,

Listening to people who know more than me, the draft is deep as well. Pierre Dorion has been quoted as saying the top 24 are 'really good players'.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

So is the top of this draft Ovechkin/Malkin good or Hischer/Patrick meh?

Matthews/Laine or MacKinnon/Barkov maybe? That's definitely worth getting excited about, I'd say.

You never really know, of course. Every draft year there's hype and it doesn't really become clear until a few years later. I don't follow the draft like I used to. In fact, I hardly follow prospects at all anymore. But for a lot of years I was one of the ultra-nerds about it. Sounds to me so far like this is possibly at least the next notch down from Ovechkin/Malkin or McDavid/Eichel, but better than most years.

 

[Gnashville]

Please excuse my Schadenfreude at the Wings getting totally boned by the draft lottery.

We heard for 2 decades how the Wings do not need top picks to be successful because they drafted Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg so let’s see if they can actually rebuild with dumb luck.


1000000% chance that Pittsburgh wins the lottery if they lose to Montréal if not Chicago or Edmonton. Predators will pick 16th regardless

 

[drwpreds]

To me, it's reasonably clear that there are teams out there who are a notch below other teams on the competitive scale, and the draft is supposed to help them. Detroit, Ottawa, New Jersey... those are examples of teams that truly need a #1 pick.

I have never bought into any conspiracy theories about rigging the draft. But it's still just a big disappointment to me that the NHL went this direction with the lottery. I guess now they can milk the 2nd drawing as being significant anyway, the audience for that is going to be a lot bigger than the audience for the first drawing was. And there's a solid chance of having a totally undeserving team walk away with the #1 pick again. Assuming they haven't actually rigged it this way, they should at least be re-considering how they do the lottery. Because this isn't the way it's supposed to work.

Well, unless we lose to the Coyotes and win the lottery, of course. If that happens, scratch all of the above, this is the best lottery format EVER.

Yep-

There is no doubt this will add a whole lot of excitement.

But when you really step back and look at it, the fact the Penguins, who finished FORTY-SEVEN points ahead of the Wings, could get the #1 pick while the Wings get 4, is completely ridiculous

 

[Soundgarden]

Yeah, while the lottery adds some excitement and creates endless "what ifs", the teams that last are down there are for a reason. If you don't like the idea of a team hoarding 1sts then implement a rule where you can't pick 1st more than twice in a five year period, the NHL is always finding ways of making it more complicated than it needs to be.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

At the end of the day, the nearly-non-existent "tanking" to get #1 is possibly a lesser evil to some of the potential outcomes with the expanded lottery. That's really not how it was supposed to work. :s

 

[gene vestal]

Did I miss it or has there been an announcement about the host cities? Wasn't it supposed to have already
been set as the next "phase" in coming back from the pause?

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Did I miss it or has there been an announcement about the host cities? Wasn't it supposed to have already
been set as the next "phase" in coming back from the pause?

I imagine they were a little caught off guard like just about everybody else with the sudden ramp-up of the pandemic after re-opening. Back in May, it seemed like everybody just took it for granted that the pandemic was fading away and they'd be able to pick and choose their ideal locales. Put games in Vegas, that's an easy sell, for example. Now they probably have to re-think almost everything, as major urban centers are sounding less safe than anticipated.

I still say they should have just jumped straight to New Zealand in March, and kept the whole season going practically uninterrupted. But they probably have to think more seriously now about places like Edmonton than maybe they were originally thinking.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Sounds like Edmonton and Toronto are getting the nod. If it all gets ratified we also get a four year CBA extension out of this and an increased likelihood of NHL participation in the Olympics. It's weird to see the NHL and NHLPA work together to make the right decision for once.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Sounds like Edmonton and Toronto are getting the nod. If it all gets ratified we also get a four year CBA extension out of this and an increased likelihood of NHL participation in the Olympics. It's weird to see the NHL and NHLPA work together to make the right decision for once.

Glad it's in Canada. NHL has a good shot with this.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Games 2,000 miles away in Edmonton. Well, it's gotta be the safest choice for our players, anyway, so there's that.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Games 2,000 miles away in Edmonton. Well, it's gotta be the safest choice for our players, anyway, so there's that.

Given how much we've struggled at Bridgestone recently maybe getting as far away as possible is for the best.

 

[lstcyr]

Games 2,000 miles away in Edmonton. Well, it's gotta be the safest choice for our players, anyway, so there's that.

I would think the Western Conference would be going to Toronto so that Edmonton would not be playing at home.

 

[jumb0]

I would think the Western Conference would be going to Toronto so that Edmonton would not be playing at home.

I wonder how much home ice advantage will exist with no fans. I guess you "know the arena", but this is going to be so different from what everyone is used to that I don't think it would matter all that much if one team gets to be "at home".

 

[Armourboy]

Gotta wonder how much possible ice conditions played into the choice as well.

 

[PredsV82]

Glad it's in Canada. NHL has a good shot with this.

Yeah Vegas was gonna be a stupid choice.

Let's hope they pull this off.

 

[jumb0]

Seattle Kraken. I like it

 

[Predsanddead24]

I think Kraken is a really good name. Odd decision to drop this news mid-day on a Thursday though. I think they should have hyped it upped and announced it during the exhibition games or something.

 

[hockey diva]

Logo looks good. Wondering if they will have a mascot.

 

[Adz]

Logo looks good. Wondering if they will have a mascot.

Big coffee cup named Buck?

 

[BigFatCat999]

Big coffee cup named Buck?

A sasquach? The Supersonics had one I think.

 

[Armourboy]

Dunno but has to be named Krackie.

 

[jumb0]

Their version of the cell block better be the KrakHeads

 

[BigFatCat999]

Their version of the cell block better be the KrakHeads

Or Krakpots

 

[Gnashville]

Dunno but has to be named Krackie.

I was think Krack-ho.