2024/2025 Around the League

Ceremony

How I choose to feel is how I am
Jun 8, 2012
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17,277
Jamie Benn is just a horrible player. I'm amazed nobody's taken a run at him and done serious damage.
 

The Abusement Park

Registered User
Jan 18, 2016
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Crazy that McDavid reached it (way) before Mack even though the latter got drafted 2 years earlier.
I don't think its that crazy. Mack started his career pretty slow and McDavid has been quite a bit better than Mack for the majority of their careers. Macks really only gotten close over the last couple seasons.
 

sethro109

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May 3, 2011
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I think it's a mix of NHL offenses evolving, and players skills steadily increasing. At the same time, goalies are ignoring their fundamentals. How many goals are because a goalie refuses to keep his glove high? Or not hugging the post properly?
 

henchman21

Mr. Meeseeks
Feb 24, 2012
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I'd say the outright dismissal of equipment changes is a miss there. There were changes still being finalized until late in the 18-19 season, but it takes time for teams to figure out how the changes impacted goals. Right now we see a lot more goals scored in that armpit area. That is a direct result of two changes in equipment. The chest protector was shrunk and trimmed... and the jersey was required to be tighter. That has allowed goals to start squeaking through. Once teams figured this out, it that spot started being targeted more. Two other major areas impacted are the glove and the shoulders. The glove got shrunk by a little bit, but that little bit has made goalies with weaker glove hands more susceptible to just missing and leaving rebounds... or just missing the puck. The shoulders are impacted on the tight angle shots where shooters are targeting the corners when goalies go down. There used to be an extra bit of padding there. That used to be a very tight window to shoot into... maybe 4x4, but now its closer to 6x8. Doesn't sound like a lot, but with the shooters of today, that a huge difference and gives them a much better chance of success.

TLDR it takes time for equipment changes to change how teams attack. It isn't an on-off switch.

I think it's a mix of NHL offenses evolving, and players skills steadily increasing. At the same time, goalies are ignoring their fundamentals. How many goals are because a goalie refuses to keep his glove high? Or not hugging the post properly?
These are directly because of equipment changes. They were not developed or brought up with the technique to account for modern equipment. Goalies developing today will have different technique to counteract the equipment changes.
 

Balthazar

I haven't talked to the trainers yet
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Apr 25, 2006
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Mack had a couple years in there were he was only in the low 50s, and one below 40, while McDavid has only been below 100 twice, and one of those was 97.
I don't think its that crazy. Mack started his career pretty slow and McDavid has been quite a bit better than Mack for the majority of their careers. Macks really only gotten close over the last couple seasons.
If you combine his 2 worst seasons that's 90 points total. That's still a heck of a head start...and now he's 68 points behind.
 

The Abusement Park

Registered User
Jan 18, 2016
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I think it's a mix of NHL offenses evolving, and players skills steadily increasing. At the same time, goalies are ignoring their fundamentals. How many goals are because a goalie refuses to keep his glove high? Or not hugging the post properly?
I think it's offenses improving and evolving faster than goaltending has evolved. They're just way behind the power curve of offense(and the equipment changes have exacerbated it) and are playing catch up right now. Eventually it'll swing the other direction, but right now we're just in an era that favors offense.
 
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Balthazar

I haven't talked to the trainers yet
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Apr 25, 2006
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What Torts did isn't that different than what the Ducks did with Carlsson last year. Just give him a couple games off here and there, let him watch from the press box. I don't think it was punitive in any way.
Incorrect.

DJ20klM.png



I don't know what he said but keep in mind that Michkov's English is extremely limited.
 
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dahrougem2

Registered User
Dec 9, 2011
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Edmonton, Alberta
McDavid is ahead of MacKinnon because he's the superior player lol this is not shocking. McDavid is a top-5 player in NHL history and if he keeps this up will legitimately have a case at #2 against Mario/Orr/whoever people think occupies that spot.
 
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The Abusement Park

Registered User
Jan 18, 2016
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26,287
If you combine his 2 worst seasons that's 90 points total. That's still a heck of a head start...and now he's 68 points behind.
I mean even from Macks breakout season McDavid outscored MacKinnon 834(1.61ppg) to 693(1.41pg). It just hasn't been close up until basically last season.
 

Ceremony

How I choose to feel is how I am
Jun 8, 2012
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17,277
I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that goaltending is as bad as it is because of the numbers they let them wear. #40 and #60 for us is bad enough but there are goalies wearing things like #52 and #88. It's a stain on the game and it's not surprising that the stats back this up.
 
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dahrougem2

Registered User
Dec 9, 2011
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Edmonton, Alberta
Naw, it has more to do with equipment restrictions and a marked improvement in shooting.

Also, don't know why but Canada seems to have forgotten how to develop elite netminders.
It feels like Canada as a whole is falling behind. The elite of the elite are still going to develop but it feels like less and less "supporting cast" type draft picks which turn into NHLers are Canadian these days.
 

Balthazar

I haven't talked to the trainers yet
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Apr 25, 2006
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Naw, it has more to do with equipment restrictions and a marked improvement in shooting.
I don't buy that one at all.

All of a sudden the same players (almost all of them) would be better shooters? The same players that couldn't score 4-5 years ago can score a ton now.

Nope.
 
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Balthazar

I haven't talked to the trainers yet
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Apr 25, 2006
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You don't believe players are getting better at shooting over the years?

That's like denying basketball players are getting better at shooting 3-pointers.
It's the same players that sucked and in the spawn of like 2-3 years everyone is scoring a lot more. You're telling me that they all got significantly better at the same time?
 

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