#ITS HIS FIRST NHL GAME SINCE 23 YOU GUYS ARE AWFUL

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placing a goalie into extreme shock from high stress is actually an offence punishable by death this is goalie cruelty

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Morocco bid is shaky at best

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[mitchbeck]

CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK OPEN FOR BUSINESS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - It's clearly the first days of school time for the Hartford Wolf Pack as the team's brand new head coach, Kris Knoblauch, is trying to find his "sea legs" as much as his roster of 32 had a strong, two-hour practice on Monday. As they prepare for their first exhibition game Wednesday night in Danbury against the Springfield Thunderbirds, Knoblauch was very non-committal as he goes forward day-to-day. “This is my first head coaching job at the AHL, of course, I‘ve had time in juniors, but this is a completely different setup. The Rangers gotta be at 23  (roster permitted under the CBA) so I think a day-at-a-time right now. I can’t think too far ahead right now. I’m really happy with the teamwork so far, and we had some solid play in Traverse City. It was my first look at the team, and we had some very strong play, so it was a good first step.” Personally, for the Knoblauchs, getting settled in has been a whirlwind. “We got here in mid-August. Three days later, the kids (age 11 and 9) are starting school. Then, I’m off to Traverse City for a week. I come back, get things set up at home, and with the team, its been an awful lot of work, but we're excited to be here,” said Knoblauch. Coordinating practices is not as simple as just throwing pucks out there and putting the nets on their magnets. Despite a large number of players, Knoblauch has felt the longer practices (two hours) will help the acclimation process for coaches and players alike. "The ice has been pretty good and held up well. We set-up our structures and foundations,” Knoblauch, who had a lot of three-on-three drills for "Red Squad" (mostly veterans), "Blue Squad" and navy colored jersey squads accenting twenty feet and in around the end on offense and defensive side of things. Getting to know the players beyond scouting file is Task Management 101. “I know some of the guys, but a lot I have to learn and the process is day-to-day. Having an assistant like David Cunniff is gonna be important for me to lean on because he has been in the AHL seven or eight years. It’s the support system the Rangers have set-up. It’s gonna make my job easier on and off the ice.” One veteran player on defense, an extremely contested position in Hartford and with the parent Rangers, was free agent, off-season, signing Jeff LoVerde. “I can see right away why he was the LA organization all those years as a valuable part of their team in Ontario. He really conducts himself very well and had jumped in to help the younger players and I think he’s gonna be a very important asset back there." Clearly, goaltending is a position of major organizational interest. Ex-Pack, Alexander Georgiev, is presently penciled in as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Russia's highly touted rookie with plenty of KHL experience, Igor Shesterkin, has a serious stack of bricks of his shoulder pads with the very high expectations that have been five years in the making. Former UCONN netminder, Adam Huska, has had a strong camp for the Rangers. ‘We'll have two goalies battling, we have a third (Tom McCollum) here as well, and they all want to be playing, and all three will be in the mix. We're going to have some strong competitors in net. There are so many variables and possibilities that will be there both of them have played well." Knoblauch was non-committal as to who will start in net tomorrow or if there will be games split between rookies Francois Brassard and Jake Kumsky, a Union College grad who already had a deal with Ft. Wayne (ECHL) and who's in training camp on a PTO. Up-front, one player who has stood out from Traverse City to the early stages of this training camp, has been Lewis-Zertet Gossage, a Kent Prep grad, who has had a strong five-game audition at the end of last season. “He has stood out right in rookie camp. He came in in great shape and his speed with his size is quite good. It gives him an advantage among a variety of factors of course that go into (evaluation).” The backline has an abundance of players and contracts and will be a position where some players could be on the outside looking in. “We have a real mixture here of guys from some still unsigned, to some who are, and some young guys coming up who have shown their skills and also players still with New York. There are a lot of moving pieces here. One of the other good things is we have Gord Murphy, who we're very fortunate to have, and he will be a very important part of working with our defense and the group we put together.” A few players of note are back in camp ready to tackle a new season, and the changes since John Davidson, the team's new President, has taken over and the wholesale new coaching staff both in style and quantity has been unmistakable. “It's kinda hard to define. There is clearly a more upbeat feel this year and it’s really all brand new. I’m still adjusting to it, so it's all-new for me," forward Gabriel Fontaine, who was just sent down and entering his third and final season of his original entry-level deal, said. He was a defensive center his first year and battled for more ice time. He got quality offensive shifts including powerplay time, but Fontaine, after a summer spent back home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and after this camp, which he stayed at longer, is aware of his role from the outset. “I’m gonna take any tools they send my way and put it in my bag and continue to work toward getting to the NHL. It’s a pretty big change here. It's just gonna get bigger and faster and be part of the leadership group here in Hartford. Clearly, a different vibe here, it’s hard to describe right now.” Fontaine is fully embracing a defensive role as he readies to embark on his third pro season. “The Rangers want me to concentrate more on becoming a reliable center defensively, take  (important) faceoffs and that’s gonna help me make that jump to the NHL. I won’t be a first line guy on the powerplay,” Fontaine said with a laugh. "Everybody wants points on the powerplay. This is gonna be my path to the NHL.” The other player is the sunny, smiling, Ty Ronning. He spent some of his off-season in Phoenix seeing his one-year-old nephew and training back home in Vancouver. “New coaching staff, I’m a little older. I'll be 22 next month. A virtual graybeard. I'm really excited and I realize its a big year here. Expectations are big, I got two years left on my contract, so it’s a big year,” remarked Ronning. Speed has been his calling card in juniors. Ronning felt he needed more improvement. “I worked on getting my three strides quicker. I’m a small guy, and if I can gain more space in the offensive zone, or coming off the wall in the defensive zone, I can be faster to the puck. I think I will have more success because the speed and decision making here is so much quicker than juniors and in Maine. Bad decisions often wind up in the back of the net,” Ronning said. His summer training partner was his father, Cliff Ronning, who tallied NHL goals and the maturation of Ronning is really underway. “I learned to listen to him more this summer than in past years. Just trying to be more mature rather talking back. When you're younger, you tend to not listen. He has 20 years of (NHL) experience. He helped me in working on my shooting and learned a lot about my release and nuances of scoring and I learned a lot about him.” Another key to Ronning’s career development was the late legendary, Pat Quinn, who was a giant in the hockey business as a player, coach, GM and franchise owner at every level. “He was a grandfather figure to me. He drafted when he was the owner of the Vancouver Giants. He was very open-minded. If you could play he wanted you. He wasn’t like you play, but you're too small. He believed in me. I really can’t state enough how important that was at the time in my life…just tremendous,” Ronning, who has a small tat near his left bicep in his Quinn's honor, said. Maybe the luck of the Mighty Quinn will help him in his second pro season. NOTES: The team kept their collective focus and discipline when the building alarm system test went off during practice. Phil DiGuiseppe was assigned by the Rangers. but has to clear waivers first. Sean Day was among five assigned to Hartford and Knoblauch was awaiting what his medical status as he is recovering from off-season hip surgery. He has been a red no-contact jersey since training camp began. “I think he is close, but his medical clearance will come from New York and I expect it sooner rather than later." The other players included Connor Brickley, Tim Gettinger, Nick Jones, and Dawson Leedahl. Knoblauch confirmed Finnish defenseman, Tarmo Reunaren, is heading back to play for Lukko Rauma (Finland-FEL). “He got better in Traverse City and he played well in New York. He’s 21 and its numbers right now the organization has a lot of defensemen and he has a European option. He will be getting quality playing time. He has a future here because he showed he can play there are just so many spaces.” Over the weekend training camp, tryout rearguard, 6’4, Mason Geertsen (Colorado Eagles last year) was last season was sent to Hartford, Joey Keane, Patrick Newell, Ryan Dmowski and Jake Elmer. One of the training camp invitees includes former Springfield Falcon, Bryan Lerg, who played in Switzerland last season with HC Ambri Piotta who spent time working with Elmer doing pass, catch, and shooting drills. Some other players of note assigned to the AHL or camps include; Ex-Pack’s Cole Schneider (Milwaukee), Chris Bigras (Lehigh Valley), Mike Paliotta (Binghamton), Brandon Halverson (Toronto), Chris Mueller (Syracuse), Adam Tambellini (Stockton), Rob O’Gara (San Antonio), Hubert Labrie (Belleville), John Albert (Manitoba), Ryan Haggerty, Dustin Tokarski (Wilkes Barre/Scranton), and Brian Gibbons (Charlotte). Ex-Sound Tigers, J.F. Berube (Lehigh Valley), Griffin Reinhart (Belleville), Mitch Gilliam (Toronto), and Matt Donovan (Milwaukee) CT Connections Karl El-Mir from UCONN (Toronto), Alex Lyon of Yale, and David Drake of UCONN (Lehigh Valley), Brogan Rafferty of QU (Utica), Jordan Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford/QU) Stockton, Chad Krys (Ridgefield) Rockford, Tommy Cross Simsbury/Westminster Prep) Springfield, Craig Martin (QU) Toronto, Luke Shiplo (QU) Bakersfield, Sam Anas (QU) Iowa, Ross Colton (Taft) Syracuse, Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep) Charlotte, and Wiley Sherman (Greenwich/Hotchkiss Prep) Providence . Sons/nephews of Whalers; Cole Cassels (Belleville), Cayden Primeau (Laval), Jake Leschyshyn (Chicago), Hayden Verbeek (Laval), Henrik Samuelsson (San Diego) and Mark Kastelic (Belleville). Sons of New Haven Nighthawks/Senators/Beast/ Knights; Mathieu Olivier (Milwaukee), Mike Mersch (Texas) and Drake Rymsha (Ontario). New NCAA signees Cody Milam (Michigan St.-Big 10) Laval, Billy Christopoulos (Air Force Academy NCAA –Independent) Hershey, Jacob Jackson (Michigan Tech-WCHA) San Jose, Hayden Hawkey (Providence College-HE) Stockton Joe Wegeworth (Notre Dame-Big 10) Colorado and Carl Hesler (Dartmouth College-ECACHL) Rochester. Now that makes 216 Division I collegians have signed pro deals and 286 collegians total have signed North American and European pro deals. Ex-Pack Ty Conklin was named volunteer goalie coach for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (HE). Taylor Raddyysh, the older brother of the Wolf Pack’s Darren Raddyysh, was assigned to Syracuse by Tampa Bay. Big win by building operator Spectra in securing US vs. Canada in a women's hockey battle coming on December 14th at the XL Center. The two top women's programs in the world will be a marquee event to be apart of and attend. Read the full article

[paradoxicalca]

