Around the NHL 2024 - Offseason Moves

[triggrman]

They're not being part of the team. That's arguably a problem regardless. Kind of like how folks complained about Laine playing Fortnite in the early days, or players who would party late into the night and be late to practice the next day.

Fortnite and partying aren’t the same as religious objections.

 

[herzausstein]

They're not being part of the team. That's arguably a problem regardless. Kind of like how folks complained about Laine playing Fortnite in the early days, or players who would party late into the night and be late to practice the next day.

Religious exemptions are made daily in industry and government for workers/employees. Unless Laine's religion requires the pounding of brewskis, late night Fortnitification, and showing up late for work I dont really see the comparison.

 

[ShagDaddy]

I typically refrain from participating in conversations around this topic on forums because people today seem to get offended by anything that doesn’t fall in perfect alignment with their way of thinking but I’m making an exception this time.

In my opinion your anger is directed at the wrong people. Every thing was fine and good as long as every player participated in the event. Once a player or group of players decided they didn’t want to participate, the media and twitter mob focused the majority if not all of their attention on that small number of players instead of focusing their attention on the ones that willingly participated. That small group of players got eviscerated and became the target of perpetual harassment until the next news cycle. Maybe, just maybe if all the media and twitter mob that want the event to take place would have been a little more tolerant of people with a different opinion, then maybe the event would still be taking place.

If you’re angry that the NHL has canceled the event maybe you should be angry at the very vocal intolerant people that want to destroy the lives of the handful of people who don’t want to participate instead of getting angry with an organization that is doing what it feels necessary to prevent any and all of its employees from harassment.

That’s just my opinion though, and I won’t force anyone to accept it and if someone completely disagrees with me then I’m ok with that too. I enjoy the conversations that we have on this board (well most of us ) and would hate to see anyone leave or get blocked from the conversation over this topic.

 

[hockey diva]

In other news, the wunderkind savior of the hawks got his first goal tonight.

Apparently, Connor McJesus and his sidekick Drai are chopped liver now…

 

[PredsV82]

Holy shit, the Jets just went all in, instead of a rebuild.

Edit... this apparently happened Monday, and I'm just hearing about it...

 

[Armourboy]

Wow the NHL went way over the top basically completely banning pride stuff. How do you go from basically forcing pride night to telling players they can’t even volunteer to tape their sticks? Who is running this shit show? I’ll buy the jersey of the first pred who shows up on the ice with a big f u to the league on their stick.

NHL didn't just ban pride stuff, they banned all special jerseys or anything else that would be worn prior to game time. This also includes things like military jerseys and even the Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys. The LGBTQ+ stuff isn't special in that regard.

The event nights will still be held, the players just will not be doing anything special as far as jerseys and such.

 

[PredsV82]

NHL didn't just ban pride stuff, they banned all special jerseys or anything else that would be worn prior to game time. This also includes things like military jerseys and even the Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys. The LGBTQ+ stuff isn't special in that regard.

The event nights will still be held, the players just will not be doing anything special as far as jerseys and such.

My wallet will be happy but I'm not. That's just stupid

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Wow the NHL went way over the top basically completely banning pride stuff. How do you go from basically forcing pride night to telling players they can’t even volunteer to tape their sticks? Who is running this shit show? I’ll buy the jersey of the first pred who shows up on the ice with a big f u to the league on their stick.

Assuming "ban" just means a $2500 fine like Berard got for not wearing his helmet in warmups, it's definitely something a player should do. Put me down for buying that jersey also.

 

[Armourboy]

My wallet will be happy but I'm not. That's just stupid

It just stops a distraction within teams. Whether as individuals we agree with it or not, we have large numbers of players from all across the world, and not everyone is going to have the same opinion on things because of that.

I'm all for freedom of expression, but players shouldn't be forced into anything either, even if I don't think its that big of a deal.

 

[Viqsi]

My wallet will be happy but I'm not. That's just stupid

Yep. No special warmup jersey auctions for charity because seven players decided to to whine about it. I hope they're proud of themselves.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

I'm not sure I've seen as highly-paid a player play such a loafing, lackadaisical, unengaged game as PLD since...well, probably since Ryan Johansen. Kings got hosed.

