News from Around the AHL/NHL/KHL 2020-21 Pt. VI - U.S. Teams Allowed to Travel to Canada

[PK Cronin]

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It sucks.

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[PK Cronin]

It sucks.

You just hate to see it.

 

[JKP]

You just hate to see it.

I was bored last night after the TB-CAR game so flipped my NHL Apple TV app over to watch the post-gamers of the Leafs from the night before. Had heard a lot, wanted to see them unfiltered.

Yikes. Keefe was terrible (decided not to address the team... wtf...?)

Marner and Mathews sounded like they use the same PR person (Snake's, I assume).

Marner looked like he was going to cry and I think Campbell was crying.

They said it's not, but losing in R1 is definitely in their heads. Love it.

Too bad Snake wasn't healthy enough to join. Guess he gets to be the "if he hadn't gotten hurt we'd have won" excuse for the next 5 months...

 

[SI90]

You just hate to see it.

I honesty think Dubas let pride get in the way and that’s why the leafs are failing. He said he emphatically that he would keep and re-sign on his top guys and be successful.

you have Tavares, Mathews, Marner, and Nylander.

those are good players to have but if you’re paying them such a large percentage of your Cap, that’s not conducive to winning in the playoffs.

 

[Lame Lambert]

That team is such a dumpster fire. 3 years until Matthews leaves and they still haven’t made it to the second round.

 

[SI90]

You need a complete team. Tavares contract for the leafs set the Bar. I think Tavares would have taken even less and still went to the leafs.

Kapanen and Kadri are the type of players they needed to keep to fill out the middle6/top9

I thought getting Muzzin was a good move for them but their defense still is a weakness.

In net, Andersen is way too inconsistent. He looks unreal at times and then shits the bed.

As long as they have those top3 contracts they’re going to struggle.

Tavares isn’t going anywhere because he has a NTC/NMC

Matthews is their best player.

Nylander is good and doesn’t make as much as Marner.

Marner takes up a lot of cap but he also has trade value with his resume. There’s a team out there that would love to have Marner. Leafs need to figure it out.

 

[PK Cronin]

I honesty think Dubas let pride get in the way and that’s why the leafs are failing. He said he emphatically that he would keep and re-sign on his top guys and be successful.

you have Tavares, Mathews, Marner, and Nylander.

those are good players to have but if you’re paying them such a large percentage of your Cap, that’s not conducive to winning in the playoffs.

They still have time but now they need to move one of the four. Also, I'm not sure Jack Campbell, at 29, has finally put it all together and is going to continue playing the way he did this year for years to come. He's had two good seasons in his career but he's never played more than 31 games.

My game plan would be to find a way to solidify the bottom of the roster with capable players, and to stop having the revolving door of aging veterans who won't last beyond a year. Stop the Spezza's, Thornton's, Simmonds', Foligno's, Marleau's, etc. They need a bottom pairing they can actually play too. I think their play style sucks, they need more physicality, but more importantly an attention to defense.

They need guys who are signed for more than a season so they can actually develop an identity beyond the top players.

 

[SI90]

They still have time but now they need to move one of the four. Also, I'm not sure Jack Campbell, at 29, has finally put it all together and is going to continue playing the way he did this year for years to come. He's had two good seasons in his career but he's never played more than 31 games.

My game plan would be to find a way to solidify the bottom of the roster with capable players, and to stop having the revolving door of aging veterans who won't last beyond a year. Stop the Spezza's, Thornton's, Simmonds', Foligno's, Marleau's, etc. They need a bottom pairing they can actually play too. I think their play style sucks, they need more physicality, but more importantly an attention to defense.

Agreed on all accounts. A guy like Mayfield would be good for them. Bottom 4 physical defenseman on a cheap contract. They need to find guys like that.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

Agreed on all accounts. A guy like Mayfield would be good for them. Bottom 4 physical defenseman on a cheap contract. They need to find guys like that.

I seem to remember a few Leafs fans poking around for Mayfield and Kapanen as a potential return? Would've been pretty fair and helpful for speed and offensive ability in our middle six but would've significantly hurt our defensive depth and size.

 

[PK Cronin]

Anyone read anything pertaining to Parise and Minnesota? He's obviously not in their long term plans so I'm curious what's going to happen there given the Lamoriello connection. He has a $7.5M cap hit for another four seasons and he's 36. I'd be curious if he'd agree to mutually terminate his contract so he can move on and play someplace else.