/r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 26 Knightfall Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Mar 25, 2019 - Mar 31, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (26/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.08)Tampa Bay Lightning-59-15-41-1-0Tampa doesn’t play well after a long break. That has been established quite well this season. There isn’t much more I can say about the Bolts that hasn’t been said I’m going to focus on some baby Bolts. Carter Verhaeghe leads the AHL in points with 75 (30 G 45A), Alex Barre-Boulet is second in rookie scoring with 60 ponts (32 G 28 A), Cal Foote also a rookie has 29 points ( 9 G 20A +16) as a defenseman, Alexander Volkov continues to show strong two way play in his second season (20 G 20A). Taylor Raddsyh is 8th in rookie scoring (17G 26A), Boris Katchouck is still trying to find his footing, Mitchell Stephens who almost made the team out of camp but had an unfortunate injury has played well since his return. Suffice it say there are a lot of good young players developing in Syracuse.2 (3.56)Boston Bruins147-23-91-3-0Oof. It seems neither Toronto nor Boston want home ice advantage in the first round. Both teams are losing to lottery contenders. At least 🍝 got a hattrick against the Rangers and Backes got his 7th goal of the season; passing James Neal.3 (3.88)Calgary Flames-149-23-72-2-0And that is how the West was clinched.4 (4.28)Washington Capitals247-24-83-0-0Starting this week I'm ranking teams based on who I think will win the cup, biases included - Caps are second. We absolutely took it to the Bolts last night, with each member of our old top line scoring twice, dominating them as much as you can dominate that team. I'm fully torqued entering the 'loffs, literally counting down the days like it's christmas. Both Carolina and cum bus scare me, but the post-TDL Caps can beat anybody. Russian machine never breaks babes.5 (7.32)New York Islanders246-26-72-1-0Clinched? Fucking Right! Isles had the chance to clinch on Tuesday night versus CBJ but played awful and lost badly. Thursday they constantly played down 2, chasing the Jets. They were down for about 58 minutes throughout the game, but scored 2 goals with less than 90 seconds to go to tie, and steal the win in Manitoba. They kept momentum from there to dominate Buffalo and clinch a playoff spot before April for the first time in almost 30 years. Lehner looks like a wall in net and is maybe the most loved Islander right now. Eberle has a hot hand scoring lots of goals after a long dry spell, Barzal is finally seeing results for his hard work, and other guys like Bailey are chipping in after a long cold streak. This team looks to be heating up again at the perfect time, looking like they will finish as the #2 in the Metro with home ice advantage for the first time in a long long time. If things play out well they could be playing Washington for the division title on the last day of their season.6 (8.12)San Jose Sharks-144-26-91-3-07 (8.44)Nashville Predators444-29-62-1-0Ignoring the result of the CBJ game (Saros is apparently no Michael Jordan when it comes to flu games), it's been a pretty okay week to be a Preds fan. Fabbro signed on so fears of another Vesey situation were finally put to ease. He even made his debut, not an earth shattering one mind you but it was solid nonetheless. That does burn the first year of his ELC which will expose him in the Seattle expansion, but current speculation is that was a term to him actually signing. In other player news, Arvidsson has tied the Preds single season goal record with only 55 GP. Watson completed his AHL conditioning stint, and it will be interesting to see how he gets slotted into the roster. Turris is... yeah. The Central is up for grabs, with any combination of NSH, STL, or WPG in the top 3 a distinct possibility. The Preds final three games are @ BUF, v VAN, v CHI, games that they should be able to win and go into the playoffs at least lukewarm and potentially with home ice advantage. Key word there being 'should'.8 (8.72)Winnipeg Jets-445-29-40-3-09 (9.52)Toronto Maple Leafs-145-26-71-1-1A tale of two teams in the month of March...Team A was missing two of their Top 4D for basically the entire month of March. Collected 16 of 30 points. Posted a CF% of 44.9%, a xGF% of 44.3%, and a PDO of 103.51...Team B was also missing two of their Top 4D for the entire month of March. Collected 15 of 28 points. Posted a CF% of 54.4%, a xGF% of 55%, and a PDO of 98.7...Guess which of these teams is expected to become a Conference Finalist and which is expected to be bounced quickly in Round 1? TOR is Team B but there's been a lot of "they don't look good" punditry over the Leafs' recent play despite the reality that they've been downright dominant (5th in CF%, 5th in xGF%). Unfortunately, their goaltending fell apart to the tune of a .892 Team SV% in March. It's the kind of thing that can sink ANY team in the NHL, no matter how well the rest of the group is playing. The good news is Freddy and the Buds have one final week to tighten up. Otherwise it will truly be Bruins in 5.10 (10.08)Carolina Hurricanes-43-29-71-3-0The Canes are still finding a way to stay in the thick of it with every game being a must win game. Losses have come from one bad period of hockey against some of the top teams in the league, namely Tampa and Washington. The month of December is haunting the team, 2 points from one of those terrible games would have gone far this month. Previous week went 3 - 2, beating the Wild cleanly, Montreal in OT, and Flyers was alot closer of a game than the scoresheet would show. Washington beat the team for the two losses of the week, both in the third period. The hope here in Canes Country is that those 4 points don't haunt us too. Mrazek is emerging more and more as our #1, but expect the shuffle to keep happening till playoffs come (if and when) Svechnikov has grown into the scoring talent that was promised with the second overall pick (and top forward in the draft) Hamilton continues to show why he is the best defenceman from his draft year with two goals, and continues his streak of games wi11 (10.4)Columbus Blue Jackets345-30-44-0-0What a time to get hot. This Jackets team that we are watching right now is what we expected to see after the TDL. Every line has been playing great as we seem to have finally stumbled on the right combinations. Bob is literally a brick wall and our offence has been just as good. Over the last 5 games the Jackets have outscored their opponents 24-4. This final week is going to be exciting, and we could land anywhere from 3rd in the metro to 9th in the East.12 (10.52)Pittsburgh Penguins-43-25-112-1-0I don't have much to say this week except who'd have thought in December we might finish with more points than the Leafs? We're one game from extending the longest active playoff streak in the NHL. It's been a good season all things considered.13 (11.44)St. Louis Blues-42-28-82-1-0The Blues finally clinched the playoffs this week, and if you told me 3 months ago that we'd be fighting for the division I'd have said "yeah and 25 year old goalies can debut after 6 years in professional hockey and contend for the Calder." Memes do come true i guess14 (12)Vegas Golden Knights-542-30-70-3-1Even the Stone age is not invulnerable to having average goaltending.15 (13.72)Dallas Stars141-31-73-0-1I put the Stars at 8 this week because we earned 7/8 points and we look like the Western team to beat heading into the playoffs. My major concern is that we win too much and end up in a worse matchup against Nashville.16 (14)Montreal Canadiens-142-29-82-1-017 (17.52)Arizona Coyotes-38-33-82-0-1That game against the Avalanche could be the final dagger in this season but as we have been doing we keep clawing our way back. Just need some help.18 (18.08)Colorado Avalanche136-29-132-0-02 Big wins this week! We beat back the two desert teams, to establish our selves in the second wild card. Its not over yet, but we have control of our own destiny. The Captain is back just in time for or final push. On the bad side Rantanen's injury might be a bit more severe than first reported, but he should be back for the playoffs. One final push this week we need at least two wins, three guarantees it. Also Cale Makar is Hype and Avs prospects are showing well in the NCAA tourney.19 (19.68)Minnesota Wild136-34-91-2-0And so closes the window on the Minnesota Wild.20 (20.44)Philadelphia Flyers-237-34-81-2-0Fade us fam. Hail Gritty. Praise be unto Wawa. And screw William Hill commercials.21 (21.52)Florida Panthers-35-32-122-2-0Roberto has turned back the clock again. We still don’t know if this is his final season but if it is lets give him a sendoff that he deserves.22 (21.92)Chicago Blackhawks-34-33-111-1-1The Blackhawks' PP went 3 for 32 in March (29th in NHL), the PK allowed 10 goals in 32 opportunities (also, 29th). Excluding empty net goals, 5 of the Blackhawks' 7 losses this month were by 1 goal. They'd likely be in a much different position playoff-wise if they'd gotten some help from their special teams. DeBrincat (5G, 5A in March) has caught up to Kane (1G, 10A) for the team's lead in goals at 41. DeBrincat is the second-youngest Hawk to hit the 40-goal mark (after JR). That also makes him and Kane the second pair of American-born 40-goal scorers on a team (after Mullen & Stevens, 91-92 Penguins), and the first pair of Hawks since the 90-91 season (Roenick & Larmer). Gustafsson (5G, 4A) scored his 17th goal of the season, the most by a Hawks dman since Byfuglien in 09-10 (also 17). Caggiula returned from a concussion on Sat, while Kampf left with a facial/dental injury. When healthy, Kampf has been one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Sikura still awaits his first NHL goal.23 (23.36)Vancouver Canucks134-35-102-1-0The future is here, sort of. It's here like the era of the electric car is here - there's plenty of flashy things to get excited about, but there's still many, many hurdles to overcome. The arrival of Quinn Hughes allows this season to end on a warm note and leaves many hopeful that the Canucks might secure one of those "young team overperforming" playoff berths next year. It was also pretty awesome to see Edler crack the all-time goalscoring record for a defenceman. Otherwise, the lack of regulation wins prevents this team from moving much either way in the power rankings.24 (23.92)Edmonton Oilers-134-35-91-1-125 (25)Anaheim Ducks-133-37-102-1-0Rakell must not think we are out of the playoff race. He had a natural hat trick against the oilers. Ducks keep on slipping slipping slipping up the standings and out of the jack Hughes race. Best part of the week: Jake Dotchin has to exit the game yesterday because he was technically scratched while playing for an injured player26 (26.52)New York Rangers131-34-132-2-0Georgiev is starting to show why he is the heir apparent to the throne.27 (26.6)Detroit Red Wings231-38-104-0-028 (27.48)Buffalo Sabres-231-38-100-4-1I'm willing to give goaltending a pass for now, given how god-awful our defense has been. This week we lost to not one, not two, but THREE of the four teams below us in the standings. In March we have 2 wins, and neither came in regulation. If you look back further, we have 3 total wins in our last 21 games played, and as I write we are down 0-3 to Columbus. In that stretch we have been out-scored 45-84. If that isn't depressing enough for you, just remember that we were first place in the league at one point this season. Where are we now? Oh yeah, bottom five. Again.29 (28.32)New Jersey Devils-129-40-101-1-1Most of us are either trying to find the "sim to the draft button" or enjoying getting a glimpse to our possible future with our young guns. Some games are decent and competitive like taking the blue hot blues to OT. Others are like like 4-0 to the wings. As long as this kind of play doesn't continue into next season, we should be alright. But Lord do I miss TayTay.30 (28.8)Los Angeles Kings-29-40-92-1-1The Kings self-sabotaged their draft lottery a bit this week- the young guys are doing well and Austin Wagner showed off his wheels with a sweet McDavid esque sprint.31 (29.76)Ottawa Senators-28-44-62-1-0Beating Toronto twice in the span of a couple weeks is probably the best thing to happen all season. /r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 26 Knightfall Edition Source

[mikemortgage]

The Real Madrid Way: A Canadian sports exec tries to win over — and sell —an iconic Spanish soccer club

Dave Hopkinson remembers Nov. 1, 1994, quite well: it was his 24th birthday and his first day hawking season tickets for the Toronto Raptors, then a professional basketball expansion franchise in a diehard hockey town.

Hopkinson and 23 commission-hungry recruits sat in a room on the 14th floor of a building overlooking an arena construction site. Each was armed with a phone, desk and chair, and all competed to make a sale and ring the six-inch brass ship bell that their boss, Raptors founder, John Bitove, had mounted on the wall as a motivational tool.