 

[Scoresberg]

The rumoured Boeser acquisition might’ve not been a bad one…

 

[ShagDaddy]

Yep. No special warmup jersey auctions for charity because seven players decided to to whine about it. I hope they're proud of themselves.

The teams are still making the jerseys and auctioning them off. Those seven players you’re ridiculing aren’t preventing charities from receiving money.

 

[101st_fan]

The Hispanic Night jerseys auctioned during the preseason went for around the same amount as the specialty night sweaters worn pregame last year.

 

[Predsanddead24]

My issue is the new change is banning players from voluntarily participating in Pride night (or other nights) by using specialty tape. I’m fine with not requiring players to do anything but this is saying individuals are not allowed to choose to use tape to support a theme night either. If you’re going to be for individual choice on this it seems like that should go either way. I don’t think Twitter mobs should be attacking people nor do I think that is an effective tool for changing minds, but I also think if you believe something you should be able to stand behind it so it’s hilarious to think a bunch of grown men need protection from people criticizing you. Because let’s be clear no player was actually close to losing their livelihood over refusing to wear a Pride jersey.

The funny thing is the actual rule book states you can use whatever color tape you want. I’d love to see someone play a game with rainbow tape although I suspect that won’t happen because of the culture of hockey to not be a distraction (which is incidentally the reason wearing Pride jerseys wasn’t an issue until Provorov broke the dam).

 

[Legionnaire11]

Could a player paint their stick in pride colors while using black/white tape? Can they use rainbow colored laces in their skates? rainbow mouth guard? Can goalies paint their helmets in support of pride, cancer, etc?

 

[Predsanddead24]

So who does everyone predict to win the cup this year? It really seems fairly wide open and there are a lot of teams I think have a legitimate shot, but most everyone has a pretty sizeable question mark. I'll go with the Oilers finally getting over the hump with Ekholm solidifying their defense. The goaltending is still a huge question mark with them though.

Lol great start for my cup pick. This is why I don’t gamble.

 

[Armourboy]

Could a player paint their stick in pride colors while using black/white tape? Can they use rainbow colored laces in their skates? rainbow mouth guard? Can goalies paint their helmets in support of pride, cancer, etc?

Or how about instead they just play hockey and use that time and money to do something that will actually benefit these groups?

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Or how about instead they just play hockey and use that time and money to do something that will actually benefit these groups?

In this case, the benefit sought is not so much about time and money, is it? It's about demonstrating inclusion and acceptance, setting an example to the broader society?

Anyway, it does sound like a player is going to break the rule. Laughton, Merrill, Huberdeau have commented about it already, I don't think the NHL was thinking very clearly about this, and they're going to pay a price in negative PR that they somehow failed to see coming. There will also now be players wearing hats and t-shirts and whatnot in interviews and off-ice events, and it won't fail to be noted how that relates to the NHL's silly tape rule.

 

[Kat Predator]

What if some owner decided to have a day to celebrate Multinational Corporation and the team was to wear Multinational Corporation ad jerseys in warmups? Would a player refuse to do so? Would that minority of the team be given veto power over the deal?

Or what if a tiny minority of players decided they had "lucky" warmup jerseys? That even after a trade, they were going to wear their lucky warmups anyway. Even if they were warming up for a game against the team they recently played for? Is that ok, because it is the same act: an open refusal to behave in concert with the team for personal reasons.

 

[Predsanddead24]

In this case, the benefit sought is not so much about time and money, is it? It's about demonstrating acceptance, setting an example to the broader society?

Anyway, it does sound like a player is going to break the rule. Laughton, Merrill, Huberdeau have commented about it already, I don't think the NHL was thinking very clearly about this, and they're going to pay a price in negative PR that they somehow failed to see coming. There will also now be players wearing hats and t-shirts and whatnot in interviews and off-ice events, and it won't fail to be noted how that relates to the NHL's silly tape rule.

