Around the NHL 2023-24 - offseason part II

[Devilsgrl35]

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These are… something.

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Looks like the inkblot test

 

[njdevils1982]

Looks like the inkblot test

beauty is in the elbow of the beholder

 

[Nubmer6]

From NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2024 | Spectors Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: Katie Strang and Dan Robson report Jeff Marek’s departure from Sportsnet was because he came under scrutiny by the NHL for allegedly revealing to a friend which players were being selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft moments before the picks were announced.

Marek was privy to the first-round selections before they were announced. This is common practice for broadcast rights holders, enabling them to prepare graphics and video clips for the chosen players.

The friend was former NHL scout Mark Seidel, who works with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, runs a scouting service and occasionally provides content for ESPN. It’s believed Marek provided Seidel a heads-up on the picks so the latter could be better prepared to provide an analysis of the selections on social media.

The league shared its concerns with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which probed further.

Neither Marek, Sportsnet, the league, the Gaming Control Board nor Seidel commented.

A source claimed no gambling impropriety was discovered nor was there any intent by Marek to gain financially from what happened. However, sharing the information with someone outside the company put Sportsnet in a difficult situation.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

From NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – August 1, 2024 | Spectors Hockey

this is wild. Don't all the top beat guys for each sport do this stuff on Twitter?

Also IIRC there is no live betting of the NHL draft anyways?

 

[TheUnseenHand]

**** gambling man. That's literally the only reason that was a concern. If he was sharing that info with other teams to give them an advantage, yeah that would be bad. This is a non issue.

 

[Nubmer6]

this is wild. Don't all the top beat guys for each sport do this stuff on Twitter?

Also IIRC there is no live betting of the NHL draft anyways?

Ya. The full Athletic article says betting has to stop as soon as the round starts.

 

[Devils731]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5673003/2024/08/01/jeff-marek-sportsnet-nhl-draft-removed/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=twhq&source=twitterhq

Athletic had an article with similar information on the Marek situation as well.

It seems pretty weird. Marek is fired for sharing draft picks and it’s like both articles want to talk about illegal financial gain due to vetting but then acknowledge the gambling houses couldn’t legally accept bets at the time Marek was sharing info.

The real reason seems to be that Sportsnet didn’t like their insider sharing the info with media sources that aren’t Sportsnet. A sort of defensible position but a silly one. 1, your insider won’t be an insider long if he can’t share info outside your company and 2, there would be no discernible harm to Sportsnet coverage because Marek’s friend was posting the info early.

I think this is expected behavior from an insider and Sportsnet is crazy to take offense, imo.

**** gambling man. That's literally the only reason that was a concern. If he was sharing that info with other teams to give them an advantage, yeah that would be bad. This is a non issue.

I think gambling is a convenient excuse since nobody would have been able to legally gamble with the info anyway.

Since nobody could have legally gambled with the info, this is no different than any other year the info gets shared amongst insiders early.

Sportsnet is mad they think Marek shared their proprietary info but they don’t want to sound petty. It would be petty since this is expected to happen and they benefit from insider info trading as well.

 

[Nubmer6]

Athletic had an article with similar information on the Marek situation as well.

What I posted was actually a summary of the Athletic article.

 

[MadDevil]

This sport is so dumb sometimes.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Sounds like the reason wasn't gambling he just pissed off the league.

Jeff Marek's Sportsnet exit reportedly centered around tipping NHL Draft picks to a friend

Following Jeff Marek's exit from Sportsnet, a The Athletic report has details on what draft night incident allegedly led to that.

awfulannouncing.com

 

[Bcap88]

How is this situation any different than when McKenzie came out of retirement out of spite and began rattling off draft picks well before they were announced ?

Isn’t this in fact what all insiders essentially do ? lol

 

[Darkauron]

That is so shitty. And also didnt someone leak seattles expansion draft picks too?

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

How is this situation any different than when McKenzie came out of retirement out of spite and began rattling off draft picks well before they were announced ?

Isn’t this in fact what all insiders essentially do ? lol

Maybe it was a convenient excuse to get rid of a guy they wanted to get rid of anyway? The severity of punishment for infractions is usually driven by how important/liked you are in organizations.

 

[Bleedred]

Maybe this will be like when WWE would legit fire/cut people sometimes and then bring them back just months later. Like the time Daniel Bryan performed some move they didn’t feel was PG enough (I think he choked someone with something, which wasn’t allowed on TV at the time lol) and they had to fire him out of protocol or to make themselves look good, then brought him back 2 months (or even less) later.