The top four sellers were promised full-time jobs. The rest would be let go.

The wireless guy: How BCE’s George Cope cut the cord at Bell

From pro football player to Bay St. executive, CFL CEO Randy Ambrosie has gone the whole nine yards

The big score: How Canadian NHL teams beat their American counterparts off the ice

“Dave was determined, fearless and fun,” Bitove recently recalled. “And he was just a kid, in his early 20s, but he would never give up, which is one of the things I loved about him. He would cold call anyone. He would work the phone. He would work his personality.”

Hopkinson would keep ringing the bell and look over at Bitove’s desk afterwards with a big, aw-shucks-boss-I-did-it-again grin on his face, which drove everybody else in the room halfway nuts, but earned him a full-time sales position.

The entry level job was a toehold on the sports business ladder that he has kept climbing: from selling the Raptors to selling just about everything for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. — owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, FC, Argonauts and more — including a 20-year, $800-million deal with the Bank of Nova Scotia to rename the rink formerly known as the Air Canada Centre.

The deal — the largest of its kind in North American major professional sports history — reverberated internationally. Hopkinson, long sought after by NHL and NBA teams but never sold on a move, became a hot international commodity.

An executive recruiter in Los Angeles called and, this past June, Hopkinson left MLSE to become the global head of partnerships at soccer giant Real Madrid, the third most valuable sports franchise on the planet, behind only the Dallas Cowboys and Manchester United (the Maple Leafs are not among the top 50).

Dave Hopkinson, the former COO of MLSE, has been drafted by soccer juggernaut Real Madrid to market the Spanish team abroad becoming global head of partnerships.

The move to Europe means Hopkinson has to apply the skills he honed at MLSE over two decades to a new continent, while also bringing some of the Old World back home. One of his chief mandates: selling an iconic Spanish club, not just to the true believers, but to the soccer holdouts in North America and China.

“With Real Madrid, Hoppy has stepped up to a whole new level that we simply don’t play at in this country,” said Brian Burke, a friend and former colleague at MLSE. “He is in the penthouse suite in terms of working for a professional sports team. Hoppy is a heavyweight.”

Hopkinson, known as Hoppy since Grade 7, was raised in Toronto, had only ever worked in Toronto and certainly wasn’t expecting a call from Real Madrid. He didn’t even speak a lick of Spanish. But Real Madrid was “Real Madrid,” he said, “ a magical opportunity,” a professional roll of the dice too good to pass up.

The new hire was in the bathroom of his new home in Madrid on a recent November evening, filling the tub after picking up his eldest of two daughters from dance class — a mundane, dad-at-home moment in what has been a whirlwind few months.

“I’ve already bumped into a couple of pointy objects around the office and stepped on some landmines, but I’ve also had some small wins,” Hopkinson said. “I sort of sympathize with what it is going to take to be successful here, and how to be successful around here.”

Real Madrid is valued at more than US$4 billion by Forbes magazine and generated over $1 billion in revenue in 2017, according to Deloitte UK’s annual Football Money League report. Almost 50 per cent of revenues came from merchandising and sponsorship deals. (By comparison, the Leafs, hockey’s second most valuable team next to the New York Rangers, are worth US$1.45 billion and had US$232 million in revenue during the 2017-18 season, according to Forbes.com.)

Money, though, isn’t necessarily the most appealing business aspect of Real Madrid. Part of what sold Hopkinson on the move was the team’s ownership structure. Instead of being lorded over by an egomaniac billionaire or some soulless profit-driven-corporate entity, the 116-year-old club, much like the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, is owned by its fans, about 93,000 community members known as “socios,” who each pay a $185 annual fee.

Many socios have been members for more than 50 years. Collectively, they wield a corporate hammer, electing the team president and board of directors, approving annual budgets and disciplining wayward bosses who stray from the community’s wishes.

Steven Mandis, who spent parts of two years interviewing Real Madrid executives, players past and present and frontline employees for his 2016 book, the Real Madrid Way, believes “community values” and culture, two airy-fairy and hard to define things, are what underpin the franchise’s enviable success, on and off the field.

“It starts with Real Madrid getting the world’s best players that match the community’s values — to play an attacking beautiful style of soccer with class, to win championships and capture the imagination and inspire the current and potential global audience,” the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker tuned business author/academic wrote in his book. “Since Real Madrid’s values are inclusive and universal, appealing to a global audience of all ages, the community grows globally.”

A fan waits the start of a Real Madrid match. The football club has a unique corporate structure that some argue adds to its global appeal.

Mandis’ belief is both elementary and revolutionary. Sports fans are inherently tribal, soccer fans perhaps the most rabidly so, which occasionally results in hooliganism and pitched street battles between rival supporters. But Real Madrid’s tribe isn’t just shelling out for tickets and merchandise, or throwing the odd knuckle or two, it guides the club’s direction.

The results are telling: Real Madrid wins — a lot. It is the three-time defending UEFA Champions League winners and has captured a record 33 Spanish domestic league titles since 1932. Its excellence and fan involvement boosts annual revenues, enabling it to cherry-pick global stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo (recently decamped for Juventus in Italy), which begets more winning, further accelerating the growth of the international fan base and the crush of sponsors worldwide clamouring to get a piece of the action.

Which is where the guy from Toronto comes in.

Hopkinson understands how flaky talk of “values” sounds, especially to a North American sports audience, and especially around his hometown, where the greed of former Leafs owner Harold Ballard scarred a generation of hockey fans, and a pint at Scotiabank Arena sells for $12 a pop. But after three months in Madrid in a job he parachuted into in part to walk the tightrope between taking a storied franchise in some new business directions and observing its old traditions, he has bought in.

He is taking Spanish lessons, working with a language app and sees Real Madrid’s values reflected in everything from the tenure of its employees — people get hired and they don’t leave — to the tiniest of personal touches. For example, sending out company wide emails to announce an employee celebrating a birth or mourning a family death, regardless of corporate rank.

Dave Hopkinson with his family at the Real Madrid field.

“I don’t see these values articulated anywhere — there is not some plaque in the lobby saying, “This is our way,” he said. “But it is something that is understood around here; it’s palpable.”

Of course, as a sales guy, Hopkinson wakes up every day thinking about the value of money and how he can squeeze more revenue for Real Madrid out of a globalized sports industry.

“Dave has no problem putting a big number on the table and justifying it,” said Brian Cooper, chief executive of MKTG, a Toronto-based marketing/sponsorship company that represented Scotiabank in the MLSE naming rights deal.

A lifetime ago, Cooper was a Raptors executive when Hoppy was a “ticket sales grunt.” In many ways, Cooper said, Hopkinson has grown by bounds, but in others he is the same kid with the easy smile that he was from the start: smart, well-prepared, relentless, quick to remember a name or a fact, keen to network and able to make everybody feel as though they are part of the team.

“Dave’s team at MLSE would do a tremendous amount of work up front on who you are and what your needs are — and who your target audience is,” he said. “And he is going to bring that sophistication to the Real Madrid brand.”

Hopkinson, like almost every executive in every industry everywhere, sees Real Madrid’s greatest potential for growth in China and the United States.

“Despite the fact that football is the world’s most popular game, it is underdeveloped in the two biggest markets,” he said.

Real Madrid already has an office in Beijing, and will open one in the U.S. sometime before U.S.-Canada-Mexico host the 2026 World Cup.

Hopkinson gives a purely imagined example of how Real Madrid might crack into China’s corporate coffers. Take a hypothetical Chinese domestic brand — a toque, an electronic gizmo, a you-name-it — that is manufactured in China and, as with many such brands, nobody in the West has ever heard of.

Enter Real Madrid, sports behemoth, with more than 200 million followers on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), only about three per cent of whom actually reside in Spain, plus a Champions League final television audience of around 165 million viewers annually. (The average Super Bowl draws about 100 million viewers; the Cowboys count around 13 million followers across social media platforms.)

Marry all those eyeballs, tweets and likes to a Chinese toque on an imagined Real Madrid player’s noggin and that brand suddenly goes from having zero international profile to the big leagues. The big leagues, in theory, give a company licence to charge a premium for its goods associated with Real Madrid’s superstars and, naturally, give Real Madrid licence to charge the company a fortune to be associated with its trusted, winning narrative.

“If you look at the statistics of the value of Real Madrid, plus their numbers in terms of fandom and fan behaviours, then you start to realize the magnitude of what they are talking about,” said Cheri Bradish, a sports marketing professor at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Although consumers have never been more adept at ignoring advertising messages — the average human’s capacity to delete or ignore pop-up ads, videos, television commercials and email-marketing blasts is by now well honed — getting attention from existing fans isn’t a problem for Real Madrid.

The team’s fans aren’t looking for less, they always want more, which has led to some inventive new twists in corporate partnering. For example, every Real Madrid player gets presented with a new Audi (other major sponsors include Adidas, Emirates, Hugo Boss and Nivea Men) at the start of the season, an event sparking much fan speculation: What car is player X going to pick? How about player Y? What does the car say about the player who drives it?

The Audi draw becomes a media/social media story, well covered by the club’s website, with the vehicles as props and the players as characters. Players who subsequently elect to drive a vehicle other than an Audi to the team’s training facility must park in a remote lot surrounded by a high hedge. The Audi drivers’ park in high visibility spots close to the front door.

“Does everybody care about what kind of car the players drive? No,” Hopkinson said. “But lots of people care about Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Real Madrid.”

What he means is: soccer-loving automotive geeks get what they want, while the greater mass of Real Madrid fans get something, too — a glimpse of their heroes doing something other than playing soccer. Audi, of course, gets a bunch of famous athletes driving their cars to work every day.

But getting attention in the U.S. is different. Football — soccer on this continent — has been trying to conquer the U.S. ever since Pelé and the New York Cosmos burst onto the scene in the 1970s. Major League Soccer has 23 teams, including three in Canada, and its fans are enthusiastic, but the sports pecking order list still reads: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL … MLS.

Dan Mason, a sports professor at the University of Alberta, argues pecking order isn’t what it is important. Real Madrid doesn’t need to convert Joe NFL Fan. It simply has to convince U.S. multinationals interested in boosting their profile overseas to harness the Real Madrid brand power to do it for them.

Real Madrid isn’t exactly a non-entity in the U.S. market. Fox’s English and Spanish broadcasts of Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Juventus in the 2017 UEFA title game drew a combined three million viewers, or about a million more than the average MLS championship game.

“Just because Major League Soccer isn’t as successful as the other major sports leagues in North America, it doesn’t mean that Real Madrid isn’t a valuable brand in North America,” Mason said.

Hopkinson declined to disclose any Real Madrid state secrets, but one imagines the likes of General Electric Co., Verizon Wireless, Coca-Cola Co. and more should expect a call from Spain soon.

Hopkinson, meanwhile, turned 48 on Nov. 1, the last in a cascade of family birthdays since the move to Madrid in September. To celebrate, he and his wife, Lawrie, took their girls, Miranda, 15, and Claire, 10, to Paris for the weekend. They got an Airbnb, went up the Eiffel Tower, strolled along the Champs-Elysées, ate great food, drank it all in.

