Around the League Thread | Pre-Season Approaches

[Mr. Canucklehead]

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/driver-alcohol-level-johnny-gaudreau-brother-nhl-1.7322610

The more I read the more upsetting this all gets. This guy's wife's comments to him are pretty telling. Nothing can change what happened. But there sure seems to have been a lot of warning signs with this fellow leading up to his "terrible mistake". At what point does accountability for one's own pattern of behaviour come into play?

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Yeah I don't really feel overly sorry for those who willingly choose to spend their life punching people and being punched in the head. It's a shame that we were so collectively behind as a society in logically intelligent thinking on the matter. It is awful for those caught up in the job who have suffered and lost life but they had to know it was dangerous on some level as well. The worst part is fighting in a hockey game holds little value if you simply don't reciprocate and get involved. It took many decades for GM's, coaches and players alike to realize this and change the culture.

I agree there are far worse things in this world ... like I can't believe MMA and boxing still exist. It's absolutely archaic. The sole purpose is to hurt the other person and bash their heads in ... badly if possible.

What you say about some of the population starves to death while a select few profit and sock away millions on the backs of others doing actual work really gets to me. That's disgusting.

It's a tragedy in the sense that there's a giant homeless encampment in Langley beside a roadway that sees traffic go in excess of 80km/hr. There's zero reason why people cannot be housed and there's limited services for people to be involuntarily institutionalized when they are a threat to themselves and others. You really feel for Peat's father who say this coming a mile away and had zero ability to do anything.

I think Rick Westhead is a fantastic reporter and there's a ton of evidence that fighting is a huge negative for the sport but trying to suggest Stephen Peat's downfall and death is a result of fighting/CTE may not be wise (yet). There was an article 7-8 years ago which discussed his post-career issues which was riddled with inaccuracies and assumptions including claims of having CTE despite not having a concrete diagnosis. At least wait until a toxicology report along with an autopsy is done.

 

[StreetHawk]

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/driver-alcohol-level-johnny-gaudreau-brother-nhl-1.7322610

The more I read the more upsetting this all gets. This guy's wife's comments to him are pretty telling. Nothing can change what happened. But there sure seems to have been a lot of warning signs with this fellow leading up to his "terrible mistake". At what point does accountability for one's own pattern of behaviour come into play?

The driver seems to have been working from home that day. Indicating he finished a work call at 3pm. So, if he was at home, then he either drank at home then drove somewhere, or he went somewhere to drink and drove home. But, again, if going out to drink, then you need to make that decision before you leave home by using a ride share to bring you there and back. So, he was sober at that time and made the wrong decision. Not that he was drunk when he decided to get into his car.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

The driver seems to have been working from home that day. Indicating he finished a work call at 3pm. So, if he was at home, then he either drank at home then drove somewhere, or he went somewhere to drink and drove home. But, again, if going out to drink, then you need to make that decision before you leave home by using a ride share to bring you there and back. So, he was sober at that time and made the wrong decision. Not that he was drunk when he decided to get into his car.

He was drinking while driving, too.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Isn’t this just “what aboutism”?

No, I don't think it is. I did use context comparing other things, but I also included factors like hockey being a privileged choice that people choose to make, and that there are other sports that are literally just fighting that continue to exist and be celebrated.

 

[Hodgy]

No, I don't think it is. I did use context comparing other things, but I also included factors like hockey being a privileged choice that people choose to make, and that there are other sports that are literally just fighting that continue to exist and be celebrated.

I think your post mostly was just "what aboutism" because you mostly just talked about things much worse, morally, than letting and watching hockey players fight knowing what we know about the consequences of fighting, CTE, depressesion, suicide, etc. And absolutely, the things you have listed are terrible and worse. But that's just "what aboutism".

