May NHL news

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
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deep inside Guido territory
In a shocking move, the Islanders have fired Barry Trotz with 1 year left on his deal. I thought he had a lot stacked against him this year with the 13 consecutive road games to start the year and the team ravaged by COVID around Christmas time.
 

cshea

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Nov 15, 2006
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Apropos of nothing, but the Ross Johnston thing with Lou on Long Island is one of the more bizarre things in hockey.

Johnston a part time depth forward, kinda goonish but not really, who has never played more than 32 games in an NHL season. He has scored 9-goals in 113 games. Lou Lamoriello has given him 2(!!!) 4-year contracts.
 

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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Maybe it’s time for the Islanders to get rid of Lou Lamoriello. The guy is close to 80 and the game has changed a ton in the past two decades. He’s probably out of touch with todays game.
 

kenneycb

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Dec 2, 2006
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Tuukka's refugee camp
The Isles made it to the Conference Finals the two years prior before losing to the Stanley Cup champ in 6 and 7 games. You can say that it's luck but it's hard to move on from a guy when the team's actually having regular and postseason success.
 

burstnbloom

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The Isles made it to the Conference Finals the two years prior before losing to the Stanley Cup champ in 6 and 7 games. You can say that it's luck but it's hard to move on from a guy when the team's actually having regular and postseason success.
Sure, but they finished 6th in their division in 2019-2020 and then 4th last year in the east and while the playoff results are obvious, their underlying numbers in all of those series wins are extremely problematic if you're looking to predict future success. I actually don't think Lou has done very much to make that team any better the last couple of years. This is his list of trades:

Acquired:

Matt Martin for a nobody
Andy Greene for a second round pick
JGP for a 1st, 2nd and third
Palmieri for a 1st and a 4th

Traded:

Devon Toews for 2 seconds

Signed:

Lee 7X49
Barzal 3x21 taking him to UFA
Pulock 8 x 49
Nelson 6 x 36
Eberle 5 x 27
Pelech 8 x 5.75
JGP 6 x 30
Palmieri 4 x 20
Beauvilier 3 x 12.45 taking him to UFA
Ross Johnson as previously mentioned - 4x4.4
Komarov 4 x 12

They have zero cap flexibility, the worst prospect pool in hockey and the two youngish offensive players (Barzal, Beauvillier) who are any good had to be signed to bridge deals that end with them at UFA when their best players are all 34-35 years old. I don't think he's done a very good job. Trotz wasn't the problem.
 

LogansDad

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The Isles made it to the Conference Finals the two years prior before losing to the Stanley Cup champ in 6 and 7 games. You can say that it's luck but it's hard to move on from a guy when the team's actually having regular and postseason success.
You mean, like, the coach?
 

kenneycb

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My comment was less a comment on what he has / hasn't done (I don't know or care enough to form a strong opinion) and more that organizations generally aren't going to move on from an executive who 1 down year after 3 years of strong finishes. Especially when one comes with Lou's pedigree.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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Maybe Lou leaves next on his own and doesn't want to saddle the new guy with a coach he may not want.
 

burstnbloom

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My comment was less a comment on what he has / hasn't done (I don't know or care enough to form a strong opinion) and more that organizations generally aren't going to move on from an executive who 1 down year after 3 years of strong finishes. Especially when one comes with Lou's pedigree.
Sure - and I generally agree, I just think the perception that Lou has helped that organization at all is probably false.
 

burstnbloom

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Mostly good fortune, but of the players that played on the team that beat the bruins last year, Lou brought in these guys:

Andy Greene
JGP
Palmieri
Martin
Varlamov
Zajac
Uncle Leo

Garth Snow brought in:
Barzal
Bailey
Nelson
Eberle
Leddy
Beauvillier
Wahlstrom
Lee
Pelech
Pulock
Mayfield
Cizikas
Dobson
Sorokin

So 1) Luck 2) Garth Snow 3) Lou.
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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Norris Trophy finalists are Hedman, Josi, and Makar. McAvoy snubbed.
How is that a snub? McAvoy is pretty much a top 5 D in the league, but tough to argue against those 3 being ahead of him for the season. They're all incredible players who had amazing seasons.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Jul 22, 2006
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I think the word snub is doing a lot of work here. Chuckie was probably a more impactful defenseman than Hedman or Josi based on the numbers, but you're correct, tough to complain when you're behind a 100 point defenseman and the guy that is probably the best Dman in the league over the last 5 years.

Fluto continued his run of negativity with a story in the Athletic about how McAvoy will never (NEVER!) win a Norris but he deserves better. It was nothing new for those who follow stats beyond G-A-P +/- but it does a solid job summarizing the state of things.

Edit: lol...he's such a fucking mope. New article up entitled "5 things worrying the Bruins ahead of game 5"
 

burstnbloom

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How is that a snub? McAvoy is pretty much a top 5 D in the league, but tough to argue against those 3 being ahead of him for the season. They're all incredible players who had amazing seasons.
Dom's and EH's models had McAvoy as the most valuable 5v5 D in the league. I didn't expect him to be a finalist, though. Those were the chalk picks. You can't expect hockey writers to check out Dom's model...yet.
 

durandal1707

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Dom's and EH's models had McAvoy as the most valuable 5v5 D in the league. I didn't expect him to be a finalist, though. Those were the chalk picks. You can't expect hockey writers to check out Dom's model...yet.
Yea, pretty much this.

My main problem with the Norris is that it's become a trophy for defensemen who score, rather than its stated intention. I'd be all for creating a separate award. (The Orr Trophy perhaps?)
 

NYCSox

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Yea, pretty much this.

