Miscellaneous NHL Discussion XCIX: We're Gonna Party Like It's 99

[Beef Invictus]

Regarding the flyers, he wrote, "I have watched more Flyers games than any other team aside from the Hurricanes & everything since 2018 has felt like one continuous season with a rotating cast of players. I have more subscribers from them than any other team on All Three Zones even through their bad years & I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I appreciate that their fans want to know more about their team, but I also can’t think of a single reason to watch this year’s squad. The most interesting thing going on for them last year was Owen Tippet’s emergence & Noah Cates becoming a nerd Selke candidate out of nowhere. Their top prospect isn’t going to be on the team for a couple more years, so I guess this season is all about getting the Tyson Foersters up to speed & seeing how Sean Couturier looks after almost two years of being on the shelf. It reminds me a lot of the Hurricanes rebuilding seasons. The losses sucked, but they cycled through almost every prospect in the system during those years & it was interesting to see which ones emerged. At least among the fanbase."

Meanwhile the flyers signed two vets and are refusing to trade Laughton because they are already in year 2 of 3 of the rebuild.

"There will be a revolving door"

 

[wankstifier]

The true fan isn't paying for tickets to see wins. They want to watch Laughton play good, honest hockey.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Post-whistle scrums. That's the real meat and potatoes of the sport. That's why it's been such a focus in camp.

 

[DancingPanther]

They have a history of trading 3 draft picks for a openly racist player a little more than 12 months ago. They have a history of not giving a single shit about the character of a player or coach and haven't for years. They just hired Rocky Thompson who was fired from his previous two jobs for various degrees of stupidity. They just brought in Bob Murray as a senior advisor. His time in Anaheim ended due to allegations of misconduct.

Anaheim Ducks GM Resigns After Misconduct Allegations; One Of Several Toxic Work Environment Investigations At Major Sports Franchises

Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray Resigns After Allegations; One Of Several Toxic Work Environment Investigations At Major Sports Franchises

deadline.com

And that wasn't Murray's first rodeo.

Jury selection underway in lawsuit alleging Anaheim GM Murray threw chair, injured woman

Stemming from an incident following a Ducks' playoff loss in 2009.

www.nbcsports.com

Shall I continue?

Wake the f*** up, dude.

This is a winning culture. Stickingupformybeliefsorov is a martyr

 

[BigToe]

@FLYguy3911 @Magua Some of that positioning and stick checking that wasn’t supposed to work.

 

[Magua]

@FLYguy3911 @Magua Some of that positioning and stick checking that wasn’t supposed to work.

He looks sluggish, small, peripheral, and his defense overblown.

I wept.

What I wouldn’t have given to get both Michkov and Benson. Even Laughton! Even Laughton, he muttered.

 

[BigToe]

What I wouldn’t have given to get both Michkov and Benson.

Makes me sad. Apparently there's a chance he makes the team too lol.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

He looks sluggish, small, peripheral, and his defense overblown.

I wept.

What I wouldn’t have given to get both Michkov and Benson. Even Laughton! Even Laughton, he muttered.

I watched one summer showcase game in 2022 where Benson and Yager looked phenomenal.

I convinced myself that the Flyers might pick in a range where Benson was available, not believing they'd ever have an opportunity to get a player Iike Michkov.

It's hilarious to me that Benson and Yager went back to back. By the draft Benson seemed miles ahead.

I'm all in on the Benson stonks.

 

[Magua]

I watched one summer showcase game in 2022 where Benson and Yager looked phenomenal.

I convinced myself that the Flyers might pick in a range where Benson was available, not believing they'd ever have an opportunity to get a player Iike Michkov.

It's hilarious to me that Benson and Yager went back to back. By the draft Benson seemed miles ahead.

I'm all in on the Benson stonks.

Yager stinks — and I have no doubt the Flyers ranked him highly. I would’ve been less than thrilled if Benson was a Penguin. Going 13th will look sillier and sillier. Buffalo’s core is beyond fun.

 

[deadhead]

I liked Benson, but Michkov? Another tier.

 

[GKJ]

Translated Zadorov interview:

D: In 2022 there was a huge scandal in Russian hockey. A wild scandal. CSKA goalie Ivan Fedotov, who'd had a great season and won the Gagarin cup.

Z: He did. CSKA did win the cup in 2022.

D: He got called for military service. Is it true that after that many Russian players never came back to Russia?

Z: They would go through draft board lists before mobilization. Some guys paid for their exemption from service. It's not hard to do in small cities. And these cases became public. Yes. Many players decided to stay away from Russia not to risk their season.

D: How did you feel about Fedotov's case?

Z: This is what our country can do to you. I've heard that he was offered a contract by CSKA and he declined it. They said they wouldn't let him go to NHL. He said he would go. And one person sent him to military service.

D: One person?

Z: Yes. Igor Esmantovich? Him or Sechin.

D: There was a rumor that Fedotov got punished for being to daring.