If not then TSN or ESPN might grab him in the meantime.

His radio show was very popular and I know was listened to by a lot of people. So was the podcast with Friedman, which will probably be way different with a new guy and Friedman. Those two had a really good rapport and banter. It was like they had worked together hosting a show for decades, even though they hadn’t.

 

[My3Sons]

Maybe it was a convenient excuse to get rid of a guy they wanted to get rid of anyway? The severity of punishment for infractions is usually driven by how important/liked you are in organizations.

That makes the most sense to me. My guess is that most of the industry insiders share information and as noted above, McKenzie has tipped picks ahead of the selection. Unless the NHL wants to crack down on insiders across the board this seems petty and weak.

 

[Brodeur]

When McKenzie did it, it was almost his way of flexing since 2021 was the first draft in 30+ years where he wasn't on either the TSN or NBCSN broadcast. So maybe some distinction between having the info because you had sources versus having the info because you were directly told by the league?

I chuckled a bit when I read Mark Seidel's name since he occasionally posts on the prospects board. He's not my cup of tea, but apparently some posters were saying that he was posting the picks on Twitter and acting smug about it like he was a brilliant scout as opposed to Marek feeding him the info. Another poster said Seidel has since deleted some of those draft night tweets.

Definitely odd that the Nevada Gaming Commission got involved since it didn't seem like anybody would be taking bets once the draft started. But somebody pointed out that Marek shifted the odds on Zeev Buium going #3 to Anaheim due to his podcast the night before the draft.

 

[AfroThunder396]

It's very, very common for draft picks to be leaked to the media before the official selection is made in almost every sport.

Is it because this draft specifically took place in Las Vegas that betting laws were such a concern?

 

[Clam Jensen]

literally all the NFL guys do this.

 

[Bleedred]

Jeff is popular enough that he could probably go out and start his own podcast on his own and have a pretty good following. I don't know how much money there is in something like that, like if you can afford to live off that or not. He might be able to, especially with sponsors and if he gets a lot of of listens.

 

[My3Sons]

Jeff is popular enough that he could probably go out and start his own podcast on his own and have a pretty good following. I don't know how much money there is in something like that, like if you can afford to live off that or not. He might be able to, especially with sponsors and if he gets a lot of of listens.

Apparently he's mulling over whether to do a podcast called "Why All Goalies Suck and How to Avoid an Aneurysm From Them". He expects to have a small but rabid following for it. Black Cat Fireworks has already signed on as a sponsor with their slogan "Blowing up neighborhoods at 3 AM on a workday has never been easier!"

 

[Bleedred]

Apparently he's mulling over whether to do a podcast called "Why All Goalies Suck and How to Avoid an Aneurysm From Them". He expects to have a small but rabid following for it. Black Cat Fireworks has already signed on as a sponsor with their slogan "Blowing up neighborhoods at 3 AM on a workday has never been easier!"

That would lead to a CANCELLING from me before it even starts.

 

[Oneiro]

Bettman's retirement cannot come any faster.

Such a disastrous, anti-fan tenure.

 

[None Shall Pass]

The issue with Marek is that Sportsnet (Like ESPN) is an NHL rights holder. Marek was only getting tipped off on those picks because he worked for Sportsnet. He then took that info and passed it on to a non-Sportsnet (And thus non-rights holder) person. He was giving away info that Sportsnet pays millions of dollars a year for for free to some dude.

Completely different than other people who get tips and post them. Marek was the leaker of this information.

 

[My3Sons]

The issue with Marek is that Sportsnet (Like ESPN) is an NHL rights holder. Marek was only getting tipped off on those picks because he worked for Sportsnet. He then took that info and passed it on to a non-Sportsnet (And thus non-rights holder) person. He was giving away info that Sportsnet pays millions of dollars a year for for free to some dude.

Completely different than other people who get tips and post them. Marek was the leaker of this information.

That’s fair on some level but it’s also endemic to the industry I’d wager.

 

[None Shall Pass]

That’s fair on some level but it’s also endemic to the industry I’d wager.

I don't doubt it, but from what I'm reading elsewhere, the big "insiders" in other sports who call picks ahead of time are getting their info from other sources. Marek was getting these picks early, directly from the NHL, so he could put together something to say on the broadcast, and then told other people.

I think canning him is a bit much, but I can see why all parties didn't love this.