Proposal: Rumours & Proposals Thread | Keep Nuge Forever

[guymez]

I've lived in this province all of my life. I live out in the country West of Edmonton. I ice fish, camp, hike, explore. I grew up on the outdoor rinks and frozen ponds. That being said; winters here absolutely suck. They're way too long. The darkness is depressing. Driving sucks. The bottom line is; winters are way too long, dark, cold and overkill. If winter was like 2 months rather than 6 months it'd be a difference maker. The facts are the facts. I do like winter.. just not west of the Kootenays winter weather. Hell, Ryan Smyth finally got sick of it and moved to Nashville. Lol

I agree.
I have lived in Alberta most of my life...winter is at least 2-3 months too long. Thats part of the reason why I appreciate the chinooks in Southern Alberta...at least you get a break from winter for a week here and there.
I did spend a winter in the Okanagan a few years ago. It was cloudy much of the time but it wasnt nearly as cold and it was only about 2 1/2 months long.
IMO thats exactly how long winter should be.
Not 5 freaking months...chinooks or not 5 months is far too long.

 

[booyakasha]

Is 3-4hrs now considered a long drive? Calgary is not 45mins from Banff. Maybe Kananaskis, but in usual traffic volumes 1.5hrs from Calgary to Banff. With a better routed road (which we should have by now) Edmonton would be 2.5hrs from Mountains. Theres a pass available in which to do this. In anycase Hinton is less than 3hrs from Edmonton.

I think the saddest thing is that you are correct, entirely, and that todays outdoors athletes like Russell, Ryan, Smyth, that love what the outdoors has to offer here are now a minority. Its really incredible that hockey players, of all people, are raised to be averse to the outdoors now. They don't play in outdoor rinks we used to do all the time, their idea of hockey is in climate controlled indoor rinks with no weather, no wind, no cold, no associated love of the outdoors. Todays players, to that end, match a lot of what younger generations are like now, that have to be convinced that going outside, camping, hiking, skiing, etc are any fun.

But oddly enough among other celebs Banff is a very popular place, always has been.

Off topic, I prefer Jasper to Banff myself.
Nicer Lakes, and better hiking IMO
The drive from Jasper to Tete Juane Cache is breathtaking, with some amazing hiking trails in Mt. Robson.

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

I remember the last time I went to Banff I was amazed I was there for like 2 days without seeing a shred of wild life. The hot springs in town are pretty mediocre as well. The place is a pure tourist trap. Kananaskis is nicer imo.

Jasper still has a rustic vibe to it. It's the superior spot between the 2.

I laugh every time I see the beautiful photographs of Moraine Lake constantly posted on reddit. It's nice but only from one direction. It totally doesn't feel like there is a 250 car parking lot and gift shop behind the camera person.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

heh, I love these discussions off season. I guess I do a better job than most embracing winter and I love strapping on the Snowshoes and going out for hours and I'm nearly a senior. Some of my favorite things in Edmonton are the winter festivals. Flying Canoe festival, Silver Skate festival. etc. Embrace winter, just like they do in Quebec City. Edmonton is doing a better job getting that going.

Seasons ADD to vitality in life. Its that we have so many months of different seasons that makes us embrace the summers that we do have, whereas in all summer weather climes people can take it for granted.

As to the darkness we get a similar amount of daylight year around and probably more clear sky sun shining days. Just that our latitude the amplitude of day lengths is more diverse. But this too offers opportunity to change up, experience different things. I'm much more reflective in winter, which I find transcendent. Go outdoors in Winter, in a park, ravine, river valley and solitude is yours. For a person that appreciates no noise but my inner voice having times and places like that slows the world down for me. Without which I'd be more inclined to crazy...

I used to have to live outside for work in the winter for weeks at a time. Nothing like beating the cold and breathing in that fresh cold air in the morning. Lighting a smoke. (Before I quit haha) Hearing that crunch of the snow underneath your boots.

Hockey players living here for half of the winter and on the road for the other half really isn’t that bad. 50 % chance they are gone for the super cold streaks when you have to plug your car in 74/7 anyways.

Stay in with the family in your million dollar homes. Or beat the cold and take the kids sledding, skating, skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing.

I understand a young fella wanting to live millionaire life in Vegas but as a family man I think Canadian cities are a great place for your kids to grow up.

Except Toronto... boo them.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Off topic, I prefer Jasper to Banff myself.
Nicer Lakes, and better hiking IMO
The drive from Jasper to Tete Juane Cache is breathtaking, with some amazing hiking trails in Mt. Robson.

Myself i'm a Jasper fan, or Lake Louise, area, for the reasons you mention. My wife is more Banff inclined as most wives are..

They have this shopping thing there.

Have you done the Lake Berg trail at Robson? Its astounding. Moreso that it isn't usually all that busy. Get a few km's in and you hardly see anybody.

As to the other poster commenting on Moraine lake area. parking lot? you gotta be kidding me. Get on the trail. Go to the Wenkchemna pass, go to Larch Valley or the meadows just above, hike to Sentinel pass 9500ft elevation, than into Paradise Valley, go to Eiffel lakes. Do ANYTHING but stay in the parking lot area. 1k walking in any direction there lands you in resplendent 360 beauty. But Instagram has enabled all visitors to just go there to climb the dead rock knob now. The foot of glacial moraine boulders damning the lake. That's strangely the number 1 thing there now. Apparently that's the youngers version of summiting..

btw one of the interesting things about going to the Alberta BC passes at Lake Louise (Path of the Glacier) and the Wenkchemna pass is to see the beginning screes of mountain climbers and including being able to spot some mountain climber huts.

