Around the League - Offseason Edition

[Dekes For Days]

They got rid of Bieksa??? He was like the only one left on there that gave an original and valid thought once in a while.

 

[Squiffy]

Nothing in that article suggests any decisions have been made, finding the whole thing a bit dubious. Some fairly broad assumptions being made on one qualified sentence of source.

IMO, not a chance they move off Ron, they tried that, it sucked, the viewing public has already spoken on that. Tinker on the edges, sure, can see that.

 

[phillipmike]

Not good.

The Arizona State browser finally refreshed and they saw this play;

 

[MCR74]

The Arizona State browser finally refreshed and they saw this play;

View attachment 728694

What's worse - Galchenyuk getting beat up by his girlfriend or this play? It's a tough call.

 

[phillipmike]

What's worse - Galchenyuk getting beat up by his girlfriend or this play? It's a tough call.

What's worse, that i wanted to draft him in 2012 or i wasnt happy with the Rielly pick?

Looking at the draft, Rielly might be the 3rd best player in that draft behind only Vas and Helly. Also i didnt know Ryan Murray was still in the league.

 

[SprDaVE]

 

[uncleben]

IMO, not a chance they move off Ron, they tried that, it sucked, the viewing public has already spoken on that. Tinker on the edges, sure, can see that.

Maybe an unpopular opinion around here but I genuinely liked Strombo
He's a great interviewer and has good TV instincts
I think he made a great everyman to help ppl get into hockey

But I can see how that didn't resonate with the already diehards, plus the format overall was a miss, and he was lumped in, but I don't think it was his fault

 

[PromisedLand]

Saw this posted on the main boards

What team does everyone have?

View attachment 727188

Barkov(2)-Bergeron(3)-Kucherov(5)
Hedman(4)-McAvoy(4)
Korpisalo(3)

 

[Burnie97]

Whatever it is... hopefully everyone involved is okay.

Sounds like the lad needs a big timeout.

 

[ToneDog]

Barkov(2)-Bergeron(3)-Kucherov(5)
Hedman(4)-McAvoy(4)
Korpisalo(3)

Dubas' team

Pasta (6) - Matthews (6) - Kucherov (5)
Rielly (2) - Chych (1)
Sammy (1)

 

[andora]

That was him trying to leave before signing the contract

 

[CelticDruid]

Great news to end my day .MacLean is leaving and for that I will be eternally grateful.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Maybe an unpopular opinion around here but I genuinely liked Strombo
He's a great interviewer and has good TV instincts
I think he made a great everyman to help ppl get into hockey

But I can see how that didn't resonate with the already diehards, plus the format overall was a miss, and he was lumped in, but I don't think it was his fault

Strombo is great at interviews, and those roundtables he did were very good and something that he should have done from the get go as a unique perspective of the coverage.

Him as the lead man of a hockey panel for the iconic HNiC coverage was an abomination. He was horriawful. He sounded like a complete amateur and the programming came across as such as a result.

It's nostalgia, but I'd watch MacLean forever if I could. Bieksa breathed some life into a stale panel. Hrudey and Botteril were decent. Friedman has become a company kiss-ass so I'm done listening to him.

These changes are all about saving costs. No reason for Rogers to go all out now as they're winding down the contract that's lost them a tonne of money.

 

[3blizzard4]

I'll miss Maclean. Been watching him since 1991. The ultiimate pro. I don't get the hate towards him..

 

[justashadowof]

I've been completely skipping the HNIC intermissions for about 5 seasons now. Don't feel like there was anything being missed. I'm not sure what could win back my attention. Bring in some people who have the ability to project some personality on the air. Sad to say that very few ex-players have it. Some of the print journalists many hate have it. Former hockey executives and former coaches sometimes have it. And just use some experienced Sportsnet host to present. There are several of them who are perfectly competent.

 

[Squiffy]

I'll miss Maclean. Been watching him since 1991. The ultiimate pro. I don't get the hate towards him..

I really think we’re jumping the gun here on a Berger hypothesis, I’m not going to sleep tonight any more thinking that Ron might be done as lead on HNIC then I was last night, which is zero.

Ron is a comfortable old sweater on winter nights watching hockey. I get a younger crowd not in to it, for sure, but again, they did it once, and the viewing public spoke. The internet message board demographic is not the same as the HNIC demographic. He gets the Bob Cole exit, when he is ready, gracefully, long after he is clearly no longer the best in the biz at what particularly he does, which he still is. Amber is fine, but replacing Ron on HNIC? I don’t think so.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Funny to think how thinks could’ve turned out differently for Galchenyuk if A) he hadn’t blown it in Game 5, and B) he re-signed with the Leafs on a cheap deal instead of thinking he was all that. We’ve all seen what the “Leafs bump” can do for players salaries. If he’d stuck it out for one year here he could be sitting pretty right now on a mid-term deal somewhere instead of arrested and his latest league minimum contract terminated.