 

[Tres Peleches]

Analytics alone don’t win in the playoffs. The game is different

Pretty much everyone is giving it their all, and only those willing to make sacrifices are gonna get anywhere. Gretzky himself learned that from the dynasty Isles

 

[PK Cronin]

Analytics alone don’t win in the playoffs. The game is different

Pretty much everyone is giving it their all, and only those willing to make sacrifices are gonna get anywhere. Gretzky himself learned that from the dynasty Isles

Teams don't do as much game planning for a specific opponent during the regular season as they do in the playoffs.
Players are more willing to sacrifice the body and play a differently during the playoffs.
The officiating puts the whistles away.
The pressure is amplified.

Just a few reasons why it isn't the same. I think the first point is the biggest, teams will lock into what the opposition does best and try to take that away. That really just doesn't happen in the regular season as much when you're playing every other night and constantly traveling. When you're seeing the same team for two weeks it's very different.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I honesty think Dubas let pride get in the way and that’s why the leafs are failing. He said he emphatically that he would keep and re-sign on his top guys and be successful.

you have Tavares, Mathews, Marner, and Nylander.

those are good players to have but if you’re paying them such a large percentage of your Cap, that’s not conducive to winning in the playoffs.

I'm starting to wonder if Dumbass may have something on Brendan the politician stay under the radar Shanahan for him to push out Providence College graduate, Math Teacher, Hall of fame and reigning GM of the year Lou Lamoriello for a guy with a Sports Degree from one of Canada's lower ranked schools Brock University with no NHL winning experience on some uncorrelated belief this charlatan is an analytics guru?

All Dumbass has proven to be is a push over in negotiations, a guy that cannot decide on an over emphasis of young, speed, lack of size and skill players to an over correction of old, washed up, big guys, that can't play the game anymore. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying every minute of this, but it does beg the question, how the heck did Shanahan pick this guy over Lou?

 

[SI90]

Anyone read anything pertaining to Parise and Minnesota? He's obviously not in their long term plans so I'm curious what's going to happen there given the Lamoriello connection. He has a $7.5M cap hit for another four seasons and he's 36. I'd be curious if he'd agree to mutually terminate his contract so he can move on and play someplace else.

I’d take him if you did that. His current cap and contest is bad. But if he mutually terminated his contract and signed for cheap he’s still a really good player. We already know he’d be willing to play here.

 

[SI90]

I'm starting to wonder if Dumbass may have something on Brendan the politician stay under the radar Shanahan for him to push out Providence College graduate, Math Teacher, Hall of fame and reigning GM of the year Lou Lamoriello for a guy with a Sports Degree from one of Canada's lower ranked schools Brock University with no NHL winning experience on some uncorrelated belief this charlatan is an analytics guru?

All Dumbass has proven to be is a push over in negotiations, a guy that cannot decide on an over emphasis of young, speed, lack of size and skill players to an over correction of old, washed up, big guys, that can't play the game anymore. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying every minute of this, but it does beg the question, how the heck did Shanahan pick this guy over Lou?

Shanny can’t control Lou like he could Dubas. I think it’s as simple as that. Would’ve been interesting to see how Lou would’ve worked out their roster after signing Tavares.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Shanny can’t control Lou like he could Dubas. I think it’s as simple as that. Would’ve been interesting to see how Lou would’ve worked out their roster after signing Tavares.

I was sort of joking tongue in cheek. Not to make fun of education, I believe in it. But if you are Canadian, if you are a parent. Brock University would be low on your list to send your kids. Its the type of school you have you send your kids to because they were not smart enough to accepted to better schools. I truly believe if Shanahan extended Lou for another 5 years, the Leafs would have been contending for a cup. Perhaps even winning it. Now obcourse now, from an Isles perspective, we are glad how it all turned out. We got close last year, and this year we are in the thick of it again. It's actually quite ironic how the 2 franchises are linked. We are better, they are worse now. And it's weird I find myself here, knowing so much about both franchises.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

I’d take him if you did that. His current cap and contest is bad. But if he mutually terminated his contract and signed for cheap he’s still a really good player. We already know he’d be willing to play here.

