Around The NHL Discussion 2019/20 - Part III

[Stealth JD]

ANOTHER hat-trick for Ovechkin. Back-to-back games. Dude is a machine. He'll get to 900 goals and pass Gretzky EASILY.
At this rate, possibly this season.

 

[Stealth JD]

Taylor Hall a -5 in today's game versus the Oilers. OEL too. Woof.

 

[Ranksu]

Wild destroy 7-0 Dallas. Minnesota are humming.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

All this talk of Backes and nobody has mentioned that the desire to win a cup probably factored into his decision? Obviously didn't work out great for him/them, but I think it's highly likely Backes thought Boston had as good or better a chance of winning it all.

More money + more term + 3 years NMC + (wrong) belief in better chance to win cup = tough but straightforward decision.

If they reassign him, he is likely still going to be on the postseason roster. Backes still has a decent shot at a Cup this season, even though he wouldn’t be contributing on the ice most likely.

I think it looks petty to judge Backes for making a pretty straightforward business decision that probably represented about 10% of his lifetime earnings. It’s a lot of money, to join a respected team and live in a great city. Nothing wrong or greedy about wanting to get good compensation in a good situation. If Game 7 goes the other way, he would have gotten his Cup too.

Neither do I fault Armstrong for making a calculation of the cut-off for term and salary and letting a beloved captain walk for nothing when he was trying to keep the team in a contenders window. Doug took a fair bit of heat for that, and more when he traded Shattenkirk and Stastny.

 

[Reality Czech]

Yes I’m absolutely laughing at your ridiculous notion. YES when you reach a certain income concern over money should absolutely disappear. You can only buy so much stuff in your lifetime. The difference between having made $55M and $60M is inconsequential. You’re set for life regardless. You make it seem like he’s an accountant being offered a raise from 60K to 80K to move across the country. That I could understand because it would allow his family to live a more comfortable life and would have a substantial impact on their life.

David Backes had made over $30M by the time he was a free agent and was offered $24M more to stay in St. Louis. He would be set for life with that money, as would his kids and maybe even his grandkids if they were smart with it. They’re guaranteed contracts so he’s getting that money regardless how he plays(unless he violates the contract somehow, which he obviously wouldn’t).

It’s honestly insulting to suggest that Backes needed that extra year to “help his family”. He has more money than 99.8% of people in the world. If he can’t make that amount of money work for his family then he’s an idiot. Now he gets to ride busses around the AHL for a year and a half and had to watch his former team lift the Cup on his home ice. I’m thrilled that he has to suffer through these last couple years. Greed and selfishness should be punished.

Sheesh, tell us how you really feel. You seem to be taking this personally. What kind of a person would be "thrilled" to watch Backes "suffer?"

Get a grip.

 

[Dbrownss]

Wild destroy 7-0 Dallas. Minnesota are humming.

Absolutely hilarious how they do this every year.

 

[Renard]

If they reassign him, he is likely still going to be on the postseason roster. Backes still has a decent shot at a Cup this season, even though he wouldn’t be contributing on the ice most likely.

I think it looks petty to judge Backes for making a pretty straightforward business decision that probably represented about 10% of his lifetime earnings. It’s a lot of money, to join a respected team and live in a great city. Nothing wrong or greedy about wanting to get good compensation in a good situation. If Game 7 goes the other way, he would have gotten his Cup too.

Neither do I fault Armstrong for making a calculation of the cut-off for term and salary and letting a beloved captain walk for nothing when he was trying to keep the team in a contenders window. Doug took a fair bit of heat for that, and more when he traded Shattenkirk and Stastny.

I guess people have markedly different takes on this.

Backes was riding for a fall, in my opinion. It seemed clear that he wouldn't remain a decent NHL player for the whole term of his contract with Boston. He left a situation where he was the team captain, a local celebrity, a loved player, a good citizen, the face of the franchise - need I go on? And he had already earned $50-60 million dollars.

I don't know his thoughts. Some have suggested he went there to seek a Cup. But did he also have to squeeze the most money and term in the process?

It's hard to put a monetary value on intangibles, but surely, friendship, loyalty, teammates, adoring fans have to count for a lot. Especially when you are already VERY rich, and only 32 years old.

 

[Ranksu]

I'm really happy that Army understood how big fall Backes would have and dodged a bullet. I'll give all credits to Backes not on what he has done on ice, but how much he has done with charity for generally dogs and poor people in Africa.

 

[execwrite1]

I guess people have markedly different takes on this.

Backes was riding for a fall, in my opinion. It seemed clear that he wouldn't remain a decent NHL player for the whole term of his contract with Boston. He left a situation where he was the team captain, a local celebrity, a loved player, a good citizen, the face of the franchise - need I go on? And he had already earned $50-60 million dollars.

I don't know his thoughts. Some have suggested he went there to seek a Cup. But did he also have to squeeze the most money and term in the process?

It's hard to put a monetary value on intangibles, but surely, friendship, loyalty, teammates, adoring fans have to count for a lot. Especially when you are already VERY rich, and only 32 years old.

Interesting take on the situation. Backes had the choice to take less term/money and stay in St. Louis. He got the money instead in Boston and now he must have some second thoughts.

