Rumor: NHL Talk 21/22: It's real, and it's spectacular

[chances14]

Pav's 09 goal better be on this countdown.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Man, the winter classics used to be so exciting and beautiful. As much as I hate Crosby that very first winter classic in Buffalo was just perfect television. And Detroit at the Big House was also spectacular.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Man, the winter classics used to be so exciting and beautiful. As much as I hate Crosby that very first winter classic in Buffalo was just perfect television. And Detroit at the Big House was also spectacular.

who was the Leaf that photobombed the Wings post game pic? (slides across the ice gif) Domi?

 

[Bondurant]

Man, the winter classics used to be so exciting and beautiful. As much as I hate Crosby that very first winter classic in Buffalo was just perfect television. And Detroit at the Big House was also spectacular.

I went to a Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the first Winter Classic. Place was packed.

 

[FabricDetails]

"Bruce there it is..." Was this always a thing? (Like in Worshington, Minnesota...)

 

[golffuul]

"Bruce there it is..." Was this always a thing? (Like in Worshington, Minnesota...)

Started near the end of the first game he coached with Vancouver and has been gaining momentum. There's even a t-shirt for it.

 

[jkutswings]

"Bruce there it is..." Was this always a thing? (Like in Worshington, Minnesota...)

 

[deca guard]

 

[lhsgolf19]

Disgusting... This needs to be fixed

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Disgusting... This needs to be fixed

Justice needs to be reconciliatory and restorative more than retributive. The kid was most definitely a douchebag teen and paid the price for doing a douchebag thing, but he has reportedly been putting in the work to be better and should continue doing so.

 

[golffuul]

Justice needs to be reconciliatory and restorative more than retributive. The kid was most definitely a douchebag teen and paid the price for doing a douchebag thing, but he has reportedly been putting in the work to be better and should continue doing so.

This.

At some point we have to give people a 2nd chance. Of course there are two things at play. London may not even play him the rest of the year or terminate his contract. As well, allowing him back into society gives him a chance to both prove himself and hang himself.

His reinstatement was going to happen at some point.

 

[Oddbob]

Definitely needs to get another chance at this point, and if he screws up again, then throw the book at him. I honestly think what he did, is something that lots of boys (dumb ones) would have and have done. Don't agree with it, and think it is trash to do so, but with everyone having phones nowadays and immaturity abounding I doubt this is even close to a low percentage thing that happens nowadays.

 

[jkutswings]

Don't agree with it, and think it is trash to do so, but with everyone having phones nowadays and immaturity abounding I doubt this is even close to a low percentage thing that happens nowadays.

Based on the number of school threats in the last month, I'd say that using social media to denigrate (or outright terrify) others is a disastrously frequent practice across the board.

 

[14ari13]

I'll bite, as a woman, I'd love to see a female GM. With that said I wouldn't want it to be a token or save face hire. She should have the reasonable experience to do the job. For me this means other front office experience and a general hockey background. This means that lower level entry jobs need to be made open to to both women and for that matter minorities to enter that workforce. Video Coaches, Asst Coaches, Asst GM, development guys, cap gurus, etc. The Wings have had a very good front office talent pipeline because they actually train people. With that said, in Detroit its still mostly former Wings players and family that get those opportunities.

The NHL is a major nepotism league, the tendency is to hire the buddy you know, so you see a ton of former players. With that said though, you don't have to play hockey at an elite NHL level to understand the games nuainces, understand how to scout players, deal with a salary cap or even strategize/ explain technique. There are many examples of elite NHLers being terrible managers and coaches. The fact that so many coaches and managers with terrrible records get recycled shows what a buddy hiring system it is. If my work performance looked like some of these guys, I certainly wouldn't keep my job or be rehired immediately afterwards to do the same type of job with everyone being able to publicly see the work I do.