Like the contract Bunting just got from Carolina could’ve been Alex if he’d swallowed his pride and stuck it out here for a year or two. Oh well, bully for him. Better a hometown boy benefits than this clear head case who f***ed us against our biggest rival.

 

[Menzinger]

Funny to think how thinks could’ve turned out differently for Galchenyuk if A) he hadn’t blown it in Game 5, and B) he re-signed with the Leafs on a cheap deal instead of thinking he was all that. We’ve all seen what the “Leafs bump” can do for players salaries. If he’d stuck it out for one year here he could be sitting pretty right now on a mid-term deal somewhere instead of arrested and his latest league minimum contract terminated.

Like the contract Bunting just got from Carolina could’ve been Alex if he’d swallowed his pride and stuck it out here for a year or two. Oh well, bully for him. Better a hometown boy benefits than this clear head case who f***ed us against our biggest rival.

Him turning down the Leafs extension (the team was apparently interested if he'd sign a minimum deal) likely ends up the biggest mistake of his career

 

[justashadowof]

Galchenyuk has gotten over $24M in career earnings. He has thrown away the chance to double that. We've heard tales of how he ignored his coaches. I see a very talented player who stubbornly refused to address his weaknesses until he just became a project.

As for that terrible turnover in the Montreal collapse, Kerfoot did way worse against Tampa in 2022. Heck, Tavares took as risky a play barely holding possession at the blueline just before his series winner in 2023. This things are selectively remembered.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Galchenyuk has gotten over $24M in career earnings. He has thrown away the chance to double that. We've heard tales of how he ignored his coaches. I see a very talented player who stubbornly refused to address his weaknesses until he just became a project.

As for that terrible turnover in the Montreal collapse, Kerfoot did way worse against Tampa in 2022. Heck, Tavares took as risky a play barely holding possession at the blueline just before his series winner in 2023. This things are selectively remembered.

Results matter, as does having the chance to make up for things. Not only did Galchenyuk screw us in Game 5, he was out of here as soon as possible. Kerfoot had an awful giveaway last year, but the Leafs still had a shot at winning the game afterwards, and he had a big goal these last playoffs to basically negate it. Tavares did make a bad pass but he made up for it immediately by beating Stamkos to the puck and scoring seconds later.

Even if Kerfoot didn’t score the OT winner he’d still have given the Leafs 4 seasons worth of decent enough play and service. This is also true for Dermott who although he never made up for his atrocious giveaway in Game 6 still gave the Leafs and Marlies a good effort over his time here. Galchenyuk on the other hand took the Leafs effort of building him back up and the opportunity to play with all-stars and spit on it.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Galchenyuk allegedly threatened to kill officer, used racist slur during arrest

The Coyotes cut ties with the 29-year-old forward Thursday after signing him to a contract earlier this month.

theathletic.com

One of the original arresting officers said that Galchenyuk yelled: “I will kill you c— f—s and your entire family” and threatened “1 phone call and you’re dead.” The officer, who identified in the report as African American, said Galchenyuk repeatedly called him a racial slur: “I asked Alexander to not refer to me using that term. He continued to say that derogatory meaning and threatening violence on to me until arriving” at the station, the officer wrote.

What a piece of shit.

 

[Menzinger]

Galchenyuk allegedly threatened to kill officer, used racist slur during arrest

The Coyotes cut ties with the 29-year-old forward Thursday after signing him to a contract earlier this month.

theathletic.com

What a piece of shit.

Pretty awful. He's likely done playing in North America

 

[Leaf Rocket]

Galchenyuk allegedly threatened to kill officer, used racist slur during arrest

The Coyotes cut ties with the 29-year-old forward Thursday after signing him to a contract earlier this month.

theathletic.com

What a piece of shit.

yikes... that is just wrong in so many levels.

 

[Enga Olly]

I'm definitely in the minority. I loved the foursome of MacLean/Botterill/Hrudey and Bieksa and will miss them but we watch MNIC for the game. Overall I think people are far too critical of on-air hosts but I would ace Marek before any of those 4

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I'm definitely in the minority. I loved the foursome of MacLean/Botterill/Hrudey and Bieksa and will miss them but we watch MNIC for the game. Overall I think people are far too critical of on-air hosts but I would ace Marek before any of those 4

Bieksa is good and Botterill is fine. MacLean needs to retire I think and I don't care for Hrudey. It's hard to think of anyone they've currently got who's got the charisma to round out the panel. Think Amber would be fine as the main host but they need that one extra person besides Bieksa. Had it with Burke but I'm not sure how interested he'd be in coming back.

It really is stark the difference between TSN and Sportsnet. The TSN analysts and hosts all have a natural charisma about them and seem to be truly enjoying themselves. Sportsnet too often feels stiff and way too corporate.