And yes, you are right, hockey players generally are privileged, and I think by now, I'd like to think many understand and appreciate the risk of fighting. So no arguments there. But I am not looking at this from a player risk perspective, I am being critical of the NHL from profiting off fighting when they know it is directly leading to depression and suicide. And for what, so we have fights in hockey? We all know fights aren't necessary. I don't see anyone complaining that there isn't any fighting in the Olympics.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

I think your post mostly was just "what aboutism" because you mostly just talked about things much worse, morally, than letting and watching hockey players fight knowing what we know about the consequences of fighting, CTE, depressesion, suicide, etc. And absolutely, the things you have listed are terrible and worse. But that's just "what aboutism".

And yes, you are right, hockey players generally are privileged, and I think by now, I'd like to think many understand and appreciate the risk of fighting. So no arguments there. But I am not looking at this from a player risk perspective, I am being critical of the NHL from profiting off fighting when they know it is directly leading to depression and suicide. And for what, so we have fights in hockey? We all know fights aren't necessary. I don't see anyone complaining that there isn't any fighting in the Olympics.

I'm more old school and appreciate fighting's role in hockey.

There are 12 players out there, 10 of whom barrel into each other and battle for every single inch. There are refs who try to control the play, but if you have ever played against an old pro you learn that they are absolutely full of tricks to hurt or irritate you in an undetectable way.

If you remove fighting you run into the same problem the National League in baseball sort of has where a pitcher can throw a ball at a guy's head without any fear of repercussions because he isn't going to have to stand at the plate at any point.

In the NHL, it polices itself a bit. And gone are the days where a 5'7 scorer is going to have to fight a Bob Probert. An enforcer terrorizing a small player without cause is going to get a long long suspension.

The one place I agree with you is that the NHL is a gross capitalist corporation without morals who pretends that they don't know the effects of hitting and fighting. This includes them refusing to show hits or fights on their NHL specific apps (I'm convinced because they dont' want to be seen as profiting off of these injuries).

So there may likely have been a phase where the NHL had this info and fought to keep it out of the public eye. And the public deserves informed consent.

But just as people are still allowed to smoke cigarattes, NHL players are adults who are making a choice. A choice, btw, that is a lot less deleterious to public health than cigarettes are.

 

[LemonSauceD]

I think if you want to get rid of “fighting”, you have to stop employing literal meat bags who quite literally can’t do anything but stage fights.

like you have todays “enforcers” like Kolesar, Wilson, Gadjovich, Jeannot, Xhekaj, MacDermid, Maroon, McCarron, Gudbranson, Pezzetta who are willing combatants but don’t necessarily go out there to find a fight but to stand up for a teammate or to check/confront a player who’s been running around all night. I think there’s a clear role for these types. They can play the game and know when to fight.

Then you have these Reaves, Johnston, McIlrath, Clifford, Deslauriers, MacEwen, Givani Smith, Lemieux, O’Brien, Olivier, Rempe (lol) types who fight just to fight and can’t play for shit. It’s a very small group compared 20-30 years ago but these “old school” enforcer types clearly don’t have much business in the NHL but are still scattered around the league for whatever reason.

Like I find it so cringe seeing Rempe practice fighting with Georges Laraque like that’s going to help you become an everyday NHL player. Rempe, who can barely play at the AHL level, avoids being sent down simply because he brought a temporary team need of physicality after the Rangers were being called out by the coach. so he goes out there and stages fights from crappy enforcers and now he’s essentially primed to be this generations dumb ass shit meatbag based off of a culmination of biases and team factors that allowed him to be given that opportunity in the first place.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Rempe is awesome hope the kid gets rich af

 

[krutovsdonut]

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/driver-alcohol-level-johnny-gaudreau-brother-nhl-1.7322610

The more I read the more upsetting this all gets. This guy's wife's comments to him are pretty telling. Nothing can change what happened. But there sure seems to have been a lot of warning signs with this fellow leading up to his "terrible mistake". At what point does accountability for one's own pattern of behaviour come into play?

that's a damning story. if that evidence checks out he's going to get close to the max sentence. there have to be half a dozen aggravating factors. passing on the right right after passing another vehicle on a two lane highway is very bad. drunk is very bad. open beer in car is very bad. previously tailgating another car going over the speed limit is bad. talking on the phone driving around drunk aggressively roadraging other drivers for hours while not actually going anywhere is just the icing. that means he didn't have a reason to be in a car at all but chose to do so while drunk just so he could drive like an asshole. he was just out there venting anger at his mother on other drivers while drunk.

i think you could make an argument for a higher charge.