 

[stl76]

But when you look back to 2016, Boston wasn’t really a contender. In fact a lot of people thought their window was closing.

Fair point. In my head, for some reason I thought of Boston being on the upswing after 2016, with several recent high draft picks and a proven winning core already in place. After going back and looking at their past couple seasons before 2016, maybe I was mistaken.

If they reassign him, he is likely still going to be on the postseason roster. Backes still has a decent shot at a Cup this season, even though he wouldn’t be contributing on the ice most likely.

I think it looks petty to judge Backes for making a pretty straightforward business decision that probably represented about 10% of his lifetime earnings. It’s a lot of money, to join a respected team and live in a great city. Nothing wrong or greedy about wanting to get good compensation in a good situation. If Game 7 goes the other way, he would have gotten his Cup too.

Neither do I fault Armstrong for making a calculation of the cut-off for term and salary and letting a beloved captain walk for nothing when he was trying to keep the team in a contenders window. Doug took a fair bit of heat for that, and more when he traded Shattenkirk and Stastny.

Re: bolded - you're right, it's still possible Backes could get his name on the cup this year. Boston would probably have to petition the NHL tho wouldn't they? I forget the exact rules on this, but my recollection is that players don't automatically get their name on unless they play playoff games and/or a significant portion of the regular season. Regardless, given his career, I'm sure the NHL would not have an issue if the bruins petitioned to get Backes' name on the cup. Lot of "ifs" tho.

As for the rest of your post here...pretty much agree 100% with what you're saying, so no need to dig in further there. Zero hard feelings toward Backes for his decision and zero problems with the Blues front office for theirs.

 

[execwrite1]

The Eastern Conference is stacked with good teams this season. If the Blues are fortunate to make the Finals they will benefit from playing the survivor of what should be a very tough three first rounds in the East.

 

[Xerloris]

Who gives a shit about Backes? I don't wish him anything but the best as a person but we're lucky as f*** he was greedy and wanted more money/years or else he would still be here and we would not have ROR or a Stanley Cup.

 

[Celtic Note]

The Eastern Conference is stacked with good teams this season. If the Blues are fortunate to make the Finals they will benefit from playing the survivor of what should be a very tough three first rounds in the East.

I was thinking something similar the other day upon reviewing the standings. Look at the top ten teams in the league and count how many are in the West. It won’t take more than a couple fingers to get there.

 

[bleedblue1223]

With Pettersson signing for 5 years at $4M AAV and Andersson at 6 years at $4.55M AAV, Dunn will be an interesting case to see what he signs for. If we go long-term, you look at those 2 and Girard. If we go short-term, we are look at the deals for Sanheim and Carlo, which would be 3ish AAV.

 

[ezcreepin]

With Pettersson signing for 5 years at $4M AAV and Andersson at 6 years at $4.55M AAV, Dunn will be an interesting case to see what he signs for. If we go long-term, you look at those 2 and Girard. If we go short-term, we are look at the deals for Sanheim and Carlo, which would be 3ish AAV.

Andersson is a right handed shot, so his salary might be inflated a little bit. But Andersson and Pettersson are both playing 3 minutes more than Dunn, and I'm sure Dunn is playing more time on the pp than them, but I can't find those stats. The former players seem to be better at blocking shots and play more than Dunn, so I'd assume he's going to get less just based on that and his play earlier in the year. It'll be a short contract though if they do decide to go that route.

 

[MissouriMook]

With our impending cap crunch next season, I fully expect Army will use Dunn’s lack of leverage to lock him up for one more year at around a Barbashev/Sanford figure until Steen and Gunnarsson are off the books. He will have no arb rights this offseason and, as far as I can tell, will be ineligible for an offer sheet. He will play for what Army offers or he’ll have to pull a Sobotka.

 

[Note Worthy]

I always find these interesting. Like, who doesn't already have a Crosby jersey if you're a Pens fan? Same for Ovi at 3. Weird.

Also, Tarasenko at number 2? No Pastrnak for Boston? Instead it's Bergeron who's been on the team for years.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I always find these interesting. Like, who doesn't already have a Crosby jersey if you're a Pens fan? Same for Ovi at 3. Weird.

Also, Tarasenko at number 2? No Pastrnak for Boston? Instead it's Bergeron who's been on the team for years.

Tarasenko is there for the 96 throwback. Wasn't he the only player you could buy that didn't require a customization?

 

[Note Worthy]

Tarasenko is there for the 96 throwback. Wasn't he the only player you could buy that didn't require a customization?

Ah, good call. I didn't even think of that. And yes I believe he was the only one that was pre-made.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Y'all should be watching Battle of Alberta tonight. Monahan and RNH just fought. Nice scrap between 2 guys who between them had like 2 career fights before tonight.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

And Kassian just fought Tkachuk. Fun stuff.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

There will be blood....in Alberta....

 

[BlueOil]

it's going to be a blood bath, tune in folks

 

[BlueDream]

Yup, this is a good rivalry.

And this is the type of hockey people want to see.

 

[Blueline2757]

I'm watching, This is a fun game to watch, 1 period in and it's just getting started.