As for Rheaume, she clearly has the high level hockey knowledge and also some good front office background. Mtl would be an incredibly tough job because that market is pretty unrealistic in their expectations. As the first female GM, she'd already be coming in with a ton of bias against her. She also wouldn't have a lot to work with from a team asset side. Mtl basically needs to at least do a mini rebuild. I really doubt she'd get the time to do it properly. (Like I don't even think Stevie would get the time there). So she really wouldn't be put in an ideal situation. The problem with this is that if she fails or even more likely gets pushed out by an impatient fan base/ownership group the good ole boys club that is the NHL would use that as a sign that women just can't do the job. Even though they don't do this with former players or even mgrs/coaches with legit terrible records.

The first female GM is going to be under a ton of pressure just because she is the first and she will represent all women's ability to do that role. It isn't fair but it is the truth. So I think the ideal situation would either be taking over a mid market or small market team that is at least a playoff type team or a smaller market rebuild team with an ownership that is supportive of at least a 5 year process. Original 6 teams outside of maybe Detroit have a ton of additional media/ownership/fan base demands that often shrink timelines and lead to bad decisions. The Wings would be there right now if it weren't for the relationship Stevie built during his time in Detroit as a player & GM in Tampa. So I don't think an O6 team that needs to be rebuilt is an ideal situation for anyone that has to be successful, and Rheaume would have to be. It's also why I'd want any woman to have at least some front office experience before jumping into the role, even though there have been men given the role without it (some successful/ some not).

Its the same thing in broadcasting. Linda Cohen is great because she is both passionate about the sport and a broadcast professional. (Also she doesn't have a voice that is grating). I'd love to see her have a more permanent go at calling games, but that is quite a bit different that doing broadcast desk work and requires different skills. It may not be something she wants to do on a regular basis.

A lot of the people that are brought in now are just former players (men & women) but that doesn't mean they know anything about broadcasting or calling a game. It still pains me to listen to Ozzie and Murph sometimes. Not everyone has that charisma that a Mickey does (most NHLers and people do not). The difference with men and women in the role is that no one said that all former NHLers suck because Ozzie was terrible and awkward when he started. In contrast there are a lot of people that will say women can't call sports because one woman is bad at it. It also doesn't help when broadcast companies hire women to basically be eye candy and they have neither sports knowledge nor broadcast knowledge. This just creates a bigger stereotype that women are bad at it.

So to sum it up, I really want to see a female GM but I want her to be put in a reasonable position to suceed. I don't want to see her thrown to wolves and made to be the scape goat and excuse as to why the NHL shouldn't hire women in lead positions.

I'm not sure Rheaume in MTL would be doing that, but really at the end of the day if she is qualified and interested she should be legitimately considered. She is really the only one that can determine if she can take on the pressure that is the Mtl GM position. The mental toughness required to do that as the 1st female gm would be immense. (Like Jackie Robinson entering MLB level) A successful attempt could do wonderful things. It could open up lots of positions just like Patty Jenkins did for female directors doing Super Hero movies after she directed Wonder Woman. If the attempt fails however it could be another decade before another woman gets a chance.

While I mostly agree with your 1st part, I disagree with your 2nd part.
If I remember right both Ozzie and Murphy were brutal when they started, but they have improved and Murphy is even good.

As for a female GM. Will she be put in a reasonable position to succeed or will she be thrown to wolves? Don't we all get baptized by fire? Or most of us?

 

[FabricDetails]

Lagace for Tampa... They need to agree on a pronunciation of the name. Shout out to Manny though (albeit different spelling).

 

[deca guard]

 

[HoweFan]

What a great picture! That’s hockey in Canada at it’s best

 

[Bench]

Lagace for Tampa... They need to agree on a pronunciation of the name. Shout out to Manny though (albeit different spelling).

I did a pretty big double take when I checked the box score and saw M. Lagace in net.

 

[deca guard]

super elite scoring machine of lore :
Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri & Esa Tikkanen

 

[19 for president]

While I mostly agree with your 1st part, I disagree with your 2nd part.
If I remember right both Ozzie and Murphy were brutal when they started, but they have improved and Murphy is even good.

As for a female GM. Will she be put in a reasonable position to succeed or will she be thrown to wolves? Don't we all get baptized by fire? Or most of us?