 

[Bubbles]

Didn't realize it but Peat was homeless in the greater Vancouver area and was killed in Vancouver after getting struck by a car.

RIP. That name brought back some memories. I used to watch the Langley Thunder back in the day and I'm sure I've seen him on the ice back in the day. He's also my age and to think we could have crossed paths many times and didn't know it.

 

[Sexy Necksy Garland]

Danbury Trashers legend Stephen Peat.

 

[Vector]

There’s something really comforting in knowing that the Aquilinis suck but other owners suck too.

Tom Dundon doesn’t believe in the AHL and is trying to make the Wolves play with hand-me-down equipment.

---

"The AHL is just practice games, they don't even matter," one source told InsideAHLHockey.com that Dundon reportedly said of the top minor league of the NHL

---

"So, there's no practice facility," an AHL source said. "The Wolves told them they'll split [the cost of the lease in Hoffman Estates]. "The Wolves offices are upstairs, and the team could have the facility downstairs, and Carolina will not pay. They want it for free."

---

The Wolves equipment staff was reportedly told to search the secondary market for used equipment for their players for the upcoming season, including helmets. Apparently, the Hurricanes also offered up their used leftover equipment from the NHL team from this past season as well.

---

To date, the Wolves have signed six players to AHL standard player contracts for the 2024-25 season in addition to Hurricanes players that can be assigned to the AHL - with one source indicating those six AHL deals accumulate a combined total of $397,000.

---

Read the whole article. It’s amazing.

 

[RobertKron]

There’s something really comforting in knowing that the Aquilinis suck but other owners suck too.

Tom Dundon doesn’t believe in the AHL and is trying to make the Wolves play with hand-me-down equipment.

---

"The AHL is just practice games, they don't even matter," one source told InsideAHLHockey.com that Dundon reportedly said of the top minor league of the NHL

---

"So, there's no practice facility," an AHL source said. "The Wolves told them they'll split [the cost of the lease in Hoffman Estates]. "The Wolves offices are upstairs, and the team could have the facility downstairs, and Carolina will not pay. They want it for free."

---

The Wolves equipment staff was reportedly told to search the secondary market for used equipment for their players for the upcoming season, including helmets. Apparently, the Hurricanes also offered up their used leftover equipment from the NHL team from this past season as well.

---

To date, the Wolves have signed six players to AHL standard player contracts for the 2024-25 season in addition to Hurricanes players that can be assigned to the AHL - with one source indicating those six AHL deals accumulate a combined total of $397,000.

---

Read the whole article. It’s amazing.

Wonder if this is Carolina trying to stick it to them for dropping affiliation last year, or possibly trying to starve them out so they can buy the franchise outright. Apparently the relationship has always been pretty rocky (rocky affiliation relationship with the Wolves? Who could have guessed?), obviously with the Wolves dropping affiliation last year, but also IIRC the 'Canes threatened to fire the Wolves' coach during the Calder Cup finals (which they won) over who they were starting in goal. Seems like a mess all around.

 

[Bubbles]

Well, the Canucks are still the only NHL team without a dedicated practice facility...I mean even Utah has started building theirs.

 

[Nick Lang]

I think your post mostly was just "what aboutism" because you mostly just talked about things much worse, morally, than letting and watching hockey players fight knowing what we know about the consequences of fighting, CTE, depressesion, suicide, etc. And absolutely, the things you have listed are terrible and worse. But that's just "what aboutism".

