Around the NHL - Episode XLV III - BEAST MODE ANDY

[Sensinitis]

 

[BankStreetParade]

Tortorella and the Jackets agree to part ways mutually. Must have been a lot more going on behind the scenes than anyone knew. The Dubois handling probably plays a huge role too.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Haha that grin on Karlssons face after is pretty funny

 

[Big Muddy]

Toronto have the easiest walk to the Final Four in a long, long time.

What an embarrassment if they don't make it.

Agree with that point. This divisional regular season and playoff (first two rounds) format was a really nice gift for them.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Having had some more looks at it and listening to the conversation during yesterday’s game, I have to say that I’m with Kevin.

Bush gets a glove tap for stick picking the goalie, glove on helmet, something we see in many scrums. The Panarin rag doll was less comical than McCabe and Chara, but man, you grab the bear and you have to be ready to take the consequences.

Having said that, Wilson should have stopped with one rag doll toss down and left him alone, instead he went a few more and it looked shameful.

There was no suspension because nothing occurred that deserved a suspension. Much of the rest of the panel goes on about evolving the game, player safety, but there are two realities in opinion: 1) people live the fighting and the scrums, the penne pretended that they don’t. 2) you don’t evolve the game by making stuff up on the ice. You have to change the rules first, with the NHL and NHLPA agreeing on changes, before you can start suspending guys for stuff in the ice that isn’t a current suspendable offence.

Wilson went too far, and it looked bad on him for that, but nothing that happened was currently suspendable, nor do I think there is much appetite to change the game more in that direction.

 

[bicboi64]

Haha that grin on Karlssons face after is pretty funny

Really hope he gets his mojo back. He was so much fun to watch and plays like that remind me of why he was such a special defender. We got our picks from SJ, but now I want EK to have some success

 

[Icelevel]

Really hope he gets his mojo back. He was so much fun to watch and plays like that remind me of why he was such a special defender. We got our picks from SJ, but now I want EK to have some success

Don’t see it happening. The jump is gone.

 

[cudi]

Things goin from bad to worse in Buffalo

 

[Dan Patrick]

Not what you want to hear from your teams star player

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Things goin from bad to worse in Buffalo

Such a shame that the team that is likely trading two young top line fwds this summer also happens to be in our division.

 

[BondraTime]

Things goin from bad to worse in Buffalo

Of course Eichel is upset, any player in the league would be if they wanted to get surgery but your team was keeping you from getting a procedure done.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Things goin from bad to worse in Buffalo

Something I've learned over the last 5 years of participating on this forum is that stable ownership that's willing to invest and spend on the on-ice product is what separates the perennially bad/average teams from the upper echelon/winning teams.

 

[BondraTime]

Something I've learned over the last 5 years of participating on this forum is that stable ownership that's willing to invest and spend on the on-ice product is what separates the perennially bad/average teams from the upper echelon/winning teams.

Buffalo cutting essentially their entire scouting staff, along with 10+ front office management/coaching positions is as stable as it gets

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Things goin from bad to worse in Buffalo

Let's rescue both Reinhart and Eichel

A couple of 2nds outta be fair

 

[cudi]

Let's rescue both Reinhart and Eichel

A couple of 2nds outta be fair

2 2nds, Logan Brown and Cole Reinhardt so they still have guy with a similar last name as Sam

 

[playasRus]

Of course Eichel is upset, any player in the league would be if they wanted to get surgery but your team was keeping you from getting a procedure done.

I feel like Eichel is upset because team X, Y, Z, has been a headline since he was drafted. Not that he's the issue, but still.

 

[cudi]

I feel like Eichel is upset because team X, Y, Z, has been a headline since he was drafted. Not that he's the issue, but still.

Feels like this might be part of why he's angry

 

[BondraTime]

I feel like Eichel is upset because team X, Y, Z, has been a headline since he was drafted. Not that he's the issue, but still.

He essentially spelled out he wanted to have surgery on his herniated neck, the Sabres wouldn't let him

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The Sabres are such a joke. The stench of Tim Murray still lingers.

Unfortunately Eichel is associated with TMurr so he needs to go for that franchise to start healing. That and word is Pegula is a bad rich owner.

 

[TheDebater]

That is absolutely, positively, the greatest meme, ever.

 

[Masked]

He essentially spelled out he wanted to have surgery on his herniated neck, the Sabres wouldn't let him

What would be the recourse for the Sabres if he went ahead and did it anyway?

 

[BondraTime]

What would be the recourse for the Sabres if he went ahead and did it anyway?

No clue, like Eichel said when asked about it, he’s under contract with them and they hold lots of cards on what he can and can’t do. Probably has to do with voiding certain clauses to do with being paid.

 

[Flamingo]

Having had some more looks at it and listening to the conversation during yesterday’s game, I have to say that I’m with Kevin.

Bush gets a glove tap for stick picking the goalie, glove on helmet, something we see in many scrums. The Panarin rag doll was less comical than McCabe and Chara, but man, you grab the bear and you have to be ready to take the consequences.

Having said that, Wilson should have stopped with one rag doll toss down and left him alone, instead he went a few more and it looked shameful.

There was no suspension because nothing occurred that deserved a suspension. Much of the rest of the panel goes on about evolving the game, player safety, but there are two realities in opinion: 1) people live the fighting and the scrums, the penne pretended that they don’t. 2) you don’t evolve the game by making stuff up on the ice. You have to change the rules first, with the NHL and NHLPA agreeing on changes, before you can start suspending guys for stuff in the ice that isn’t a current suspendable offence.

Wilson went too far, and it looked bad on him for that, but nothing that happened was currently suspendable, nor do I think there is much appetite to change the game more in that direction.

It was either MacLean or Hrudey that made the strongest point for suspending Wilson. All of the leagues that feed players into the NHL have changed their rules. The CHL? No fighting. NCAA? No fighting. Panarin came from the KHL and so that avenue hasn't changed, I don't think there was ever much fighting there. But Wilson acts in a way that no player in any feeder league acts. There is less of that culture around. But the NHL acts like it is, and when Wilson gets going it's like a bear is loose in the zoo. Nobody really knows how to respond.

I don't agree with Kevin, that a team like the Rangers should have a "zoo keeper" player ready to handle someone like Wilson. If that player's on the bench, he doesn't change things one bit.

 

[playasRus]

What would be the recourse for the Sabres if he went ahead and did it anyway?

I guess they could void his contract? But hard to imaging Eichel would take long before someone would offer him a similarly priced extended contract.

 

[thinkwild]

There used to be fans, although I don’t hear it as often anymore, that would advocate for eliminating the instigator penalty to allow players like Tom Wilson to police things themselves. Hard to believe I always thought.

But the idea of having a zoo keeper, that’s a funny term, isn’t to provide a deterrent. Fans that don’t like or understand fighting always throw out that canard. That since the zoo keeper didn’t deter the fight what use are they.

But it isn’t about deterrence. Its about a response. We’ve seen many teams recently have some animal run roughshod over them leaving them emasculated and losing and then signing John Scott in the off season in the hope that they will be able to provide a response and not lose their confidence to play. Not signing him for deterrence, but to allow them to respond. The Rangers did respond somewhat their next game so I imagine they feel somewhat better about themselves.

But it’s not about deterrence – its about response. Sens will be able to respond. I think its still important to not lose the physical upper hand.