Around the NHL 2023-24 - offseason part II

[Call Me Al]

obviously he was the no brainer pick for us at the time but it also looks like the scouting was way off on his abilities.

he was 4th overall though, i don’t need to compare him to the entire first round to judge the pick in hindsight, there are 3 or 4 guys picked after him that i would have taken instead. but that’s how it goes

 

[Brodeur]

Zibanejad: Better now certainly, would rather have him than Larsson even with the warts, but also didn't get good until age 25 on a different team.

Ryan Murphy: somehow not even the best murphy taken in the first round in 2011

2011 was probably my favorite draft that I attended since my buddies and I were able to sneak into the players section. Definitely a different vibe when Brandon Saad is ten feet away sweating out the last ten picks of the first round. Before the draft started, my buddy was talking trash about Zibanejad since he passed on him in our fantasy league draft the week before. It was especially funny since my buddy didn't realize Zibanejad was sitting right in front of him.

Before we won the lottery, there were a few people advocating for Murphy with the "we can teach him how to play defense, you can't teach his offensive skillset" reasoning which made more sense in the moment. I forgot Murphy played a game for us in 2018-19, I'll have to remember him for Puckdoku.

 

[Bleedred]

I had Ryan Murphy confused with Ryan Murray this whole time today.

Both played for us. One had both a considerably longer NHL career and Devils career than the other.

But Murray was drafted 2nd overall the next draft year in 2012.

 

[MadDevil]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833635633388048708

 

[Nubmer6]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833635633388048708

Imagine being one of the guys on the other team who scored one of the 2 goals against him. Them's bragg'n rights.

 

[Ripshot 43]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833635633388048708

Sooo Roberto… you free on Monday nights this coming season?

 

[JrFischer54]

I don't think Larsson was a bad pick. He's not what everybody was dreaming of, obviously, but he's easily going to eclipse 1000 NHL games and he's hardly a fringe NHL player.

The guys after him:
Strome: Rather have Larsson
Zibanejad: Better now certainly, would rather have him than Larsson even with the warts, but also didn't get good until age 25 on a different team.
Scheifele: Better. Very good player, even with zero defense.
Couturier: Rather have Larsson up until age 25, then Couturier broke out, immediately got hurt, and is washed now. Prefer Larsson
Dougie: Obviously rather have Dougie, and now we do.
Brodin: Larsson but better, rather have Brodin
Siemens: LMAO
Ryan Murphy: somehow not even the best murphy taken in the first round in 2011
Baertschi: LMAO
Oleksiak: Rather have Larsson
JT Miller: Rather have Miller, obviously, but also he didn't get good until age 27 on his 3rd team
Armia: bad
Beaulieu: bad
McNeill: who?
Klefbom: Derailed by injuries
Connor Murphy: Sucks hard, and somehow still not the worst murphy in this round
Noesen: I like him, but come on

Then there's Danault, Rakell, and Namestnikov. All legitimate NHL players, but not guys I'm like f*** WHY DIDNT WE DRAFT THEM

Are any of these really worth stewing about? Not for me.

Larson didn’t even get good on a different team/s.

That should’ve been the nail in conte time here

Lou should’ve been the following year when he kept the pick for that bum

 

[Billdo]

Larson didn’t even get good on a different team/s.

That should’ve been the nail in conte time here

Lou should’ve been the following year when he kept the pick for that bum

There was nothing wrong with the Larsson pick. He was ranked that high, he has played the fourth most games out of that draft. Did he turn into Lidstrom? No, but to act like he's an irrelevant player who should've gotten our head scout canned is silly.

 

[glenwo2]

There was nothing wrong with the Larsson pick. He was ranked that high, he has played the fourth most games out of that draft. Did he turn into Lidstrom? No, but to act like he's an irrelevant player who should've gotten our head scout canned is silly.

Agreed. Larsson may not have lived up to his draft position but he was very serviceable as an NHL player (and still is).

 

[Billdo]

Agreed. Larsson may not have lived up to his draft position but he was very serviceable as an NHL player (and still is).

Hell, I'd argue he is the type we needed before bringing in Pesce and Dillon.

 

[Brodeur]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833913618792153593

It's on a Friday, so I look forward to being extra unproductive that day.

NHL expansion, LTIR, Russians in the Olympics and renaming the Lady Byng: Bill Daly talks

The NHL's deputy commissioner addressed many of the hottest topics around the league in a sit-down Tuesday in Vegas.

www.nytimes.com

Bill Daly did a Q&A. One minor thing that caught my eye:

Q: Still a decentralized draft for 2025, correct?

A: Our current intention continues to be to move forward in a decentralized draft. There’s really been no movement to change that direction. So I would expect that next year we’ll do it the way (the GMs) want us to do it.

Q: There will still be a host city, correct?

A: It’ll be a smaller event.

I don't envy whoever has to follow up last year's draft. Friedman had previously mentioned that the league had kicked around ideas for non-arena locations for the draft.

I remember that there was a delay in announcing the 2018 Draft location since nobody was volunteering to host. Even after they started charging money in 2016, I think hosting was a money losing proposition. Most arenas would prefer to be hosting a concert or other event on a Friday+Saturday in June.

It'll be a different vibe for sure though.

 

[Xirik]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833913618792153593

It's on a Friday, so I look forward to being extra unproductive that day.

Sorry my evil side won and forced me to do this.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Just do it in the sphere permanently. f***ing travesty to (seem to) finally really nail the whole thing and immediately decentralize it

 

[Blackjack]

Imagine being one of the guys on the other team who scored one of the 2 goals against him. Them's bragg'n rights.

I think (hope) that the other team was consulted and approved this. It would suck if your team hadn’t won anything before and lost the championship this way but if you won 5 in a row anyway it’s a whole different story. I would have loved the chance to play against a pro in this situation.