And yes, you are right, hockey players generally are privileged, and I think by now, I'd like to think many understand and appreciate the risk of fighting. So no arguments there. But I am not looking at this from a player risk perspective, I am being critical of the NHL from profiting off fighting when they know it is directly leading to depression and suicide. And for what, so we have fights in hockey? We all know fights aren't necessary. I don't see anyone complaining that there isn't any fighting in the Olympics.

I don't get your criticism. He clearly made a very good point which I understood completely. That's one of the basics of evaluation, comparing it to other things. Are we not allowed to do that in society anymore?

This is just simply life imo. Humans are very far from perfect and figure out things as we go along. We do a lot of dumb things. To me it just looks like a typical learning experience and one that nobody should now be unaware of. People should be expected to know that repeated blows to your head is not healthy or wise. Like do people really need to be told that?

 

[F A N]

There’s something really comforting in knowing that the Aquilinis suck but other owners suck too.

Tom Dundon doesn’t believe in the AHL and is trying to make the Wolves play with hand-me-down equipment.

---

"The AHL is just practice games, they don't even matter," one source told InsideAHLHockey.com that Dundon reportedly said of the top minor league of the NHL

---

"So, there's no practice facility," an AHL source said. "The Wolves told them they'll split [the cost of the lease in Hoffman Estates]. "The Wolves offices are upstairs, and the team could have the facility downstairs, and Carolina will not pay. They want it for free."

---

The Wolves equipment staff was reportedly told to search the secondary market for used equipment for their players for the upcoming season, including helmets. Apparently, the Hurricanes also offered up their used leftover equipment from the NHL team from this past season as well.

---

To date, the Wolves have signed six players to AHL standard player contracts for the 2024-25 season in addition to Hurricanes players that can be assigned to the AHL - with one source indicating those six AHL deals accumulate a combined total of $397,000.

---

Read the whole article. It’s amazing.

To be fair to Aquilini, he has been willing to spend if he's convinced on the need. Like Rutherford said, part of the job is to manage up and you got to convince ownership. This is the same owners who spent on Gillis' "mind room." Aquilini did buy an AHL team when Gillis convinced him to. He has also been willing to fire coaches/GMs with years left and buyout contracts. Signing bonus-laden contracts don't seem to be an issue.

I think credit where credit is due. We really haven't talked about willingness to spend being a problem and I'm someone who believes FA will leave you and stick you with the bill.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Crosby re-ups: 2yrs @ $8.7M AAV.

Good for him for taking less money to try and win.

Just don't think it's going to happen in Pitt.

 

[Vector]

Crosby's obsession with 87 is so strange.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Crosby's obsession with 87 is so strange.

Actually it makes sense.

Born 8/7/87

It's also the release date for Masters of the Universe.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Crosby is washed up and he would have been a Messier-like cancer on our team. Besides, Bedard is eventually coming back home.








That's my copium.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Crosby's obsession with 87 is so strange.

He's been known as an insanely superstitious player for his whole career. I'm not all that surprised.

Didn't he make the Penguins keep McDonalds as a sponsor or something so he could continue his stickhandle warmup over the golden arches?

 

[Vector]

Actually it makes sense.

Born 8/7/87

It's also the release date for Masters of the Universe.

He's been known as an insanely superstitious player for his whole career. I'm not all that surprised.

Didn't he make the Penguins keep McDonalds as a sponsor or something so he could continue his stickhandle warmup over the golden arches?

Nothing either of you have posted disputes that he's not strange. These are strange things to do.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Nothing either of you have posted disputes that he's not strange. These are strange things to do.

To be fair, who isn't strange?

And anyone saying they are not strange are likely the strangest ones to look out for.

 

[Vector]

To be fair, who isn't strange?

And anyone saying they are not strange are likely the strangest ones to look out for.