#he’s so me if I was a 21 yr old hockey player

[potatoward]

Bro I just became a luke hughes fan! he’s so underrated best hughes brother by far!

[sequestering]

what is up with pierre luc dubois? (a scrapbook)

This is the closest, I think, that the NHL has felt to the NBA. There's rumours, there's clashing personalities behind the scenes. It's a soap opera. There's intentional sabotage, back-room deals. This has been a very interesting saga in the NHL. (Staff & Graph Podcast 26.01.21)

idk anything about the blue jackets, but i do think the narrative of a young player blowing up his public image to exercise some agency over his life is weirdly compelling.

the timeline

okay in december, lebrun reports that dubois is looking for a trade.

31/12/20. dubois, who has been in contract negotiations all through the offseason, signs a very team-friendly bridge deal (2 yrs, $10 million) which seems to be aimed at making him easy to trade.

dubois says he’ll be professional about it. everyone is sure he’ll be professional about it, etc etc.

JM: It's gotta be such a difficult situation while [Dubois is in Columbus].

EF: Well, I think that he'll be a pro.

JM: Oh, I have no doubt that he'll be a pro. Listen, I've followed this guy going back to junior and everything about him is [professional]. I remember he was seventeen years old and listening to trainers from other teams. I'd talk to guys from other teams, and they'd say this kid - this sixteen, seventeen year old kid - he does activation like he's a pro, like he's a long-time NHL-er. I'm with you. Everything about Pierre Luc-Dubois is pro-style. (31 Thoughts podcast. Jan 13 2021)

22/01/21. dubois has that game where he plays abysmally - clearly no effort or interest at all, incredibly lazy - for 3 mins 55 secs and then gets benched for the rest of the game. everyone’s up in arms. general consensus is that he deserved the benching but there’s maybe something going on. he even gets a special bonus steve dangle’s dang-its video all to himself.

SD: And I have a question because I have never seen this in any sport. Maybe you guys can tell me an example. Has a player ever so obviously not tried in any sport? To the point where their team was like, we shouldn't even have to pay this guy? I want to know. I want to know just for precedent... And you might say, what's the big deal? It's not the first time a professional athlete has ever given a poor effort out there. Yeah, poor effort versus literally not trying!!!

torts explains why he benches dubois and it’s not unreasonable:

23/01/21. the big trade goes down.

not really relevant but my personal fave article on this thing because it’s dramatic and brings up the nhl’s aggressive conformity issues.

24/01/21. sportsnet runs a surprisingly emotional post-trade interview with dubois in which he says: it had nothing to do with torts; his parents are thrilled he’ll be in the city; he had a great relationship with his teammates and they were v supportive, etc. he also genuinely looks like he’s tearing up? hope the guy’s alright in winnipeg. (transcript)

PLD: At some point I thought there is Pierre-Luc Dubois the hockey player, and Pierre-Luc Dubois the human. I wanted to stay true to myself, to my teammates.

25/01/21. kekäläinen goes on leafs lunch on tsn radio 1050 saying that he has no idea why dubois wanted to leave and he wishes that dubois had just told him:

JK: There was nothing about these negotiations [that caused a problem] and I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me; he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that.

the theories (aka the fun stuff)

1. contract negotiations went bad

the blue jackets have a well-established history of hard bargaining with rfas or as gm kekäläinen puts it “using the hammer” in negotiations. as an rfa with no arbitration rights, dubois didn’t have a whole lot of leverage. unless he got an offer sheet (extremely unusual and goes against all the gms’ nice gentlemen’s agreements), dubois’ only real leverage was to refuse to sign a contract and not play. obviously that comes with a lot of other issues that he’d rather not deal with.

it’s not exactly surprising then that dubois spent the offseason in increasingly strained contract negotiations with the blue jackets. it wouldn’t be the first time this soured a player on a team - see ryan johansen and josh anderson. that said, loads of players get into contentious contract negotiations and get over it fast. everyone involved in the situation says that this wasn’t the problem. not sure this one holds a lot of water.