But people HAVE to get off the parking lots. Do some walking, hiking, exploring. Get away from the crowds. 90 percent of visitors don't get beyond the paved trail. Don't be that majority.

 

[Wewillrise]

Anyone else see the similarities between Risto and Shultz in his time here? IMO he would be a steal to get on this team. I know the Oilers don’t have the pieces to get him but the contract he’s on makes him worth a decent haul.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

The bottom line is that when at all possible you draft guys from the prairies and from similar climates in Europe. I have known people from Alberta that love to live there and would live nowhere else and people that would move in an instant if it worked out. As long as there's a "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality to western culture it's all about where you live, how big your house is, if you are beach front, blah, blah, blah.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Anyone else see the similarities between Risto and Shultz in his time here? IMO he would be a steal to get on this team. I know the Oilers don’t have the pieces to get him but the contract he’s on makes him worth a decent haul.

He plays a physical brand of hockey as well which we never got from Schultz. If the price is right I'd take a chance on him.

 

[North]

Anyone else see the similarities between Risto and Shultz in his time here? IMO he would be a steal to get on this team. I know the Oilers don’t have the pieces to get him but the contract he’s on makes him worth a decent haul.

He absolutely is not worth a decent haul.

Buffalo will get something good for him but the team that trades for him will regret it because Risto has some severe defensive issues. So yes I do see the similarities between him and Schultz in terms of their defensive play.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

He absolutely is not worth a decent haul.

Buffalo will get something good for him but the team that trades for him will regret it because Risto has some severe defensive issues.

Would you do Russell and a lottery protected first round pick? Maybe add JP?

 

[Wewillrise]

Would you do Russell and a lottery protected first round pick? Maybe add JP?

No, the first is not being moved in practically any scenario.

 

[North]

Would you do Russell and a lottery protected first round pick? Maybe add JP?

I would not give up a first in any deal for Risto.

 

[Wewillrise]

He absolutely is not worth a decent haul.

Buffalo will get something good for him but the team that trades for him will regret it because Risto has some severe defensive issues. So yes I do see the similarities between him and Schultz in terms of their defensive play.

Ya exactly, Shultz got over a lot of his defensive deficiencies playing lower in the lineup. His offensive ability plus his contract make him valuable IMO. Still not worth a 2C imo because of his track record though.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Ya exactly, Shultz got over a lot of his defensive deficiencies playing lower in the lineup. His offensive ability plus his contract make him valuable IMO. Still not worth a 2C imo because of his track record though.

You play a guy like Risto with a defensively responsible player that can make a decent pass. Those players are much easier to find than RHD that can put up 40+ points and play physically.

Adding Risto also ensures that we don't rush Bouchard so that he can iron out his defensive issues in Bako.

 

[McTonyBrar]

I never said Burns was good defensively.........

I got a question for you. Is Burns a #1 Dman to you?

 

[McTonyBrar]

Le sigh.

Mikko Koskinen: 2.93GAA, .906SV%, $4.50M
David Rittich: 2.61GAA, .911SV%, $2.75M

The contract seemed terrible at the time, and it looks substantially worse today when a player with similar NHL experience and better numbers signed for significantly less. The scary thing is that the Koskinen contract was reportedly a "group effort" and it wasn't just Chiarelli being crazy.

This makes me want to puke. That 32 year old fart of a goalie had worse numers than Rittich and he got 4.5

 

[McTonyBrar]

Flames are pretty screwed right now cap wise.. I'm very curious what they'll end up doing. Might have to trade Brodie for futures with the emergence of Valimaki, Andersson, and Kylington. Don't see them being able to move the full contracts of Frolik or Stone which they need to do.

We can gladly take Brodie off their hands. Benning and a 1st

 

[McTonyBrar]

I remember the last time I went to Banff I was amazed I was there for like 2 days without seeing a shred of wild life. The hot springs in town are pretty mediocre as well. The place is a pure tourist trap. Kananaskis is nicer imo.

Jasper still has a rustic vibe to it. It's the superior spot between the 2.

I laugh every time I see the beautiful photographs of Moraine Lake constantly posted on reddit. It's nice but only from one direction. It totally doesn't feel like there is a 250 car parking lot and gift shop behind the camera person.

Banff is really meh. Jasper I love as well. Tourist attractions in Alberta aren't great

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

No, the first is not being moved in practically any scenario.

Well I don’t see a package that Buffalo evens sniffs at that clears the required cap then.

 

[Wewillrise]

Well I don’t see a package that Buffalo evens sniffs at that clears the required cap then.

Pretty much, sounds like the Jets have this all but wrapped up.

 

[nabob]

Flames are pretty screwed right now cap wise.. I'm very curious what they'll end up doing. Might have to trade Brodie for futures with the emergence of Valimaki, Andersson, and Kylington. Don't see them being able to move the full contracts of Frolik or Stone which they need to do.

Not sure having an excess of riches means they are screwed but that Lucic contract sure is going to make life harder for them going forward.

 

[McShogun99]

As far as living in Alberta.. I love the summers here. Winters however.. I'm hoping to become a snowbird soon. Lol

I am sick of the harsh cold temperatures and the winter driving along with the long dark days that seem to stretch for more than half the year.

I know how you feel. I'm waiting for my dogs to die in about 2 years and then I'll start taking January to April off work every year and head down south.

 

[Del Preston]

I'm waiting for my dogs to die in about 2 years

 

[McShogun99]

I would not give up a first in any deal for Risto.

I'd give up a 1st and JP for him. This is a player that needs a change of scenery on a team with some defensive structure. Holland and Tippet are working towards building a solid defensive team and Risto would be sheltered behind Larsson.

 

[McShogun99]

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Love those dogs but once they're gone I won't be here for winter.