Around The NHL Part XXX

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Can they call them the Adams, Patrick, Norris and Smythe just for nostalgia?

Anything is better than what they have now

Detroit in the Atlantic division
Arizona, Calgary and Edmonton in the Pacific division

Naming them after greats of the game is a much better strategy since you don't tie yourself to a geographical location with a name.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Jaromir Jagr on future: 'I can't say how long I want to keep playing' — NBC Sports

 

[FultonReed]

Jaromir Jagr on future: 'I can't say how long I want to keep playing' — NBC Sports

it freaks me out that he's been playing for my entire life. wonder if that's how Gretzky felt facing off against Gordie Howe

 

[BKGooner]

Anything is better than what they have now

Detroit in the Atlantic division
Arizona, Calgary and Edmonton in the Pacific division

Naming them after greats of the game is a much better strategy since you don't tie yourself to a geographical location with a name.

Yup the old time cheapskate owners knew how to monetize their product for their time. Even if the league went with players from the first expansion era to replace the names of the division they spent their careers in like Howe, Orr, Clarke and Dionne, that wouldn't be horrible. Every 20 years you can roll it over to highlight players that the new generation of fans may not know that well and get them interested in some league history.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Yup the old time cheapskate owners knew how to monetize their product for their time. Even if the league went with players from the first expansion era to replace the names of the division they spent their careers in like Howe, Orr, Clarke and Dionne, that wouldn't be horrible. Every 20 years you can roll it over to highlight players that the new generation of fans may not know that well and get them interested in some league history.

How great would that be?

Pacific = Gretzky Division
Central = Howe Division
Atlantic = Orr Division
Metro = Lemieux Division

 

[Barnaby]

How great would that be?

Pacific = Gretzky Division
Central = Howe Division
Atlantic = Orr Division
Metro = Lemieux Division

I was actually thinking along those exact lines earlier, but I can’t sign on for the Lemieux division! ... and good luck selling Montreal on an Orr division! I get that you picked players based on what division their teams are in today, but I wonder if you might be better off shuffling the decks. I can’t see teams wanting to play in a division named after a hated rival, but I wouldn’t mind a division named after Gretzky or Howe or some other player I respect but am otherwise indifferent to.

Think about doing this in other leagues. Try telling the Jets they’re in the Tom Brady division or the Red Sox that they’re in the Babe Ruth division.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I was actually thinking along those exact lines earlier, but I can’t sign on for the Lemieux division! ... and good luck selling Montreal on an Orr division! I get that you picked players based on what division their teams are in today, but I wonder if you might be better off shuffling the decks. I can’t see teams wanting to play in a division named after a hated rival, but I wouldn’t mind a division named after Gretzky or Howe or some other player I respect but am otherwise indifferent to.

Think about doing this in other leagues. Try telling the Jets they’re in the Tom Brady division or the Red Sox that they’re in the Babe Ruth division.

Do Bears fans ever complain about having won the Lombardi trophy? It shouldn't be an issue to be honest.

 

[SA16]

The division names will never go back to something like that because it is way too confusing for the non-hardcore fans. There's a reason ever major NA sports league has divisions based on and named after geographical locations. It's simple and easy to understand. Obviously there will always be teams that don't quite fit.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

The division names will never go back to something like that because it is way too confusing for the non-hardcore fans. There's a reason ever major NA sports league has divisions based on and named after geographical locations. It's simple and easy to understand. Obviously there will always be teams that don't quite fit.

Cowboys in the NFC East and Rams (when they were in St Louis) in the NFC West always cracked me up.

Naming divisions after greats of the game doesn't seem to be a problem in other leagues to be honest. The KHL does it for instance.

 

[Irishguy42]

Division 1, 2, 3, and 4

Conference A and B

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Division 1, 2, 3, and 4

Conference A and B

But then people will complain that their division isn't number 1

Name the divisions after the moons of Jupiter

Ganymede
Callisto
Io
Europa

Or just use sponsorship names.

