The Best Game You Can Name (general NHL thread)

WestCoastRunner · December 17, 2014

Phoenix is the 6th largest city in the US, hence it's a very important TV market for sports leagues seeking national TV deals.

Yes, I get that, however, don't you think it would make more business sense to move it to 'Seattle'?

PrimeNumber · December 17, 2014

I wouldn't mind seeing a team in Seattle. Could be a great rivalry for the Canucks and I'm pretty sure Seattle could support the team. They have football, soccer, baseball and basketball.

Seattle and Quebec should get a team, even out the league at 32 teams. Make for a better playoffs overall.

PrimeNumber · December 17, 2014

Yes, I get that, however, don't you think it would make more business sense to move it to 'Seattle'?

Especially since the league had to bail out the team once already. And the city of Glendale has been shortchanged on the leagues promised revenues for the last two seasons. I predict this will happen again. They still have below average attendance records and even when the team is doing good have to give away large amounts of tickets for fans to show up. Gary Bettman would hate to give up the population potential but eventually you have to say enough is enough.

WestCoastRunner · December 17, 2014

Especially since the league had to bail out the team once already. And the city of Glendale has been shortchanged on the leagues promised revenues for the last two seasons. I predict this will happen again. They still have below average attendance records and even when the team is doing good have to give away large amounts of tickets for fans to show up. Gary Bettman would hate to give up the population potential but eventually you have to say enough is enough.

Have you seen the Canadian flick 'Bon Cop, Bad Cop'. It's a great movie, with parodies: harry buttman, pickleton.

You have to check it out!

Black Dog · February 11, 2015

Huge trade between the Jets and Sabres. Buffalo gets the better players in Kane and Bogosian, Winnipeg loses a headache. Buffalo is gonna be a good team real soon.

BubberMiley · February 11, 2015

Winnipeg has essentially gotten five first rounders for two. Myers and Bogosian are comparable, so it's essentially Kane for everybody else. Considering Kane was a third liner who gets injured a lot and is a bit of a locker room cancer who quit on his team, two solid prospects, a first-round pick in a deep draft and pending UFA Stafford (who can help them in their playoff push) is a pretty good return.

guyser · February 11, 2015

I think Buffalo wins this one.

They get an injured Kane, so that helps them now, they get rid of some talent.....and voila, they cannot field a very good team and they get the #1 or 2 pick.

Win win.

Of course Winni gets some help, they are rid of Bogosian and his contract troubles and get help on the back end.

Good all around, edge to Buff.

overthere · February 11, 2015

Buffalo already had the 1 or 2 pick locked up, they were almost certain to finish last since the Olers are playing much better lately.

Now they have 30th place locked up. That means they get McDavid or Eichel- for this year only they cannot drop more than one place in the lottery draft.

They gave up their best defenceman and some offence in Myers and Stafford. In return, they got nothing that can help them now- which is fine for them. Winnipeg wins, they got two players that can help them make the playoffs.

Overall, a draw.

Boges · February 11, 2015

A last place team actually only has a 48% chance of getting one of the top 2 spots, apparently.

Black Dog · February 11, 2015

A last place team actually only has a 48% chance of getting one of the top 2 spots, apparently.

Nope: 30th place has a 20% chance of the #1 pick, but guaranteed the #2 since teams can only fall one spot.

Black Dog · February 11, 2015

Winnipeg has essentially gotten five first rounders for two. Myers and Bogosian are comparable, so it's essentially Kane for everybody else. Considering Kane was a third liner who gets injured a lot and is a bit of a locker room cancer who quit on his team, two solid prospects, a first-round pick in a deep draft and pending UFA Stafford (who can help them in their playoff push) is a pretty good return.

Kane a third liner? That's ridiculous.

Shady · February 11, 2015

Kane has a lot of upside, but I don't know what his problem has been. Maybe a chance of scenery will help.

guyser · February 11, 2015

Kane has a lot of upside, but I don't know what his problem has been. Maybe a chance of scenery will help.

Hopefully.

Have to kind of laugh though, seems part of Kanes problem was he was in Winnipeg, he felt he shouold be on a bigger stage.....and then gets sent to Buffalo.

What, COlumbus and Edmonton didnt want him? Could have been worse! (in a stage thingy way)

Boges · February 11, 2015

Patrick: The good news is, you're out of Winnipeg. The bad news? you get to move to a place that actually gets MORE snow.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Boges

overthere · February 11, 2015

Nope: 30th place has a 20% chance of the #1 pick, but guaranteed the #2 since teams can only fall one spot.