2. he wanted to play in a bigger market

I don't think it has a lot to do with the negotiation. I heard from a player that in Columbus they knew that this was an issue before [the negotiation began]. I don't think this was about the negotiation. The thing I've gotten is that apparently he just wants a bigger stage.

The first [explanation] was that the negotiations went bad, and I'd heard it wasn't that. And then, you saw last year in the playoffs that he'd battled with Tortorella at times. So, okay, was it a Tortorella thing? Someone said to me it's not solely that. You'd be wrong to say that it's simply a Tortorella thing.

I think what it is - for whatever reason - I think he wants a bigger stage. I think that that's kind of what we're looking at here. (Elliotte Friedman on SN960 radio. Jan 4 2021)

this is the easiest and tbh i think a not unlikely explanation. in a nice canadian market (apparently his first pick was the habs), dubois could be something akin to a super-star. hard to resist for a 22yr old.

ofc he ended up going to the only nhl city without an airport. equally, he want from top-line star center in columbus to probably second line in winnipeg; if he was looking for stardom it doesn’t seem to have worked out.

3. he hates tortorella

torts is famously very demanding with a “tough love and public humiliation” approach to coaching. torts had clashed quite publicly with dubois in august, lots of angry yelling on the bench.

dubois himself has said repeatedly that his relationship with torts was fine and that he was very grateful for torts’ coaching (see post-trade interiew). aaron portzline from the athletic said the same thing:

mostly this seems like an easy, kinda lazy narrative. again, seems unlikely.

4. he didn’t get on with his teammates

there’s a fair bit to suggest that there was something more going on here, more than torts or the contract. jeff marek dropped this particularly cryptic hint:

JM: There are always mitigating factors. Now, I’m with you. I don’t know that we have a clear picture of what has happened on in Columbus. After we talked about it on the podcast... I got a note from someone, who works in the industry, who says, “I heard your podcast. I’m not going to give you any details, but you’re right. There’s more to this story.”... This person said, “I know more of this story. You guys are on the right track. We may never know the complete story, but there’s more to this than just someone that just wants out.” (31 Thoughts Podcast. Jan 22 2021)

some people have linked this to the fact that the blue jackets have several very vocal maga trumpists on the team. i’ve seen people say they’re q-anon supporters? idk about that, but just going off twitter likes there’s definitely a fair bit of trump support and covid-denying going on: nathan gerbe and seth jones for sure; max domi probably; brandon dubinsky and zach werenski seem at least right-leaning. by contrast, pld seems pretty anti-trump. that could make for a non-ideal locker room.

again, dubois has himself said that his teammates were supportive. is this just wishful thinking from fans? probably. who knows. not me.

5. he was homesick

most of the teams that dubois was reported as being interested in were canadian. he ended up going to winnipeg where his parents live. his dad is a coach for the manitoba moose (the jets’ affiliate) and family are apparently very close.

it’s a bit flimsy, but i wouldn’t be surprised if part of this was a 22 yr old francophone canadian struggling in columbus, america.

bonus: patrik laine

just as bonus drama, there have been long-time rumours about clashes between wheeler and laine. they’re right back in the spotlight again with allegations that wheeler and scheifele (cap and alternate cap) created a toxic lockerroom and bullied laine out of winnipeg. obviously rumours are just that, but they’re good drama and worth mentioning. this whole thing is wild.

[spookywinnerpainter]

After lengthy hockey odyssey, Evan Stoflet is returned with Utah Grizzlies for 3rd time

New Post has been published on http://articlesworldbank.com/2017/02/22/after-lengthy-hockey-odyssey-evan-stoflet-is-returned-with-utah-grizzlies-for-3rd-time/

After lengthy hockey odyssey, Evan Stoflet is returned with Utah Grizzlies for 3rd time

After lengthy hockey odyssey, Evan Stoflet is returned with Utah Grizzlies for 3rd time SALT LAKE city — they are saying you can’t move domestic again, as a minimum that’s what Thomas Wolfe’s iconic novel from the Forties claimed. That old adage doesn’t follow to Utah Grizzlies’ hockey player Evan Stoflet, who has come domestic no longer once, no longer twice, but three times because residing in Utah as a younger youngster.