Pepsi division
Subway division
Starbucks division
Best Buy division

 

[Irishguy42]

Name the divisions after the moons of Jupiter

Ganymede
Callisto
Io
Europa

Yes. This is it.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

But then people will complain that their division isn't number 1

Name the divisions after the moons of Jupiter

Ganymede
Callisto
Io
Europa

Or just use sponsorship names.

Pepsi division
Subway division
Starbucks division
Best Buy division

Europa should just be the softest teams in one division.

 

[BKGooner]

The Sponsorship route is the most likely - just look at the Premiere League.
Joe Buck here. Welcome to game 7 of the Yum! Foods Conference Finals featuring the AIG division winning Sharks verse the upstart Houston Coyotes from the Exxon Division with the winner heading to the Anheuser-Busch Stanley Cup Final.

 

[BKGooner]

But then people will complain that their division isn't number 1

Name the divisions after the moons of Jupiter

Ganymede
Callisto
Io
Europa

Or just use sponsorship names.

Pepsi division
Subway division
Starbucks division
Best Buy division

Take all these worlds but Europa...

 

[leetch99]

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote the NHL will likely have the old Patrick Division playoff format. First place team plays fourth place. Second place plays third place. He spoke to some NHL people and they believe this format will be used for 2021. Cuts down on travel and teams will play exclusively in their division. Makes sense.

Boston will make the playoffs. Carolina is a very good team. Philadelphia is a very good team. Washington is similar to Boston. Their players are getting older. The Caps should be good enough to make the playoffs. The Islanders might be better than the Rangers. The sum of their parts is better than the actual parts. The Islanders couldn't keep up with the Rangers in some of those games.

The Rangers will need their young guys to take a big step. We know what the veterans can do. The Rangers need Filip Chytil to take the next step. Kaapo Kakko was better in the Carolina series. Alexis Lafrenière. A full year of Igor Shesterkin.

Getting another top ten pick won't be so bad. More cap space next summer. More time to evaluate their players.

I have to agree...it is not the end of the world to miss the playoffs this season . Leafs made that mistake of getting there before they were ready and then altered the roster building path because of it and failed every season after trying to win a series now they have hired a molasses line of senior citizens in a young guys league . We'll take our lumps and use it as an evaluation /grooming season while some kids gain some NHL experience on defense and in the net . We'll be much better served the following season to compete .

 

[Edge]

Interesting conversation with someone the other day.

They mentioned how one of the more interesting and under-the-radar aspects of the current landscape is the impact on fringe players. In other words, those journeyman types who are hanging on in the AHL or ECHL.

For starters, they don't have the salary reserves of their NHL counterparts.

But beyond that, you're looking at a potential wave of young talent that's had less time to cook at previous levels. At this point, the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons are shortened --- which impacts young pros, those who turned pro, and those will be turning pro. There's going to be an experience vacuum there, especially if the AHL season is condensed considerably.

Going back as an over-ager isn't going to be an option for everyone and so there's some belief that you could see a trickle down effect where the kids slates for the NHL are starting in the AHL, and some of the kids slated for the AHL actually begin in the ECHL. So now you have a scenario where your fringe AHL players are deciding between Europe and the ECHL, and your fringe ECHL players are wondering if they can still hold onto their career/dreams.

It'll be interesting to watch the next few years.

 

[Maximus]

I have to agree...it is not the end of the world to miss the playoffs this season . Leafs made that mistake of getting there before they were ready and then altered the roster building path because of it and failed every season after trying to win a series now they have hired a molasses line of senior citizens in a young guys league . We'll take our lumps and use it as an evaluation /grooming season while some kids gain some NHL experience on defense and in the net . We'll be much better served the following season to compete .

WE should have more than enough talent to make the playoffs no matter what set up the NHL comes up with.

In fact I'd be shocked if the Rangers didn't make the playoffs and once we got there, we made some noise once we got there.