Lots of assumptions:
Parise terminates his contract and Lou gets all the RFA's are retained (Beau, Pelech, Sorokin). Ladd goes to LTIR and you have some money to spare for an acquisition, who would it be between Palmieri and Parise? And we know that they aren't going to get the same contract.

 

[beach]

Anyone read anything pertaining to Parise and Minnesota? He's obviously not in their long term plans so I'm curious what's going to happen there given the Lamoriello connection. He has a $7.5M cap hit for another four seasons and he's 36. I'd be curious if he'd agree to mutually terminate his contract so he can move on and play someplace else.

He's owed $10 mil more over the next four years. I can't imagine him voluntarily terminating his contract as he's probably not getting that from anyone else, especially since his goal production has dropped off significantly.

 

[doublechili]

Anyone read anything pertaining to Parise and Minnesota? He's obviously not in their long term plans

10 - 9 - 8 - 7 -6.....

 

[islesfan186]

Analytics alone don’t win in the playoffs. The game is different

Pretty much everyone is giving it their all, and only those willing to make sacrifices are gonna get anywhere. Gretzky himself learned that from the dynasty Isles

The wonder-boy analytics only GMs (Chayka and Dubas) have both been a failure. Neither have any playoff success or know how to build a winning team

 

[BrockLobster]

Its the rags stanley cup tonight. The draft lottery!

 

[PK Cronin]

Lots of assumptions:
Parise terminates his contract and Lou gets all the RFA's are retained (Beau, Pelech, Sorokin). Ladd goes to LTIR and you have some money to spare for an acquisition, who would it be between Palmieri and Parise? And we know that they aren't going to get the same contract.

We're just going to collect all the LTIR guys this summer, duh.

I don't expect it to happen but I also wouldn't be shocked if we somehow ended up with him. How would the first line look with him instead of Komarov on it? How about the power play? I haven't watched enough of him this year to see if he still has it but he made his living going to the hard areas and was pretty good at it.

He's owed $10 mil more over the next four years. I can't imagine him voluntarily terminating his contract as he's probably not getting that from anyone else, especially since his goal production has dropped off significantly.

$10M is a lot to leave on the table for sure, I just wonder what will happen with him. He believes he can still play and he wants to still play, I imagine at some point something will have to give and there will be a buyout or a trade with significant retention (3 team trade with 75% retention). His term is just unbelievably bad.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Analytics alone don’t win in the playoffs. The game is different

Pretty much everyone is giving it their all, and only those willing to make sacrifices are gonna get anywhere. Gretzky himself learned that from the dynasty Isles

I made a point to understand analytics, because you have posters on the Mains that live and die, mostly die from being a stats watcher, rather than a hockey watcher. What they will never measure is heart, the willingness to block shots or get in the shot lane, the backchecking, the intangibles a player brings in. There is value in advanced stats but I prefer what Trotz so eloquently stated for Komarov. The fantasy stats players won't value him, but we are playing with real live bullets, not numbers on spreadsheets. I am paraphrasing, but I feel movement to analytics has promoted many that know far less than real life hockey people that actually watch the game. There were actually stats bloggers that got NHL jobs. I also get a kick at what Lou once said when some of the young ins was trying to get him to comment on back pressure, he said oh, in our day we just called that back checking. Senile Lou strikes again. Score that 1 for the wily old GM.

 

[leeroggy]

You just hate to see it.

Yep, just like accidentally coming upon your parent's porn when you were 13 . . . kind of a guilty pleasure . . .

 

[leeroggy]

They still have time but now they need to move one of the four. Also, I'm not sure Jack Campbell, at 29, has finally put it all together and is going to continue playing the way he did this year for years to come. He's had two good seasons in his career but he's never played more than 31 games.

My game plan would be to find a way to solidify the bottom of the roster with capable players, and to stop having the revolving door of aging veterans who won't last beyond a year. Stop the Spezza's, Thornton's, Simmonds', Foligno's, Marleau's, etc. They need a bottom pairing they can actually play too. I think their play style sucks, they need more physicality, but more importantly an attention to defense.

They need guys who are signed for more than a season so they can actually develop an identity beyond the top players.

I think they should move to Quebec and move Florida to Toronto . . . better chance of winning a round in the future. Then the Rangers can play 10 games in Sunrise so they could market to their corporate Snow Bird fan base . . . it's a natural fit