OT: Leafs/NHL Thread

[ItsDanger]

Who remembers Lou Lamoriello trading Carter Verhaeghe for Michael Grabner? Brutal.

[tecumseh18]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/snoop-dogg-sees-senators-ownership-as-tool-to-get-kids-who-look-like-me-playing-hockey/

So Snoop is somehow involved in the bid to buy the Senators. And of course, the racist puckheads can't shut up about it in the comment section.

This is a big reason why I abandoned hockey watching in favour of b-ball watching 20 years ago. The racism was palpable. I remember Bill Watters on Toronto radio saying words to the effect of "Calgary should be the next Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup, because Calgary looks more like Canada then Toronto does." I called into the station to complain, and they just brushed me off.

Of course, racists also tend to be stupid, so Watters seemed wilfully ignorant of the fact that the Flames at the time were led by a biracial guy from Edmonton (Jerome Iginla). Or that those Oilers championship teams were backstopped by Grant Fuhr. Or that right around that same time period (2003), Anson Carter scored the winning goal in the World Championship that year.

Anyway, good for Snoop.

[mdenny]

anything short of a stanley cup appearance, now, would be a disappointment.

IDK the NHL playoffs are extremely random. Every season we see madness, and the 1st round this year is just the most recent reminder that odds don't mean much. Consider:

- The Presidents Cup curse
- Hot goalie is always a huge variable
- Related to above - Habs went to Cup final in '21 and were *dead last* without Carey Price the next season
- Injury variance - short turnaround and brutal physical grind = war of attrition
- Like an MMA fight, matchups and styles matter

Probably not many will appreciate the last point on a hoops forum, here's a small example of what I'm talking about:

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Interesting thread. And yah....the leafs seemed to have an extremely difficult time establishing offensive zone time. Not sure if the numbers back that up....

I guess what he's saying is that it might be a blessing to play against a team that fully commits to the forecheck rather than clogging neutral zone. That is....if the panthers don't switch things up and pull back from the all-in forecheck.

[ruckus]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/snoop-dogg-sees-senators-ownership-as-tool-to-get-kids-who-look-like-me-playing-hockey/

So Snoop is somehow involved in the bid to buy the Senators. And of course, the racist puckheads can't shut up about it in the comment section.

This is a big reason why I abandoned hockey watching in favour of b-ball watching 20 years ago. The racism was palpable. I remember Bill Watters on Toronto radio saying words to the effect of "Calgary should be the next Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup, because Calgary looks more like Canada then Toronto does." I called into the station to complain, and they just brushed me off.

Of course, racists also tend to be stupid, so Watters seemed wilfully ignorant of the fact that the Flames at the time were led by a biracial guy from Edmonton (Jerome Iginla). Or that those Oilers championship teams were backstopped by Grant Fuhr. Or that right around that same time period (2003), Anson Carter scored the winning goal in the World Championship that year.

Anyway, good for Snoop.

I'm not up to date on the Senators but wouldn't a Canadian owner be better? I have no problem with Snoop getting into hockey but isn't foreign ownership the first step to relocation?

[Merit]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/snoop-dogg-sees-senators-ownership-as-tool-to-get-kids-who-look-like-me-playing-hockey/

So Snoop is somehow involved in the bid to buy the Senators. And of course, the racist puckheads can't shut up about it in the comment section.

This is a big reason why I abandoned hockey watching in favour of b-ball watching 20 years ago. The racism was palpable. I remember Bill Watters on Toronto radio saying words to the effect of "Calgary should be the next Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup, because Calgary looks more like Canada then Toronto does." I called into the station to complain, and they just brushed me off.

Of course, racists also tend to be stupid, so Watters seemed wilfully ignorant of the fact that the Flames at the time were led by a biracial guy from Edmonton (Jerome Iginla). Or that those Oilers championship teams were backstopped by Grant Fuhr. Or that right around that same time period (2003), Anson Carter scored the winning goal in the World Championship that year.

Anyway, good for Snoop.

I'm not up to date on the Senators but wouldn't a Canadian owner be better? I have no problem with Snoop getting into hockey but isn't foreign ownership the first step to relocation?