The 32-yr Stoflet is on his third excursion of responsibility with the Grizzlies and playing gambling in the front of pals and own family — again — after gambling on contrary facets of the sector for a few years as well as towns in every area of the united states, from Montana to Iowa to California to ny to Texas. maximum currently, he played for 2 years in China, an experience he referred to as “nuts,” however one which he says he’ll usually cherish.

Stoflet is a defenseman for the Grizzlies, who stand 25-22-five and are creating a sturdy playoff push with 19 games left. because the oldest player on the crew, Stoflet is counted on for his leadership and has no hassle while teammates name him “old guy” or “grandpa.”

“Oh yeah, it’s coming complete circle,” he says of the razzing he receives from his more youthful teammates. “I did the equal aspect whilst i used to be first beginning playing. It’s a cycle of existence, I bet.” Utah coach Tim Branham can’t reward Stoflet sufficient, saying, “He brings suitable leadership to this institution and facilitates the more youthful guys. He facilitates them feel cozy, whether it’s structures or a way to be a professional, due to the fact he’s a true expert. He involves the rink the same each single day with the equal mindset, the equal preparation.”

an enticing younger man with an easy smile, Stoflet is honestly grateful for the possibility he has to nonetheless be gambling expert hockey and especially to be gambling in what he considers his native land.

“It’s such a completely unique enjoy with a purpose to play in an area in which I lived for see you later,” he stated. “It’s been segmented, however I’ve lived right here for so long. obviously being close to my mother and father after being away for goodbye is nice. i have legitimate friends here within the network that I didn’t get to peer for years. It’s high-quality … actual first-rate.”

Born in Wisconsin, Stoflet moved along with his family to Illinois as a youngster, however got here out to Utah in 1996 due to his father’s employment. Evan became just going into 7th grade, and he lived in West Jordan for a couple of years. a great athlete who played soccer, baseball and football, he determined hockey became the game he desired to pursue, so on the age of 14, he moved returned to live along with his grandparents in Wisconsin, in which hockey is a miles larger deal than Utah.

with the aid of his junior yr of high school, Stoflet turned into off gambling Junior Hockey, in which he had a condensed faculty schedule for 3 hours an afternoon, at the same time as working towards hockey several hours every day. He traveled round gambling in opposition, moving first to Bozeman Montana, followed by way of Des Moines, Iowa. Then it become off to university on the college of Vermont, in which he played for 4 years.

while his collegiate career ended, he turned expert, and his first stop become Texas, in which he performed for the Corpus Christi Rayz, in the primary Hockey League. the subsequent yr he made his first professional prevent in Utah as a member of the Grizzlies. “It changed into one of those matters wherein I wanted to play in this league, so a mutual buddy positioned me in touch with the teach here and it went from there,” he said. “You don’t frequently see that, where there’s a crew wherein you live. It labored out nicely.”

Jason Christie was the coach who signed him, but he left the team inside a month and Kevin Collie took over because the coach for the 2008-09 season. Stoflet had an amazing 12 months with more than one desires and 11 assists from his protection position in addition to a plus-21 for his time at the ice.

“It changed into bizarre due to the fact I hadn’t lived this close to my own family in six years or so,” he said. “however it turned into great because I had buddies here and i used to be pretty relaxed instead of coming to a team new. My mother and father have been really pumped because they got to look me extra when i used to be 24 than whilst i used to be 16.”

but, thirteen games into the next season, Stoflet changed into unexpectedly traded to the Bakersfield Condors inside the ECHL. After seasons with Bakersfield, Stoflet determined he desired to try playing in Europe and determined a professional group in Copenhagen.

“Copenhagen is one of these cities that everyone says you ought to visit and it’s miles an extremely good town,” he stated. “It became lots of amusing and i saw loads of cool stuff. i can’t say sufficient approximately how top notch Copenhagen was.”

The most effective problem became the team control wasn’t so terrific, and his paychecks were always past due. Then in the future, he and multiple different americans were told they couldn’t have enough money to be paid anymore, and after simply three months there, Stoflet headed back to the States with a promise that he would receives a commission. The team folded a yr later, but Stoflet by no means noticed his final paycheck. He completed off the 2012 season in the big apple with the Elmira Jackals, another ECHL team, in the jap conference.