To your 1st point Ozzie and Murpg both got better, as would most people if given enough time. My point was more that they didn't create a stereotype that all former players are brutal announcers because those two started out really rough. A lot of the early female NHL broadcasters were hired as eye candy. They didn't have hockey knowledge or broadcast experience and because of that there is a stereotype that female broadcasters can't do sports. This of course isn't true, networks just need to hire qualified candidates male or female. First impressions mean a lot though, and thus the stereotype has stuck even though more qualified women are being hired now. And those women don't get nearly the same leeway as Ozzie and Murph did.

As to your 2nd point in a way I agree. The difference is that most of us what we do isn't going to probably start a stereotype if we suck, because most places are far more diverse than the NHL. This person would be the first, if she fails, then it will likely have a cascading effect preventing other qualified female candidates from getting a chance. The NHL is already a mostly closed hiring system, so in this case I really want to see the 1st female gm in a reasonable position to succeed. I'm not saying gift her the current Tampa Bay gm job but rather maybe not put her in a position like Montreal where I feel like there is probably a 75% or greater chance of anyone (man or woman) failing in that role. There is a reason we as a species are obsessed with 1sts its because they do matter more. They have a bigger impact, because they lead to repeat attempts. Initial success usually determines how quickly those additional attempts follow.

 

[14ari13]

To your 1st point Ozzie and Murpg both got better, as would most people if given enough time. My point was more that they didn't create a stereotype that all former players are brutal announcers because those two started out really rough. A lot of the early female NHL broadcasters were hired as eye candy. They didn't have hockey knowledge or broadcast experience and because of that there is a stereotype that female broadcasters can't do sports. This of course isn't true, networks just need to hire qualified candidates male or female. First impressions mean a lot though, and thus the stereotype has stuck even though more qualified women are being hired now. And those women don't get nearly the same leeway as Ozzie and Murph did.

As to your 2nd point in a way I agree. The difference is that most of us what we do isn't going to probably start a stereotype if we suck, because most places are far more diverse than the NHL. This person would be the first, if she fails, then it will likely have a cascading effect preventing other qualified female candidates from getting a chance. The NHL is already a mostly closed hiring system, so in this case I really want to see the 1st female gm in a reasonable position to succeed. I'm not saying gift her the current Tampa Bay gm job but rather maybe not put her in a position like Montreal where I feel like there is probably a 75% or greater chance of anyone (man or woman) failing in that role. There is a reason we as a species are obsessed with 1sts its because they do matter more. They have a bigger impact, because they lead to repeat attempts. Initial success usually determines how quickly those additional attempts follow.

There is a comedy film called "being there" with Petter Sellers, an old film. It is a kind of opposite of what we are discussing (getting a reasonable chance to succeed). He is kind of an idiot who by coincidence gets many chances to succeed. This reminds me a bit of Holland, though I would not claim it is the case.

Anyhow a reasonable chance to succeed is getting 2 fair chances, but not endless chances. I feel like we live in a time where there is often that people are gifted positions rather than earning them.

 

[Ricelund]

So apparently Holland is considering bringing Babcock to Edmonton…

 

[Oddbob]

Lagace for Tampa... They need to agree on a pronunciation of the name. Shout out to Manny though (albeit different spelling).

Don't think he will be around long enough for this to be an issue!

 

[golffuul]

So apparently Holland is considering bringing Babcock to Edmonton…

I heard this. And I hope Holland does, just to bring pour more gas on the dumpster fire.

 

[golffuul]

Crazy story about a Seattle Kraken fan and the Assistant Trainer for the Canucks. At the Kraken's first game at Climate Pledge, she got the attention of and pointed out to the trainer that the mole on the back of his neck was a cancerous tumor and when he went to see the doctor, he told him that if he hadn't gotten it looked at and removed, he would probably be dead in 3-4 years. Vancouver returned to Seattle tonight and the two met for the first time. The Kraken and the Canucks are giving her 10000 to help towards her bills. She was accepted to several medical schools and was going to be starting in Fall 2022.

Great story to start off the year.