What had started as a job offer had become a family adventure, and a fresh challenge for a veteran sales guy with a knack for ringing the bell the Hopkinson way.

“You know how they say there is some magic about the 90-day mark at a new job?” Hopkinson mused, from his bathroom hideaway. “Well, I feel the magic is happening. I am getting dangerously close to figuring this all out.” Financial Post

• Email: joconnor@nationalpost.com | Twitter: oconnorwrites

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Here's Who Will Play for the Stanley Cup

Welcome to the third-round preview. In round one, our predictions went an impressive seven-for-eight. In round two, uh, we reflected on the success of round one. Now we're down to four teams. Who'll advance to the Stanley Cup Final? We have no idea, but we're willing to pretend that we do.

Eastern Conference: Capitals vs. Lightning

In this corner: The Washington Capitals (49-36-7, 105 points, +18 true goals differential), who knocked off the defending champion Penguins to finally advance to the conference finals for the first time in the Alexander Ovechkin era.

The history books: This isn't quite uncharted territory for the Capitals, who made (and lost in) the 1998 final. But it's their first trip to the conference final in 20 years since, not to mention the first for any big four Washington team in that time span.

Injury report: Nicklas Backstrom missed the last game of the Pittsburgh series with some sort of hand injury, and we don't know when he'll be able to return. Andre Burakovsky is day to day.

The big question: Now what? The Capitals have been waiting to beat the Penguins and break through to the conference final for so long that you wonder what comes next. Maybe with the monkey off their back, they're just happy to be here and can't offer much resistance against an opponent that, on paper, should be the better team. But maybe not. Maybe with the dragon slain and the pressure finally off, they play the sort of playoff hockey they've always been capable of but never seemed able to summon.

One player to watch: Tom Wilson. You may as well keep an eye on him. We know the referees and the Department of Player Safety will be. All the Lightning players will, too, if they're smart. Wilson's a throwback to an earlier era, a player who still hits to hurt. Sometimes, he does it cleanly. Others, he throws those grey area hits that we all have to debate for days at a time. It caught up to him in round two, when he earned a three-game suspension for a high hit. He's eligible to return to start this series, and no doubt he'll claim that he won't change his style. But you have to figure he'll be second-guessing some opportunities to go for the big hit, if only to make sure he doesn't wind up back in the press box. The question is whether that helps or hurts his overall game.

Key number: 30.9% – The Capitals powerplay success rate through two rounds, good for second among all playoff teams. The only team higher: The Bruins, largely on the strength of going 5-for-12 against Tampa last round. Penalty killing has been one of the only weaknesses in the Lightning's game so far this postseason, so the Capitals will need to take advantage of any opportunities they can earn.

And in this corner: The Tampa Bay Lightning (54-23-5, 113 points, +56), who had a surprisingly easy time with the Bruins while winning their second-round matchup in five.

The history books: This is the Lightning's third trip to the conference final in the last four years, and fourth of the salary cap era. None of those trips resulted in a Stanley Cup; the Lightning last won it all in 2004.

Injury report: They're just about as healthy as a team can realistically be at this point.

The big question: Did we finally just see what this team can do? The Lightning were the league's best team early on, but stumbled as the season wore on. They got the job done against the overmatched Devils, but never looked especially scary. But last round's performance against a very good Boston team was different—this was a team that finally looked like a Stanley Cup favorite. Whether they're peaking at the right time or were just coasting through the second half, this looked like the Lightning's fully evolved form. Or maybe they just got hot for a few days. Let's find out.

One player to watch: Brayden Point. He had a brutal Game 1 against Boston, going -5. But from then on, he had six points and Lightning coach Jon Cooper thought he was the best player in the series. He may be right. All eyes will be Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, but if Point can stay hot then the Lightning will have two lines that will be hard to stop.

Key number: 187:20 – Consecutive minutes that the Lightning held the Bruins without a 5-on-5 goal over the last four games of their series. And both of Boston's Game 2 goals came from defensemen; you have to go back 253:07 to find the Bruins' last 5-on-5 goal by a forward. That would be impressive against most teams. Against an even-strength juggernaut like the Bruins, it's borderline impossible. We already covered the Caps' edge on special teams. But given how reluctant referees have been to call penalties lately, if the Lightning can dominate 5-on-5 like that, they're unbeatable.

Head-to-head: The Lightning took two of three. The two teams haven't met since February.

Dominant narrative: Offensive firepower. Both teams have solid bluelines built around a big star and goaltenders who can steal games when they're on. But the focus will be on all the star power up front. We can start with Ovechkin vs. Stamkos, a pair of former first overall picks who've combined to win 9 of the last 11 goal-scoring titles. Kucherov is taking a run at Ovechkin's status as the league's biggest Russian star, while Backstrom's return would be huge. Then there's Evgeny Kuznetsov, Point, T.J. Oshie, Yanni Gourde… you get the picture.

Whenever you get this much offensive talent in the same series, we usually wind up with a bunch of dull 2-1 games. But maybe, just maybe, these two teams turn the big guns loose and we get some real fireworks. Please, hockey gods. One time.

Prediction: Capitals in six.

Bonus prediction that is oddly specific: We get a game that goes into overtime tied 0-0.

Western Conference: Winnipeg Jets vs. Golden Knights

In this corner: The Winnipeg Jets (52-20-10, 114 points, +57), thanks to last night's Game 7 road win in Nashville.

The history books: This is uncharted territory for Winnipeg, where the two versions of the Jets have never made an appearance in the conference final. They've never even won a game in round two until this year.

Injury report: Dmitry Kulikov is the only name on the list, and he doesn't sound like he'll be returning this year.

The big question: Can a well-rested underdog beat a team that's better but banged up? The Jets' injury report might be a short one, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of guys hurting after a long series that took its toll. On paper, Winnipeg is the better team. But the Knights will have had almost a full week off by the time this gets started. That matters at this time of year.

One player to watch: Blake Wheeler. The 31-year-old captain isn't the team's best player—that's Mark Scheifele. He's not their most exciting—that's Patrik Laine. He's not the highest-paid—that's Dustin Byfuglien. He's certainly not the most important—Connor Hellebuyck, like any goaltender at this time of year, wears that crown. But Wheeler is the team's leader, its heart and soul, and (thanks to a surprising career year) its leading scorer. When he's going, the top line is just about unstoppable and the Jets win. He had four multi-point games in the Predators series and the Jets won them all. If he keeps that up in this series, it may not last long.

Key number: .444 – The Jets' regular season win percentage in games they trailed at the first intermission, the best mark in the NHL. By comparison, the Knights' winning percentage when they lead after one was .750, which placed them right in the middle of the league. The Knights have had some quick starts in the playoffs, but the Jets just aren't a team you can put away early.

And in this corner: The Vegas Golden Knights (51-24-7, 109 points, +43), who swept the Kings and then knocked out the Sharks in six.

Injury report: The pride of every other GM in the league is listed as day to day. Otherwise, the Knights might be missing William Carrier and that's about it.

The big question: How? Why? Does anything make sense anymore? Has parity gone too far? Were the other 30 NHL teams always just incompetent and we didn't realize it until just now? Are we all just living in a simulation where they're trying to see how ridiculous a pro sports storyline can be before we stop buying it? Are there any objective rules to how things work in the universe? Isn't this a lot more than one question? Does it matter? Does anything matter? WHY WOULD ANYTHING MATTER?

One player to watch: Marc-Andre Fleury. It's the obvious pick, but I'm flailing around for something solid to grasp onto. Fleury has been amazing through two rounds, and has already lapped the field in terms of Conn Smythe odds. He's been so good, in fact, that you could be forgiven for forgetting that there was a time when he was considered a terrible playoff goaltender—and rightly so. He was awful in four straight postseasons from 2010 to 2013, and he lost his starting job to Matt Murray in both of the Penguins' last two Cup runs. Now he's 33 and giving off a "Dominik Hasek at the 1998 Olympics" vibe. Nothing matters.

Key number: 34.4 – Shots allowed per game by the Knights in this year's playoffs, easily the most among the remaining teams. That's somewhat misleading, because they've played a lot of overtime. But it still drives home how much this team is relying on Fleury right now. If he goes cold, or even just goes back to hot instead of supernova, they could be in trouble unless the defense can tighten up in front of him.

Head-to-head: The Knights won two of three. The teams haven't met since Feb. 1.

Dominant narrative: The flavor of the month vs. the Canadian old school. Every year around this time, somebody calls on Canadian fans to unite behind the country's last remaining team, and every year those fans tell that person to get bent. When it comes to hockey, we don't do unity up here. But this year could be different. The Jets were already the most likable bandwagon team in the league, and now their path to bringing the Cup home is blocked by… these guys? With their goofy pregame shows and weird gloves and laser shows? This is playoff hockey—it's not supposed to be fun. You have to earn your shot at the Stanley Cup, and Winnipeg has four decades of scars to prove it.

Prediction: Jets in five.

Bonus prediction that is oddly specific: Fleury gets pulled in Game 1.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

Here's Who Will Play for the Stanley Cup published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[yahoo-roto-arcade-blog]

Players worth more attention in deep Fantasy Hockey leagues

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand is a great speculative add. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

By Janet Eagleson, RotoWire Senior Hockey Writer Special to Yahoo Sports

Let’s look at who caught my eye this week.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW, Columbus (5 percent Yahoo owned) – Bjorkstrand’s game is pretty typical for a young player with little more than a season’s worth of games under his belt. It turns on and off a little like a light switch. At the moment, Bjorkstrand’s game is burning brightly and Saturday morning, he was third overall on the Yahoo Player Rater over the last seven days. Yep – behind only Nikita Kucherov and Dustin Byfuglien. Wow. Bjorkstrand has five points (two goals, three assists), 20 shots and a plus-4 rating in his last four games and should NOT be benched in 95 percent of Yahoo leagues. Use him, but be ready to drop him when the lights go out. Remember – he delivered just a single point in his previous 13 games. Speculate!

Christian Fischer, RW, Arizona (5 percent) – Fischer is a coach’s dream. He does everything asked with speed and grit. And while his offensive ceiling is limited, Fischer is always in the right place at the right time and has a pretty good release. Since last Saturday, Fischer has five assists, including two on the power play, in five games. The desert dawgs are playing out the string, which doesn’t sound great. But their young guys are working to win a gig next season. You might as well take advantage of the intensity and production.

Thomas Greiss, G, NY Islanders (26 percent) – Hear me out. I know Greiss has been as porous as a spaghetti strainer this season, but his shutout Friday over Carolina was sweet. And it should earn him the Isles’ next start Monday against the Wild. A start is a start and maybe it can be the beginning of something better for the last 25 games.

Ondrej Kase, LW/RW, Anaheim (7 percent) – There’s a lot to like in Kase’s game. He’s the Energizer Bunny on a line with Nick Ritchie and Adam Henrique, and together they have been the Quacks’ best trio the last couple weeks. Kase has nine points, including five goals, and 24 shots in his last seven games. He has 31 points in 44 games overall – that’s close to a 60-point pace over a full NHL season. With production like that, Kase should be rostered in close to 93 percent of leagues, not available in them. Go find him.