My main problem with the Norris is that it's become a trophy for defensemen who score, rather than its stated intention. I'd be all for creating a separate award. (The Orr Trophy perhaps?)
Like last year with Adam (defense is optional) Fox and his stat stuffing PP points.
 

burstnbloom

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Like last year with Adam (defense is optional) Fox and his stat stuffing PP points.
I actually think they got it right last year. Fox was obviously great on the PP but he was hugely impactful 5v5 for a team that was so so bad 5v5. He wasn't nearly the same player this year but still really effective. Josi is the guy this year who will likely win and not deserve it. Yes, he scored an astronomical amount of points, but he has some very average defensive impact numbers and played a much easier deployment then the rest of the players considered for the award.

McAvoy, quite literally, played the toughest quality of competition in the NHL this year and dominated them on a somewhat historic level. Some of that is the frequency in which he played with Bergeron, who had the best 5v5 impact season in 15 years this year, but Mcavoy elevated the play of Gryz, Reilly and Forbort significantly and should get more clout around the league than he does. Alas, its the Art Ross for D and it has been for a while.
 

TFP

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Dom's and EH's models had McAvoy as the most valuable 5v5 D in the league.
Like last year with Adam (defense is optional) Fox and his stat stuffing PP points.
Last time I checked, the game isn't played only 5 on 5.

I mean Josi scored almost double the points of Chuckie. You can't tell me McAvoy is twice as good defensively as Josi is. I know it's not nearly that simple but he's on a different level at one facet of the game. I love McAvoy but I have zero issues with this list.
 

joe dokes

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Have they ever had anyone other than Borje Salming that deserved even passing consideration?
I dont know how Tim Horton compared in his youth, but when I was young, and he was still playing into his 40s (no longer with Toronto), he was spoken of in those terms.
 

burstnbloom

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Last time I checked, the game isn't played only 5 on 5.

I mean Josi scored almost double the points of Chuckie. You can't tell me McAvoy is twice as good defensively as Josi is. I know it's not nearly that simple but he's on a different level at one facet of the game. I love McAvoy but I have zero issues with this list.
Sure he has a lot more points, but you're right, its not nearly that simple of Charlie being twice as good defensively either. Though, Charlie did play WAY harder competition and his team scored only 12 goals fewer than Josi's and gave up 30 fewer. In all situations, including PK (which Josi doesn't play and McAvoy is among the best in the league) and PP, Charlie is ahead of Josi in CF%, FF%, GF%, xG%, SCF%, HDCF%, HDGF% . That's with Charlie being dragged down by 3 times the PK time on ice of Josi and Josi being bolstered by an unstainable power play performance. So with Charlie in much harder deployment, against harder competition in all situations, Charlie's has had more of an impact on shot, chances, high danger chances, goals for, expected goals for and high danger goals for than Josi did this year. Josi scored a ton of points while playing lesser competition and deployed in the ozone 65% of the time to Charlie's 55%.

The Preds shot 20% on the power play when Josi was on the ice. He's a great player and likely hall of famer. He should probably be top 5 in the Norris because 96 points is 96 points, but he's Kyle Connored this season and will win the Norris because of points, despite his positive impact being considerably less than the other two finalists and Charlie McAvoy. I don't expect PHWA voters to take all of that into account, so it's whatever, but there's a pretty strong argument that McAvoy had the better year. Individual points without context give you a very murky picture of a players actual impact.
 

Green (Tongued) Monster

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In case you missed it, the Draft lottery was held last night. First 16 picks are below:

1. Montreal
2. New Jersey
3. Arizona
4. Seattle
5. Philadelphia
6. Columbus (From CHI - Seth Jones trade)
7. Ottawa
8. Detroit
9. Buffalo
10. Anaheim
11. San Jose
12. Columbus
13. Islanders
14. Winnipeg
15. Vancouver
16. Buffalo (From VGK - Jack Eichel trade)
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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Careful, that counts as a humblebrag around these parts
Tim Horton is my route to the earliest days of NHL hockey. I saw him play live in 1970. He broke in in 49-50. One of his teammates was Turk Broda who started in 36-37. One of his teammates was King Clancy, a rookie in 21-22 with the Ottowa Senators who had a few teammates that were in the league's first season.
 

LogansDad

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Tim Horton is my route to the earliest days of NHL hockey. I saw him play live in 1970. He broke in in 49-50. One of his teammates was Turk Broda who started in 36-37. One of his teammates was King Clancy, a rookie in 21-22 with the Ottowa Senators who had a few teammates that were in the league's first season.
Right. I was saying that he was humblebragging about how young he is ;)
 

burstnbloom

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That closes the book on the Jones trade. He rebounded a little this year but 1 year if Seth jones officially cost Adam Boqvist, cole sillenger, the 6th pick in July’s draft and the 38th pick in July’s draft. Sheesh
 

NYCSox

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Yikes

Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner was the victim of a carjacking in Toronto on Monday evening, the team said via Twitter on Tuesday morning.

The Maple Leafs say the forward was unharmed and that they and Marner are thankful for the support from the police. Neither the team nor Marner will comment on the incident further as it is an ongoing investigation, the Leafs said.

Toronto police tweeted Monday evening that a carjacking had taken place involving three suspects — two with handguns and one with a knife — and that a man had been robbed of his black Range Rover. The tweet did not specify that Marner was the victim, but according to local reports, the carjacking referenced in the tweet was in the same area as the Marner incident.
https://theathletic.com/news/maple-leafs-marner-carjacking/G2dlnla4Iltd/
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Jul 12, 2005
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The series actually ended in a tie.
But it didn’t. The Soviets won Gane 1 in Montreal, Canada Game 2 in Toronto, tied Game 3 in Winnipeg, and the USSR again in Game 4, with Esposito making that famous speech after the game. Then came the four in Moscow, which went USSR-Canada-Canada-Canada. Canada won 4-3-1.