What “Common Wisdom” Do You Doubt or Disagree With?

Adam Fox Time

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Jan 1, 2020
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1. The strategy of going into a defensive shell with the lead in the 3rd period. Why would you stop playing the way that got you the lead in the first place? And what do you think will happen if you give the other team nonstop scoring opportunities without really trying to score yourself? Teams continue to do this and it's infuriating.

2. Goalies wearing white equipment will cause the other team to be less sure of where the net is and shoot at the goalie more often. This sounds like total nonsense and all it really does is make goalie equipment uninteresting.

3. Making an online post or saying or doing something will cause your favorite team to win or lose. There absolutely are people who really do believe this.
 

ColdSteel2

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Aug 27, 2010
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are there any elite goalies left though? which goalie can carry a team on his own nowadays?

Lehner this season for sure. The Hawks are pretty bad and he has stolen a lot of points. But I mostly agree, they are rare and usually it is only for a couple year window at their peak whereas guys like Roy and Hasek did it for an extended period of time.

Bob had a nice couple year run, Price did as well. Neither lasted very long though.
 

Non Player Canadiens

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Jan 25, 2012
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Lehner this season for sure. The Hawks are pretty bad and he has stolen a lot of points. But I mostly agree, they are rare and usually it is only for a couple year window at their peak whereas guys like Roy and Hasek did it for an extended period of time.

Bob had a nice couple year run, Price did as well. Neither lasted very long though.
agree.. there hasn't been a dominant Crosby/Ovechkin/Malkin level goalie for a while now. 'elite' goalies like Price have poor seasons all the time, and no-name goalies (like Lehner this year, Binnington last year, Murray the year before...) come out of nowhere, maybe even snag a cup, and then fade back into the background the year after.
 

tarheelhockey

Offside Review Specialist
Feb 12, 2010
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My favorite aspect of this is that the same people who often complain about +/- will quote CF% as a crucial stat when it's essentially just +/- for shot attempts.

I don’t think people who actually pay attention to things like Corsi, are also the people who use raw Corsi on its own.

But setting that aside... the thing is, the math checks out. The sample size for shots is about 10 times bigger, and that makes a huge difference in the accuracy of a metric.

Even if we ignore everything else wrong with +/- (combining offense with defense, counting ENGs, counting only SHGs but not PPGs, using absolutely no contextual data for linemates or opponents) and I want to highlight how much we are now ignoring in order to make the comparison seem more even, Corsi is still virtually guaranteed to give you a more accurate picture of what’s happening on the ice. Even if, for some reason, you’re misusing it by quoting a raw percentage.
 

JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
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Couple of mine are:

1. I’m not sure playoff or cup championship experience matters in the NHL. I believe it matters in individual sports like Golf or Tennis, but I don’t think it matters much, if at all, in the NHL. Or, put another way, I think in some cases it may hurt where in other situations it may help. I don’t care how many players I have on my team with cup experience or championships. (I think it matters for coaching a bit maybe but not for players).

2. I don’t think there’s much difference between the Top 15 Goalies in the league at any given moment. Maybe it’s even Top 20. Too hard to compare goalies across different teams with different systems and as long as you’ve got a got a halfway decent goalie I think it’s enough for a shot at a run.

I mentioned goalies in another post the other day. I think the main issue with goalies is that they are more prone to volatility, so it's difficult to value them.
As of yesterday, 12 of the 15 highest paid goalies did not occupy a playoff spot.


What seems to work best for cup purposes is a system where the backup is more involved in the process. Virtually every year for the last several years, the starter of a cup team has played no more than 50 some games.
 

GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
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Brampton, ON
3. Making an online post or saying or doing something will cause your favorite team to win or lose. There absolutely are people who really do believe this.

lol... I sincerely hope no one actually believes this. Being superstitious on that level is basically a form of mental illness.


I do have to mention, however, that Ovechkin scored 14 goals in 7 games right after I made a thread asking if he's having a "down" season.
 
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GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
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Brampton, ON
The idea that Orr would till be the best defenceman in the world if teleported from 1970 to 2020.

I don't know if too many people truly believe this.

What I don't like personally is the notion that it matters how a player would do in a different time period.

Younger hockey fans seem to bring it up quite often. Any player playing in a substantially different environment than the one he played in during his career would obviously be at an inherent disadvantage. It's impressive enough that he was as good as he was during his time; he shouldn't have to be just as good 50 years later to prove anything to anyone.

Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid or whoever your favorite player is wouldn't be nearly as good in the year 2070. Does that really matter?
 
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Sugi21

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Dec 7, 2016
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The code meaning you have to fight if some nut ball decides he wants to jump you
 

YEM

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Mar 7, 2010
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The code meaning you have to fight if some nut ball decides he wants to jump you
good reminder: hockey "fights" aren't really fights too often anymore. Usually just a couple of guys square dancing for a few seconds while landing some glancing blows on the other guy's visor/helmet.
 

Sugi21

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Dec 7, 2016
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good reminder: hockey "fights" aren't really fights too often anymore. Usually just a couple of guys square dancing for a few seconds while landing some glancing blows on the other guy's visor/helmet.
Yeah it’s more of a sparring match now than anything
 

daver

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Apr 4, 2003
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That generational talent doesn't see significant difference in their production depending on their linemates.
 
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ziggyjoe212

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Oct 2, 2017
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Then you are wrong. Why are points a measure of quality?
The Art Ross winner is usually the league MVP. Highest scoring players are generally the highest paid players and get the most ice time. They're also the top draft picks in the draft.

For example, Patrice Bergeron is one of the best 2 way players in the league, while OV is pretty much a one trick pony. Not even the biggest Bruins homer would say that Bergeorn is in the same league as OV.
You can say the same thing about Kane vs Toews. Or McDavid vs Kopitar.

The best players in the NHL are widely considered to be McDavid, Mackinnon, Draisaitl, Crosby. They're all offensive dynamos (besides maybe Sid).
 

b in vancouver

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Jul 28, 2005
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Don't burn a year.

I think teams should. Get to that second contract sooner.
Closest examples recently were Pastrnak, Draisatl and McAvoy whom never played full seasons their first year so signed their second contracts earlier, before they had as much of a track record. Then look at the contracts they signed.
 

ziggyjoe212

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Oct 2, 2017
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That generational talent sees significant difference in their production depending on their linemates.
This is not true. Have you been following Sid, Geno, OV, McDavid?

Sid and Geno had their best seasons playing with 3rd liners. Geno won his Smythe playing with Talbot and Fedotenko (you probably don't even know who they are). OV scores regardless of who's on his line. What makes a player generational is that he elevates his linemates, not vice versa.
 

daver

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This is not true. Have you been following Sid, Geno, OV, McDavid?

Sid and Geno had their best seasons playing with 3rd liners. Geno won his Smythe playing with Talbot and Fedotenko (you probably don't even know who they are). OV scores regardless of who's on his line. What makes a player generational is that he elevates his linemates, not vice versa.

I meant the opposite. Have changed my post.
 
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