Tobias Rieder, LW/RW, Arizona (1 percent) – Rieder has just 19 points in 57 games, and at 25 he is who he is. But every once in a while, he can ring up some offense, courtesy of his energetic game and quick release. Rieder has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last four games. Like Fischer above, he’s playing for one of two things – a job next season or a trade this one. Either way, Rieder may be a good bet over the next 25 games.

Nick Ritchie, LW, Anaheim (4 percent) – Ritchie has suffered from failure to launch syndrome since he arrived in the NHL. Now, that’s often the case with big boys. But it’s still disappointing. I’ve held him in a keeper league since his draft year, but I’m growing frustrated. But maybe there’s a glimmer of hope. The pride of Orangeville has seemed to really click with linemates Ondrej Kase and Adam Henrique, so much so that the trio was the Ducks’ most productive the last two weeks. And Ritchie is showing that side of his game that made him a 10th overall pick. That wicked power move Thursday night that went top shelf backhand was a masterpiece. Fingers crossed this is finally the breakout for this power forward.

Casey Nelson, D, Buffalo (0 percent) – Nelson has been a revelation since his callup a month ago. The undrafted 25-year-old became just the second rookie in team history to notch his first NHL goal while shorthanded. And now he has five points (one goal, four assists) in his last seven games. Nelson has climbed the pairings in the city of fires by playing simple, smart hockey. And in just 14 games, he has become the Sabres’ best presence in his own zone. I’m not sure if that’s because the rest are incredibly awful or if he’s really this good. But he’s contributing. And he could be doing that on your squad.

Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina (11 percent) – Slavin was supposed to be Shea Weber lite, especially after his impressive 34-point, plus-23 performance last year. But this season has been a big step back. Still, talent like Slavin’s doesn’t just dry up, so maybe his four points (goal, three assists) and plus-6 rating in his last five games are a glimmer of Shea. I’m buying.

Don’t forget about Kovalchuk

The last week has been a blur. NHL games. Winter Olympics. No sleep.

The time difference is killing me, but Saturday morning, I was reminded how much I miss watching Ilya Kovalchuk. His two goals just 33 seconds apart broke the U.S. team’s back.

Kovalchuk was the NHL’s most prolific goal scorer in the years he played. And he’s kept up the sniping for SKA St. Petersburg. He finds seams. That release. Shudder.

The Olympics – or should I say the NHL’s stance prohibiting its players from participating – kept Kovalchuk in the KHL this year. But this summer, his one-year deal with SKA will be done. And so will New Jersey’s rights over him.

Yep – he’s coming back.

Kovalchuk walked away from his massive deal with the Devils in 2013. We all thought he was crazy to give up guaranteed money to play at home. But maybe he felt like he’d sold his soul to the devil.

(Sorry, Dan Pennucci. I know you’re turning in your grave at that dig.)

Once he turns 35 in April, he’ll be free from the Devils’ clutches. And based on his excellence for the red team that used to be called Russia, Kovalchuk will make a difference for some NHL team in 2018-19.

I’m putting Kovalchuk’s name in my phone for 2018-19 drafts. Sure, it will be a challenge for him to get back up to game speed.

But he’ll still be more than 10 years younger than Jaromir Jagr, who managed 66 points at age 44 and 46 at 45 in the last two seasons.

Kovalchuk could be a 30-goal guy next year. Or at least 25. And it won’t be with the Devils.

Even if they are a much improved squad.

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

What We Learned: Chicago's early struggles show time catching up

One of the things that characterized the Red Wings’ slow collapse over the past several years is that, if you looked closely enough, you could see the cracks long before the structural weaknesses manifested.

The quality of their players was slowly declining due to age, attrition, poor drafting, bad trades, and misevaluation of existing talent. Anyone who looked at something other than the wins and losses could have told you five years out that trouble was coming.

The same principle could have been applied to the NHL’s closest thing to a modern dynasty. As soon as it won the first of its three Stanley Cups, Chicago had to start trading away future All-Stars and otherwise very good players. Every summer, for a period of five-plus years. Eventually, that kind of thing was going to catch up with even the best team of the era, and early on this season, it feels like we’ve reached something of a tipping point.

To be fair, Chicago racked up big point totals the past few years with even a so-so process. Such was their talent threshold, the quality of their top-end players in particular, and ability to continually find NHLers either in the draft or rookie free agent markets.

Rumors of this club’s demise have been swirling for a while, and no one should have been surprised by their two first-round losses, even if they did follow yet another Stanley Cup win. And much like the Red Wings, the highest-end players on the roster were still more than enough to truly stave off collapse.

That might not be the case any more, as two old foes have slowly been gathering their power for years, and now it seems like they’ve finally caught up with this incredible team: The tag team of flattening league revenues and Father Time may have finally done what no one else could do, and brought Chicago’s dynasty to an end.

Obviously they’ve played just 12 games so far this year, but from those games they’ve wrung just 12 points, putting them on a pace for 82.  It goes without saying that it’s still early, and this isn’t an 82-point team on paper, but it’s getting later all the time and there’s nothing in the numbers or circumstances to support any sort of resurgence coming down the pike any time soon.

They are, for the most part, healthy (with the obvious exception of Marian Hossa’s career most likely being over) and they can’t win regularly despite the fact that they’re getting great goaltending from Corey Crawford. Patrick Kane and the guys on his line are scoring at a high rate, but no one else is. Remember those 15 goals they scored in their first two games of the season? They’ve only scored 23 in the past 10, which isn’t going to be enough to win on most nights, even in an offense-starved league like this one.

The important number in terms of predicting long-term wins and losses is still, after all these years, shot attempts for and against at 5-on-5, and Chicago obviously used to be elite in this regard. Going back to the season when they won their first Stanley Cup of this era, their possession numbers were always elite, but more recently began to tail off. As late as 2014-15 — their last Cup win, obviously — they were second in the league in this regard, but in 2015-16 they lost more key players to free agency and trades, and ranked 15th in CF%. The next season, they improved slightly to 12th, but actually saw their attempt margin drop from plus-95 (which really isn’t a good number over 82 games) to plus-67. These are thin margins on which to live, but their talent level remained such that they still cleared 100 points every year.

However, anyone who was bearish on the club was making the right long-term bet, and that was borne out by their frustrating playoff exits. Then, so far this year, they’re ranked 18th and minus-23 in attempts over just 12 games. Indeed, since the start of 2015-16, their total CF% ranking is right in the middle of the league at 15th.

And unfortunately, it seems the attrition due to cap constraints and passage have made it so that even the overwhelming talent they have in a few positions just isn’t enough to make the difference most nights.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are both playing well enough to keep the team going a little bit. Kane is getting badly outpossessed and outshot, but still has the talent to score goals at an above-average pace, and the Toews line keeps pushing the puck in the right direction. What’s really concerning is how bad the defense has been. Only Duncan Keith and Jan Rutta have spent more time in the attacking zone than defending, and even then, just barely.

Keith is 34 now, so to expect him to still be what we conceive of Duncan Keith being as a player is a little unfair. Perfect example: When Connor McDavid recently roasted him for a highlight-reel goal, everyone said, “Wow, and he did that to Duncan Keith.” But does the Duncan Keith of yesteryear give up that goal? Seems unlikely (even if Brent Seabrook was the one who really screwed up on that play) and, well, that’s how it goes when even Hall of Fame defensemen approach the middle of their third decade on earth.

It’s incredible to say this, but all the problems Chicago really has this year might just boil down to what the loss of Niklas Hjalmarsson means for the defense. It’s led Joel Quenneville to put all his high-paid eggs in one basket, with the Keith/Seabrook pairing as his primary No. 1 unit. After that, you’re looking at Gustav Forsling and Jan Rutta, and a third pair of Connor Murphy and Michal Kempny. Yikes. The xGF% of those three units: 49.9, 42.5, and 55. Blessings to Murphy and Kempny for devouring bottom-of-the-lineup competition, but they don’t play together particularly often.

Quenneville’s pairing combos have been through the blender; everyone has played with everyone else. Few have gotten positive results, and the pairings that have only did so in limited action together.

The fact that Chicago sits at 12 points in 12 games despite the fifth-highest PDO in the league should be a cause for major concern, because they should be winning games getting this kind of shooting and save percentage. The problem, then, is that there’s no real way to fix this without doing something shocking to the roster. Even with all these machinations, Chicago is pretty much capped out and could even exceed the ceiling by the end of the season (leading to a penalty next year, necessitating even more trades). There’s no coach even close to being available who would be able to wring better results from this group, and Stan Bowman has to be smart enough to recognize that.

If Joel Quenneville can’t coach his way out of this one — and I’m not saying he absolutely can’t, but it’s increasingly unlikely — no one can. Sometimes, everything just comes together to hit you too hard to recover from. And it seems like, even after a couple of near-3 counts, the tag team of cap constraints and time just hit Chicago with the Doomsday Device. Some have kicked out of even the most devastating finishers, of course, but it doesn’t happen often.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Nice little win for the Ducks here. Seems like there won’t be too many teams picking up Ws when Tampa has last change this year.

Arizona Coyotes: The 1943-44 New York Rangers, do not read this. The 2017-18 Arizona Coyotes, hello.

Boston Bruins: How about nah?

Buffalo Sabres: How close are we to Jack Eichel becoming one of those guys where we all just kinda feel bad he’s stuck on this awful team? Gotta be pretty close.

Calgary Flames: Ah, jeez. Boy. Not ideal.

Carolina Hurricanes: So this is going great.

Chicago Blackhawks: Dawg, when you’re getting it handed to you by a team Vegas just beat 7-0? I dunno, man.

Colorado Avalanche: Oh man, “craps out.” I get it.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Yeah that guy who couldn’t stick with Vegas? He’s the answer to all your problems.

Dallas Stars: The Stars are still figuring it out but Ken Hitchcock likes what he sees. Almost all their problems are at 5-on-5, which, hey, that’s Hitchcock’s whole thing.

Detroit Red Wings: What if — and bear with me here — what if this team is bad?

Edmonton Oilers: Truly, this is an “incredible report. What a well-run team.

Florida Panthers: Yeah this is actually a pretty good illustration of how bad Detroit is: Florida put up 46 shots on him.

Los Angeles Kings: I love that John Stevens pulled the goalie for this one. Not every coach would do that!

Minnesota Wild: Are the Wild “starting to get it together here? Hell, someone has to in that division.

Montreal Canadiens: Tough to think of being a bigger self-own than caring about a sports team so much that it ruins your health.

Nashville Predators: Maybe Juuse Saros isn’t the answer in net after all. Problem is: Neither is Rinne.

New Jersey Devils: Oh the Devils believe they can beat anyone? When they play the Coyotes, that’s certainly the case.

New York Islanders: Get Tavares some damn help!

New York Rangers: For real, though, you gotta “blow it up.

Ottawa Senators: This 28-year-old guy I’ve never heard of? Definitely the difference-maker the Senators need.

Philadelphia Flyers: Boy, Brian Elliott has been all over the map this year, huh?

Pittsburgh Penguins: Phil Kessel has 300 career goals and I love him.

San Jose Sharks: Ah, yes, Patrick Marleau, the noted feelings-haver.

St. Louis Blues: The quote from Scottie Upshall to lead off this article is very good.

