NHL (2021-2022) v. Congrats Avs. Jack Johnson is a Stanley Cup Champion.

[LudwigVan]

I know Landeskog has the 'C', but that is Mackinnon's team. He took it on his shoulders and carried them in more than just a few games. And even though he showed frustration and maybe tried to do too much at times, his pace and passion drove the tempo/momentum for the Avs' style of play.

That pace overwhelmed the Bolts. Kucherov is the ultimate 'slow down the game and create time and space' kinda player, but he was smothered at practically every turn, getting his pass or shot off just a heartbeat slower than it needed to be. Hedman seemed to have trouble handling the up-tempo as well. There were times when he actually looked slow.

Fairly neutral on both teams, but I was pulling for Tampa simply because I'll be living there in a few months and I wanted to see the series go 7. But it was hard to pull for a team that took my Islanders out in 2 straight playoff years. On top of which, I hate Kucherov, who I think is kinda scummy.

[SchecterShredder]

I was going to ask this as a trivia question, but I couldn't think of a good way to ask it that wouldn't either be way too vague or give away the answer.  The 2022 Stanley Cup Final was the first time in major North American sports history that two teams with singular name competed for the title.

That's quite rare considering there's only a handful of teams with singular names (Avalanche, Lightning, Heat, Jazz)

Kraken and OKC.  I think there's one more NBA team, but it's escaping me at the moment.  There's a few MLB teams as well (the Sox's)


Wonder who's gonna get HOF inductions today.

Forgot about OKC and Seattle. Don't think the Sox count since, in both cases, it's short for "socks".


I think the Sedins get in. Beyond them I can't even guess. You could make a case for lots of players, but I feel that's mostly because this is a relatively weak class of newly eligible entries. Zetterberg? Wouldn't surprise me if he got in first crack. I don't feel like Luongo did enough in his career to warrant HHOF induction. This could be the year some long-time waiting players get the call (Barrasso, Alfredsson, Gonchar).

[Nick]

MacKinnon, I think he's a douche, and I'm basing it on one comment from one interview.  Before the Oiler series, in a sit-down with SportsNet and asked about going up against McDavid, his answer had to do with the fact it will be great hockey, hopefully generate a lot of interest and revenue so it could drive the escrow down.  He literally fucking said that in a recorded, pre-taped interview.  smdh.

Chad, I love you, but this pretty well sums up one of the things I *hate* about the NHL and its coverage. Anytime any hockey player goes outside of the canned generic responses and shows any individuality or actual thought people have to jump on them. And the result is continual awful interviews and coverage. Agree or not I'd 100% rather MacKinnon say that then the same lines a robot could produce for them at this point.

[pg1067]

I was going to ask this as a trivia question, but I couldn't think of a good way to ask it that wouldn't either be way too vague or give away the answer.  The 2022 Stanley Cup Final was the first time in major North American sports history that two teams with singular name competed for the title.

That's quite rare considering there's only a handful of teams with singular names (Avalanche, Lightning, Heat, Jazz)

Kraken and OKC.  I think there's one more NBA team, but it's escaping me at the moment.  There's a few MLB teams as well (the Sox's)

NHL:  Lightning, Avalanche, Wild, Kraken
NBA:  Heat, Thunder, Magic, Jazz
MLB:  None (although I saw one website that claimed that Red Sox and White Sox were singular!)
NFL:  None


As far as the HHOF, I think the Sedins will probably get in, but I don't think they should.  I think if they were not twins and had played on other teams and had comparable stats, neither of them would be getting serious consideration.  On the other hand, I look at the NHL assist leaders, and the only players ahead of Henrik and not in the HHOF are guys who are active or recently retired, and the only guy within 10 spots below Henrik who's not in is Pierre Turgeon (who is also getting strong consideration this year).  Daniel's case is much weaker than Henrik's.  Of course, I don't have enough knowledge about their international careers to know how much of a boost they get there.