Collie turned into nonetheless the educate of the Grizzlies and he contacted Stoflet’s agent after the season and asked if he might be inquisitive about returning to Salt Lake town. Stoflet stated “positive” and so he turned into lower back in Utah, for the 2012-thirteen season, in which he scored three dreams with eleven assists. After that season, Stoflet determined he wanted to give Denmark any other try, so he performed for a group on the other facet of the u . s ., in a smaller town on the west coast referred to as Esjberg had a much better experience.

“I had an amazing train and i was able to play with a few men I went to college with,” he stated. “It turned into a a laugh enjoy — and we got paid.”

through that time, he’d had enough of Europe and he located an uncommon opportunity to play in China, where hockey continues to be in its little one degrees.

“That was nuts,” he says of his experience in China. “I’d by no means had the lifestyle shock as once I landed in Beijing. countries have unique manner of doing matters and China became so much one-of-a-kind that whatever that I’d skilled before.”

Stoflet’s group performed in Qiqihar, way up north far from the huge metropolitan areas of China like Beijing and Shanghai. His membership changed into the handiest chinese group in the Asian Ice Hockey League, which covered four groups from Japan, three from South Korea and one from japanese Russia. He stated there was a translator at the staff, but he “manifestly couldn’t comply with you around everywhere.”

Stoflet’s teach became eastern, so he’d ought to explain crew drills in his language and the translator might need to supply the instructions to both the chinese and English-talking gamers.

“by the time it were given to us, it didn’t continually translate quite proper and was pretty comical,” he said, “So if we were getting chewed out, we had been getting yelled out in jap, chinese language and eventually English.”

Stoflet said he and his North American teammates might get loads of atypical appears from the chinese natives, who’d never seen many non-Asian oldsters in that part of the us of a.

“It became quite humorous how anyone could stare at you from 20 feet beforehand and also you’d walk past them and turn round they’d nevertheless be watching you,” he said. “Random people might need to take pics with you.”

As for the competition, Stoflet called it “quite suitable,” although “not as bodily as over here.” He said China is attempting to make a conscious attempt to reinforce hockey because the u . s . a . is getting the iciness Olympics (in 2022).

“So it changed into lot of journey — you sort of toss your self accessible and see what you return with — how lengthy it takes you to get there and lower back and what type of food you’re going to come to be consuming.”

but Stoflet preferred the stories although it became an awful lot extra challenging than Denmark where most everybody speaks English.

“It become clearly cool and i really liked that fish-out-of-water type feeling,” he stated. “I truely preferred to rub elbows with the locals – it’s the nice way to get a brand new attitude on matters.”

After two years residing in a distinctive culture, consuming atypical food and now not having many people to talk to, Stoflet headed again to the united states and was satisfied to land lower back in Utah.

It doesn’t problem Stoflet within the least that he’s the old man on the Grizzlies and one of the oldest gamers inside the league. He knows that hockey gamers play longer than athletes in most different sports activities, and he’s no longer planning to cling up the skates any time quickly. “It’s all around the map,” he says. “ years in the past I played with a goalie who changed into turning 38. It’s simply but long your body can preserve up and but a good deal you revel in it and nevertheless want to play.”

Branham doesn’t rely out Stoflet sticking round for awhile. “You never realize. He maintains himself in correct form, that’s for certain, he’s in actual good form, specially for his age,” Branham said. “whilst you’re in appropriate shape you may play a long time — observe Jaromir Jagr (nonetheless gambling in NHL at age forty five). Evan works hard to hold his body in true form.”

Stoflet jokes “I don’t have any concept what I need to do once I grow up,” but he hopes to stick around Utah for extra than a year this time.

“That’s the funny aspect about this game and particularly at this degree,” he stated. “you can by no means look too a long way beforehand in the destiny. You never know what is going to pop up what’s going to show up. This is a superb place for me now.”

Edited By articlesworldbank