BUt only for this year.

Next year finishing last guarantees nothing.

BubberMiley · February 11, 2015

Kane a third liner? That's ridiculous.

That's where he was on the Jets this season. He's probably a first liner in Buffalo though. He's fast, strong, great on the penalty kill, always competing hard, but he lacks goal-scoring finish (always a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle) and he isn't much of a playmaker.

PrimeNumber · February 12, 2015

My breakdown of the deal: Jets win for now.

Buffalo gets:

Kane: A fast, one sided offensive player that has pretty sub par on ice vision. Has a great shot but lacks offensive creativity, or finish as they call it. Has a big ego for someone whose only hit the 30-goal mark once in his career and was on pace for 17 at most this season. he is great on the offensive rush, but is a terrible offensive zone passer and cycler and really only has a single go to move that is fast but incredibly easy to read. He can play a very physical game with a chippy side but is incredibly injury prone and there is no telling how well he does coming back from shoulder surgery next year.

Bogo: Competent right side defencemen, can't play a very fast game and must slow things down to his own pace. Has a great shot and can play a fairly strong physical shut down game. Not so great on the powerplay. Is still young and has the possibility of being a #1 pairing defencemen, but he hasn't been progressing as much as most would like and has also been injury prone the last few years.

Kasdorf: From what I hear a great NCAA goalie, but not a big loss considering the Jets have much better prospects in the pipeline.

To Winnipeg:

Stafford: Experienced Right winger, who can play both sides of the ice. Fills in the3rd line RW hole the Jets desperately needed and allows Big Buff to head back to defence where he belongs. Is a UFA at the end of the season, so could be a rental but Buffalo retained half of his salary which makes this deal even sweeter. His job is to play a two-way 3rd line game and it's pretty clear he is capable of doing just that.

Myers: A huge 6'8 probably around 7'0 with skates on, 225 lb right side defencemen who apparently doesn't play much of a physical game. Hopefully Buff can mentor him on that a little bit. Was a Calder winner in his rookie season and has made some incredible leaps and bounds this year. Some say he is a lost cause but those same people don't remember that it took Chara who has a similar frame until the ripe age of 30 to really start breaking out. Has a mediocre shot but seems to put up decent points on the powerplay, especially in Buffalo so maybe he can do even better in Winnipeg. If he can buy into the Jets physical defence first system he can really shine here. He also has a descending cap hit which is a plus because that leaves more space to resign Frolik and next year Ladd and Buff.

Armia: 1st round pick from Sm-Liiga who has trouble adjusting to new surroundings from what I hear but after about 3/4 of a season really starts to find his drive. Fills the void of RW propsects the Jets needed for the future. A bit injury prone as well but hopefully he makes the squad next year, which I think he will and can play some big minutes. I think a Ehlers - Petan - Armia future line could spell trouble for the western conference by 2016-2017.

Lemiux: A young very physical, aggravating left wing with scoring hands. 6'0, 206 lb frame gives him a strong lower base. Protects the puck very well and has the potential to be a very good grind and score player. Just what the Jets need. Hopefully he pans out to be a solid 2nd or 3rd liner for us.

1st round pick: Probably St. Louis' pick that Buffalo acquired earlier. Buffalo gets to choose so I'm guessing STL. In a draft that might possibly be the deepest draft in the past 10 years another pick is great for the Jets to add to their incredibly deep pool of prospects. Can also be used as a trade piece to acquire some more needed penalty kill pieces, *ahem* Vermette *ahem*

All in all if Kane pans out for Buffalo it could be a win-win, I think Bogo and Myers are a wash but the amount of prospect depth Winnipeg got for Kane considering he is out for the season and comes with some baggage is astounding, Chevy is heading to elite Gm status real quick here. Buffalo could get McEichel in the draft so Kane may end up being a great scorer. But his lone wolf style of play tells me he'll have trouble in Buffalo, when the play makers arrive.

Edited February 12, 2015 by PrimeNumber

Black Dog · February 12, 2015

That's where he was on the Jets this season.

He led all Jets forwards in ES TOI/game this season. Same as he did the last two seasons. Those are top line minutes.

He's probably a first liner in Buffalo though.

He'd be, at minimum, a top six player on any team in the league.

He's fast, strong, great on the penalty kill, always competing hard, but he lacks goal-scoring finish (always a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle) and he isn't much of a playmaker.