Other than the Sedins and Turgeon, you've got Zetterberg (I'd say more likely than not), Mogilny (why now when he couldn't get in before?) and Luongo.  Luongo has an interesting case.  He's 4th all time in goalie wins.  The only other guys in the top-10 not in the HHOF are Fleury, Lundqvist and CuJo.  Luongo is 42nd in all-time GAA, which is better than Patrick Roy, Turk Broda and Bernie Parent.  Luong is 9th all-time in save percentage, which is miles better than Roy (59th) and Brodeur (43rd).  Of course, when you see that Ben Bishop, Cory Schneider and Tomas Vokoun are in the top-15, you realize that SV% ain't worth all that much.  The only knock against Luongo is the lack of hardware.  No Cups, one SCF appearance.  He was a 2x Vezina finalist and won the Jennings once (the year preceding the SCF run).  On the whole, I think he gets in.

[pg1067]

Well...it's the Sedins, Alfredsson and Luongo (along with Finnish women's player, Riikka Sallinen, and Herb Carnegie, a Jamaican-Canadian, whose contributions seem to be non-playing-related).

[jingle.boy]

MacKinnon, I think he's a douche, and I'm basing it on one comment from one interview.  Before the Oiler series, in a sit-down with SportsNet and asked about going up against McDavid, his answer had to do with the fact it will be great hockey, hopefully generate a lot of interest and revenue so it could drive the escrow down.  He literally fucking said that in a recorded, pre-taped interview.  smdh.

Chad, I love you, but this pretty well sums up one of the things I *hate* about the NHL and its coverage. Anytime any hockey player goes outside of the canned generic responses and shows any individuality or actual thought people have to jump on them. And the result is continual awful interviews and coverage. Agree or not I'd 100% rather MacKinnon say that then the same lines a robot could produce for them at this point.

Ehhh... I hear what you're saying, but I still think making a comment about your pay is a douche-y self-centred thing to say.  Real "leaders" wouldn't make that kind of comment to their customers.

[Anguyen92]

Really?  Given that the players owe a buttload of money (which is to be paid via escrow) and been undercut by the owners for a long time, might as well address it if you have the platform for it.

[jingle.boy]

Really?  Given that the players owe a buttload of money (which is to be paid via escrow) and been undercut by the owners for a long time, might as well address it if you have the platform for it.

Well, given that they were paid last year when there were no fans in the stands for a ton of the season ....

I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything - just sharing my reasons for my opinion of the guy.  I'm sure there are a dozen+ reasons he's a terrific dude.  But this one is fresh in my mind as a reason to think he's a douche.  If it's just me, so be it.

[Anguyen92]

From what I read in various random articles, MacKinnon has that certain attitude (that can probably wear on someone if they aren't ready) that guys like Brady and Jordan (and before anyone gets on me in comparing MacKinnon to Brady or Jordan, I'm not comparing accomplishments. I said he possessed an attitude that looks like a winning mindset that those guys had) possessed where he pushes teammates to get the best out of them to certain extremes (especially when it comes to stuff like diet regimen).

[Nick]

Just quoting from my Facebook, but I've made my decision:

---

I've finally made one of the most important unimportant decisions in my life.

I swore that Torts being hired in Philly was the temporary end of my rooting for the Flyers, which I've done my whole life. That was the final nail in the coffin for an organization and GM that have just made myriad of bad decision after bad decision.

I was considering a couple of options, but I didn't want to have anyone accuse me of jumping on a bandwagon or abandoning my team just for something better. So I'm going with a rebuilding team that didn't even make the playoffs this year.

It's a team that before they got moved East in a re-alignment, I always considered to be the Western team I rooted for anyway. So for the foreseeable future, at least until Torts is gone...

Let's go Red Wings.

[romdrums]

[TAC]

So for the foreseeable future, at least until Torts is gone...

Let's go Red Wings.

That's Tortarella's next job after the Flyers fire him.

[LudwigVan]

Now you can sit back and watch the Flyers go to Cup final in a year or 3. 

[TAC]

Now you can sit back and watch the Flyers go to Cup final in a year or 3. 

Tortorella won't get them past the 2nd round.

[LudwigVan]

Now you can sit back and watch the Flyers go to Cup final in a year or 3. 

Tortorella won't get them past the 2nd round.

I know. Just wanted to give Nick a little dig. 

I've had friends who've switched teams only to regret it shortly afterwards.

The way I look at it, your team is like family. Douche players and coaches may come and go, but overall, they're still your team.