Z: He was too rude. Well, there was a rumor that he said: “f*** you and your war, I'm going to NHL.” I don't know if it's true or not. He served in the navy. In the north. A year later he came back.

D: He did. Many people were shocked by the reaction in the hockey community. Almost none of the players defended him. Some players made their cautious statements. The biggest stars stayed quiet. Alexander Ovechkin was asked if he would comment on Fedotov. And he said: “Why would I?”

Z: He said that recently?

D: No, he said it back then.

Z: Okay.

D: Why is everyone silent?

Z: You need to ask Ovechkin. Are you asking why is everyone else silent? Why? Nobody asked me. We talked about it off camera.

D: Nobody asked you about the war? You made your statement on your Instagram.

Z: I posted an anti-war picture. I would say the same stuff two years ago. Nobody asked me. This is how Russian reporters work. There is censorship in sports, too.

D: Well, these are laws of the day.

Z: Things are different in Russia, I know.

D: Nobody wants to be exposed. They might go to prison for that. We shouldn't judge them too much.

Z: Yes, yes.

D: You didn't support Fedotov because nobody asked you about him?

Z: Yes. I don't like writing long posts on my Instagram. I don't like discussions. If a reporter calls me I would never refuse to talk to him. If it's a decent reporter I would talk to him. I've met a lot of bad guys. I did my research on the reporter and his media. I wouldn't talk to a reporter of Sport-Express.

D: Wow, what an approach.

Z: This is my approach.

D: A master of research. When we were skating you told me about your injuries. Hockey is dangerous. You might lose a finger one day and come back on ice the next day. You might break your jaw and come back really fast. This is a great illustration of the Soviet song that there are no cowards in hockey. When I watched everyone staying quiet.

Z: Well, they might be too scared to talk about the war.

D: Let's leave it aside. This is sad, though. They are scared to break Russian laws even when they are abroad. But what about Fedotov? You won't go to prison for supporting him. Hockey players didn't defend their guy. They are cowards.

Z: Hockey doesn't get a lot of media attention in Russia. NHL doesn't get any media in the States, neither. Do you know anything about McDavid or Crosby? They are the best players in the world. Nobody talks about them. This world is very private. We know everything about Lebron. Same with Tom Brady. There isn't a lot of hype around hockey. Everyone in Russia knows our superstars. Everyone knows Ovechkin. He never made any statements.

D: This was a special case. This was special. There are examples when the totalitarian system was defeated. In 2019 the reporters defended Ivan Golunov after the cops framed him. And the actors defended Ustinov.

Z: You can no longer protect anyone.

D: Fedotov came back a year later and signed a new contract. He had an offer from Philadelphia Flyers.

Z: He's got a contract with them.

D: He can come to Philadelphia any time.

Z: He's signed to Flyers.

D: He can leave anytime.

Z: He's got to leave. He's signed the contract. You need a transfer card to transfer between leagues. This is a card that IIHF gives you. When left from CSKA to London Knights IIHF brought my card to Canada. His transfer card is now in Philadelphia. He's an NHL player.

D: He just needs to fly there.

Z: Yes.

D: Fedotov chose to sign a new contract with CSKA and stayed with the guys who sent him to the military.

Z: Yes.

D: What does it mean?

Z: They scared him.

D: He posted a picture from Dubai.

Z: What if they threatened his parents? You know how this works. You can threaten anyone. I'm sure about that.

Hope he isn’t intending on going back to Russia

 

[FLYguy3911]

Does he know they have two logos at center ice now?

Makes me sad. Apparently there's a chance he makes the team too lol.

Single diggy already. Flyers would never.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Single diggy already. Flyers would never.

To make the Sabres fans forget about Eichel.

 

[landsbergfan]

Oh Mark Stone. How naive

 

[Don Nachbaur 26]

Oh Mark Stone. How naive

Charles "Entertainment" Fletcher shakes his head and mutters to himself, "Why don't they see what I see?"

 

[CutOnDime97]

 

[Flyerfan4life]

clean hit... he mad cuz he got blownup...

 

[TCTC]

Stone must be really full of himself if he thinks getting hit in a pre-season game is beneath him.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

Stone must be really full of himself if he thinks getting hit in a pre-season game is beneath him.

yep what a fn whiner

 

[Cody Webster]

Some pretty big news out of Tampa...

 

[Stizzle]

It's not my intention to dance on this kids grave. I just want to point out another draft opinion that some of us had correct here, while going against the consensus lists at the time. This kid was a total sucker pick.

 

[deadhead]

Or was he badly developed?

 

[kudymen]

Family Guy ostrich

 

[ponder719]

Charles "Entertainment" Fletcher shakes his head and mutters to himself, "Why don't they see what I see?"

Chuck, Chuck, you aren't seeing anything. You've smeared a half-gallon of mayonnaise over your eyes again.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

It's not my intention to dance on this kids grave. I just want to point out another draft opinion that some of us had correct here, while going against the consensus lists at the time. This kid was a total sucker pick.

another gem from Ronald Hextall. Hopefully Danny hires him back as he meets all the criteria.