2015-2016 NHL Discussion Thread

Watched the video - no malicious intent at all it seems like, but an unfortunate outcome either way..looked like he went down really awkwardly.

 

Yeah, it looked to be fair play. Problem being is when you have a rookie who thinks he can make any play and use his speed to his advantage, he is bound to make mistakes. You can't speed your way through 2 big tough NHL defensemen. They'll use their size to make sure you can't, and with speed, that can easily lead to an injury.

 

Shame it came at a time when the Oil looked to be heating things up too. They really needed the offensive production from him to be a serious contender. I just can't see them being one without him.

Hopefully he'll bounce back quickly after the few months being out and take a lesson out of this injury.

Sharks are in a weird position atm - Central division is so much stronger than Pacific that right now their chance at a playoff spot has to come from finishing top 2, as the wildcard spots are both from the Central Still early to be thinking about playoffs but interesting nonetheless

 

Yeah the central division is very strong thus far. With the Stars acquisitions paying dividends, allowing them to become a serious contender for the Central Division title, the Blues and hawks, who have always been strong, the preds, jets, and wild who are building off the success they had last year. The only team struggling is the Avalanche. That'll be an interesting race to watch down the stretch.

 

Leafs losing that game to the caps was a heartbreaker. Lost the lead with 1 second in regulation left then dropping it in OT :/

Really could have used it against a top team in the east to gain some confidence back. At this point the playoffs are a long shot barring a mid/late season spurt (which totally could happen) but from what I'm seeing on the ice my hopes aren't very high lol.

 

After losing Phil Kessel, and gaining no one really in his absence, explain how they even had playoff hopes? A coach can only do so much, it's up to the players to play the game. We won't see them in the playoffs for the next couple years.

 

Never said they had hopes to begin with, just that now it's a long shot ^_^

I have to painfully agree with you here though. A lot of our talent is shored up in the minors right now in Gauthier, Nylander and Marner. Hopefully the prospects we got for Kessel do end up panning out and success is seen in the future although can't see it happening anytime soon.

Although some of the metrics for the Leafs aren't too bad, they just aren't pulling it together when it counts (like against the caps )

I'm hoping for a bottom-3 performance this year to try and luck out a bottom 2 draft pick for 2016 and pick up Auston Matthews for next year lol.

 

Idk, they'll have to fight with the bleu jackets for last place for him haha. We'll see, but I feel the leafs, after a few rounds of draft picks, will start to see hope like the Oilers (When McDavid wasn't injured).

 

I actually disagree with your sentiments towards the blue jackets. I feel they are way better then their record shows. I have a feeling they will miss the playoffs but climb the ladder towards the middle of the pack. I think the leafs just wanted to dump salary and start fresh. At the trade deadline i hope they can figure out a way to dump the remaining trash on their team and fully start a rebuild.

 

Foligno's shooting percentage of 17.6 or so was unsustainable. Bobrovsky, albeit a good season in 2013-2014, is regressing back to the mean. Their defense is awful, as best. I don't think they'll be doing well this season.

 

Agree about the leafs, but idunno about the jackets. It's not even like they have good stats and are lacking intangibles.

They're last in both PP and PK, are 26th overall in FO% (42%) and are 25/46 GF/GA. Leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Exactly. I think some people overestimated the jackets, due to their limited success last season, similar to how people overestimated the Ducks and the Flames.

 

Not sure if it's actually a big deal or not, but thoughts on the goalie equipment size discussion a lot of players/analysts have been having lately?

 

I don't think that's the issue. It's just that teams in the newer era have learned better defense, goalies have become better, etc. Goalie equipment is fine imo. Maybe shorter pads for their legs, because those things are massive. Would like to see some rule implemented allowing better shots from better areas, just not sure how that would happen.

 

The blue jackets have been plagued with horrendous injuries over the last few years. I also believe they had a horrid start to the season which eventually led to their coach being fired. With torterella coming in i see a change. They have the pieces to play his style of game. Block shots, play defense, dump the puck and check. Itl take a month or so for his game plan to set in. They have good players up and down their line up. Let them get healthy and i see a just under 500 club. Nothing to write home about but they arnt bottom of the barrel with quality of players they have. Defense definitely needs a tune up. The blue jackets have a grinding, super physical game. Theyl grind people down and punch you in the mouth. When they right the ship no one wants to play them

The lack of goal scoring is a contributing factor in my opinion. They can changes the rules all the want but it wont work. It might slightly increase goals per game but not anything like the old days.

- Players are better prepared now a days. No longer do you have a off season. Players train all year around just to be at peak performance going into training camp. Years past it used to be get fat and party. Then show up to conditioning to get back into shape. They have people eating fucking tree bark now a days..
- Advanced statistic's and coaching. Coach's and players alike have broken down literally every single stat possible. With this has come a completely different way of scouting and drafting. No longer are players just one way scorers. You have to be able to back check and be accountable on both sides of the ice. The top scorers in the game are being held to a higher standard (Ovechkin) is a prime example. Few years ago you used to see him getting benched and shifts decreased when he didnt contribute defensively.
- Goalies, The size, agility and puck handling. Goalies are finely tuned athlete's and much more mobile and willing to handle the puck now a days. Marty broduer? Ben Bishop anyone?
- Players opting for smart plays and resisting the urge to create. High risk plays are at a all time minimum. Coach's preach make the safe play and dump it in. Id like to also add in the increased amount of shots blocked compared to 20 years ago.
- Fighting decreasing every year. With the decreased amount of fights every year comes the dwindling need for enforcer's. Every team used to have 1-3 guys who could handle themselves and take care of business when a super star was being taken advantage of. Now coach's and teams are opting for more puck movers and smarter players. Enforcer's used to be a liability on the ice. They created penalties and mayhem. This lead to more goals and less skilled athletes on the ice. (John Scott)

I could be full of shit but this is my opinion of the current state of hockey. I didnt go into full detail about advanced statistics but id be here a fucking year if i tried to write it out.

edit- Im curious what the average size of a hockey player was 30 years ago? The amount of steroids in every day foods combined with the insane training im sure has lead to just bigger people over all. Ice is smaller guys and every inch is contested now a days

 

Once they get a better defense and bobrovsky can show that he is not streaky I'll be more willing to consider them seriously. Until then, I don't see them being capable of much.

 

I'm a big habs fan! Glad to see more hockey fans on here!

 

You must be celebrating like mad this season, they're doing so well. Aside from that recent game vs the Avalanche haha. Picked Condon for my goalie on draftkings that day too :L

 

I agree mostly with your points, every sport as they go through the ages gets more and more advanced and the players bigger and faster. Take a look at baseball - now, throwing upper 90 mph is considered standard for a good starting pitcher, while back in the old days anything above 90 was considered a huge accomplishment and nearly unhittable.
The question is, should the adjustment be made for goalie equipment to increase this goal scoring? I'm really on the fence - I think it would definitely increase excitement at the NHL level, but because equipment sizes are standardized throughout all the minor leagues it might create a chance for there to be a real imbalance down in the leagues - goal scoring is already high in the minors, with a change in equipment size the McDavids of the OHL will be putting up even more ridiculous numbers, and any half decent player will still be able to light it up against the goalies. It may put them at a disadvantage compared to other goalies (e.g. european) when scouting, although when the european goalies hit the NHL ice they will be less effective as the equipment will be smaller.

Just a random collection of my thoughts lol but tl;dr I really don't know what they should do with equipment sizes.

 

I think there are other ways to promote scoring other than altering pad sizes and the sizes of the goals. Wouldn't be supporting making the goals bigger, it entirely devalues the skill aspect of shooting.