The NHL is desperate for any positive association with pop culture and people of colour. They need to do far far more than they are currently doing.

The problem with hockey is that it’s classist in addition to being racist. If it became a sport that was affordable for all, we would see more BIPOC involvement. I’m speaking in generalities here but there are far fewer minorities even in the cities where hockey is actually affordable. If there are minorities there, they’re far newer to the country and bring their own sports with them - usually soccer/cricket/basketball.

Imo, the structure of amateur hockey needs to improve its value offering in order to compete with the robustness of grassroots basketball and soccer academies. The cost of hockey (ice time/equipment/prestige teams/hockey parents) are the reasons why I and many of my colleagues never played. I do somewhat regret not giving it a shot, but I’m glad for what I pursued in lieu of hockey.

I still think that the Ryan Reynolds bid gets the team and if that’s the case, the team is going to stay in Ottawa and get a new stadium in a better area. Ottawa can definitely support a team, especially if it becomes “cool/trendy”.

[Merit]

Also, while snoop isn’t likely to get access to the senators, his interest here will be noted when it comes to a team like the Phoenix Coyotes. Heck if nothing else their jerseys/merch will become hot ticket items.

[Brinbe]

Weirdest schedule

Read on Twitter

?t=rfm_fdIlPayeOvuTisvJZQ&s=19

[Ganjamayne]

Who remembers Lou Lamoriello trading Carter Verhaeghe for Michael Grabner? Brutal.

To be fair nobody expected Verhaeghe to become a 40 goal scorer. I honestly didn't think he'd ever crack an NHL line-up.

[Merit]

Weirdest schedule

Read on Twitter

?t=rfm_fdIlPayeOvuTisvJZQ&s=19

No idea why the states get hockey night in Canada timings but I’m hopeful that they shift the next round.

[Tha Cynic]

Who remembers Lou Lamoriello trading Carter Verhaeghe for Michael Grabner? Brutal.

Played the long game. He came back to eliminate the Bruins.

[Tha Cynic]

Weirdest schedule

Read on Twitter

?t=rfm_fdIlPayeOvuTisvJZQ&s=19

Man, Bettman really doesn't give a **** about Canada lol. How do you skip the Leafs on Saturdays and the HNIC tradition. This dude will do anything to drive up those American TV numbers to try to get that US TV deal.

[xAIRNESSx]

Matthews has had a ton of chances this game. Gotta bury one of those.

[Raps in 4]

Looks like it'll be another 20 years before we get out of the second round.

[dafan590]

no sense of urgency....played behind the 8 ball all night....come on guys this is not a regular season game man!!!!! gotta protect home ice!!!!!

[Brinbe]

ughhh

def feels like an emotional letdown after that 1st round

[Dr Positivity]

McCabe, the Rock says know your role

[GQStylin]

Who remembers Lou Lamoriello trading Carter Verhaeghe for Michael Grabner? Brutal.

To be fair at the time of the trade Verhaeghe looked nothing like the player he is now and it took him another 4 years in the minors before he finally got a shot in the NHL with Tampa and then he started putting up points when he signed with Florida. A fairly late bloomer by hockey standards.

Sucks that he scored on Toronto for the go ahead goal. Lets hope the Leafs can make another comeback.

[raptorstime]

Damn.. 0-1

[mdenny]

Nylander is so empty inside. He's the guy that aces the caliper test and you find out he does so because he simply doesn't care about anything.

Dude is not even bending his knees. Just gliding around the ice. They should do something drastic. Take him out of the lineup for a game or 2. They wasted 2 periods playing him with matthews smh.

Someone on twitter summed it up: you never see nylander make a hard stop and change direction. You never even see him make a hard turn.

He glides....and either veers right or left or straight following open ice. But if the open ice is behind him...he doesn't stop and change direction toward it.

The stillshots of him gliding away from a direct path to the net are hilarious. There's not a single other player on either team that would do that in that scenario. I'll let someone else post the screenshots. Pure comedy.

[Mister Ze]

Just 1 game boys we’ll get the next one