Yeah sports in general but especially hockey still is not a place that is as a whole welcoming of LGBT players. Showing that hockey is for everyone is the goal of all of these events like Pride night and Hispanic night. I actually think that voluntary participation by players in team events like this is more powerful for that goal than forced compliance by making players wear specialty jerseys. That’s why I find it especially ridiculous that the NHL supposedly promotes hockey for everyone but then turns around and says players can’t participate even if they want to.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

What if some owner decided to have a day to celebrate Multinational Corporation and the team was to wear Multinational Corporation ad jerseys in warmups? Would a player refuse to do so? Would that minority of the team be given veto power over the deal?

Or what if a tiny minority of players decided they had "lucky" warmup jerseys? That even after a trade, they were going to wear their lucky warmups anyway. Even if they were warming up for a game against the team they recently played for? Is that ok, because it is the same act: an open refusal to behave in concert with the team for personal reasons.

I don't know how these types of analogies really help, though? I think each situation warrants consideration on its own specific merits. So if I answer your analogous questions, then I'm just answering that specific case, without bearing on another specific case. And now we're talking about tape on hockey sticks, not jerseys. Some players do have sponsorship contracts with certain hockey equipment companies or athletic attire, and you can see those corporate logos on display both in games and in warmups. Goalies have all kinds of personal things on their masks. You can draw some lines that allow expression and choice without going to extreme analogies.

 

[Predsanddead24]

They are employees of a company and are expected to treat their coworkers with respect. How many employees retain their jobs yelling racial slurs?

At least two NHL players have retained their jobs after yelling gay slurs in recent history and they likely only got in trouble because it got picked up on a hot mic. Granted there haven't been issues with NHLers using gay slurs in the last several years (at least in a way accessible to the public) and from the sounds of it is fortunately becoming less common among the younger generations. You can listen to interviews with Prokop and it does still happen in junior hockey though. I think you're pretty unlikely to hear someone use a gay slur to someone they know is gay nowadays but using the language as a casual insult is still pretty common from my experience in adult rec leagues.

To me, it is more meaningful what a team does off the ice then on the ice when it comes to these types of things. Barry Trotz and the best buddies program, the childrens hospital visits, etc. Positive community change comes from going out there and putting in the time and effort. If the teams really wants to do something then they should do something less symbolic like stick tape and go out and see what they can do for the community. Public skates, skating lessons, hockey lessons, etc. Players volunteer on their own time to make positive impacts on a community and engage more personally with the special interest group and get to hear their stories of what theyve had to deal with. Sensitivity training should be mandatory for players as it is in the corporate world and slurs outright banned. You can disagree with things and still be completely respectful.

I don't think anyone would disagree that actions beyond Pride nights are more impactful and we do fortunately have two of the biggest advocates for LGBT players in hockey in our system right now (Prokop and Barrie). Symbolic gestures aren't going to fix the problem and I actually have no problem with the NHL not forcing players to wear something that goes against their beliefs. The problem I have with the tape thing is now it is the NHL going the other direction and saying you don't get to show your beliefs even if you want to. Given their policy last season saying players should be able to make a personal choice it definitely seems like backsliding at least in this one small area.

 

[herzausstein]

In game related news:

Talbot (LAK), Korpisalo (OTT), Samsanov (TOR), and Campbell/Skinner (EDM) all with pretty miserable starts to the season. I know it is only 1 game but something to keep an eye on. All these teams are expecting to make the playoffs and all but OTT fancy themselves as cup contenders.

 

[Predsanddead24]

In game related news:

Talbot (LAK), Korpisalo (OTT), Samsanov (TOR), and Campbell/Skinner (EDM) all with pretty miserable starts to the season. I know it is only 1 game but something to keep an eye on. All these teams are expecting to make the playoffs and all but OTT fancy themselves as cup contenders.

I feel like a lot of teams saw what Vegas did with Hill and convinced themselves their questionable goaltending situation will work out too are going to be sorely disappointed this season. Granted getting good goaltending is easier said than done but still.