This is so cool

 

[Xirik]

Happy for Muk, Sounds like he's growing into his body. I remember in his brief stint in Utica for the playoffs he felt homesick I believe. Having a old friend and buddy around that speaks his language should be good for him.

 

[JrFischer54]

Happy for Muk, Sounds like he's growing into his body. I remember in his brief stint in Utica for the playoffs he felt homesick I believe. Having a old friend and buddy around that speaks his language should be good for him.

to be fair he goes from living in utica to san jose that certainly helped

 

[HBK27]

LOL...Lou...

https://x.com/i/web/status/1834222005949702244

 

[MartyOwns]

LOL...Lou...

https://x.com/i/web/status/1834222005949702244

i'm guessing terreri had the shits or something

 

[Brodeur]

Just do it in the sphere permanently. f***ing travesty to (seem to) finally really nail the whole thing and immediately decentralize it

I'd be curious to hear how much it cost to have it at The Sphere. I was a bit annoyed to pay $100+fees to attend the first round (Day 2 was like $30+fees), but I wonder if the venue managed to turn a profit. Given a choice, I think they would have rather put on a concert on a Friday night.

Day 2 starting at 8:30am local time was a bit rough. Normally it'd be 10am local time, but the ushers told us that they needed the extra time to clean the venue for an afternoon movie showing.

Seemed like everybody enjoyed The Sphere. With it being decentralized, I wonder if ESPN pushes to have the first round on a Wednesday (2023) or Thursday (2022) again since in theory those are better TV nights than a Friday. It's gotten messy since ESPN has the rights to the MLB Wild Card, so they asked that the NHL wait to start the season. Last year was worst case scenario for the NHL:

June 24 (Monday): SCF Game 7
June 27 (Thursday): Awards Show
June 28 (Friday): Round 1

Now with teams staying home, they don't have to worry about the travel logistics. Having the draft at The Sphere on a Wednesday/Thursday night might be more amenable to the venue. Bill Daly mentioned a smaller event which just reminded me that they had the Awards Show at a theater in the Fontainebleau.

With it being decentralized, I wonder if more Day 2 prospects choose to stay home.

 

[JrFischer54]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833913618792153593

It's on a Friday, so I look forward to being extra unproductive that day.

NHL expansion, LTIR, Russians in the Olympics and renaming the Lady Byng: Bill Daly talks

The NHL's deputy commissioner addressed many of the hottest topics around the league in a sit-down Tuesday in Vegas.

www.nytimes.com

Bill Daly did a Q&A. One minor thing that caught my eye:



I don't envy whoever has to follow up last year's draft. Friedman had previously mentioned that the league had kicked around ideas for non-arena locations for the draft.

I remember that there was a delay in announcing the 2018 Draft location since nobody was volunteering to host. Even after they started charging money in 2016, I think hosting was a money losing proposition. Most arenas would prefer to be hosting a concert or other event on a Friday+Saturday in June.

It'll be a different vibe for sure though.

that seems pretty late in the season or maybe just the date sounds late. i always said they should have the trade deadline on a sunday everyone would be off and make it much more enjoyable

Just do it in the sphere permanently. f***ing travesty to (seem to) finally really nail the whole thing and immediately decentralize it

the novelty will inevitably rub off. just stick to a couple of cities to host it and rotate between them. hell just keep it a strictly canadian thing even

 

[Brodeur]

the novelty will inevitably rub off. just stick to a couple of cities to host it and rotate between them. hell just keep it a strictly canadian thing even

One thing that was very noticeable in person was that the draft in Vegas attracted a more diverse number of attendees. In the other drafts that I've gone to, it's been like 75%+ home fans. I'd love another draft at The Sphere, but I would imagine the cost/timing would be biggest hurdles. This year was tough too since the UFC had an event in town too and I think their "International Fight Week" is a an annual event.

NFL had their draft at Radio City Music Hall for years before morphing into their current traveling circus. Something I didn't realize until looking it up was that the NBA Draft has only been in NJ/NYC/Brooklyn this millennium. My memory is fuzzy but I seem to recall that the NBA Draft is typically on a Tuesday, so it might be easier to book an arena in June since Tuesday's probably not as coveted. I vaguely recall that for the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, it was on Wednesday/Thursday and the arena had a concert booked for that Friday.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Lot of vitriol on the main boards towards PLD for that interview he gave. I don’t get it. Thought it was honest and showed an understanding of his flaws as a player.

“I need more direct attention and instruction” isn’t “it’s everyone else’s fault.”

I have two operators at work who work specifically on my devices. One is good at what she does, and can just be given a task and sent off to do her thing, she’ll figure it out. I get the same quality result from her no matter the situation . The other I have to lay out exactly what needs to be done, but the end result is PERFECT. The second is the one who gets the really important stuff because the end result is worth it.

If he failed in LA because the team couldnt be bothered to work with him in a way that helped him succeed that’s a huge indictment of management there.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Nothing in the PLD quotes struck me as being noteworthy, he just didn't have a quote indicating some responsibility I guess for the season he had (if we believe the OP that that's all he said on the topic) and the main board is running with that.

It could work out in Washington, he could be proud and angry and want to show everyone he's a top center in the league, or he could legitimately just be a guy who's content riding out his contract putting in a mediocre day of work every day for 7 more years. He's skilled enough and the dearth of centers in the league is such that he could maybe do the latter and be an above replacement player, but the league is so competitive that he might end up being an absolute disaster if he's not willing to put in the work and the word is such that that's what happened in LA.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Hard pass from me, awful name, awful logo and awful colors...

 

[Darkauron]

That is absolutely horrible