 

[nyr2k2]

Interesting conversation with someone the other day.

They mentioned how one of the more interesting and under-the-radar aspects of the current landscape is the impact on fringe players. In other words, those journeyman types who are hanging on in the AHL or ECHL.

For starters, they don't have the salary reserves of their NHL counterparts.

But beyond that, you're looking at a potential wave of young talent that's had less time to cook at previous levels. At this point, the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons are shortened --- which impacts young pros, those who turned pro, and those will be turning pro. There's going to be an experience vacuum there, especially if the AHL season is condensed considerably.

Going back as an over-ager isn't going to be an option for everyone and so there's some belief that you could see a trickle down effect where the kids slates for the NHL are starting in the AHL, and some of the kids slated for the AHL actually begin in the ECHL. So now you have a scenario where your fringe AHL players are deciding between Europe and the ECHL, and your fringe ECHL players are wondering if they can still hold onto their career/dreams.

It'll be interesting to watch the next few years.

Even more difficult this year with several ECHL teams not playing. It's too late in the game for a lot of those guys without jobs to find a place to play. And then your AHL/ECHL tweeners--someone like a Ty Ronning--they're screwed. They won't get any burn in the AHL and there's no ECHL team for them, barring a loan, which of course a lot of guys will be looking for. Space is limited and all that.

I think we'll also see (and have seen to some degree already) the European leagues implementing tighter restrictions on North American players and their movement into and out of the leagues. They'll want to make sure there is still ample space for their players and the "domestics" aren't getting squeezed by North Americans coming and going on loans.

(This is a big reason why I've been saying, based on what I have been told, that the AHL season is and has never truly been in doubt. It's too important to the operations of NHL teams. They'll make something work.)

Tough situation all around.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Islanders saved, Boychuck retired. Saves them $6MM on the cap.

 

[Leetch3]

Interesting conversation with someone the other day.

They mentioned how one of the more interesting and under-the-radar aspects of the current landscape is the impact on fringe players. In other words, those journeyman types who are hanging on in the AHL or ECHL.

For starters, they don't have the salary reserves of their NHL counterparts.

But beyond that, you're looking at a potential wave of young talent that's had less time to cook at previous levels. At this point, the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons are shortened --- which impacts young pros, those who turned pro, and those will be turning pro. There's going to be an experience vacuum there, especially if the AHL season is condensed considerably.

Going back as an over-ager isn't going to be an option for everyone and so there's some belief that you could see a trickle down effect where the kids slates for the NHL are starting in the AHL, and some of the kids slated for the AHL actually begin in the ECHL. So now you have a scenario where your fringe AHL players are deciding between Europe and the ECHL, and your fringe ECHL players are wondering if they can still hold onto their career/dreams.

It'll be interesting to watch the next few years.

it will be interesting to see the impact on those players...not only the ones potentially pushed out but also the top guys that might end up in the AHL when they normally wouldn't. looking back at the 2003 draft, I think alot of those guys benefit from the lockout and playing a year in the AHL and making the nhl a year older.

and of course the flipside of this is there will be middle of the road nhl veterans that would have been pushed out of jobs cause guys on ELC are cheaper that might get to keep their jobs if that next wave of players is delayed

 

[nyr2k2]

Islanders saved, Boychuck retired. Saves them $6MM on the cap.

This one is interesting because the Islanders' statement said his "career was ending," which other places are reporting as "retired" when it's possible this is an LTIR situation; in which case it's only partial relief. I guess we'll have to see.

EDIT: I see some people saying the Isles would get hit with a recapture penalty if he retired.

 

[Thirty One]

Islanders saved, Boychuck retired. Saves them $6MM on the cap.

In before "Why couldn't Marc Staal retire?"

 

[Fugazy]

Islanders saved, Boychuck retired. Saves them $6MM on the cap.

Pretty big break for them.

 

[nyr2k2]