Tampa Bay Lightning: When you go 0-for-6 on all special teams opportunities in a game, you’re probably gonna lose. Just my thoughts.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Maybe don’t cancel practice next time!!!

Vancouver Canucks: Ah jeez. C’mon.

Vegas Golden Knights: This is going great.

Washington Capitals: DSP is finally doin’ it!

Winnipeg Jets: Hmm, it seems like having three goalies on NHL contracts leads you to shop one of them. Huh.

Play of the weekend

You knew it’d be this goal. Hey, that’s Adam Larsson getting torched.

Gold Star Award

Phillip Danault, good game.

Minus of the Weekend

Definitely at this point in October, we all thought the top five teams in the league would be St. Louis, LA, Tampa, New Jersey, and Vegas. For sure. I know I did.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Year

User “Boxscore” is “going above and beyond.

TO TOR: – Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D

TO ARI: – Kasperi Kapanen, F – Timothy Liljegren, D – 2018 1st Round Pick – 2019 2nd Round Pick[/quote]

Signoff

No, that’s a spoon.

More NHL coverage from Yahoo Sports:

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

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Mike Milbury, NBC and NHL protests (Puck Daddy Countdown)

NHL

(In which Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.)

7 – Replacing Edzo

If you thought you heard a big groan at around 4 p.m. Eastern time yesterday, your ears did not deceive you: NBC announced yesterday that it will replace Eddie Olczyk (who’s battling cancer) in the NBC Sports booth with

…………

………… Mike Milbury.

Look, this wasn’t my decision but I feel like I have to apologize for it anyway: I’m sorry I had to give you this news.

We talk a lot about how the NHL is tone deaf and NBC Sports’ presentation is openly antagonistic to the people who watch this sport at least once or twice a week, but this is a bridge too far even for them. I can’t believe this dumb decision was made, except to say that it’s the NHL and NBC, so of course it was. Truly amazing and regrettable.

If you have some extra cash lying around, you might want to invest in mute button futures.

6 – We’re still talking about it

Ah, well, now’s the time for every rich white guy in the NHL, which of course leans super-conservative, to give their takes on the Trump thing so they can, a) miss the point of the kneeling protests in the first place, and b) be extremely rich white guys about it.

That’s all to be expected. I honestly don’t know what other answers anyone might have expected from the NHL rank and file on this, especially given that a lot of these guys barely have high school educations and lots of them have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Seeking nuanced opinions on even an uncomplicated political topic like, “Is state violence against racial minorities worth discussing?” is really asking for the moon.

And I get that Gary Bettman quote from last spring about, “We don’t want the NHL involved in politics,” which is awful funny coming from the league that really embraced You Can Play, as though gay rights are somehow not an inherently political issue even in 2017.

Here’s what I think people miss in all this: Sports isn’t and can’t be divorced from politics, because nothing is divorced from politics. Every aspect of life is touched by politics in some way. If people want to pretend otherwise, I get it. Politics is an exhausting thing to think about 24/7, but every veteran who gets a standing ovation at a game, every national anthem, every TV ad for the armed forces, and even the goddamn Winnipeg Jets logo is in some way a political issue. We are sold nationalism on just about every front in this sport, and have been forever. The Miracle on Ice wasn’t a big deal only because a scrappy team beat a juggernaut, but it was U.S.A. over USSR, capitalism over communism, and a real-life manifestation of the festering Cold War resentments that, hell, we’re still dealing with.

The vast majority of hockey players are from well-to-do white families because it’s one of the most expensive sports to play and the barrier to entry for lower-income families (which hey, what a coincidence, also happen to be disproportionately made up of people of color), and a majority of them aren’t even American. That’s not to say there aren’t racial issues in Canada, Sweden, Russia, etc. to address, but they’re far less overt there than they are here, and Justin Trudeau hasn’t called Wayne Simmonds a son of a bitch on national TV. But to expect these guys to understand where Josh Ho-Sang — who had a great quote about the issue yesterday — is coming from? That’s silly.

They should, however, make the effort. Which is what the kneeling protest is all about.

And as for the whole “Penguins in the White House” thing, yeah, it’s stupid. Whether they support him or not — and they almost certainly do — they’ll be used as props for a doddering Fox News grampa to say, “Aren’t they amazing folks? And they respect me, so much. Great team. Unbelievable.” That would have been the case regardless of what the Warriors chose to do.

But now, it’s even more of a hot-button issue, and for all the stuff you can say about Trump, you gotta acknowledge his media savvy. It’s not like Crosby’s gonna put on a MAGA hat and go on a rant about how Mexicans are all criminals-in-waiting, but he’s gonna be there yukkin’ it up with the guy who did. “Ha ha ha,” Sid Crosby will say after Trump tries to impress him with a story about a Playboy bunny he annoyed in 1992. “That’s funny, Mr. President.”

Crosby et al have the benefit of keeping politics divorced from their lives. It’s this Tina Fey crap all over again: “Why can’t we all eat cake? Why can’t we all just not talk about the issue and respect the office?” Because some people have more pressing material threats to their lives than this, and the Trump administration is all those threats made manifest.

Now, people have brought up the Tim Thomas thing a lot. He didn’t go to the White House to protest Obama’s policy of, I don’t know, not abolishing the Federal Reserve or something. Here’s why this is different: Obama didn’t call him a son of a bitch on national TV. That’s it. That’s the only reason. If guys want to stay home for any reason they choose, that’s fine. And if you want to talk about it in the media, that’s fine too. Thomas made himself the subject of mockery for a lot of people, myself included, because he did not articulate what his problem with Obama was. He just said he didn’t like Obama. If he had actually said, “Here’s X, Y, and Z of why I’m not going,” we probably would have still disagreed — libertarians are kooks, to a man — but you’d have to give him the courage of his convictions. On some level, it’s laudatory that he stood up for what he believed in, even if what he believed in was probably dumb.

Meanwhile, unlike Tim Thomas, Colin Kaepernick and many of those players who started kneeling very clearly articulated why they started doing it. The NFL has since transformed the issue, co-opting it from what it was originally meant to be about. In a league with many black athletes, the issue is clear to them. In a league with a lot of white ones, you get dumbasses like David Backes thinking it’s about The Flag or The Troops or The Anthem because they’ve never had to worry about a friend getting shot by a cop during a routine traffic stop.

Whether you respect Trump or think he’s racist, if you don’t see what the real issue with buddying up to him is, you’re trying really hard to avoid doing so. And while you’d expect that level of effort from rich white guys anyway — how many now play-act being appalled when Trump does something gross and bad for the 14th time in a week? — it’s nonetheless a thumb in the eye to every other athlete who actually has the courage of their convictions and doesn’t just go with the flow because it’s the easy thing to do.

For a sport in which everyone from top to bottom tries so hard to be uncontroversial at all times, you’d think these dumbasses would get why even associating with Trump at a time like this is insanely controversial. Nothing is normal anymore, though, and hockey’s willingness to associate with anyone who has Trump’s track record (that is, to openly court controversy) nicely highlights that issue.

5 – Not being on TV

LOVE the idea that NBC won’t show the NHL on any of its properties during the Olympics is some kind of F-U to Gary Bettman and the league. Makes a lot of sense. For sure.

Any Olympic event, like two-man blindfolded curling, is going to pull a better audience share than a Sabres/Wild game on Rivalry Night. That seems to be the bigger issue, to me.

4 – Blackouts

Speaking of not being on TV, one of the weirdest sagas of the NHL preseason is the fact that the NHL has repeatedly blacked out Vegas Golden Knights games…. in Las Vegas.

Again, we’re dealing with some real brain geniuses but this seems like something where you’d say, “Uhh, actually, don’t?” and someone would go, “Hmm, yes, that makes sense.”

3 – The Top 50

I feel so bad for Taylor Hall at this point. Did he run over a Norse god’s dog or something?

2 – Unsigned RFAs

Aaron Portzline at the Athletic says the Columbus Blue Jackets are only about $150,000 apart on a three-year deal for Josh Anderson, and that Anderson wants a $2 million AAV. And the team won’t budge.

And wouldn’t you know it, the Red Wings are still doing the same thing with Andreas Athanasiou. He’s sitting on a one-year KHL offer at $2.5 million or so, and the Wings came in at half that for one year or $1.9 million for two. No word, really, on what Athanasiou himself is seeking from the Wings, but that $2.5 million AAV sounds about right.

These are the last two RFAs that still don’t have contracts and we’re two weeks into training camps. At least with the Wings it’s something of a cap issue, but for Columbus, it’s not. That’s a club with almost $8 million in cap space. It’s nickel-and-dime BS.

I’ve said it before, but you can’t give some of the guys on those two roster the contracts they’ve gotten, then cry poor. Anderson is a promising 23-year-old who had 17 even-strength goals in a limited role last year. Athanasiou, as I’ve discussed at length, seems like he has some runway to improve as well. But these teams would rather jerk around two future “core” guys, such as they are, over less than a million dollars, combined.

Fun league.

1 – Sean Avery

It really takes some doing for me to kind of roll my eyes at any story that paints John Tortorella as a clown and a bad guy, but give it up to Sean Avery for achieving that goal.

This is a lot like the Dril tweet about taking off a Guy Fawkes mask and having the Joker makeup on under it. All set with this dude.

(Not ranked this week: Not signing Jagr.

Guaranteed he’s going to the KHL at least through the Olympics, if not for the whole season. What a waste.)

—

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All statistics via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

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What We Learned: Veteran NHL players must stop betraying rookies

(Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.)

Brandon Dubinsky had a little bit to say on Friday about the free agency process for four-year college players.

Specifically, he is against it.

It’s tough to figure out exactly what his beef is here; he wasn’t more forthcoming than these two tweets. However, there are a few points worth addressing here.

First and foremost: This is a union member saying that the exercising of collectively bargained rights by other union members is “a joke.” Which is troubling in and of itself, but it really highlights a long-standing tendency on the part of NHLPA members to close the door behind them and not express much interest in boosting the rights of players younger than them, such as rookies who are forced to comply to entry-level contract (ELC) rules and have their free-agent rights controlled by the teams that drafted and/or signed them for pretty much the entirety of their prime performing years.

Second, Dubinsky is one of those aforementioned “guys that play[ed] major junior.” Perhaps the beef here is that major junior players who don’t sign after their eligibility runs out are forced to re-enter the draft rather than go through free agency, which doesn’t strike one as being totally fair on its surface. Except to say that most guys who become college free agents after forcing their way to UFA status by refusing to sign with the teams that drafted them (Will Butcher, Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes, recent Columbus signee Doyle Somerby, etc.) are something like 22 or 23, versus being forced to re-enter the draft when junior eligibility runs out at age 20.

No one, of course, forces players to choose major junior over college, but you can see where these decisions are made; and when players make them, they presumably do so with a full understanding of what that means for their future career prospects. Especially in the case of a Dubinsky, who was a relatively high pick and fairly regular WHL player at age 16, the prospects of an NHL career had to be very real, and if he wasn’t prepared for what that would have meant for his future free agency status, that’s on his agent.

(Not that it mattered, since he signed with the Rangers after his draft-year-plus-1 season.)