I looked at the numbers on this to see how he ranks compared to the rest of the league. Looked at 5 on 5 goals per 60 between 2009 and 2014. Kane ranked 37th in the league, ahead of guys like Martin St. Louis and Marian Hossa and just behind the Other Kane. If he can stay healthy, he's probably a 25-30 goal scorer and that's pretty good for a guy with no finish..

Black Dog · February 12, 2015

Myers: A huge 6'8 probably around 7'0 with skates on, 225 lb right side defencemen who apparently doesn't play much of a physical game. Hopefully Buff can mentor him on that a little bit. Was a Calder winner in his rookie season and has made some incredible leaps and bounds this year. Some say he is a lost cause but those same people don't remember that it took Chara who has a similar frame until the ripe age of 30 to really start breaking out.

Uh, Chara was a Norris Trophy nominee at age 26.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Black Dog

kimmy · February 12, 2015

So what was the deal with Kane? It can't be all because he wore a track suit to a team meeting, right? Was that the last straw of some issue that's been building for a long time? If so, what was the issue?

-k

BubberMiley · February 12, 2015

He led all Jets forwards in ES TOI/game this season. Same as he did the last two seasons. Those are top line minutes.

He spent a lot of time on the penalty kill and the Jets get more penalties than anybody else. Last year, he was on the second line and that's where he started this year, but Mathieu Perrault broke out this season and took his slot there. Since then, he's been on the third line, which I think might have been the tipping point to him not being a Jet anymore.

Kane is great at carrying the puck in and taking a shot (usually, as I said, from the top of the faceoff circle). I believe at one point he was leading the league in shots on goal, but a lot of those shots are low-percentage chances. He would be an elite goal scorer with more patience and more willingness to storm the front of the net, but he doesn't. So in that case, yeah, no finish.

Black Dog · February 12, 2015

He spent a lot of time on the penalty kill and the Jets get more penalties than anybody else.

First, I said ES, where mot of the game is played. Second, he's not getting that much special teams time. 6th in SH TOI this year, 5th last year, 6th the year before that.

Last year, he was on the second line and that's where he started this year, but Mathieu Perrault broke out this season and took his slot there. Since then, he's been on the third line, which I think might have been the tipping point to him not being a Jet anymore.

How do you explain the fact he gets top line ES minutes, then? Even if you account for special teams he's still getting top six time. Granted the Jets seem to roll their lines pretty well, so there's not a ton of difference, but that also indicates the distinctions are fairly meaningless. Point stands: he's no worse than a second line player on any team in the league.

Kane is great at carrying the puck in and taking a shot (usually, as I said, from the top of the faceoff circle). I believe at one point he was leading the league in shots on goal, but a lot of those shots are low-percentage chances. He would be an elite goal scorer with more patience and more willingness to storm the front of the net, but he doesn't. So in that case, yeah, no finish.

As I said: he's already in some excellent company in term of his goal scoring production. His biggest impediment to being an elite goal scorer is his health. If he can stay healthy and gets the chance to play with a setup man like McDavid...look out.

PrimeNumber · February 12, 2015

Uh, Chara was a Norris Trophy nominee at age 26.

He didn't win it until 32. He still never really broke out until his around his 30's. The point is he was a late bloomer. Myers might be the same way given his frame.

Black Dog · February 12, 2015

He didn't win it until 32.

So? He was an elite defender by 25-26. Just happened to play at a time when Nik Lidstrom bogarted all the votes.

He still never really broke out until his around his 30's.

By any reasonable definition of the term, he "broke out" as a Senator in his mid 20s. Which is no surprise as many defensemen don't hit their stride until that part of their careers.

The point is he was a late bloomer. Myers might be the same way given his frame.

And my point is Chara was most certainly not a late bloomer. When Chara was Myers' age now, he was clearly developing into an elite two way D-man. It's not a comparison that flatters Myers at all.

PrimeNumber · February 12, 2015

So? He was an elite defender by 25-26. Just happened to play at a time when Nik Lidstrom bogarted all the votes.

By any reasonable definition of the term, he "broke out" as a Senator in his mid 20s. Which is no surprise as many defensemen don't hit their stride until that part of their careers.

And my point is Chara was most certainly not a late bloomer. When Chara was Myers' age now, he was clearly developing into an elite two way D-man. It's not a comparison that flatters Myers at all.

Chara was a good defender by 24, he was not elite. His breakout season was at 26, I'd still say he didn't hit his stride until his 30's. Simply putting up points doesn't make one an elite defender. His all around possession game didn't come until 30, his peak was at 30. He started becoming good at 24 but he didn't peak until his early 30's. Thats when he was an elite defencemen, that's not really debatable.