[Anguyen92]

Now you can sit back and watch the Flyers go to Cup final in a year or 3. 

Tortorella won't get them past the 2nd round.

I know. Just wanted to give Nick a little dig. 

I've had friends who've switched teams only to regret it shortly afterwards.

The way I look at it, your team is like family. Douche players and coaches may come and go, but overall, they're still your team.

I don't know.  There are some hires I feel uneasy of as a Kings fan.  I'm not too keen on Marc Bergevin (after him getting canned by the Habs) being deemed a senior advisor to the GM.  Then again, I just hope Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille only hired him to get the good sides of him and reign in his bad sides.  The team hasn't done anything stupid yet where I can blame Bergevin, but free agency is looming so we'll see.

[pg1067]

So...what's so bad about Tortorella?  I know he's outspoken and confrontational, but he's only had three losing full seasons (out of 15) as a coach, along with one Cup win.

[Nick]

So...what's so bad about Tortorella?  I know he's outspoken and confrontational, but he's only had three losing full seasons (out of 15) as a coach, along with one Cup win.

Generally speaking every time I hear him talk as a coach and an analyst I like him less and less.

He also feeds into the we just need to play a tougher brand of Philly hockey mindset that is exactly what we need less of, not more of. Don't get me wrong, toughness and grit are important, but speed and skill are what the Flyers desperately need more than anything. I have no doubt Flyers will do better with him as a coach, but it's going to be lipstick on a pig. It's going to have them middle of the pack with no chance of actually doing better than that because the organizations much deeper flaws will be covered up.

There was the absolutely cringe Zegras comments from this past season.

And there is the comments he made in 2016 about players kneeling for the anthem that have long sat poorly with me.

Basically he's a dinosaur that will move the organization forward while moving the organization backwards, if that makes sense.

[Anguyen92]

All right, Rob Blake has gone for a huge swing for the fences trade.  The Kings traded this year's 1st round pick and prospect from the Golden Gophers in Minn. Brock Faber for Kevin Fiala from the Wild.  Signed him for 7 years at 7.875M a year.

I say it's a good trade.  I don't know if the Kings need another 1st round pick waiting 2-3 years to mature to the big-time right now and Brock Faber is pretty expandable given the crop of RD the team has.  The number on the AAV though is pretty risky.  If Fiala's production this season with the Wild carries over to the Kings well, then it's worth it.  Thankfully, some contracts will fall off the books year by year, and the cap is expected to go up hugely in a few years, so that will cushion things.  More importantly, the Kings get a top 6 winger to help their offense out.  Hopefully, he works out.

[Nick]

Man, I don't know if it's a good trade or not but that's a legit exciting pre-draft blockbuster right there.

[jingle.boy]

Man, I don't know if it's a good trade or not but that's a legit exciting pre-draft blockbuster right there.

You have a very loose interpretation of the word. Big trade, sure.

[Nick]

Man, I don't know if it's a good trade or not but that's a legit exciting pre-draft blockbuster right there.

You have a very loose interpretation of the word. Big trade, sure.

Fair. Still, cool to see in what would otherwise be a lull period.

[jingle.boy]

Man, I don't know if it's a good trade or not but that's a legit exciting pre-draft blockbuster right there.

You have a very loose interpretation of the word. Big trade, sure.

Fair. Still, cool to see in what would otherwise be a lull period.

Agreed. Though not unsurprising ... with $14M in cap hit to shed, this is but the start of the Wild's fire sale.

[Stadler]

So...what's so bad about Tortorella?  I know he's outspoken and confrontational, but he's only had three losing full seasons (out of 15) as a coach, along with one Cup win.

He's no Barry Melrose. 

[gmillerdrake]

Man, I don't know if it's a good trade or not but that's a legit exciting pre-draft blockbuster right there.

You have a very loose interpretation of the word. Big trade, sure.

Fair. Still, cool to see in what would otherwise be a lull period.

Agreed. Though not unsurprising ... with $14M in cap hit to shed, this is but the start of the Wild's fire sale.

Yep....unfortunate for those fans. That was a solid team last year.

Huge trade for the Kings though....especially if Fiala isn't a flash in the pan and stays consistent.

[romdrums]

So...what's so bad about Tortorella?  I know he's outspoken and confrontational, but he's only had three losing full seasons (out of 15) as a coach, along with one Cup win.

He's no Barry Melrose.

Speaking of Melrose, I got to see him coach his final game, which was a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in November of 2008.  Wings were the defending Cup champs, and Tampa had just drafted Steve Stamkos #1 overall.  My brother got us tickets in Tampa due to a tangential connection to Mark Recchi, who had signed with Tampa Bay in the offseason.  So we had great seats in Tampa and there were a lot of Red Wings fans in attendance.  Felt like a home game!  Probably wouldn't be that way now!

[romdrums]

So for the foreseeable future, at least until Torts is gone...

Let's go Red Wings.

That's Tortarella's next job after the Flyers fire him.

No way Yzerman goes anywhere near Torts other than as a smokescreen to mask his real preference.

[Nick]

So for the foreseeable future, at least until Torts is gone...

Let's go Red Wings.

That's Tortarella's next job after the Flyers fire him.

No way Yzerman goes anywhere near Torts other than as a smokescreen to mask his real preference.

The general understanding for the Red Wings was that they were waiting for the Lightning season to end before making any decisions because they wanted to include their assistants in the mix. At least one assistant has now flown to Detroit for an interview.

[jingle.boy]

Man, I don't know if it's a good trade or not but that's a legit exciting pre-draft blockbuster right there.

You have a very loose interpretation of the word. Big trade, sure.

Fair. Still, cool to see in what would otherwise be a lull period.

Agreed. Though not unsurprising ... with $14M in cap hit to shed, this is but the start of the Wild's fire sale.

Yep....unfortunate for those fans. That was a solid team last year.

Huge trade for the Kings though....especially if Fiala isn't a flash in the pan and stays consistent.

Agreed... my gut says he's another Jeff Skinner kinda guy though, not a Pastranak kinda guy.

[gmillerdrake]

Rumor in St. Louis is that Jim Montgomery is going to be the next Boston Bruins Head Coach....

[Nick]

That would be a huge redemption story. It would be one thing for him to make a return for the Coyotes or something, but to get another shot in a place like Boston is huge.

[romdrums]

So for the foreseeable future, at least until Torts is gone...

Let's go Red Wings.

That's Tortarella's next job after the Flyers fire him.

No way Yzerman goes anywhere near Torts other than as a smokescreen to mask his real preference.

The general understanding for the Red Wings was that they were waiting for the Lightning season to end before making any decisions because they wanted to include their assistants in the mix. At least one assistant has now flown to Detroit for an interview.

According to Kevin Weekes, it was Derek LaLonde, which, based on his resume, would be a solid choice. 

[gmillerdrake]

That would be a huge redemption story. It would be one thing for him to make a return for the Coyotes or something, but to get another shot in a place like Boston is huge.

He's been great in St. Louis......on and off the ice. Extremely happy for him if this rumor holds to be true.

[Nick]

That would be a huge redemption story. It would be one thing for him to make a return for the Coyotes or something, but to get another shot in a place like Boston is huge.

He's been great in St. Louis......on and off the ice. Extremely happy for him if this rumor holds to be true.

LaLonde it is, he's been announced as the Red Wings head coach. I don't know much about him except for what I've recently been reading, but anytime you can take something from the Tampa organization you have to be going in the right direction I'd think.

[Deathless]

That would be a huge redemption story. It would be one thing for him to make a return for the Coyotes or something, but to get another shot in a place like Boston is huge.

He's been great in St. Louis......on and off the ice. Extremely happy for him if this rumor holds to be true.

LaLonde it is, he's been announced as the Red Wings head coach. I don't know much about him except for what I've recently been reading, but anytime you can take something from the Tampa organization you have to be going in the right direction I'd think.

I checked out his background after he was hired yesterday. He's been highly successful at a number of stops in various lower leagues before joining the Lightning 4 years ago. It's still going to be another year (at least) before the Red Wings are in playoff contention. Their backline needs a lot of work and they need to continue to develop offensively. It's hard to be patient, especially as a fan of such a highly-successful organization with a history of being in playoff/cup contention.