Third, Dubinsky has been a member of the NHLPA for about a decade at this point, and while he wasn’t in the league when players lost an entire season to a lockout driven by owner greed (and, to some extent, union incompetence) he certainly saw what happened in 2012 first-hand; he was the Rangers’ player representative in the NHLPA the year before the most recent lockout. So he should know full well how difficult it is for the players, who basically got their asses kicked in two straight lockouts — and oh yeah, seem destined for a third one — to wring any kind of rights out of the league in the first place.

And just in case you were unclear whose side Dubinsky was on in this argument, he clarified pretty much immediately:

  To be clear: No player should give a rat’s ass what teams/owners want from the collective bargaining process. It is, in fact, counter to their interests to line up on the side of management. While it’s hard to think of millionaires as being union members whose rights are trampled upon all the time, one has to remember that in most cases, their bosses are billionaires, for whom every cent taken out of the players’ share of hockey-related revenue is going into a Scrooge McDuck pile of money.

If anything, Dubinsky shouldn’t be railing against NCAA players’ collectively bargained free agent rights through the lens of how unfair it is to the teams that drafted them. He should be railing against NCAA players’ collectively bargained free agent rights not being extended to major junior players like him.

It seems the NHL’s sole reason for being in recent years has been to slowly subsume all player rights so that they remain relatively (and artificially) low-paid for as long as possible. Makes sense from the teams’ and owners’ point of view, of course. First there was the lockout to get the league on a salary cap system, then another to make sure that players and owners split HRR 50/50, as well as institute limits on the number of years for which contracts could be signed.

Everyone understands there’s probably another lockout on the horizon for 2020 (and we’d know for sure in 2019). Most observers seem to agree that teams would probably try to further rein in the term of allowable contracts. This helps protect teams from long-term investments that go sour, and opens players up to more risk because that’s less money guaranteed to them. Deals maxing out at five years for $8-8.5 million certainly benefit teams more than eight years at $7 million per.

(Obviously participation in the Olympics will be an issue too, but that now seems an awful lot like a talking point where the owners will say to the PA, “We’ll give you that if you give us five-year limits.” Or something like that. Escrow, too, will be a major point of leverage the owners use against the players.)

Dubinsky, as a former union rep who suffered through a lockout, should recognize that other players aren’t his enemy, and the relatively few rights they have are precious commodities. Whatever rights a player has, he should exercise them to their fullest extent. Because just three years from now, they could be taken away from rank-and-file NHLers.

In situations like this, where the league fights tooth and nail to strip rights from players, solidarity is key and union infighting is counterproductive. Dubinsky needs to save that stuff for the ice.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: This seems like the correct take, frankly. I can’t imagine why anyone would be signing Francois Beauchemin here in 2017, unless their blue line is a mess. Ahh, hmm, I see why the Ducks were interested; Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm are both likely to miss time to start the year. Still! Bad signing!

Arizona Coyotes: The Coyotes’ arena thing is never going to be sorted out, is it?

Boston Bruins: The flawed premise here is that Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug are “similar players.” Insofar as they are Bruins defensemen I guess that’s true, but y’know, watch the games.

Buffalo Sabres: Yeah, re-signing Jack Eichel long-term for big money is something you want to keep under your hat.

Calgary Flames: I love this Jagr-to-Calgary rumor. Him and Johnny Gaudreau together, folks? I want that.

Carolina Hurricanes: Seems like an awful lot of tire-spinning all of a sudden.

Chicago: This is my whole thing with Chicago this year: They traded away the guy whose arrival coincided with Patrick Kane going from roughly a point a game to like 1.2 points per game, and that might not sound like a big difference, but it really is. It’s the difference between 85 and 100-plus points, or “He had a very good year” and “He’s the league MVP.” Not insignificant. So I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see Kane’s production take a step back.

Colorado Avalanche: Jeez I hope so.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Yeah, bringing back Rick Nash. That would be cool. I like Rick Nash. He’s going to clear 1,000 games this season and has an outside shot at 500 career goals for his career. Pretty good player!

Dallas Stars: Every once in a while I remember Alex Radulov is going to be on Tyler Seguin’s line and I get all excited.

Detroit Red Wings: On what premise is this kind of thinking based? Ken Holland hasn’t found a way to make the Red Wings better since Nick Lidstrom retired, and even then I think you’d have to go back a few years to find some kind of substantive way in which he personally improved the team.

Edmonton Oilers: Yeah it doesn’t get brought up a lot, but the Oilers’ wing depth (frankly, on both sides of the ice) really isn’t that great.

Florida Panthers: This is a fun little story, but I still don’t see where Blaine Byron thinks he has a serious shot at an NHL contract this year.

Los Angeles Kings: Legit question – If Drew Doughty is interested in playing for a competitive team on his next contract, why would he stay in LA?

Minnesota Wild: Does this strike anyone else as being very weird?

Montreal Canadiens: “Questions” is a funny way of spelling “major major major problems.”

Nashville Predators: Who on earth thinks otherwise?

New Jersey Devils: I can see this working out well but I’m also not holding my breath on Drew Stafford becoming a 20-goal guy again.

New York Islanders: Yeah, everyone is getting themselves all psyched up to trade for Matt Duchene, apparently. The Isles, the Blue Jackets, the Preds. Sure. It’s gonna happen.

New York Rangers: As always, throwing a bunch of money at a guy who shot 30 percent in the KHL playoffs probably isn’t the best idea. Especially when that guy is also 36 years old. Who just test positive for stimulants, diuretics, and masking agents. Just my theory.

Ottawa Senators: Derrick Brassard didn’t even hit 40 points last season when the Sens PDOed their way to success. I’d be a little worried here.

Philadelphia Flyers: Everyone is hoping that having a bunch of really young players on the team will make all the old guys better. Not sure that’s how it works.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Wow, Jay McClement could be a useful fourth-line center. Maybe. I don’t know. He’s got a lot of miles on him for, ahem, only being 34.

San Jose Sharks: I dunno, they were trying to get Marleau to leave for like three or four years, right?

St. Louis Blues: This is the correct answer in the “Who is the better Blues defenseman” debate.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Wait, is there somehow doubt that Andrei Vasilevskiy is not going to start over Peter freakin’ Budaj?

Toronto Maple Leafs: This could end up being a very good contract for the Leafs. Man, I was expecting them to go one year at this money, not three.

Vancouver Canucks: This is classic stuff:

  https://twitter.com/mattsekeres/status/900870627233583105

Vegas Golden Knights: Floyd Mayweather’s casual TKO win over Connor McGregor on Saturday night might not even end up being a top-10 beatdown at T-Mobile Arena this season. What I’m saying is Vegas has a bad team that will lose a lot.

Washington Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov, new contract and all, is probably going to need to be extremely good this season to keep the Caps going strong in that division.

Winnipeg Jets: Ehh, Matt Hendricks isn’t great.

Gold Star Award

Sign Jagr.

Minus of the Weekend

I have watched that Joel Quenneville first pitch at the White Sox game like 50 times. It’s always amazing to me how, like, throwing a ball doesn’t come easily for a guy who played NHL hockey for 15 years.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Year

User “Toby Flenderson” is on the right path:

Flames: Kessel Pens: Galchenyuk Canadiens: Sam Bennett + ?

Signoff

Mostly Madrigals. Hey, that might be good.

—

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

Josh Ho-Sang, Mario Lemieux and the dumbest NHL controversy

New York Islanders forward Josh Ho-Sang made his NHL debut on Thursday night, wearing No. 66. He played 17:01, had two shots on goal.

Then, after the game — and I still can’t believe this happened, you guys — the Hockey Hall of Fame smashed and destroyed ALL of Mario Lemieux’s stuff because another player wore his number and rendered him obsolete.

Or so it seemed, based on the reaction to Ho-Sang wearing ’66.’

Ho-Sang wore the number as a tribute to Lemieux, the fourth-greatest player of all-time, whom he said was “a little more dynamic on the skill side than Wayne [Gretzky].”

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This, apparently, is a bad thing.

They say life comes at you fast, but nothing travels with the velocity of an idiotic sports debate.

Ho-Sang has been wearing No. 66 since he was 15 years old. He wore it in Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League. He’s wearing it again in the NHL, and on the day of his first game it became “a thing.”

It was debated on Canadian television. It churned its way through social media, onto blogs and became a Pittsburgh sports radio topic. Was this disrespectful to Mario Lemieux?! Who does this rookie think he is, wearing a sacred number such as No. 66, which as you know is only retired by a single team in NHL history?

This stupefying controversy was fueled by two things. The first was the usual hockey traditionalist pabulum that shames players who violate an arbitrary set of dogmatic standards (i.e. ‘you can’t do that in an interview/shootout attempt/goal celebration! SHAME! SHAAAAAAAAME!’).

It’s super weird how this hockey traditionalist nonsense ALWAYS seems to target young players of color, you guys. It’s almost like Ho-Sang has been a “controversial” player during his entire hockey career, you guys …

The second was the decades-old bitterness from Pittsburgh Penguins fans over the fact that No. 99 was retired by the entire NHL and No. 66 remains rights-free to be adopted by players like Josh Ho-Sang. The thought is that the number should be unofficially taken out of circulation, a sort of ‘no fault’ League-wide number retirement.

This is now the second player they’ve attempted to bully into changing his number out of deference to Super Mario.

In 2010, T.J. Brodie was a rookie with the Calgary Flames. He was assigned No. 66 in training camp two years earlier – we won’t reveal the name of the equipment trainer here, for his own safety – and “it stuck,” he said. So he wore it in his rookie season, leading the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to interrogate him and a Penguins fan Facebook group to form, demanding that he change his number.

“You realize some Penguins fans aren’t crazy about this?” asked our buddy Seth Rorabaugh.

“I understand,” said Brodie. “He’s a great player, and I have total respect for him. It’s not any disrespect. If I get a chance to change it, I will.”

T.J. Brodie wore No. 7 the following season, and from then on.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]

No word if the family of Howie Morenz has ever gotten around to starting that Facebook group in protest.

Look, this one of those stupid sports controversies designed to fill time on an ESPN or FS1 talk show if they actually ever covered hockey. But to set the record straight, Ho-Sang was asked about it, and told Newsday:

“I’ve been wearing it since I was 15 and I really admire Mario Lemieux,” Ho-Sang said. “Just the skill level he brought to the game, the excitement. Some people would say he’s a little more dynamic on the skill side than Wayne [Gretzky] . . . I know there are some people who aren’t too happy about [me wearing No. 66], but for me it’s like the way guys wear 10 and 23 [in soccer and basketball for Lionel Messi and Michael Jordan].

“It’s honoring [Lemieux] and just, I think a lot more people remember who he is now because they’re yelling at me about wearing the number, right? I think that’s cool too. There’s a lot of light being shined on an amazing player. By no means am I trying to be better than or trying to prove anything. For me, it’s definitely a tribute to a great player. If he asked me not to wear it, I’d definitely consider it, but I haven’t gotten any phone calls or anything. So for now I’m gonna wear it.”

Let’s put this quote in the time capsule: “I think a lot more people remember who he is now because they’re yelling at me about wearing the number, right?”

Yes! THAT should actually be the debate: Should numbers ever be retired League-wide, officially or unofficially, or is that completely self-defeating?

I’ve written about this before: Retiring Jackie Robinson’s ‘42’ in baseball and retiring Wayne Gretzky’s ‘99’ in hockey were supposed to deify those players and make those numbers sacred. But isn’t the greater honor, you know, players choosing to honor them by wearing their numbers? Because they were inspired by them or they were in awe of them? Doesn’t it serve Mario’s legacy better if someone rocks the No. 66 and is asked “why?” and he’s like “he was better than Gretzky?”

Are there really Penguins fans that believe there’s any disrespect, inherent or unintended, by Ho-Sang wearing No. 66? Are they worried that 20 years from now, when they reference ‘66’ that someone’s going to be like “YA MEAN MARIO OR JOSH HO-SANG?”

You might want to ask Bobby Orr about a crowded field of Hall of Famers wearing “your” number.”

So keep on rocking the ‘66’ Josh. Just because the Penguins decided to put Rich Pilon on a Mario Lemieux statue doesn’t make the Islanders have to reciprocally retire his number.

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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Jaromir Jagr turns 45: Here are 45 reasons why we love the NHL legend

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The NHL’s oldest player gets even older today as Jaromir Jagr turns 45. He’s the third-oldest skater to ever lace them up, and still has another seven years and 11 days to beat Gordie Howe.

That’s fine, since Jagr has said he wants to play until he’s 55 years old; which, given the way he trains, is not a crazy thought. (What’s the record for consecutive one-year contracts signed by a player?)

Jagr began his NHL career in 1990 and won the Stanley Cup in each of his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Twenty-seven years later he’s still schooling fools out on NHL ice surfaces. Since he’s turning 45 today, we wanted to wish him a happy birthday by listing 45 reasons why we love him.

Enjoy.

1. Don’t let your future Christmas seasons be without Jagr Claus:

2. Capitalizing on his star power, Jagr unveiled his own line of peanut butter in 1996, which also contained magic groin-healing powers.

3. Down 4-1 in the opening game of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final, Jagr made a couple Chicago Blackhawks look silly with this set of moves to help start the Penguins’ comeback.

4. The mullet that was so good in the early 1990s that Jagr decided to bring it back a few years ago. Since he wants to play until his 50s, there’s a good chance if he keeps it growing it will reach the peak length it did in the ‘90s.

Canadian professional hockey player Mario Lemieux #66 (left) and Czech colleague Jaromir Jagr #68 of the Pittsburgh Penguins stand with the Stanley Cup, early 1990s. The Pens won the championship trophy in 1991 and 1992. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

5. His 1990 Score rookie card used his draft day photo, which led to Mr. Irrelevant in 2008 to describe it as Jagr “letting his bangs breathe.”

Score / Mr. Irrelevant

6. His 2016 Halloween was better than yours:

7. If you’re going to sleep with Jagr and then try to blackmail him, save your energy. He won’t care. And you may also create a viral meme at the same time.

8. He’s part of the exclusive Triple Gold Club, which means he’s won gold at the Olympics (1998), World Championship (2005, 2010) and won the Stanley Cup (1991, 1992). There are currently 27 players who have won all three, with Jagr being one of two Czechs (Jiri Slegr).

9. Jagr became the fifth Czech athlete to be named flag bearer for the Winter Olympics when he did the honors for the 2010 ceremony in Vancouver.

10. He was nearly drafted by the Flyers. Jagr went No. 5 overall in the 1990 NHL Draft to the Penguins. The Philadelphia Flyers picked Mike Ricci and No. 4. Earlier that spring, it seemed as if the Flyers were going to no doubt take Jagr with their first pick, until something changed.

From the Post-Gazette:

He said he expected to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted fourth, and not the Penguins, who drafted fifth. A European scout had watched him closely, and he knew the Flyers GM at the time, Bobby Clarke, liked him a lot.

Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr stretches prior to a light practice at Civic Arena May 12, 1992. Jagr scored two goals in a victory over the New York Rangers in Game Five of the conference playoffs the night before. The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Clarke was fired two months before the draft, and the Flyers’ draft strategy changed.

“One-hundred percent I thought I was going to Philly,” Jagr said. “They had talked to me and said, ‘We’re taking you.’ I was surprised when they didn’t call my name.”

11. Nobody loved denim more than Jagr and Martin Straka:

Jagr/Straka

12. His name forms the anagram “Mario Jr.”

13. He’s the second Penguins player to score 1,000 points in franchise history.

14. The sardine picture with Luc Robitaille:

Czech professional hockey player Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins pretends to feed sardines to his teammate Canadian Luc Robitaille, February 1995. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

Protein gel packs are pretty popular these days. Maybe sardines provided an in-game boost back in the day?

15. This Jagr bust in a Capitals jersey:

eBay

Too perfect.

16. The Wolverine facial hair during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Getty Images

Was this a tryout for the X-Men?

17. Selling with sausage:

Jagr

How would you promote a Czech betting site? Holding a burger? Please.

18. He has beers named in his honor.

There’s Jaromir Lager:

Lager

And Jaromir Czech Jagr beer:

Jaromir Czech Jagr, our first ever lager. 5% Czech styled Pilsner in bottles & draught #cheers @68Jagr #StJacobs pic.twitter.com/uRCnM1K2HN

— Block Three Brewing (@BlockThree) June 11, 2016

19. He has a pretty decent trophy case:

Wiki

Also, an ESPY!

20. If you camp outside of his house he may just bring you a sandwich:

In hopes of snapping a picture of Jagr with his girlfriend Veronika, one Czech photographer was surprised to see the future Hall of Famer come out and greet him with a sandwich. “You deserve this for your patience. Hockey taught me to respect my opponents,” Jagr told him.

21. P.K. Subban’s tribute at 2016 NHL All-Star Skills Competition:

Subban honored the living legend during the event by donning a No. 68 Florida Panthers jersey and putting on a mullet wig. That total package helped the then-Montreal Canadiens defenseman defeat Brent Burns a.k.a. Chewbacca in the Breakaway Challenge.

22. He fights fires on the side:

As spokesman for Sazka’s television campaign promoting its various games, Jagr dressed as a firefighter and appeared to enjoy himself.

23. He stores a mullet wig in his dressing room stall:

Jaromir Jagr talks about the #Panthers 7-1 win over the #Flyers….with a perfectly placed mullet behind him. pic.twitter.com/oTxqnKLIQt

— Jessica Blaylock (@JessBlaylock) October 11, 2015

Probably for inspiration and to remember the good ol’ days.

24. The Traveling Jagrs:

How's this for a wrap up party? @FlaPanthers @FlaPanthersPR @NHL @PR_NHL #DreamsDoComeTrue #Legend #Playoffs2016 pic.twitter.com/E3uqDlgM2a

— The Travelling Jagrs (@68isgr8) April 3, 2016

The group of Jagr superfans, who travel all around North America to watch their hero play, finally got a chance to meet him last season in all of their mulletted glory.

25. He’s dipped his toes into world diplomacy:

26. How many other players have statues of them made from marzipan?

In Tabor, Czech Rep., there is a statue of Jaromir Jagr made of marzipan #Legend @NHLDevils pic.twitter.com/B7FTH9XsK7

— Tereza Novotná (@TerezaNovotna) November 12, 2014

27. Mario Lemieux scored in his first game out of retirement on Dec. 27, 2000, and of course it was Jagr setting him up for the goal.

28. He made history with his butt:

“It hit my ass.”

29. He used to drink 10 cups of coffee a dayBut then Lent arrived on the calendar, as he told the Wall Street Journal:

“I was drinking 10 a day,” he said. “I felt awful the first few days, I felt like I had no energy at all. I was playing games I didn’t even know I played, the first few games. But then the body got used to it.”

30. He really wants a monkey. In a TSN piece in December, Nick Bjugstad told Frank Seravalli that Jagr said he was going to buy a monkey for the young Panthers forward and himself. Told that might be illegal, Jagr responded, “If people can have poisonous snakes, why can’t you have a monkey?” Good point.

Nick Bjugstad got the monkey off his back with his first goal of the season – so Jaromir Jagr got him a monkey for Christmas as promised. pic.twitter.com/MckEHujzPw

— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) December 22, 2016

31. He owns his hometown hockey team, which has a great logo. Jagr came up through the Kladno system and in 2011 purchased a majority stake in the Czech team. His father, Jaromir, runs it and after they took over, they changed the logo, which is one of the best in hockey.

Kladno

32. His total years in the NHL (23) is greatest than the age of 96 players this season.

33. The oldest NHL players during Jagr’s rookie year were Larry Robinson and Guy Lafleur, who were both 39.

34. He was on the ice during Wayne Gretzky’s final game:

AP

Gretzky’s final NHL game occurred on April 19, 1999, the final day of the 1998-98 season. That day also concluded Jagr’s second-best offensive season when he scored 44 goals and posted 127 points. Those numbers would help him earn his third Art Ross Trophy and only Hart. He would also win the first of three Pearson Awards that season.

35. He knows how to sell shoes:

RBK

36. He’s an animal lover:

Jagr

37. This photo was so iconic in the Czech Republic that Tomas Hertl wanted to take part in an updated version.

And this is proof that Hertl is similar to Jagr. pic.twitter.com/QT7uebzFGF

— Roman Jedlicka (@jedli) September 25, 2013

38. He’s a multi-sport athlete:

Jagr

39. He gets cool cakes for his birthday:

???? + ???????? + 6️⃣8️⃣ = ???? pic.twitter.com/zoa2ZIsniA

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 16, 2016

40. He’s good at social media. While Jagr doesn’t post much on Twitter any more, preferring Facebook, when he does Tweet, it’s quite memorable.

I took a selfie when I watch McDavid score goal tonight. Not bad for 18 years old pic.twitter.com/8VZdCuMLzQ

— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) October 22, 2015

Halloween party!I can't believe, nobody recognized me:)actually this is really me, when I play hockey I have mask on pic.twitter.com/oY3fgw5AS9

— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) November 2, 2015

Fans-I appreciate your votes for All-Star game, but 3 on 3 would kill me,and i don't want to die yet:)Thank you for understanding. Too old:)

— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) December 2, 2015

41. He’s given us a top-5 player/fan selfie of all-time

@NHLDevils @NHL just me and Jagr having fun at the game. #besties #photobomb #coolastherule #bestseatinthehouse #epic pic.twitter.com/UvapsWBNX4

— Ray Jabroni (@RayFoy4) March 16, 2014

42. The nightmare puppet:

Nagano: The Birth of Heroes

There’s an entire stop-motion film coming out commemorating the Czech Republic’s gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The film uses puppets of players, including Jagr and it is nightmare-inducing.

43. He’s a proud endorser of Bubble Tape:

44. He’s a movie star

Jagr appeared briefly in a 2000 Russian crime film called “Brother 2.” One scene takes place at Mellon Arena during Penguins practice, with a shot of Jagr skating.

Brother 2

Unfortunately, the director decided to give only Darius Kasparaitis a speaking role.

Brother 2

45. Finally, his favorite player growing up was Jaromir Jagr:

Happy birthday, Jaromir!

– – – – – – –

Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy